World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/giraffe-weevil): Giraffe Weevil — wildlife guide.

## Madagascar's invertebrate endemism
Visitors focus on lemurs, but Madagascar's invertebrates are equally irreplaceable. The giraffe weevil is one of hundreds of endemic beetles, and the island's isolation produced radiations in butterflies, moths, stick insects and cockroaches found nowhere else.

Roughly 90% of Madagascar's vertebrates are endemic; invertebrate endemism is similarly high though less catalogued. Losing forest does not only remove lemurs — it removes the leaf-rolling beetles, the comet moths and the hissing cockroaches that evolved in the same isolation. Every tavy fire and charcoal kiln takes species that have no backup population anywhere on Earth.

## Forest loss and the poverty context
The giraffe weevil is Least Concern because it remains common in surviving eastern forest. That is not the same as secure. An estimated 80–90% of Madagascar's original forest cover has been lost, and eastern humid forest continues to shrink.

Tavy clears land for subsistence crops when families have no other income. Charcoal production removes living trees for cooking fuel when alternatives are unaffordable. These are poverty-driven pressures, not moral failures by subsistence farmers. Conservation that protects giraffe weevils protects the forest blocks where they nest — the same forest lemurs, fossas and leaf-tailed geckos depend on.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education across Madagascar's fauna, including the invertebrates tourists photograph but rarely understand. The giraffe weevil nests in leaves on trees that tavy and charcoal production remove — on an island where an estimated 80–90% of original forest is already gone.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/giraffe-weevil): Giraffe Weevil — wildlife guide.

## Why does the male giraffe weevil have a long neck?
Sexual selection. Males fight by grappling with their necks, and longer necks win more fights. The neck is also used in leaf-roll nest construction. It is two to three times longer than the female's.

## How does the giraffe weevil nest?
The female cuts and rolls a living leaf into a tube and lays a single egg inside. The larva develops within the leaf roll before pupating.

## Where do giraffe weevils live?
Eastern humid forest in Madagascar only. They are endemic to the island and depend on intact forest with suitable host trees.

## Are giraffe weevils endangered?
Listed Least Concern, but an estimated 80–90% of Madagascar's original forest has been lost. Eastern forest continues to shrink through tavy and charcoal production.

## Are giraffe weevils related to giraffes?
No. The name describes the male's elongated neck through convergent appearance. Giraffe weevils are beetles in the family Attelabidae.

## Are giraffe weevils dangerous?
An estimated 80–90% of the island's original forest has been lost, and while the species is listed Least Concern because it remains widespread in eastern humid forest, that listing describes current range rather than trajectory. Give wild giraffe weevils space; do not corner or handle them.

## How long do giraffe weevils live?
A precise wild lifespan for giraffe weevils is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. The giraffe weevil (Trachelophorus giraffa) is a beetle endemic to Madagascar whose male has a neck two to three times longer than the female's, used for fighting and for rolling leaves into nest tubes; it is Least Concern but loses forest to tavy and charcoal production as an estimated 80–90% of Madagascar's original cover has been lost.

## How big is a giraffe weevil?
A Giraffe Weevil is about 2–3× (Male neck length relative to the female's). The giraffe weevil (Trachelophorus giraffa) is a beetle endemic to Madagascar whose male has a neck two to three times longer than the female's, used for fighting and for rolling leaves into nest tubes; it is Least Concern but loses forest to tavy and charcoal production as an estimated 80–90% of Madagascar's original cover has been lost. Conservation status: Forest loss from tavy and charcoal production.

## What do giraffe weevils eat?
The giraffe weevil is one of hundreds of endemic beetles, and the island's isolation produced radiations in butterflies, moths, stick insects and cockroaches found nowhere else. The giraffe weevil (Trachelophorus giraffa) is a beetle endemic to Madagascar whose male has a neck two to three times longer than the female's, used for fighting and for rolling leaves into nest tubes; it is Least Concern but loses forest to tavy and charcoal production as an estimated 80–90% of Madagascar's original cover has been lost.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/comet-moth): Comet Moth — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The comet moth (Argema mittrei) is Madagascar's largest silk moth, with hindwing tails up to 15 cm; adults have no mouthparts, live four to five days without eating, and the species is Critically Endangered as an estimated 80–90% of Madagascar's original forest has been lost.

## Introduction
The comet moth — Argema mittrei — is among the largest silk moths in the world and the largest in Madagascar. Females reach a wingspan of around 20 centimetres, with males slightly smaller but carrying the feature that gives the species its name: long trailing tails on the hindwings that can extend to around 15 centimetres.

Like other saturniids, adult comet moths have no functional mouthparts and cannot feed. They live only four to five days — long enough to mate and lay eggs. The entire feeding life happens as a caterpillar on the leaves of Eugenia and Weinmannia trees. Madagascar holds roughly 90% vertebrate endemism, and the comet moth is part of an invertebrate fauna equally irreplaceable. It is listed Critically Endangered, with an estimated 80–90% of the island's original forest already lost to tavy, charcoal production and logging — pressures rooted in rural poverty. WARN's atlas moth guide at /wildlife-guides/atlas-moth covers the Asian giant that rivals the comet moth for wingspan.

## Takeaway
The comet moth is among the largest silk moths in the world, endemic to Madagascar.

## Takeaway
Males carry hindwing tails up to around 15 cm long — the 'comet' that gives the species its name.

## Takeaway
Adults have no functional mouthparts and cannot eat; they live four to five days, mating and laying eggs only.

## Takeaway
Caterpillars feed on Eugenia and Weinmannia trees in eastern humid forest.

## Takeaway
Listed Critically Endangered; an estimated 80–90% of Madagascar's original forest has been lost.

## Takeaway
The atlas moth of Asia rivals it for size — see WARN's guide at /wildlife-guides/atlas-moth for comparison.

## A moth that cannot eat
Saturniid moths — the giant silk moths — emerge from the pupa with vestigial mouthparts and no digestive system capable of processing food. The comet moth's entire adult existence lasts four to five days, powered by fat reserves stored during the caterpillar stage.

Those days are spent finding a mate, reproducing and laying eggs on host plants. There is no feeding, no refuelling, no second chance. A comet moth that fails to mate in its brief adult window has no fallback. This life history makes the species entirely dependent on caterpillar host trees — lose the forest and you lose both the food plant and the humidity the pupae need to survive.

## The comet tails
Male comet moths carry extraordinarily long hindwing tails — streamers that can reach around 15 centimetres and flutter behind the moth in flight. The function is debated: they may deflect bat echolocation, distract predators, or play a role in mate attraction through flight display.

Whatever their function, the tails make the comet moth unmistakable — and among the most sought-after specimens in insect collections. Collection pressure adds to habitat loss on a species already Critically Endangered. For size comparison with the other giant of the silk moth world, WARN's atlas moth guide at /wildlife-guides/atlas-moth covers Attacus atlas of South and Southeast Asia.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/comet-moth): Comet Moth — wildlife guide.

## Critically Endangered on a deforested island
Argema mittrei is listed Critically Endangered with a restricted range in eastern humid forest. An estimated 80–90% of Madagascar's original forest cover has been lost island-wide, and the comet moth's host trees disappear with it.

Tavy slash-and-burn clears understorey and removes saplings. Charcoal production fells mature trees. Logging opens canopy and dries the microclimate pupae need. All three are widespread, driven by rural poverty and the absence of affordable cooking fuel and agricultural alternatives — not by subsistence farmers acting without cause. A Critically Endangered moth on an island that has already lost most of its forest is facing an immediate rather than theoretical risk.

## Madagascar's giant moths
The comet moth and the atlas moth — the subject of WARN's guide at /wildlife-guides/atlas-moth — are the two largest silk moths most people encounter in photographs. Both adults lack mouthparts. Both live a few days. Both depend entirely on caterpillar-stage feeding in forest habitat.

The difference is geography: the atlas moth is Asian; the comet moth is Malagasy, part of the island's roughly 90% vertebrate endemism extended into an invertebrate fauna found nowhere else. Losing the comet moth means losing a life history that evolved in isolation — a four-day adult that never eats, on trees that tavy and charcoal production remove daily.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education for Madagascar's invertebrates and their Asian counterparts. The comet moth lives four to five days without eating — and those days are numbered if eastern humid forest continues to fall to tavy and charcoal on an island where an estimated 80–90% of original cover is already gone.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/comet-moth): Comet Moth — wildlife guide.

## Can comet moths eat?
No. Adults have no functional mouthparts and live four to five days on fat reserves stored as caterpillars. They mate and lay eggs, then die.

## How long are comet moth tails?
Up to around 15 cm in males — hindwing streamers that give the species its name. Females are larger in wingspan but have shorter tails.

## Are comet moths endangered?
Yes — Critically Endangered. An estimated 80–90% of Madagascar's original forest has been lost, and the species depends on eastern humid forest host trees.

## How does the comet moth compare to the atlas moth?
Both are among the largest silk moths; both adults lack mouthparts. The atlas moth is Asian; the comet moth is endemic to Madagascar. See WARN's atlas moth guide at /wildlife-guides/atlas-moth.

## What do comet moth caterpillars eat?
Leaves of Eugenia and Weinmannia trees in eastern humid forest. Loss of these host trees is the primary habitat threat.

## Where do comet moths live?
Comet Moths live in Madagascar, Eastern humid forest — very restricted range. The comet moth (Argema mittrei) is Madagascar's largest silk moth, with hindwing tails up to 15 cm; adults have no mouthparts, live four to five days without eating, and the species is Critically Endangered as an estimated 80–90% of Madagascar's original forest has been lost.

