What are the types of Bio-medical waste?



Infectious medical waste: These are waste materials that can pose a risk of infection to humans, animals, and the overall environment. This includes blood-stained bandages, surgical waste, human or animal body parts, cultures and swabs.



Sharps waste: This includes syringes, needles, disposable scalpels and blades.



Chemical waste: Solvents and re-agents used for laboratory preparations, disinfectants, metals such as mercury in devices such as broken thermometers and batteries.



Pharmaceutical waste: Unused, expired and contaminated medicines.



Radioactive waste: Products contaminated by radionuclides, including radioactive diagnostic material or radiotherapeutic materials.



 



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What is bio-medical waste?



Morning walkers of Clifton Beach, Karachi, Pakistan, were in for a shock recently as the golden sand was covered in garbage, which included a large amount of bio-medical waste. The tide had brought with it several blood vials and open syringes to the shoreline. Pakistani media criticised the government for going easy on hospitals and research centres that continue to dump toxic waste in the open or directly into water bodies.



To story is not different in India. Despite regulations against the dumping of medical waste in the open, loads of them are disposed of in landfills along with other garbage every day. Other rules of segregation and safety measures are also flouted in some places. Coming in contact with such waster or open burning can prove harmful to the environment and our health.



Waste generated during the diagnosis, treatment or immunisation of human beings or animals in hospitals and clinics and during experiments in research labs are all biomedical waste. It includes used syringes, blood-stained cotton bandages, used I-V tubes, scalpels, blades, glass, microbiological cultures, discarded gloves, and linen. It also includes human or animal tissues, organs and body parts and fluids. Biomedical waste may be solid or liquid.



 



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What is the mosquitoes job in the food chain?



Scientists are not sure. Mosquitoes are not known for eating waste. They don’t improve the soil like earthworms do. Yes, frogs prey on mosquitoes, but it is not their major food source. Mosquitoes pollinate plants since the males drink nectar, but they don’t do a lot of it.



Winegard thinks that may be mosquitoes have evolved to check the uncontrolled human population growth. But no one will accept that theory. Others say they have been put on earth to tell us that we are not as mighty as we think we are. We can be brought down by a tiny insect army. Do you agree?



So do we eradicate all mosquitoes? Biologists say they are part of the ecological cycle, so we cannot. They are there for a purpose, for balance in the eco-system. Who knows, maybe if we kill off all the mosquitoes, we may upset this balance and the natural selection of species. Winegard also points out: “Since there are 3,500 mosquito species and very few transmit diseases, perhaps the eradication of those that transmit diseases is extreme.”



 



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How can we prevent mosquito bites?



Why mosquitoes bite and what to do:




  • According to studies, mosquitoes prefer blood type O over A, B or a mix of any of them. So if your blood type is O, you find more of the insects buzzing around you.

  • Mosquitoes are attracted to bright colours.

  • Mosquitoes like the smell of beer in beer drinkers.

  • When you exercise, you let out a lot of carbon dioxide. Mosquitoes thrive on CO2.

  • Our skin usually keeps us safe from mosquitoes, but you know they attack your legs. That is because of the bacteria on your feet.

  • All this information about what is good for them is genetically coded into the mosquito brain. So the insect knows where to find food.



What you can do:




  • Sleep under a net if your area is mosquito-prone.

  • Keep surroundings clean to prevent them from breeding.

  • Keep your feet covered in places like the park, bus stands, railway stations, movie halls.

  • Wash your feet well when you reach home after school, before sitting down at the table to study.



 



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How to determine if mosquitoes are ready to feed?



Mosquitoes buzzed around even when dinosaurs roamed the earth. By sucking blood and carrying parasites of crippling diseases, these creatures have ravaged human populations, especially in Africa. Mosquito bites have caused the death and disability of millions of people, ruining the economy of some countries:



Weaponized



Mosquitoes have been used as a biological weapon during wars. According to Winegard, the Nazis purposely re-flooded the Pontine Marshes around Rome and Naples in Italy to reintroduce mosquitoes, and they spread malaria in that part of Italy during World War II. The soldiers fighting the Nazis got malaria and had to be sent back.



With all the science and technology we have now, why are we not eradicating mosquitoes?



