User talk:Vetarie

I love animals!!! Look at my research on the weta and the leopard. •	The weta is only found in New Zealand and is sooooo old, it has outlived the dinosaurs! •	Weta are large by insect standards but some of the giant weta are ENORMOUS and are amongst the heaviest insects in the world •	The weta is sometimes known as the dinosaur of the insect world •	The weta is more primitive than the tuatara •	The weta has changed very little in the past 100 MILLION YEARS! •	When you grow bigger, you get bigger clothes.

When an insect grows bigger, it breaks out of its old skeleton and grows a new and bigger one on the outside of its body. The weta sheds its exoskeleton when molting, which can make it vulnerable to predators •	At 18 months the male weta selects a female and they spend six months together sharing the male's territory •	At around two years old the female will lay 100-300 eggs. The parents will die before the weta eggs hatch 3-5 months later •	The female Weta can be easily identified by her long ovipositor (it looks like a sting but it isn't - it is for laying eggs) Weta are not a favorite animal of most people. They are at risk from being eaten by their enemies and they are at risk when some humans are about – Don’t Stand On That Weta! Tuataras are a native predator of the weta. The tuatara is cold blooded, like the weta, and does not pose the same threat as warm blooded predators like the rat. The tuatara will sit and wait for a meal to walk by, unlike rats which seek out their prey and find weta easy game, especially when they become inactive in cold weather.

Before people arrived in NZ the weta had few predators. Then people came with predators like rats, cats and dogs.

Weta are at risk from being eaten by rats, trampling by stock and killed by fire when forest is burned to make farmland.

Weta are nocturnal, which means they are active at night. During the day, weta hide from predators such as rats and birds. Some weta are in danger of becoming extinct, such as the Middle Island Tusked Weta. The Department of Conservation is studying this weta. They need to learn more about it so they can save it from extinction. You can help to save the weta from extinction by treading carefully and putting weta somewhere safe if you find them on the path. There are two families of weta in New Zealand. One family contains the Cave Weta. The other family contains the Giant, Tusked, Tree and Ground Weta. The Wetta New Zealand                                                                                      																										                                                                	The Leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the four 'big cats' of the genus Panthera. Males can grow to weigh 91 kg (200 lbs) and the females can weigh 60 kg (132 lbs) [1]. Originally, it was thought that a leopard was a hybrid between a lion and a panther, and the leopard's common name derives from this belief; Leo is the Greek and Latin word for lion (Greek Leon, λέων) and pared is an old term meaning panther. In fact, a "panther" can be any of several species of large felid. In North America, panther means cougar and in South America a panther is a jaguar. Elsewhere in the world a panther is a leopard. Early naturalists distinguished between leopards and panthers not by color (a common misconception), but by the length of the tail — panthers having longer tails than leopards. Although it is common for a leopard to be mistaken for a cheetah due to their spots, they can actually be easily distinguished. The leopard has a heavier, stockier body and has a larger head in proportion to its body, and has rosettes rather than dots. Leopards also lack the black "tear-streak" markings that run from the inner corners of the cheetah's eyes to the corners of its mouth. Additionally, cheetahs run much faster than leopards do and generally do not climb trees, whereas leopards are excellent climbers. Also, leopards are more active at night searching for their prey (nocturnal), whereas cheetahs are usually diurnal. Leopards are infamous for their ability to go undetected. They sometimes live practically among humans and are usually still tough to spot. They are graceful and stealthy. Among the big cats they are probably the most accomplished stalkers. They are good, agile climbers, but can not get down from a tree headfirst, because they do not have the ankle flexibility- the only two cats that do are the Margay and the Clouded Leopard. Along with climbing, they are strong swimmers but not as fond of water as tigers; for example, leopards will not normally lie in water. They are mainly nocturnal but can be seen at any time of day and will even hunt during daytime on overcast days. In regions where they are hunted, nocturnal behavior is more common. These cats are solitary, avoiding one another. However, 3 or 4 are sometimes seen together. Hearing and eyesight are the strongest of these cats' senses and are extremely acute. Olfaction is relied upon as well, but not for hunting. When making a threat, leopards stretch their backs, depress their ribcages between their shoulder blades so they stick out, and lower their heads (similar to domestic cats). During the day they may lie in bush, on rocks, or in a tree with their tails hanging below the treetops and giving them away. Leopards have difficulty defending kills from large social predators, such as lion or hyena. In areas with large numbers of large predators, they typically store their kills out of reach in trees. Although a leopard caught on the ground will typically try to defend its kill, it will generally find itself outmatched by these predators. If outnumbered, it will abandon its kill and seek safety in trees. Leopards are truly opportunistic hunters. They will eat just about any animal. Their diet consists of mostly monkeys, rodents, reptiles, amphibians, birds, fish, wild pigs, and ungulates. In fact, they hunt about 90 different species of animals. A solitary dog, itself a formidable predator, is itself potential prey for leopards, although a pack of dogs can tree or drive off a leopard. Their prey ranges in size from a snack of beetles to Antelopes. In Africa, mid-sized antelopes provide a majority of the leopard's prey, especially Thomson's gazelles and reedbucks. It stalks its prey silently and at the last minute pounces on its prey and strangles its throat with a quick bite. Leopards are capable of carrying animals up to three times their own weight into the trees. Although most leopards will tend to avoid humans, people are occasionally targeted as prey. Most healthy leopards prefer wild prey to humans, but cats that are injured, sickly or struggling with a shortage of regular prey often turn to hunting people and may become habituated to it. In the most extreme cases, both in India, a leopard dubbed "the Leopard of Rudraprayag" is claimed to have killed over 125 people and the infamous leopardess called "Panar Leopard" killed over 400 after being injured by a poacher and thus being made unable to hunt normal prey. The "Leopard of Rudraprayag" and the "Panar Leopard" were both killed by the legendary hunter Jim Corbett. Despite its size, this largely nocturnal and arboreal predator is difficult to see in the wild. The best location to see leopards in Africa is in the Sabi Sand Private Game Reserve in South Africa, where leopards are habituated to safari vehicles and are seen on a daily basis at very close range. In Asia, one can see leopards Yala National Park in Sri Lanka, which has the world's highest density of wild leopards, but even here sightings are by no means guaranteed because more than half the park is closed off to the public, allowing the animals to thrive. The recently reopened Wilpattu National Park (also in Sri Lanka), is another good destination for leopard watching. In India the leopards are found all over the country and there is maximum man-animal conflict here only as they are spread everywhere. The best places in India can be national parks in Madhya Pradesh and in Uttarakhand. Reproduction A male may follow a female who catches his attention. Eventually fighting for reproductive rights can take place. Depending on the region, leopards may mate all year round (India and Africa) or seasonally during January to February (Manchuria and Siberia). The estrous cycle lasts about 46 days and the female usually is in heat for 6-7 days. Cubs are usually born in a litter of 2-3, but infant mortality is high and mothers are not commonly seen with more than 1-2 cubs. The pregnant females find a cave, crevice among boulders, hollow tree, or thicket to give birth and make a den. Cubs open their eyes after a period of 10 days. The fur of the young tends to be longer and thicker than that of adults. Their pelage is also grayer in color with less defined spots. Around 3 months the infants begin to follow the mother out on hunts. At one year of age leopard young can probably  fend for themselves but they remain with the mother for 18-24 months.