Favorite non-domesticated animals thread.

[Effluo]

I am at work right now on lunch, so can't post anymore vids...but can relay a story. I was pressure washing the patios that lead into the barn on the side where the elephants hang out sometimes. One of the girls comes up and sees me pressure washing. No big deal, they tend to watch when we are doing things out of the ordinary. She makes an odd squeak noise...goes and gets a trunk full of water out of the automatic waterer about 30 ft away...then comes back and makes a long loud rumble 'till I look up at her. She then sticks her trunk out and sprays herself in the face and along her head. She repeats this about 3 times before looking at me like I'm retarded and walking into the woods. I find out later that our boss sprays her with the mist from the pressure washer when he does it and she was trying to show me what to do. Trying to teach me like she would an infant. That just blew me away.

I think an elephant said you're dumb. Very cool.

[Devia]

These things fascinate me.

[Zeb]

http://bigyellowtaxi.files.wordpress...8/11/liger.jpg

It's pretty much my favorite animal. It's like a lion and a tiger mixed... bred for its skills in magic.

[Chun Liroy]

Not my favorite but they are pretty cool.

http://www.thestranger.com/images/bl...ie_cutters.gif

The name "cookiecutter shark" refers to its feeding habit of gouging round plugs, like a cookie cutter, out of larger animals. Marks made by cookiecutter sharks have been found on a wide variety of marine mammals and fishes, as well as on submarines, undersea cables, and even human bodies. It also consumes whole relatively smaller prey such as squid. Cookiecutter sharks have adaptations for hovering in the water column and likely rely on stealth and subterfuge to capture more active prey. Its dark collar seems to mimic the silhouette of a small fish, while the rest of its body blends into the downwelling light via its ventral photophores. When a would-be predator approaches the lure, the shark attaches itself using its suctorial lips and specialized pharynx and neatly excises a chunk of flesh using its bandsaw-like set of lower teeth. This species has been known to travel in schools.

During the 1970s, several U.S. Navy submarines were forced back to base for repairs by cookiecutter shark bites to the neoprene boots of their AN/BQR-19 sonar domes, which caused the sound-transmitting oil inside to leak and impaired navigation. An unknown enemy weapon was initially feared before this shark was identified as the culprit, and the problem solved by installing fiberglass covers around the domes.[17][24] In the 1980s, some thirty U.S. Navy submarines were damaged by cookiecutter shark bites, mostly to the rubber-sheathed electric cable leading to the sounding probe used to ensure safety when surfacing in shipping zones. Again, the solution was to apply a fiberglass coating.[25] Oceanographic equipment and telecommunications cables have also been damaged by this species.[3][17]

Bitches fucking eat submarines. Seconding the Viper Fish, Zanz good choice

[Rhyis.]

It's pretty much my favorite animal. It's like a lion and a tiger mixed... bred for its skills in magic.

http://images1.wikia.nocookie.net/__...c3/Heman83.jpg

[Moss]

Pistol shrimp, similar to mantis shrimp. This excerpt is like HOLY SHIT:

The snapping shrimp competes with much larger animals like the Sperm Whale and Beluga Whale for the title of 'loudest animal in the sea'. The animal snaps a specialized claw shut to create a cavitation bubble that generates acoustic pressures of up to 80 kPa at a distance of 4 cm from the claw. As it extends out from the claw, the bubble reaches speeds of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) and releases a sound reaching 218 decibels.[8] The pressure is strong enough to kill small fish.[9] It corresponds to a zero to peak pressure level of 218 decibels relative to one micropascal (dB re 1 μPa), equivalent to a zero to peak source level of 190 dB re 1 μPa at the standard reference distance of 1 m. Au and Banks measured peak to peak source levels between 185 and 190 dB re 1 μPa at 1 m, depending on the size of the claw.[10] Similar values are reported by Ferguson and Cleary.[11] The duration of the click is less than 1 millisecond.

The snap can also produce sonoluminescence from the collapsing cavitation bubble. As it collapses, the cavitation bubble reaches temperatures of over 5,000 K (4,700 °C).[12] In comparison, the surface temperature of the sun is estimated to be around 5,800 K (5,500 °C). The light is of lower intensity than the light produced by typical sonoluminescence and is not visible to the naked eye. It is most likely a by-product of the shock wave with no biological significance. However, it was the first known instance of an animal producing light by this effect. It has subsequently been discovered that another group of crustaceans, the mantis shrimp, contains species whose club-like forelimbs can strike so quickly and with such force as to induce sonoluminescent cavitation bubbles upon impact.[13]

The snapping is used for hunting (hence the alternative name "pistol shrimp"), as well as for communication. When feeding, the shrimp usually lies in an obscured spot, such as a burrow. The shrimp then extends its antennae outwards to determine if any fish are passing by. Once it feels movement, the shrimp inches out of its hiding place, pulls back its claw, and releases a "shot" which stuns the prey; the shrimp then pulls it to the burrow and feeds.

