The mammoth was a large, ‘now extinct’ hairy elephant-like animal that lived millions of years ago. It had long curved tusks and a sloping back. Its ears were small and its body was covered with long woolly hair. Changes in the environment, climate and migration led to its evolution. The largest known species of mammoth […]
Termites are insects that look like ants but are, in fact, very different. They have existed for millions of years. There are more than 2,000 kinds of termites. Termites live in colonies inside wood. A typical colony has a king, queen, soldiers and workers. Soldiers are blind and wingless but protect the colony. The workers’
A praying mantis is a fascinating insect. It is long and slender. Praying mantis gets its name as it seems to be praying when it is standing still. It holds up its large front legs in a prayer position. But it is ‘preying’ and not praying. In fact, it is the most bloodthirsty creature. It
There are more than 3,500 different types of ants found across the world. They live in groups called colonies. Out of these, perhaps the most interesting is the ‘army ant’. It eats living things. The ‘driver ants’ move in armies of thousands of ants. They do not spare any living thing and kill all in
Dogs go mad because of rabies, a viral infection. This virus infects the brain and the spinal cord. Rabies does infect not only dogs. It infects many other warm-blooded animals as well, but it’s only dogs that can infect man with this deadly disease by biting him. A bite causes the virus in the dog’s
A guinea pig is neither a pig, nor is it from Guinea. It is a rodent. Long ago, in parts of South America, guinea pigs were a food delicacy. After the discovery of America, they were eaten in Europe, too. The only people who still eat guinea pigs are the natives of Peru. Guinea pigs
A unicorn is an imaginary animal popular in legends. Long ago, the travellers who made voyages to distant lands brought back strange and fascinating tales. Many such tales were about unicorns. This mythical animal was believed to have the head and body of a horse, hind legs of an antelope; tail of a lion, and
More than 2,000 kinds of bats exist in the world today. Some bats eat insects, some eat fruits or pollen and others eat fish or smaller bats. Some bats also feed upon blood. These blood-eating bats are called vampire bats. Vampire bats are found in South and Central America. They hunt in the darkest of
The largest of all birds is the African ostrich that is up to 2.5 metres in height and weighs more than 135 kilograms but it cannot fly. The wingspread of a bird is also considered as an indicator of its size. The flying bird which has the largest wingspread is the albatross, with a wingspread
Wasps are part of bees’ and ants’ families. Wasps can be divided into two groups: social and solitary. Wasps use different materials to build their nests. The nests of social wasps are made of a kind of paper which they make by chewing wood and fibre. They attach these nests to the branches of trees,
A spider’s web has an interesting design. A spider uses silk, produced in its abdominal glands, to make webs. It pushes out this silk as liquid through several small holes found at the tip of the abdomen. This liquid becomes solid in the presence of air. The web thread is of many kinds. For example,
It often seems like fruit flies just appear out of nowhere. They are found near a decaying fruit. They are of two kinds: the Mediterranean fruit fly and Drosophila. Mediterranean fruit flies are destructive pests. They lay eggs in unripe fruits, thereby ruining the whole crop after the young ones are born as they eat
A lemming is a small mouse-like rodent. It lives in cold regions. There are around 20 lemming species across the world. A lemming is about five inches long and is found in Sweden, Norway and Lapland. Once in four years, a whole army of lemmings runs downhill towards the sea. They move along at night,
The duck family has a variety of birds like swan, goose, tree duck, fishing duck, etc. Ducks have a special waterproof coating over feathers. This helps them to float on water. This coating is made by the oil secreted by a gland near the duck’s tail. Ducks live easily in icy water, too. The webbed
There are several records related to the age of animals. Among mammals, the longest living animal is the Elephant that has a lifespan of 60 years. In birds, it is believed that the parrot with 54 years of lifespan, and the eagle with 55 years of lifespan are the longest living birds. Among fish, the