The crocodile

A crocodile is any species belonging to the family Crocodylidae (sometimes classified instead as the subfamily Crocodylinae). The term can also be used more loosely to include all extant members of the order Crocodilia: i.e. the true crocodiles, the alligators and caimans (family Alligatoridae) and the gharials (family Gavialidae), as well as the Crocodylomorpha which includes prehistoric crocodile relatives and ancestors.

Member species of the family Crocodylidae are large aquatic reptiles that live throughout the tropics in Africa, Asia, the Americas and Australia. Crocodiles tend to congregate in freshwater habitats like rivers, lakes, wetlands and sometimes in brackish water. They feed mostly on vertebrates like fish, reptiles, and mammals, sometimes on invertebrates like molluscs and crustaceans, depending on species. They are an ancient lineage, and are believed to have changed little since the time of the dinosaurs. They are believed to be 200 million years old whereas dinosaurs became extinct 65 million years ago; crocodiles survived great extinction events.The word crocodile comes from the Ancient Greek κροκόδιλος (crocodilos), "lizard," used in the phrase ho krokódilos ho potamós, "the lizard of the (Nile) river."

There are several variant Greek forms of the word attested, including the later form κροκόδειλος (crocodeilos)found cited in many English reference works In the Koine Greek of Roman times, crocodilos and crocodeilos would have been pronounced identically, and either or both may be the source of the Latinized form crocodīlus used by the ancient Romans.

Crocodilos/crocodeilos itself is a compound of krokè ("pebbles"), and drilos/dreilos ("worm"). It is ascribed to Herodotus, supposedly to describe the basking habits of the Egyptian crocodile.However the worddrilos is only attested as a colloquial term for "penis".The meaning of krokè is explained as describing the skin texture of lizards (or crocodiles) in most sources,but is alternately claimed to refer to a supposed habit of (lizards or crocodiles) basking on pebbly ground.The form crocodrillus is attested in Medieval Latin.It is not clear whether this is a medieval corruption or derives from alternate Greco-Latin forms (late Greek corcodrillos and corcodrillion are attested).

A (further) corrupted form cocodrille is found in Old French and was borrowed into Middle English as cocodril(le). The Modern English form crocodile was adapted directly from the Classical Latin crocodīlus in the 16th Century, replacing the earlier form.

The use of -y- in the scientific name Crocodylus (and forms derived from it) is a corruption introduced by Laurenti (1768). Crocodiles are similar to alligators and caiman; for their common biology and differences between them, see Crocodilia.

Crocodiles, like dinosaurs, have the abdominal ribs modified into gastralia.

Crocodiles are among the more biologically complex reptiles despite their prehistoric look. Unlike other reptiles, they have a cerebral cortex; a four-chambered heart; and the functional equivalent of a diaphragm, by incorporating muscles used for aquatic locomotion into respiration (e.g. M. diaphragmaticus); Their external morphology on the other hand is a sign of their aquatic and predatory lifestyle. A crocodile’s physical traits allow it to be a successful predator. They have a streamlined body that enables them to swim swiftly. Crocodiles also tuck their feet to their sides while swimming, which makes them faster by decreasing water resistance. They have webbed feet which, although not used to propel the animal through the water, allow it to make fast turns and sudden moves in the water or initiate swimming. Webbed feet are an advantage in shallower water where the animals sometimes move around by walking.

Crocodiles have a palatal flap, a rigid tissue at the back of the mouth that blocks the entry of water. The palate has a special path from the nostril to the glottis that bypasses the mouth. The nostrils are closed during submergence. Like other archosaurs, crocodilians are diapsid, although their post-temporal fenestrae are reduced. The walls of the braincase are bony but they lack supratemporal and postfrontal bones Their tongues are not free but held in place by a membrane which limits movement; as a result, crocodiles are unable to stick out their tongues.

Crocodilian scales have pores that are believed to be sensory, analogous to the lateral line in fishes. They are particularly seen on their upper and lower jaws. Another possibility is that they are secretory, as they produce an oily substance that appears to flush mud off.

Crocodiles are very fast over short distances, even out of water. Since crocodiles feed by grabbing and holding onto their prey, they have evolved sharp teeth for tearing and holding onto flesh, and powerful muscles that close the jaws and hold them shut. These jaws can bite down with immense force, by far the strongest bite of any animal. The pressure of the crocodile's bite is more than 5,000 pounds per square inch (30,000 kPa), compared to just 335 pounds per square inch (2,300 kPa) for a rottweiler, 400 pounds per square inch (2,800 kPa) for a large great white shark, 800 pounds per square inch (6,000 kPa) to 1,000 pounds per square inch (7,000 kPa) for a hyena, or 2,000 pounds per square inch (10,000 kPa) for a large alligator. The jaws are opened, however, by a very weak set of muscles. Crocodiles can thus be subdued for study or transport by taping their jaws or holding their jaws shut with large rubber bands cut from automobile inner tubes. They have limited lateral (side-to-side) movement in their neck.

The cheetah

This article is about the animal. For other uses, see Cheetah. The cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus) is an atypical member of the cat family (Felidae). It is the fastest of all cats, but lacks strong climbing abilities. The species is the only living member of the genus Acinonyx. It is the fastest land animal, reaching speeds between 112 and 120 km/h (70 and 75 mph)[3][4] in short bursts covering distances up to 500 m (1,600 ft), and has the ability to accelerate from 0 to over 100 km/h (62 mph) in three second. The Cheetah's are also very addapted to the habitat they live in

The tarsiers

For the past 45 million years, tarsiers have inhabited rainforests around the world, but now they only exist on a few islands in the Philippines, Borneo and Indonesia. In Bohol, the Philippine Tarsier was a common sight in the southern part of the island until the 1960s. Since then, the number has dwindled to as few as an estimated 1000 still left in the wild.[citation needed] Once protected by the humid rainforests and mist-shrouded hills, these mysterious primates struggle to survive as their home is cleared for crop growing.

