Wonderful world of animals

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A rare and primitive frog living in a remote Borneo stream has no lungs and apparently absorbs oxygen through its skin, researchers reported on Wednesday.

The aquatic frog has evolved backwards, re-acquiring a primordial trait, David Bickford of the National University of Singapore and colleagues reported.

Studying the frog could help shed light on how lungs evolved in the first place, they wrote in the journal Current Biology, adding that illegal gold mining in the area may threaten the unique species.

"The evolution of lunglessness in tetrapods (amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals) is exceedingly rare, previously known only from amphibians -- two families of salamanders and a single species of caecilian (blindworm)," they wrote.

"Here we report the first case of complete lunglessness in a frog, Barbourula kalimantanensis, from the Indonesian portion of Borneo."

The frog may be endangered because of mining activity, the researchers said.

"In August 2007, we visited ... near NangaPinoh, Western Kalimantan but found that illegal gold mining had destroyed all suitable habitats in the vicinity," they wrote. They snorkeled, waded and turned over boulders to find their quarry.

"The originally cool, clear, fast-flowing rivers are now warm and turbid. Water quality around the ... locality is no longer suitable for the species, but we were able to re-discover two new populations upstream," they added.

"We knew that we would have to be very lucky just to find the frog," Bickford said in a statement.

Animals evolved lungs when they moved from the sea to land millions of years ago. Animals have only lost this important adaptation a few times, Bickford's team said.

"The discovery of lunglessness in a secretive Bornean frog, supports the idea that lungs are a malleable trait in the Amphibia, the sister group of all living tetrapods. Amphibians maybe more prone to lunglessness since they readily utilize other methods for gas exchange," they wrote.

"This is an endangered frog that we know practically nothing about, with an amazing ability to breathe entirely through its skin, whose future is being destroyed by illegal gold mining by people who are marginalized and have no other means of supporting themselves," Bickford said.

Only animals with small body sizes, slow metabolisms and living in fast-flowing cold water where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged quickly may be able to survive without lungs, the researchers said.

"We strongly encourage conservation of remaining habitats of this species," they recommended.

(Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)

It sure is one adorable baby!!! There was no info with the picture. Anyone know what animal this is. It looks familiar but i can't put my finger on it.

This is a new feature here at 'Wonderful World of Animals'

Each day i will have a few zoology words along with their definitions. I thought this would be an interesting addition to WWA. And, i am studying
Zoology, not officially.. but on my own time, like a hobby.. so i thought I'd put what i learn in my blog as well. I hope you find it of interest as well. I'll do my best to have a few Zoology words a day.

Cetology--
The study of whales. --Cetologist, n.

Vivipara--
pl. Animals whose young are born live, as mammals. -Viviparity, n
Viviparous, adj.

2. The study of the causes, effects, and other relations involved
in such distributions, - Zoogeographer, n

A few days ago i saw something on TV about the Mountain Goat and i was just astonished by them. How they stay balanced on those high cliffs and mountains is just amazing. They definitely deserve to be Animal of the Day.

Here is some info on the Mountain Goat:

The Mountain Goat (Oreamnos americanus), also known as the Rocky Mountain Goat, is a large-hoofed mammal found only in North America. Despite its name, it is not a true goat, as it belongs to a different genus. It resides at high elevations and is a sure-footed climber, often resting on rocky cliffs that predators cannot reach. The mountain goat is an even-toed ungulate of the order Artiodactyla and the family Bovidae that includes antelopes and cattle. It belongs to the subfamily Caprinae, along with thirty-two other species including true goats, sheep, the chamois and the musk ox. The mountain goat is the only species in the genus Oreamnos. The name Oreamnos is derived from the Greek term oros (stem ore-) 'mountain' (or, alternatively, oreas 'mountain nymph') and the word amnos 'lamb'.

Both male and female mountain goats have beards, short tails, and long black horns, 15-28 cm in length, which contain yearly growth rings. They are protected from the elements by their woolly white double coats. The fine, dense wool of their undercoats is covered by an outer layer of longer, hollow hairs. In warmer seasons, mountain goats moult by rubbing against rocks and trees, with the adult billies (males) shedding their extra wool first and the pregnant nannies (females) shedding last. In the winter, their coats help them to withstand temperatures as low as -50 Fahrenheit (-46 Celsius) and winds of up to 100 mph (161 km/h).

