Fun Animal Facts to Help Save Animals

Silky Anteater - The Smallest Anteater

2010-03-09T15:22:00.000-08:00

The silky anteater, sometimes known as the pygmy anteater is the smallest anteater in the world, just slightly bigger than your hand! What does the silky anteater have in common with some monkeys? The silky anteater has a prehensile tail, meaning they can hang onto trees by their tail, leaving their hands free to eat. The silky anteater eats up to 5000 ants a day, so you can understand why

Vaquita - One of the Rarest Animals on Earth

2010-03-07T17:52:00.000-08:00

If you ever get a glimpse of a vaquita, you will have the honor of reporting the 66th sighting of a live vaquita ever! That's right, to date only 65 confirmed sightings of vaquita have ever been reported. Despite its critically endangered status, the vaquita is very easy going, taking its time swimming and even eating. If you see a large vaquita, chances are its female and not male, since

Red Uakari - the Red Faced Monkey

2010-03-05T19:41:00.000-08:00

You are looking at a handsome red uakari, and he is not blushing, the red uakari always has a face that red. Handsome you say? Why of course, because of his red face. The redder the face, the healthier the red uakari is thought to be. A pale face likely means that a red uakari is sick. The red uakari is also a social butterfly living in troops of up to a hundred individuals, then breaking into

European Eel,Why Eel Fishing Needs to Stop and a Cool Eel Video

2010-02-22T14:58:00.000-08:00

The European Eel is a fascinating creature and the eel migration is considered one of the great migrations on earth, with European eels travelling up to 6000 km each year from the sea to tributaries an canals along the coast of Europe and the Mediterrean! European eels are very determined and come overcome many obstacles, Watch the European eel migration in action as European eels climb a wall

Caribou Facts and Woodland Conservation

2010-02-19T19:48:00.000-08:00

The caribou migration is one of the largest in the world with caribou travelling over 2500 km (1600 miles) each year! Females lead the way in the annual caribou migration with males following a couple of weeks later. How do you tell a male from a female caribou? It's not always easy since caribou are the only deer species in which the females also have antlers. Baby caribou are also

Emperor Penguin Facts

2010-02-15T15:59:00.000-08:00

Emperor penguins were the stars of the movies March of the Penguins and Happy Feet and for good reason, emperor penquins are fascinating creatures. Emperor penguins are excellent swimmers and can dive up to 500 m. Emperor penguins also like to have fun and are good at sliding on ice, no sled required! Emperor penguins like being around other penguins which is a good thing since they huddle

The Giant Panda Bear

2010-02-09T11:54:00.000-08:00

The giant panda bear cubs are world reknown for their cuteness and love of play. Who can resist a giant panda bear cub or a panda bear cub playing? The giant panda bear cub has an enemy that you might not think of, in addition to snow leopards, owls will also eat giant panda bear cubs. The giant panda bear loves to eat bamboo, so much so that 95% of their diet consists of this single food!

The Scalloped Hammerhead Shark and Shark Conservation

2010-02-07T12:17:00.000-08:00

The scalloped hammerhead shark is one of the strangest looking sharks on earth with their intriguing shaped head which actually contains sensory organs that help the scalloped hammerhead shark sense the electrical fields of animals. Even if an animal is not moving, the scalloped hammerhead shark can find prey just by their heartbeat! Source: Hammerhead Shark, National Geographic. At a few

Bald Eagle

2010-02-05T18:13:00.000-08:00

With a bald eagle you never have to worry about bad body odor since the bald eagle doesn't sweat, but stays cool by panting and staying in the shade. Did you know that it takes 5 years for a bald eagle's head and tail to turn white? Up until then, they are a mixture of brown and white and don't look anything what we tend to think a bald eagle looks like. Source: American Bald Eagle

Pygmy Hippo

2010-02-01T15:36:00.000-08:00

The pygmy hippo is smaller than their close relatives, the Nile hippo. Their eyes are on the sides of their heads which is also different from the Nile hippo. The pygmy hippo is an elusive creature, they are nocturnal and solitary and spend their days hiding in swamps. One thing we do know though is that you may not want to stand behind a pygmy hippo as they are famous for muck spreading -

The Leatherback Turtle

2010-01-23T12:30:00.000-08:00

The leatherback turtle is the largest turtle in the world and can weigh up to 400 kg (880 lbs) and reach lengths up to 2.4 m (6 ft) long. The leatherback turtle gets this big in part by eating their favourite food - jellyfish, yum! They can eat their weight in jellyfish in a single day! The leatherback turtle needs their strength though, since they swim distances up to 12,000 km and can dive up

Vancouver Island Marmot Facts and How You Can Save Them

2009-12-07T11:16:00.000-08:00

Vancouver Island Marmots are about the size of a large house cat and love rocks - they use them to stay warm, cool down and stand on to look for predators. They also have another love - peanut butter! Vancouver Island marmots need their rest - they hibernate for almost 7 months of the year. They are also sometimes called "whistle pigs" because of the alarm call they give when there is danger

Silky Sifaka Facts and How You Can Save Them

2009-12-06T15:13:00.000-08:00

Silky sifaka males are gentlemen at meal time where it's "ladies first" when it comes to eating and silky sifakas definitely like variety in their diet, eating up to 76 different species of plants. Silky sifakas are also very playful, even the adults have been observed playing for long periods. The same can't be said for mating though, silky sifakas are thought to only mate one day a year in