Due to the quickly growing human population, which causes more and more forests to be converted to farmland, housing areas and roads, the place where the Philippine Tarsier can live its secluded life is disappearing.

Along this line, the dwindling of Philippine forests has posed a grave and significant threat to the survival of the Philippine Tarsier because this results in the destruction of its natural forest habitat. Indiscriminate and illegal logging, cutting of trees for firewood, "kaingin" or slash and burn method of agriculture, urbanization patterns have encroached on the habitats of the tarsier, causing the tarsier to be threatened or endangered.

The unabated hunting of the species by humans for house pets or for trade has contributed to its decline as well. Hunting tarsiers to sell as pets was a thriving industry until recently. Because of its adorable and benign appearance, many have been lured to keep the Philippine Tarsier as pets. This demand fuels the capture and illegal trade of the animal further diminishing its remaining number.[citation needed] Moreover, the life span for wild tarsiers is 24 years, but often as little as 12 years in captivity. Aside from the issues of replicating a natural diet, climate, and exercise that may reduce a captive tarsier's lifespan, stress may be added by the fact that many human owners want to interact with and display their pets by day, interrupting their nocturnal lifestyle.[citation needed]

Paradoxically, indigenous superstition coupled with relatively thick rainforest, particularly in Sarangani province, have apparently preserved this endangered species. Indigenous tribes leave the Philippine Tarsiers in the wild because they fear that these animals could bring bad luck. One belief passed down from ancient times is that they are pets belonging to spirits dwelling in giant fig trees, known as belete trees. If someone harms a tarsier they need to apologize to the spirits of the forest, or it is thought they will encounter sickness or hardship in life.

The casuar

The cassowary (Casuarius spp.) Is a bird of the ratite group of large birds, native to northeastern Australia, New Guinea and surrounding islands.

The three species of cassowary Casuariidae belong to the family and are with the ostrich and Emu, the largest birds in existence today. The preferred habitat of the cassowary are areas of rainforest, where there is a large number of trees available to produce the fruits that they feed. In this environment the cassowary plays an important ecological role in dispersing seeds of trees. The cassowary is an important figure in the mythology of the native populations of Oceania and generally represents a mother figure.

The plumage of the cassowary is abundant and greyish in color, with colored feathers at the base of the neck. These birds have a red crest on top of the head, which grows slowly during the first year of the animal and with unknown function. The group has no significant sexual dimorphism, with females only slightly larger and more colorful. A distinctive feature is the presence of a claw-shaped dagger finger in this procedure. As in other strutioniformes, cassowaries have stunted wings and three toes on each foot.

The cassowary is a bird agile, which can run about 50 mph and jump 1.5 m without any balance. Animals are usually shy and quiet but they may be extremely aggressive and dangerous for humans to protect the nest or their young.

During breeding males claim a territory and try to attract a female, it remains only to lay between 3-5 eggs. After laying the female leaves the nest and may breed in another country. The males alone take care of nests and offspring during the next nine months. Juveniles are brownish in color and just make a typical adult plumage at about three years.

The cassowary is a bird important to humans for hundreds of years as a source of protein through meat and eggs. Some tribes in New Guinea have a habit of robbing the nests and rear their young to adulthood, when sold or killed for local consumption, however the cassowary has never been completely tamed. The colorful feathers are also a source of interest and the reason in the past the European settlers hunted the animal thoroughly. Currently, three species of cassowary are threatened by habitat destruction and are protected by law. It is a bird more dangerous to humans because their kick can equate the same force of a small knife, and may even sever a limb.

Various species of cassowary are abundant in the fossil record of the Plio-Pleistocene Australia and is thought to have evolved from emus somewhere in the Miocene.

The ligers

The liger (lion + tiger) is a hybrid between a lion and a tigress.

Males are sterile hybrids of this animal, because the number of chromosomes of the lion and tiger are pairs, but different, so the liger has an odd number of chromosomes through the process of meiosis that occurs in the formation of male and female gametes (eggs and sperm, respectively), can mate with another animal with similar characteristics, as the tiger or lion pure, but their offspring may have the delicate health.

His appearance is a giant lion with diffused tiger streaks. He is currently the largest feline in the world, with between 3.5 and 4 meters in length. With only three years might weigh half a ton, through their diet of meat and chicken.

It is believed that the sheer size that these animals grow to occur by the absence of genes that determine the production of hormones growth inhibitors. That's because this is a lion in the maternally inherited, and the Tigers is the father, so ligers do not get those genes. The cross between lions and tigers only occurs by action of man. In addition to the habits of both species are very different, they usually do not share the same territories, so there are few opportunities to come together to form this strange intersection. Currently only those animals coexist in nature in the Gir forest, India. Previously however, lions and tigers have coexisted in Mesopotamia, the Caucasus, Persia, Afghanistan and in much of the Indian subcontinent.

The raccon

For other species called raccoon in the genus Procyon, see ProcyonFor other uses, see RaccoonThe raccoon sometimes spelled as racoonalso known as the common raccoonorth American raccoonnorthern raccooand colloquially as coon

is a medium-sized mammal native to North America. It is the largest of the procyonid family, having a body length of 40 to 70 cm (16 to 28 in) and a body weight of 3.5 to 9 kg (8 to 20 lb). The raccoon is usually nocturnal and is omnivorous, with a diet consisting of about 40% invertebrates, 33% plant foods, and 27% vertebrates. It has a grayish coat, of which almost 90% is dense underfur, which insulates against cold weather. Two of its most distinctive features are its extremely dexterous front paws and its facial mask, which are themes in the mythology of several Native American tribes. Raccoons are noted for their intelligence, with studies showing that they are able to remember the solution to tasks up to three years later.