A billy stands about one meter (3'3") at the shoulder to the waist. Male goats also have longer horns and a longer beard than nannies. Mountain goats typically weigh between 45 and 136 kg (100 - 300 lb.);^[1] females are usually 10-30% lighter than males.

The mountain goat's feet are well-suited for climbing steep, rocky slopes, sometimes with pitches of 60 degrees or more, with inner pads that provide traction and cloven hooves that can spread apart as needed. Dewclaws on the back of their feet also help to keep them from slipping.

For even more info, go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mountain_goat

Arghhhhhhhhh. When i installed this new template i lost my original visitor count. Darn it, i was so proud of that. I had over 2700 visitors/hits.

In fact, i lost all my widgets but... i wanted a new template so that's what i get lol. So, now i have to start all over again.

And stupid me didn't back up my original template with all my original information. Real brainy! I tell ya.

Anyway... so this is the new template. At least for now. It's not exactly what i wanted but it will do for now. I'll keep it till i get tired of it or i find something better. during my search for a new template, every time i found the perfect template wouldn't ya know it, it had something on it i didn't like. And i don't know how to remove a permanent image from a template.

Since i felt so down about losing my original visitor count i added a caption above the new counter that says "I did have 2700 visitors" LOL

So what do you think of the new template? I am now adding all the widgets i had on my old template back to this one but it's going to take a few hours.

There is still a lot more to come with this remodel, so stay tuned.

-Rebecca
Creator of 'Wonderful World of Animals'
'Wonderful World of Rodents' and 'Wonderful World of Rats'

I am currently in the slow process of remodeling Wonderful World of Animals. I hope to have a unique template rather than a generic Blogger Template. I will be adding some very cool features as well so stay tuned.

I hope to have this finished within the next few days. You may see a slow down here but i will continue posting while the remodel is underway... so please continue to visit and take a look around.

You may see WWA change a lot as i am remodeling. I may be testing out templates and various features so you will see WWA looking different over the next few days.

So please stay tuned. I hope to make WWA a lot better and even more enjoyable.

-Rebecca
Owner and Creator of Wonderful World of Animals
Wonderful World of Rats, Wonderful World of Rodents.

These are some great photo's. I really like the one of the Bears in the grass!

It's amazing how these Mountain Goats can do this. They climb in places humans wouldn't dare and occasionally they do fall but it's rare. Just looking at this picture freaks me out because i am scared of heights.

Pretty amazing to say the least. I Think I'll make the Mountain Goat tomorrows 'Animal of the Day' so stay tuned and check in tomorrow.

GREAT PHOTO!

Although these Parrots were saved there are thousands that aren't.

Here is the article:

1200 + African Parrots Rescued From Deadly Illegal Trade

The Limbe Wildlife Centre

The Limbe Wildlife Centre (LWC) is situated in the small fishing town of Limbe at the foot of Mount Cameroon which has the second highest levels of biodiversity in Africa and is home to many locally endemic and critically endangered primates such as the vellerosus chimpanzee, the Preuss's guenon and the drill. Currently this ecosystem has no legal protected status and suffers from illegal logging and high levels of poaching for the bush meat trade. Linked with the bush meat trade is the illegal pet trade, whereby the infant chimpanzees, gorillas and other primate species that are too small to have a value as a meat source are sold as pets. The LWC's very existence has evolved from these illegal trades.

Look at this monkey go! He appears to be catching a snack lol. To cute!

As a child i once saw a huge cluster of Monarch Butterflies flying threw the school yard. What a beautiful site it was. Every sense than i have loved Monarch Butterflies.

Here are some beautiful pictures of Monarchs. Check out the cluster of these these beautiful butterflies in the last two photos, amazing sight, isn't it?