Here is why:



They’re everywhere



Mosquitoes are everywhere – in swamps, forests, fields and homes – 110 trillion of them. They are global, and have been around for 100 million years. They are great survivors, “masters of evolutionary adaptation.” They are resilient, which means they can adapt to different weather conditions and terrains. They withstood “global showers” of DDT spray, and five types of mosquitoes are now immune to this pesticide. We all have defences in our body against disease. In the same way, mosquitoes have developed immunity to survive our attempts to kill them off.



Untiring work



Still, a lot of work has been done to tackle this relentless insect. Funding is available for research on mosquito-borne disease. Mosquito nets are given out in large numbers to people. Insecticides and malaria drugs are distributed in counties that cannot afford them. Doctors say death from malaria, the major disease caused by mosquitoes, has decreased across the world. However, there is an increase in the incidence of Zika, West Nile, and dengue.



Governments are low trying biological control of mosquitoes. This is to avoid use of pesticides. In this method, fish are bred in ponds where mosquitoes lay eggs. The fish eat the larvae. There are also plants that kill mosquito larvae. But these have had only limited success in keeping down mosquito numbers.



Climate crisis



Mosquitoes thrive when we create the right environment for them – by rearing animals and plants close to our homes, cutting down trees, letting water stagnate and keeping sewage channels open. Climate change, which is now a serious crisis, also helps breed mosquitoes. “Increased temperatures mean a longer breeding season for mosquitoes,” said Winegard in an interview.



“Canada has seen a 10% increase in mosquito-borne disease in the last 20 years. In the southern US, we’ve seen domestic cases of Zika, chikungunya, and even dengue in the last 10 years. So if temperatures rise around the planet, which increases the risk of spreading disease.”



 



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Why is the mosquito deadly?



The mosquito transmits or carries more diseases than any other insect. The six major ones spread by it are: malaria, dengue fever, chikungunya, zika fever, lymphatic filariasis and Japanese encephalitis.



Different species of the mosquito cause different illnesses. Research into human civilisation shows that mosquito-borne diseases throughout history have killed more people than man-made weapons.



In the book: The Mosquito: A Human History of Our Deadliest Predator, historian Timothy Winegard gives us this startling fact: over the course of 200,000 years, 108 billion people have lived on Earth. Of these, 52 billion have been killed by mosquitoes. Since 2000, an average of 2 million people have died due to diseases caused by mosquitoes. And so, it is safe to sat, the insect has had a disastrous effect on our civilisation.



 



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WHAT ARE THE MAIN FEATURES OF A DESERT?


Deserts are hot, dry areas formed by the constant weathering and erosion of the land by fierce winds, extreme temperatures and occasional flows of water. They can contain barren mountain ranges, vast canyons cut into the Earth and huge plains covered with rocks or sand dunes. Many deserts have unusual rock formations, produced by certain kinds of erosion caused by wind and sand.



Sand covers only about 20 percent of the Earth's deserts. Most of the sand is in sand sheets and sand seas--vast regions of undulating dunes resembling ocean waves "frozen" in an instant of time.



Nearly 50 percent of desert surfaces are plains where eolian deflation--removal of fine-grained material by the wind--has exposed loose gravels consisting predominantly of pebbles but with occasional cobbles.



The remaining surfaces of arid lands are composed of exposed bedrock outcrops, desert soils, and fluvial deposits including alluvial fans, playas, desert lakes, and oases. Bedrock outcrops commonly occur as small mountains surrounded by extensive erosional plains.



Oases are vegetated areas moistened by springs, wells, or by irrigation. Many are artificial. Oases are often the only places in deserts that support crops and permanent habitation.



Underground channels carry water from nearby mountains into the Turpan Depression of China. If the channels were not covered, the water would evaporate quickly when it reached the hot, dry desert land.



Soils that form in arid climates are predominantly mineral soils with low organic content. The repeated accumulation of water in some soils causes distinct salt layers to form. Calcium carbonate precipitated from solution may cement sand and gravel into hard layers called "calcrete" that form layers up to 50 meters thick.



Caliche is a reddish-brown to white layer found in many desert soils. Caliche commonly occurs as nodules or as coatings on mineral grains formed by the complicated interaction between water and carbon dioxide released by plant roots or by decaying organic material.