The original habitats of the raccoon are deciduous and mixed forests of North America, but due to their adaptability they have extended their range to mountainous areas, coastal marshes, and urban areas, where many homeowners consider them to be pests. As a result of escapes and deliberate introductions in the mid-20th century, raccoons are now also distributed across the European mainland, the Caucasus region and Japan.

Though previously thought to be solitary, there is now evidence that raccoons engage in gender-specific social behavior. Related females often share a common area, while unrelated males live together in groups of up to four animals to maintain their positions against foreign males during the mating season, and other potential invaders. Home range sizes vary anywhere from 3 hectares for females in cities to 50 km2 for males in prairies (7 acres to 20 sq mi). After a gestation period of about 65 days, two to five young (known as a "kit", plural "kits") are born in spring. The kits are subsequently raised by their mother until dispersion in late fall. Although captive raccoons have been known to live over 20 years, their average life expectancy in the wild is only 1.8 to 3.1 years. In many areas hunting and traffic accidents are the two most common causes of death.

The dodo

As with many animals that have evolved in isolation from significant predators, the dodo was entirely fearless of people, and this, in combination with its flightlessness, made it easy prey for humans. However, journals are full of reports regarding the bad taste and tough meat of the dodo, while other local species such as the Red Rail were praised for their taste. When humans first arrived on Mauritius, they also brought with them other animals that had not existed on the island before, including dogs, pigs, cats, rats, and Crab-eating Macaques, which plundered the dodo nests, while humans destroyed the forests where the birds made their homes; the impact these animals—especially the pigs and macaques—had on the dodo population is currently considered to have been more severe than that of hunting. The 2005 expedition's finds are apparently of animals killed by a flash flood; such mass mortalities would have further jeopardized a species already in danger of
becoming extinct.
Although there are scattered reports of mass killings of dodos for provisioning of ships, archaeological investigations have hitherto found scant evidence of human predation on these birds. Some bones of at least two dodos were found in caves at Baie du Cap which were used as shelters by fugitive slaves and convicts in the 17th century, but due to their isolation in high, broken terrain, were not easily accessible to dodos naturally.

There is some controversy surrounding the extinction date of the dodo. Roberts & Solow state that "the extinction of the Dodo is commonly dated to the last confirmed sighting in 1662, reported by shipwrecked mariner Volkert Evertsz" (Evertszoon), but many other sources suggest the more conjectural date of 1681. Roberts & Solow point out that because the sighting prior to 1662 was in 1638, the dodo was likely already very rare by the 1660s, and thus a disputed report from 1674 cannot be dismissed out-of-hand. Statistical analysis of the hunting records of Isaac Johannes Lamotius give a new estimated extinction date of 1693, with a 95% confidence interval of 1688 to 1715; the last reported sighting is from the hunting records of Isaac Johannes Lamotius, who gives the year 1688, but it has been suggested that by this time the Dutch name "dodaers" had been transferred to the flightless Red Rail, which is now also extinct. Considering more circumstantial evidence such as travelers' reports and the lack of good reports after 1689, it is likely that the dodo became extinct before 1700; the last dodo died a little more than a century after the species' discovery in 1581.

The whale

Whale (origin Old English hƿæl) is the common name for various marine mammals of the order Cetacea.The term whale sometimes refers to all cetaceans, but more often it excludes dolphins and porpoises,which belong to suborder Odontoceti (toothed whales). This suborder also includes the sperm whale, killer whale, pilot whale, and beluga whale. The other Cetacean suborder Mysticeti (baleen whales), are filter feeders that eat small organisms caught by straining seawater through a comblike structure found in the mouth called baleen. This suborder includes the blue whale, the humpback whale, the bowhead whale and the minke whale. All Cetacea have forelimbs modified as fins, a tail with horizontal flukes, and nasal openings (blowholes) on top of the head.
Whales range in size from the blue whale, the largest animal known to have ever existed at 35 m (115 ft) and 136 tonnes (134 LT; 150 ST), to various pygmy species, such as the pygmy sperm whale at 3.5 m (11 ft).
Whales collectively inhabit all the world's oceans and number in the millions, with annual population growth rate estimates for various species ranging from 3-13%.For centuries, whales have been hunted for meat and as a source of raw materials. By the middle of the 20th century, however, industrial whaling had left many species seriously endangered, leading to the end of whaling in all but a few countries.

The frogs

For other uses, see Frog (disambiguation).

Frogs
Temporal range: Triassic–present

Australian Green Tree Frog (Litoria caerulea)
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Subclass: Lissamphibia
Order: Anura
Merrem, 1820
Suborders
Archaeobatrachia
Mesobatrachia
Neobatrachia
List of Anuran families

Native distribution of frogs (in black)
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura (meaning "tail-less", from Greek an-, without + oura, tail), formerly referred to as Salientia (Latin salere (salio), "to jump"). Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits (fingers or toes), protruding eyes and the absence of a tail. Frogs are widely known as exceptional jumpers, and many of the anatomical characteristics of frogs, particularly their long, powerful legs, are adaptations to improve jumping performance. Due to their permeable skin, frogs are often semi-aquatic or inhabit humid areas, but move easily on land. They typically lay their eggs in puddles, ponds or lakes, and their larvae, called tadpoles, have gills and develop in water. Adult frogs follow a carnivorous diet, mostly of arthropods, annelids and gastropods. Frogs are most noticeable by their call, which can be widely heard during the night or day, mainly in their mating season.
The distribution of frogs ranges from tropic to subarctic regions, but most species are found in tropical rainforests. Consisting of more than 5,000 species described, they are among the most diverse groups of vertebrates. However, populations of certain frog species are declining significantly.
A popular distinction is often made between frogs and toads on the basis of their appearance, but this has no taxonomic basis. (Members of the anuran family Bufonidae are called true toads, but many species from other families are also called toads.) In addition to their ecological importance, frogs have many cultural roles, such as in literature, symbolism and religion, and they are also valued as food and as pets