Here is some info on the Monarch Butterfly

The monarch (Danaus plexippus) is a milkweed butterfly (subfamily Danainae), in the family Nymphalidae. It is perhaps the best known of all North American butterflies. Since the 19th century, it is also found in New Zealand, and has been known in Australia since 1871. [1] [2] In Australia it is also known as the wanderer butterfly. [3] In Europe it is resident in the Canary Islands and Madeira, and is found as a migrant in Russia, Azores, Sweden and Spain. Its wings feature an easily recognizable orange and black pattern, with a wingspan of 8.5–12.5 cm (3.34 in–4.92in). (The viceroy butterfly has a similar size, color, and pattern, but can be distinguished by an extra black stripe across the hindwing.) Female monarchs have darker veins on their wings, and the males have a spot in the center of each hindwing [4] from which pheromones are released. Males are also slightly larger.

For more info, go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch_butterfly

Great photo of a Turtle !!

Here are some extremely beautiful wildlife photo's. These are grade A photo's.

I don't think I've ever seen a Condor up close like this. Actually this is a "Andean Condor" But.. I'm not sure what 'Andean' means. This bird certainly is a unusual looking animal... But beautiful.

Here is some info on the Andean Condor:

The Andean Condor (Vultur gryphus) is a species of South American bird in the New World vulture family Cathartidae and is the only member of the genus Vultur. Found in the Andes mountains and adjacent Pacific coasts of western South America, it is the largest flying land bird in the Western Hemisphere.

It is a large black vulture with a ruff of white feathers surrounding the base of the neck and, especially in the male, large white patches on the wings. The head and neck are nearly featherless, and are a dull red color, which may flush and therefore change color in response to the bird's emotional state. In the male, there is a wattle on the neck and a large, dark red comb or caruncle on the crown of the head. Unlike most birds of prey, the male is larger than the female.

The condor is primarily a scavenger, feeding on carrion. It prefers large carcasses, such as those of deer or cattle. It reaches sexual maturity at five or six years of age and roosts at elevations of 3,000 to 5,000 m (10,000 to 16,000 ft), generally on inaccessible rock ledges. One or two eggs are usually laid. It is one of the world’s longest-living birds, with a lifespan of up to 50 years.

The Andean Condor is a national symbol of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, and plays an important role in the folklore and mythology of the South American Andean regions. The Andean Condor is considered near threatened by the IUCN. It is threatened by habitat loss and by secondary poisoning from carcasses killed by hunters. Captive breeding programs have been instituted in several countries.

For more info on the Andean Condor, go here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andean_Condor

This is one of the most adorable animals i have ever seen. Yea... I know, i say that about a lot of animals, but really, this one takes the cake! I couldn't stop looking at pictures of this cute thing, i had to stop myself so i could come make the post lol.

I love the look they have in their eyes, so friendly and innocent looking. And they look so fluffy. Next time i go to the zoo I have to find out if they have these cuties. What a precious animal!!

Sometimes i like to chose a favorite picture from each group of pictures but i couldn't chose a favorite, every picture in this group is my favorite.


Here is some info on the Red Panda:

The red panda is dwarfed by the black-and-white giant that shares its name. These pandas typically grow to the size of a house cat, though their big, bushy tails add an additional 18 inches (46 centimeters). The pandas use their ringed tails as wraparound blankets in the chilly mountain heights.

The red panda shares the giant panda's rainy, high-altitude forest habitat, but has a wider range. Red pandas live in the mountains of Nepal and northern Myanmar (Burma), as well as in central China.

These animals spend most of their lives in trees and even sleep aloft. When foraging, they are most active at night as well as in the gloaming hours of dusk and dawn.

Red pandas have a taste for bamboo but, unlike their larger relatives, they eat many other foods as well—fruit, acorns, roots, and eggs. Like giant pandas, they have an extended wrist bone that functions almost like a thumb and greatly aids their grip.

They are shy and solitary except when mating. Females give birth in the spring and summer, typically to one to four young. Young red pandas remain in their nests for about 90 days, during which time their mother cares for them. (Males take little or no interest in their offspring.)

The red panda has given scientists taxonomic fits. It has been classified as a relative of the giant panda, and also of the raccoon, with which it shares a ringed tail. Currently, red pandas are considered members of their own unique family—the Ailuridae.

Red pandas are endangered, victims of deforestation. Their natural space is shrinking as more and more forests are destroyed by logging and the spread of agriculture.

