Animals usborne fact cards eng 2010

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Usborne Fact Cards ®

Animals When do pandas do handstands?

Why do porcupines eat sweaty T-shirts?

How do Nile crocodiles clean their teeth?

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Black mamba

These mambas are the most feared

reptiles in Africa They're fast, fierce

and extremely dangerous

Silvery skin tinged

with green or yellow Skin lighter underneath

Slithers up trees to hunt birds,

or warm itself in the sun ©

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® Deadly venom A bite from a black mamba

can killa person in twenty minutes Its venom brings down small animals almost instantly,

by paralyzing their hearts and lungs

° Speed king, Black mambas are the fastest snakes

in the world They can skim across the ground

as fast asa person can run

® Dark lining It’s called a black mamba because

the inside of its mouth

is inky black

sv Hatchlings As soon as they hatch,

black mambhas are ready to hunt small rats and other rodents 3

mamba rears up until its head is more than 1m (about 4ft) off the ground, then it shoots forward and lashes out with rapid bites

Essential facts - Size: 3.5m (11'/2ft) long

Lives in: S and W Africa Weight: 1.4kg (3lbs) Habitat: grasslands, woods Speed: 23kph (14mph)

Food: rats, birds, lizards Lifespan: 12 years

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Crocodile

One of the oldest creatures on Earth — around at the same

time as the dinosaurs

Teeth constantly being shed

and replaced — goes through e

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® Jaws Crocodiles have the most powerful jaws

of any animal in the world They bite 15 times harder than an angry Rottweiler dog

® Death toll Crocodiles eat more people than

any other animal — about 2,000 every year

® Powerful acid A crocodile’s stomach juices

are so strong they can dissolve steel nails

® Ambush Crocs lurk at

2 the water's edge and lunge

an onto the shore to seize their

ee rarely prey Even wildebeest have

=—= little chance of escape

° Toothpicks Nile crocodiles Egyptian

P over

open their mouths to allow Egyptian plovers to

hop inside The

little birds then

eat the food scraps stuck between the crocodiles’ teeth

Essential facts (Saltwater crocodile) Size: 7m (23ft) long

Lives in: Australia, SE Asia Weight: 550kg (1,200Ibs)

Habitat: swamps, rivers Speed: 24kph (15mph) in water

Food: fish, snakes, cattle Lifespan: 60 years

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Giant tortoise

Hard shell is made from the same Longest-lived

land animal in material asa

the world gf : fe » _ bird’s beak

_-ấ 2% - Has a small beak

Ế ¡J , and tough gums,

4 We ao” instead of teeth

Lives entirely on land — the closest

it comes to swimming is When it

wades in a stream to wash

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® Oldest The oldest giant tortoise on record was

25S years old When he died in 2006, he was 26 years older than the United States of America

* Babies Baby giant tortoises have a soft shell, and

make a tasty snack for birds, rats, crabs and cats ° Keeping safe A scared

tortoise tucks its head and legs under its shell, and nothing can tempt it out until it feels safe

* Temptation Giant “se

tortoises taste so delicious (wo xx

that it took 300 years to ES

peta live one brought to Š 5

England, because the sailors Ne

kept eating them on the way GX `

S° Neck-peckers When a giant tortoise

is feeling itchy, it stretches out its neck and little birds peck it clean of ticks

Essential facts Size: 14m (4'/2ft) long

Lives in: Indian, Pacific oceans Weight: 250kg (550lbs) NT

Habitat: tropical islands Špeed: 0.3kph (0.2mph) - Food: leaves, grass Lifespan: 150 years” i

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Brown rat

The world’s most common mammal,

living in almost every city, town and village on the planet Rats’ teeth never stop growing, so they gnaw on anything hard (even concrete) to

keep them short

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° Super rat Rats can swim non-stop for 72 hours, scale vertical walls, jump down 15m (soft) drops, and eat almost anything — even soap

<4

® Crop thief Every year, : fifth of all the world’s

crops are eaten by rats

® Scent trail Rats use urine as a marker They leave

it on everything they come across (including each other) to let other rats know where they ve been

® Breeding machine

A female rat can have 150 babies in her lifetime ~ and more than 10,000 grandchildren

free from rats: the polar ice caps, and Alberta in Canada Alberta has set upa specialist rat patrol to

guard its eastern border, and all its other borders are protected by impassable wildernesses

Essential facts

Lives in: almost everywhere Habitat: towns and cities Food: grain, waste food Predators: cats, foxes, dogs

Size: 25cm (10in) long

Weight: 400g (140z) Speed: 10kph (6mph)

