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Lions (Panthera leo) aren’t always on top.. Like a scene out of the Lion King, cape buffaloes (Syncerus caffer) have been known to charge lions, whether it be out of spite or panic. Curved horns with a bad temper makes them some of the most dangerous animals in Africa. In fact, some people say their life motto is “attack first, question later.” When a pride of lions decides to prey on some of these bovine, it’s not rare for at least one lion to be seriously injured or even killed. A majority of the time, charges occur out of fear of being eaten.. But a few cases have happened where the buffalo attempt to stampede on the lions due to a loss of young, or dominant male… But lions have done the same, hunting after these unfortunate ungulates as a protein rich source of food. A mother has even ravaged the strongest male in a group of buffalo before out of pure spite. The male had rammed his horns into the back of her cub, snapping his back like a twig. In turn, she decided to get revenge. You could call this the War of the Serengeti, a never ending battle between these two species. Or, you know, the circle of life.
Unlike other shark species that stick to either fresh or saltwater, bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) manage to thrive in both. They’ve specialized their ability of osmoregulation, or the ability of an organism to maintain its body. Since all fish, fresh and saltwater alike, have to osmoregulate, bull sharks have figured out how to adjust theirs to all salinity levels. An external and internal environment is separated by a membrane where substances can move. For fish, this is skin. If the internal has more water than the external, and vice versa, water will move from the highest concentration area to the lowest. So marine animals must prevent dehydration, whereas freshwater animals must reserve their salt levels.Bull sharks have managed to balance these processes out. Urea and other salty substances normally stabilize based on the environment, which is controlled by the kidneys. By regulating the amount of salt released from the kidneys, the bull shark can adjust and balance by releasing less salt and more urea based on the water. Since people often spend time in estuaries and rivers where bull sharks lurk, encounters with them are often surprised and unexpected; Especially when they were found 2,000 miles upstream in the Amazon River! Photo credit: wirodive
mothernaturenetwork: Fin whale’s big gulp aided by newly discovered organThe size of a grapefruit, the newly discovered organ is full of nerves that detect changes in ocean pressure to let whales know when to open their mouths.
Axolotls (Ambystoma mexicanum) are arguably one of the cutest amphibians ever. They’re actually salamanders that have a rare ability to keep their larval features throughout their entire adult life.. This means, unlike most salamanders, they don’t go through metamorphosis. The ‘condition’ is called neoteny. Endemic to Xochimilco’s lakes and canals, they live permanently in water. Perhaps the weirdest of this species actually progress to maturity enough to emerge from the water, but that’s extremely rare. Captive  species are normally albino or white, like pictured above, but in the wild black and mottled brown are common as well. Mollusks, worms, insect larvae, crustaceans, and sometimes the unlucky fish find their ways into the stomach of axolotls. Natural (and not so natural) threats include birds like heron and large fish that have been introduced to the lake.. Since naturally, axolotls are the top predators in the area, large fish are quite a threat. More threats include people considering the roasted version of these little critters delicacies, and pollution from Mexico City makes it just that much harder on their survival. Maybe this is why they’re critically endangered! Photo credit: heytina!
