Last month, the Government of Brazil, the WWF and its partners announced the creation of a US$215 million fund that is designed to help ensure the long term protection of the largest network of protected areas in the world coming in at 150 million acres of Brazilian Amazon rainforest.
Conservationists rarely ever get to celebrate such a big win and the outcome is truly deserving of international attention.
The striped coat of the Zebra is both stunning and extraordinary. In fact it is so beautiful that many people in the past have claimed it must be evidence of the infinitely artistic hand of God. We have come a long way since then, and over the years there have been many more rational explanations put forward, however none of them have managed to obtain a scientific consensus.
New York’s Bronx Zoo recently welcomed the addition of two newly born western lowland gorillas.
In March Julia a 33 year old girl gave birth whilst a month later Tuti a 19 year old also gave birth. Both of the new born babies share the same father Ernie a 31 year old. Both mothers have successfully raised babies prior to this with Julia having given birth to two babies and Tuti one.
The new arrivals are part of a cooperative breeding program that is designed to enhance the genetic viability of zoo animals. The babies are the first gorillas to be born at the zoo since 2006. Since the Bronx Zoo opened the Congo Gorilla Forest exhibit in 1991 15 babies have been born and a total of 50 gorillas have been born at the zoo since 1972.
Most people believe that dogs wag their tail when they are feeling happy or friendly however strictly speaking that is not exactly the whole truth.
Whilst it is true that dogs use their tails to communicate that does not always mean they want people to pet them.
There is a kind of language associated with how dogs wag their tail based on its position and motion
Sloths are famous for being sluggish and spending the majority of their lives upside down. Sloths do not have the same problems as humans have of breathing upside down. This is because according to research their internal organs are fixed in place
Three toed sloths have their guts anchored to their lower ribs by special adhesions which prevent their organs from pressing down on their lungs.
We’ve all seen Jaws (and sharknado!) – sharks kill lots of humans right? Wrong. Very wrong! Each year around 12 people are killed by shark attacks. Over that same period some 100 million sharks are killed annually by humans. Sharks are killed for their fins (for shark fin soup) at a most terrifying rate. In fact – for every human killed by a shark last year (12) we kill that many every four seconds! Take a look at this infographic below which shows you this in graphic format. It’s actually pretty scary.
In Europe, bison went extinct nearly a century ago however conservationists are attempting to reintroduce the species back into the wild.
There are a number of female bison that have been brought up in captivity in the United Kingdom that will be reintroduced to a Romanian forest according to the Royal Zoological Society of Scotland.
Puppies grow very quickly and this means it takes a little time for them to adjust to their new body. Just like when human babies begin to walk for the first time, the puppy can also be a little clumsy. This is very common for large size breeds because they have big paws and long legs, so unsurprisingly when a puppy trots beside you it can be quite clumsy.
Here at udopt we are huge fans of the honey badger – the world’s craziest animal! There was a recent documentary on the BBC which had some incredibly footage of honey badgers in action. This clip of a honey badger shows the many ways it tries to get out of it’s enclosure – including using a rake as a ladder!
Puppies are similar to humans in that they are born without teeth. Unlike humans however they can neither hear, see nor smell when they are newly born. A puppy will first open its eyes and begin to hear when they reach between 9 to 12 days old. They have to wait another couple of weeks before they develop the ability to smell. Therefore it is crucial for newly born puppies to stay close to their mother so that they eat and grow properly.
It is often said that an elephant never forgets particularly when it hears the approach of a potential predator. Scientists until now have not been aware about how finely tuned the hearing of an elephant is until researchers tried to find out whether pachyderms could tell the difference between different sets of humans.
It is well known that elephants possess great intelligence and can distinguish between different sexes, ages and even ethnicities in human voices.
Every winter Michael Fisch spends two months in the Sea of Cortez photographing Blue Fin Back and Humpback Whales as he seeks to track these majestic animals during their amazing journey across the ocean.
On Valentine’s Day in 2011 Michael and his family were given the rare opportunity to save the life of a humpback whale which had been caught in a fishing net. Their amazing efforts were captured on film in some incredibly powerful footage – you won’t believe the whales reaction upon being set free!
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