Pollution: Choking Wild Animals
An ecosystem is the natural balance between organisms, plants, and animals in a particular place. Certain species of wildlife depend on particular species of plants, insects and organisms for survival. Even a small patch of forest can have a complete ecosystem of its own. So can a rivulet, a pond, a lake and sea. In […]
End Dog Labs
The majority of medical schools in the United States have abolished dog labs from their curricula. Columbia, Harvard, Stanford and Yale all introduce physiology to their students with other, more applicable methods. A significant number of medical schools, however, continue using dog labs. Some students and professors argue that dog labs provide first-year medical students […]
Newts
Water-dwelling members of the family Salamandridae, newts are some of the most fascinating types of amphibians. Their name is derived from variations of the Old English word efte, evolving to newt (to refer to the adult animal) during the time of Shakespeare. These unique salamanders can be found in water-rich regions throughout Europe, Southeast Asia, […]
Swordfish
A large, distinctive, and predatory sea creature, the swordfish is an ocean dweller of impressive size and appearance. Their scientific name, Xiphias gladius, comes from the words for ‘sword’ in Greek and Latin, which describes them perfectly as these fish have a long, flat bill that looks very much like a long blade. They are […]
Water Buffaloes
Water buffalo, or Asian buffalo, are believed to have originated in Asia, but have been introduced to Africa, Australia, Europe and North America. Wild water buffalo inhabit tropical and subtropical forests. They live in swamps, grasslands, savannas, lowland floodplains, glades and mixed forests – never far from water. Water buffalo spend much of their time […]
Dolphins
Dolphins belong to the same zoological order as whales. They are part of the family of toothed whales that also includes killer and pilot whales. They are mammals and breathe through a blowhole on the top of their head. Most dolphins have acute eyesight, both in and out of the water, and their sense of […]
Pandas
Pandas are famous for their black and white markings. The legs, shoulders, ears and oval patches around the eyes are black, and the rest of the coat is white. Good tree climbers, pandas can also swim to escape predators. Pandas use an enlarged wrist bone that looks like a thumb to grasp objects like bamboo. […]
Palm Oil Threats To Forests & Orangutans
Once found all over South-East Asia and even the far reaches of Southern China, orangutans have found themselves squeezed to just the two islands of Sumatra and Borneo. The great red-haired apes have been around for almost 400,000 years, but have seen their numbers dwindle alarmingly from over 200,000 a century ago to only 45,000 […]
Exotic Pets
Exotic animals – lions, tigers, wolves, bears, reptiles, non-human primates – belong in their natural habitat and not in the hands of private individuals as “pets.” By their very nature, these animals are wild and potentially dangerous and, as such, do not adjust well to a captive environment. Because the majority of states do not […]
Clownfish
Clownfish, or Anemonefish, are fishes from the subfamily Amphiprioninae in the family Pomacentridae. Thirty species are recognized. In the wild they are known for forming symbiotic relationships with sea anemones. The most commonly known clownfish species is orange with white markings, but clownfish are found in many different colors and can also differ in shape. […]