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Showing posts from May, 2021

Liger | The gigantic hybrid of Lion and Tigress

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Do you ever hear about Liger? The largest of the world’s felines. Liger offspring is a result of breeding male Lion and Tigress. On the other hand, the breeding of male Tiger and Lioness will result Tigon. Actually, they are half Lion and half Tiger. The next question is “how?” because lions and tigers do not exist in same areas in the world (Except Gir Forest reserve in India, but there are no Ligers recorded). Therefore, you will realize this hybridization has human involvement. This crossbreeding happens in captivity. Liger is an enormous, gigantic animal with a large muscular body. It is bigger than both parents (Mr. Lion and Mrs. Tiger). Liger has more like their father. On the other hand, Tigons are the opposite of Ligers. Fur is a similar color to the father (Lion) and also has stripes like its mother (Tiger) but they are faded. Liger may have manes but it is not big or awesome looking as Lions.   There are rumors about wild Ligers in history because Asiatic Lion once spread h

Wild Cat in Colombo | The Fishing Cat

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Fishing Cat ( Prionailurus viverrinus ) is widely distributed in south and southeastern Asia (Sri Lanka, India, Pakistan, Thailand, Bangladesh, Nepal, Cambodia, and Myanmar). They are strongly associated with wetlands. Unlike most feline species, these guys love water. They are good swimmers who are adapted for semi-aquatic life. Colombo is accredited as a wetland city by RAMSAR during the 13 th Conference of the Parties to the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (COP13) in Dubai on 25 October 2018. Beddagana Wetland, Diyasaru wetland and Thalangama wetland are the most famous wetlands in Colombo. These urban wetlands are doing great service better than politicians. Moreover, they are home to many special living species such as this Fishing Cats. Therefore, finding a Fishing Cat in Colombo is possible. But hard. Furthermore, they are also found in other places such as. Koggala lakeshore, Kumana mangroves, Wasgamuwa National Park, Pottuvil, Kantalai, and most riparian forests. Beddagana We

Viper or Python? How to identify venomous Russell's Viper and non-venomous Rock Python

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  Sri Lanka has two species of venomous true Vipers. They are Russell’s Viper ( Daboia russellii) and Saw Scaled Viper ( Echis carinatus ). However, people get them confuse with non-venomous Pythons. Therefore, people kill these non-venomous Pythons. Especially, Rock Python ( Python molurus ). It is important to identify the differences between Russell’s Viper and Rock Python. Before you read, try to identify Viper and Python from the above photo. Then start reading. Markings on their back are the easiest way to discriminate Russell’s Viper from Python. Russell’s Viper has regular oval-shaped markings while Rock Python has irregular and cloud-shaped markings (blotches). The row of spots on Russell’s Viper’s back is large, oval-shaped. It has a black outline with a white outer border. Rock python has three rows of blotches and the middle row has larger blotches than rows on the side of the body. Russell’s Viper has regular oval-shaped markings Python has irregular and cloud-shaped mark

Real Animal twins of Cartoon Animals

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Why don’t we talk about cartoons! Everybody loves cartoons because they are entertaining, funny, educational, and emotional. We all learn some good qualities from cartoons. Some cartoon characters inspired ourselves to face the challenges in our life, taught how to live a good life. We are going to take a look at the real animal twins of animal cartoon characters who speak human language. Do you know they are real animals? Let’s see.

Snakes

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Indian cobra/ S pectacled cobra ( Naja naja ) Which animal do you fear the most? Snake is the most common answer for that. Fear for these amazing slithering unique reptiles has a long history because people believe that, All snakes are highly venomous and always seeking to bite humans. Snakes are very dirty animals; their skins are slimy or sticky which are disgusting.  Wolf Snake ( Lycodon aulicus ) If you ever touched a snake, you will understand the above conclusions are not 100% true. Because The majority of snakes are non-venomous. They do not seek to bite and kill humans. They only attack If they feel threatened or to catch prey. Believe me, snakes are not slimy or sticky. They have very clean and dry skins. People kill snakes because they think snakes are a threat to us. Snakes are playing a major role in maintaining ecological balance. Wait what? Yes. They are a significant part of our ecosystem as predators. Snakes are carnivores. They control the population size o

Identifying Dragonflies and Damselflies

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  Dragonflies and Damselflies are insects that belong to the order Odonata. Both of these amazing creatures have an almost similar appearance. Most people use the word “Dragonflies” to introduce both. But if you know the difference, you can tell which one is Dragonfly and which one is the Damselfly right away at one glance.  Before you read further, take a look at these two pictures and find which one is Dragonfly and Damselfly. After reading check if it’s right. First, take a look at their body . Dragonflies have much chunkier and short bodies. Damselflies have slim, long, twig-like bodies. Then the wings . Both of them have two sets of wings. Dragonflies have different shaped fore and hind wings. Their hind wings are much broad at the base, where they are attached to the body. Damselflies have the same sized and shaped fore and hind wings. All of them are more slender and taper toward the base, where they attach to the body.   When resting , Dragonflies position their wings sp