The Whale shark

The whale shark, Rhincodon typus, is a slow-moving filter feeding shark, the largest living fish species. The largest confirmed individual was 12.65 metres (41.50 ft) in length. The heaviest weighed more than 36 tonnes (79,000 lb), but unconfirmed claims report considerably larger whale sharks. This distinctively-marked fish is the only member of its genus Rhincodon and its family, Rhincodontidae (called Rhinodontes before 1984), which belongs to the subclass Elasmobranchii in the class Chondrichthyes. The shark is found in tropical and warm oceans, lives in the open sea with a lifespan of about 70 years. The species originated about 60 million years ago. Although whale sharks have very large mouths, they feed mainly, though not exclusively, on plankton, microscopic plants and animals, although the BBC program Planet Earth filmed a whale shark feeding on a school of small fish.
The species was distinguished in April 1828, following the harpooning of a 4.6 metres (15.1 ft) specimen in Table Bay, South Africa. Andrew Smith, a military doctor associated with British troops stationed in Cape Town described it the following year. He published a more detailed description in 1849. The name "whale shark" comes from the fish's physiology; as large as a whale, it too is a filter feeder.The whale shark inhabits all tropical and warm-temperate seas.They are known to migrate every spring to the continental shelf of the central west coast of Australia. The coral spawning of the area's Ningaloo Reef provides the whale shark with an abundant supply of plankton. Primarily pelagic, seasonal feeding aggregations occur at several coastal sites such as the southern and eastern parts of South Africa; Gladden Spit in Belize; Ningaloo Reef in Western Australia; Útila in Honduras; Donsol, Pasacao and Batangas in the Philippines; off Isla Mujeres and Isla Holbox in Yucatan, Mexico; Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia; Nosy Be in Madagascar Off Tofo Reef near Inhambane in Mozambique, and the Tanzanian islands of Mafia, Pemba, Zanzibar and, very rarely, Eilat, Israel. Although typically seen offshore, it has been found closer to land, entering lagoons or coral atolls, and near the mouths of estuaries and rivers. Its range is generally restricted to about ±30° latitude. It is capable of diving to depths of 700 metres (2,300 ft), and is migratory.As a filter feeder it has a capacious mouth which can be up to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) wide and can contain between 300 and 350 rows of tiny teeth.[6] It has five large pairs of gills. Two small eyes are located towards the front of the shark's wide, flat head. The body is mostly grey with a white belly; three prominent ridges run along each side of the animal and the skin is marked with a "checkerboard" of pale yellow spots and stripes. These spots are unique to each individual and are useful for counting populations. Its skin can be up to 10 centimetres (3.9 in) thick. The shark has a pair each of dorsal fins and pectoral fins. Juveniles' tails have a larger upper than lower fin while the adult tail becomes semi-lunate (crescent-shaped). Spiracles are just behind the eyes.


Whale shark in main tank at Osaka Aquarium
The whale shark is not an efficient swimmer since it uses its entire body, unusual for fish, to attain an average speed of around 5-kilometre-per-hour (3.1 mph). The largest specimen was caught on November 11, 1947, near Baba Island, in Karachi, Pakistan. It was 12.65 metres (41.50 ft) long, weighed more than 21.5 tonnes (47,000 lb), and had a girth of 7 metres (23.0 ft). Stories exist of vastly larger specimens — quoted lengths of 18 metres (59 ft) are not uncommon in the popular shark literature — but no scientific records support their existence. In 1868 the Irish natural scientist Edward Perceval Wright obtained several small whale shark specimens in the Seychelles, but claimed to have observed specimens in excess of 15 metres (49.2 ft), and tells of reports of specimens surpassing 21 metres (68.9 ft).
In a 1925 publication, Hugh M. Smith described a huge animal caught in a bamboo fish trap in Thailand in 1919. The shark was too heavy to pull ashore, but Smith estimated that the shark was at least 17 metres (56 ft) long, and weighed approximately 37 tonnes (82,000 lb), which have been exaggerated to a more precise measurement of 17.98 metres (58.99 ft) and weight 43 tonnes (95,000 lb) in recent years. A shark caught in 1994 near Tainan in Southern Taiwan reportedly weighed 35.8 tonnes (79,000 lb).There have even been claims of whale sharks of up to 23 metres (75 ft). In 1934 a ship named the Maurguani came across a whale shark in the Southern Pacific Ocean, rammed it, and the shark consequently became stuck on the prow of the ship, supposedly with 4.6 metres (15.1 ft) on one side and 12.2 metres (40.0 ft) on the other. No reliable documentation exists for these claims and they remain "fish-stories".The whale shark is a filter feeder — one of only three known filter feeding shark species (along with the basking shark and the megamouth shark). It feeds on macro-algae, plankton, krill, Christmas Island red crab larvae, and small nektonic life such as small squid or vertebrates. The many rows of teeth play no role in feeding; in fact, they are reduced in size in the whale shark. Instead, the shark sucks in a mouthful of water, closes its mouth and expels the water through its gills. During the slight delay between closing the mouth and opening the gill flaps, plankton is trapped against the dermal denticles which line its gill plates and pharynx. This fine sieve-like apparatus, which is a unique modification of the gill rakers, prevents the passage of anything but fluid out through the gills, trapping anything above 2 to 3 millimetres (0.079 to 0.12 in) in diameter. Material caught in the filter between the gill bars is swallowed. Whale sharks have been observed "coughing" and it is presumed that this is a method of clearing a build up of food particles in the gill rakers. Whale sharks migrate to feed and possibly to breed.
The whale shark is an active feeder, targeting concentrations of plankton or fish. It is able to ram filter feed or can gulp in a stationary position. This is in contrast to the passive feeding basking shark, which does not pump water. Instead, it swims to force water across its gills.

