There are over one hundred kinds of stingray, widely distributed throughout the seas of the world. They all have longer and thinner tails than other rays and skates. Projecting from the top of the tail near the body end they have at least one but sometimes two sharp spines. These would be dangerous enough but the spines have poison glands, …

Unless you are a young child, you need have no real fears about the effects of an adder bite. Adders are vipers and so have efficient venom, but it is only really effective on small prey – lizards, mice and shrews. Adders rarely bite humans unless they are frightened by being trodden on or deliberately provoked. Many people try to …

There is no way to tell just by looking at a snake whether it is venomous or not. You can’t necessarily tell a venomous snake by its verticial slit pupils and triangular-shaped head. There are many harmless snakes who share these properties with venomous ones (the slit pupils indicate a night-hunter); and the coral snake, which produces a potent nerve …

Some snakes can eat prey which seems for bigger than themselves. A snake is a long, thin animal with a fairly narrow head, and yet some species eat birds’ eggs and other animals which are far broader than their own bodies. They can do this because their jaws are not rigidly fixed together, but are merely connected by ligaments which …

The eagle is the Rolls Royce of birds. The soaring, stately flight of this rare creature is a wonderful sight. This is the golden eagle, which is about 80 cm (2ft 7in) long with a wingspan of about 220 cm (7ft 3in) – some eagles are bigger. Eagles have been hunted by people and are now rare.

A whirlpool is a large, swirling body of water produced by ocean tides. When flowing water hits any kind of barrier, it twists away and spins around rapidly with great force. This creates a whirlpool. Whirlpools can occur in a small area where a piece of land juts out into a river, causing the water to swirl around. They can …

There is a lot of misunderstanding about this, and most of it is deliberately caused. Snake charmers would like us to believe that the snake is bewitched by the beautiful music they play on their pipes. The snake sways and dances to the music while the charmer taps his foot on the ground in time with the rhythm – and …

Ordinary universities are officially approved by the University Grants Commission (UGC) of India as per the latter’s guidelines for the universities’ overall supervision and administration. ‘Deemed university’ is a term indicative of status of autonomy granted to high performing institutes and departments of various universities. Such status enables deemed universities not only full autonomy in setting course work, syllabus and …

There are three types of coral reef: fringing reefs grow close to the shore in shallow water; barrier reefs grow parallel to the shore but are separated from it by a deep channel which may be several miles wide; and atolls which are circular islands of coral enclosing a lagoon, often hundreds of miles from any other land. There are …

Across the globe, reality TV has always been a subject of controversy. Critics say that these shows usually portray a modified and highly influenced form of reality, with participants put in abnormal situations and sometimes even being coached to act in certain ways. The events are usually edited and other production processes mould them to present them different from the …