Also someone needs to put a caption on the cookiecutter shark picture.

[Jefe]

http://www.theanimalfiles.com/images/jaguar_2.jpg

http://www.towie.com/html_editor/upl...anther_000.jpg

http://tigresdebengala.com/wp-conten...de-Bengala.jpg

[Hatedregret]

While I love big cats, and ligers are truly huge, they are made to suffer by even existing ; ;



The Problem with Hybridization: Why Mating Lions and Tigers is a Bad Thing
Ligers and tigons represent inter-species mating. Unlike a cross between a Siberian tiger and a Bengal tigress, the genetic differences between lions and tigers are diverse. So what's the difference? After all, they're both cats, right?

Wrong. In addition to low fertility (and possible sterility in males), birth defects, and shorter lifespans, ligers and tigons offer nothing toward preserving their parents' species. Lions are vulnerable to extinction, while tigers are critically endangered, with some sub-species, like the South China tiger, functionally extinct. According to Geocites.com, the smaller womb of the lioness that is bred with a tiger cannot always sustain the growing cub, leading to stillborn or premature birth, health issues, or the need for surgery. Infants and adults alike are prone to illness and cancer.

These animals likely do not mate in the wild, given that tigers live in Asia and lions primarily live in Africa. A lion population does inhabit India's Gir Forest but not where tigers roam. As noted by one zoo official in Mott's article, "[a]ccredited zoos frown on the practice of mixing two different species and have never bred ligers." Per Mott's article, "'[c]rossing the species line' does not generally occur in the wild, because 'it would result in diminished fitness of the offspring.'" (quoting Ronald Tilson, Minnesota Zoo's Director of Conservation)

Born in captivity, ligers and tigons are not to blame for their existence. They are magnificent creatures in their own right, and existing animals should be treasured. But from a conservationist standpoint, their breeding limits breeding and resources necessary to preserve dying tiger sub-species. And since breeding them with each other or with tigers and lions often doesn't work (and creates even weirder animal names like the ti-tigon and the ti-liger), concentration, effort, and resources should be spent on saving existing species before creating new ones.

[Kael]

For insects, the Japanese Giant Hornet is pretty awesome.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_giant_hornet

and also, the Bullet Ant

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraponera

[Chun Liroy]

Somehow I highly doubt that moss.

[Quixon]

Somehow I highly doubt that moss.

It's actually true. I'm good friend's with internationally recognized "head hancho" on stomatopod research, Dr. Roy Caldwell. These mantis shrimp are literally, this man's life work.


Here's a website with some more info on them. Not as sensational as the above info, but pretty interesting.

http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/arthrop...raca/royslist/

[Quixon]

I was also at the Bronx Zoo a couple weekends ago. Here's a pic of the new lion cubs they have there:

Spoiler: show

http://i50.photobucket.com/albums/f3...dthings557.jpg

[Kiro]

Glow Worm




Peregrine Falcon (Fucker does multiple barrel rolls.) & Gos Hawk




Great White Shark




Orca.

[Klutz]

You guys can't even handle the awesome power of the giraffe. Just look at those fucking necks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7HCIGFdBt8

[Blarg]

I was surprised this video wasn't posted with the talk about the smart crows.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dbwRHIuXqMU

bunch of other vids of crows using tools but that above video was the first one I saw a few years ago.

[zoobernut]

http://i6.photobucket.com/albums/y21...ld/sigcat2.jpg

I mean look at it. It is so majestic and awesome.

[Blarg]

no one can domesticate enormokitty

[zoobernut]

Not while it is hanging out with Tigers and vicious ducks.

[Nirokun!]

I always loved animals (and bugs and flowers and things outside, NEVER SPORTS FUCK SPORTS) and seconding the notion of the awsomesauce platypus and elephants. Always a big fan of birds, too, especially parrots and hummingbirds

[Caiyuo]

Awesome thread idea.

I'd normally say something along the lines of an awesome wolf or something, but I have 2 animal/creature/insects fresh in my mind that I was talking about in rlpics after watching a fuckton of BBC Life a few weeks ago, here they are, plus a bonus frog TOADDDD:

Pygmy Gecko: I think this guy is my favorite of the entire video series. This shit's amazing.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6UsKJUmq2A

Pebble Toad: I think this one is one of my favorites just because of how awesome he is and how hilarious his method of getting the fuck out is in this video. Can't stop myself from laughing @1:52

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tOmbooEY4x4

Darwin's Beetle: trying to explain why this beetle is awesome is better done by watching the video than any words I could come up with. Watch your beetle asses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vluNd9H08XA