Named after the Arizona Gila River basin, where they were first discovered, Gila (pronounced hee-lah) monsters are one of only a small number of venomous reptiles and the largest lizards in the USA. The largest lizard in the world is the komodo dragon Gila monsters have a frightening reputation, says Jo Price, especially in local folklore, […]
Tag: birds of prey
Falcon numbers halved! Only 31 breeding pairs left in national park amid fears over illegal killings
They may be the fastest creatures on Earth, swooping on prey at speeds of 200mph. But numbers of peregrine falcons in one of Scotland’s national parks have plummeted in the past two decades, according to a worrying report. The first major survey of the species in the Cairngorms National Park has shown the number of […]
They strike with clenched talons at 200mph, crush skulls, shred prey, and can inflict deep head wounds on humans – 10 deadliest birds of prey on the planet
They can strike their victims with clenched talons at a devastating 200mph, casually crush a monkey’s skull in their claws, tear a large fish apart in seconds and inflict deep wounds on the heads of humans they see as a threat. Deadliest birds of prey Harpy Eagle The magnificent harpy eagles of Central and South […]
Wait there’s wild hamsters? Oh yes – and they’re fuzzy, feisty, and just as cute and podgy as your childhood pet, just 4 times the size
When I was a child in the 1930’s,” recalls 86-year-old farmer Marcel Riegel, “hamsters were incredibly easy to catch. There were so many that they ate bare patches into our alfalfa and wheat field.” Now he never sees them. “Before the land consolidations of the 197oS,” Riegel continues, “we had hamsters, hares, partridges, orchards and […]
Scientists slam Canada-US proposal to lower trade protections for peregrine falcons
The crow-sized, slate-blue-backed peregrine falcon, with its bright yellow feet, soars across the skies from Greenland’s Arctic tundra to the steppe plains of Patagonia in South America. Falco peregrinus is one of the most widespread birds on the planet, with 19 subspecies that call coasts, mountains, deserts and river valleys home. These eye-catching raptors are […]
Mozambican reserve harbors largest documented breeding population of rare falcon
A new study reports that the Niassa Special Reserve, a 4-million-hectare (10-million-acre) wilderness in northern Mozambique, harbors the largest documented breeding population of Taita falcons. A survey that focused on 35 of the reserve’s towering granite inselbergs found 14 pairs of the birds. The study authors estimate the entire reserve could harbor up to 76 […]
Birds Of Prey Inspire Next Generation Of Sustainable Drones
According to BBC News, engineers at the University of Surrey are taking inspiration from owls and raptors to design a new kind of drone that mimics the way birds of prey perch and glide. The project, called Learning2Fly, uses real-world flight experiments instead of relying only on computer simulations, with data being fed into machine […]
France Sees a Doubling of Eagle Mating Pairs After Decades of Successful Work
51 breeding pairs of Bonelli’s eagles have been recorded in France’s Mediterranean regions, more than double the number recorded in the early 21st century. Though considered a species of least concern in the world, Bonelli’s eagle is vulnerable in Europe, and threatened in France, where it nests on cliffs and hunts small mammals. The survey […]