kaufDA,  a team in Germany, has started an initiative called “Make it green” whose goal is to reduce carbon emissions worldwide.  One aspect of the program is to offset the carbon footprint resulting from the use of the Internet by both raising public awareness about protecting the environment and by planting more trees.  Working with the Arbor Day Foundation, kaufDA will plant one tree in the Plumas National Forest in Northern California for every participating blog. 

If you have a blog, you can have a tree planted in your honor by spreading the word about the program.  See the kaufDA website for more details.

About Carbon Emissions and Global Warming
The climate change phenomenon known as global warming is a result of increased carbon emissions from driving cars, home energy use, and the energy used to produce all of the products and services we consume.  The steady upward trend in temperatures has, and will continue to have, a drastic effect on the planet and its inhabitants.   For example, the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has predicted a loss of two-thirds of the world’s polar bears by 2050 due to declines in ice habitats.  According to a Climactic Change journal report by the World Wildlife Fund, by 2070, the sea levels near Bangladesh will rise 11 inches, submerging 96% of the Bengal tiger habitat.  Many animals will be threatened by the change and loss of habitat due to global warming.

About Planting Trees
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) assumes a yearly absorption of one tree to be approximately 10kg (20lb.) of carbon dioxide emissions. The Arbor Day Foundation is working to plant more trees in the Plumas National Forest in Northern California, which lost 88,000 acres of forest due to fires in 2007.

Aside from planting trees, you can help curb global warming by reducing your carbon emissions. This includes walking or taking public transportation instead of driving, using energy saver appliances and light bulbs, buying locally grown produce, recycling, and more.

In our last poll, we asked Animal Fact Guide visitors, “What do you think is the best way to help endangered animals?”

These were the results:

Educating the public: 36%
Volunteering with wildlife charities: 32%
Boycotting endangered animal products: 15%
Reducing carbon emissions: 9%
Writing to legislators & signing petitions: 8%

You can get involved in our current poll, “Where is the best place to see animals?” by scrolling down to our Poll widget in the sidebar to the right.

Animal Fact Guide has added FREE printable bookplates to our Fun Stuff and Teacher Tools sections.  Kids can personalize the books in their home library, and teachers can designate their classroom books. Currently, we have a bookplate featuring a badger in colored and blank background versions.  Check back for more additions!

Bookplates print on 8.5″ x 11″ sheets divided into ten 4″ x 2″ labels (generally branded as shipping labels at the stationery store).

Thousands of people have been watching Hancock Wildlife Foundation’s live streaming video footage of a bald eagle’s nest on Vancouver Island, Canada to try to catch a glimpse of three eaglets hatching. The mother laid the eggs in early March. As the gestation period of a bald eagle is around 35-40 days, the eaglets are expected to hatch this week.

For more info and to see more eagle nest web cams, visit: HWF Live Cameras

To learn more about bald eagles, see Animal Fact Guide’s article: Bald Eagle.

Check out the latest article added to Animal Fact Guide:

Koala
Koalas have special adaptations that enable them to feast on eucalyptus leaves. Eucalyptus leaves are highly fibrous and poisonous to other animals. But koalas have bacteria in their stomachs that break down the fiber and toxic oils and allow them to absorb 25% of the nutrients.
Learn more about koalas »

Join us on our social media journey!  Become a fan of our page on Facebook or follow our updates on Twitter (we provide short but interesting animal facts!)

Animal Fact Guide was recently reviewed by Education World, an online resource that helps educators integrate the internet into the classroom. Our site was rated overall with an A, receiving an A+ for content and B+ for design.

We are thrilled to receive such a great review and will continually add more articles to our database of animal facts.  We will also strive to improve the site to make it even more accessible to a wide audience.

[Read the full site review here]

Check out Animal Fact Guide’s recently added animal articles and fun downloads!

NEW ANIMALS

Atlantic Puffin
Did you know that Atlantic puffins live out in the open sea most of the time and only come to land to breed for a few months a year?  Also, although puffins resemble penguins in their black and white markings, they are not related to penguins at all. In stark contrast to penguins, Atlantic puffins are excellent fliers and can reach speeds up to 88 km/h (55mph)!
Learn more facts about Atlantic puffins »

Cougar (Mountain Lion)
The cougar, also commonly called the mountain lion, puma, and panther, is the largest cat in North America.  However, unlike other big cats such as lions and tigers, the cougar cannot roar and instead purrs like a house cat. Furthermore, with a slender body and round head with pointed ears, the cougar’s body shape closely resembles that of a house cat, only larger.
Learn more facts about cougars »

FUN ANIMAL DOWNLOADS
We’ve also added more fun FREE downloads (in PDF format) to the Fun Stuff section including animal mazes! New additions include:

• Meerkats coloring page
• Meerkat maze
• Atlantic puffin maze
• Giant panda maze