Some quick Facts:

This is one group of animals i haven't really covered yet. I've done a few farm animals here and there but never as a group. So... I thought it was time to do a post dedicated to farm animals. I love farm animals so i am sure I'll do more 'A day on the farm' posts in the future.

My favorite from this group is the Piggie and the Cat

0Sorry i didn't cover all farm animals but above are a few...

What an amazing photo and the tiger just leaves me breathless

I just found a few Dolphin photo's and thought I'd share.

Dolphins are one of the most precious animals to walk (swim) the earth. I think they are absolutely fabulous. To me.. Dolphins wear their hearts on their sleeves.. or Fins i should say. You can see love in their eyes, you can see compassion and caring. They are just overall wonderful beings.

Dolphins look like they just want to dive out of their water habitats and give you a BIG HUG. That is... if they could. I really think they would if they could. Enjoy the pics!!! I never get tired of looking at and sharing photo's of Dolphins. It's a dream of mine to go swimming with the Dolphins...

If i wear dying (Dog Forbid), one of my last wishes would be to swim with these charming, enduring and outstanding beings.

I just don't know what to say about this article! I'm not sure this article is telling the entire story.. but, if it is... Shame Shame Shame on Bush. I can't wait till he is OUT of office!!!! Here is the Article below:

Bush Administration Takes Aim at Wolves

In Greater Yellowstone and across the Northern Rockies, gray wolves are facing mounting habitat destruction from industrial development and other harmful activity. Nonetheless, the Bush Administration recently stripped these wolves of endangered species protection, leaving them vulnerable to mass killing. Both Wyoming and Idaho are planning to use aerial gunning, as well as baiting and trapping, to exterminate hundreds of wolves.

The comeback of gray wolves in the Northern Rockies is America's greatest wildlife recovery story. But the Bush Administration's "License to Kill" plan could drive these wolves back to the brink of extinction. To read more click here: Read more


PRESS RELEASE:
http://www.nrdcactionfund.org/nrdc-action-fund
-press-room.html

I THINK THIS IS GREAT!!!!

Give yourself or that special someone in your life an adorable and wonderful gift-- And help save some precious animals. At this website you can adopt an animal and help an animal. Each adoption comes with:

• 5x7 Personalized Certificate of Adoption suitable for framing
• 5x7 glossy animal photo
• Animal fact sheet
• Gift eCard that you can send now or later
• Free 1st class shipping!
• The satisfaction of knowing you are helping to save these imperiled animals

Most adoptions also include an adorable, cuddly plush toy of the animal and a Kids Wildlife Activities Book (optional). Some adoptions include a framed Certificate of Adoption and animal photo and multiple plush toys. Click on an adoption below to learn more.

You can adopt anything from a 'Wolf Family' to A 'Penguin Colony', a 'Snow Leopard Cub' or even a 'Bald Eagle... or a 'Panda' or how about a 'Whale"? There are about 80 different animals and animal families to chose from.

Prices range from $25.00 to $100.00+

For more info about the "Wildlife Adoption Center" Please go here:
https://secure.defenders.org/site/Ecommerce?store_ id=5381&VIEW_HOMEPAGE=true&FOLDER=0&TYPE=&NAME=

Great photo!

I came across these absolutely amazing photo's this afternoon and i just had to do a 'Photographers Spotlight'. One of my favorite types of animal Photography is African Wildlife. And these two photographers -- Paula and Ross Warner have got it down to a 'T' They do incrediable work. You feel like your right there amongst the wildlife when you view these photos.

I think my favorite photo from this group is Impala's standing and reaching for the tree's. Or they could be Gazelles, i forgot to look. I also love that spotted bird and the Hippo yawning.

I hope you enjoy these pictures as much as i did and if you'd like to see more of their work, go here:
http://rosswarner.com/safari.shtml

ENJOY!

OMG, i had no idea how adorable Aardvarks were. I mean i knew what they were but i never really took a good look at them. And i must say, i am shocked at how cute they are. I think I'd kinda like one as a pet lol. Ok, I'm just dreaming!!

The first photo is of a Baby Aardvark, isn't that baby ridiculously cute??!!

