5 Animals you won’t expect to see in Cumbria

1. African Spurred Tortoises

African Spurred Tortoises are the largest tortoises of the African mainland, beaten in size only by Galapagos and Aldabra (an african island) giant tortoises. Some are captured for the pet trade, but they grow rapidly when young and are soon too large for most keepers. They are vulnerable and are threatened by habitat loss and grazing competition from livestock, and to some extent capture for eastern medicine.
Snow Leopards

2. Snow Leopards

Snow Leopards are an elusive, solitary big cat native to the mountain ranges of central Asia. They are adapted well to their cold habitat, as they have thick fur, large fluffy paws, long thick tail and an enlarged nasal cavity. These keep them warm by insulating against the cold, or by warming the air they breathe through the nasal cavity.
 
3. Cotton-Topped Tamarin

This species is found in tropical rainforest edges and secondary forests. It has been found in a variety of habitats from wetland tropical forest, to moist woodland forest and dry thorn forest savannah.
Brown Spider Monkey

4. Brown Spider Monkey

Brown Spider Monkey are social monkeys known for having a prehensile tail that acts as a fifth limb. They live in social mixed gender groups of 3-22 that split into smaller groups for foraging, where they primarily search for ripe fruit.
Scarlet ibises

5. Scarlet ibises

Scarlet ibises are a distinctive red ibis native to South America. They are brown as juveniles, but as they grow they develop red patches until they are entirely red, except for a couple of black wing tip feathers, and mature.

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8 Animals That Have Very Long Lifespan

Some tortoises were around during the years when Darwin wrote his book on evolution. There are whales that are still swimming with 200 year old spears embedded into their skin. We can even find sponges that have been filter-feeding since the glory days of Rome. We humans are not the only ones who can live for more than a hundred years. Some animals can even live twice as long as we can.

Below are a few species that have very long lifespans. You can even consider some of them immortal.

Geoducks

These huge saltwater clams are commonly found in the Puget Sound, an estuary in the northwestern coast of North America. Geoducks are known to live for a little over 160 years. They’re known for their long “necks”, also called siphons, which usually grows to more than a meter long.

Tuatara

These animals have been around since the time of the dinosaurs. Although there are no individuals that walked the earth with them, Tuataras are said to live between 100 to 200 years. They’re among the longest lived vertebrates on the planet.

Lamellibrachia Tube Worms

Lamellibrachia Tube Worms are colorful, sea creatures that live near hydrocarbon vents deep in the ocean floor. These creatures are known to live up to 170 year, but a lot of researchers say that they can live to more than 250 years.

Red Sea Urchins

Native only to the Pacific Ocean, specifically along North America’s West Coast. They love in rocky, shallow waters and spend most of their time crawling around the sea floor. Some specimen has been living for more than 200 years, so be careful if you ever find one.

Bowhead Whales

Also known as arctic whales, they are known to be the longest living mammals on the planet. Some living bowhead whales were found with ivory spear tips still stuck in their flesh from attempts by whale hunters 200 years ago. A recorded specimen is known to have been around for 211 years.

Koi

These beautiful fishes are known to be ornamental, domesticated specie of carp. They’re commonly seen in decorative ponds and rock pool. Amazingly, these fishes are known to live for more than 200 years. The oldest koi that was recorded was Hanako, which lived for 226 years.

Tortoises

People often mistake tortoises for turtles. The main difference between them is that turtles live in water while tortoises live on land. The oldest recorded living specimen was a Galápagos tortoise names Harriet, who lived to a very ripe age of 175 years. She was the last living representative of Darwin's voyage on the HMS Beagle.

Ocean quahog

This is a clam specie that you can commonly find in seafood markets. Researchers say that the dark bands or rings on their shell represent a year of their life. Some specimen was found to have more than 400 bands around their shells.

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7 Pair of Animals that are Often Confused with Each Other

Everyone gets confused, especially when it comes to distinguishing two things that look very similar. In the animal world, some species look so similar that we often get confused and can’t tell them apart. Below are a few animals that may look the same, but are actually very different.

African/Asian Elephants

African elephants have a bigger build, but you can’t really tell them apart by size, not unless they’re standing next to each other. Asian elephant have two domes on the head. African elephant trunks have two “fingers” at the tips. Asian elephants also tend to be lighter in color compared to African Elephants.

Alligators/Crocodiles

Gators and crocs have a couple of features that can help tell them apart from each other. Gators have a snout that has a V shape to them and in terms of habitat, they’re only found in China and the Americas. Crocs on the other hand have a more rounded snout and are found in Australia, Africa, Southeast Asia, and some parts of the Americas. Crocs are also able to lift themselves off the ground when walking, unlike Gators.

Turtles/Tortoises

The biggest difference between these two shelled animals is that turtles spend most of their lives in water and have fins. Turtles would venture to land just to lay eggs. Tortoises live on land, have long stubby feet, and they can’t swim. They’re found in dry and hot places where they dig burrows to live in.

Cheetahs/Leopards

Cheetahs have a more slender body structure compared to leopards. Leopards are nocturnal while cheetahs tend to be more active during the day. Their spots can also help differentiate them. Cheetahs have round, solid black spots while leopards come in patterns that look more like broken rings.

Frogs/Toads

There are about four hundred frog species and three hundred toad species so it really is difficult to spot the difference. Generally, frogs tend to be smaller and have bulging eyes and strong legs. They also have webbed feet since they spend more time in water. Toads prefer to walk than jump, and are usually bigger. Frogs have slimy smooth skins while toads are covered in small warts and have dry skin.

Alpacas/Llamas

Some might mistake alpacas as young llamas, but their size difference is actually one of the things that can tell them apart. Llamas are also less hairy and produce little fleece compared to alpacas. Llamas can also be used to guard alpacas, which make them look more like the big brother of the group.

Seals / Sea Lions

Looking at their flippers, you can tell them apart right away. Seals have a smaller flipper since they mainly use them for swimming and diving. Sea lions walk with their flippers so they’re bigger and a bit more stalky looking. Seals also have a harder time moving on land compared to sea lions.

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