## Are comet moths dangerous?
Comet Moths are not generally dangerous to people. The comet moth (Argema mittrei) is Madagascar's largest silk moth, with hindwing tails up to 15 cm; adults have no mouthparts, live four to five days without eating, and the species is Critically Endangered as an estimated 80–90% of Madagascar's original forest has been lost. Give wild individuals space and do not corner or handle them.

## How long do comet moths live?
Comet Moths typically live Four to five days — no feeding. The comet moth (Argema mittrei) is Madagascar's largest silk moth, with hindwing tails up to 15 cm; adults have no mouthparts, live four to five days without eating, and the species is Critically Endangered as an estimated 80–90% of Madagascar's original forest has been lost. Wild and captive figures can differ; use the sources listed on the guide for the underlying studies.

## How big is a comet moth?
A Comet Moth is about Up to about 20 cm in females. The comet moth (Argema mittrei) is Madagascar's largest silk moth, with hindwing tails up to 15 cm; adults have no mouthparts, live four to five days without eating, and the species is Critically Endangered as an estimated 80–90% of Madagascar's original forest has been lost. Conservation status: Critically Endangered.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/madagascar-hissing-cockroach): Madagascar Hissing Cockroach — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) is a large wingless cockroach endemic to Madagascar that hisses by forcing air through spiracles and gives birth to live young; it is Least Concern but loses forest floor habitat as an estimated 80–90% of the island's original forest has been lost.

## Introduction
The Madagascar hissing cockroach is a large, wingless cockroach endemic to the island's eastern lowland forest floor. It is among the most familiar Malagasy invertebrates worldwide — not because tourists encounter it often in the wild, but because it is kept in zoos, classrooms and pet collections across the globe.

What makes it distinctive is the hiss. Most insects that hiss do so by rubbing body parts together — stridulation. The Madagascar hissing cockroach forces air through modified spiracles, the breathing pores along its abdomen, producing a sound without any rubbing. It is also ovoviviparous: the female retains eggs inside a brood pouch and gives birth to live nymphs, a rarity among cockroaches. Madagascar holds roughly 90% vertebrate endemism, and this cockroach is part of an invertebrate fauna equally unique. An estimated 80–90% of the island's original forest has been lost, and while the species remains Least Concern in surviving forest, forest floor habitat continues to shrink through tavy and charcoal production driven by rural poverty.

## Takeaway
The Madagascar hissing cockroach hisses by forcing air through modified spiracles — not by rubbing body parts.

## Takeaway
Females are ovoviviparous: eggs hatch inside a brood pouch and live nymphs are born.

## Takeaway
The species is wingless, large — up to about 7 cm — and active on the forest floor at night.

## Takeaway
It is widely kept in captivity worldwide but endemic to Madagascar's eastern lowland forest.

## Takeaway
An estimated 80–90% of Madagascar's original forest has been lost; forest floor habitat continues to shrink.

## Takeaway
Tavy and charcoal production are driven by rural poverty — the context for forest loss across the island.

## Hissing through spiracles
Most hissing insects — crickets, some beetles, the lowland streaked tenrec — stridulate by rubbing body parts together. The Madagascar hissing cockroach does something different. It forces air through the fourth spiracle on its abdomen, producing a hiss audible to human ears at close range.

Males hiss in three contexts: during fights with other males, when disturbed, and during courtship. Each context produces a slightly different hiss pattern. Because the sound comes from spiracles rather than stridulation, the cockroach can hiss repeatedly without the wear that rubbing structures would cause. It is a respiratory sound turned into communication — unusual even among cockroaches, and unique among hissing insects at this scale.

## Live birth in a cockroach
Most cockroaches lay eggs in an ootheca — a hardened egg case deposited on a surface. The Madagascar hissing cockroach retains the ootheca inside a brood pouch, where eggs hatch and nymphs develop until the female gives birth to live young.

A female produces 30 to 60 nymphs in a brood, and nymphs take five to seven months to reach adulthood. Live birth reduces predation on exposed egg cases on the forest floor — a useful adaptation for an animal that lives in leaf litter where ground predators are abundant. It also makes captive breeding straightforward, which is why the species is so widely kept in zoos and education programmes.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/madagascar-hissing-cockroach): Madagascar Hissing Cockroach — wildlife guide.

## Forest floor ecology
Madagascar hissing cockroaches are detritivores — they eat fallen fruit, decaying plant matter and organic debris on the forest floor. They are not pests of crops or stored food in their native habitat; they recycle nutrients in intact forest.

That ties them to forest floor habitat with leaf litter and humidity. Tavy clears the understorey and removes the litter layer. Charcoal production fells the trees that drop the fruit and leaves these cockroaches eat. An estimated 80–90% of Madagascar's original forest has been lost, and the forest floor community — including hissing cockroaches, tenrecs and leaf-litter geckos — loses ground with every cleared hectare.

## Captivity, forest loss and the poverty context
The Madagascar hissing cockroach is probably the most exported Malagasy invertebrate in captivity — bred by the millions in laboratories and zoos worldwide. Captive populations are secure; wild populations depend on remaining forest.

Wild collection for the pet and education trade is minor compared with habitat loss. Tavy slash-and-burn and charcoal production remove forest across eastern Madagascar, driven by rural poverty and the lack of affordable cooking fuel — not by subsistence farmers acting without context. A Least Concern listing reflects current abundance in surviving forest, not long-term security on an island that has already lost most of its cover.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced species education across Madagascar's fauna — including the invertebrates known worldwide from classroom terrariums but rarely understood in their forest context. Hissing cockroaches recycle leaf litter on a floor that tavy and charcoal production strip away.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/madagascar-hissing-cockroach): Madagascar Hissing Cockroach — wildlife guide.

## How does the Madagascar hissing cockroach hiss?
By forcing air through modified spiracles — breathing pores on the abdomen. It does not stridulate by rubbing body parts, unlike crickets and most other hissing insects.

## Do Madagascar hissing cockroaches give live birth?
Yes. Females are ovoviviparous — eggs hatch inside a brood pouch and 30 to 60 live nymphs are born. Most cockroaches lay egg cases instead.

## Are Madagascar hissing cockroaches endangered?
Listed Least Concern, but an estimated 80–90% of Madagascar's original forest has been lost. Forest floor habitat continues to shrink through tavy and charcoal production.

## Can Madagascar hissing cockroaches fly?
No. They are wingless — small wing stubs are visible but non-functional. They are ground-dwelling forest floor animals.

## What do Madagascar hissing cockroaches eat?
Detritus — fallen fruit, decaying plant matter and organic debris on the forest floor. They are not crop pests in native habitat.

## Why is Madagascar forest being cleared?
Tavy slash-and-burn, charcoal production and logging — driven by rural poverty and lack of affordable alternatives, not by subsistence farming alone.

## Where do madagascar hissing cockroachs live?
Madagascar Hissing Cockroachs live in Eastern lowland forest floor, Madagascar. The Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) is a large wingless cockroach endemic to Madagascar that hisses by forcing air through spiracles and gives birth to live young; it is Least Concern but loses forest floor habitat as an estimated 80–90% of the island's original forest has been lost.

## How long do madagascar hissing cockroachs live?
A precise wild lifespan for madagascar hissing cockroachs is not firmly established in the sources cited on this guide. The Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) is a large wingless cockroach endemic to Madagascar that hisses by forcing air through spiracles and gives birth to live young; it is Least Concern but loses forest floor habitat as an estimated 80–90% of the island's original forest has been lost. Where longevity figures appear in the literature they vary by region, sex and whether animals are wild or captive.

## How big is a madagascar hissing cockroach?
A Madagascar Hissing Cockroach is about Up to about 7 cm. The Madagascar hissing cockroach (Gromphadorhina portentosa) is a large wingless cockroach endemic to Madagascar that hisses by forcing air through spiracles and gives birth to live young; it is Least Concern but loses forest floor habitat as an estimated 80–90% of the island's original forest has been lost. Conservation status: Forest loss from tavy and charcoal production.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/moon-bear): Moon Bear — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The moon bear (Ursus thibetanus), or Asiatic black bear, is a Vulnerable forest bear of South and East Asia recognised by a white chest V or crescent; it is the species overwhelmingly kept on bile farms in tiny cages for gallbladder extraction, though synthetic substitutes make farmed bile medically unnecessary.

## Introduction
The moon bear — the Asiatic black bear — is named for the pale crescent or V on its chest, a marking as individual as a fingerprint. It is a medium-sized bear of forested hills and mountains from Iran and Afghanistan east through the Himalayas to Japan, and south through Southeast Asia. Unlike the sun bear, its closest ecological neighbour in much of the range, it is shaggy, thick-necked and often 65–150 kg as an adult.

That chest mark is not what drives search interest. Bile farming does. Across China, Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar and parts of Korea, moon bears have been kept in cages barely larger than their bodies while bile is extracted from their gallbladders for use in traditional medicine. They make up the large majority of farmed bile bears worldwide. Synthetic alternatives to the active compound have existed since the 1950s, so the industry is a welfare crisis rather than a medical necessity — and it sits at the centre of what World Animal Rescue Network funds through its moon bear appeal and partner sanctuaries.

## Takeaway
The moon bear is Ursus thibetanus, the Asiatic black bear — a shaggy, medium-sized bear with a distinctive white chest marking that varies from a V to a crescent.

## Takeaway
It is the species overwhelmingly kept on bile farms across East and Southeast Asia, often in crush cages too small to stand up or turn around.