Most desert plants are drought- or salt-tolerant. Some store water in their leaves, roots, and stems. Other desert plants have long tap roots that penetrate the water table, anchor the soil, and control erosion. The stems and leaves of some plants lower the surface velocity of sand-carrying winds and protect the ground from erosion.



Deserts typically have a plant cover that is sparse but enormously diverse. The Sonoran Desert of the American Southwest has the most complex desert vegetation on Earth. The giant saguaro cacti provide nests for desert birds and serve as "trees" of the desert. Saguaro grow slowly but may live 200 years. When 9 years old, they are about 15 centimeters high. After about 75 years, the cacti are tall and develop their first branches. When fully grown, saguaro are 15 meters tall and weigh as much as 10 tons. They dot the Sonoran and reinforce the general impression of deserts as cacti-rich land.



Although cacti are often thought of as characteristic desert plants, other types of plants have adapted well to the arid environment. They include the pea family and sunflower family. Cold deserts have grasses and shrubs as dominant vegetation.



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WHICH ANIMALS LIVE IN RAINFORESTS?


Tropical rainforests are home to an incredible range of animal life. Over half of the world’s known species exist in the Amazon rainforest alone. Colourful birds, such as toucans, parrots and macaws, live alongside gorillas or other primates, while tigers, pumas and wolves may roam among countless poisonous snakes and insects.



It is said that a single hectare (about two and half acres) of rainforest can contain up to 1500 species of plants plus 750 species of trees. It is this wealth of plant life that attracts and sustains an amazing collection of animals. For example, one in five of all bird species are found in the Amazon rainforest.



Mammals such as Orangutans (in Asia), Gorillas (Africa), Jaguars (South America) and sloths (Central and South America) all call the rainforest home. Sloths spend most of their time in the trees. Their hooked claws and long arms allow them to spend most of their time hanging upside down! Sloths are herbivores and due to their slow movement and metabolism it can take them up to a month to digest their food! Reptiles such as Anacondas, the Emerald Boa Constrictor and the Gaboon Viper slither through the trees and on the forest floor. Insects including cutter ants, tarantulas, scorpions, butterflies and beetles rummage on the forest floor. Amphibians such as frogs and toads live in trees or near bodies of water on the forest floor. Fish including the piranha, Amazonian catfish, fresh water dolphins and stingray inhabit the rivers that run through the rainforests.



Because there are so many animals in the rainforest there is a lot of competition for sunlight, food and space. Animals therefore have to adapt to the environment.



Some animals use camouflage to hide from predators and some predators use camouflage to help them hunt for food. Their colouring or patterned skin help them disappear into the rainforest, blending into the colour of the bark or leaves.



Some animals don’t hide, some use their colouring to warn potential predators away. The poison dart frog is a good example, they may be small but they are one of nature’s most toxic and dangerous creatures. Some local people put the frog’s poisonous toxins on the tips of their blowpipe darts to kill small prey which they then eat.



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HOW CAN RAINFORESTS BE REGENERATED?


With careful planning, areas of rainforest can he re-established, although it takes over a hundred years for the forest to return to its original state. However, it the land is damaged, only scrubby vegetation will grow again.



We all know it takes a long time for cleared rainforests to regenerate, but how long exactly? According to a study focusing on the Brazilian Atlantic forest, certain aspects can return surprisingly quickly – within 65 years. But for the landscape to truly regain its native identity takes a lot longer – up to 4000 years.



The Atlantic forest originally stretched along the southern half of Brazil’s Atlantic coast, covering some 1.2 million square kilometres. Once lush, the forest has been continually exploited for food, wood and space.



Today, land it used to occupy is home to most of the country’s population, including Brazil’s two largest cities, São Paulo and Rio de Janeiro, and only 100,000 square kilometres of forest remain. In 1993, however, the government created several protected areas to conserve the forest’s remnants. To determine how long it would take for the forest to regenerate, Marcia Marques and colleagues at the Federal University of Parana collected data on different parcels of forest that had been virtually cleared and left to recover for varying amounts of time.



The researchers looked at four different measures of forest regrowth: the proportion of tree species whose seeds are dispersed by animals, the proportion of species that can grow in shade, tree height, and the number of native species.



“Animal-dispersed trees sustain a large number of fruit-eating animals, that sustain other animals including large carnivores,” says Marques. “Thus, from the proportion of animal-dispersed trees we can estimate how complex the forest’s ecological web has become.”



