(Africa, Asia)
In Africa, a big spotted cat is a leopard. In South America, it’s a jaguar.
The black panther is really a leopard. And if you look closely, you can still see its spots.
Its beautiful coat of fur has nearly cost this breed of leopard its existence. The snow leopard is on the endangered list.
Leopards move as freely in trees as they do on the ground.
High in the trees is where leopards usually choose to sleep, hide, keep a lookout and store their food.
The leopard, like most big cats, is a loner. It hunts alone and, except for mothers with cubs, lives alone.
Video: Unlike us humans, a leopard’s food is not so easy to come by. If they’re hungry for a nice juicy antelope, they’ve got to go out, catch one, and then drag it up a tree so it won’t get stolen.
Advice: Leopards are mostly active at night. So unless you’re out in the bush after dark, you’re not likely to meet one. You might hear one, though, without even realising it. Their calls sound like someone sawing wood.
Following this in the program is a game called Who Lives Where?: Leopards are very adaptable creatures, and can live in many different habitats. Test your knowledge at matching animals to their habitats.
What’s coming tomorrow follows that: To understand animals, you also need to know about their habitats. Both plants and animals are part of the web of life.
(Africa)
Grooming is a sociable activity between baboons. And it keeps their fur clean.
A baby baboon stays close to its mother. When grown, females stay with the troop, but many males leave to find a new group.
Scientists believe that humans are related to apes and monkeys. Just compare these skulls, and you’ll see why.
The male mandrill, a relative of the baboon and the largest of all monkeys, has a brightly coloured face.
Young monkeys, apes and humans learn skills through play.
In the African savannah, baboons forage for food on the ground, but sleep in trees for safety.
Video: You might not expect to see these faces on the Africa savannah. But unlike other monkeys, baboons live on the ground.
Advice: If a baboon grins at you, it’s not amused. It’s angry. Back away slowly. If you turn your back on one, you may get a nasty bite in the backside! They also throw stones and other things.
Next: A baboon has to be constantly on the lookout. This monkey is the favourite food of many leopards.
Don’t let pretty colours fool you! They’re often signs of danger.
Know the right colour coding, and you’ll be smarter around wasps, poison arrow frogs and spotted salamanders.
The mandarin fish and the zygaenid moth. These two creatures send a very clear message to would-be predators.
If you drove a car through a red light, you’d probably expect to be in trouble. Colour signals are important in the animal world, too.
The orange-striped newt, the red-kneed tarantula and the tiger centipede. Now, here’s a group of pretty dangerous characters!
Video: In the world of amphibians and reptiles, bright colours usually signal poison. So, if you spot a beautifully coloured animal, just look, don’t touch.
Advice: We humans wear whatever colours please us. Except in times of war, when armies choose coloured uniforms so that everyone will know who’s on which side – or they wear camouflage to hide out. But every day is a battle in the animal world, so colours often have special meanings there.
Next: [See picture] This mandrill is a colourful cousin of the baboon.
(Europe, northwest Africa, Southeast Asia)
The California newt, the tiger salamander and the mandarin salamander. Danger ahead!
Whether born live or hatched from eggs, baby salamanders look nothing like their parents.
Do you see those lumps behind this salamander’s eyes? They ooze venom.
What kind of feet does a salamander have? It depends on how it lives.
Newts come in an assortment of colours and patterns.
Video: In a salamander beauty contest, it would be difficult to choose a winner. Just imagine if people came in such bright colours and interesting patterns!
Advice: Don’t squeeze a salamander, or it may squirt venom at you. Actually, don’t squeeze any animal. You wouldn’t let them squeeze you, would you? Of course you wouldn’t!
Next: A fire salamander can afford to be colourful, because it uses venom to defend itself. Within certain groups of animals, bright colours often signal venom.
Lizards are great runners, whether on two legs or four.
Meet the slow-worm, a lizard without legs. Here’s a very peculiar technique! And it seems to work, too!
I-guana, you-guana, they-guana! An iguana for every taste!
Most geckos are night owls. Except for the Madagascar day gecko, who seems to prefer the daytime.
Reptiles are all over the place. And they’re not really frightening. In fact, they’re among the most interesting creatures around.
Look! A flying gecko! Well, not really. But it is a parachuting gecko.
The chameleon. A rainbow creature, with a deadly tongue. Deadly for an insect, that is.
Video: Wherever there’s a warm climate, there are lizards. They come in all sizes and colours, and in amazing shapes. There’s even one that swims in the sea: a marine iguana.
Advice: Sometimes, it’s the smallest ones you have to watch out for. One day, a little gecko jumped up and bit my nose for no apparent reason! But, nevertheless, I still like lizards.
Next: Do you know the difference between a lizard and a fire salamander?
Well, it's April Fool's Day. I'm not going to pull any pranks or anything, but I figure this is the perfect time to show you one of the goofiest things I've ever seen in my life.
I've been playing The Sims 2 every day for quite a while now, and a couple of my Sims had lifetime aspirations to become a criminal mastermind. When they finally accomplished it and I first saw the criminal mastermind attire, I just could not help myself from howling with laughter! I was like, "Seriously?!"
I mean, look at this! Maybe you can't see it too clearly with the poor quality of the camera in the game, but… red-and-black spandex with shoulder horns and a skull insignia across the chest? I was under the impression that "criminal mastermind" meant mob boss – which would make sense, since it's the pinnacle of the criminal career. But who would take a mob boss seriously who dresses like that? :D Not even comic book villains get this silly!
Actually, speaking of which… I can't remember which one it was, but one of these guys had a superhero to deal with on one of his first days on the job! :) If you've played the game yourself, you know how sometimes text boxes pop up while a Sim is away at work, telling you of something interesting happening there and forcing you to make a choice between two actions? Well, there was one that said there was a new superhero in town, and you had to choose between trying to contain him or keep going with your plan to hold the city to ransom.
So, actually, criminal mastermind in this game means supervillain! And for a game that's otherwise supposed to simulate normal life, doesn't this just seem really out of place?
On that same note, interestingly, Captain Hero is the top position of the law enforcement career – and I've had Sims achieve that, too. Isn't it hilarious that being a superhero is just a normal day job in this game? :D
But anyway, yes, the criminal mastermind uniform here is laughable. And in this particular picture, it's coupled with these two guys just going about their daily business in their kitchen, one drinking an instant meal and the other preparing a TV dinner. This has got to be one of the silliest images ever! :) If I just showed you this picture and simply told you these guys were criminal masterminds, wouldn't you think I was playing a prank on you?
(Indonesia)
The Komodo dragon, the rat, the mosquito and the vampire bat. None of these animals are venomous. But if one bites you, it could make you sick.
Komodo dragons are meat-eaters. They also prey on each other. So at mealtimes, the small ones are very polite!
The ancestors of the Komodo dragon and the tuatara lived at the time of the dinosaurs.
Monitor lizards, like the Komodo dragon, live in trees, in water, on the ground, and even underground.
The newt, the caiman and the iguana. Although they all resemble lizards, two of these creatures are not. So you have to guess which one is the real thing.
Video: Millions of years ago, the most powerful animals on Earth were not mammals, but giant meat-eating reptiles. Komodo dragons are the largest lizards on Earth today, and are living reminders of this ancient past.
Advice: If you are bitten, or even just scratched, by a Komodo dragon, go to a doctor immediately! The bacteria that live in this giant lizard’s mouth could kill an elephant!
Next: No wonder they call it a dragon! The Komodo dragon, or “ora”, is the largest lizard on Earth today.