## Takeaway
Bear bile contains ursodeoxycholic acid, a real medicine — but a synthetic version has been available since the 1950s, so farmed bile is not medically required.

## Takeaway
Bile extraction remains legal only in parts of China; Vietnam banned it in 2005, though illegal extraction persisted and the caged population there has collapsed from thousands to under 200.

## Takeaway
Moon bears overlap the sun bear across parts of Southeast Asia but are larger, shaggier and carry a broad white chest V rather than the sun bear's orange crescent — see /wildlife-guides/sun-bear/ for the comparison.

## Takeaway
Rescued bile-farm bears typically need lifetime sanctuary care: years of confinement cause muscle atrophy, dental damage and stereotypic behaviour that rarely permits release.

## What bile farming does to moon bears
Bear bile farming means keeping a bear in captivity and repeatedly extracting bile from its gallbladder, usually through a permanently open fistula or an implanted catheter. Farmed animals are overwhelmingly Asiatic black bears. The cages are often called crush cages because they prevent the bear from standing upright or turning around — sometimes for twenty years or more.

The welfare cost is cumulative. Bears develop infected wounds around extraction sites, broken teeth from biting bars, and stereotypic pacing or rocking that can persist long after rescue. Bile contains ursodeoxycholic acid, which has legitimate medical uses in treating certain liver and gallbladder conditions. Pharmaceutical-grade synthetic ursodeoxycholic acid has been manufactured since the 1950s. The farming industry persists because of tradition, price and availability in some markets — not because medicine lacks an alternative.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/moon-bear): Moon Bear — wildlife guide.

## Moon bear versus sun bear
Both species are Asian forest bears and both appear in the bile trade, but they are not interchangeable. The sun bear (Helarctos malayanus) is the world's smallest bear at roughly 25–65 kg, with a short sleek coat and an orange-to-cream chest crescent. The moon bear is larger — often 65–150 kg — shaggier around the neck, and marked with a bold white V or crescent on the chest.

Their ranges overlap in Southeast Asia, which is one reason the two are confused in news coverage and trafficking cases. For identification and ecology, /wildlife-guides/sun-bear/ covers the smaller species; for bile farming and sanctuary retirement, moon bears dominate the numbers. WARN's moon bear appeal at /appeals/moon-bears/ funds partner work to retire farmed bears into species-appropriate sanctuary care.

## Ecology and behaviour in the wild
Wild moon bears occupy temperate and subtropical forest, from lowland woodland to high mountains. They are omnivores: fruit, nuts, insects, carrion, and occasionally livestock or crops where forest meets agriculture. They climb well and often sleep in trees. In cold parts of the range they den through winter; in the tropics they may remain active year-round.

Home ranges are large and vary with food availability. Females give birth in winter dens to one or two cubs, which stay with the mother for well over a year. Wild bears are shy of people; the bears most people encounter in welfare campaigns are farmed animals that have lost normal fear responses through years of confinement.

## Conservation beyond the farm
The IUCN lists the Asiatic black bear as Vulnerable with a decreasing population trend. Bile farming and trade in bear parts are major threats, alongside deforestation, crop conflict and hunting for meat or gallbladders taken from wild animals. CITES Appendix I prohibits international commercial trade in the species.

Vietnam's legal ban on bile extraction in 2005 did not instantly empty farms — enforcement lagged, and many bears remained caged until sanctuaries and government programmes could absorb them. The remaining Vietnamese caged population is now a fraction of what it was at the peak. China still permits regulated bile farming, holding an estimated several thousand bears. Habitat protection and demand reduction run in parallel: a forest without poaching pressure still loses bears if farms and markets persist.

## WARN work
WARN funds partner-led moon bear sanctuary care and retirement from bile farms through its moon bear appeal, with current network focus in Indonesia and Malaysia while keeping the wider Asia bile-farming context visible. Free, sourced education on Ursus thibetanus connects search interest to what rescue actually requires: lifetime enclosure space, veterinary care and enrichment for bears that cannot return to the wild.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/moon-bear): Moon Bear — wildlife guide.

## What do moon bears eat?
Wild moon bears are omnivores. Their diet includes fruit, berries, nuts, insects, honey, carrion and tender plant material, with the balance shifting seasonally. Near farmland they may raid crops or beehives, which brings them into conflict with people.

## Where do moon bears live?
From Iran and Afghanistan east through the Himalayas, China, the Korean peninsula and Japan, and south through mainland Southeast Asia. They use temperate and subtropical forest, often in hills and mountains, and climb readily.

## Are moon bears dangerous to humans?
Wild moon bears generally avoid people. They are powerful animals and can injure or kill if cornered, surprised or defending cubs, but unprovoked attacks are uncommon. Farmed bears habituated to handlers pose different risks during rescue and transport.

## How long do moon bears live?
Wild lifespan is not well documented for many populations. Bears in sanctuary care commonly reach their twenties; individuals exceeding thirty years have been recorded in captivity. Bile-farm confinement often shortens effective lifespan through disease and untreated injury.

## How big is a moon bear?
Adults typically weigh roughly 65–150 kg, with males larger than females. Shoulder height on all fours is around 70–100 cm. They are substantially larger than sun bears, which usually weigh 25–65 kg.

## Why are moon bears farmed for bile?
Their gallbladders produce bile used in some traditional medicine. Moon bears make up the majority of farmed bile bears because they were readily available, breed in captivity and tolerate confinement long enough for repeated extraction — not because farmed bile is medically irreplaceable.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/tardigrade): Tardigrade — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
A tardigrade is a microscopic invertebrate in the phylum Tardigrada, typically 0.3–0.5 mm long, that survives extreme drying, freezing and vacuum by entering cryptobiosis — a reversible shutdown of metabolism — and individuals exposed to open space on a 2007 orbital experiment were revived afterward.

## Introduction
Tardigrades are microscopic invertebrates — typically 0.3 to 0.5 millimetres as adults — with a plump segmented body, four pairs of stout legs and a snout. They live in films of water on moss, lichen, soil and leaf litter, and in marine and freshwater sediments worldwide. There are more than 1,300 described species, and new ones are still being found.

What makes them famous is cryptobiosis. When conditions turn hostile — desiccation, freezing, oxygen loss — tardigrades can expel most of their body water and enter a tun state, metabolism dropping to near zero. In that form they have survived laboratory exposure to vacuum, extreme cold and radiation far beyond what any vertebrate could tolerate. In September 2007, tardigrades on the outside of a European Space Agency FOTON-M3 mission spent ten days in open space and were revived afterward. They are not invulnerable — prolonged heat still kills them — but their hardiness is real and mechanistically understood, not folklore.

## Takeaway
Tardigrades are microscopic invertebrates in their own phylum, Tardigrada — not insects, not crustaceans.

## Takeaway
They live in water films on moss, soil and lichen, and in marine and freshwater sediments on every continent including Antarctica.

## Takeaway
Cryptobiosis lets them survive almost complete desiccation by curling into a dry tun with metabolism near zero.

## Takeaway
In the tun state, tardigrades have survived vacuum, temperatures near absolute zero and radiation doses that would kill humans — though they are not immortal and die under sustained high heat.

## Takeaway
The 2007 ESA FOTON-M3 experiment exposed tardigrades to open space for ten days; some were later rehydrated and revived.

## Takeaway
Most tardigrade species have not been individually assessed by the IUCN; their conservation status as a group is effectively unknown.

## What cryptobiosis actually is
Cryptobiosis is not a vague superpower. It is a defined physiological state in which an organism's metabolic activity becomes undetectably low while structure is preserved. When a tardigrade's habitat dries, it loses water through its cuticle, retracts its legs, and forms a tun — a compact barrel shape protected by specialised proteins and sugars that replace water in cells and stabilise membranes.

Rehydration reverses the process if the tun has not been damaged. The animal uncurls, reabsorbs water and resumes feeding within hours. The same machinery helps some species survive freezing: ice crystals are excluded or tolerated in ways that rupture most animal cells. The limits are real. Tardigrades die at sustained high temperatures — roughly above 40 °C for many species — and a tun left dry for decades may fail to revive if storage conditions were poor.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/tardigrade): Tardigrade — wildlife guide.

## The 2007 space exposure experiment
In September 2007, the European Space Agency's FOTON-M3 mission carried tardigrades of the species Richtersius coronifer and Milnesium tardigradum on the outside of the spacecraft, exposed to the vacuum of space, solar ultraviolet radiation and the temperature swings of low Earth orbit. The exposure lasted ten days.

After return, some individuals from both species were rehydrated and survived. The experiment demonstrated that cryptobiotic tardigrades can endure combined vacuum and radiation in space — not that tardigrades live naturally in orbit, but that their tun state protects against environmental extremes far beyond those of their mossy habitats. Subsequent work has explored which proteins — notably cytosolic abundant soluble proteins in some lineages — confer desiccation tolerance.

## Where tardigrades live and what they eat
Most tardigrades are found in terrestrial microhabitats that hold water intermittently: moss cushions, lichen, rotting leaves and soil pores. Marine and freshwater species live in sediments. They are part of the meiofauna — animals too small to see clearly without magnification but abundant in almost every sampled environment.

Feeding is by piercing or sucking. Many species have a stylet in the mouth that punctures plant cells, algae or smaller invertebrates, and pharyngeal muscles pump in the contents. Life cycles include moulting — tardigrades shed their cuticle to grow — and eggs laid in the old cuticle or attached to substrate. Generation times range from days to months depending on species and temperature.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free wildlife education that separates documented science from viral exaggeration. Tardigrade hardiness is real and mechanistically understood — accurate guides keep cryptobiosis from becoming folklore that crowds out species facing genuine extinction risk.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/tardigrade): Tardigrade — wildlife guide.

