What’s very interesting about the man o’ war is that it’s not just 1 animal.

It’s actually 4 different animals with different abilities and disabilities, which makes each part of the man 0′ war absolutely dependent upon the others.

They like to hang out at the surface of the ocean, due to the air-filled sac or air bladder that they use as a sail and to float -  that’s why it’s sometimes called the blue bubble or blue bottle.

The sail is tinged blue, purple or mauve, and can be up to 30 cm long and up to 15 cm out of the water. The group of animals secretes a gas into the sail for flotation, but it must stay moist, so can submerge itself or roll to keep wet.

This is also handy, as if they are attacked, they can release the gas and submerge to stay out of harm’s way.

As you can see, they have tentacles that dangle below in the water, which is most often about 1 meter long, but can reach up to 150 feet long…Whoa! That’s about 50 meters for those who use the metric system.

Each one of their tentacles has venom-filled stingers, which help the man o’ war catch fish continuously, called nematocysts. Then, they have special cells that contract and release, and contract and release to drag the prey up towards their digestive polyps. Really amazing.

However, there are some fish that live symbiotically with man o’ wars, as they are immune or nearly immune to their sting.

Many people think Man O’ War are jellyfish, and they are not. This is important to note and be able to decipher, as if you’re stung by one, the treatment is much different that with that of a jellyfish.

If you find one on the beach, it usually means there are thousands nearby, as they swarm together.

Stay away from them though, as they give an extremely powerful, painful sting! In fact, they’ve been known to close entire beaches down due to their presence.

Their sting can kill small fish and shrimp. However, for a human to be stung by one is excruciatingly painful!

As mentioned earlier, there are some fish immune to their venom, and believe it or not, blue bubbles have predators too.

Loggerhead turtles have skin that is too thick to be affected by the venom and often feed on them. Sea slugs and violet snails make meals out of man o’ wars slowly, but surely. Also, female blanket octopi will rip off the tentacles and later use it for protection against their predators.

This means that the tentacles, even though separated, retain their stinging abilities. Therefore, if they wash up on the beach and look or are dead, they are still very poisonous and can really hurt you!

They leave red, whip-like welts on your skin lasting about 45 min. However, if that venom happens to make it to your lymph nodes, there will be much more intense pain that lasts a lot longer.

You never know, but you could be allergic to the venom and have other different effects such as fever, shock and trouble with your heart and lung function. People have died from stings, although very rare occurrences.

* Tip: When removing animal from your body, if you are stung, use another instrument, so as not to sting your fingers and hands as well, intensifying pain and problems. Find a stick or something else to use.

Immediately flush area with salt water, not fresh water. Follow that up with hot water around 45 C or 113 F because that will make the poison less potent.

Then, you need to apply an ice pack, which keeps the swelling down and reduces the activity of the toxins in your body. This will in turn slow the speed of the venom moving through your body as the cold will constrict blood vessels.

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I hope you enjoyed this Invertebrate post on Exotic Animal Lover during Great Barrier Reef Month! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Please be sure to Subscribe to this Blog.

Technorati Tags: Portuguese man o’ war, man o’ war, man of war, blue bottle, blue bubble, invertebrate, Australian animals, marine animals, poisonous animals

Portuguese Man O’ War – Even on the Gold Coast of Australia is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

The majority of them live in Northern Australian waters…

I’ve had the amazing opportunity to see them out in the wild in Shark Bay off of Western Australia. Fantastic creatures! What an awesome blessing! (I know the video below is of dugongs in Shark Bay, but it will still tell you a lot about them and how they live…)

Dugong bodies are fusiform, which means they are wide in the middle and taper off at both ends.

Their front limbs are more like paddles than fins. It’s tail is similar to that of a dolphin, being “fluked”.

Dugongs graze on seagrasses, which means they stay close to coastal shores, and use a sharply down-turned muzzle, specially adapted to this type of feeding.

Conservation Status:
The Dugong is a Vulnerable Threatened species of animal.

Why?
For thousands of years, they have been hunted for meat and oil, and their hides have been used by many different cultures for various reasons.

They are still being hunted, their habitats are substantially degraded, and they often get trapped in nets, not to mention being hit by speedboat propellers, as they stay close to shore to feed.

Apparently, it’s rare to find a dugong, or a manatee for that matter, that doesn’t have some kind of injury or scar from speedboat propellers.

Natural population killers include parasites, predators like sharks, killer whales and crocodiles, as well as storms.

Dugongs can live 70 years, and have a very slow rate of reproduction, which makes it difficult for the population of the species to increase.

What’s Cool About Dugongs?
They have small hairs all over their bodies, which allow them to sense the features of their underwater environment.