Here is some info on the Aardvark:

The Aardvark (Orycteropus afer) ("Digging foot") is a medium-sized, burrowing, nocturnal mammal native to Africa. "Aardvark". Encyclopaedia Britannica. It is sometimes called "antbear", "anteater", "Cape anteater" (after the Cape of Good Hope), "earth hog" or "earth pig". The name comes from the Afrikaans/Dutch for "earth pig" (aarde earth, varken pig), because early settlers from Europe thought it resembled a pig. However, the aardvark is not closely related to the pig; rather, it is the sole recent representative of the obscure mammalian orderTubulidentata, in which it is usually considered to form a single variable species of the genus Orycteropus, coextensive with the family Orycteropodidae. Nor is the aardvark closely related to the South American anteater, despite sharing some characteristics and a superficial resemblance.^[1] The closest living relatives of the aardvark are the elephant shrews, along with the sirenians, hyraxes, tenrecs and elephants.

One of the most distinctive characteristics of the Tubulidentata is (as the name implies) their teeth. Instead of having a pulp cavity, each tooth has a cluster of thin, upright, parallel tubes of vasodentin (a modified form of dentine), with individual pulp canals, held together by cementum. The teeth have no enamel coating and are worn away and regrow continuously. The aardvark is born with conventional incisors and canines at the front of the jaw, which fall out and are not replaced. Adult aardvarks only have cheek teeth at the back of the jaw, and have a dental formula of:

0.0.2-3.3

0.0.2.3

Genetically speaking, the aardvark is a living fossil, as its chromosomes are highly conserved, reflecting much of the early eutherian arrangement before the divergence of the major modern taxa. ^[2]

The aardvark is vaguely pig-like. Its body is stout with an arched back and is sparsely covered with coarse hairs. The limbs are of moderate length. The front feet have lost the pollex (or 'thumb') — resulting in four toes — but the rear feet have all five toes. Each toe bears a large, robust nail which is somewhat flattened and shovel-like, and appears to be intermediate between a claw and a hoof. The ears are disproportionately long, and the tail is very thick at the base and gradually tapers. The greatly elongated head is set on a short, thick neck, and the end of the snout bears a disc, which houses the nostrils. The mouth is small and tubular, typical of species that feed on termites. The aardvark has a long, thin, snakelike, protruding tongue and elaborate structures supporting a keen sense of smell.

An aardvark's weight is typically between 40 and 65 kg. An aardvark's length is usually between 1 and 1.3 meters, and can reach lengths of 2.2 meters^[3] when its tail (which can be up to 70 centimeters)^[3] is taken into account. The aardvark is pale yellowish gray in color,and often stained reddish-brown by soil. The aardvark's coat is thin and the animal's primary protection is its tough skin. The aardvark has been known to sleep in a recently excavated ant nest, which also serves as protection.

For even more info go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aardvark

Interesting Article:

An entirely new species of cat has been revealed. The clouded leopard found on the south-east Asian islands of Borneo and Sumatra is as genetically distinct from its mainland cousin as lions are from tigers, say scientists.

"For over 100 years we have been looking at this animal and never realised that it was unique," said Stuart Chapman, coordinator of a WWF programme that aims to preserve the vast rainforests in a region known as the Heart of Borneo.

The new cat, now dubbed the Bornean clouded leopard and given the species name Neofelis diardi, is darker than the mainland clouded leopard, Neofelis nebulosa. It also has slightly different markings on its pelt. But the real differences between the two species are in their genes.

"Genetic research results clearly indicate that the clouded leopards of Borneo should be considered a separate species," says Stephen O'Brien, head of the Laboratory of Genomic Diversity at the US National Cancer Institute.

O'Brien and colleagues ran DNA tests on the two cats, and found about 40 major differences between them. By comparison, there are 56 major genetic differences between lions and the common leopard.

The researchers believe the two species of clouded leopards diverged about 1.4 million years ago. Their conclusions are supported by new studies of the skin coloration and fur patterns, conducted by biologists at the National Museums in Scotland (NMS).

Double stripe

"The moment we started comparing the skins of the mainland clouded leopard with the leopard found on Borneo, it was clear we were comparing two different species," says Andrew Kitchener, from NMS. "It's incredible that no one has ever noticed these differences."

