LIVING IN A PRIDE

Wild animals which live as a group get some significant advantages compared to other animals. Being in a pride lions doesn’t face any big threats. When a solitary hunter like a cheetah or a tiger gets injured it won’t be able to hunt and will most probably starve to death if the injury won’t get healed within some days. But when a lion within a pride gets injured, it will be allowed to take a share from the kill made by the other members and so it won t have any problems filling its stomach. When lions hunt they act as one and that’s why they are able to kill huge sized prey animals. Lions are even known to bring down adult elephants. Lionesses within a particular pride will be closely related and so the cubs in the pride will be allowed to suckle from all the mothers in the pride. The dominant male lion which is the leader of the pride don’t take part in the hunting process most often. He may seem to be lazy, but it’s when the tranquility of the pride breaks that the male lion shows his real strength. He is the one who protects the entire pride from other intruder lions and he is the one who kills hyenas which are the biggest enemies of lions. A good pride will always be well fed and the cubs in the pride will have a high chance in reaching adulthood. It’s because of this team work that the lions are the most dominant and powerful predators

SWORDTAIL FISHES

Swordtail fishes are one of the most loved aquatic fishes. They are called swordtails because of the sword like extension of the tail found in male swordtails. However females have normal tails. They are excellent community fishes and are found in wide range of colors like red,green,white,purple ,black etc.other varieties like pineapple swordtails,hifin swordtails are also available. Blood red swordtail fishes are really exciting to watch because of their eye capturing coloration.Lyretail swordtails having double sword like structures on their tail and hifin swordtails having long fins have high commercial value. Swordtail fishes love planted aquarium and they enjoy being in a large group. When you keep three or four in a small tank one male usually becomes dominant among the other males and he can really hurt the others, by maintaining a large number the aggression gets shared. Male swordtails use their sword like tails to attract mates and also to fight with other males. They really love eating tubifex worms and flake foods. Platy fishes are closely related to swordtails and are known to mate with swordtails. Swordtails are generally easy to care and are excellent fishes for beginners

FANTAILS

I bought a pair of fantail pigeons yesterday. Both of them are pure white in color and are stunning to watch. I have a wooden cage for them and they seem to be very satisfied with their new home. I wish I could breed many fantail pigeons with this pair and I am really enjoying watching them every time. It will take some time before they get used to the new conditions and I am sure that slowly and steadily we will be in good company. The female pigeon seems to have a good appetite; she is taking food as much as I give her. The male always moves close to her and he is very watchful of his mate. They should be given good care since they are very different from ordinary pigeons

AQUATIC PLANTS

It’s very important to set some plants in an aquarium. Aquatic plants offer the fishes with food and oxygen. To maintain the plants in a healthy state its best to keep the aquarium in a place where there is adequate light. Like all plants aquatic plants take in carbon dioxide and give out oxygen. So in some aquariums carbon dioxide pumps are used to provide them with adequate carbon dioxide. When an aquarium is well planted newly born baby fishes will have plenty of hiding places and this will save them from being eaten by other fishes. Planting aquatic plants in a glass tank adds to the beauty of an aquarium greatly. Live bearing aquatic fishes love planted aquariums while fishes like gold fishes and carps eat these plants in large amounts so in presence of these fishes some aquatic plants may be harmed. Many fishes lay their eggs on the leaves of these plants and so if you want your fishes to lay eggs your aquarium should be properly planted.

HYENA

Hyenas are one of the most cunning and excellent opportunists in the wild. A hyena spots weakness in a prey animal earlier than any other predator does. They never miss a chance for an easy meal and will try any means to fill their stomach including stealing other predator’s kill. There is a great hatred between lions and hyenas, with team work hyenas can be a big threat to lions. Their jaws are designed for superior crushing strength and can completely feed on a carcass including the toughest bones. So they are one of the nature’s greatest cleaners. A pack of hyenas will be led by a dominant female called the matriarch. The matriarch and her offspring will have high privileges in the pack. Male lions kill hyenas whenever they get an opportunity and hyenas also attack lions when they have the advantage. Hyenas are highly adaptable since they can hunt and scavenge. Hyenas are sometimes called laughing animals because of the laugh like strange sounds that they make.

GUPPY

Guppies are one of the most popular aquarium fishes. They are known for the brilliant coloration of male guppies. Females are less attractive and usually grow to larger size than males. They are excellent fishes for beginners and most people enjoy breeding them since they give birth to over 20 babies in every 3 to 4 weeks. They are found in a wide range of colors and varieties and through selective breeding magnificent varieties of guppies are being produced. There is an international association for guppy breeders called the international fancy guppy association. These small fishes are really loved by most aquarists and many small children take it as a hobby breeding guppies. Its best to keep these fishes as a group and with a 20 L aquarium about 10 guppies can be kept easily. It’s best to keep lesser number of males as compared to females. Guppies eat a variety of foods like flakes and worms. They really love eating live tubifex worms and that’s the best food if you want your guppies to grow faster. Guppies can be released in small ponds and wells where mosquitoes are likely to breed, so that the guppies will eat all the mosquito larvae.