Females are larger than males and are just under 3 meters long.

Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Sirenia
Family: Dugongidae
Subfamily: Dugonginae
Genus: Dugong
Species: D. dugon

For more information on how to save the Dugong, check out: Save The Dugong @ Greenpeace.org
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I hope you enjoyed this Mammal post on Exotic Animal Love during Great Barrier Reef Month! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. For more information on plans to save the Dugong, check out this awesome and information book:

Dugong: Status Report and Action Plans for Countries and Territories

Technorati Tags: dugong, siren, marine mammal, mammal, ocean animals, Australian animal

Dugongs Are an Extremely Vulnerable Species is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

However, it’s neither a bear nor a cat! LOL…It just resembles both of those animals. To me, it looks like a large raccoon species.

It, too, is an arboreal species that is nocturnal – instead of sleeping in a nest of sorts, it simply sleeps on branches of rainforests in Asia, India & Indonesia.

Although it is classified as a carnivore, it is omnivorous! It eats mostly fruit, but has been known to dabble in eating eggs, small animals like rodents and birds, shoots and leaves.

Binturong are known for their happy chuckling sounds and high-pitched wails when annoyed. It also communicates using it’s tail and scent gland.

It has a prehensile tail, meaning it works as a 5th limb or hand. Bearcats are the size of a small dog and has a coat that is thick, coarse and black.

Conservation Status:
The Binturong is considered to be a Vulnerable species in endangerment.

Why?
It’s drastic drop in numbers is mainly due to deforestation in their habitat, and poaching for it’s fur and medicinal uses.

Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Carnivora
Family: Viverridae
Subfamily: Paradoxurinae
Genus: Arctictis
Species: A. binturong
Subspecies: There are 6 subspecies of binturong.

Why is This Animal So Important?
It’s the only animal known to be able to eat the seed coating of the Strangler Fig, which is a crucial tree in the rainforest. This means the binturong is very important for seed dispersal.

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I hope you enjoyed this Mammal post on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. The Bearcat is a quite popular mascot. In fact, the University of Cincinnati boasts this animal as their mighty mascot! Get a U. of Cincinnati ringtone for your phone:

University of Cincinnati Bearcats Ringtone $5.99

Technorati Tags: binturong, mammal, carnivore, Indian animal, Asian animal, bearcat, Asian bearcat, Palawan bearcat

You Say Bearcat – I Say Binturong is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

As stated above, there are 2 species of orangutan. They are considered primates or apes.

They differ from other apes in that they have longer arms than other species, twice as long as their legs, and have reddish hair, instead of the characteristically black hair other apes possess.

Adult males can be up to 5’9″ tall – taller than me, and weigh up to 260 lbs…Females are typically half as heavy and reach 4’2″ tall.

Orangutans are especially known for their great intelligence.

These apes live in trees, making them an arboreal species, living in rainforests natively in Malaysia and Indonesia.

However, they are only found in Borneo and Sumatra, where everyday, they make themselves a new nest to sleep in made of branches and leaves.

They are often “hermits” of sorts, coming together mainly only to mate…But, mothers stay with their babies until they are 6 or 7 yrs old.

Only “flanged” males have territories that they protect, which will not overlap with other flanged males land. It should be mentioned that any individual that is not flanged, male or female, will not have a territory.

What Does Flanged Mean?
Some males will develop face flaps of sorts on each side of their face like cheek pads, they’ll have longer hair, and a throat pouch.

The girls run after these males and want to be a part of their group. Although other males are able to mate, they must force themselves upon the females to do so.

Apparently, in Malaysian & Indonesian, orangutan means forest person. They look like forest people, don’t they?

What Do They Eat?
Mostly fruit…but they’ll also eat a little bit of this and a little bit of that including: birds eggs, insects, leaves, shoots, honey and a number of other nourishing foods, making them omnivorous.

Conservation Status:
The Sumatran Orangutan, as many apes, is Critically Endangered! The Bornean Orangutan is Endangered!

Why?
Mainly deforestation of their habitat and food source, and human development. Forest fires, logging and mining are among the main contributors to their demise, as well as growing other plants on plantations for commerce.

These aren’t the only problems. They are still being hunted for bushmeat and by poachers, not to mention illegal pet trade.

Scientists have predicted their extinction by 2012 due to these activities.

For more information on How to Help Save Orangutans – Check out The Orangutan Conservancy @ Orangutan.net

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I hope you found this Primate post informational on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Get your own computer wallpaper of a baby orangutan! Awww:

Baby Orangutan Wallpaper $5.99

Technorati Tags: orangutan, apes, primates, mammals, Indian animals, Asian animals, orangutang, omnivore

Orangutan May Be Extinct by 2012! is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover