ASIA proboscis monkey No other primate has such a large fleshy dangling nose as the male proboscis monkey It’s believed the nose helps increase the volume of their call impressing females and intimidating rivals Proboscis monkeys have evolved webbed feet and hands to swim quickly a great help when evading the crocodiles that lurk in the rivers of their native Borneo Proboscis monkeys can’t eat ripe fruit as the sugar ferments and expands in their bellies causing them to bloat which can be deadly They eat unripe fruit as well as leaves and seeds Habitat destruction throughout Borneo means this big-nosed primate is endangered FACT JUMPING IN BOX Enthusiastic swimmers both males and females are often seen launching themself from trees to belly flop into the water below 4
COCONUT OCTOPUS The only invertebrate known to use tools and one of only two octopuses known to walk on two of its legs the coconut octopus is named for its habit of carrying coconut shells across the seafloor and using them to build fortresses Before construction can begin the octopus must dig up and thoroughly clean its building materials During this time the shells afford no protection leaving the cephalopod open to attack from predators including fish and crabs EMEI MOUSTACHE TOAD Mating season for the Emei moustache toad is a macho affair In February and March each year males sprout 10 to 16 spines on their top lip and migrate from the forest to swift-flowing rivers to breed They compete for territory and females by head-butting each other’s bellies often causing puncture wounds When mating is done and the eggs have spawned the spines fall out and the fighters return to the forest MAN UP FACT BOX In the frog world male frogs that grow larger than their female counterparts as is the case with the Emei moustache toad are known to be aggressive In up to 90 percent of frog species females are larger 5 FACT BOX CRAZY FOR COCONUTS When threatened the octopus retreats into the two halves of its coconut shell and pulls them together forming a near impenetrable orb RUN RABBIT RUN If disturbed the tufted deer takes flight Moving with rabbit-like jumps and flashing the white underside of its tail it confuses predators just long enough to escape patch of coarse hair on its forehead which often hides its small antlers the tufted deer lives in high-altitude forest regions in north eastern Myanmar formerly known as Burma and southern and central China TUFTED DEER By far the scariest looking deer on the planet this vampiric deer has oversized protruding canine teeth that look like fangs Males use their short tusks during mating season September to December to fend off rivals When threatened or startled they also bark loudly Named for the distinctive
WREATHED HORNBILL This distinctive bird has specialized ridges on the top of its beak Called casques they ASIA signify dominance and gender Mating for life the wreathed hornbill has a breeding practice akin to an ancient Egyptian burial When the female is ready to lay her eggs she builds a nest in a tree cavity The male then entombs her in the cavity sealing it with mud fruit and feces and leaving only a slender hole through which he feeds her and their chicks For roughly four months the female and her offspring depend solely on the male for their survival FACT BOX COLOR CODE The gender of wreathed hornbills is easily distinguished by the color of their throats The male’s throat is yellow and the female’s is blue MIMIC OCTOPUS Using color matching and shape-shifting this clever cephalopod avoids the jaws of its predators It imitates a range of creatures including a poisonous flatfish scooting along the seafloor and a lionfish swimming with its toxic spines erect Maybe its most incredible morph however is when imitating the venomous banded sea snake It conceals six of its arms in the sand and raises the other two now colored with thick black and beige stripes in opposite directions to resemble the reptile FACT BOX MARINE MIMICRY A jawfish in Indonesian oceans has trumped the expert mimic octopus it mimics the mimic octopus The yellow-and-black striped fish which normally stays hidden hitches a ride on the octopus wiggling its body like an extra tentacle 6
flying dragon FAST FACT While some other lizards also have small patagia or flaps of skin along their ribs members of the flying dragon genus Draco are the only known reptiles recognized as true gliders Soaring on outstretched wings the flying dragon lizard moves effortlessly around its native forests in Southeast Asia and India The wings are actually skin extensions called patagia They allow the lizard to easily glide through the air The maximum flight trajectory for both males and females is 26 feet 8 m or 40 times its body length Their patagia also help identify different species as each of the 45 known species of flying dragon lizards has a unique color display 7