## Are tardigrades dangerous to humans?
No. They are far too small to bite or sting people, and none are parasites of humans. The only contact most people have is through a microscope.

## How long do tardigrades live?
Active adult life spans weeks to a few months in many species, though timing varies with temperature and food. In the dry tun state, some have been revived after years of desiccation; claims of decades depend on storage conditions and species.

## How big is a tardigrade?
Most adults are about 0.3 to 0.5 millimetres long — visible as a speck to the naked eye but requiring magnification to see detail. Giant marine species can approach 1.2 mm.

## Did tardigrades really survive in space?
Yes, in cryptobiosis. On the 2007 FOTON-M3 mission, tardigrades on the spacecraft exterior endured ten days of vacuum and radiation; some were rehydrated and survived after return. They were not living actively in space.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/coelacanth): Coelacanth — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The coelacanth is a lobe-finned deep-sea fish in the genus Latimeria, known from fossils and assumed extinct until a living specimen was landed off South Africa on 22 December 1938; two species survive in the western Indian Ocean and Indonesia and are listed as Critically Endangered and Vulnerable respectively.

## Introduction
Coelacanths are lobe-finned fishes whose lineage was known only from fossils until a living specimen was landed at the mouth of the Chalumna River near East London, South Africa, on 22 December 1938. Marjorie Courtenay-Latimer, curator of the local museum, recognised that the steel-blue fish with lobed fins on stalks was something extraordinary. The discovery made headlines worldwide: an animal thought to have died out with the dinosaurs was alive.

Two living species are recognised today. Latimeria chalumnae lives in the western Indian Ocean, mainly around the Comoros and nearby islands. Latimeria menadoensis was described from Indonesia in 1999. Both inhabit deep volcanic slopes and caves, typically below 100 metres. They are slow, nocturnal drift-hunters with a hinged skull that lifts to swallow large prey whole. Their lobed fins are structurally closer to the limbs of early tetrapods than to the rays of most modern fish — which is why coelacanths sit at the centre of discussions about how vertebrates moved onto land, even though the living species are not direct ancestors of tetrapods.

## Takeaway
Coelacanths were known only from fossils until 1938, when Latimeria chalumnae was identified from a fish landed off South Africa — the classic living-fossil rediscovery.

## Takeaway
Two living species exist: L. chalumnae in the western Indian Ocean and L. menadoensis in Indonesia.

## Takeaway
They are lobe-finned fishes (Sarcopterygii), more closely related to lungfish and tetrapods than to ray-finned fish such as salmon or tuna.

## Takeaway
Lobed pectoral and pelvic fins move on fleshy stalks; the paired fins of early four-legged animals are thought to derive from similar structures in ancient sarcopterygians.

## Takeaway
Coelacanths give birth to live young after internal fertilisation — unusual among fishes and one reason populations recover slowly from mortality.

## Takeaway
The West Indian Ocean coelacanth is Critically Endangered; accidental bycatch in shark and deep-set fishing gear is the main documented threat.

## The 1938 rediscovery
By the late nineteenth century, coelacanths were fossils — impressions in rock from the Devonian through the Cretaceous, the last records roughly 66 million years old. No one expected a living population.

Captain Hendrick Goosen brought an unusual blue fish ashore in December 1938. Courtenay-Latimer contacted the ichthyologist J. L. B. Smith, who confirmed it as a coelacanth and named the genus Latimeria in her honour. Smith's famous telegram — "MOST IMPORTANT PRESERVE SKELETON AND GILLS = FISH DESCRIBED" — captured the shock. The find did not mean coelacanths were unchanged since the Mesozoic; molecular clocks show substantial evolution. It meant a lineage thought lost was persisting in deep water, largely invisible to science until industrial fishing and submersibles reached their depth.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/coelacanth): Coelacanth — wildlife guide.

## Living fossil — what the phrase gets wrong
Coelacanths are often called living fossils, and the label draws traffic because it suggests an animal frozen in time. The reality is more precise. Living coelacanths are the surviving members of a ancient order, but they are not identical to their fossil relatives. Genome work shows gene loss, changed regulatory sequences and adaptations to deep, low-oxygen habitats that their Cretaceous counterparts did not share.

The useful comparison is with extinct-animal profiles at /wildlife-guides/extinct-animals/ — species assumed gone that have living parallels facing the same pressures. Coelacanths inverted the story — assumed extinct, then found — but the conservation lesson matches. Slow reproduction and specialised habitat make a lineage fragile once human fishing reaches its depth. Being ancient does not confer immunity.

## Anatomy that links fish to land
Coelacanths carry lobed fins — muscular stalks with a central axis of bones arranged in a pattern echoing the limb bones of early tetrapods. They are not legs, and the coelacanth is not an ancestor of humans, but the shared architecture illustrates how sarcopterygian fins could be modified into weight-bearing limbs in related lineages that did colonise land.

Other features are equally distinctive. The skull hinges intracranially: the upper jaw and braincase lift together, opening the mouth wide for whole-fish prey. A fat-filled notochord-like organ replaces a swim bladder, helping buoyancy control in deep water. Electrosensory pores on the snout detect prey in darkness. These are adaptations to a deep, cave-adjacent life, not a preview of terrestrial walking — but they made the animal central to textbooks on vertebrate evolution.

## Conservation in deep water
Latimeria chalumnae is Critically Endangered; L. menadoensis is Vulnerable. Populations are small, localised and slow to replace losses. Females produce relatively few young after gestation estimated at around thirteen months in some studies — exact figures vary, but the life history is unambiguously slow.

Documented mortality comes mainly from accidental bycatch in deep-set gillnets and other gear targeting sharks and oilfish. Coelacanths have no commercial fishery of their own; their value is scientific and cultural. Protected status exists in several range states, and international trade is restricted under CITES Appendix I for L. chalumnae. Submersible surveys and tagging programmes have mapped caves and migration routes, but deep-water species are expensive to monitor — population sizes remain uncertain, and a Critically Endangered listing reflects risk as much as a precise head count.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free education on species whose stories connect evolution, extinction and survival. Coelacanths show how a lineage can persist unseen in deep habitat until fishing reaches it — a parallel to the extinct-animal profiles elsewhere on the site, where the pressure arrived too fast for recovery.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/coelacanth): Coelacanth — wildlife guide.

## What do coelacanths eat?
They are piscivores — fish eaters — taking reef and slope species that drift past caves at night. They snap prey with a rapid bite aided by the hinged skull and swallow whole fish head-first.

## Where do coelacanths live?
Deep rocky slopes and lava caves, mainly 100–700 m depth. Latimeria chalumnae occurs around the Comoros, Madagascar and East African coast; L. menadoensis off Sulawesi and nearby Indonesian islands.

## Are coelacanths dangerous to humans?
No. They live far below diving depth for sport divers and are not aggressive toward people. Contact occurs only when fish are brought up accidentally in fishing nets.

## How long do coelacanths live?
Exact longevity is still debated. Growth-ring counts and modelling have suggested lifespans of several decades, with some estimates approaching a century — methodology is contested, so published ranges should be read cautiously.

## How big is a coelacanth?
Adults commonly reach roughly 1.5–2 m total length and can weigh on the order of 80 kg. Females are often larger than males.

## Why was the coelacanth called a living fossil?
Because it belongs to a lineage known from fossils millions of years old and assumed extinct until 1938. Living coelacanths have still evolved — the phrase describes surviving antiquity of the group, not unchanged anatomy.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/lyrebird): Lyrebird — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The lyrebird (Menura) is a large Australian songbird and one of the world's most accomplished vocal mimics, with males combining elaborate tail displays on forest-floor mounds with songs that accurately copy other birds and human-made sounds such as chainsaws and camera shutters.

## Introduction
Lyrebirds are large ground-dwelling songbirds of Australia's wet forests. Two species exist: the superb lyrebird (Menura novaehollandiae) of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, and Albert's lyrebird (M. alberti) of a smaller range in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales. The male superb lyrebird carries tail feathers shaped like a lyre when raised — two outer ribbon plumes and fine filamentary central feathers — and clears a display mound on the forest floor where he sings for hours in winter.

The song is the reason most people search the name. Lyrebirds are among the most accomplished vocal mimics of any animal. A male's performance weaves his own whistles and clicks with imitations of other forest birds — and, where forest meets suburbia or logging, human-made sounds. Recordings document chainsaws, camera motor drives, car alarms, mobile phone rings and construction noise woven into display song. Mimicry is not a party trick; it appears to function in mate choice and territory defence, with more complex repertoires associated with older, dominant males.

## Takeaway
Two lyrebird species live in eastern Australia — the widespread superb lyrebird and the range-restricted Albert's lyrebird.

## Takeaway
Male superb lyrebirds display on cleared mounds, raising lyre-shaped tail feathers while singing complex songs that can last hours.

## Takeaway
Lyrebirds copy other species' calls and, near human activity, machinery and electronic sounds — chainsaws, cameras and car alarms appear in verified recordings.

## Takeaway
Mimicry is thought to signal male quality in mate choice; older males with larger repertoires often dominate display territories.

## Takeaway
Lyrebirds are ground foragers that turn over leaf litter with strong feet, playing a role in soil turnover similar to thrushes elsewhere.

## Takeaway
The superb lyrebird is Least Concern globally, but severe bushfires and forest fragmentation reduce local populations — Albert's lyrebird is Near Threatened with a smaller range.

