My Science School

The ungainly gnu (pronounced “g-new” or simply “new”) earned the Afrikaans name wildebeest, or “wild beast,” for the menacing appearance presented by its large head, shaggy mane, pointed beard, and sharp, curved horns.

Their habitat comprises the grassy plains and open woodlands of central, southern, and eastern Africa, particularly the Serengeti in Tanzania and Kenya. They travel in large herds and are active day and night, grazing constantly.

Up to 500,000 calves are born in February and March each year, at the beginning of the rainy season. Calves learn to walk within minutes of birth and within days are able to keep up with the herd. Wildebeests can live to be 20 years old.

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Moose is the largest of all the deer species. It inhabits forests during winter and areas near rivers and streams during summer. It is found all over the North hemisphere, mainly in the colder climate.

It has poor eyesight, but has excellent sense of smell and hearing. It is also an excellent swimmer and a fast runner.

One of its unique features is the antlers. Only male moose (bulls) sport antlers. The shape differs from animal to animal and they are shed every year around November, being replaced with larger ones the forthcoming spring. The primary function of antlers is to attract potential mate.

A male moose also has a ‘dewlap’, a dangling up under the chin.

Adult of its species are too big to have many predators, but bears, wolves, and cougars prey on calves.

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Spider monkey is a primate living in Central and South America. There are seven different species of spider monkeys. It has long, thin arms with look-like hands and a very long tail that allow it to swing through the trees. It does not have a thumb.

It looks like a spider as it hangs upside down from its tail with its arms and legs dangling. And that’s why scientists named it so.

Like most primate species, it is a very social animal. They live in groups called troops. When foraging for food, they split into smaller groups and share their bounty.

It uses different sounds such as scream, sob and even bark for communication.

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Snakes that lay their eggs outside of their bodies are known as oviparous. Those that retain them are called ovoviviparous. Ovoviviparous snakes appear to give birth to live young, but they actually don't -- although there are those who do, known as viviparous snakes.

While ovoviviparous snakes lay eggs, just like their oviparous counterparts, the mother snake simply keeps those eggs within her body while they incubate. Usually ovoviviparous species, such as some garter snakes and pit vipers, live in cooler climates where it would be harder for the mother snake to properly brood the eggs to keep them warm enough to hatch. By keeping them inside, she can maintain them at a comfortable temperature. Unlike viviparous species, there is no transfer of fluids between mother and babies, because they each feed on the substances contained in their individual eggs. Babies emerge from the mother when they hatch from their eggs, giving them the appearance of "live" births.

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Did you know that there are some snakes such as rattlesnakes, Russell’s vipers and boas that do not lay eggs? They give birth to baby snakes. In other words, the babies develop in their mother snake before emerging into this world. These snakes may be viviparous (no egg at any stage of development) or ovoviviparous (eggs hatched within the mother’s body). The baby snakes are independent from day one.

When baby snakes are born live, as is the case with viviparous and ovoviviparous species, they are completely on their own from day one! There is no parental protection in the snake world. The babies go off on their own shortly after birth, and must fend for themselves. That is why baby rattlesnakes are born "fully loaded" with fangs and venom.

Sea snakes are a mixed lot. They are members of Hydrophiinae, a subfamily of the Elapidae family that also includes the venomous cobras, adders and mambas. Most of the sea snake species give birth to live young, which means the babies are born alive in the water. But there is one genus, Laticauda, which is oviparous. The female members of this particular genus lay eggs on land, as opposed to giving live birth like the other sea snakes.

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Did you know a host of creatures paved the way for human spaceflight? Fruit flies were the first to be sent up in 1947 and they were recovered alive. A couple of years later, Albert II, a rhesus monkey, made it to a height of 134 km, but a problem with the parachute led to his end on landing. Following Albert II, a number of monkeys were sent up but none survived. Their sacrifices helped scientists study the effects of weightlessness and radiation on living beings. The first monkeys to survive the flight into space to a height of over 550km were Able and Baker in 1959.

They flew to a height of 360 miles (580 km) on May 28, 1959 aboard a Jupiter rocket. Their capsule landed 1700 miles (2736 km) downrange from the Eastern Space Missile Center at Cape Canaveral, Florida, and they were successfully recovered. To read more about this historic event, check out our story commemorating the 50th anniversary of the flight.

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