The Hyenas

Hyenas are the animals of the family Hyaenidae , a feliform suborder of the Carnivora. It is the smallest biological family in the Carnivora (consisting of four species), and one of the smallest in the mammalia.Despite their low diversity, hyenas are unique and vital components to most African and some Asian ecosystems.
Although phylogenetically close to felines and viverrids, hyenas are behaviourally and morphologically similar to canines in several aspects (see Convergent evolution); both hyenas and canines are non-arboreal, cursorial hunters which catch prey with their teeth rather than their claws. Both eat their food quickly and may store it, and their calloused feet with large, blunt, non-retractible nails are made for running and making sharp turns. However, the hyenas' grooming, scent marking, defecating habits, mating and parental behaviour are consistent with the behaviour of other feliforms. Although long reputed to be cowardly scavengers, hyenas, especially spotted hyenas, kill as much as 95% of the food they eat, and have been known to drive off leopards or lionesses from their kills. Hyenas are primarily nocturnal animals, but may venture from their lairs in the early morning hours. With the exception of the highly social spotted hyena, hyenas are generally not gregarious animals, though they may live in family groups and congregate at kills.
Hyenas first arose in Eurasia during the Miocene period from viverrid-like ancestors, and developed into two distinct branches; the lightly built dog-like hyenas and the robust bone-crushing hyenas. Although the dog-like hyenas thrived 15 million years ago (with one taxon having colonised North America), they died out after a change in climate along with the arrival of canids into Eurasia. Of the dog-like hyena lineage, only the insectivorous aardwolf survived, while the bone-crushing hyenas (whose extant members are the spotted, brown and striped hyena) became the undisputed top scavengers of Eurasia and Africa.
Hyenas feature prominently in the folklore and mythology of human cultures they are sympatric with. Hyenas are mostly viewed with fear and contempt, as well as being associated with witchcraft, as their body parts are used as ingredients in traditional medicine. Among the beliefs held by some cultures, hyenas are thought to influence people’s spirits, rob graves, and steal livestock and children.

Hamsters

Hamsters are rodents belonging to the subfamily Cricetinae. The subfamily contains about 25 species, classified in six or seven genera.
Hamsters are crepuscular. In the wild, they burrow underground in the daylight to avoid being caught by predators. Their diet includes a variety of foods, including dried food, berries, nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables. In the wild they feed primarily on seeds, fruits and greens, and will occasionally eat burrowing insects. They have an elongated pouch on each side of their heads that extend to their shoulders, which they stuff full of food to be stored, brought back to the colony or to be eaten later.
Although the Golden Hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) was first described scientifically in 1839, it was not until 1930 that researchers were able to successfully breed and domesticate hamsters. Pet Golden Hamsters are descended from hamsters first found and captured in Syria by zoologist Israel Aharoni.
Hamster behavior can vary depending on their environment, genetics, and interaction with people. Because they are easy to breed in captivity, hamsters are often used as lab animals in more economically developed countries. Hamsters have also become established as popular small house pets.Hamsters are stout-bodied, with tails shorter than body length, and have small furry ears, short stocky legs, and wide feet. Their thick, silky fur, which can be long or short, can be black, gray, honey, white, brown, yellow, or red depending on the species, or a mix of any of those colors.Two species of hamsters belonging to the genus Phodopus (Phodopus campbelli, Campbell's Dwarf Hamster, and Phodopus sungorus, the Djungarian Hamster) and also two of the species of the genus Cricetulus, (Cricetulus barabensis, the Chinese Striped Hamster, and Cricetulus griseus, the Chinese Dwarf Hamster) have a dark stripe down the head to tail. The species of genus Phodopus are the smallest, with bodies 5.5 to 10.5 centimetres (2.2 to 4.1 in) long; the largest is the European Hamster (Cricetus cricetus), measuring up to 34 centimetres (13.4 in) long, not including a short tail of up to 6 centimetres (2.4 in). The Angora hamster, also known as the long-haired or Teddy Bear hamster, which is a type of the Golden Hamster is the second-largest hamster breed, measuring up to 18 centimetres (7.1 in) long.
Hamsters have poor eyesight; they are nearsighted[citation needed] and colorblind. However, they have an acute sense of smell and can hear extremely well. Hamsters can use their sense of smell to detect gender, locate food, and detect pheremones. They are also particularly sensitive to high-pitched noises and can hear and communicate in the ultrasonic range.
The tail is sometimes difficult to see; usually it is not very long (about 1/6 the length of their body) with exception of the Chinese dwarf hamster whose tail is the same length as the body. On a long haired hamster it is barely visible. Hamsters are very flexible, and their bones are somewhat fragile. They are extremely susceptible to rapid temperature changes and drafts, as well as extreme heat or cold. Hamsters are hindgut fermenters and must eat their own feces in order to digest their food a second time. This practice is called coprophagy and is necessary for the hamster to obtain the proper nutrients from its food.
Hamsters are omnivorous. They eat most things, and although they should regularly be given a diet of normal hamster food, it is enjoyable for both the owner and the hamster to experiment with other things, such as vegetables, fruits (though these should be removed once they go rotten or bad) seeds and nuts.
One characteristic of rodents that is highly visible in hamsters is their sharp incisors. They have two pairs in the front of their mouths and these incisors never stop growing and thus must be regularly worn down. Hamsters carry food in their spacious cheek pouches to their underground storage chambers. When full, their cheeks can make their heads double (or even triple) in size.Hamsters in the Middle East have been known to hunt in packs to find insects for food.
The best-known species of hamster is the Golden or Syrian Hamster (Mesocricetus auratus), which is the type of hamster most commonly kept as a pet. It is also sometimes called a "fancy" hamster. Pet stores also have taken to calling them "honey bears", "panda bears", "black bears", "European black bears", "polar bears", "teddy bears", and "Dalmatian", depending on their coloration. There are also several variations, including long-haired varieties that grow hair several centimeters long and often require special care. British zoologist Leonard Goodwin claimed that most hamsters kept in the United Kingdom were descended from the colony he introduced for medical research purposes during the Second World War.Other hamsters that are kept as pets are the four species of "dwarf hamster". Campbell's Dwarf Hamster (Phodopus campbelli) is the most common of the four—they are also sometimes called "Russian Dwarfs"; however, many hamsters are from Russia, and so this ambiguous name does not distinguish them from other species appropriately. The coat of the Djungarian or Winter-white Russian Dwarf Hamster (Phodopus sungorus) turns almost white during winter (when the hours of daylight decrease). The Roborovski Hamster (Phodopus roborovskii) is extremely small and fast, making it difficult to keep as a pet. The Chinese Hamster (Cricetulus griseus), although not technically a true "dwarf hamster", is the only hamster with a prehensile tail (about 4 cm long)—most hamsters have very short, non-prehensile tails.
Many breeders also show their hamsters and so breed towards producing a good healthy show hamster with a view to keeping one or two themselves so quality and temperament are of vital importance when planning the breeding. Although breeders of show hamsters specialise in breeding show hamsters, there are also owners who have bred their pet hamsters. These may be the result of a planned or unplanned pregnancy but the hamsters have usually been cared for well and handled regularly, so make very suitable pets. Buying a hamster directly from a breeder means that there is the opportunity to see the parents and know the dates of birth

