Tag Archives: BBC Earth Videos

Wildlife: Top ‘Hornet Moments’ (BBC Earth)

From overthrowing an empire to battling with bees, here are some of our most memorable hornet moments.

The Asian giant hornet, including the color form referred to as the Japanese giant hornet, is the world’s largest hornet. It is native to temperate and tropical East Asia, South Asia, Mainland Southeast Asia, and parts of the Russian Far East.

Views: Ecuador’s ‘Sword-Billed Hummingbirds’

The sword-billed hummingbird has exclusive access to food that other birds simply cannot reach, but having such a long bill does have its drawbacks.

The sword-billed hummingbird is a neotropical species of hummingbird from the Andean regions of South America. It is the sole member of the genus Ensifera and is characterized by its unusually long bill; it is the only bird to have a beak longer than the rest of its body. 

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.

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.

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.