Crocodile

Salt water Crocodile
Originally uploaded by Pandiyan.

Do you know that crocodiles have a super immune system that very rarely they catch a disease?

Though crocs breathe like land animals and not like fish, they can remain under water for hours. They bring down their metabolic rate so much that their oxygen requirement is minimal. The picture shows the tongue which folds back to cover the throat.

Crocs use their teeth more to hold their prey as they swallow food whole. Their jaws are very powerful exerting incredible amount of power as they close. However, curiously, the muscles controlling the jaws to open are so weak that held tight by a human they can't open the jaws.

Looks like a Gharial but is it one....

Looks like a Gharial but is it one....
Originally uploaded by Pandiyan.

It has a long, narrow snout like a Gharial but is actually a crocodile. It is called a False Gharial.

Put on the endangered list, found in isolated wild habitats of Indonesia and Malaysia. Said to have disappeared from Vietnam and Thailand. However, it is being bred in many captive sites.

One of the most unusual and little known of all crocodilians. Very little is properly studied about this crocodile. In fact, opinion is divided on whether it should be a crocodile or a gharial.

Scientific name: Tomistoma schlegelii

The name is a tribute to the Dutch zoologist H. Schlegel who credited with its discovery.

Star Spangled Backshell

Star Spangled Backshell
Originally uploaded by Pandiyan.

Star Tortoise common in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka .....

They have these special radiating starlike patterns on their shell (carapace) Each star is centred on a pyramidal bump. They are herbivorous which eat grass, flowers and fruits but known to eat insects and carrion at times.

As with any attractive animal, faces danger due to man-made threats - commercial trade in pet markets which coupled with habitat loss signals a difficult future.

Though trade has been made illegal in India, many far east and middle east countries, enforcement is low and the trade thrives due to attractive market. On and off one reads newspaper reports of people caught in airports with suitcases full of star tortoises!

Scientific name: Geochelone elegans

Gimme an ear...

Gimme an ear...
Originally uploaded by Pandiyan.

This is the same elephant was that shown a few days earlier. Little closer this time.

Unlike african elephants, the female asian elephants do not have protruding tusks. The tusks are teeth which look like canines are actually upper incisors. Elephants use them for ripping barks, digging the ground and of course as weapons.

One of the most interesting thing about are their ears. African elephants have larger ears shaped like Africa! And asian elephants, also called Indian elephants, have much smaller ears have them in the shape of Indian subcontinent. The ears are used for identification as they are like fingerprints - unique.

Elephants use their ears to regulate their body tempreature. The earflaps are cartilaginous sheets filled with blood vessels covered by thin skin. Elephant experts can find out about the health of an elephant by looking at its ears, I believe.

An interesting scientific theory about elephants communication has come about in recent times. Elephants can hear infrasounds - sounds which humans are incapable of. This is an ability they are said to share with blue whales. It means elephants can communicate over huge distances. Scientists say under perfect conditions as much as 100 sq kilometers!

This hypothesis has lead to a great understanding of elephants' social behaviour and family structure. For information on this, read the book Silent Thunder by Katy Payne, a serious researcher.

Scientific name: Elephas maximus

Soon - living only in the legends....

Soon - living only in the legends....
Originally uploaded by Pandiyan.

Nilgiri Langur

Normally found in southern India. Lives in a troop of 5 to 16. Eats leaves, shoots and fruits.

In the 'Endangered' list. Threatened due to habitat loss and heavy poaching. Legend has it that its flesh and fur have aphrodiasic properties. As with the tiger, this belief is killing this beautiful animal..

Scientific name: Trachypithecus johnii

Please make sure monitor adjusted properly for color and brightness. Otherwise the features of the Langur won't show.

Let the sleeping tiger lie

Let the sleeping tiger lie
Originally uploaded by Pandiyan.

This tiger is fortunate and he is safe within his enclosure. But it is a pity really. This magnificent creature, actually the national animal of India, is in such a precarious state in many Indian forests. Utterly defenceless against poaching and encroachment. Government machinery, except for a few informed officials, is blissfully indifferent and badly equipped to face the challenge.

After two decades of well publicised "Project Tiger' campaign, we have not many tigers more than what we had then.

Just warming up

Just warming up
Originally uploaded by Pandiyan.

Marsh crocodiles also called muggers are found mostly in the Indian subcontinent. Among the crocodiles, these resemble the alligators most. Wider snouts though not as wide as alligators. They keep their mouths open as in the photo to regulate their body temperature.

Species are considered vulnerable as the numbers are coming down in the wild. They have died out in Myanmar and many provinces of Pakistan. They are endangered in Bangladesh. Though captive breeding programs are successful, loss of habitat means no place to release them. In countries such as India commercial breeding for meat or skin is prohibited.

Crocodiles have changed little over miilions of years, showing how successful their evolutionary build is. They are on the top of the foodchain and did not have any natural predator. All that till man came along. And the future of creatures which survived dinosaurs are suddenly not so bright.

Scientific name: Crocodylus palustris