The Faint-banded sea snake is the most poisonous of all the snakes in the world, and by some considered to be the most toxic animal in the world. This snake is typically found in the Indian Ocean, off the coasts of the Phillipines, New Guinea, and Thailand. The toxicity of this snake's poison is so potent that it can kill a person in less than 30 minutes. The good news about this snake is that it seems to be quite friendly and mild-tempered, and if it does decide to bite, studies show that only 25% of the time will it release its venom. It is on the top of the poisonous animals list.
The Faint-banded sea snake is of moderate size, ranging from 0.5 to 1 meter (about 20-40 inches) in adult length. Its thin body is usually chrome yellowish in colour with dark greenish crossbands. The dorsal pattern does not extend onto the venter. The head is short and has bands of the same colours. Its mouth is very small but suitable for aquatic life. Its body when viewed out of water appears to have a faint yellow colour. Its scales are different from most other snakes in that they overlap each other. Each dorsal scale has a central tubercle. The body is strongly laterally compressed posteriorly. The ventral scales are very narrow, only slightly wider than the dorsal scales.
Like other sea snakes, it has a paddle-like tail which makes it an expert swimmer, and it rarely goes on land. It eats fish and shellfish. It breathes air, and has valves over its nostrils that close underwater. It can hold its breath for as long as 7 to 8 hours while hunting and even sleeping, but then has to surface for a quick breath of air. It is generally docile and not aggressive. It may deliver a provoked bite only after repeated severe treatment. It usually bites fishermen handling nets, but only 25% of those bitten are envenomed.
When underwater, it will propel by paddling its’ tail allowing it to move around at fast speeds. Like other sea snakes, it will have to visit the surface of the water from time to time. The primary food source of the belcher sea snake is small fishes, fish eggs, and shell fish. It can hold its breath up to 7-8 hours during hunting for food in the water. The snake is typically found swimming near by tropical reefs in the Indian Ocean, New Guinea, Gulf of Thailand, Indonesia, and off the coast of the Philippines. They don’t pose such a big threat to humans since they live in remote places.
The Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) is the most endangered of the world’s five rhinoceros species, with an estimated 40-60 animals remaining on the western tip of the Island of Java (Indonesia) in Ujung Kulon National Park. The last member of another tiny population in Vietnam’s Cat Tien National Park was killed by poachers in 2011. The water- and swamp-loving Javan rhinoceros formerly ranged throughout Southeast Asia and Indonesia, but has been hunted to near-extinction for its horn, which is used to make Asian folk medicines. Although it is now protected, it may not have a large-enough breeding population to prevent the species from going extinct.
DESCRIPTION
The Sunda rhino is smaller than the Indian rhinoceros, and is close in size to the black rhinoceros. It is the largest animal in Java and the second-largest animal in Indonesia after the Asian elephant. The body length of the Sunda rhino (including its head) can be up to 2 to 4 m, and it can reach a height of 1.4–1.7 m. Adults are variously reported to weigh between 900 and 2,300 kg, although a study to collect accurate measurements of the animals has never been conducted and is not a priority because of their extreme conservation status. No substantial size difference is seen between genders, but females may be slightly bigger. The rhinos in Vietnam appeared to be significantly smaller than those in Java, based on studies of photographic evidence and measurements of their footprints.
Its hairless, splotchy gray or gray-brown skin falls in folds to the shoulder, back and rump. The skin has a natural mosaic pattern, which lends the rhino an armored appearance. The neck folds of the Sunda rhinoceros are smaller than those of the Indian rhinoceros, but still form a saddle shape over the shoulder. Because of the risks of interfering with such an endangered species, however, the Sunda rhinoceros is primarily studied through fecal sampling and camera traps.
Like the Indian rhino, the Sunda rhinoceros has a single horn (the other extant species have two horns). Its horn is the smallest of all extant rhinos, usually less than 20 cm with the longest recorded only 27 cm. Only males have horns. Female Sunda rhinos are the only extant rhinos that remain hornless into adulthood, though they may develop a tiny bump of an inch or two in height. The Sunda rhinoceros does not appear to often use its horn for fighting, but instead uses it to scrape mud away in wallows, to pull down plants for eating, and to open paths through thick vegetation. They are estimated to live for 30 to 45 years .
DITE & LIFE
The Sunda rhinoceros is herbivorous, eating diverse plant species, especially their shoots, twigs, young foliage and fallen fruit. Most of the plants favored by the species grow in sunny areas in forest clearings, shrubland and other vegetation types with no large trees. The rhino eats an estimated 50 kg of food daily. Like the Sumatran rhino, it needs salt in its diet.
The Sunda rhinoceros never fared well in captivity. The oldest lived to be 20, about half the age that the rhinos can reach in the wild. No records are known of a captive rhino giving birth. The last captive Sunda rhino died at the Adelaide Zoo in Australia in 1907, where the species was so little known that it had been exhibited as an Indian rhinoceros.
The Faint-banded sea snake is of moderate size, ranging from 0.5 to 1 meter (about 20-40 inches) in adult length. Its thin body is usually chrome yellowish in colour with dark greenish crossbands. The dorsal pattern does not extend onto the venter. The head is short and has bands of the same colours. Its mouth is very small but suitable for aquatic life. Its body when viewed out of water appears to have a faint yellow colour. Its scales are different from most other snakes in that they overlap each other. Each dorsal scale has a central tubercle. The body is strongly laterally compressed posteriorly. The ventral scales are very narrow, only slightly wider than the dorsal scales.
