What You Must Know If You Plan To Keep A Snake As Pet

You may think that snake is so dangerous that you can not be close to it, but there are also some people choose snakes as their pets. However, snakes are obviously not the right pets for everyone. They have unique requirements and should only be kept by those with the commitment to understand and meet their needs.

If you also want to try to keep a wild snake there are many things you must consider. A snake you know you can keep, are willing to care for, and would like to keep temporarily as a pet, then the consideration start. Do note that I said temporarily: please only keep a wild-caught snake for a short time while you learn about it. As soon as the fascination with it starts to wane please release it back into its NATURAL habitat.

If you are new to pet snakes, find out what you should consider before deciding on a pet snake, and what species are the best snakes for beginners.

When choosing a snake, you are making a long term commitment - many can be expected to live longer than 20 years. You must be willing to feed prey animals to your snake (though frozen, pre-killed prey is the best choice), and you will probably have to devote some freezer space to frozen prey items.

Snakes are very adept escape artists, so make sure you have an escape-proof tank, keeping in mind that snakes are persistent about finding and squeezing through any small gaps.

Get a captive bred snake from a reputable breeder, if at all possible. Wild caught snakes tend to be more stressed and prone to parasites and disease, and more difficult to tame. For more about the advantages of captive bred reptiles, see Should I Get a Wild Caught or Captive Bred Reptile?

You will also want to do a cursory exam of your snake to check for any signs of illness: see Choosing a Healthy Reptilefor areas and signs to look at. It also doesn't hurt to ask for a feeding demonstration, to make sure your new snake is readily taking pre-killed prey and feeding well. Ball pythons are somewhat notorious for having feeding problems, so this is especially a good idea with ball pythons (though if you get a captive breed ball python it seems less likely that feeding problems will crop up).

Get An Overview Of Some Basic Features Of The Black Rhinoceros

Today, these animals are on the verge of extinction, thanks to years of relentless poaching but rhinoceros, even today are probably one of the most majestic animals to walk the earth. The fact that these animals have been around since the Miocene era, million of years ago, only adds to their aura. But, these animals are today almost extinct with almost ninety percent of the population being killed and poached since the 1970s. There are five species of rhinos existent in the world today and the black rhino is one of them. In this article, we will give you some facts that will help you understand more about this animal that once ruled sub-Saharan African jungles.

Facts about Black Rhinoceros

There is a lot to learn about this mammal. But before we take a closer look at how its appearance is, where it lives, what its diet is and other such details, let us get an overview of some basic features of the black rhinoceros.

AppearanceWhile they are categorized as black rhinoceros, it is important to understand that even the species of white rhinoceros is actually gray in color. The difference between the two actually lies in the shape of their lip, with the black rhinoceros having a pointed upper lip. This shape of the lip is an adaptability to allow the animal to feed on twigs, leaves, herbs and shoots. This species of rhinos have two horns, with the one in front being more prominent than the other. Rhino horns grow about three inches every year. The horn of the rhino is made of thick hair that is matted. It grows from the skull with absolutely no support from the skeletal system. While male rhinos use horns to battle predators, females use it to protect their children. Rhinos have eyelashes and have hair on their ears and at the tip of their tail. If you study the different facts about rhinoceros, you will learn that like every other species of the rhino, even the black rhinoceros is odd toed and has three toes on each foot. Many are surprised by the fact that a black rhino is actually very fast and can run at a speed of almost 50 kilometers per hour.

Behavior
Rhinos are known to be solitary creatures which prefer to roam around alone than in a herd. They tend to interact with each other only when they mate and when the mother is raising its calf. They are territorial animals that defend their areas fiercely. They have a very sharp sense of smell and also have a keen hearing power. Despite being a large animal with a lot of power, the fact remains that it is not a natural predator which is what makes it an easy prey for humans. But, these animals tend to be aggressive and attack not out of an actual threat but normally out of fear and confusion. They often have been known to attack tree trunks and termite mounds and this is generally a result of their poor eyesight.

Habitat and Diet
The black rhino normally stays in areas that have a dense and woody vegetation. These mammals feed at night and often lie around in a water hole with wet mud, so as to coat their skin with the mud which acts as a bug repellent and a sun block. The vegetation that a black rhino feeds on includes buds, shoots, leaves, bushes and trees.

As mentioned before, these animals are often solitary and do not mingle in herds but they have a close relationship with their calves that lasts for two to four years. Black rhinos are extremely intriguing animals that tend to awe you by their sheer presence, but their numbers are fast depleting due to a high demand for their horn. If something is not done and their depreciating numbers are not reversed, the black rhino may soon join the ranks of extinct animals.

