admin, Author at Animal Fact Guide

Happy Earth Day!

Posted on April 22, 2013 by admin

Today is Earth Day! There are many small steps you can take to help the environment, starting today.

Tomato plants in backyard garden

Here are a few examples:

1. Use public transportation, walk, or ride a bike instead of using a car.
2. Grow your own fruits and vegetables in a backyard garden.
3. Plant a tree or three!
4. Bring reusable bags with you when you go shopping.
5. Swap out household cleaning products with biodegradable/eco-friendly versions.

What steps will you take today?

For even more ideas, see the EPA’s page, “Pick 5 for the Environment.”

Baby Golden Snub-nosed Monkeys

Posted on April 17, 2013 by admin

Watch a video of baby golden snub-nosed monkeys and their mothers in the Panda Valley of the Guanyinshan National Nature Reserve in China.

In the wild, golden snub-nosed monkeys inhabit the temperate, mountainous forests in central China. They are considered endangered by the IUCN Redlist due to forest loss.

English Zoo Welcomes Baby Orangutan

Posted on April 15, 2013 by admin

Thursday, April 11 saw the birth of a Bornean orangutan at Paignton Zoo. Mother Mali and baby are doing well. This is the first orangutan birth at the zoo in 1997.

Orangutans are in declining populations in the wild, and the birth will help increase numbers of orangutans living in zoos.

Paignton Zoo is located in Devon, England. For more info, visit their site.

Read more about the Bornean Orangutan here.

The Decline of Forest Elephants

Posted on April 2, 2013 by admin

Photo of an African forest elephant by Peter H. Wrege

A new study has revealed that from 2002 – 2011, 62% of forest elephants had been wiped out in central Africa. Organized criminal gangs have been slaughtering whole herds of elephants to profit from a rapidly expanding illegal ivory trade.

Elephants, who are highly intelligent creatures, are aware of the danger they face and have tried to adapt. They avoid roads and travel silently during the night. But these tactics are not enough when facing the onslaught of gangs wielding automatic assault weapons and grenades.

If nothing changes, African elephants are on a short path to extinction.

To learn more about the plight of African elephants, see:

If you would like to help elephants, you can write to your politicians to speak out against poaching. (Americans can write a letter to the Secretary of State on the Wildlife Conservation Society website.) For information on organizations that combat the illegal ivory trade, see National Geographic’s page, Blood Ivory: How to Help.

Learn more about African elephants on our African Elephant Facts Page.

Featured Animal: Bonobo

Posted on April 1, 2013 by admin

Meet our featured animal, the bonobo!

Here are five facts about bonobos:

Bonobos share 98.5% of our DNA.
In captivity, bonobos have learned how to communicate in human languages, use tools, and play music.
Although they resemble chimpanzees, bonobos have the ability to walk bipedally, or on two legs, more easily and for longer amounts of time than chimps.
Bonobos live harmoniously in matriarchal groups of up to 100 members.
Bonobos communicate with high-pitched barking sounds.

Learn more about bonobos >

Panda Wrestling Video

Posted on March 24, 2013 by admin

Here’s an adorable video of Xiao Liwu, a six-month old panda cub at the San Diego Zoo, wrestling in the snow with mom Bai Yun. This was Xiao Liwu’s first experience with snow!

To learn more about pandas, visit our Giant Panda Facts page.

Baby Meerkats at Oakland Zoo

Posted on March 13, 2013 by admin

Photo by Oakland Zoo.

Three meerkat pups were born at the Oakland Zoo. Their names are African in origin and are Ayo (joy), Rufaro (happiness), and Nandi (sweet). The pups are approaching six weeks of age and are doing well.

According to Victor Alm, Zoological Manager:

“It has been wonderful watching the mob [group of meerkats] raise the pups. It has truly been a collective effort and all the adults are taking their turns caring for and teaching the new pups their different roles and jobs needed to be a productive meerkat.”

In the wild, meerkats inhabit the Kalahari Desert in southern Africa. They are physically adapted to living in the harsh desert environment. Dark patches around their eyes help them be effective lookouts by reducing the glare of the sun, much like a baseball player who paints dark lines beneath his eyes.

To learn more about meerkats, see our our Meerkat Facts page.

Baby Atlantic Bottlenose Dolphin at Discovery Cove

Posted on March 4, 2013 by admin

Discovery Cove in Orlando, FL welcomed a male Atlantic bottlenose dolphin calf on Monday. The calf weighs 44 pounds and measures 44 inches long.

The baby calf swims and bonds with his mother Kendall. Photo by Discovery Cove.

To learn more about bottlenose dolphins, see our Bottlenose Dolphin Facts Page.

Featured Animal: Black-tailed Prairie Dog

Posted on March 1, 2013 by admin

Meet our featured animal, the black-tailed prairie dog!

Here are five facts about black-tailed prairie dogs:

Prairie dogs live in small, close-knit families called coteries.
Groups of neighboring coteries form a prairie dog colony.
Prairie dogs communicate with each other through barking. They can describe a predator by varying the frequency and pitch of their barks.
Prairie dogs perform jump-yip calls, in which they stand on the mound, throw their head back, and let out a high-pitched bark, sometimes evening toppling onto their backs due to the exertion.
Although they once numbered in the hundreds of millions, prairie dog populations are now estimated at around 10-20 million.

Learn more about prairie dogs >

Great White Shark Tracker

Posted on February 27, 2013 by admin

Do you know how many times have you been swimming at the beach in the vicinity of a great white shark? Thanks to a team called Ocearch, now you can find out if there’s a great white near you. Using GPS-satellite tagging technology, Ocearch is tracking the movement of around 40 great white sharks.

A screenshot from Ocearch’s Global Shark Tracker tool. This shows the path of a great white shark called Mary Lee, who has swum along the east coast as far north as Cape Cod.

You can view the movement of these sharks at the Ocearch Global Shark Tracker website.

To learn more about great whites, see our Great White Shark Fact Page.