Some Facts About Nudibranchs
The word nudibranch (pronounced nooda-brank) comes from the Latin word nudus (naked) and Greek brankhia (gills), in reference to the gills or gill-like appendages obviously sticking out from the backs of many nudibranchs. They have poor vision and their sense is obtained through through their rhinophores (on top of the head) and oral tentacles (near the 'mouth'). They also have a foot that leaves slimy trails.
There are over 3,000 species of nudibranchs, and new species are still being discovered. They range in size from a few millimeters to 12" long, and can weigh up to just over 3 pounds. Two main types of nudibranchs are dorid nudibranchs and eolid nudibranchs.All nudibranchs are sea slugs, but not all sea slugs are nudibranchs.
Nudibranchs eat colorful food, which gives them their brilliant color.
Nudibranchs eat using a radula. They are carnivorous - their prey includes sponges, coral, anemones, hydroids, barnacles, fish eggs, sea slugs, and other nudibranchs. Nudibranchs are picky eaters - individual species or families of nudibranchs may eat only one kind of prey.
Nudibranchs get their bright colors from the food they eat. These colors may be used for camouflage or to warn predators of the poison that lies within.
Nudibranchs may be toxic (to their prey, but not usually to humans)
Eolid nudibranchs can use their cerata for defense. When they eat prey with nematocysts (such as Portuguese man-of-wars), the nematocysts are eaten but not discharged,and instead are stored in the nudibranch's cerata where they can be used to sting predators.
Dorid nudibranchs make their own toxins or abosorb toxins them from their food and release those into the water when needed. Despite the unsavory or toxic taste they can present to their predators, most nudibranchs are harmless to humans.
Run, rabbit, run - this cheetah is on your tail!!
Then something changed. she spotted something – a hare!
We were expecting the happy cheetah to start devouring her prey in a frenzy, as this is what other predators usually do, but instead the exhausted cat just sat there panting, holding the fresh carcass in her mouth and occasionally throwing a satisfied look at us, as if to say: “See? Told you I’ll nail her!”
A cheetah exploits so much of its energy during hunting that it must spend a while afterwards to recuperate. Then their appetite kicks in after the first small bite. We stayed there watching during the entire meal, and once the cheetah had almost finished, and the hare almost gone, we moved on to our next adventure in the Serengeti National Park
The story was published in famous magazines
She was sitting on top of a large pinnacle rock when we first saw her, giving us the most dramatic static shots we could have wished for. Apart from a casual and well documented yawn, she was very alert. It was clear she is up to something, so we stayed and watched.
She leaped elegantly down to the grass below.
After a 20-second long chase, which included lots of twists and turns, the hare was finally caught in the teeth of the only predator that can outrun it. Other cats such as leopard or caracal, or even a jackal, can get really lucky and catch one in an ambush or opportunistically, but only the cheetah is fast enough to catch a hare on an open hunt.
