Today, only fourspecies of hyenas remain, the aardwolf, spotted hyena, striped hyena, and brownhyena. Today, we will talk about the aardwolf, the smallest of the fourspecies. Though it is a carnivore, or meat eater, aardwolves are insectivores,eating insects and their larvae. Aardwolves like termites in particular, andcan eat as many as a quarter of a million termites in one night.

Aardwolves arevery thin, and look similar to the striped hyena. However, they have a slendermuzzle, or mouth, and they have yellowish-tan fur. There are bold, verticalstripes on their sides and legs. They have a mane that goes down the middle oftheir neck and back, and when the aardwolf feels threatened, it can raise itsmane to make itself look larger. They have large ears, like the striped hyena,and also a bushy tail.

Aardwolves live inopen, dry areas and bushland, and try to stay away from mountains. They lookfor places where they can find a specific family of termites that they eat.There are two distinct populations of Aardwolves, one in South Africa, andanother in East and Northeast Africa. Because of this, there is a disagreementon whether Aardwolves are one species, or if the two populations are twodifferent subspecies.

Aardwolves feedprimarily on termites, and they lick them off the ground, rather than digginginto their nests. Using their large ears, they can find termites because ofsounds they make, and also from smell, since soldier termites secret a scent.Using their long, sticky tongue, Aardwolves lick up termites. They make surenot to eat all of the termites, or destroy the nest, which means they have aconstant supply of food. Unlike other hyenas, they are not scavengers, and donot eat carrion. They have been seen eating by dead animals before, but theyare actually eating insects and larvae.

For Wild Suzhou,I’m Ciana, thanks for listening and see you next time.

This amazing bird can be found in Eastern and southern Africa nearthe equator. They live in woodland areas and bushy savannah’s. This birds dietconsists of arthropods, small vertebrates, insects, spiders, and even otherbirds sometimes. They have quite a smart way of finding prey, if there is awildfire they will hunt near the fire to catch fleeing animals. Otherwise,they’ll just sit on trees looking out for prey. 

This birds predators are mainly bigger birds of prey but theyaren’t endangered. This species is quite territorial and will attack others intheir territory. Lilac breasted rollers are kenya’s national birds, mainlybecause they are one of the most vibrant birds. They have 8 bright colors whichare green, white, black, turquoise, dark blue, reddish brown, and lilac. Thebirds bright color are probably used for mating, they also perform aerial displayswhile looking for a mate. They have a lifespan of around 10 years and usuallyhave the same mating partner for life. 

What do you think of this birds vibrant colors? 

For wild suzhou i’m palm tree and thank you for listening.

Today, we will betalking about the fig wasps. They don’t look particularly interesting, theylook like ordinary insects, but the fascinating thing about fig wasps is theirlife cycle. Have you ever heard a story about wasps in figs? Well, it’s true,but don’t be disgusted. I will explain how fig wasps reproduce and why youshouldn’t be worried about eating figs.

The fig wasp andthe fig have a very special relationship with each other, since they bothheavily rely on one another. There are about 900 species of figs, and alsoabout 900 species of fig wasp, one for each species of fig. This is an exampleof coevolution, which is when different organisms affect how another organismevolves. The relationship between the fig wasp and the fig is so close thatwithout one, the other cannot exist.

Figs rely on figwasps for pollination, the same way many flowers rely on bees. Since the waspsare the only organism capable of pollinating the figs, figs wouldn’t existwithout them. However, the fig wasps also rely on the figs, since they laytheir eggs inside the figs. Since there are so many kinds of figs, we will usethe caprifig, a type of nonedible fig, as an example. Figs are not actuallyfruits, they’re syconiums, a type of pod with many flowers growing inside. Allof the reproductive parts of the fig are inside the flower. A female wasp willfly over to a fig, and climb through a narrow tunnel called the ostiole to getinside. This passage is so narrow that the wasp will lose its antennae andwings while entering. Now, she is inside the fig. But there are two kinds offigs, the male figs and the female figs. The female fig is not suitable forwasp eggs. If a wasp enters a female fig, she will die, but she deposits pollenfrom the male fig she was born from. This means there are dead wasps in thefigs you eat. But, when they die, an enzyme in the fig breaks the wasp downinto protein, so you don’t have to worry about eating wasps.

The male fig,however, is specially shaped to hold wasp eggs. When an egg is deposited in aflower, the flower will turn into a container called a gall which will hold theegg. When the males hatch, they leave their gall, find one with a female waspin it, and mate with her. The male then digs an escape tunnel out of the figand dies. The female uses this tunnel to leave the fig and continue the cycle.