Animals are key to the successful regeneration of cleared areas and, typically, 80% of the tree species in a mature tropical rainforest are animal-dispersed. The researchers found that it took just 65 years for a forest to recover to this level.



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WHAT IS IT LIKE ON THE FOREST FLOOR?


The floor of a forest is teeming with wildlife. Decaying vegetation provides food for insects and allows many kinds of fungi to grow. The warm, humid atmosphere of a tropical rainforest is the perfect environment for plants and mosses that thrive in shady areas. Palm trees will grow here amongst other young trees growing towards the forest canopy. Climbing plants such as liana twist and curl around the trunks of the trees.



The forest floor, also called detritus, duff and the O horizon, is one of the most distinctive features of a forest ecosystem. It mainly consists of shed vegetative parts, such as leaves, branches, bark, and stems, existing in various stages of decomposition above the soil surface. Although principally composed of non-living organic material, the forest floor also teems with a wide variety of fauna and flora. It is one of the richest components of the ecosystem from the standpoint of biodiversity because of the large number of decomposers and predators present, mostly belonging to invertebrates, fungi, algae, bacteria, and archaea. Certain (adapted) plants may be more apparent in tropical forests, where rates of metabolism and species diversity are much higher than in colder climates.



The major compartments for the storage of organic matter and nutrients within systems are the living vegetation, forest floor, and soil. The forest floor serves as a bridge between the above ground living vegetation and the soil, and it is a crucial component in nutrient transfer through the biogeochemical cycle. Much of the energy and carbon fixed by forests is periodically added to the forest floor through litterfall, and a substantial portion of the nutrient requirements of forest ecosystems is supplied by decomposition of organic matter in the forest floor and soil surface. The sustained productivity of forests is closely linked with the decomposition of shed plant parts, particularly the nutrient-rich foliage. The forest floor is also an important fuel source in forest fires.



The amount of material in the forest floor depends on the balance between inputs from litter production and outputs from decomposition, and amounts also reflect the site's disturbance history. Both litter production and decomposition are functions of the site (e.g., wet versus dry; cold versus warm; nutrient rich versus nutrient poor) and the vegetation that occupies the site (e.g., conifer versus broadleaf). A site's forest floor is determined by its areal weight, depth, and nutrient content. Typically, forest floors are heaviest and deepest in boreal forests and mountain forests where decomposition rates are slow. In contrast, the lightest and thinnest forest floors usually occur in tropical forests where decomposition rates are rapid, except on white sands where nutrients could not be supplied from mineral weathering.



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WHY ARE FORESTS DESTROYED?


The world’s forests provide many resources for human beings. Trees are cut down for timber, which is used for many different purposes, from building materials and fuel to making paper and chemicals. Forest areas are also cleared to create land for farming and other uses. There is a great deal of concern about the rate at which rainforests in particular are being destroyed. It is thought that an area of rainforest the size of a soccer pitch disappears every second. Such devastation has a dramatic effect on plant and animal species, as well as on the land itself.



As much as 80% of the world's forests have been destroyed or irreparably degraded. Our ancient forests are looted every day to supply cheap timber and wood products to the world. The price for this destruction is escalating climate change, biodiversity loss and community displacement. And it’s happening in our region. Indonesia has lost 72% of its ancient forest, Papua New Guinea 60% and the Solomon Islands are predicted to lose all of them by 2014. Back in Australia, we are part of the problem.



The illegal and destructive logging operations are pushing species such as the orang-utan towards the brink of extinction and devastating local communities. What’s more, forest destruction accounts for around 20% of global carbon emissions. That’s more than the world’s entire transport sector.



Agri-business is responsible for massive rainforest destruction as forests are cleared or burned to make way for cattle ranches, palm oil or soya plantations. Irreplaceable rainforests are converted into products that are used to make toothpaste, chocolate and animal feed. Indonesia’s peatlands only cover 0.1% of the land on Earth, but thanks in part to the activities of the palm oil industry they contribute to 4% of global emissions. If expansion of the palm oil industry continues unabated, that figure can only rise.



