WORLD'S LARGEST CROCODILE

The Saltwater or Estuarine Crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) is the largest of all living reptiles. It is found in suitable habitats throughout Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. The Bhitarkanika National Park on the Orissa coast, India has achieved the rare distinction of housing the world's largest estuarine or salt water crocodile, locally known as (Baula Kumbhira), measuring about 23 feet.
The largest crocodile of Bhitarkanika has found a place in the 2006 edition of the Guinness Book of World Records. The latest census carried out by the wildlife division indicated that the Bhitarkanika sanctuary has a total strength of 1462 crocodiles which included 203 adults.

Bhitarkanika has also emerged as the ideal habitat for the salt water crocodile in the country and also the largest concentration. Though Sundarbans sanctuary has a good mangrove forest, yet it houses a very small population of the salt water crocodiles. So is the case of Andaman and Nicobar Islands.

The saltwater crocodile is stated to be most dangerous species of crocodilians from a human stand point . In the Bhitarkanika Wildlife Sanctuary (now a National Park) all the ingredients for human attack exists. Particularly, frequent human intrusion into the crocodile habitat illegally and a crocodile population in the Sanctuary containing a good number of very large males. But it has been observed that the adult crocodiles under normal circumstances never leave their territory to chase the human beings on land unlike terrestrial predatory animals like tigers, etc. Most of the human attack incidents occur when the victims enter into the crocodile habitat either for illegal fishing, poaching, collection of wood, honey, nalia grass etc. from the river or creek banks or while setting the traps or noose for trapping the deer, wild boars, etc. very close to river or creek banks.

A programme for conservation of estuarine crocodile and its habitat was started at the Bhitarkanika National Park in the year 1975 by Dr. H.R Bustard, the FAO/UNDP Consultant. As a result of this and other measures, now the status of this crocodile is of Least Concern (IUCN 2.3).

Latest update: As per the 2008 census report, carried out by the wildlife division, there has been a marginal but proportionate growth of these crocodiles with 1498 of them found inhabiting in and outside the Bhitarkanika wildlife sanctuary. The figure was 1482 last year. The outstanding feature of this year's census was that as many as ten adult and sub-adult white crocodiles were found inhabiting these water bodies.

WORLD'S GREATEST MOUNTAIN RANGE

Himalayas - meaning: Abode of the Snows, is the greatest mountain range of the world. Together, the Himalaya mountain system is the planet's highest and home to the world's highest peaks, including Mount Everest. The Himalayan system has over 100 separate mountains exceeding 7,200 meters. No where on Earth are the mountains as dominant part of the landscape as the mountain range of the The Himalayas. The great mountain barrier is like a natural wall between the Indian subcontinent and the great landmass of Central Asia, which covers a distance of about 2,400 km. The width of the wall varies from 400 km in Kashmir to 150 km in Arunachal Pradesh. It stretches across six nations: Bhutan, China, India, Nepal, Pakistan and Afghanistan.

It is the source of three of the world's major river systems, the Indus Basin, the Ganga-Brahmaputra Basin and the Yangtze Basin. The Himalayas, being geologically very young, continue to rise at a relatively fast geologic rate. It is said to have risen out due to the collision of the tectonic plate of the Indian subcontinent with the Urasian plate.

WORLD'S LARGEST DELTA

The Ganga (Ganges) and the Brahmaputra delta basin in West Bengal (India) and Bangladesh is the largest in the world. It covers an area of 75000 square kilometres. The enormous delta of the Ganges-Brahmaputra River is the lifeblood for one of the largest populations on Earth. The Ganges and Brahmaputra rivers are one of the largest river systems on the earth. The river channels drain some of the highest mountains present on the planet, the Himalayas. The Ganges originates from Gangotri glacier at Gomukh and river Brahmaputra originates from the Manas Sarovar lake of Tibet, China.

WORLD'S FASTEST CRUISE MISSILE

World's fastest and the deadliest cruise missile is the Brahmos. Developed by BrahMos Corporation, a joint venture between India and Russia, the cruise missile, has a range of about 280 km, and can attain a speed exceeding Mach 2 (twice the speed of sound), which is the fastest in the world. It can carry 200-300 kg payload of conventional warhead mass depending on the version. It can be launched both from sea and land. The missile was first test-fired on June 12, 2001. The first test fire was a successful one.

The missile is marginally over eight meters in length, 670 mm in diameter and weighs 3,000 kg. It combines the propulsion system and self-homing device of Russian's "Yakhont" or "Onyx" system with on-board computer equipment developed by Indian defence scientists.

News Update: 21st June 2007 : The Indian army today became the first force in the world to be armed with surface-to-surface supersonic cruise missile, with the induction of 290 km range Brahmos missile.

With all the four test firings of the missile, including two conducted by army personnel going flawless, the surface- to-surface version of the Brahmos, which would provide tactical battle edge to the army, is being inducted a year ahead of schedule.

The missile was formally handed over to Army Chief General J J Singh byPresident A P J Abdul Kalam, who is also the supreme commander of the Armed forces.

However, the actual delivery of the missile would commence next month, almost a year ahead of the scheduled induction fixed earlier for July, 2008, when two mobile batteries and mobile command post would be handed over to the army.

WORLD'S LONGEST MOUSTACHE

The longest recorded moustache belongs to Bajansinh Juwansinh Gurjar of Ahmedabad, India. It had not been cut for 22 years and was recorded 12 feet 6 inches long in 2004, when he was aged 60 years.

WORLD'S HOTTEST CHILLIE

The Bhut Jolokia chillie (Capsicum frutescens) from India has been named the world's hottest pepper by the Guinness Book of World Records, reaching to an astounding 1,001,304 Scoville heat units. Just to put that into perspective, the Jalapeno sits at a meager 10,000 SHU.

This particular chillie is native of the North Eastern states of India, Nagaland & Manipur. Such is the hotness of this chilli that it can drive away the ghost, and hence the name Bhut Jolokia.

The discovery of this fact by Paul Bosland, a Regents Professor in horticulture at New Mexico State University, was recognised by the Guinness World Records in a testimony earlier this month saying Bhut Jolokia, native to Assam, was the hottest of all spices.

Before Bhut Jolokia's entry, the world's hottest pepper recorded was the Red Savina chili, which registered at 577,000 SHU, but in April that changed to the Dorset Naga which tested between 876,000 and 970,000 SHU. When it gets that hot, I don't really know that the number really makes much of a difference!


The Scoville scale, developed by Wilbur Scoville in 1912, was created to measure the heat level in chillies and is used world-wide today. To give you an idea where some of your favorite peppers sit on the list:







0 - Bell Pepper
100-500 - Pepperoncini
1000-1500 - Poblano
2500-10,000 - Jalapenos and Chipolte
5000-23,000 - Serrano
30,000-50,000 - Cayenne
80,000 & up - Habenero, Scotch Bonnet

There is a blog dedicated to this Bhut Jolokia chillie.