cog-nito: Happy World Turtle Day! Loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) are the most common species of sea turtle found in the Sunshine State. Loggerheads can be seen hundreds of miles out to sea as well as in inland bay, marshes, lagoons, and creeks. Their range extends throughout the temperate and tropical regions of the Atlantic, Pacific, and Indian oceans. Individuals can grow to 1.5 meters long and weigh up to 158 kilograms. The turtle’s name comes from its large beaked head. From May throughout August, thousands of female loggerheads travel to large nesting beaches throughout Florida to lay their eggs. Once a female chooses a nesting site, she digs a pit and then deposits 95-130 eggs into the pit. Next she covers the nest with sand to hide it from potential predators. When the hatchlings emerge from their nests, they use the moonlight reflected off the water to navigate their way into the surf. This is an ideal time for birds or raccoons to pluck these tiny reptiles from the beach and into their hungry mouths. Scientists are still decoding the mystery behind the synchronized hatchings, and believe that the turtles communicate with each other prior to hatching. In 1978 the loggerhead turtle was classified as a threatened species. In 2002 the Northern and Florida Panhandle loggerhead was placed on the endangered species list, and in 2004 the amount of loggerhead nests established dropped by about 50%. Scientists suspect climate change has led to less food (like shrimp, crabs, algae) for the turtles. Female turtles nest every 2-5 years, and if there isn’t enough food, they delay nesting for an extra year.  The decline in nests may also be attributed to the imbalance in the male and female loggerhead population. Changes in sand temperature affect the loggerhead population by altering the gender ratio. When sand temperature is greater than 29° C, most turtle hatchlings will be female. Below 29°C, most hatchlings will be male. During the summer, beaches in south Florida  get so hot that female loggerhead turtle hatchlings significantly outnumber the male hatchlings.  There are many threats facing loggerhead turtles. Commercial fishing causes turtles to get caught in nets and drown, coastal development means fewer nesting areas, artificial beachfront lighting messes with the hatchling’s moon GPS system, mechanical raking and use of vehicles on beaches result in fewer hatchlings, heavy boat traffic adds up to turtles being struck by boat propellors, and the addition of trees or tall buildings to beachfronts signifies a change in sand temperature. These are all severely impacting turtle populations worldwide, but luckily, there are a few things you can do to help! Keep beaches clean- pick up your trash and any trash you find lying around. Don’t disturb sea turtle nesting sites and inform others to do so as well. Avoid unnecessary night-light; the moon can handle it! Try not to release balloons into the air, especially if you’re near a coast, because sea turtles can mistake balloons for jellyfish and choke on them. And finally, volunteer with a turtle rescue, rehab, and release program and spread the word about turtle conservation! Two of my favorites are Gumbo Limbo and Loggerhead Marine Life Centre. Let’s make sure loggerheads and sea turtles alike are around for future turtle generations to come!  Photo found here. 
ichthyologist: Mahi-mahi (Coryphaena hippurus) Also known as the dolphin fish, mahi-mahi are one amongst the fastest growing fish. Males and females are sexually mature in their first year, usually by 4-5 months old. Spawning can occur at body lengths of 20 cm. Females may spawn two to three times per year, and produce between 80,000 and 1,000,000 eggs per event.
Moray eels (family Muraenidae) have a hidden weapon that’s always ready for fire. They’ve got two sets of jaws.. Less is more doesn’t seem to apply here, eh? Their first set of jaws, clearly visible with an open mouth, are lined with piercing teeth curved backwards working to prevent prey from backing out of the mouth. As if this wasn’t terrifying enough for the prey, a second toothy set of jaws, called the pharyngeal jaws, lunge forward to snap and drag the prey into the esophagus for digestion. Located behind the eel’s skull, they can advance almost to the full length of this skull. Although they’re not the only animal with two sets of jaws, the moray is the only known vertebrate using this unique innovation in such a successful way, making them possibly one of the most fearsome predators in the sea. 