Today, forests face another threat – climate change. When we destroy forests, we add to climate change because forests trap carbon and help stabilise the world’s climate. When forests are trashed, the carbon trapped in trees, their roots and the soil is released into the atmosphere. Deforestation accounts for up to 20% of all carbon emissions. This is why Indonesia is the world’s third largest greenhouse gas emitter after the US and China. At the same time, climate change itself threatens forests on a terrifying scale.



As their forest is cut down, millions of indigenous people suffer human rights abuse, and increased poverty and disease. Their food and medicine sources are destroyed. Their drinking water is polluted by soil erosion. With less than 5% of the logs’ value given back to the communities, the business of logging is moving landholders from subsistence affluence to a desperate type of poverty.



Some of the world’s most rare animals and plants call the last remaining rainforests in our region home. As their habitats are destroyed, many face extinction.



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HOW DO THE WORLD’S FORESTS DIFFER?


Forests can be classified according to a wide number of characteristics, with distinct forest type’s occurring within each broad category. However, by latitude, the three main types of forests are tropical, temperate, and boreal.



Tropical



Most tropical forests receive large amounts of rain annually (up to 100 inches), which is spread evenly throughout the year. However, there are some tropical forests that receive seasonal rainfall and experience both a wet and dry season. While tropical forests have many layers, most of the nutrients are held in the vegetation within the canopy; therefore, the soils are typically low in both mineral and nutrient content. Shallow roots allow for ‘catching’ any nutrients released by decaying leaves and ground litter.



Tropical forests are particularly important since they are unusually rich in bio­logical diversity, especially insects and flowering plants. This incredible amount of biodiversity—accounting for 50 to 80 percent of the world’s plant and animal species, with a potential for millions still undiscovered—is what defines these forests and makes them most unique. In just a few square kilometers, hundreds—even thousands—of tree and plant species can be found.



Deforestation is one of the greatest concerns in tropical areas, especially within rainforests which cover only a small area (approximately 7 percent) of the Earth’s surface. Aside from their vast biodiversity, tropical forests provide homes to a large number of indigenous people. And, in looking beyond the typical forest offerings, tropical forests supply both local and global markets with a variety of ingredients for medicines; nearly half of all medicines used today are linked to discoveries within these forests.



Temperate



Temperate forests—common throughout North America, Eurasia, and Japan—are primarily deciduous, characterized by tall, broad-leafed, hardwood trees that shed brilliantly colored leaves each fall. These forests experience varied temperatures and 4 seasons, with winter often bringing below freezing temperatures and summer bringing higher heat and humidity. Rainfall also varies, averaging 30 to 60 inches annually, allowing for soils that are well developed and rich in organic matter. They also provide habitat for a wide variety of smaller mammal species, including squirrels, raccoons, deer, coyotes and black bear and many bird species, including warblers, woodpeckers, owls, and hawks.



Temperate forests are often most affected by human activity since they are located in or near the most inhabitable areas. The land in these areas has long been used for agriculture and grazing, although great expanses of forest regeneration and small areas of pristine forest exist. The hardwoods are valuable for making furniture and other commodities, and many remaining forests have been modified to accommodate recreation and tourism.



Boreal



Boreal forests (also known as taiga) are located just south of the tundra and stretch across large areas of North America and Eurasia. They are one of the world’s largest biomes, encompassing about 11 percent of Earth’s land area, but have very short growing seasons with little precipitation and represent relatively few tree species. The forest is dominated by coniferous trees, which have needle-shaped leaves with minimal surface area to prevent excessive water loss. These forests provide habitat for a few large mammal species, such as moose, wolves, caribou, and bears, and numerous smaller species, including rodents, rabbits, lynx, and mink.



Despite the remote locations and often inhospitable environment, boreal forests have long been a source of valuable resources. Fur trading began in the 1600s and continued well into this century. Boreal forests are also rich in metal ores—including iron—and coal, oil, and natural gas. Most importantly, the forest serves as a major source of industrial wood and wood fiber, including softwood timber and pulpwood. However, the low productivity rate in these forests leads to a slow rate of forest regeneration.



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WHERE DO FORESTS GROW?


Forest will grow in areas where the temperature rises above 10°C (50°F) in the summer and the annual rainfall is more than 200mm (8in). The type of forest depends upon the local climate, the soil and the altitude. Forests that grow in the extreme north of the Northern Hemisphere are called boreal forests; temperate forests grow in areas of moderate climate in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres. Tropical regions are best known for their vast, dense areas of rainforest.