The Swan

Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes Swans, genus Cygnus, are birds of the family Anatidae, which also includes geese and ducks. Swans are grouped with the closely related geese in the subfamily Anserinae where they form the tribe Cygnini. Sometimes, they are considered a distinct subfamily, Cygninae. There are six to seven species of swan in the genus Cygnus; in addition there is another species known as the Coscoroba Swan, although this species is no longer considered related to the true swans. Swans usually mate for life, though 'divorce' does sometimes occur, particularly following nesting failure. The number of eggs in each clutch ranges from three to eight.The swans are generally found in temperate environments, rarely occurring in the tropics. Four (or five) species occur in the Northern Hemisphere, one species is found in Australia and New Zealand and one species is distributed in southern South America. They are absent from tropical Asia, Central America, northern South America and the entirety of Africa. One species, the Mute Swan, has been introduced to North America, Australia and New Zealand.
Several species are migratory, either wholly or partly so. The Mute Swan is a partial migrant, being resident over areas of Western Europe but wholly migratory in Eastern Europe and Asia. The Whooper Swan and Tundra Swan are wholly migratory, and the Trumpeter Swans are almost entirely migratory. There is some evidence that the Black-necked Swan is migratory over part of its range, but detailed studies have not established whether these movements are long or short range migration.

The Horses

The horse (Equus ferus caballus) is a hooved (ungulate) mammal, a subspecies of the family Equidae. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million years from a small multi-toed creature into the large, single-toed animal of today. Humans began to domesticate horses around 4000 BC, and their domestication is believed to have been widespread by 3000 BC. Although most horses today are domesticated, there are still endangered populations of the Przewalski's Horse, the only remaining true wild horse, as well as more common populations of feral horses which live in the wild but are descended from domesticated ancestors. There is an extensive, specialized vocabulary used to describe equine-related concepts, covering everything from anatomy to life stages, size, colors, markings, breeds, locomotion, and behaviour.
Horses' anatomy enables them to make use of speed to escape predators and they have a well-developed sense of balance and a strong fight-or-flight instinct. Related to this need to flee from predators in the wild is an unusual trait: horses are able to sleep both standing up and lying down. Female horses, called mares, carry their young for approximately 11 months, and a young horse, called a foal, can stand and run shortly following birth. Most domesticated horses begin training under saddle or in harness between the ages of two and four. They reach full adult development by age five, and have an average lifespan of between 25 and 30 years.
Horse breeds are loosely divided into three categories based on general temperament: spirited "hot bloods" with speed and endurance; "cold bloods", such as draft horses and some ponies, suitable for slow, heavy work; and "warmbloods", developed from crosses between hot bloods and cold bloods, often focusing on creating breeds for specific riding purposes, particularly in Europe. There are over 300 breeds of horses in the world today, developed for many different uses.
Horses and humans interact in a wide variety of sport competitions and non-competitive recreational pursuits, as well as in working activities such as police work, agriculture, entertainment, and therapy. Horses were historically used in warfare, from which a wide variety of riding and driving techniques developed, using many different styles of equipment and methods of control. Many products are derived from horses, including meat, milk, hide, hair, bone, and pharmaceuticals extracted from the urine of pregnant mares. Humans provide domesticated horses with food, water and shelter, as well as attention from specialists such as veterinarians and farriers.