Cobra Bites Are Fatal In About 10% Of Human Cases

This guy literally has one of the world's most dangerous jobs, he has to clean the cobra pit at the zoo. In this video he fearlessly picks up the snakes from their napping spots and tosses them to the side like their rubber toys and sweeps up their dried egg shells and poop.

The Black Mamba (Dendroaspis polylepis) is one of Africa's most dangerous snakes and feared in East, Central and Southern Africa. It's aggressive when cornered and will not hesitate to strike. It can reach speeds of up to 12 mph (20 km/ph). It's the largest venomous snake in Africa with adults reaching an average of 8 feet in length (2.5m). Black Mamba's are not black at all, but brown/olive skinned. Their mouths are inky black which they show when threatened. Black Mambas live in savanna, scrub, tree hollows, and sometimes people's homes. If a Black Mamba encounters prey it can strike up to 12 times, each time delivering enough neuro and cardio-toxic venom to kill a dozen men within 1 hour. Without anti-venom, the mortality rate is 100%.

Cobra bites are fatal in about 10% of human cases. it's because of their VENOM that acts as a defense mechanism and also a way by having their pray or food be caught.

Any of several highly venomous Elapids snakes that expand their neck ribs to form a hood. They are found in warm regions of Africa, Australia, and Asia. Cobras feed primarily on small vertebrates. The Indian cobra (Naja naja) kills several thousand people annually, mostly because it enters houses to catch rats. The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the world's largest venomous snake, often more than 12 ft (3.5 m) long. Some African cobras can spit their venom more than 6 ft (1.8 m). Cobras are favourites of snake charmers, who, by their movements rather than their music, tease the deaf snakes into assuming the upreared defense posture.

Any of several highly venomous Elapids snakes that expand their neck ribs to form a hood. They are found in warm regions of Africa, Australia, and Asia. Cobras feed primarily on small vertebrates. The Indian cobra (Naja naja) kills several thousand people annually, mostly because it enters houses to catch rats. The king cobra (Ophiophagus hannah) is the world's largest venomous snake, often more than 12 ft (3.5 m) long. Some African cobras can spit their venom more than 6 ft (1.8 m). Cobras are favourites of snake charmers, who, by their movements rather than their music, tease the deaf snakes into assuming the upreared defense posture.

The Cape Cobra (Naja nivea) has a powerful venom and is one of the deadliest snakes in Southern Africa. Cape Cobras grow to an average of around 4 feet. Cape Cobras are particularly dangerous because they tend to be nervous and aggressive. Without treatment, the mortality rate in humans is 60% and death normally occurs 2-5 hours after being bitten, usually as a result of respiratory failure due to the onset of paralysis. The Cape Cobra is a beautiful looking snake some are yellow, some copper/mahogany colored and some are purplish/black. The Cape Cobra loves to hunt for rodents and can climb trees to raid weaver bird colonies. The Cape Cobra is common throughout dry regions in Southern Africa.

A Nightingale Is A Poet Who Sings In Darkness To Cheer The Solitude

Apart from its habitat, dietary habits, temperament and life span, you might not know much about a nightingale. In fact, there are a few facts about them that you might not have heard about:
 　　
* The term nightingale stands for "night songstress". According to this, one might assume that it is the female bird that sings. However, in reality, it is the opposite. The high-pitched melodious voice is actually of the male.

* At the time of when the egg hatches, a male nightingale will stop singing. It does this in order to avoid gaining any attention towards itself and its kids. However, it may whisper little chirps to the female to let it know of their safety or any potential danger.

* It is very difficult to differentiate a male nightingale from a female. This is because the differences in between them are too slight to be noticeable. The male has slightly a yellowish, brown upper part, goes reddish near the head, and goes even darker around the main feathers. As for the lower part, it has a gray-white streak which extends till the tail. The female, on the other hand, is a little smaller in size. However, it has the same colors of the feathers. Moreover, it does not stand as straight as the male, and has smaller eyes than the male.

They are a road map that point you in the right direction. Each message is filled with instruction, right down to the very last detail, providing you with insights and ways on how to escape from your current state of misery.

You can change all this if you decide to visit the Cotswold Water Park for a Cotswold break towards the end of April. On Wednesday 28th April there will be a special event in the park which will bring you closer to the lesser spotted nightingale.

The event is called the Nightingale Symphony, which should go a long way towards telling you what to expect on the night. The event starts at half past seven in the evening, so you will have all day to enjoy the delights of the Cotswolds before going along to enjoy this event. The Cotswold Water Park website states that advance booking is necessary, since only a small number of people will be able to attend. This makes sense as too many people could frighten the birds off and make it impossible to hear them sing.

