Getting to know nature s little helpers!

Transcription

1 Getting to know nature s little helpers!

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3 An imprint of The Energy and Resources Institute The Energy and Resources Institute, 2011 First published in 2011 by The Energy and Resources Institute TERI Press Darbari Seth Block, IHC Complex, Lodhi Road, New Delhi , India Tel / , Fax: / India +91 Delhi (0)11 Website: ISBN ISBN (set of 6 titles) All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher. All export rights for this book vest exclusively with The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI). Unauthorized export is a violation of terms of sale and is subject to legal action. Author: Shruti Sharma Managing Editor: Anupama Jauhry Series Editors: Arshi Ahmad and Rupak Ghosh Technical Review: Soumitri Das Design: Priyabrata Roy Chowdhury Cover Illustration: Priyabrata Roy Chowdhury, Vijay Nipane, and Neeraj Riddlan Image Research: Yukti Garg Pre-press: Vijay Kumar Production Head: T Radhakrishnan Photo credits: Greater bulldog bat (pages 8 9): Gianfranco Gomez Hercules beetle (page 13): Jessie Kiesow Golden poison dart frog (page 17): Hannah C Francis Mugger (pages 18 19): Xavier Bayod Farré Goliath bird-eating spider (pages 20 21): John Anderson Great white shark (page 29): Richard Collins Printed and bound in India This book is printed on recycled paper.

4 The Energy and Resources Institute

5 A note from Dr R K Pachauri The world of animals and insects is truly wondrous. If we delve a little deeper, we will be amazed at the similarities between their ways and ours. In fact, at times their industriousness, skill, resourcefulness, and knowledge are awe-inspiring. This series focuses on the unique world of animals and insects, revealing their incredible habits and amazing skills. Ants that build colonies, worms that produce light, tiny polyps that build huge reefs under water these are just some of the myriad examples to show that nature never ceases to amaze. While revealing little-known facts and amazing secrets of the animal world, these books will entertain and enrich young minds. I hope that as they leaf through the pages, readers will also feel inspired to protect the beautiful world brought to life within these covers. More importantly, I look forward to these books making young readers realize that the world of animals is meant to be explored and appreciated rather than destroyed for selfish reasons. R K Pachauri Director-General, TERI Chairman, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

6 C ontents 6-7 Cheetah Mugger 8-9 Greater bulldog bat Goliath birdeating spider Hippopotamus Asian elephant Hercules beetle Star-nosed mole Grizzly bear Australian box jellyfish Golden poison dart frog Great white shark Words to remember

7 Name: Cheetah Secret weapon: Speed Home: Africa, Middle East, and South Central Asia Speed demon The cheetah belongs to the cat family, but is not as strong as its other cousins like lions and tigers. Unlike them, it cannot climb trees either. However, it covers up for the lack of strength with speed. The cheetah is the fastest mammal on earth. It can run at a speed of more than a hundred kilometres per hour. It can reach this speed starting from zero in three seconds, beating even superfast cars; but it can retain this speed only for a short while. Unlike other cats, the cheetah has claws that retract very little, giving it extra grip while running. All in a day s work Cheetahs were so popular that Akbar, a Mughal emperor of India, is believed to have kept 1,000 cheetahs as pets.

8 Run Like the Wind The cheetah is designed perfectly for speed slender body, long legs, a small head with high-set eyes, and small, flattened ears. It also has a small waist, a flexible spine that acts like a spring, and a long tail to help balance the body all of which add to its running abilities. The animal can cover nine metres in a single leap. To breathe more easily during a chase, a cheetah has large nostrils and an enlarged heart and lungs that work together to circulate oxygen efficiently. work squad nature s warriors Sunglasses? The cheetah has black tear marks that run from the corners of its eyes to the sides of its nose, right down to its mouth. This keeps the sunlight out of its eyes, helping it spot its prey easily. 6-7

9 Name: Greater bulldog bat Secret weapon: Fishing abilities Home: Parts of Central and South America Creature of the Night The greater bulldog bat is a nocturnal creature. It sleeps in caves, rocky crevices or hollow trees during the day and comes out only at night. Like other bats, it uses echolocation, a process in which it makes sounds and senses the echoes, judging the distance of an object or its prey by the echo. Fisher bat The greater bulldog bat is orangish-brown in colour and has very large legs and long, sharp claws that help it drag its prey through water. This bat has remarkable fishing abilities. It flies very low over water and uses echolocation to detect ripples made by the fish in water. Once it senses a ripple, it claws the fish out of the water and puts it in its mouth. It either eats the fish while flying or carries it in a pouch in its mouth to eat later. These bats have the habit of returning to places where they had successfully hunted before in the hope of finding more fish. work squad nature s warriors

10 Get out of my way! The greater bulldog bat uses echolocation for communication as well. While fishing, if two bats are flying close by, then one of them uses a particular call, or honk, signalling to the other to get out of the way in order to avoid collision. All in a day s work Bats have a very thin wing membrane, which is why they fly out only at night. If they fly during the day, excessive heat absorption could cause them to dehydrate or suffer a heatstroke. 8-9

11 Work Squad : Nature's Warriors 35% OFF Publisher : TERI Press ISBN : Author : Shruti Sharma Type the URL : Get this ebook