Lifespan: 18 months

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Cape buffalo

Nicknamed ‘black death’

because they kill about Huge,

200 people a year hooked horns

Lives in herds near rivers

and lakes, and drinks about ®

five buckets of water a day @ ƒ

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° Huge horns Both males and females have horns The males’ join in the middle; the females’ don’t

Male “ee Female

® Big five Cape buffalo are one of the ‘big five’ — the

African animals most prized by hunters for the skill and bravery needed to bring one down The

others are lions, leopards, rhinos and elephants

e Mud bath Buffalo

roll in mud to keep

cool and protect

themselves from biting insects

a wounded cape buffalo sometimes sets up an ambush as a last resort It doubles back into the undergrowth and charges them as they walk past

Essential facts Size: 3.4m (11ft) long

Lives in: C and S Africa Weight: 900kg (2,000lbs)

Habitat: grasslands Speed: 55kph (35mph)

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Camel

All a camel’s fat is stored in its

hump, so the rest of its body keeps

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® One hump or two? Camels with one hump are called

dromedaries Two-hump camels are Bactrians

® Precious water Camels can last for weeks without

drinking, because they don’t waste a drop of water They very rarely sweat and their

urine can become as thick as syrup © Flexible jaw When a camel

chews, its lower jaw swings

wildly from side to side

ƒ © Camel spit If they xe

j) agitated, camels burp up

semi-digested food and We)

spit it at whatever's ⁄22 -/@x)\ (e

annoying them

® Catwalk camels

Camel beauty contests are held in

the Middle East every year Owners travel thousands of miles with their best-looking camels to take part

Essential facts (Dromedary) Size: 3m (10ft) long

Lives in: N Africa, Middle East Weight: 500kg (1,100lbs)

Habitat: deserts Speed: 50kph (30mph)

Food: plants, grass Lifespan: 45 years

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Giraffe Horns

World’s tallest animal,

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stench that drives away disease-ridden parasites This has earned them the nickname ‘stink bull?

® Ear cleaner Giraffes have ⁄? Í

long, dark blue tongues GLA

that they sometimes use NN aa : fl 7 4? ui to clean their ears j f j %, ee ~ Os » 2 VỆ, SF NS T77 Âu ⁄Z Sw — Sd

° High birth Giraffes

ive birth standin

up The baby drops 2m (7£t) onto the ground,

® Little sleep Giraffes only

poe leen £ le of h in 24

SR s cep 0T" 2a coup €o ours ln

° Fight! A giraffe’s head

weighs the same as a sack of potatoes When males

fight, they hang their heads

low, swing them like a mace

and strike such blows they

can knock a rival off his feet at sv Ke ZA \WWÄ> SẮC

Essential facts Size: 5m (16'/2ft) tall

Lives in: Africa Weight: 1,200kg (2,650lbs)

Food: acacia leaves Lifespan: 25 years

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® Relations Gorillas are one of our closest relatives

Like us, they show feelings of love, hate, fear, j joy;

jealousy, pride and shame They laugh when they are tickled and cry when they are sad

° Warning! If they feel threatened, gorillas beat their chests, tear up plants, then bellow and charge

° Dung-eaters Gorillas eat their own dung to get

every last bit of nutrition from their food

® Tools Gorillas have learned jee Ji

to use tools They place a WG 4

log across a swamp to make

a bridge, and use a stick to

fest the depth of a river * Sign language A gorilla

named Koko has been

taught to communicate

with people using sign +

language She calls herself a “fine animal person gorilla” and someone

she doesn't like a “dirty stupid toilet”

Essential facts Size: 1.7m (5'/2ft) tall

Lives in: C Africa Weight: 200kg (440lbs) Habitat: forests Speed: 40kph (25mph)

Food: fruit, plants Lifespan: 40 years

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Green anaconda

Largest type of snake in the world,

and made almost entirely of muscle

Nostrils and eye Sleek skin

on top of its head, so

it can lurk underwater ®

oe Ea

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® Snakelets Most snakes lay eggs, but anacondas give _ Swe

birth to between 20 7, Mn ee

and 30 live snakelets *' 72 ie ` HAG

® Record breaker The largest anaconda ever caught was 8.5m (28ft) long It weighed about

200kg (440]bs), and mmeasured 111cm (44in) around its middle

® Death squeeze, Anacondas coil around their prey: squeezing tighter each time it breathes out, until its lungs are squashed flat like empty balloons ° Open wide Anacondas have incredibly stretchy

jaws so they can swallow huge prey in one gulp

can keep an anaconda fed for a month

Essential facts Size: 6m (20ft) long

Lives in: S America Weight: 150kg (330lbs)