## How lyrebird mimicry works
Songbirds learn vocalisations. Lyrebirds take that capacity further than almost any other species. Young males acquire calls from their acoustic environment — forest birds, but also sounds from campsites, logging operations and suburbs at the forest edge. The syrinx, the bird vocal organ, allows rapid switching between timbres, so a single continuous performance can move from a kookaburra laugh to a whipbird crack to the whine of a power tool.

Research on superb lyrebirds suggests mimicry of other species' alarm and mobbing calls may also be used tactically during courtship and copulation to manipulate female attention — a layer beyond simple impression. Whether every human sound in a repertoire is actively selected or passively absorbed is still discussed, but the accuracy is not in dispute. Playback experiments show females respond to more elaborate song, which keeps selection pressure on repertoire size.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/lyrebird): Lyrebird — wildlife guide.

## The display mound
A male superb lyrebird maintains a display territory through winter breeding season. He clears leaf litter from a patch of ground — the mound — and sings from perches above it and from the mound itself. When a female approaches, he raises his tail over his head, the lyre-shaped plumes framing his body while he dances and sings.

The tail is not permanent ornament year-round. Lyre-shaped feathers take years to grow; subadult males may display with simpler tails until full plumes develop. Females are brown and cryptic, without the elaborate tail — the same pattern seen in birds-of-paradise and many pheasants, where choosy females and displaying males drive extreme male ornament.

## Ecology and forest dependence
Lyrebirds require moist forest with deep leaf litter for feeding and mound display sites. They eat invertebrates, snails, small vertebrates and occasionally seeds, scratching through litter with strong legs. Their foraging disturbs soil and may aid seed burial — an ecological function sometimes compared to that of wild pigs or large thrushes, though quantification varies by forest type.

Large wildfires remove litter and mid-storey cover for years. The superb lyrebird recovered in many burnt areas after the 2019–2020 Australian fire season, but local extirpation occurs when habitat is converted to agriculture or plantation without regrowth. Albert's lyrebird occupies a smaller altitudinal band in rainforest and is more exposed to range contraction.

## Albert's lyrebird and status
Albert's lyrebird lacks the full lyre tail shape of the superb species but shares the mimicry talent and mound display. Its range is restricted to a strip of rainforest and wet sclerophyll between roughly Bundaberg and the New South Wales border ranges. The IUCN lists it as Near Threatened because habitat clearing and stochastic fire risk concentrate in that limited area.

The superb lyrebird is Least Concern with a broad range, including an introduced population in Tasmania that stems from nineteenth-century releases. Least Concern does not mean unaffected — local declines track logging intensity and fire frequency — but the species remains widespread in suitable forest along the Great Dividing Range.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced bird education. Lyrebirds attract clicks for mimicry clips; explaining why males copy machinery — forest edge acoustics shaping learned song — is more durable content than a novelty recording alone.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/lyrebird): Lyrebird — wildlife guide.

## What do lyrebirds eat?
They forage on the ground for invertebrates, snails, small lizards and spiders, scratching through leaf litter. They occasionally take seeds and fruit but animal prey dominates.

## Where do lyrebirds live?
Eastern Australia's wet forests and woodlands. Superb lyrebirds occur from southern Queensland through New South Wales and Victoria, plus Tasmania where introduced. Albert's lyrebird occupies a smaller range in southern Queensland and northern New South Wales.

## Are lyrebirds dangerous to humans?
No. They are shy and flee on foot or by climbing low branches. Males may defend display territories from other males but do not threaten people.

## How long do lyrebirds live?
Exact wild longevity is poorly documented. Captive superb lyrebirds have lived beyond thirty years; wild birds likely survive many years once past the vulnerable chick stage, with males continuing to display as they age.

## How big is a lyrebird?
A male superb lyrebird is about 80 cm long including tail when displaying — roughly chicken-sized in body with elongated tail plumes. Females are smaller and lack the elaborate tail.

## Can lyrebirds really mimic chainsaws?
Yes. Recordings from forests near logging and habitation include chainsaws, camera shutters, car alarms and other human-made sounds copied into display song alongside imitations of other birds.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/secretary-bird): Secretary Bird — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The secretary bird (Sagittarius serpentarius) is an Endangered African raptor that hunts on foot across savanna, killing snakes and other prey with rapid stamping blows delivered in about 15 milliseconds at force several times its body weight.

## Introduction
The secretary bird is a long-legged raptor of African savannas, instantly recognisable by its crest of head feathers, grey body, black wing and tail feathers, and bare orange or pink skin on the face. Unlike most birds of prey, it hunts on foot, covering kilometres of grassland each day. It takes insects, small mammals, lizards and birds, but its reputation rests on snake killing: it seizes serpents with its feet and delivers rapid stomps with force several times its own body weight.

High-speed filming shows strikes landing in about 15 milliseconds — faster than a human blink. The bird's long legs keep its body away from bites while precise foot blows disable prey. The IUCN lists the secretary bird as Endangered, with a decreasing population across much of sub-Saharan Africa. Habitat loss, pesticide impacts on prey, collision with power infrastructure and secondary poisoning from rodenticides all contribute. A bird built to walk open country needs open country to remain.

## Takeaway
The secretary bird is a terrestrial raptor in its own family, Sagittariidae — related to hawks and vultures but adapted for walking hunt.

## Takeaway
It kills snakes by stamping with precise, high-speed foot blows while keeping the body raised on long legs.

## Takeaway
Research using high-speed video measured strike durations of about 15 milliseconds and forces several times the bird's body weight.

## Takeaway
Secretary birds nest in acacia trees, building large stick platforms used for years and often visible from a distance across savanna.

## Takeaway
The IUCN lists the species as Endangered; range-wide declines track habitat conversion, poisoning and infrastructure collision.

## Takeaway
Juveniles have shorter crest feathers and yellowish facial skin; adults develop the full quill-like head plumes used in display.

## How snake stamping works
Secretary birds do not peck snakes like a heron spears fish. They grasp, pin and strike with the feet — the same taloned tools other raptors use in flight, applied in a rapid series of blows delivered while standing over prey. High-speed video analysis published in the journal Current Biology measured strike times of about 15 milliseconds and peak forces of several times the bird's body weight — enough to disable venomous snakes quickly enough to reduce bite risk.

Long bare legs increase the reach and create distance between fangs and vital organs. The bird's scales and thick leg skin provide additional protection, though not immunity — bites occur and can kill. Stamping is not reserved for snakes; the same technique subdues lizards, rodents and small birds. The behaviour is innate enough that captive-reared birds stamp unfamiliar elongated objects, suggesting a built-in target response refined by experience.

## Life on the savanna floor
Secretary birds are diurnal and walk methodically through grass, flushing prey by disturbance. Pairs or family groups maintain territories that can span several square kilometres in poor habitat and less where food is abundant. They fly well despite their terrestrial habit — long wings carry them to roosts and nests in thorn trees — but pursuit hunting is rare.

Breeding produces one to three eggs in a stick nest high in a tree, often an acacia. Incubation lasts around six weeks; chicks fledge after roughly twelve weeks but may remain dependent for months. The species is slow to replace losses, which amplifies the impact of adult mortality from power-line collision and poisoning.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/secretary-bird): Secretary Bird — wildlife guide.

## Why Endangered status matters
The IUCN upgraded the secretary bird to Endangered as surveys showed range contraction and declining reporting rates across southern and eastern Africa. Converting savanna to cropland removes hunting ground. Intensive pesticide use reduces the insect and rodent base juveniles rely on. Rodenticides and poison baits aimed at predators percolate through scavenged carcasses. Power lines and fences add collision and entanglement mortality for a bird that travels on foot across open terrain.

Protected areas help where they preserve grassland rather than allowing thick bush encroachment — secretary birds need a mosaic of grass and scattered trees, not closed-canopy forest. Listing alone does not restore habitat; it signals that a distinctive African raptor is moving from common savanna scenery toward fragmented strongholds.

## Name and taxonomy
The English name may derive from nineteenth-century clerks — the crest feathers resemble quill pens behind the ear — though other etymologies exist and none is certain. Scientifically the bird sits in Sagittariidae, placed within Accipitriformes alongside hawks and Old World vultures, but its long legs and terrestrial ecology set it apart visually from any eagle or buzzard.

Single-species families are unusual but not unique; they flag evolutionary distinctiveness. The secretary bird is Africa's only member. Its snake-killing behaviour appears in African folklore and on national emblems — Sudan's coat of arms formerly featured the species — which raises the stakes when populations fall: cultural visibility does not automatically translate into habitat protection.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free education on threatened species worldwide. The secretary bird combines unmistakable field character with documented decline — exactly the profile where accurate status and threat listing matter more than repeated clips of snake stamping without context.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/secretary-bird): Secretary Bird — wildlife guide.

## What do secretary birds eat?
Insects, rodents, hares, lizards, birds' eggs and chicks, and snakes — including venomous species. They hunt by walking through grass and striking prey with the feet rather than the bill.

## Where do secretary birds live?
Open savanna, grassland and lightly wooded plains in sub-Saharan Africa, from Senegal east to Ethiopia and south through Kenya, Tanzania and southern Africa where suitable habitat remains.

## Are secretary birds dangerous to humans?
Wild birds avoid close contact. They can injure with stomps or talons if cornered or handled, but unprovoked attacks on people are not documented. Their snake-killing behaviour is directed at prey.

## How long do secretary birds live?
Wild longevity is not precisely known for many populations. Captive birds have lived into their late teens and early twenties; wild adults likely survive multiple breeding seasons if habitat quality holds.

