Buffalo

True Wild Life | Buffalo | The buffalo is also known as the African buffalo and the cape buffalo, as the buffalo is found in large herds across Africa but the buffalo is more prominent in South Africa. Although the buffalo and water buffalo (found in Asia) look very similar it not thought that the buffalo and the water buffalo are closely related. The African forest buffalo is a subspecies of the African buffalo but the forest buffalo is about half the size of the standard buffalo.

The African buffalo is one of the most successful grazers in Africa. The buffalo inhabits swamps and floodplains as well as the grasslands and forests of the major mountains of Africa. Buffalo can be found from the highest mountains to sea level areas, and the buffalo tends to prefer habitat with dense cover such as reeds and thickets. Herd of buffalo have also been found in open woodland and grassland.

Other than the human, the African buffalo has no real natural predators as the buffalo is able to easily defend itself using the buffalos sheer size and power. Lions, crocodiles, leopards and hyena are all amongst those animals that prey on the buffalo although they are usually only successful in catching the buffalo in large numbers.

The buffalo has a very unpredictable nature which, along with the size of the buffalo, makes the buffalo a severe threat to humans. There are numerous buffalo attacks on humans every year and the buffalo is thought to be one of the most dangerous animals in Africa behind the hippo and the crocodile. Because of this the African buffalo has not been domesticated unlike the water buffalo in Asia.  

Budgerigar

True Wild Life | Budgerigar | The budgerigar is a small colourful bird native to Australia. The budgerigar is thought to be a sub-species of parrot, making the budgerigar one of the smallest parrot species in the world. The budgerigar is often called a parakeet or a budgie and the budgie is one of the most popular birds to keep as pets, both in outside aviaries and in cages in homes. Budgerigars are thought to be popular pets due to their small size and brightly coloured feathers.

The budgerigar is a very sociable bird and budgies can been seen gathering in large flocks in trees and scrub land in the Australian wilderness. Pet budgerigars should always be kept at least with one other budgerigar to prevent them from getting lonely. The wild budgerigar tends to feed on grass seeds and occasional insects. Budgies are known to be very easy animals to sex. Male budgies and female budgies can be identified by the colour of their nose. The male budgerigar has a blue nose while the female budgie's nose is brown in colour.

Budgerigars are known to be very hardy little creatures and if a budgie becomes ill in the wild, the budgie will try to conceal it as long as possible so as not to appear weak and vulnerable to potential predators. The main predators of the wild budgerigar are snakes and birds of prey such as hawks. Wild budgerigars have also been known to be hunted by local natives mainly for their brightly coloured feathers which are then used in tribal costumes. The average lifespan of a wild budgerigar is thought to be around 5 years but budgerigars have been known to live much longer in captivity, some get to nearly 20 years old! The average lifespan of a pet budgie is between 8 and 10 years.

Budgerigars are one of the few bird species that do not build nests and female budgerigars will therefore find a hole in a tree in which to lay their eggs. The female budgerigar lays around 5 or 6 eggs, that hatch in around 3 weeks. The budgie chicks are looked after by their mother and reach full adulthood when they are roughly 9 months old. The budgerigar is a very vocal animal and the song of the budgie is also quite loud. Budgerigars use their voices to communicate with one another as they are very sociable animals.

Brown Bear

 

True Wild Life | Brown Bear | Brown Bears are found in many parts of North America and Eurasia, where the bears inhabit wooded and mountainous areas. The brown bear is also the national animal for a number of states in North America, Europe and Asia. Brown bears tend to feed on vegetation, fish and small land mammals, but the bears will only occasionally hunt bigger mammals like deer. Brown bears dont seem to be a great threat towards humans, although the mother brown bears will protect their young bear cubs.

Brown bears generally grow to about 2 - 3m tall, looking enormous when the bear stands on its hind legs. Brown bears have sadly been the target of taxidermists over the years resulting in the brown bear population declining. Today there is more in the way of Animal Rights meaning that the brown bear population can grow once again. The brown bear is one of the largest species of bear with only the grizzly bear and the polar bear getting to bigger sizes. Both the grizzly bear and the polar bear however, are distant sub-species of the brown bear that have today adapted to living in a different environment.

The brown bear is an extremely dominant predator in its environment, with only threats from human hunters posing any real dominance over the brown bears predatory rights. The brown bear has an enormous muscle between the brown bears shoulder blades that makes the brown bear stand out above other bear species. The enormous shoulder muscle that the brown bear has means that the brown bear has immensely strong forearms and allows the bear to break animal bones with one simple swipe. The brown bear has massive paws with claws that can grow longer than 15cm in length.

There are thought to be around 200,000 brown bear individuals left in the wild over half of which are found in Russia. Around 95% of the brown bear population found in the USA is in the northernmost state of Alaska. Most of the brown bears that inhabit regions of Canada are found in the west of the country in the Rocky Mountain range.

Bottlenose Dolphin

True Wild Life | Bottlenose Dolphin | Bottlenose Dolphins are the most common and well-known type of dolphin. Bottlenose dolphins are found inhabiting warm seas worldwide. Bottlenose dolphins are grey in colour and grow between 2 and 4 meters long. These dolphins typically stay in groups from 15 to 2,000 in number, meaning that bottlenose dolphins can often be found in large groups. Dolphins are thought to be one of the more intelligent animals of the mammal world, along with bigger primates and humans. Dolphins are thought to communicate to other dolphins through a series of clicking sounds.

Bottlenose dolphins generally have a good relationship with humans and due to their intelligence, bottlenose dolphins have been trained by military forces for tasks such as locating sea mines or detecting and marking enemy divers. In some areas the bottlenose dolphins have been known to help the local fishermen by driving fish towards the fishermen and then eating the fish that escape the fishermens nets. Some interactions with humans however are harmful to the dolphins as people hunt bottlenose dolphins for food, and dolphins are often killed by accident when there is mass tuna fishing.

Bottlenose dolphins are generally known to have a calm and playful temperament, particularly around humans. As individuals, bottlenose dolphins are not aggressive by nature but if they feel threatened, bottlenose dolphins will use their immense pod size to their advantage which will often intimidate unwanted intruders.