Page 89 - World of Animals - Issue #28 Magazine

Animal answers

Which birds are flightless bird is the ostrich,
The largest and fastest

unable to fly? which lives in Africa
There are a surprising number of flightless birds living

today, and even more than that have been lost to extinction.
Papua New Guinea and Indonesia have cassowaries, with
razor sharp claws and distinctive ‘casques’ on their heads,
and the Galapagos Islands are home to the only species
of cormorant that cannot fly. In Australia there are emus,

in South America there are rheas and in Africa there are
ostriches, the largest birds on the planet.

New Zealand is home to more flightless birds than any
other country, with 16 living species, including kiwis and a

type of flightless parrot called a kakapo. Then, of course,
there are the penguins, which are found along coastlines
across the Southern Hemisphere.
Do animals ever help each other?

Survival in the wild is tough, but many species have found that things are
easier when they work together, known to scientists as ‘biological altruism’.
This most o en happens among animals of the same species. For example,

if a herd of prey animals are eating and one individual spots danger, they
o en alert the rest of the group, risking drawing attention to themselves

in order to save the others. However, there are examples of animals aiding

one another in a completely different way, and some of the most widely
observed animal helpers are dolphins.
Reports of dolphins helping sailors date back to ancient times, and more
recently, there have been many occasions where dolphins have come to the
rescue when other animals are in trouble. They have been reported guiding
stranded whales back out to sea, nudging injured companions towards the
surface for air, and even protecting human divers from circling sharks.

Pinhole eyes are like
a primitive version
of our own eyes

Which animal has the to help other animals,
Dolphins are known
largest number of eyes? including humans

Spiders might seem like good contenders great for building up detailed pictures
for the title of ‘most eyes in the animal of the environment, but they can rapidly
kingdom’, but even with an impressive detect changes in light and shadow,
eight, they don’t come close to the record perfect for detecting movement nearby.
holders. If you’re looking for animals with Giant clams need this ability because
lots of eyes, the best place to search is they have colonies of photosynthesising
under the sea. algae living in their bodies. The clams
Nautiluses and giant clams have eyes open up to expose this algae to the light,
like pinhole cameras; rather than having allowing it to grow, but if something
a lens, they simply have a hole. This hole dangerous swims overhead, they need to Q.How can you tell
functions a little like a pupil, allowing the snap shut for protection. To do this, they
animals to vary how much light enters have not one or two, but thousands of giraffe species apart?
the eye. These primitive eyes are not tiny eyes lining each side of their mantle.
Find out at…

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