Tropical rain forests grow around the equator in South America, Africa, and Southeast Asia. They have the highest species diversity per area in the world, containing millions of different species. Even though they cover only a small part of the earth, they house at least one half of all species. The temperature is stable year-round, around 27°C (60° Fahrenheit). As you can tell from the name, it rains a lot in these forests. Most tropical forests receive at least 200 cm (80 inches) of rain in a year. Tropical forests generally have a rainy and dry season.



The high temperatures, abundant rainfall, together with twelve hours of light a day promotes the growth of many different plants. One square kilometer (0.6 miles) can have up to 100 different tree species. Broadleaf trees, mosses, ferns, palms, and orchids all thrive in rain forests. The trees grow very densely together and the branches and leaves block most of the light from penetrating to the understory. Many animals adapted to life in trees — such as monkeys, snakes, frogs, lizards, and small mammals — are found in these forests.



The soil can be several meters deep, but due to nutrient leaching, it lacks most of the essential nutrients for plant growth. The thin topsoil layer contains all the nutrients from decaying plants and animals, and this thin layer sustains the many plant species in the forest. One might think that the soil would be very rich because it supports so much life, but when tropical forests are clear-cut, the soil is useless for agriculture after only a few years — when the topsoil becomes depleted.



Temperate forests occur in the next latitude ring, in North America, northeastern Asia, and Europe. There are four well-defined seasons in this zone including winter. In general, the temperature ranges from -30 to 30°C (-22 to 86 F) and the forests receive 75-150 cm (30-60 in) of precipitation per year. Deciduous — or leaf-shedding — trees make up a large proportion of the tree composition in addition to some coniferous trees such as pines and firs. The decaying fallen leaves and moderate temperatures combine to create fertile soil. On average, there are 3-4 tree species per square km. Common tree species are oak, beech, maple, elm, birch, willow, and hickory trees. Common animals that live in the forest are squirrels, rabbits, birds, deer, wolves, foxes, and bears. They are adapted to both cold winters and warm summer weather.



Temperate evergreen coniferous forests are found in the northwestern Americas, South Japan, New Zealand, and Northwestern Europe. These forests are also called temperate rain forests because of the large amount of rainfall they see. The temperature stays pretty constant throughout the year, with a lot of precipitation, 130-500 cm (50-200 in). All this rain creates a moist climate and a long growing season, which results in very large trees. Evergreen conifers dominate these forests. Common species are cedar, cypress, pine, spruce, redwood, and fir. There are still some deciduous trees such as maples and many mosses and ferns — resulting in a Jurassic-looking forest. Common animals roaming the woods are deer, elk, bears, owls, and marmots.



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How do Snakes, Seals and Walruses inflate?



The elephant seal has a nose that looks like a trunk, hence its name. When the time to mate comes around, the seals inflate their noses by nearly a foot or 30 centimetres! They face off in snorting contests to prove their value to the females.



Walruses on the other hand, puff up their necks to create a natural pillow. The two sacs keep the walrus afloat when it is sleeping in the water.



Among snakes, the puff adder is the only one that can inflate its entire body and let out a loud hiss for good measure. It is a large venomous snake found in some parts of Africa.



 



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How do howler monkey inflate?



Among simians, the howler monkey can make one of the loudest calls among animals by inflating the air sacs in its throat. It is not only used for communication, but also as a mating display.



Orangutans have a little-known physical feature – an inflatable pouch along their necks that expands to hold nearly six litres of water! Amazingly, the pouches inflate when the orangutan breathes out rather than in. the sac helps amplify its calls and to climb, breathe and float.



Each social group of howler monkeys consists of 10-20 members organized in a strict hierarchy, with a dominant male as the leader.  Group members spend nearly 2/3 of their time sleeping; this is due to the energy-poor diet of the monkeys.  Much like the sloth, howler monkeys feed mainly on leaves.  This means that they are folivores, or leaf-grazers.  These leaves, however, are a poor source of nutrition because most of the calories in the leaves are bound up in hard-to-digest cellulose.  To gain a sufficient amount of energy, an adult howler monkey thus needs to ingest more than 15% of its body size per day in leaf matter. 



 



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