r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • 4d ago

Verified The mistletoebird of Australia and Indonesia specializes in feeding on mistletoe berries — digesting the flesh and depositing the sticky seeds onto branches in neat lines, where they quickly germinate and grow. The bird is nomadic, in near-constant search of mistletoe berries.

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423 Upvotes
9 comments

r/Awwducational • u/ExoticShock • 9d ago

Verified Flying Foxes are crucial pollinators that keep native forests healthy. Pollen sticks to their bodies as they fly between trees, pollinating their flowers. This reinforces the forest's health, which in turn provides valuable timber, honey, carbon sinks, stable river systems, & tourism opportunities.

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1.9k Upvotes
17 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • 10d ago

Verified The Lake Pátzcuaro salamander is only found in a single lake in Mexico, with an estimated population of less than 100 left in the wild. A close relative of the axolotl, this salamander also retains many of its larval traits into adulthood — but it can still grow up to 35 cm (13.8 in) long.

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1.7k Upvotes
10 comments

r/Awwducational • u/Critter-Enthusiast • 12d ago

Verified Elephantfish map their surroundings by emitting electric fields and then sensing the interference created by objects within these fields. They also use these electric impulses to talk to each other via a complex language, with some species having a larger brain to body size ratio than humans!

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520 Upvotes
9 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • 16d ago

Verified The Okinawa rail is Japan's only flightless bird — found exclusively on the island of Okinawa. Before nightfall, it uses its powerful clawed feet to climb trees, where it sleeps to avoid nocturnal-hunting pit vipers. In the morning, it drops back down in a graceless fluttering of wings.

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1.1k Upvotes
15 comments

r/Awwducational • u/AJC_10_29 • 16d ago

Verified The Culpeo is a fox-like canine native to the west coast of South America. It is an opportunistic feeder that primarily targets small prey, most importantly invasive European rabbits which it helps control the numbers of.

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700 Upvotes
8 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • 23d ago

Verified The Galápagos pink land iguana is found only on the slopes of a single active volcano on one of the Galápagos Islands. Named for its pink scales, this land iguana was described as a distinct species in 2009 and is considered 'critically endangered' — with fewer than 200 left.

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3.1k Upvotes
28 comments

r/Awwducational • u/ExoticShock • 25d ago

Verified Tayras are the biggest species of Central American Mustelid at up to 28 in long. They live as semi-arboreal omnivores in forests ranging from The Southern Yucatan to Northern Argentina & are also well known for their intelligence, having been seen ripping unripe bananas from trees to save for later.

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483 Upvotes
9 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • 26d ago

Verified The night parrot was believed to be extinct for almost 80 years. One of Australia's most elusive birds, this nocturnal parrot lives in isolated arid regions, spending most of its time on the ground and hiding within tunnels of spinifex grass.

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5.0k Upvotes
26 comments

r/Awwducational • u/SixteenSeveredHands • 26d ago

Verified Moss-and-Lichen Katydid (Genus Anaphidna): these katydids have cryptic features that allow them to blend in with the mossy, lichen-covered terrain of the rainforests in which they live, and their long, slender wings are typically held at a 45-degree angle in order to mimic the shape of a twig

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270 Upvotes
8 comments

r/Awwducational • u/ReturntoPleistocene • 27d ago

Verified The Calabar Python (Calabaria reinhardtii) is a small snake (1 metre/39 inches long) native to West and Central Africa. Its common name is a misnomer, it is actually a species of boa. Unlike most boas, they lay one to three enormous eggs that may represent up to half of the female's body weight.

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291 Upvotes
15 comments

r/Awwducational • u/AJ_Crowley_29 • 27d ago

Verified Of the two living Wildebeest species, the Black Wildebeest is the rarer and less famous, found only in Southern Africa. It was once nearly hunted to extinction but since has been successfully reintroduced to many parts of its natural range.

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1.0k Upvotes
16 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • Nov 25 '24

Verified The armoured rat is covered in sharp spines that can grow as long as 3 cm (1.2 in) — a great defence against the snakes and ocelots that share its wet rainforest habitat. Additionally, if all else fails, this rat can drop its tail to confuse or distract a predator.

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1.9k Upvotes
35 comments

r/Awwducational • u/MistWeaver80 • Nov 24 '24

Verified After 2000 years of isolation, a few decades of interbreeding have rendered the Scottish wildcat “genomically extinct”. Starting in the mid-1950s, more than 5% of the genetic markers in Scottish wildcats began to resemble those of domestic cats. After 1997, that figure jumped to as high as 74%.

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3.9k Upvotes
69 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • Nov 22 '24

Verified The Asian openbill uses its "open bill" to locate and grab its favourite prey — freshwater snails — using the sharp tip of its curved, lower mandible to extract them from their shells. It is a common species of stork throughout South and Southeast Asia.

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605 Upvotes
8 comments

r/Awwducational • u/blonderoofrat • Nov 22 '24

"Black Rats" (Rattus rattus) aren't always black. They range in color from black to light brown with lighter colored bellies. Variations which were bred for show in the 1930's even included an unusual green tinted variety.

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25 Upvotes
3 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IchTanze • Nov 19 '24

Verified The hispid hare, Caprolagus hispidus, native to the southern Himalayas, was thought to be extict until it was rediscovered in 1971. It's one of the rarest Lagomorphs in the world and has a patchy distribution. This is one of the only publicly available photos taken of it.

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474 Upvotes
10 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • Nov 17 '24

Verified Native to sub-Saharan Africa and the Nile River Valley, the Egyptian goose has now settled in N. America, much of Europe, and parts of the Middle East. Although normally quite reserved and shy, males will become boisterous and aggressive during their breeding season to attract a female.

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327 Upvotes
12 comments

r/Awwducational • u/Critter-Enthusiast • Nov 17 '24

Verified Dik diks cool off on hot days by panting through their noses.

1.1k Upvotes
13 comments

r/Awwducational • u/ExoticShock • Nov 13 '24

Verified Orangutans have the second-longest infant dependency period in the Animal Kingdom after Humans, at around 8 to 12 years. Because they spend so much time raising their offspring, females will typically only have around 3 to 4 children in their lifetime.

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1.6k Upvotes
25 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • Nov 11 '24

QUALITY POST The moaning frog is named for its call, which sounds like a slow and drawn-out moan. This frog is native to southwestern Western Australia, where, for about one month out of the year, the males sit in their burrows and moan for the attention of females.

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494 Upvotes
16 comments

r/Awwducational • u/MistWeaver80 • Nov 10 '24

Verified Cape white-eyes are monogamous and are known for being extremely social. In order to establish tight bonds, individuals often take part in allopreening of their offspring, mates, siblings, and prospective mates. Males can imitate the song of other birds in the area.

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388 Upvotes
8 comments

r/Awwducational • u/SixteenSeveredHands • Nov 09 '24

Verified African Woolly Chafers (Genus Sparrmannia): these beetles have a dense, insulating coat of "fur" that protects them from the frigid conditions of the desert at night

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2.9k Upvotes
62 comments

r/Awwducational • u/IdyllicSafeguard • Nov 09 '24

Verified The coppersmith barbet — a small bird about 16 cm (~6 in) long — often falls victim to bullying by other birds. Blue-throated barbets have been observed evicting coppersmiths from nesting holes, while red-vented bulbuls steal berries from male coppersmiths that are trying to feed their mates.

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252 Upvotes
8 comments

r/Awwducational • u/maybesaydie • Nov 07 '24

Article Hurricane Helene Battered the ‘Salamander Capital of the World’ With Floods and Landslides. Will the Beloved Amphibians Survive the Aftermath?

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148 Upvotes
3 comments