New research says the growing trend in trading cheetahs as luxury pets in the Middle East is resulting in wild populations of the big cat being driven to extinction. The report adds the fact that nearly two thirds of cheetah cubs that are being smuggled through Africa, die whilst in transit. The good news however is the countries at both ends of the trade have reached an agreement that urgent action is now needed.
Udopt.co.uk ran a World Cup prize draw earlier in the year to give our udopt fans the the chance to win a cash donation for their favourite charity. All you had to do was like us on Facebook, twitter or sign up to our mailing list to be entered into the prize draw. In fact if you did all 3 you had 3 chances to win!
First out of the hat as our lucky winner was Nikki Lawley. She decided to give the £207 prize (related to the amount of goals scored at the World Cup*) to her designated charity of Hounds for Heroes. They are a charity started in February 2010 with the aim of training dogs to assist injured and disabled men and women who worked in the Armed Forces and emergency services.
Everybody can recognize an elephant with its distinctly long trunk, what people will be less familiar with is the fact that the elephant has a large number of genes dedicated to its sense of smell.
In a study of 13 mammals, it was found that the African elephant was the best sniffer, possessing the largest amount of genes related to smell, which is twice as many as dogs and five times as many as humans.
The Ibex is a species of wild goat that can be found in the mountainous regions of central Asia, Northern Africa and Europe. They can be identified by their cloven hooves and distinct long curved horns. The male ibex has a long beard.
The order Psittaciformes is an order that includes over 350 species of bird including parrots, parakeets, cockatoos, and macaws. Whilst there are plenty of different types of parrots, they all share a few common traits. For example in order for a bird to be classified as a species of parrot, it must have a curve beak. Additionally its feat must have four tows on each foot, with two of them pointing backwards and the other two pointing forwards.
Have you ever wondered how a giraffe with its long legs and neck is able to stay upright? Scientists have puzzled over the same question and have seemed to find an answer. Scientists have found that the animals are able to remain standing because of a specialized ligament structure which they believe prevents the legs of a giraffe from collapsing under the immense weight of the animal.
Since the previous ice age, penguins have made good use of the warmer temperatures in the Antarctic because less sea ice has meant it is become easier to both hunt for food and breed according to the results of a new study. However there is one caveat that needs to be added because the current pace of climate change is happening so fast, food sources are unable to keep up with the demand.
You can find jaguars throughout North and South America. These beautiful big cats can be identified by their orange or yellow coats, short legs and dark spots. The spots on a jaguar’s coat are quite unlike spots found on any other cat. The individual spots on a jaguar’s coat looks like roses and for this reason are known as rosettes.
Jaguars are that biggest of big cats throughout the America’s and are in fact the third largest cat species in the world. The length of a jaguar ranges from between 4 to 6 feet and when you include the tail another 2 feet can be added.
They are back with a bang in zoos all over the world, animals are taking to the food bin to offer predictions for the results of the 2014 FIFA World Cup.
At the previous World Cup held in 2010 Paul the Octopus from Germany was able to offer 12 predictions out of 14 World Cup soccer games. Unfortunately Paul died in October 2010 but there have been a number of other animals that have sought to take his place according to the BBC.
Rabbits are cute mammals with short fluffy tails, distinctive long ears and whiskers. There are approximately 30 different species of rabbits globally and though they may live in quite different environments, they share many things in common.
Size
Rabbits tend to be the same size as a family cat however species such as the jackrabbit can grow to be as large as a small child. The biggest rabbit in the world measured 4 foot three inches and weighed 49 pounds. The largest breed of rabbits are the checkered giant.
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