Often called “incubator birds”, adults bury their enormous eggs in the seashore’s hot sand and abandon them, allowing the sand’s heat to incubate them during development. Two months later, the self-sufficient chicks emerge ready to fly. The chicks are able to find fruits, seeds, and invertebrates to eat as well as defend themselves from monitor lizards, reticulated pythons, wild pigs, and cats.
Egernia hosmeri An important part of their defense, Hosmer’s skinks have sharp points called “keels” on their scales. When alarmed, they squeeze between rocks…
Crotalus atrox They feed mainly on rodents and will keep their numbers in check. Rattlesnake roundups have reduced their numbers significantly in many parts…