WILD LIFE FACTS

WILD LIFE FACTS

MAMMALS • REPTILES • AMPHIBIANS • FISH • INSECTS • BIRDS

MAMMALS Largest and Heaviest Blue Whale Average length 30.5 m Largest ever recorded 33.58 m Pregnant female may weigh 203 tones Smallest Land Mammal Kitti's hog-nosed Bat (Found in Thailand)2 Wing span 16 cm weight 1.75 to 2 g Smallest Marine Mammal Probably Heaviside's dolphin (Found in South Atlantic) Length 1.22 m Weight 41 kg Rarest Mammal Rarest Mammal Aspecies of tenrec from Madagascar is only known from a single specimen. Fastest Mammal Cheetah (found in Africa, Middle East, W. Asia) can run at 100 kph over short distances. Pronhorn antelope (Found in USA) Can run at 60 kph over long distances. Slowest Mammal Three-toedsloth (found in South America) covers about 5 m a minute in trees, and only 2 m aminute on the ground. Highest Mammal Yak (found in Tibet and China) climbs to 6000 m to feed. REPTILES Largest and Heaviest Estuarine Crocodile (found in Asia, Australia) Average length (male) up to 4.3 m Longest ever recorded 8.23 m Largest Lizard Komodo dragon (found in Indonesian Island) length up to 3 m largest Turtle Pacific leatherback turtle Average length (male) up to 2.13 m weight up to 363 kg. Fastest Amphibian (On Land) Six-linedracerunner (found in USA) can run at 29 kph Fastest Amphibian (In Water) (In Water) Pacific Leatherback turtle can swim at 35 kph Longest Snake Reticulated Python (found in India and South-east Asia) Average length more than 6 m Longest ever recorded 10 m Most Poisonous Snake Sea Snake (found in North West Australia) Most Poisonous Land Snake Fierce Snake(found in Australia) has most toxic venom. AMPHIBIANS Largest Amphibian Chinese gaintsalamander Average length 1m Longest ever recorded 1.52 m Weight 11 to 13 kg. Largest Frog Goliath Frog (found in Africa) Length of body 33.5 cm Largest Toad Probably marinetoad (found in South America) Length 22.9 cm. Largest Newt Ribbed newt (found in Africa) Length upto 40 cm Weight 450 g Highest Toad Common toad One found in Himalayas at 8000 m Most Poisonous Kokoiarrow-poison frog (found in South America) A tiny amount of toxin is enough to kill a man. Smallest Newt Striped newt (found in USA) length 5.1 cm BIRDS Largest Bird (Flightless) North African Ostrich Height (male) 2.74 m Weight 156.5 kg eggs up to 20 cm long Largest Wing Span Wandering albatross (found in Southern Oceans) Average length (male) 3.15 m Largest ever recorded 3.6 m Smallest Bird Helena's humming bird (found in Cuba) Average length (male) 5.8 cm (head and body 1.5 cm) Weight 2 g Egg 1.14 cm long Rarest Bird Mauritius Kestrel (found in Mauritius) About 5 are thought to remain. Fastest Bird Spine-tailed swift (found in Russia and Himalayas) flies at 171 kph Longest Flight Arctic tern May cover 40,000 km a year migrating from Arctic to Antarctic and back. Fastest Under Water Gentoo Penguin swims at 36 kph Largest Nest Bald eagles one was 2.9 m wide and 6 m deep. FISHES Largest Fish (Plankton-eating) Whale Shark Largest ever recorded 18.5 m long. Largest Fish (Meat Eating) Great white shark (the man-eater) Average length up to 4.57 m. Heaviest Bony Fish Ocean sunfish is the heaviest largest ever recorded 2.28 tonnes. Longest Bony Fish Russian sturgeon or Beluga Length up to 8 m Fastest Fish Probably Sailfish fastest ever recorded 109 kph Most Poisonous Fish Stonefish (foundin Indian and Pacific Oceans) Poison carried in spines can cause a person's death within a few hours. Most Electric Electric eel (found in South America) can produce 400 to 500 volts. INSECTS Largest Insect Goliath beetle (found in Africa) Weight (male) 100g Longest Insect Tropical stick insect Length up to 33 cm Largest locust Swarn A Swarn of desert locusts that crossed the Red Sea in 1889. Swarn estimated to contain 250,000,000 insects weighing about 500,000 tonnes and covering 5,000 sq. km Largest Butterfly Queen Alexandra bird wing (found in Guinea) Wing span 28 cm, weight 5 g Most Dangerous Ant Black bulldog ant (found in Australia and Tasmaina) One bite can kill a man. Fastest Wing Beat A tiny midge can beat its wings 1000 times a second.