Piranha

Natural Wild Life | Piranha | The piranha is a type of freshwater fish found in the rivers of the South American jungles. The piranha can be found in nearly every country in South America and the piranha have been appearing more recently in the south of the USA. The piranha fish has a single row of razor-sharp teeth with the piranha being most commonly known for their taste for blood. The piranha feeds on fish, mammals and birds alike, with the wholes group of piranhas feeding together in a slight frenzy. Despite the carnivorous nature of the piranha, the piranha is actually an omnivore and will eat almost anything that it can find. Piranhas mainly feed on fish, snails, insects and aquatic plants occasionally eating larger mammals and birds that fall into the water.

Despite it's feared nature, the piranha actually has a number of predators in the wild, including humans that hunt the piranha for food. Piranhas are preyed upon by large predators such as river dolphins (known as botos), crocodiles, turtles, birds and larger fish. The piranha is generally around 30cm long but some piranha individuals have been found measuring nearly 80cm. The piranha is said to be more feared by many humans than even a shark. Piranhas are generally found in fast flowing rivers and streams where there is plenty of food for the piranha to eat. The piranhas lives together in large shoals and constantly compete for food. Feeding frenzies will be triggered when there is a shortage of food or blood in the water.

Piranhas tend to breed in pairs in slower water such as lagoons generally during the rainy season around April to May. The mating pair prepare a nest that the female piranha lays clusters of eggs in. The female piranha lays an average of 5,000 eggs and due to the fact that the male piranha and the female piranha defend their protected eggs so effectively, more than 90% often survive and hatch after just a few days. In August 2009 a 35cm piranha was found in a river in Devon, thousands of miles from it's native home. The team that discovered the piranha were utterly bewildered as to what this tropical fish was going in a river in England but later deduced that this piranha must have been kept as a pet and then released due to the fact that it was eating sweetcorn.

Natural Wild Life | Molly | The molly is a small-sized tropical fish that is found naturally in the warm and peaceful rivers of Central America. Today, mollies are extremely popular fish to be kept in the community of an artificial aquarium, all around the world. Mollies are known for their calm and peaceful nature, which along with their brightly coloured bodies, makes them a particular popular choice for freshwater tanks of all shapes and sizes. The male mollies are more slender than the female mollies and have a slightly longer tail fin, making the two sexes easy to tell apart.

Mollies live amongst the plants in a group containing numerous molly individuals, known as a school. Although this works well for the mollies in the wild, the fast-paced breeding of these molly groups can quickly become a problem in artificial tanks. Mollies are omnivorous animals and therefore have diet that is comprised of both plant and animal matter. Mollies primarily eat small invertebrates including insects and bloodworm, along with algae and food particles in the water.

Due to their small size, mollies have numerous natural predators within their environment, with larger fish being the most common predators of the molly. Aquatic birds and even reptiles are also known to hunt them. Unlike many other species of tropical fish, female mollies give birth to live young rather than laying eggs which are very likely to be eaten. Mollies can give birth to up to 100 fry at once, only a couple of weeks after fertilisation occurred.

Wrasse

Natural Wild Life | Wrasse | The wrasse is a typically small species of fish, found in the coastal waters of the world's major oceans. The Cleaner wrasse is the most commonly known wrasse species as it is often seen alongside other marine animals, including sharks. There are more than 500 different species of Wrasse found in the shallower coastal waters and coral reefs, of the Pacific, Indian and Atlantic oceans. Wrasse most commonly inhabit areas that have an abundance of both food and places to hide, making coral reefs and rocky shores the perfect home for the wrasse.

Cleaner wrasse are the most well-known wrasse species as they are often seen going into the mouths of large marine animals in order remove the dead material inside. Cleaner wrasse feed on dead tissues, scales and parasites that lurk inside the mouth of the larger animal, and few are actually eaten by the predator that they are assisting. Wrasse come in a variety of colours and sizes depending on the species of wrasse. Wrasse tend to be relatively small in size, with many species of wrasse being less than 20 cm in length. One species of wrasse however is enormous in comparison, growing to more than 2 meters long.

Wrasse are carnivorous animals that have thick lips with a row of teeth that usually face outwards. The mouth of the wrasse is protractile which means that it is capable of extending forwards. Wrasse feeds on a number of small invertebrates, small fish and food particles in the water. Wrasse are also known to follow large predatory fish, eating the trail of left-overs that it leaves behind it. Due to their small size, wrasse have numerous predators in their natural environment including larger fish, such as lionfish, dogfish and barracuda and wrasse are even eaten by some smaller species of shark. Wrasse are known to live for a relatively long-time particularly for their small size. Wrasse mate by releasing their eggs and sperm in to the water, which are fertilised and become part of the plankton until they are big enough to join the reef. Female wrasse lay thousands of eggs at at time so the wrasse population numbers are relatively high.

Shrimp

Natural Wild Life | Shrimp | Shrimp are marine crustaceans that are found on the bottom of the water in nearly every environment around the world. Shrimps are generally tiny in size, with some species of shrimp being so small that many animals cannot see them. There are more than 2,000 different species of shrimp worldwide, all of which are invertebrates which means that shrimp do not have a backbone. Instead, shrimp have a hard exoskeleton (the shell of the shrimp) which is often transparent and colourless making shrimp difficult to see in the water.