Fun Clownfish Facts and How You Can Save Them

2009-12-03T12:14:00.000-08:00

Clownfish may look cute, but they are one of the more aggressive fish in the sea! Even though they are only 2 to 5 inches long, they will approach scuba divers to “chase” them away from their anemone. If scuba divers are persistent, clownfish have even been known to bite scuba divers! Fortunately their teeth aren’t very sharp. Most small fish stay away from scuba divers so clownfish are brave

Polar Bear Facts and How You Can Save Them

2009-12-02T19:47:00.000-08:00

Did you know that polar bears are more likely to overheat than get cold even despite living in the coldest temperatures on earth? I guess that's why it's good to have up to 4.5 inch of blubber and two layers of fur. What color is polar bear fur? Sound like an obvious question? The answer may surprise you. Polar bear fur is actually clear, not white. Polar bear skin is also black (but you can't

Greyhound Dog Facts and How You Can Save Them

2009-11-30T11:58:00.001-08:00

You may know that greyhound dogs are the fastest breed of dog reaching speeds up to 45 mph, but did you know that greyhound dogs are also considered couch potatoes? That's right, while greyhound dogs are known for their speed, they're not known for their endurance and are quite happy to get in a few runs a week and take it easy in between. Source: Greyhounds Why Greyhound Dogs Need Our Help

Clouded Leopard Facts and How You Can Save Them

2009-11-27T14:54:00.000-08:00

Clouded leopards are among the best climbers of all cats - they can even hang upside down from branches! Clouded leopards spend a lot of their time in trees but it's thought that they do most of their hunting on the ground, although they may hunt for monkeys in the trees. They are very mysterious secretive cats that live in the tropical rainforests of Asia - so much so that we know very little

Red Panda Facts and How You Can Save Them

2009-11-27T13:44:00.000-08:00

Red pandas definitely have the cute factor and upping their cute factor even more is that they use their long fluffy tails as wraparound blankets, since they're solitary and don't have a mate to cuddle up with - ahhhh.Red pandas can be found in the forests of Nepal, northern Myanmar and China. They spend more than 85% of their time in trees and despite only being the size of a raccoon can eat up

Fun Narwhal Whale Facts and How You Can Save Them

2009-11-25T16:15:00.000-08:00

Narwhal whales are best known for their long unicorn like tusk, which is actually a tooth! If you see a narwhal whale with a long tooth you know it's a male, since female narwhals have a much smaller tooth. Scientists are not sure what function the long tooth serves but it may be used as a weapon, mating, to establish dominance or for channeling solar pulses. I don't think any of my teeth have

Fun Komodo Dragon Facts and How You Can Save Them

2009-11-24T12:46:00.001-08:00

Komodo dragons are the largest lizards on earth, and can reach 2-3 meters in length! Their large size is due to island gigantism - a biological phenomenon where the size of animals isolated on an island without predators increases over time.Young komodo dragons hang out in trees - to avoid being eaten by adult komodo dragons. Despite occasionally eating young komodo dragons, birds, bird eggs and

Fun Monarch Butterfly Facts and How You Can Save Them

2009-11-23T15:40:00.000-08:00

The monarch butterfly's migration from Canada or the U.S. to Mexico is considered one of the most spectacular natural phenomenas in the world! Monarch butterflies fly 1200-1800 miles (1900 - 2900 km) round trip! Pretty impressive for such a small insect!Most monarch butterflies only have a lifespan of 4-5 weeks, but every fall a special generation of migrating monarch butterflies is born and they

Blue Footed Boobies and How You Can Save Them

2009-11-22T14:48:00.000-08:00

Blue footed boobies are memorable if not for their name (which comes from the Spanish word "bobo" meaning fool or clown, since blue footed boobies are clumsy on land) then for their blue feet which play a role in courtship - the bluer the better when it comes to attracting a mate!Blue footed babies also exhibit some interesting parenting skills in the Galapagos. They nest on the ground and once

Fun Manatee Facts and How You Can Save Them

2009-11-19T15:45:00.001-08:00

Would you believe that manatees closest relatives are elephants and hyraxes? That's right manatees are though to have evolved from 4-legged land animals over 60 million years ago. Manatees are also sometimes called sea cows but despite their slow movements they have a lot going on - their intelligence, learning ability and long term memory is similar to that of dolphins!Did you know that manatees

African Wild Dog Facts and How You Can Save Them

2009-11-17T16:05:00.000-08:00

African wild dog packs are submission based hierachies, rather than dominance based, meaning that they will beg for food rather than fight for it. African wild dogs will even bring back food, well regurgitate it, for injured or old members of the pack who can't keep up with the hunt. Who knew African wild dogs had hearts of gold?African wild dogs are also very successful predators with ~80% of

Greater Horseshoe Bat Facts and How You Can Save Them

2009-11-16T15:48:00.000-08:00

One of the coolest things about horseshoe bats is that they give birth upside down hanging by their feet! Can you imagine? They can also live up to 30 years. Greater horseshoe bats are one of the largest bats in the U.K., but are still only the size of a small pear.Listen to a greater horseshoe bat. It's a very cool sound. Did you know that all bat species and their roosts are protected in the