From spiders with superpowers to spiders with 25m webs, we look back at some of our favourite arachnid moments from the BBC Earth Archive.
Category Archives: Wildlife
Wildlife Views: A Bobcat Hunting In Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Throughout winter, the rivers are full of food for those who know how to hunt it, and this tenacious bobcat is trying to catch his next meal.
Bobcats are small wild cats with reddish-brown or yellowish-brown coats, streaked with black or dark brown. They have prominent, pointed ears with a tuft of black hair at the tip. Females average 20 pounds and males weigh from 16 to 30 pounds. They breed in late winter or early spring and have a gestation period of about two months. A female may have one to six kittens each year. Although adapted to a variety of habitats across the country, they do not tolerate the deep snows found in much of Yellowstone, and thus they are usually reported in the northern portion of the park. Bobcats move about their home ranges most actively in the hours near dawn and dusk, hunting small mammals such as mice, rabbits, hares, and deer. They seek cover in conifer stands and on rocky ledges.
Nature Views: Red Fox Kits In Durham, Maine (Video)
“Sunday Morning” takes us on a visit to a spring litter of red foxes, at home in Durham, Maine. Videographer: Mauricio Handler.
The red fox is the largest of the true foxes and one of the most widely distributed members of the order Carnivora, being present across the entire Northern Hemisphere including most of North America, Europe and Asia, plus parts of North Africa. It is listed as least concern by the IUCN.
Wildlife: ‘Leaping’ Lemurs In Madagascar (HD Video)
As one of the largest species of Lemur, the Diademed Sifaka is an endangered species that is endemic to Madagascan rainforests. With their long legs and short arms, they are marvellous at leaping through the trees of the rainforest, with each leap being as long as 10m. However, take this adapt leaper out of the trees and onto the forest floor, and things become a bit more bouncy!
Madagascar, officially the Republic of Madagascar, and previously known as the Malagasy Republic, is an island country in the Indian Ocean, approximately 400 kilometres off the coast of East Africa across the Mozambique Channel. At 592,800 square kilometres Madagascar is the world’s second-largest island country.
Views: The Endangered Species Refuge Of ‘Sir Bani Yas Island’ – Abu Dhabi, UAE
The Arabian oryx is a beautiful, almost luminously white antelope. But, after being over-hunted by humans in the 20th century, it only narrowly escaped extinction. Today, on the desert island of Sir Bani Yas, the endangered animals find refuge. Part of an archipelago west of Abu Dhabi, Sir Bani Yas is home to a large wildlife reserve, where animals from Arabia, Asia and Africa roam freely. You can watch cheetahs hunting, and imagine how the Bedouins once lived, under open desert skies. Established in the 1970s, extensive ecological measures turned Sir Bani Yas into a man-made “paradise for wild animals.” Now, the reserve stands for the region’s desire for a sustainable future. It’s also a great place to see the magnificent Arabian oryx running free, once more.
Sir Bani Yas Island is part of the Al Gharbia region of the United Arab Emirates. It’s dominated by the Arabian Wildlife Park, with its roaming giraffes, cheetahs and gazelles. Multiple archaeological sites across the island include the ruins of an ancient Christian monastery. Salt dome hills define the island’s desert interior. The coast features beaches, sea kayak routes and a shipwreck.
Views: Red Crabs Battle Yellow Crazy Ants On Christmas Island (BBC)
The Christmas Island red crab is of land crab that is endemic to Christmas Island and Cocos (Keeling) Islands in the Indian Ocean. Although restricted to a relatively small area, an estimated 43.7 million adult red crabs once lived on Christmas Island alone,[3] but the accidental introduction of the yellow crazy ant is believed to have killed about 10–15 million of these in recent years.[4] Christmas Island red crabs make an annual mass migration to the sea to lay their eggs in the ocean.[5] Although its population is under great assault by the ants,[6] as of 2020 the red crab had not been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and it was not listed on their Red List.
Views: The Beautiful And Bizarre ‘Eyes” Of Animals
“The cornea, which in fish is simply a transparent protective cover for the eye, became an image-forming structure in its own right,” wrote the late Michael Land, a biologist at the University of Sussex in England, in a 2005 study in the journal Current Biology, “because it now had air on one side and water on the other.”
Some organisms have kept basic structures—flatworms and mollusks still have their simple pit eyes—while others sprouted mirrored components, elaborate pupil dynamics and arrangements that let their owner see above and below a waterline simultaneously. Even in animals that rely primarily on sensations besides sight, incredible eye features persist.
Amazon River Views: Top ‘Piranha’ Moments (BBC)
These sharp-toothed water dwellers are more than capable of stripping a carcass clean in mere moments.
A piranha or piraña, a member of family Serrasalmidae, or a member of the subfamily Serrasalminae within the tetra family, Characidae in order Characiformes, is a freshwater fish that inhabits South American rivers, floodplains, lakes and reservoirs.
Views: Billions Of Cicadas Emerge In The Eastern U.S. After 17 Years (CBS Video)
Periodical cicadas, identified as Brood X, are back, providing us with a once-every-17-years opportunity to witness a remarkable natural phenomenon, as these insects emerge and breed, while producing sounds as loud as a jet engine. Correspondent Chip Reid talks with entomologists about the cicadas’ cycle, and how their protein can satiate the appetites of predators (and cookie lovers).
Wildlife: 14 Stunning Videos (Smithsonian)
Prepare to be mesmerized by these stunning wildlife videos, featuring everything from wildebeest to clownfish.
Boomers Daily 