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The length of the chameleon measures at 15 mm (0.6 inches) in males however certain males are 68.5 cm (30 inches) long which makes them the smallest reptiles on the planet earth.

The chameleon’s tongue is almost 2 times the length of its body (not including tail).

The average lifespan of these reptiles is about 3 – 5 years.

Mating season for wild snow leopards is between January and mid-March. During this time, a male and a female will travel together for a few days and copulate. The cats will then part ways and become solitary once again, with the female taking full responsibility of raising any offspring.

The female is typically pregnant for 93-110 days before her litter is born in June or July.

In captivity, snow leopards have been known to live for as long as 22 years.

white to smokey-grey colour, with yellow tinged fur and patterned dark-grey to black rosettes and spots

Snow leopards live in the high, rugged mountains of Central Asia. While their habitat range covers 2 million km2 (approximately the size of Greenland or Mexico), there are only between 4,000 to 6,500 snow leopards left in the wild

Their habitat extends through twelve countries: Afghanistan, Bhutan, China, India, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Nepal, Pakistan, Russia, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan.

a snow leopard travel across 27 miles of open desert in a single night!

A few decades ago the Owl butterflies were considered to be members of a now defunct family, the Brassolidae. Following the revisions of Erlich ( 1958 ) and Ackery ( 1984 ), all of the butterflies with only two pairs of walking legs were placed within the Nymphalidae. The Brassolidae were reduced in rank to a subfamily Brassolinae, and then relegated further to become the Brassolini - a tribe within the Morphinae.

The 21 Caligo species are known colloquially as Owl butterflies, due to the owl-like false eyes, and the feathery appearance of the underside wings.

Various theories have been proposed to explain the presence of the huge eyespots that adorn the underside hindwings of all species. The butterflies rest for very long periods on tree trunks and can be quite difficult to spot, but if accidentally disturbed by a bird they take immediate flight and if seen from below with wings fully open could feasibly be mistaken for an owl. When at rest however, only one side of the wings can be seen at a time and the appearance then is not owl-like. Another theory states that the eyespot and surrounding dark areas are mimetic of a species of tree frog that is said to rest on tree trunks where Owl butterflies are seen. It is however difficult to imagine what possible advantage a butterfly might have in resembling a tree frog !

Corals are colonies of made up of tiny animals called polyps. Hard corals have polyps with 6 tentacles, or multiples of 6 tentacles. Soft coral polyps have 8 tentacles. The oldest coral on the Great Barrier Reef would be a Porites sp. and is probably about 1,000 years old. Old colonies of this species are the size of a small room. These corals grow at about 1 cm in height per year and their skeleton reflects the weather conditions at the time of the growth. Hence large corals which are hundreds of years old can provide information about water temperature and rainfall patterns that pre-date European settlement. Tiny algae called zooxanthellae live in the flesh of most corals. The algae photosynthesise and transfer energy to the coral. Therefore, coral reefs (which are built mostly by these corals) are generally confined to shallow waters because like other plants, the algae require light to survive.

The coral reef builds upwards, growing towards the light much like trees in a rainforest, competing for space and light. Once the coral reef reaches sea level it cannot survive the harsh surface conditions so begins to grow outwards. Creating spectacular formations of coral that spawn further growth and spreading of the reef ecosystem. Through time, animals grow and the sand, rubble and debris of life is broken down by waves and eroding animals, such as worms and sponges. A complex reef ecosystem is built over time. Today’s underwater gullies and caves were formed because of that erosion. These are the same formations scuba divers enjoy exploring today because they are shelters for an abundance of marine life. Coral reefs tend to grow where there is a lot of water movement, bringing nutrients, oxygen and new species. Most reef-building corals cannot grow in waters shallow enough to expose them at high tide or deeper than 50 metres, making them highly sensitive to changing sea levels. The Reef is continually evolving and changing as climate and sea levels change. Healthy, diverse reef ecosystems are more resilient, that is, they are able to adapt to change. The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority is concentrating on maximising reef resilience through research and management.

There are 23 species of marine reptiles that inhabit the Great Barrier Reef including 6 species of sea turtles and 17 species of sea snakes. Occasionally, the saltwater crocodile also ventures out to forage on the reef, although such visits are quite rare. The sea turtles that inhabit the Great Barrier Reef include the green turtle, loggerhead turtle, hawksbill turtle, flatback turtle, leatherback turtle and the Pacific ridley turtle. Some sea turtle species, such as the green turtle, loggerhead turtle and hawksbill turtle, nest on coral cays. The flatback turtle nests on continental islands and the green and leatherback turtles nest on mainland Australia. When not nesting, these sea turtle species use the waters of the Great Barrier Reef as foraging grounds. Among the sea snakes of the Great Barrier Reef are the olive sea snake, the turtle-headed sea snake and the sea krait. All sea snakes are venomous.