For wild suzhou,I’m Ciana, thanks for listening and see you next time.

This scaryanimal looks like it could be related to a dinosaur, but turns out it actuallyis.
This animal lives in Australia and Papua New Guinnea,as well as other small islands near them. They live in dense rainforests andswamp areas and spend their time foraging for food. Even though cassowary seemslike aggressive animal they don’t actually eat that much meat. they preferfallen fruit, fungi, and small invertebrates and vertebrae.
Despite being quite big and scary, the cassowaryhas a few predators. Their threats include crocodiles, pythons, dingoes, humansand quolls.

Although,they do have ways to protect themselves. They can run up to 30 miles per hourand are also quite strong birds who kick, peck, and head butt their predator.Cassowaries are actually quite necessary to their habitat because they spreadseeds through their dung.

The reason these birds stand out so much maybeis due to their striking resemblance to dinosaurs. But the thing is, they’rerelated to dinosaurs. They have long sharp claws, heavy black plumage, brightblue and teal neck and head feathers, and the well known casque on the topof its head.

for wild suzhou i’m palm tree and thank you forlistening.

Today, we will betalking about weasels, small mammals from the genus mustela, which includesleast weasels, polecats, stoats, ferrets, and mink. It is part of the familymustelidae, known as the “weasel family”. This family has otters, badgers, andwolverines as well. Today, we will be talking about the least weasel, which iswhat people are usually talking about when they say weasel.

The least weaselis the smallest member of the weasel family, with a long, slender, and flexiblebody, and a short tail and legs. They have a small head, that is about the samethickness as the neck, with a small muzzle and ears. Least weasels can be foundin many places across the world, and because of this, the color and length oftheir fur comes in many different colors depending on where they live. Thelength of their tail can also be different depending on where it lives. Theback, flanks, legs, and tail are usually brown. The undersides of the weaselare white, and the white fur does not blend into the brown fur. In the northernparts of its range, or the places it can be found, the least weasel’s fur willturn pure white in the winter.

Weasels arecarnivores, and will commonly feed on small rodents, like mice and hamsters. Itcan, but usually won’t attack adult hamsters and rats. They can also eatanimals much larger than themselves, such as rabbits, hares, and grouse. Theyare strong predators, capable of killing prey up to ten times their bodyweight. Even though they are fierce predators, they can be preyed upon by otherpredators like red foxes, birds of prey, snakes, and even other members of theweasel family.

he least weasellives in much of Europe, North Africa, parts of North America, Mediterrraneanislands, New Zealand, and some places in Asia.

For wild suzhou,I’m Ciana, thanks for listening and see you next time.

The common genet is native to Africa and lives inareas with lots of vegetation, they are arboreal meaning they spend a lot oftime in trees, they are also nocturnal. They find food by climbing in trees andhunting. Genets will basically anything they can find, they are omnivores so theywill eat smaller mammals and insects, as well as fruits.
Predators of this animal include servals,caracals, leopards, honey badgers, and large owls. Seeing as it has so manyfierce predators, you would assume that is has a special or unique strategy forprotecting itself, but it actually just relies on running or climbing away.That may be another reason it spends so much time near trees. Common genetsaren’t endangered but they are hunted for their grey and black fur. Butsomething that does slightly help is that they can make their fur stand up tomake themselves look a little better.
Genets sort of resemble other mammals, but it isstill actually a kind of cat. They have a lifespan of around 13 years and canstart mating at the age of 2. They have a weird way of attracting mates, theycan produce a foul smell that may also be used to deter predators. When notmating common genets do not live in groups, they  prefer to live insolitary. These animals are quite small, weighing around 4 pounds and being 2 feet long. They are white and grey with black spots all over then and have astriped tail similar to that of a ring tailed lemur.

Today, we will betalking about the cicada, a superfamily of insects that are in the orderHemiptera, more commonly known as the true bugs.

Compared to otherbugs, cicadas are relatively large and bulky insects. They have small antennae,which are divided into three to six segments, and have bristles at the tip ofthem, known as seta. Cicadas have a mouthpiece called a rostrum, which can suckup liquids for nutrients. They have compound eyes that are set wide apart onthe sides of their head, but also three ocelli, or simple eyes, that make atriangle between their two compound eyes. These three ocelli can be used totell cicadas apart from other insects that are related to them. Cicadas havetwo wings, which can be transparent, cloudy, or pigmented. The fore wings aresuperhydrophobic, meaning they repel water very well. This is because of waxycones that cover the surface of the wing. Water and rain will roll across thesurface of the wing.

