There are some very weird animals in the world.... A few of these belong to the family of the Monotremes, an order of mammals which is singular for the fact that it lays eggs in stead of giving birth to life young. The most famous of these is no doubt the platypus, but also four species of echidnas or spiny ant eaters belong to the Monotremes. ( Read more... )

Lonesome George was a Pinta Island tortoise (Chelonoidis nigra abingdonii), a subspecies of the Galápagos tortoise native to Pinta Island in Equador. He is believed to have been the last remaining member of his subspecies and was thereby one of the rarest creatures on earth.

In the mid-20th century, the subspecies was already believed to be extinct ( Read more... )

Have you ever seen a white foal? Most likely not, as most white horses are born coloured (black, brown, chestnut)! Usually within the first year of their life they start to change colour and have reached their 'adult' colour at ages 6-8. The process resembles the graying process in humans, but is ultrafast in these horses. As the hair looses it's ( Read more... )

The world is illuminated by glowing organisms. Glow-worms and fireflies are perhaps the best-known members of a group of creatures who glow in the dark - also known as bio-luminescence, but there are many more insects, jellyfish, crustaceans, molluscs, fish, fungi and microorganisms who possess this ability.

The chemistry of the glowing is similar ( Read more... )

Maintaining a constant warm body temperature seems so obvious for us humans we never really think about it. But for many wild animals there is a downside, heating the body costs a metabolic fortune. It was already known small mammals, such as mice and rodents, can drop their body temperature when food sources are low and in this way save energy. ( Read more... )

Icelandic horses are one of the purest breeds of horses in the world. These animals, which should by their size actually be called a pony, are the only horse breed on the island, so no cross-breeding can take place. Laws also do not permit Icelandic horses who left the island to return. These little hardy horses (often between 1.30 and 1.40 m high ( Read more... )

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Meet my mum's newest 'tenant' (it's actually her neighbour's sheep, he 'parks' them in my mother's paddocks sometimes): it's a sheep who thinks it's a goat! At least, I've never seen any other sheep climb up against the fence when he sees someone approaching. I was LOLing when I first saw him do it! It's a very tame sheep as well and he likes a pet ( Read more... )

I saw a roe deer this morning, when leaving the drive of our house. Our house actually borders on a forest, but there's quite a busy road in between, so it's not like I see deer every day. In fact, I've never seen one so close. It was standing just a few metres inside the forest, and we stared at each other for like a minute, the cars racing by in ( Read more... )

... no, I don't think of the arrival's gate at Heathrows, but I go to www.zooborns.com, because what cheers you up better than baby animals!