The shrimp lives on the river beds and ocean floors around the world, filtering sand and particles in the water. Shrimp are known to stay in schools that contain numerous shrimp individuals, and are able to adapt easily to changes in water conditions. Shrimps are omnivorous animals and therefore ingest and variety of both plant and animal species. Shrimp mainly feed on algae and other plant particles along with tiny fish and plankton in the water. One species of shrimp is known to stun it's prey before eating it by making a loud noise with one of it's claws, that makes a snapping sound through the water.

Due to their small size and abundance, shrimp are naturally prey to numerous predators around the world both in the water and out. Shrimp are eaten by fish, crustaceans such as crabs, sea urchins, starfish, sea -birds such as puffins, whales, dolphins, sharks and humans and many other animal species as well. The female shrimp can lay up to a million eggs at once that only take a couple of weeks to hatch. The tiny shrimp become part of the plankton in the water until they are big enough to big hunting in groups for larger food particles.

The shrimp is very closely related to the prawn and the thing that makes the shrimp and prawn stand out from other species of crustacean is the fact that they are able to swim through the water and although shrimps and prawns are very closely related, there are differences between them. The main difference between a shrimp and a prawn is they have different gill structures. There are different interpretations all around the world as to which species is a shrimp and which is a prawn that are often based on size and the water type where they are found.

Squid

Natural Wild Life | Squid | The squid is a marine cephalopod similar to the octopus. Like all other cephalopods, squid have a distinct head, bilateral symmetry, a mantle, and arms. Squid, like cuttlefish, have eight arms and two tentacles arranged in pairs. Some species of squid are known to have 10 arms.

There are around 300 different species of squid found in the oceans worldwide, with squid being one of the few animals that inhabits the freezing waters of the Antarctic, where they mainly feed on krill and plankton although larger species of squid have also been known to hunt larger prey like fish. Most species of squid average at about 20 cm in length when they are fully grown although some species will commonly grow to 60 cm long. The Colossal squid that lives in the deep waters of the Pacific Ocean has been known to grow to 14 metres long!

Squid are an excellent and therefore common food source for a variety a different animal species in the water but also those predators on land. Squid predators include sharks, penguins, seals and humans. Generally squid will only get to a few years old in the wild before being eaten. Some of the bigger species of squid however, have been known to reach ages of 15 years old.

Tiger Salamander

Natural Wild Life | Tiger Salamander | The tiger salamander is a small species of salamander, found inhabiting wetland habitats across North America. The tiger salamander can be easily distinguished from other species of salamander by the dark-coloured markings on the skin of the tiger salamander. An adult tiger salamander is rarely seen out in the open as they spend their lives in burrows about half a meter into the ground. Most adult tiger salamanders live in their burrows on the land, only returning to the water to mate.

The tiger salamander is green, black, brown or grey in colour and has blotchy markings on its skin. The tiger salamander also has sturdy legs and a long tail, all of which the tiger salamander is able to regrow should these limbs become lost or damaged. The tiger salamander is a carnivorous amphibian mainly hunting worms, insects and spiders that crawl into its burrow. Adult tiger salamanders are also known to hunt much larger animals such as baby mice and small frogs. Due to the small size and ground-dwelling nature of the tiger salamander, the tiger salamander has numerous natural predators where it lives in North America. Raccoons, coatis and river turtles are the most common predators of the tiger salamander, along with birds and large reptiles.

Most tiger salamander individuals will only get the chance to breed just once in their up to 15 years lifetime. The larvae of the tiger salamander are aquatic which means that the female tiger salamander lays her eggs in the water, generally on either a log or leaves close to the bottom of the water.The eggs of the tiger salamander hatch into larvae which come in two forms, cannibalistic (meaning that they eat one another ) and non-cannibalistic larvae. The larvae take a varied amount of time depending on the region, to fully metamorphose into an adult tiger salamander.

Weasel

Natural Wild Life | Weasel | The weasel is a small, thin mammal. Weasels are found all around the world apart from the Arctic and Australia including it's surrounding islands. The weasel feeds mainly on small mammals and the weasel has a bad reputation amongst farmers who do not approve of the weasel stealing their poultry and their eggs. The weasel can burrow quickly into the ground, meaning the weasel can easily escape danger including farmers that want to catch them. The weasel tends to grow to about 30cm long with a tail roughly the same length as the weasel's body. The weasel is generally a solitary animal but some species of weasel congregate together in groups for months on end. Weasels most typically come together to mate.

The weasel belongs to the same animal family as and is closely related to other animals such as ferrets,stoats and polecats. All these animals have a similarly long-shaped body and pointed snout and are all found in similar environments. Weasels are most commonly found in wooded areas but weasels are rarely found in really dense, thick forest. Weasels burrow and nest in hollow logs and under piles of rocks and weasels will often inhabit the nest of one of their prey rather than building a new one themselves.

Weasels most commonly breed during the mid-summer months and give birth to their young in late spring the following year. The female gives birth to an average of 6 baby weasels, which are pink, blind and tiny and have very little fur. After a couple of weeks the fur of the baby weasels is much thicker and the baby weasels are able to eat solid food after about a month. By the time the baby weasels are two months old, they have taught by their mother weasel how to hunt their own food and soon become independent.

Weasels are prey to numerous larger animals such as foxes, cats, snakes and birds of prey. It is because they are so vulnerable to being eaten, that many weasels will not even live to be year old. The average lifespan of a wild weasel is thought to be around 3 years but weasels have been known to live for longer in captivity. Generally, weasels prey on small animals such as mice, birds and baby rabbits. The larger male weasels however have been known to prey on larger animals that are bigger than they are.