The Rabbit

Rabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world. There are eight different genera in the family classified as rabbits, including the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), cottontail rabbits (genus Sylvilagus; 13 species), and the Amami rabbit (Pentalagus furnessi, an endangered species on Amami Ōshima, Japan). There are many other species of rabbit, and these, along with pikas and hares, make up the order Lagomorpha. The male is called a buck and the female is a doe; a young rabbit is a kitten or kit.Rabbit habitats include meadows, woods, forests, grasslands, deserts and wetlands. Rabbits live in groups, and the best known species, the European rabbit, lives in underground burrows, or rabbit holes. A group of burrows is called a warren.
More than half the world's rabbit population resides in North America.They are also native to southwestern Europe, Southeast Asia, Sumatra, some islands of Japan, and in parts of Africa and South America. They are not naturally found in most of Eurasia, where a number of species of hares are present. Rabbits first entered South America relatively recently, as part of the Great American Interchange. Much of the continent has just one species of rabbit, the tapeti, while most of South America's southern cone is without rabbits.
The European rabbit has been introduced to many places around the world.

The Cat

The cat (Felis catus), also known as the domestic cat or housecat to distinguish it from other felines and felids, is a small furry domesticated carnivorous mammal that is valued by humans for its companionship and for its ability to hunt vermin and household pests. Cats have been associated with humans for at least 9,500 years, and are currently the most popular pet in the world. Owing to their close association with humans, cats are now found almost everywhere in the world.
Cats are similar in anatomy to the other felids, with strong, flexible bodies, quick reflexes, sharp retractable claws, and teeth adapted to killing small prey. As nocturnal predators, cats use their acute hearing and ability to see in near darkness to locate prey. Not only can cats hear sounds too faint for human ears, they can also hear sounds higher in frequency than humans can perceive. This is because the usual prey of cats (particularly rodents such as mice) make high frequency noises, so the hearing of the cat has evolved to pinpoint these faint high-pitched sounds. Cats rely more on smell than taste, and have a much better sense of smell than humans.
Despite being solitary hunters, cats are a social species and use a variety of vocalizations, pheromones and types of body language for communication. These include meowing, purring, trilling, hissing, growling, and grunting.
Cats have a rapid breeding rate. Under controlled breeding, they can be bred and shown as registered pedigree pets, a hobby known as cat fancy. Failure to control the breeding of pet cats by spaying and neutering and the abandonment of former household pets has resulted in large numbers of feral cats worldwide, with a population of up to 60 million of these animals in the United States alone.
As The New York Times wrote in 2007, "Until recently the cat was commonly believed to have been domesticated in ancient Egypt, where it was a cult animal", but a study that year revealed that the lines of descent of all house cats probably run through as few as five self-domesticating African Wildcats (Felis silvestris lybica) c. 8000 BC, in the Near East.[4] The earliest direct evidence of cat domestication is a kitten that was buried alongside a human 9,500 years ago in Cyprus.

The Dog

The dog is a domesticated form of the gray wolf, a member of the Canidae family of the order Carnivora. The term is used for both feral and pet varieties. The dog was the first animal to be domesticated, and has been the most widely kept working, hunting, and companion animal in human history. The word "dog" may also mean the male of a canine species, as opposed to the word "bitch" for the female of the species.
Dogs were domesticated from gray wolves about 15,000 years ago. They must have been very valuable to early human settlements, for they quickly became ubiquitous across world cultures. Dogs perform many roles for people, such as hunting, herding, pulling loads, protection, assisting police and military, companionship, and, more recently, aiding handicapped individuals. This impact on human society has given them the nickname "Man's best friend" in the western world. In 2001, there were estimated to be 400 million dogs in the world.
Over the 15,000 year span the dog had been domesticated, it diverged into only a handful of landraces, groups of similar animals whose morphology and behavior have been shaped by environmental factors and functional roles. Through selective breeding by humans, the dog has developed into hundreds of varied breeds, and shows more behavioral and morphological variation than any other land mammal. For example, height measured to the withers ranges from a few inches in the Chihuahua to a few feet in the Irish Wolfhound; color varies from white through grays to black, and browns from light to dark in a wide variation of patterns; coats can be short or long, coarse-haired to wool-like, straight, curly, or smooth. It is common for most breeds to shed this coat.

The tigons

when it appers tigreão it is just a mistake in english it is tigon to lazy today.The tigon is a hybrid cross between a female lion and a male tiger. The tigreão is not as common as the liger, however, in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, were more common tigreões ligres.Podem that exhibit characteristics of both parents: they may have spotted the mother (lions carry genes for spots - lion cubs are spotted) and stripes from father.

The mane of tigon will be shorter and more discreet than the lion and more like the tuft of the tiger. It's a mistake to think that tigreões are smaller than lions or tigers. Do not exceed the size of their parents because they inherit the gene inhibitor of growth of the mother and the father lion tiger but do not present any kind of dwarfism or miniaturization, they often weigh around 180 kg.

The relative rarity of tigons is attributed to the fact the Tigers find the male mating behavior of the lioness too subtle and escape them some clues about her interest in mating. However, lionesses are active and agile in applying for mating, so the current rarity of tigons due to the fact that they are less impressive in size than ligers, lowering the value of novelty. A century ago, the tigreões were more common than ligers. Gerald Iles, in the work At Home In The Zoo (1961) managed to get 3 tigreões to Belle Vue Zoo in Manchester, but wrote that he had never seen a liger. Currently there are a significant number of tigreões to be created at work China.Na Wild Cats Of The World (1975), Guggisberg wrote that ligers as well tigons were sterile, however, in 1943, a hybrid of lion and tiger "Island" with 15 years of age was successfully mated with a lion's Hellabrunn Munich Zoo. The female cub, although of delicate health, he survived to adulthood. The tigreões males are sterile, whereas females are fertile. By the fact that only female ligers and tigreões are fertile, ligers and tigreões can not reproduce with each other. At the Alipore Zoo in India, a female named tigreão Rudhrani, born 1971, was successfully mated to an Asiatic Lion named Debabrata. The rare, second generation hybrid was called a li-li-generated 7 tigreão.Rudhrani tigreões during his lifetime. Some of these reached impressive sizes - a li-tigreão named Cubanacan (died 1991) weighed 363 kg, average height 1.32m at the shoulder and had a 3.5 m total length.