The nightingale is slightly larger than the European Robin, at 15–16.5 cm (5.9–6.5 in) length. It is plain brown above except for the reddish tail. It is buff to white below. Sexes are similar. The eastern subspecies L. m. hafizi and L. m. africana have paler upperparts and a stronger face-pattern, including a pale supercilium.

Nightingales are named so because they frequently sing at night as well as during the day. The name has been used for well over 1,000 years, being highly recognizable even in its Anglo-Saxon form – 'nightingale'. It means 'night songstress'. Early writers assumed the female sang when it is in fact the male. The song is loud, with an impressive range of whistles, trills and gurgles. Its song is particularly noticeable at night because few other birds are singing. This is why its name includes "night" in several languages. Only unpaired males sing regularly at night, and nocturnal song is likely to serve to attract a mate. Singing at dawn, during the hour before sunrise, is assumed to be important in defending the bird's territory. Nightingales sing even more loudly in urban or near-urban environments, in order to overcome the background noise. The most characteristic feature of the song is a loud whistling crescendo, absent from the song of Thrush Nightingale. It has a frog-like alarm call.

During the Romantic era the bird's symbolism changed once more: poets viewed the nightingale not only as a poet in his own right, but as “master of a superior art that could inspire the human poet”. For some romantic poets, the nightingale even began to take on qualities of the muse. Coleridge and Wordsworth saw the nightingale more as an instance of natural poetic creation: the nightingale became a voice of nature. John Keats' "Ode to a Nightingale" pictures the nightingale as an idealized poet who has achieved the poetry that Keats longs to write. Invoking a similar conception of the nightingale, Shelley wrote in his “A Defense of Poetry".

"A poet is a nightingale who sits in darkness and sings to cheer its own solitude with sweet sounds; his auditors are as men entranced by the melody of an unseen musician, who feel that they are moved and softened, yet know not whence or why."

Prepare An Owl Box For An Owl And Let It Inhabit Where You Live

The owl is among the most skilled of bird predators in the world. You won't find many birds that are more interesting.Many people are surprised to find out that owls cannot see in color. They see things around them in black, white, and shades of grey. In addition, the eyes of owls are fixed in their head. This means that, if they want to see from side to side, they have to literally rotate their head. As luck would have it, they can do this better than any other bird. It is estimated that owls can rotate their heads as much as 3/4 of a turn. This lets them virtually see 360 degrees around themselves by moving their head alone. Furthermore, each of their eyes move independent from the other. This gives them the unusual ability to simultaneously monitor and focus on 2 items of interest at the same time.

One of the main thing that owls are famous for is their impressive stealth hunting abilities. They primarily dine on tiny mammals, from time to time other birds, and field mice and other rodents. Its wings are formed in such a way that they dampen sounds in flight. This means that they can be remarkably silent when they attack. Prey often depends, to an extent, on sounds to give them warning of an impending attack. But, due to its stealth flight capabilities, the owl's prey often never know an attack is coming until it's too late.

Nature is one way which will help to make people feel much more alive. By getting close to nature, many feel that problems in everyday life can melt away - or at least be viewed in a greater perspective. The sound of the birds singing, or small animals scurrying around you whilst sitting in the great outdoors can be a truly comforting experience. In order to bring this to your home people could build a sanctuary for wildlife within their own back garden. This way, from the comfort of the home, you are able to sit and relax with a cup of tea and get pleasure from observing birds as well as other wildlife come and go.


With the increase in the number of fast-moving vehicles and the simultaneous development of road building technology, roadside bird mortality has become an increasingly important environmental issue. 554 owls of four species, namely Marsh Owls, the Red Data listed Grass Owl, Barn Owl and the Spotted Eagle Owl were collected on the stretches of the R550 and N17 roads in the rural areas between Springs and Devon in the East Rand of Gauteng Province during the period between October 2001 and September 2003. It was found that higher traffic speeds definitely having an increasingly detrimental effect on the owl mortalities. Weather conditions also play a role in mortality counts, with the mortalities being significantly negatively correlated to rainfall. Gravel roads had very low incidences of owl mortalities with the highest mortalities recorded along tarmac roads that are bordered by open grasslands or cattle grazing paddocks. Another factor influencing the road mortalities of the owls is grain that is spilled on the road during transport. This initially seemed to be the major factor in attracting granivorous rodents to the roads, and in turn, attracting the owls to prey on them.

So, if you're a wildlife enthusiast and are aware of owls that currently inhabit the location where you live, perhaps an owl box is a perfect solution to entice yet more wildlife to your garden! You too could enjoy the wonderful sight of owls in your garden as well as the pleasure of watching them grow as well as perhaps even have young. An owl box is a fantastic way to get to see more wildlife whilst feeling relaxed and refreshed as well - you too could feel your problems disappear as you watch the spectacular beauty of the owl!