May 6th, 2011
This little piggy and tiger cub having an afternoon nap are like something straight out of Winnie the Pooh!
By Sinéad. Posted in Funny, Random
April 28th, 2011
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As animal lovers, we’d like to think that we can see the beauty in all creatures. But here, for your viewing displeasure, is our top ten list of animal faces that only a mother could love.
10. Turkey Vulture
This is one turkey you wouldn’t want to have around at Christmas. The turkey vulture feeds on carrion so its bald and wrinkly head serves a purpose. Feathers would only absorb the rotting smells and remains of their unlucky quarry.
9. Matamata Turtle
This spiky creature’s name literally means “kill kill” in Spanish. His rock-like body makes a perfect disguise that allows him to lie in wait for unsuspecting prey – passing fish will be sucked up and swallowed whole.
8. Warthog
In reality, the warthog is not as cute and lovable as Timon and Pumbaa would have us believe. Although failing in the looks department, warthogs put their big heads to good use – the males literally go head to head to throw each other off balance, and can cause serious damage to enemies with their huge tusks.
7. The Red-lipped Batfish
It seems as if this ‘walking’ fish has haphazardly slapped some red lipstick onto its pout in an attempt to boost its unattractive appearance. It’s also a terrible swimmer and uses its modified fins to waddle along the ocean’s floor.
6. Mexican Burrowing Frog
Unluckily for this particularly unfortunate looking frog, it’s not going to be turned into a prince anytime soon. Who would want to kiss this puffy and beady-eyed burrower? He seems self-conscious about his looks and uses his broad shovel-like feet to dig down deep into the dark where no one can see him.
5. Hagfish
Not only is this guy ugly, he is also pretty gross. The blind, toothless and aptly named hagfish likes to worm his way into fish corpses and eat them from the inside out. This serpentine sea creature can produce up to 17 pints of slimy mucus to put off predators.
4. Star-nosed Mole
Luckily the star-nosed mole is completely blind and will never catch sight of its own reflection. They use their fleshy facial appendages as feelers to make their way around their underground burrows. Who needs sight when you have such a handy piece of equipment attached to your face?
3. Proboscis Monkey
As a male proboscis monkey gets older it grows a pendulous nose that will come in handy when mating. Lady proboscis monkeys can’t resist the loud hoots they make with it.
2. Almiqui
This shrew-like creature is native to Cuba and was presumed extinct for much of the 20th century. The nocturnal, burrowing and highly elusive Almiqui is one of the world’s only venomous mammals – its saliva is poisonous.
1. Blob Fish
The blob fish hides away from judging eyes in the deepest waters of the South Pacific Ocean, so not much is known about their natural history – or why they look so miserable. Unlike the rest of our ugly animals, there doesn’t seem to be a particular reason for his unfortunate looks.
By Sinéad. Posted in Funny, Random
April 26th, 2011
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Animals have been the subject of myths, urban legends and old wives’ tales for so long that it has become hard to separate fact from fiction. The behaviour of animals is so mysterious and foreign to us that we will often believe just about anything we are told about them.
Previously we exposed that a goldfish has a better memory than you’d think and that birds won’t explode if they eat rice. Here are ten more common animal myths that need to be debunked.
Yes, camels can survive in the desert without a drink, but not because they have a secret stash of water in their humps. The hump is useful however – the fatty bulge allows the camel to preserve huge amounts of energy. Rather unexcitingly, their ability to go without water actually has to do with the make up of their red blood cells.
People often say that a dog wagging its tail will never bite you. This is not necessarily true. Tail-wagging is just something that dogs do when they are feeling any kind of emotion – not just happiness – including fear or anxiety.
This myth was probably started to stop children from meddling with nests. The fact is that most birds have a poor sense of smell and so wouldn’t be aware of any disturbance. There is one exception however – the vulture – who has developed a sense of smell especially for seeking out its prey. So it’s advisable to exercise caution around their eggs unless you want an angry mama vulture on your tail.
The origins of this myth are unknown and there is little reasoning behind it. A dry and warm nose is nothing to worry about – it is not related to the general health of a dog.
This myth is nonsense, but whiskers are important to how a cat gets around. A cat’s whiskers will be roughly the same width as its body and so are used as feelers to judge whether he can make it through a tight opening.
These little rodents have long been subject to the misconception that they commit mass suicide by jumping off cliffs and into rivers. Far from depressed, these industrious creatures thrive so well that their habitats become overcrowded and so they have to go out in search of a new turf. Naturally, as with all migrating animals, some will die from exhaustion or have accidents. The myth began perpetuating when in 1958, an Oscar winning documentary showed the critters hurling themselves into an abyss – it was later revealed that this was staged and that they were launched off the cliffs by the filmmakers.
This is one of the most common clichés about dogs and there is no reason to consider it true. Dogs, like humans, need stimulation and are happy to learn throughout their lives. With patience and consistency any dog – as long as they are alert and healthy – can be taught new tricks.
This is just an optical illusion. Ostriches dig holes in the earth for their eggs and often bend their necks down to the ground to turn them over. From far away, it might look as if their tiny head is buried in the sand, which is where this myth stems from.
You might have heard the rumour that daddy longlegses are one of the most poisonous insects in the world but that the poor little wimp lacks the teeth to deliver his incredible venom. Although it makes a good story, there is absolutely no evidence to support this.
Like a lot of mammals, bulls are colour-blind. A bull’s aggravated reaction to the red cape of a matador is caused by the movements of the fabric and from being in frustrating, confined situation. A red cape would have been used traditionally to hide blood stains from the crowd.
By Sinéad. Posted in Cats, Dogs, Random
March 25th, 2011
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Koko the gorilla proves the theory that humans and gorillas are very closely related – they love kittens just as much as we do! Watch her make a new friend, Tigger, in this adorable video.
By Sinéad. Posted in Cats, Funny, Random
March 14th, 2011
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A two-headed tortoise, born in Slovakia, is set to become the successor to Paul the Octopus and has been chosen to predict the winners of this year’s Ice Hockey Championship.
The owner of the five-legged tortoise has named the pair Magdalena, or just Magda (left) and Lena (right). Thankfully for her she was born in captivity, as zoologists say that she would have little chance of surviving in the wild as her fellow tortoises would reject her and her distorted sense of direction might lead her into danger. She looks small now, just fitting neatly into the palm of her owner’s hand. Yet as an African Spurred Tortoise, Magdalena can grow up to 36 inches in length during her lifespan of 30-50 years.
Already popular with sports fans, Magdalena has yet to prove whether she can repeat Paul’s World Cup success. However, she may be on thin ice come the championships this April if she fails to predict the winning hockey teams.
Magdalena looks likely to gain celebrity status alongside other unique animals such as Heidi, the cross-eyed opossum and the five-legged dog who was saved from a life in a Coney Island freak show.
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