CAPE BUFFALO

African buffaloes are also known as cape buffaloes. Their massive size and aggressive nature makes it very hard for predators to hunt them. Other than lions they don’t have any big enemies. Lions usually hunt them together as it is not possible for a single lion to bring down an adult buffalo. They are known to be extremely unpredictable which makes them very different from their Asian counterparts. They kill more people in Africa than any other animal does and because of this aggressive nature these buffaloes cannot be domesticated. Cape buffaloes move as a well packed herd with a dominant male leading the herd and the calves will be shielded by the adults. Lions usually hunt them by separating the herd and isolating one of them. Even if they become separated during hunts they organize soon and will try to rescue a member that has been caught. They have been known to inflict fatal injuries to lions, which makes it very risky for any predator to hunt them.

ENDANGERED

There are many animals in our world which are facing the threat of extinction. The cheetah is one among them. Destruction of natural habitat is the main cause for the decline of population of many animals. But in the cheetah’s case other wild animals are also a big cause for the threats they are facing. Lions kill cheetah cubs without hesitation whenever they find them. Other predators like hyenas also hunt cheetah cubs if possible.Although the cheetah is the fastest land animal it is very inferior to most of the big cats and other predators in terms of physical strength. A full grown cheetah can never defend its cubs against a lioness and if within range even adult cheetahs are easily killed by lions. This seemingly cruel act may be because the lions don’t want any competition in hunting for prey. Most of the cheetah hunts are successful because of their superior speed but the prey that they killed can be easily snatched away by lions or hyenas. Efforts are done by many organizations like raising them in captivity, protecting them against poachers etc to improve their population.

BETTA

The Siamese fighting fish which is also called as Betta is always known for its brilliant coloration and long fins. They are found in many colors and varieties. As the name suggests male bettas are fierce fighters. A betta seems to be very calm when he lives with other types of fishes in an aquarium. But it’s when you put two males together in a tank that he shows his real fighting nature. A fight between two male bettas will only end with one’s death. A male betta may be a deadly fighter, but he is a good father too, because after spawning with a female he is the one who protects the eggs. A male betta usually likes to live a solitary life. They are easy to keep since a male betta requires only a small container of water and these fishes can live even in poor oxygen conditions. Many people enjoy their fights and making these fishes fight is taken as a sport in some countries.

LIGER

A liger is the offspring of a male lion and female tiger. Ligers can be bred only in captivity since lions and tigers live in different regions in the wild. A liger is much larger than both of its parents. , actually the liger is the largest cat in the world. Most of them weigh more than 500 kilos. From the image itself we can understand how massive this cat is. They have the color almost similar to a lion with light stripes in its body. Ligers would be stunning if they are released in the wild. But its character, that is whether it lives socially as its father or as a solitary hunter like its mother is unknown. Also because of its massive size a liger will find it very hard to generate good speed and as a result most of their hunts will end in failure. So scientists believe that ligers can live only in captivity.

LIVEBEARERS

Live bearers are fishes that give birth to fully developed free swimming babies.Platies, swordtails, guppies and mollies are some of the common colorful live bearing aquatic fishes. They are ideal fishes for beginners. Many aquarists enjoy breeding them and even small children can raise them easily. An interesting fact about live bearers is that it’s very hard to stop them from breeding. They give birth in every 3 to 4 weeks, but the parents won’t take any role in caring for their babies and may even try to eat them. So it’s best to keep these fishes in a well planted aquarium. These small fishes are very active and are always wonderful to watch. Anyone with a small tank can easily raise them. Since the males of these fishes always chase females trying to mate, it’s best to keep lesser number of males as compared to females. Otherwise they won’t give the females any rest. Female live bearers are capable of giving birth 3 or 4 times even after a single mating.

BLACK MAMBA

We all know that snakes are venomous and deadly. Normally snakes attack humans to save their lives. There is a snake in Africa called as black mamba. It’s one of Africa’s most feared and dangerous snakes. Most Africans have many stories to tell about black mambas. Can u imagine a snake which chases u and attack? These black mambas are known for that. They are really aggressive when threatened and will straightly go for the attack. There are many strange stories related to black mambas like getting into houses and attacking each and everyone in the house, chasing people for long distances and so on. But there are no solid evidences for all these things. They have been blamed for many deaths in Africa .Anyway, I had never seen a black mamba and if I get an opportunity to see one, I would like to check whether they have this strange behavior.

My ride

It’s always enjoyable to ride a motorbike through highway roads, especially when the climate is cold and with light showers. At the same time roads can also be slippery with rain. . I like bike riding very much. Once when I was riding my bike through the highway a dog suddenly jumped across my way and before I could apply brake the bike hit the dog and I lost my balance completely. Luckily I was not injured. First I thought, that was the end of the poor dog. But the dog just got up after the encounter and ran to the other side of the road and then I saw him watching me from a fair distance. May be he was wondering whether I was injured. I was really surprised because even after hitting it with good speed the dog didn’t seem to have even the slightest pain.