## How big is a secretary bird?
Standing height is roughly 1.2–1.5 m — similar to a child — with a wingspan around 2 m. Body weight is typically 3–4 kg, light for the height because of long legs and neck.

## How does a secretary bird kill snakes?
It pins a snake with its feet and delivers rapid stamping blows. High-speed filming recorded strikes in about 15 milliseconds at forces several times the bird's body weight, disabling snakes before they can bite effectively.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/quetzal): Quetzal — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
The resplendent quetzal (Pharomachrus mocinno) is a Near Threatened cloud-forest trogon of Central America whose males carry iridescent green plumage and long tail streamers; revered in Maya and Aztec culture, it is difficult to maintain in captivity but has been bred successfully in modern facilities.

## Introduction
The resplendent quetzal is a trogon of Central American cloud forest — high, cool, moss-draped woodland from southern Mexico through Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Costa Rica and Panama. The male is one of the most vivid birds in the Americas: iridescent green upperparts, a red breast, a helmet-like crest and two elongated upper tail coverts that can extend well beyond the body, giving a total length approaching a metre in display though the bird itself is far smaller.

Maya and Aztec cultures revered the quetzal; killing one was forbidden in some accounts and tail plumes adorned rulers. A persistent claim holds that quetzals die in captivity and therefore symbolise freedom. The claim is partly rooted in real difficulty — nineteenth- and early twentieth-century attempts to keep quetzals often failed because diet and stress were poorly understood — but modern zoos and aviaries in range countries have achieved captive breeding, including fledging chicks. The symbolism outran the biology; the species still faces habitat loss and fragmentation, which is the clearer threat today.

## Takeaway
The resplendent quetzal is a trogon of Central American cloud forest, listed Near Threatened with a decreasing population trend.

## Takeaway
Males carry elongated upper tail coverts that can double apparent length; females are greener and lack the extreme streamers.

## Takeaway
Quetzals eat fruit — especially wild avocados and other laurels — plus insects; they swallow fruit whole and regurgitate pits, acting as seed dispersers.

## Takeaway
Maya and Aztec cultures treated the quetzal as sacred; tail plumes were used in regalia while live birds were sometimes released after plucking.

## Takeaway
Early captivity attempts often failed, feeding the legend that quetzals cannot survive confinement; selected modern breeding programmes have succeeded under specialist care.

## Takeaway
Cloud-forest clearance for agriculture and pasture removes both nesting cavities in rotting trees and the fruiting trees quetzals depend on.

## The captivity legend — and what is true
Popular accounts claim quetzals die rather than live in cages. Historical attempts often did fail: wild-caught birds refused food, crashed in small aviaries and succumbed to stress. Their diet of specific wild fruits and low tolerance of heat made them poor candidates for nineteenth-century menageries.

That is not the same as a biological inability to survive captivity. Facilities in Costa Rica, Guatemala and elsewhere have kept quetzals in large planted aviaries, fed on appropriate fruit and insects, and produced fledglings — the first widely reported captive breeding success at Nashville Zoo in 2004 marked a turning point. The bird remains sensitive and is not a pet-trade species, but the absolute rule of instant death in confinement is a myth. What persists legitimately is that wild quetzals need intact cloud forest and cannot be replaced by cage populations for conservation.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/quetzal): Quetzal — wildlife guide.

## Ecology of the cloud forest
Quetzals nest in rotting tree snags, excavating or using existing woodpecker holes. They require old-growth or mature secondary forest with standing dead wood — a structure slow to regenerate after logging. Breeding season aligns with fruit abundance; wild avocados in the Lauraceae family are a staple, swallowed whole so the bird regurgitates the seed intact, linking quetzals to forest regeneration.

They are largely frugivorous but take insects, small vertebrates and frogs when feeding chicks. Adults are strong fliers in canopy gaps but avoid long open-country crossing, which makes forest fragments into islands. Populations in Mexico's Chiapas highlands, Guatemala's biospheres and Costa Rica's montane reserves are flagship tourism draws — birders travel specifically to see males at nest holes — which gives local incentive to protect forest but also concentrates disturbance if trails are mismanaged.

## Cultural weight
The name quetzal connects to the Nahuatl word for tail feather. Aztec ruler Moctezuma II wore quetzal plumes; Maya nobility used green feathers in ceremonial dress. Some colonial accounts describe live birds plucked and released — whether universal or symbolic is debated by historians, but the association with liberty through non-capture runs deep in Central American iconography.

Guatemala names its currency the quetzal and displays the bird on the flag and coat of arms. That visibility does not automatically protect habitat, but it frames the species as national identity rather than bushmeat — a different conservation conversation from anonymous forest birds. Tourism revenue from quetzal watching in Monteverde and similar sites is an economic argument for keeping cloud forest standing.

## Conservation pressure
The IUCN lists the resplendent quetzal as Near Threatened. Range-wide deforestation for coffee, pasture and settlement removes montane forest. Climate change pushes cloud-base altitude upward, potentially compressing suitable habitat on mountain slopes. Nest snag loss is particularly slow to reverse — a dead tree large enough for a quetzal hole may take decades to form.

Protected areas help where enforcement prevents clearance and maintains fruiting trees. Captive breeding supplements display and research but has not restored wild populations at scale. The practical conservation levers are forest connectivity, snag retention in managed woodland, and tourism practices that limit playback and nest approach during breeding.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free education on species that carry cultural weight as well as ecological roles. Quetzal pages fail when they repeat the captivity myth without correction or ignore the cloud-forest habitat that wild birds actually require.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/quetzal): Quetzal — wildlife guide.

## What do quetzals eat?
Mainly fruit, especially wild avocados and other Lauraceae, swallowed whole. They also take insects, small frogs and lizards, particularly when provisioning chicks at the nest.

## Where do quetzals live?
Montane cloud forest from southern Mexico through Central America to western Panama, typically roughly 1,200–3,000 m elevation where cool, wet conditions persist.

## Are quetzals dangerous to humans?
No. They are shy canopy birds that retreat from close approach. They have no venom or weapons beyond a typical bird bill and do not attack people.

## How long do quetzals live?
Wild longevity is not precisely documented. Captive individuals have lived beyond twenty years under specialist care; wild birds likely survive many years if forest habitat remains intact.

## How big is a quetzal?
The body is roughly 35–40 cm long. Males add elongated upper tail coverts that can extend total display length to about a metre. Females are similar in body size without the long streamers.

## Do quetzals die in captivity?
Early attempts often failed because diet and housing were wrong, which built a legend of inevitable death. Modern specialist aviaries in range countries have kept and bred quetzals successfully, though the species remains sensitive and is not suited to casual pet keeping.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/peacock-spider): Peacock Spider — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
Peacock spiders (genus Maratus) are tiny Australian jumping spiders, typically a few millimetres long, whose males display an iridescent abdominal fan and waved legs during courtship; they are harmless to humans and most species have no IUCN assessment.

## Introduction
Peacock spiders are jumping spiders in the genus Maratus, named for the males' habit of raising a brightly coloured abdominal flap and waving their third pair of legs in a courtship dance that looks improbably choreographed for an animal a few millimetres long. Most species live in leaf litter and low vegetation in Australia, where the genus is most diverse, though related forms occur in New Guinea and parts of Asia.

They became a global internet phenomenon through macro video: the fan spreads like a miniature peacock tail, the legs drum and wave, and a receptive female either accepts or drives the male off. Behind the spectacle sits ordinary jumping-spider biology — acute vision, calculated leaps, and venom tuned for small insects rather than mammals. The gap between their fame and the amount of sober reference material available in English is unusually wide, which is why a dedicated guide matters.

## Takeaway
Peacock spiders belong to Maratus, a genus of jumping spiders (Salticidae) found mainly in Australia.

## Takeaway
Males are a few millimetres long and court females by raising an iridescent abdominal fan and waving their third legs.

## Takeaway
Jumping spiders have excellent vision and stalk prey with calculated leaps rather than building capture webs.

## Takeaway
Peacock spiders eat small insects and other arthropods; they are harmless to people.

## Takeaway
Most Maratus species are narrow-range endemics with no IUCN Red List assessment.

## Takeaway
Macro video made the genus famous worldwide long before most species had published natural-history accounts.

## Why the display looks so deliberate
Male Maratus invest heavily in ornament because females choose mates on the strength of the performance. The abdominal fan — an extension of the opisthosoma edged with iridescent scales — is spread to expose colour patches that shift with viewing angle. The third pair of legs, often contrasting in colour, is waved and tapped in a fixed sequence while the male vibrates the substrate. A female watches from close range; if she is unreceptive she may attack, and males of many species abort quickly when the signal turns hostile.

The display is not decorative excess. It is honest advertising under predation risk: a male must be visible, mobile and coordinated to be chosen, which filters out weak or parasitised individuals. That is standard sexual selection, compressed into an animal small enough to sit on a fingernail.

## Vision and hunting without a web
Peacock spiders share the jumping-spider body plan: compact cephalothorax, relatively large anterior median eyes giving acute resolution, and the ability to plan jumps many times body length. They do not build prey-capture webs. They patrol leaf litter and low plants, pouncing on springtails, flies, ants and other small prey.

Silk is still used — for draglines, retreats and egg sacs — but not as a trap. The same visual acuity that makes them successful hunters lets them assess a mate's display at close quarters. Filming the courtship only became routine once affordable macro video matched the scale of the animal.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/peacock-spider): Peacock Spider — wildlife guide.

