Some species of animals are found in many different parts of the world. For instance, wolves are found across Asia, North America and Europe. Fox, wild dogs, leopards and deer are some other animals with a wide distribution. There are some animals that are limited to a single place on the planet.

The island nation of Madagascar is home to some species that are found no place else on earth. The most well-known of these animals are the many species of lemurs that inhabit the island. These interesting creatures come in a wide-range of sizes and colorations. However, this isn’t [...]

This is the Year of the Snake. Characteristics of the Snake are charm, good perception and alertness. Snake people make excellent archeologists, lawyers, and philosophers. In many countries, the snake is celebrated for these traits. In many non-Asian countries whose religion includes the Old Testament, the snake is given very bad press and is said to have sneakily misled Eve into disobeying God. Unfortunately in some Western cultures, pigs, horses, monkeys, snakes and dogs find themselves used as insult terms rather than venerated signs of the Zodiac.

The Dragon which was the Zodiac animal for 2012 is [...]

Cable TV is my best friend on most rainy Sunday afternoons (except during football season). I love flipping through the channels and filling my head with knowledge, usually from documentaries, informational shows and the like.

One rainy Sunday last week, I came across an episode of “Weird Creatures” a show on Discovery Channel which examines some of the most unusual animals on the planet. Man, I was plugged to the TV. I have always been fascinated by nature, even if it happens to odd or repulsive. This particular episode featured the only poisonous primate in the world – the slow loris.

The slow loris is found across southern Asia and western Indonesia, including certain areas of Bangladesh, Burma, China, Thailand, Malaysia and isolated islands in the Indian Ocean. They generally live high in the trees of tropical rainforests, preferring warm, lowland areas.

The slow loris, which stores its venom in an elbow patch, will suck the venom from the patch and deliver a toxic bite. They are omnivores, and will eat insects, eggs, fruits, tree sap, small birds and reptiles and other vegetation.

Due to their nocturnal lifestyle and restricted access to their habitats, experts aren’t sure how many slow lorises are living in the wild. However, they are often captured in the wild by illegal traders, who will remove their teeth with wire cutters to prevent being bitten. In addition to being prized pets, slow lorises are valued for their fur and use in traditional medicine.

There are four subspecies of lynx, and all of them are in danger. While only one subspecies has made it onto the critically endangered list, and one other sits on a list as threatened, they are all disappearing from their native habitats. The Canadian Lynx once inhabited 16 U.S. states, it can now only be found in three. The entire lynx population in the U.S. is thought to be numbered somewhere around 1,000 animals. This is a mere fraction of what once was a thriving population [...]

For various reasons; whether it is from destruction of a natural habit, excessive hunting, or various other reasons; there are thousands of animals around the world that are considered to be endangered. Here you will find a list of some of those animals and the area they are found within.

Africa

African Wild Dog
Black Rhinoceros
Cheetah
Chimpanzee
Hairy-eared Dwarf Lemur
Leopard
Mountain Zebra

Antarctica

Blue Whale
Finback Whale
Humpback Whale
Sperm Whale

Asia

Asian Elephant
Asian Leopard
Asiatic Lion
Brown Bear
Giant Panda
Sand Cat
Tiger
Wild [...]

Garments have been made from animal fibers for centuries and animal fibers are still popular today. One benefit of animal fiber is that it traps heat but still allows air to circulate. Another is that it is naturally water resistant and dries faster than cotton or synthetic fibers.

Each wool-bearing animal produces a fiber with unique properties. The first wool-bearing animal to come to mind is most likely sheep, but that is just the beginning of the story. Each breed of sheep produces a different type of wool. The wool from Merino sheep is prized for [...]

The countries of the world are represented by a variety of animals. The following is a list of some of the more unique selections.

Creatures of Fantasy

Some countries have picked their national symbols from folklore and legends. Scotland claims the mythical unicorn as its animal. The powerful dragon symbolizes the countries of China and Vietnam. The phoenix, an emblem of rebirth, is the national animal for Greece.

Extinct Animals

Several nations have selected extinct animals as their national symbols. Libya and Morocco both picked the Barbary lion. This creature went extinct [...]

When American children are small, they are taught that birds chirp and chickens cluck. Dutch children, however learn that birds go “tjiep” and chickens say “tok tok.” French children know that birds actually “piep,” and chickens say “kot-kot.”

Clearly, animal sounds are not universal. Every language in the world has its own onomatopoeia for describing animal sounds, and the words are widely varied in some cases.

For instance, in the United States, large dogs woof or ruff, but French dogs ouah, Dutch dogs vov-vov and German dogs wau-wau. In Italy, they bau bau, in [...]