How Do You Feel About Velvet Worms?

You know you grew up on Steve Irwin when you see a photo of a crocodile and think, “Wow. Just beautiful.”

Manatee

while people think of the birds and the bees pollinating the flowers and the trees, there are also hundreds of species of nectar feeding bats which pollinate thousands of species of plants. known as chiropterophilous plants, many grow flowers that open at night so that the bats, attracted to the sugary nectar, get a dusting of pollen that is carried along with them to the next flower. 

these plants and nectivorous bats have shaped each other through coevolution, with the flowers, usually white in colour and pungent in scent so as to be conspicuous at night, often taking a vase like shape to accommodate the face of the bat. the bats, for their part, have particularly good eyesight and a fine sense of smell, but their sonar is often reduced. 

chiropterophilous plants even manufacture substances that are useless to themselves but helpful to the bat; because bats often eat the pollen in addition to the nectar, the pollen of these plants contain an amino acid, proline, which is needed to build strong wing and tail membranes. 

also worth noting: compared to say birds and bees, bats have heavy wings for their body size. consider that bats beat their wings up to 17 times per second while the bumblebee can approach 200 wing beats per second. and while those comparatively cumbersome bat wings seem like a detriment to maneuverability, new research shows this extra wing mass makes possible their ability to land upside down, like when roosting.  (videography)

(Fact Source)

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What Life On A New Planet Will Mean

Shark finning is the gruesome act of catching sharks, slicing off its fins, then throwing the body back into the ocean to drown or bleed to death. Without fins, sharks cannot balance or move, so it slowly sinks to the bottom of the ocean, where it suffocates or bleeds to death.

Sharks kill only 6 people each year. Over 100 million sharks are killed yearly, and 11,480 hourly. Because of this, shark populations are plummeting very, very fast. Some shark species are close to extinction, with some populations being dropped by 99%.

Sharks are greatly misunderstood, and are absolutely crucial to healthy ocean ecosystems. But some species of shark are in danger due to hunting and over fishing. There’s a lot to be done to make sure these vital predators have a secure position in the oceans. As a starting point, here are seven small ways you can help the cause.