## Where peacock spiders live
Most Maratus species are Australian, with diversity concentrated in the south-west and south-east where Mediterranean and temperate habitats produce rich leaf-litter communities. Some occur in New Guinea and a handful extend into China and mainland Southeast Asia. They are ground and litter specialists rather than house spiders — the animals in viral clips were filmed in situ, not in captivity, though some species tolerate brief observation in the field.

Because many species have small ranges — a single mountain, a patch of heath, one sandplain — local habitat loss matters even when the genus as a whole is not Red-Listed. A species can be common on one headland and unknown ten kilometres away.

## Conservation and the fame gap
Almost no Maratus species has a formal IUCN assessment. That reflects limited survey work on invertebrates, not security. Narrow-range endemics face the same pressures as other small habitat specialists: land clearing, fire regime change, and trampling of heath and litter habitats.

The genus illustrates a recurring problem in invertebrate conservation: animals can be globally famous while remaining scientifically under-described. Naming, mapping ranges and publishing basic natural history are prerequisites for protection, and peacock spiders are only partway through that pipeline despite their audience.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free, sourced invertebrate education for animals people search for but rarely find explained accurately. Peacock spiders are a textbook case — enormous public interest, almost no consolidated reference material in plain English, and narrow-range species that could disappear before they are assessed.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/peacock-spider): Peacock Spider — wildlife guide.

## What do peacock spiders eat?
Peacock spiders are predators of small insects and other arthropods — springtails, flies, ants and similar prey in leaf litter and low vegetation. They hunt by sight and pounce rather than using a web.

## Where do peacock spiders live?
Most species are Australian, especially in the south-west and south-east. Related Maratus and close genera occur in New Guinea and parts of Asia. They live in leaf litter, heath and low vegetation rather than in houses.

## Are peacock spiders dangerous to humans?
No. They are a few millimetres long with venom adapted for tiny invertebrate prey. They cannot seriously harm a person, and bites are essentially unknown in ordinary encounters.

## How long do peacock spiders live?
Jumping spiders typically live about a year from egg to adult death. Males often die soon after mating; females may survive long enough to guard an egg sac.

## How big are peacock spiders?
Most males are roughly 3–5 mm in body length — smaller than a grain of rice. Females are often slightly larger and usually less ornamented.

## Why are they called peacock spiders?
Males raise a colourful abdominal fan and wave their legs in courtship, resembling a miniature peacock display. The behaviour is unique in detail but follows the same logic as other sexually selected ornaments.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/wolf-spider): Wolf Spider — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
Wolf spiders (family Lycosidae) are fast ground-hunting spiders with over 2,900 described species worldwide; females carry egg sacs on their spinnerets and then carry spiderlings on their backs, and their eyes reflect torchlight at night.

## Introduction
Wolf spiders belong to the family Lycosidae, one of the most successful spider radiations on land. They are ground hunters: fast, hairy, with eight eyes arranged in three rows that include two large forward-facing ones giving unusually good vision for a spider. They do not build prey-capture webs. They run down prey or wait at burrow entrances, which is why the name 'wolf spider' stuck.

What separates them in the public mind is maternal behaviour. A female attaches her egg sac to her spinnerets and carries it until the eggs hatch. The spiderlings then climb onto her abdomen and ride there for days before dispersing — a sight that alarms gardeners who do not recognise what they are seeing. Shine a torch across lawn or leaf litter at night and the tapetum behind those eyes returns green or orange eyeshine, the same trick used to locate mammals — except here the eyes belong to an invertebrate predator doing useful pest control for free.

## Takeaway
Wolf spiders (Lycosidae) hunt on the ground without prey-capture webs.

## Takeaway
Females attach the egg sac to their spinnerets and carry it until the young hatch.

## Takeaway
Spiderlings then ride on the mother's abdomen for several days before dispersing.

## Takeaway
Eight eyes in three rows give better vision than most spiders; eyeshine is visible at night.

## Takeaway
They eat insects and other small invertebrates and are generally harmless to humans.

## Takeaway
Most species are widespread and unassessed; cave and island endemics face habitat pressure.

## Hunting on foot rather than from a web
Lycosids are cursorial hunters. The body is typically stout and low, legs long for sprinting, and the chelicerae deliver venom tuned for insects and other arthropods. Some species occupy silk-lined burrows and ambush from the entrance; others roam openly across lawns, beaches and forest litter. Silk is used for retreats, egg sacs and draglines, not as an aerial trap.

That ecology places wolf spiders among the dominant ground-level predators in many habitats. A healthy lawn at night may hold dozens patrolling for crickets, ants and beetle larvae. Pesticide applications that eliminate them often see pest insects rebound because the predator community recovers more slowly.

## Egg sacs and spiderlings on the back
After mating, a female wolf spider produces an egg sac woven from silk, fertilises the eggs inside it, and attaches the sac to her spinnerets. She carries it everywhere — still hunting, still avoiding predators — until the spiderlings emerge. They then climb onto her abdomen and remain there for a period that varies by species, sometimes a week or more, before ballooning or walking away.

The behaviour is maternal investment without feeding: the female does not eat her young, and the young gain protection and thermal stability during a vulnerable stage. To a human observer the mass of tiny spiders on a larger spider looks alarming. It is one of the more visible examples of parental care among arachnids.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/wolf-spider): Wolf Spider — wildlife guide.

## Eyeshine and the three-row eye layout
Wolf spider eyes are arranged in three rows: four small eyes on the bottom row, two large forward-facing eyes above them, and two smaller eyes on top. The large anterior median eyes give acute vision used to track prey and mates. A reflective tapetum behind the retina produces eyeshine when light enters the eyes — the same mechanism that makes cat eyes glow in headlights.

Sweeping a torch low across grass at night reveals green or orange points of light at spider eye height. The trick works on wolf spiders worldwide and is a standard field method for estimating abundance. It also makes the point that these are visually oriented animals, not the blind crawlers of caricature.

## Bites, fear and what is actually at risk
Wolf spiders can bite if trapped against skin, and the bite may cause local pain and swelling in sensitive individuals. They are not medically significant spiders in the way widow or recluse species can be. Most encounters end with the spider running away.

Conservation concern concentrates on habitat specialists — cave-dwelling lycosids, dune endemics, single-island species — rather than the common garden forms people meet. Those widespread species remain valuable as indicators of insect abundance and pesticide load. Killing a female carrying spiderlings removes a season's brood and a working predator in one gesture.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free arachnid education that separates alarming appearance from actual risk. Wolf spiders are among the spiders most often killed out of mistaken identity; understanding the egg-sac and spiderling behaviour prevents unnecessary destruction of a harmless pest controller.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/wolf-spider): Wolf Spider — wildlife guide.

## What do wolf spiders eat?
Wolf spiders eat insects and other small invertebrates — crickets, ants, beetles, flies and similar prey — caught by running them down or ambushing from a burrow. They do not build webs to trap flying insects.

## Where do wolf spiders live?
Worldwide except Antarctica, in habitats from gardens and lawns to heath, coast, desert and forest floor. Many species occupy burrows; others roam openly. They are common at ground level rather than in webs at head height.

## Are wolf spiders dangerous?
Not in any serious medical sense. They can bite if squeezed against skin, causing local pain in some people, but they are not among the spiders that cause systemic envenomation. They prefer to run.

## How long do wolf spiders live?
Most wolf spiders live one to two years from egg to adult death. Females may survive long enough to produce one or more egg sacs; males often die after mating.

## How big do wolf spiders get?
Size varies widely by species. Many common garden species have a body length of about 1–2 cm; some tropical species exceed 3 cm body length with longer legs.

## Why do wolf spiders glow in torchlight?
A reflective layer behind the retina — a tapetum — returns light from a torch back out through the eyes, producing green or orange eyeshine. The large forward-facing eyes make the glow particularly visible.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/huntsman-spider): Huntsman Spider — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
Huntsman spiders (family Sparassidae) are large, flat, fast-running tropical and subtropical spiders that hunt without webs; common house species such as Heteropoda venatoria are widespread, alarming in appearance, and not medically significant to healthy humans.

## Introduction
Huntsman spiders belong to the family Sparassidae: large, flat-bodied, long-legged spiders built for speed and squeezing into crevices rather than building webs. The species most people photograph indoors — often Heteropoda venatoria — has spread with trade and now turns up in houses from Australia to Europe and the Americas, usually on walls and ceilings where it waits for cockroaches, moths and other household insects.

They are the spiders behind a disproportionate share of panic posts online. The leg span can exceed a human palm; they move in short explosive sprints; and they appear at eye level in kitchens at night. The correction worth leading with is simple: huntsman spiders are not the medically significant spiders people fear. Bites are uncommon, effects are usually mild, and the animal's job in a house is cockroach control. For broader context on spider myths — including the daddy longlegs venom story — see WARN's spider and daddy longlegs guides, which cover the confusion pairs this page is often lumped with.

## Takeaway
Huntsman spiders (Sparassidae) are large, flat, fast ground and wall hunters — not web builders.

## Takeaway
Heteropoda venatoria is a common house species in many tropical and subtropical regions.

## Takeaway
They eat cockroaches, moths and other insects; their presence often indicates prey, not danger.

## Takeaway
Bites are rare and usually mild; huntsman spiders are not widow- or recluse-level medical risks.

## Takeaway
Viral photos exaggerate the threat; the myth correction is that appearance and risk diverge sharply.

## Takeaway
See WARN's spider guide for order-level context and the daddy longlegs guide for a related myth pair.

## Why they look frightening and behave differently from web spiders
Sparassids are dorsoventrally flattened with legs that spread sideways rather than rising in a tall profile. That shape lets them vanish under loose bark, behind picture frames and inside curtain folds. When disturbed they sprint in short bursts — a escape strategy on open walls where a web would be useless.

