Bats

Bats are the one of the symbols of Halloween. They are rumored to be blind. Is this true? Read on to find out.

Are bats blind?

No. Bats are not blind, they can see just like us in the daytime. Also in the nighttime, their visibility is similar to ours. That is why bats use echolocation to get around. The bat emits a high pitch scream which humans cannot hear. They make the scream through their nose because they cannot do it through their mouth while eating. The scream hits an object and the echo comes back to the bat. The bat receives the echo through its ears and identifies the position. Bats can use echolocation to hunt, avoid obstacles and avoid predators.

What do bats eat?

Bats primarily eat insects, but some bats eat fruits. An insect eating bat is very good for the environment because a single bat could eat upto 100 mosquitoes in a single night.

Flying foxes

Flying foxes are the biggest type of bat. The Indian flying fox can grow to be up to 6 feet long! Flying foxes are not really foxes, but a type of bat. They are called flying foxes because their heads look like a fox's head.

They do not eat insects, they eat fruits.

Check out this video

Now some pictures

Killer whales

Killer whales are a species of oceanic dolphin which (surprisingly) eat other dolphin species.They are the biggest type of dolphins. They are also called Orcas. Their diet further consists of sharks, seals and fish. They are known to play with their food before eating it. They are called "Wolves of the ocean", because they hunt tactically as pack like wolves. They are very social animals, with packs (collective noun for killer whales) ranging up to ten or twenty. They catch their prey using echolocation. They are mammals and cannot breath under water, so they hold their breath while diving. Though they breath when they reach surface, they cannot stay out of water for more than ten minutes. That is because their skin needs to be constantly wet. They are very intelligent animals. While catching seals on icebergs, they tip the iceberg over so that the seals fall into the ocean. They can also be trained to do tricks.

Check out this video on killer whales

Now a picture

Nature

Grasses and flowers

Fruits and leaves

All moving slowly in the breeze

When the breeze stops they all freeze.

Streams, ponds, lakes, and rivers

All that thirst quenching waters

All the animals crowd around

Nature is everywhere, look around

By,

Ashvin Dara 

My Favorite Bird -- Perigrine Falcon

The Peregrine Falcon is the fastest bird on the planet. It achieves a speed of up to 242 mph while doing aerial dives called stoops. It is found widely on many continents making it the most widespread bird too. See below for some information and pictures.

Measurements

Both Sexes

Length

14.2–19.3 in
36–49 cm

Wingspan

39.4–43.3 in
100–110 cm

Weight

18.7–56.4 oz
530–1600 g   

Other Names

• Duck Hawk
• Faucon pèlerin (French)
• Halcón peregrino (Spanish)

source of all pictures and measurements = http://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/peregrine_falcon/id

Check out this awesome video on measuring Peregrine Falcon's speed

In peregrine falcons, the male is the bigger falcon. So in the measurements, the smaller measurements are the female ones. In the video, the first time they let the falcon go, the speed was 180 mph. The second time, it reached 242 mph. That was probably because they let it go higher the second time. The higher it is, the more time the falcon has to accelerate. Peregrine falcons have long wings. They fold their wings to make themselves streamlined to cut through the air.

Hope you too would like this animal as much as I do!

Octopuses and squids

Octopuses and squids can change color in seconds to hide from predators. They are really intelligent. In fact, they are the most intelligent of all invertebrates (animals without backbones). Octopus and squid are mollusks. They are related to snails.

Arms and tentacles

Octopuses use their tentacles for gripping, touching and tasting. Squids also use their 2 arms and 8 tentacles for these purposes. Suckers on the bottom of these arms and tentacles help them to keep a hold of their prey and force the prey into its beak-like mouth.

Jet propulsion

To make a quick escape from predators, octopuses and squids may use jet propulsion. They suck water into a sack behind its eyes, then squirt it out. As the water shoots out backwards, the force pushes the animal forward.