Pets Articles

The largest land mammal on the earth, weighing up to 16,000 pounds, elephants have captivated observers for centuries. Elephants have been used for labor, war, entertainment and hunting. Elephants are one of the most unique animals due to their enormous size and unusual physical characteristics.

Although some can be seen in zoos, the place they are meant to be is in their own environment. Unfortunately, animals such as whales, panda bears and sea otters, are not always safe in these places and are dying out.

Although they?re not the least bit aware of it, caribou have become the subject of a hot political debate that has been boiling over the past five years. It would seem these unobtrusive creatures of the remote arctic tundra and boreal forests of North America and Greenland would be far from the spotlight of national politics, but their future became uncertain when Washington announced plans to open the Alaska National Wilderness Reserve (ANWR) to oil and gas drilling.

Few spectacles symbolize autumn better than a gang of Canada Geese crossing a cloudy sky in V-formation. Common throughout most of North America, Canada Geese live around ponds, rivers, and lake shores where they feed on aquatic grass, roots, and young sprouts, as well as corn and grain. A strong inward pull called instinct urges these waterfowl into the skies to make this great annual southward migration.

?Look, it?s a monkey!? the father says to his son, pointing at the caged chimpanzee sitting with his back to the onlookers. The information sheet posted on the wall corrects the misnomer, but I doubt the man will read it. Sure enough, the pair strolls forward to look at the next ?monkey,? which is really an orangutan.

The kangaroo is a singular creature. What other animal can jump a distance of 28 feet, or a height of 6 feet? What other animal can hop at speeds of 43 miles per hour? What other animal uses its muscular tail as a third ?leg? to help balance and stabilize and holds kickboxing matches to determine breeding rights? There?s only one animal that fits this description?the kangaroo.

What has the beak of a bird, the spines of a hedgehog, the gait of a reptile, the pouch of a marsupial, and the lifespan of an elephant? If you answered an echidna, you are correct!

While lumbering herds of elephants and stalking Bengal tigers capture the imagination of most animal lovers, we often neglect the nature closest to us. Sometimes we need a reminder that we are part of a habitat, and that the miracle of life exists under our very noses.

It is August on the coast of Iceland, and the air is filled with the deep garbled growls of hundreds of puffins. The social birds have come to shore for the short breeding season, and the rocky banks are dotted with their squat, football-shaped bodies.

The sun hangs leaden in the sky over the frozen tundra of the high arctic. Flat expanses of land are dotted with low-growing shrubs dusted with frost. From the south a herd of musk oxen loiter along, digging away the icy surface of the ground to reach nutritious lichen and ground plants, oblivious as eight stealthy white figures move in around them.

One look at herd of Musk Oxen, and you wonder if you?ve traveled back in time to the Pleistocene, the age of Saber-toothed Tigers and Woolly Mammoths. Reportedly, these venerable beasts have existed since the last ice age, 600,000 years ago.

Early May on Kodiak Island. Fog drowns the lush forest in mystery. Spattered across a black earthen floor, slushy snow melts in shadowy rings. From a wooded den, a shaggy brown head appears. Unbelievable in size, the creature emerges slowly.

We are all familiar with dolphins, whales and sharks; we know what tuna and snapper look like, but what about some less familiar fish such as lizardfish, giant squid, or blind eels?

We all know what wolves and coyotes look like, and nearly everyone is familiar with bears, deer and turtles; what about some less familiar animals such as capybara, kiwi, or tapirs?

Obesity is on the rise for canines. The reasons for this influx are similar to those that humans experience, too much food and too little exercise.

For anyone who may balk at the price of good pups nowadays, or who may think to himself, ?At those prices I should become a breeder!? let me assure you that breeding does not make millionaires.

There is a right and a wrong way to pick a pooch. The process is a little like dating. The few who find fulfillment in love are those who use their hearts and their heads.

There?s something different about you. People sense it the moment you walk in the door. Is it in your smile, or the way wear your hair? Truly, there are countless manifestations of your canine obsession.

Every year 5 million dog bite reports are filed. Over $1 billion are paid in losses. Reacting to complaints, city councils are passing ever more ordinances that affect dog ownership.

Disney left a life-long impression on me when, as a youngster, I viewed the dog pound scene in Lady and the Tramp. Mournful mutts howled out a pitiful rendition of ?Home Sweet Home,? which nobody but the most callous could sit through dry-eyed.