Placoid scales.. Dermal denticles… Either way, they’re the same scales covering just about all elasmobranchs. I’m sure you’ve heard before rubbing your skin one way on a shark makes it smooth, but the other is rough like sand paper. These babies are the reason why! Resembling scales, they’re basically specialized teeth covering the skin, covered in a hard enamel. Like our teeth, there is an inner core of pulp, made up of connective tissues and other various things, covered by a layer of dentine, and then vitrodentine, working as the enamel in our teeth. Since they’re packed together pretty tight on the skin, and grow backwards, it has a hydrodynamic function for sharks and ensures some amount of safety from predators as well. As the elasmobranch grows, the denticles grow with it.. Unlike scales, they’ll stop growing once they reach a certain size, and will instead increase in density of the dermal denticles.  Photo credit: Sea Moon
Whenever the thomson’s gazelle (Gazella thomsonii) is mentioned, they’re often imagined running at top speed. Their bouncing leaps are called stotting, or pronking, and often spend their life doing this to run from predators. It’s quite a sight to see a lion pouncing after a herd of these, ranging anywhere from ten to seven hundred! Clocking at speeds of 40 miles per hour (64 km) makes them not only nimble and beautiful, but great at dashing away. Unfortunately, their attractively ringed horns make them great game animals for hunters. Photo credit: Partha C
Most sharks are cold-blooded, or poikilotherms. But the family Lamnidae have managed to adapt and became homeothermic. This means they can keep a warmer body temperature than the surrounding water, benefiting these sharks in various ways. Swimming powers are rapidly enhanced with an increase in temperature, allowing their muscle tissues to contract at an efficient rate due to chemical reactions. Unlike their poikilotherm relatives, homeothermic sharks can also integrate into colder regions without facing many consequences. The warmth produced by sharks can be credited to both their specialized circulatory systems and possibly even their liver. The liver processes chemicals, which in turn produces prodigious quantities of waste heat. The rete mirabile is a parallel network of arteries and veins that allows lamnids to be more active predators by passing the heat from warm blood in the gills to cold blood from the arteries, retaining heat.  Photo credit
lindentea: Tyto species chart by *busbyart
Happy Save the Frogs Day! One of twelve frogs found by scientists last year was this unique amphibian called the Meowing Night Frog (Nyctibatrachus poocha). They have a unique call that sounds more like a cat than a frog, hence the name. The genus Nyctibatrachus is famous for having survived with the dinosaurs, and completes breeding without any physical contact between males and females. Another species of frog known as the Jog Night Frog (Nyctibatrachus jog) is known for the polite male frogs carrying out and sharing duties to care for offspring with the female frogs.
Unprovoked alligator attacks are almost unheard of. There are often a series of events built up to the attack that are likely avoidable. And most of the time, it’s humans at blame, not the gator. We often think of feeding alligators as a ‘harmless’ act, but it’s just the very opposite. It desensitizes them from humans and sees them as a source of food rather than a fearsome threat. Or maybe we approach a momma’s nesting site a little bit too close for comfort. Here’s some ways to avoid upsetting a gator; and remember you’re entering their territory, not the other way around. A common sense thought: Almost any canal or lake in an area where gators are native.. Could contain a gator! So try & avoid swimming in them, and your chances of attack are slim to nothing. Be aware! Gators are stealthy predators, so look out for the key signs: Eyes peering out of the water, even their snouts; or the little wake marks after they go under! And please, please, please, avoid dangling your feet over water. If you see a gator, leave! Chances are it sees you too. Unless it’s really close, I would suggest maintaining the same distance at all times.  Don’t feed alligators! Along with the facts mentioned above, they’re quick as lightning if they catch a whiff of good food. Yes, this does (especially) include marshmallows.  Clearly, don’t provoke them. Whether it’s trying to touch them with your hands, throwing rocks at them, or poking them with sticks.. You’re just begging to be attacked. Don’t be at bodies of water during sunset or sunrise. This is key hunting time for gators, and you’re not excluded from the menu. Even if it’s rare to be killed by a gator, we can’t forget they are apex predators! Know the time for mating season. Typically it’s between May and June, and you don’t wanna be near a male gator when all they can think about is food and sex. And if you are attacked.. Try and get at their eyes, jam your fingers in their nose, or hammer their snout.. Honestly, I’ve never done this personally so I don’t know how it works.. Hopefully, you never have to find out. Do not let the gator bring you to the water! This is where they’re especially talented at death rolls and drowning prey, which is the last thing  you want to happen. If only bitten, seek medical attention. Gator bites are infamous for getting  infected.  Photo credit: Michael-Ann 
zoo-logic: A recent study has shown that the domestic horse (Equus caballus) can recognise familiar humans through the senses of sight, smell and voice, and are able to use these independently to identify an individual even if one or two senses are compromised. This suggests that they build a multi-modal descriptive identity for familiar people in the brain. So be sure, if you go out to the field to bring in your horse and they carry on grazing regardless of your calls and your approach - as any horse person no doubt will have experienced - they know exactly who you are, but are choosing to ignore you with every one of their senses!Ref: Lampe J. F. & Andre J., 2012. Cross-modal recognition of human individuals in domestic horses (Equus caballus). Animal Cognition Online First [link] 
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