They do not sit in orb webs. They patrol, wait and pounce. The largest species — including some Heteropoda in Southeast Asia — have leg spans that can exceed 30 cm, which feeds the viral photograph economy. Leg span is not venom potency. Most huntsman venom is adapted for insects and other arthropods, and human envenomation is poorly documented because bites are uncommon and rarely require medical care.

## The house huntsman and what it is actually doing indoors
Heteropoda venatoria and related species have travelled with human goods and now occupy houses across much of the tropics and subtropics. They appear on ceilings and walls at night, hunting cockroaches, moths, silverfish and other indoor invertebrates. A house with regular huntsman sightings usually has regular insect prey.

Females attach flat oval egg sacs to surfaces — often under furniture or in sheltered corners — and guard them briefly. The spiderlings disperse without the wolf-spider piggyback stage. Encounters peak when a spider trapped in a car or bathroom sprints across someone's field of view; relocation beats spraying if the goal is fewer cockroaches and fewer chemicals.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/huntsman-spider): Huntsman Spider — wildlife guide.

## Myth correction: large does not mean deadly
Search traffic clusters on whether huntsman spiders kill people, whether they chase humans, and whether they belong in the same mental category as funnel-web or widow spiders. The evidence-based answer across common Sparassidae is no. Documented bites may cause local pain, redness or brief headache in sensitive individuals; systemic effects are unusual.

The daddy longlegs myth — most venomous spider, fangs too short — is a separate confusion covered in WARN's daddy longlegs guide. Huntsman panic is driven by size and speed, not by a hidden record of human fatalities. Treating every large spider as one category is how harmless sparassids get killed while the medically relevant species — geographically restricted — remain statistically irrelevant to most readers' lives.

## Ecology beyond the kitchen ceiling
Outside houses, sparassids occupy tree bark, rock crevices and leaf litter across tropical and subtropical regions. Some genera are habitat specialists on islands or in caves. Those narrow-range species may face real extinction risk without Red List entries, while Heteropoda venatoria continues to expand with human movement.

As with other spider families, indiscriminate indoor spraying removes free pest control. Understanding huntsman spiders as cockroach hunters with a flat profile and a sprint — not as a uniform 'deadly tropical spider' — is the useful correction this page exists to make.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free arachnid education aimed at myth-heavy search queries. Huntsman spiders generate disproportionate fear relative to documented harm; accurate identification reduces pointless killing and keeps household insect predators in place.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/huntsman-spider): Huntsman Spider — wildlife guide.

## What do huntsman spiders eat?
Huntsman spiders eat insects and other arthropods — cockroaches, moths, beetles, crickets and similar prey — caught by running pursuit or ambush from a crevice. House-dwelling species are active cockroach hunters.

## Where do huntsman spiders live?
Mostly tropical and subtropical regions worldwide. They hide under bark, in rock crevices and behind household fittings. Common house species such as Heteropoda venatoria occur on walls and ceilings indoors.

## Are huntsman spiders dangerous to humans?
Not in the way viral posts suggest. Bites are uncommon and usually cause only local pain or brief discomfort. They are not among the spiders responsible for serious envenomation in healthy adults.

## How long do huntsman spiders live?
Roughly one to two years is typical for many sparassid species, though precise longevity varies by species and climate. Females may live longer than males.

## How big can a huntsman spider get?
Leg span varies by species. Many house huntsmen span roughly 7–12 cm; some tropical Heteropoda species exceed 30 cm leg span with a body still far smaller than the legs suggest.

## Should I kill a huntsman spider in my house?
There is rarely a need. They control cockroaches and other pests and pose negligible medical risk in ordinary encounters. A glass-and-card relocation works if you prefer not to share the room.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/millipede): Millipede — wildlife guide.

## One-line answer
Millipedes (class Diplopoda) are slow detritivorous myriapods with two pairs of legs on most body segments; they break down dead plant material in soil and leaf litter, and differ from predatory centipedes, which have one leg pair per segment and run fast.

## Introduction
Millipedes are myriapods in the class Diplopoda: slow, cylindrical detritivores that process dead leaves and rotting wood into soil. Each body segment behind the head is typically a diplosegment formed by the fusion of two segments, which is why most carry two pairs of legs per visible ring — the single clearest field mark separating them from centipedes, which have one pair per segment, a flattened body and a predatory bite.

The name promises a thousand feet. No millipede had been confirmed with that many until Eumillipes persephone was described from deep caves in Western Australia in 2021 with 1,306 legs — the current record. Common garden millipedes have far fewer, often a few dozen to a few hundred depending on species. When people lift a log and find a coiled, hard-bodied cylinder that curls defensively rather than sprinting away, they have a millipede, not a centipede.

## Takeaway
Millipedes (Diplopoda) eat decaying plant material and are essential decomposers in soil and litter.

## Takeaway
Most segments bear two pairs of legs — the reliable contrast with centipedes (one pair per segment).

## Takeaway
Centipedes are flat, fast predators with venomous forcipules; millipedes are rounder, slower and curl when threatened.

## Takeaway
Eumillipes persephone from Western Australian caves has 1,306 legs — the first species confirmed beyond 1,000.

## Takeaway
Many millipedes secrete defensive chemicals that can irritate skin; they do not bite with venom like centipedes.

## Takeaway
The name 'millipede' is aspirational — leg counts vary widely and most species have far fewer than 1,000.

## Millipede versus centipede — the confusion pair
Centipedes (Chilopoda) and millipedes (Diplopoda) are both myriapods but occupy opposite ecological roles. A centipede has one pair of legs per segment, a flattened body built for speed, forcipules that inject venom, and a hunting lifestyle. A millipede has two pairs of legs on most segments (diplosegments), a rounded or cylindrical body, and jaws adapted for grinding decaying vegetation.

Under a log, behaviour settles it quickly: centipedes run; millipedes trundle and coil. Bite risk sits with centipedes. Millipede defence is chemical — many secrete benzoquinones or other compounds that stain skin and smell acrid. The centipede guide on this site covers the predator side of the pair; this page covers the decomposer side.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/millipede): Millipede — wildlife guide.

## The 1,306-leg species and what 'millipede' actually means
Eumillipes persephone was described in 2021 from millipede specimens collected up to 60 m deep in caves on the Nullarbor Plain in Western Australia. At 1,306 legs it exceeded any previously counted myriapod. The animal is pale, thread-like and cave-adapted — nothing like the chunky garden millipede most people recognise.

That discovery updated a standing joke: 'millipede' from Latin mille pedes means thousand feet, but scientists had never verified a species at that count. Leg number varies by species and age; counting every leg on a live animal is impractical. Body plan and diet remain the useful identification marks, not arithmetic.

## Role in soil and forest systems
Millipedes fragment leaf litter and consume decaying wood, returning nutrients to soil and creating pore space as they burrow. In temperate forests they can be among the most abundant macro-invertebrates in litter layers. Some species specialise on particular tree species or microhabitats; tropical rainforests hold the greatest diversity.

Because they depend on moisture and undisturbed litter, drought, compaction and removal of dead wood reduce populations. Pesticides and metaldehyde slug pellets — aimed at gastropods — can poison decomposers indirectly. A garden with healthy millipede numbers usually has damp refuges and organic matter left in place.

## Defensive chemistry and human contact
When handled, many millipedes coil tightly and secrete defensive fluids from lateral glands. The compounds deter ants and birds; on human skin they can cause brown staining, odour and irritation, particularly if rubbed into eyes or broken skin. Washing hands after contact is sufficient precaution.

Millipedes are not venomous in the centipede sense. Large tropical species may nip with their jaws if provoked, but the primary defence is chemical. Confusing them with centipedes drives unnecessary fear — and unnecessary killing of a decomposer that was doing no harm under the log.

## WARN work
WARN publishes free invertebrate education that names confusion pairs honestly. Millipede versus centipede is one of the most common myriapod misidentifications; getting the leg count and diet right prevents fear-driven killing of harmless decomposers.

## Donation hook
If this guide helps you understand wildlife and the pressures it faces, a gift to WARN supports habitat protection and free public education in our partner countries.


World Animal Rescue Network (https://worldanimalrescuenetwork.org/wildlife-guides/millipede): Millipede — wildlife guide.

## What do millipedes eat?
Millipedes eat decaying plant material — dead leaves, rotting wood, fungi and detritus in soil and leaf litter. They are decomposers, not predators of live insects or vertebrates.

## Where do millipedes live?
Worldwide except Antarctica, mainly in damp soil, leaf litter, rotting logs and caves. They need moisture and are most diverse in tropical forests; garden species hide under stones, pots and compost.

## Are millipedes dangerous?
Not like centipedes. Many secrete irritating defensive chemicals that can stain skin or smell unpleasant if handled, but they do not inject venom. Wash hands after contact and avoid rubbing eyes.

## How long do millipedes live?
Many species live several years; larger millipedes may live five to ten years or more in favourable conditions. Exact longevity varies by species and is poorly documented for most.

## How big do millipedes get?
Common garden species are a few centimetres long. Tropical giants such as Archispirostreptus gigas can exceed 30 cm in length; most species are far smaller.

## What is the difference between a millipede and a centipede?
Millipedes have two pairs of legs on most segments, a rounded body and eat decaying plants. Centipedes have one pair per segment, a flat body, run fast and hunt live prey with venomous forcipules.