Perhaps the mostwell-known aspect of cicadas is the song that male cicadas will sing to attracta mate. The sound is produced by a structure called the tymbal, which rests oneach side of the abdomen. Muscle tension and relaxation can produce sounds fromthe tymbal. Others make sounds using stridulation, or by rubbing together bodyparts to make sounds, similar to a cricket. Some cicadas have cavities in theirbody that will resonate the sound they create, making it louder. Both males andfemales have tympana which can be used to detect sound, like an ear. Duringcalling, males will disable their tympana to prevent hearing damage.

After a female hasmated, she will cut a slit into a twig, and lay her eggs in there. When theeggs hatch, the babies, known as nymphs, will drop and bury into the ground.They spend most of their lives underground, living anywhere from 2 to 5 yearsunderground. But some species, such as the North American genusMagicicada,has broods that go through 13 to 17 year life cycles.

For wild suzhou,I’m Ciana, thanks for listening and see you next time.

The american Beaver is found around North america in ponds, lakes,rivers, streams and marshes. these beavers live inside lodges, which are builtwith sticks and mud and are either along the river bank or in the water.Beavers are vegetarian so they eat bark, stems, mushrooms, grasses, roots, andtwigs. They use their strong front teeth to get the food. 

The american beavers predators include wolves, coyotes, bears,foxes, and lynxes. Humans are also a threat to beavers due to habitat loss andwater pollution. The way the protect themselves is just by staying in theirdens and staying close to water so they have a way to escape from the threat. 

Something beavers are very well known for is their ability tobuild dams. They use their very strong front teeth to gnaw down trees and use amixture of mud and wood to build to water tight dams. The reason they build thedamns is so they can make a small pond to live in. They arearound 3-4 feet in length and weigh different depending on their age.They are medium brown with large tails like paddles. 

For wild suzhou. I’m palm tree and thank you for listening.

Today, we will betalking about the sun bear, the smallest member of the bear family. This rareanimal can be found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia.

Sun bears are veryunique, compared to other species of bears. First, they are the smallest of thebears, only reaching 1.5 meters at most, and standing less than a meter tall.Sun bears usually have black fur, but it can range from grey to red. They arestocky and muscular, with large paws, a short snout, and short ears. The name“sun bear” comes from a bib-shaped yellow or white patch on their chest, whichlegend says represents the rising sun. Sun bears have the shortest fur of allbear species. This is so they don’t overheat in their tropical environment.However, this fur is thick enough to protect them from rain and twigs.

Sun bears are themost arboreal, or tree-dwelling, of the bears. They will sunbathe and sleep intrees 2 to 7 meters up off the ground. They are excellent climbers, and theirinward-turned front feet, powerful front legs, and large claws might beadaptations that make it easier for them to climb. Sun bears are notaggressive, but rather shy, which is a reason they used to be kept as pets. Somepredators of sun bears include tigers, wild dogs, leopards, and sometimes evenlarge pythons.

Sun bears areomnivores, so they eat a variety of foods. They will eat insects, such as ants,bees, beetles, and termites, as well as plant materials and fruits. They willalso eat small birds, lizards, and rodents.

For wild suzhou,I’m Ciana, thanks for listening and see you next time.

The olm is a mysterious creature that lives in underwater caves inSlovenia and Croatia. The caves they live in are made of limestone and havedark lakes inside of them. For an animal living in this sort of crazyenvironment, you might be thinking, what does the animal eat? The olm eatsworms, aquatic insects, larvae and snails. 

since the olm is blind due to its undeveloped eyes, it uses itsgreat sense on smell and hearing to find food. Again, since it lives in such aweird environment, it doesn’t really have any natural predators. But, the olmis heavily dependent on its environment and pollution is a threat to itshabitat. Right now, they are vulnerable and their population is decreasing. 

Some say this animal looks like a mini dragon that wrigglesaround. It has pinkish pale skin, that lacks pigmentation, and four shortlimbs, and two bright pink attachments near its ears smilie to what an axolotlhas. Something surprising about the olm is that it can live up to 100 years inthe wild. They only get up to about  a foot long and weigh around 1 ounce. 

Do you think this animal looks like an animal at all? 

for wild suzhou i’m palm tree and thank you for listening.