Adaptations

• Just Hanging Around Waiting for Dinner
• The green tree python adopts a characteristic pose with one or two coils looped around a branch forming a sort of saddle with its head resting in the middle of the coils. The snake may curl its prehensile tail around the branch to serve as an anchor when it strikes out at passing prey or it may use the black tipped tail as a lure to draw prey in closer. These snakes are constrictors. They coil their body around prey and each time the victim exhales, the snake tightens the coils eventually suffocating the prey animal. The snake then swallows the prey headfirst.
• Shedding My Old Skin
• Snakes continue growing throughout life although the growth rate slows as the snake ages. They literally outgrow their skin and periodically the outer layer is shed and replaced. The skin is often shed as a single slough, which is peeled off inside out. The eyes are covered by transparent scales called “spectacles” which are replaced when the snake sheds.
• Can You See Me Now?
• The vivid emerald green coloration and disruptive pattern of spots and stripes provides camouflage for these highly arboreal snakes as they rest or move through the dense vegetation in the trees. When resting, they are virtually invisible – a useful adaptation for these patient predators.

Diet

What Does It Eat?

In the wild:
Tree lizards, small mammals as well as other small arboreal vertebrates.

At the zoo:
Rats, mice.

Adaptations

• Hind Leg Locomotion
• This species is well known for its bipedal locomotion when running. When disturbed, the lizard rears up on its hind legs and dashes for the safety of the nearest tree.
• Up In The Trees
• The frilled lizard spends most of its time on the trunks and limbs of trees hunting insects. It will descend to the ground to catch other insects or search for other food.
• Larger Than Life
• The name of this spectacular lizard comes from the large leathery ruff or frill of skin around the neck. When the lizard is alarmed or faced with a potential threat, it opens its mouth widely thus erecting the frill in a flash of startling orange color. When the frill is fully extended it can reach 12 inches (30.5 cm) across which makes the lizard appear much larger and more threatening to any potential predator. The resulting surprise usually allows the frilled lizard to make a quick escape. But if necessary, the lizard may hiss, jump toward the potential threat and repeatedly lash its tail on the ground to add to the threat. The frilled lizard prefers to run away rather than fight but is capable of inflicting painful bites, with its large canine teeth, on any predator.

Diet

What Does It Eat?

In the wild:
Insects, spiders, termites and small lizards.

At the zoo:
Insectivore diet.

What Eats It?
Feral cats prey on frilled lizards.

Adaptations

• All the Better to Eat You With…
• Komodo dragons have 60 razor sharp teeth up to one inch (2.5 cm) long. Lost or damaged teeth are constantly replaced. Dragons can go through four or five sets of teeth in their lifetime. Their teeth allow dragons to tear off large chunks of flesh which they swallow whole. Their sharp claws are used to attack and hold prey.
• Beware the Bite
• Many lizards eat plants but Komodo dragons are carnivores and mainly eat carrion, but also ambush large prey. They use a stealthy approach when hunting prey, using their long claws and sharp teeth to attack the unwary animal as it passes by. If the prey does not die from the initial attack, the dragon follows the injured animal until it dies due to blood loss or infection. Komodo dragon saliva contains 50 different strains of toxic bacteria that cause deadly infections in the prey animal. Attracted by the smell, several dragons converge on dead or decaying animals. The largest male dragons eat first, followed by smaller males and females, and finally by the juvenile dragons that descend from the safety of the trees to eat whatever remains.
• Primary Sense
• The Komodo dragon’s sense of smell is their primary method of detecting food. Using their forked tongues, they test the air for the scent of warm-blooded animals. They have a Jacobson’s organ on the roof of the mouth that analyzes the information from the tongue and signals the direction of potential prey. Their sense of smell is so acute, they can detect the smell of dead or dying animals up to five miles away.

Diet

What Does It Eat?

In the wild:
Adults ear water buffalo, pigs, deer, feral dogs, venomous snakes and juvenile dragons; juvenile dragons eat small lizards, eggs, grasshoppers and beetles. At the zoo: Rats, capelin.

At the zoo:
They get rodents of appropriate size for the animal, and then when adults, rabbits, goat quarters etc as available and sized appropriately.

What Eats It?
Adults are top predators but juvenile dragons are preyed upon by adult dragons, feral dogs, wild boars, civet cats and snakes.

Adaptations

Here Fishy, Fishy!

Alligator snapping turtles have a soft, red, worm-shaped structure on the tongue that they use as a fishing lure. Sitting quietly on the muddy river bottom, concealed by their algae covered shell, they open their mouth and wait for prey to swim by.  When a curious fish or other unwary prey tries to eat the decoy “worm”, the turtle’s massive jaws close on the prey.

Water Lovers

Alligator snapping turtles are unlikely to travel from water onto land. Generally only females venture onto land to lay their eggs. These turtles can stay submerged for 6-8 hours before they emerge from the water for air. This species can remain so still underwater that algae will cover their backs making them almost invisible to fish.

Sensing Prey

These turtles use chemosensory cues to locate prey. Water drawn in and out of the mouth provides chemical clues given off by potential prey nearby. Using this sensory system, alligator snapping turtles are able to locate prey like mud turtles that have buried themselves in the mud at the bottom of the river.

Diet

What Does It Eat?

In the wild:
These carnivorous turtles eat mostly fish, mollusks and other turtles but also consume some fruit and plant material that falls in the water.

At the zoo:
Fish and rats

What Eats It?
Turtle eggs and hatchlings are eaten by large fish, raccoons and birds. Adult turtles are used as a food source by humans.