Habitat: rainforests Speed: 16kph (10mph) in water

Food: deer, boars, capybara Lifespan: 30 years

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Grizzly bear

Grizzly bears are the

second largest bear in the world, and the

most aggressive

/ Very sensitive nose Huge

(even better than shoulder

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* Incredible strength A grizzly’s

claws hit like sledgehammers and

slash like knives In California

in the 1850s, cage fights were put on between grizzlies and lions The bear would split the

lion’s skull with one swipe

® Speedy bear A grizzly bear can match a

racehorse stride for stride over 100m (3301)

* Nuts and leaves A grizzly’s diet ,

is 75% nuts, berries and leaves de La _ eee

° Fishing trips Every summer,

grizzly bears catch salmon

in the wide, clear rivers of Alaska and Canada ® Deep sleep During their

long sleep through winter, grizzlies don't eat, drink

or release any body waste

Lives in: N America Weight: 450kg (1,000Ibs)

Habitat: snowy forests Speed: 55kph (35mph)

Food: nuts, berries, leaves Lifespan: 25 years

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Hippopotamus

Skin on body is 4em (11⁄:in) thick,

and almost completely bulletproof

li

Spends most of the

day wallowing in

Oozes a pinkish lakes and rivers

liquid that stops it

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® Muck spreading Male hippos mark their

territory with dung, They swish their tails

like whirling propellers to spread it as far as possible

® Sea relatives Hippos are more closely related to

whales and dolphins than to any land mammal

® Wallowers A hippo’s eyes and nose

are on top of its head, so it can stand deep in the water and

still see what’s going on

® Back off! When hippos

‘yawn’ they re actually showing enemies their huge teeth, which grow 30cm (1£t) long

® African menace Hippos lose their temper very

quickly, and often without warning They kill

about 150 people each year, and have been known to overturn boats and tear into the passengers

Lives in: Africa Weight: 3,600kg (8,000Ibs)

Habitat: rivers, lakes Speed: 32kph (20mph)

Food: grass Lifespan: +5 years

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Honey badger Said to be the most fearless animal on the planet Wide head with powerful jaws a,

Thick, loose skin, so its body can twist

around inside it, letting the badger i

attack anything that tries to pin it down I

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® Not picky Honey badgers eat pretty much anything they can catch Their thick skin allows them to kill scorpions, venomous spiders and even black mamba snakes without getting hurt

° Honey thief Honey badgers love honey

They raid bees’ nests by letting loose a foul skunk-like smell that drives the bees away

® Bird guides Honey badgers

are led to bees’ nests by a honey

guide bird These birds like to eat beeswax, but aren't strong enough

to break into the nest themselves

Essential facts Lives in: Africa, SW Asia Habitat: scrublands, forests Food: rodents, lizards, snakes Predators: none

® Fast digger Honey badgers

blow down any holes they come across and listen for

i a startled rustle If they

a hear one, they start digging

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i aguar

Unlike most cats, jaguars have

no problem hunting in water

Looks similar to a leopard, but

rel

much more muscular, with bigger

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° Ambush Jaguars are

ambush specialists They attack from cover with a

quick and fatal pounce

® Awesome jaws A jaguar has the most powerful

bite of any big cat It can bite through a

turtle’s shell as if it were made of chocolate

° Heavy lifter Jaguars are incredibly strong, They can drag a dead bull along in their jaws ° Deadly The word ‘jaguar’ comes from a Native

American word meaning ‘he who kills with one

leap: Other cats kill their prey by biting through the throat, but a jaguar bites through the skull

Lives in: S America Weight: 120kg (265lbs) Habitat: rainforests Speed: 55kph (35mph)

Food: deer, boars, capybara Lifespan: 15 years

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King cobra

Detects things Flares its hood to nearby by flicking make itself look

outitstongueto oe » even bigger ‘taste’ the air Gì World’s largest

venomous snake — can rear up high enough to

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® Lethal venom One bite froma king cobra

injects enough venom to kill an elephant

mainly on other snakes, including

pythons and smaller cobras

® Snake charming King cobras

are used by snake charmers

in Burma The cobra becomes

so mesmerized by the swaying of their flute that the snake charmer can lean over and kiss it on the head

_———=—

° Striking distance A king cobra can strike a target 2m

A2 (7) away As it rears up, it

Sea AN sends outa low, chilling hiss

kì that sounds like a dog's s growl

Lives in: SE Asia Weight: 6.5kg (14Ibs)

Habitat: forests Speed: 10kph (6mph)