RHINO

A rhinoceros is often called as rhino. These huge animals seem to be calm in nature, but they are extremely unpredictable and are known to charge at anything without provocation. As adults lions are rarely known to bring down rhinos. It’s always really funny to watch elephants and rhinos quarrel each other when they come close in search of vegetation and water. Once I even saw a small rhino trying to be aggressive against an elephant. Normally young rhinos are quite in nature, but this one was like a fire bull.

my angel fishes

I have a pair of angel fishes in my big fish tank. Their tank mates include other big fishes like carps and catfishes. A week before the pair laid some eggs on the leaves of some water plants. Angel fishes are extremely protective for their young and both my angel fishes took care of their eggs. But within a few days the big carps in my tank understood that there were some eggs along the water plants . My poor angel fishes tried their level best to protect their eggs, but they couldn’t defend their eggs against the big carps and the eggs were completely eaten. I felt really sorry for my angelfishes because before I could do any help all their eggs were lost.

That shameful incident

Once during my first year college life I accidentally fell into a small sewage besides the road leading to my college. It was a rainy day and the whole place was filled with water. After getting up myself from the fall I found two girls laughing at me and the volume of their laugh increased when they saw me spitting some water which got into my mouth during the fall. I felt really ashamed and embarrassed and within no time I escaped from there in my bike.

The leopard

A leopard is often called as the master of ambush. This is because of the fact that a leopard hunts it prey by surprise.Even though they are the smallest of the four big cats they have superior abilities than the other big cats. A leopard can drag a killed prey even twice its own size up to the tree tops. This ability helps them to keep their prey safe from other predators like hyenas and lions. They are elegantly built and have powerful claws which make this beautiful animal a magnificent predator

PUNISHED THAT BRUTAL CAT

This incident happened 5 years back when I had a lot of pigeons at my home. They were of many Colors like white, black spotted, grey and brown. They all lived in complete harmony before one morning when I found four of my pigeons brutally killed. One of them was fully eaten and then another one with its head missing and the remaining two were simply dead, may be those two were killed by blows at their heads. I was really sad on seeing my pigeons dead and I didn’t have any clue about the culprit of this brutal act. Then that evening when I was having my tea, I heard the sound of my pigeons flying away together. I immediately ran to the place where their cages were kept and I couldn’t find any predator there, but all the pigeons looked frightened and they were reluctant to come back from the tree tops even after calling them by offering food. Then as I looked through the cages I found one dark cat hiding inside one cage. I realized that he is the one who killed my pigeons that morning and once again he has made the attempt. But this time the pigeons flew away and so he sat at the cage expecting that the pigeons could come back at any time. Then as he tried to escape, he was well within my reach and I gave him some nasty blows with a stick at his legs. I was really delighted about the fact that I could punish him, but felt really sorry when I saw him with a broken leg after some days. There after he never made an attempt to attack my pigeons

my fishes

I have two fish tanks in my courtyard. One of them is a large one and the other a smaller concrete tank. In the larger tank I have a lot of big fishes like gold fishes, carps and catfishes. They really consume large Quantities of food daily. Every morning and evening I used to spend a lot of time with these fishes. Over the years we had become good friends. In my smaller tank I have some good varieties of swordtail fishes like hifin swordtails, white swordtails and Belgium swordtails. Months before I bought a female swordtail from a nearby aquarium .she was red in color with some black patches. During the early days of her life in my tank she looked very much like a female swordtail fish and other males were after her. But after a few weeks I noticed that she developed some male characters .she started chasing away other males. First I thought that this may be because she is a strong female. Then I was surprised to see her trying to mate with other females. I was really amazed by her behavior. After some days I talked about this matter to a nearby aquarist and he said that swordtails have this character of changing sexes. Any way this is the first time that I am having a fish which exhibits bisexual behavior. I wondered if humans also had these types of abilities then what would have been this

BIG PREDATORS

Talking about wildlife one animal which we can’t skip is the lion. Even though for us they are extremely cruel animals, a very interesting fact is that they are the only social cats in this world. Isn’t it amazing? Just as we people do these extremely dangerous predators knows to live as a group. I had always watched these magnificent predators with great wonder .its really amazing to see these animals living in a pride under the leadership of a big male. Well the color of Africa is said to be the color of the lion. A lion may be called as the king of the jungle, but these animals find it extremely hard to outrun their prey. Their success depends on team work. Once I watched through the television a group of wild buffaloes attacking lions. Buffaloes are one of the lion’s favorite preys. This incident happened when a herd of buffaloes lead by a big male noticed some lionesses with young cubs lying in an open grass land .the lionesses knew that they were in danger and they had no option against this big herd other than to run away, but the young cubs hesitated and the buffaloes seized this opportunity and really squeezed those cubs to death with their horny heads. Buffaloes are not known for this type of behavior, may be they were taking revenge for what the lions had done to their calves when the lions had the advantage. In this case the buffaloes proved that they are also good opportunists. So even the king of the jungle is not safe from threats in the wild, but a big and healthy pride has fewer threats. Lions and hyenas are also big enemies. No adult lion will waste a chance to kill a hyena. I felt sorry for some young cheetah cubs when once I saw a lioness killing a few of them. It was not long before I understood that some lions make it as a habit killing cheetah cubs. The fastest but the weakest cheetah mother will not stand a chance against the powerful lion