There are also records tigreão ti-, li-ligers and ti-liger resulting from a cross between a tiger and female tigreão male. Ti-tigreões are similar to the Golden Tiger but with less contrast in their stripes. Tigreão a female born in 1978, named Noelle, shared an enclosure in the Shambala Reserve with a male Siberian Tiger called Anton, due to the attendant belief that the female was sterile. In 1983, Noelle had a ti-tigreão named Nathaniel. As Nathaniel was three-quarters tiger, he had darker stripes than the progenitor and vocalized more like a tiger than a mixture of sounds emitted by the mother. Being only about quarter-lion, Nathaniel did not ruff. Nathaniel died of cancer at 8 or 9 years. Noelle also developed cancer and died shortly afterwards.

Black Panther

There is some confusion with the word panther and leopard. On the one hand, Panthera is a genus of cats, which includes four species, the leopard and jaguar mentioned, as well as lions (Panthera leo), tigers (Panthera tigris).

On the other hand, there Leopardus genus, including several American cat species, including the ocelot (Leopardus pardalis). The generic name was chosen for its superficial resemblance to the leopard in relation to mottled coat color, however, be remembered that the leopard belongs to another genus (Panthera).

Finally, there is the Spanish word panther, which is used in another sense, the scientific name Panthera, because, obviously, nobody calls the lion panther or tiger despite belonging to this genus.

In South America the jaguar is called Panther, in North America, the term panther is commonly used to refer to the cougar (genus Puma), and the rest of the world, especially in Africa and Asia, is used to describe the leopard.

White Lions

This feature does not cause physiological problems - unlike albinism, leucismo not confer greater sensitivity to the sun. However is a disadvantage because it reduces their ability to camouflage themselves in pursuit of their prey.
Two white lions in a zoo in France.

These lions were never very common in nature. The gene that confers this trait is recessive, and only reveals itself when they are crossed individuals carrying the mutant gene. This cross is done deliberately in zoos there are no longer in nature for this reason it is in these where the largest number of individuals. Also appeared in reserve Timbavati and the Kruger Park, South Africa, but are not sighted since 1993, virtually extinct in nature.

There are also white lions for albinism, and these have red eyes and show great sensitivity to the sun. Are rare and endangered. let's help this animals they need our help

Wild life

Wildlife includes all non-domesticated plants, animals and other organisms. Domesticating wild plant and animal species for human benefit has occurred many times all over the planet, and has a major impact on the environment, both positive and negative. Wildlife can be found in all ecosystems. Deserts, rain forests, plains, and other areas including the most developed urban sites, all have distinct forms of wildlife. While the term in popular culture usually refers to animals that are untouched by human factors, most scientists agree that wildlife around the world is impacted by human activities.
Humans have historically tended to separate civilization from wildlife in a number of ways including the legal, social, and moral sense. This has been a reason for debate throughout recorded history. Religions have often declared certain animals to be sacred, and in modern times concern for the natural environment has provoked activists to protest the exploitation of wildlife for human benefit or entertainment. Literature has also made use of the traditional human separation from wildlife.
Antropologists believe that the Stone-age peoples and hunter-gatherers relied on wildlife, both plant and animal, for their food. In fact, some species may have been hunted to extintion by early human hunters. Today, hunting, fishing, or gathering wildlife is still a significant food source in some parts of the world. In other areas, hunting and non-commercial fishing are mainly seen as a sport or recreation, with the edible meat as mostly a side benefit.Meat sourced from wildlife that is not traditionally regarded as game is known as bushh meat.The increasing demand for wildlife as a source of traditional food in East Asia is decimating populations of sharks, primates, pangolins and other animals, which they believe have aphrodisiac properties. In November 2008, almost 900 plucked and "oven-ready" owls and other protected wildlife species were confiscated by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks in Malaysia, according to traffic. The animals were believed to be bound for China, to be sold in wild meat restaurants. Most are listed in cites (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) which prohibits or restricts such trade.

“	Malaysia is home to a vast array of amazing wildlife. However, illegal hunting and trade poses a threat to Malaysia’s natural diversity.	”
—Chris S. Shepherd This subsection focuses on anthropogenic forms of wildlife destruction. Exploitation of wild populations has been a characteristic of modern man since our exodus from Africa 130,000 – 70,000 years ago. The rate of extinctions of entire species of plants and animals across the planet has been so high in the last few hundred years it is widely considered that we are in the sixth great extinction event on this planet; the Holocene Mass Extinction. Destruction of wildlife does not always lead to an extinction of the species in question, however, the dramatic loss of entire species across Earth dominates any review of wildlife destruction as extinction is the level of damage to a wild population from which there is no return. The four most general reasons that lead to destruction of wildlife include overkill, habitat destruction and fragmentation, impact of introduced species and chains of extinction. Overkill Overkill occurs whenever hunting occurs at rates greater than the reproductive capacity of the population is being exploited. The effects of this are often noticed much more dramatically in slow growing populations such as many larger species of fish. Initially when a portion of a wild population is hunted, an increased availability of resources (food, etc.) is experienced increasing growth and reproduction as Density dependent inhibition is lowered. Hunting, fishing and so on, has lowered the competition between members of a population. However, if this hunting continues at rate greater than the rate at which new members of the population can reach breeding age and produce more young, the population will begin to decrease in numbers. Populations are confined to islands, whether literal islands or just areas of habitat that are effectively an “island” for the species concerned have also been observed to be at greater risk of dramatic population declines following unsustainable hunting.

Animals

Animals make part of our world they were here before we even were alive. We need to think of that before we put down even if it's just one tree or one animal they make all the diference in this world we cant let that appen or can we?