Food: snakes Lifespan: 20 years

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Koala Survives entirely on eucalyptus leaves

Strong claws grip

trees even when it’s asleep

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® Clingy Koala babies spend their first six months inside

a pouch on their mother’s

front, and the next six

clinging to her back ® Poison-leaves Eucalyptus

is poisonous to most animals, but a koala’s

digestive system filters out the dangerous chemicals

® Little thirst Koalas hardly ever

drink, because they get enough water from the leaves they eat

Ge nề vf ® Sleepy creatures Koalas Tah V4 sleep for twenty hours a day

y ® Tiny brain Koalas have one of

the smallest brains of any mammal

That’s because large brains need lots of energy, and eucalyptus leaves give hardly any at all

Essential facts Size: 75cm (30in) long

Lives in: Australia Weight: 9kz (20lbs)

Habitat: woods Speed: 3kph (2mph)

Food: eucalyptus leaves Lifespan: 16 years

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Komodo dragon

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® Lethal teeth Komodos have 60 teeth Each one

is 2.5cm (lin) long and jagged like a saw

® Cannibals Komodos eat their own babies,

so young komodos climb into the treetops where the adults can’t reach them

° Waiting game, Komodos ambush large prey and

attack it with savape bites Then they wait for their victim to collapse from the venom

° Gulp Komodos swallow smaller preys such as goats, whole If a carcass gets stuck part way, the dragon rams it against a tree to force it down

® Survival technique

Female komodos can give birth without mating, These

young are always male, and

the female can mate with them once they re fully frown

Lives in: Indonesian islands Weight: 150kg (330lbs)

Habitat: tropical forests, scrublands Špeed: 20kph (12mph)

Food: deer, boars, buffalos Lifespan: 40 years

e aE

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Lar gibbon a Arms longer Scam than body

cœ and legs put together Fur usvally golden brown, but ranges from cream to black Lp

Swings through trees ` faster than an athlete

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° Outstanding swing Gibbons build up enough

speed to launch themselves across gaps in the trees that are the length of a tennis court

b Daily duet A gibbon lives with the same partner

its whole life Every couple has its own ‘song, which they perform together each day

5° Tightrope walkers High up in the trees, gibbons cross thin branches like tightrope

walkers, with their arms

held out for balance

* Morning din

Gibbons are one of the noisiest animals in

the rainforest Every

morning, families make deafening screeches and howls to warn

other gibbons away from their territory

Essential facts Size: 55cm (22in) tall

Lives in: SE Asia Weight: 6.5kg (14Ibs)

Habitat: rainforests Speed: 55kph (35mph) in trees

Food: fruit, leaves Lifespan: 30 years

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° Camouflage A leopard’s tawny fur and dark Ase

rosettes blend into the dappled light and oe’

white patch on the end of her tail so her cubs don't lose sight of her

most intelligent of the big cats They're

watchful and wary, and can vary their hunting technique to

suit almost any terrain

® Black panther Leopards

(and jaguars) with

Wl ae black fur are called

: \ự 1ù Gal gee black panthers

® Man-eaters Man-eating leopards are hard to stop They never hunt in the same spot twice,

and melt into the darkness at the first sign of trouble From 1905-1910, over 400 people in

India were killed by the Leopard of Panar

Lives in: Africa, Asia Weight: 80kg (180lbs)

Habitat: grasslands, forests Speed: 65kph (40mph)

Food: antelopes, monkeys, deer Lifespan: 15 years

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Lion

Lions are the rulers of the

African plains, and lounge

around in groups called prides Tassel onend of tail

Males have a thick mane

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® Pride A pride isa group of females and cubs led by a few males If a new gang of males wins control,

they kill the cubs to start a family of their own

® Fast females Lionesses often do more hunting

than lions, because they're faster and more agile r ir Ul ie eG sec oS y Lionesses ooh pen ee Ze ol Ễ haveno ‘J đợ"" }# j 7 WG ⁄ = hing vb 2 Tf / mane mo 3 To e > Z7 A / LS on LAME wae

5° Mighty males Male lions hunt some of the

largest, most powerful animals in Africa They

can even take down a cape buffalo - a formidable hook-horned beast that’s four times their weight

® Fearsome roar A lion’s ear-splitting roar

can be heard over 8km (5 miles) away

® Asiatic lions Not all lions live in Africa There’s a small group of lions living in Gir Forest in India

Essential facts (African lion) Size: 2m (61/›ft) long

Lives in: Africa Weight: 225kg (500lbs)

Food: zebras, wildebeest, buffalos Lifespan: 15 years

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