The island clouded leopard – believed to number between 5000 and 11,000 in Borneo and between 3000 and 7000 in Sumatra – has small, spotted cloud markings and a double stripe down its back. Its fur is greyer and darker than that of its mainland cousin.

The mainland clouded leopard is found from Nepal to southern China and throughout south-east Asia. It has large cloud markings with fewer spots inside them, only a partial dorsal stripe and tawny-coloured fur.

Leopard heart

According to WWF, the Bornean leopard is the island's main predator. It feeds on monkeys, small deer, birds and lizards. Its canine teeth are proportionally larger than those of any other cat.

It is spread across most forested areas, from coastal areas to interior mountain ranges, but prefers dense lowland and hillside rainforest where its natural prey is most abundant.

Its last great forest home is the Heart of Borneo, a wild mountainous region of 220,000 square kilometres – five times the size of Switzerland – in the centre of the island. Borneo is divided between the nations of Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam, and, in February 2007, the three governments pledged to protect the Heart of Borneo.

In December, WWF published a report saying dozens of new animal, fish, plant and tree species had recently been found on Borneo. The group says the island is one of the world's last frontiers for biodiversity but is under threat from deforestation.

Endangered species - Learn more about the conservation battle in our comprehensive special report.

He sure is a beauty, that's for sure. I tried to find more info on this "Island Leopard" but unfortunately i couldn't find anything, not even on Wiki.

This is just the most precious video. Not many people would stop to do this.

This video is of a Police Officer stopping traffic so a family of ducks (Momma and babies) could cross the road safely. Those Ducks most surely wouldn't have made it across the road without the Police Officers help. I hate to think what could have happened if the Police Officer wasn't there.

I was so touched by this that i actually got teary eyed and i just had to put it on my blog. It's people like this that restore my faith in humanity... at least for a little while.

BLESS HIS HEART!!!



Other videos

Here are some interesting pictures of some amazing sea creatures. I only used pictures of living animals. Sadly, there were tons of pictures of usual sea animals but they were dead or 'caught' and i don't show pictures of dead animals here, not even dead sea creatures. So all these are pictures of living animals. Some of them are pretty strange.

It's hard to believe these live on our planet because some of them look like they come from other worlds, like #2, that one looks like something straight out of the movie 'Aliens'.

My favorite one from this group of photo's is the 'Glass Squid', Number #3. I think that one is beautiful.

Well, i hope you enjoy these pictures.

The Liger is hyrbid. Ligers are the offspring of a Lion and A tiger. Aren't they magnificent. There is also a Hybrid called a "Tigon" They are almost the same, but not quite.... everything is explained below. Below is some info on the Liger.

What is a Liger?

The liger is a cat born from the breeding of a male lion and a female tiger. This combination produces an offspring with more lionistic features than if the reverse pairing had occured. That would produce a more tigeristic creature known as a tigon. Both are members of genus Panthera.There is no scientific name assigned to this animal because of it’s human assisted ancestory.

A liger looks like a giant lion with muted stripes but like thier tiger ancestors, ligers like swimming. This goes against the nature of a lion but is what makes creature special. It gets the best of both parents. That is not always the case though with crossbreeds. Sometimes the results go the other way and the animal gets the worst of both parents. That would suck!

Who breed the first Liger?

The history of these hybrids has been very carefully worked out by Professor Valentine Bail, Director of the Science and Art Museum, Dublin, from whose papers the following account is taken. The parents of these hybrids were in a travelling menagerie owned at first by Mr. Thomas Atkins, and subsequently by his son Mr. John Atkins; and a total of six litters of hybrids were produced between the years 1824 and 1833. The parent Lion was bred in the menagerie from a Barbary Lion and a Senegal Lioness; while the Tigress was born in the collection of the Marquis of Hastings at Calcutta, and was purchased when about eighteen months old from a ship’s captain, to whom she had been given by her original owner. Being of the same age as the Lion, she was placed with him in the same cage ; and in the course of two years proved to be in cub. The following is a record of the six litters produced by the union of this pair.

To see a chart explaining Tigons and Ligers go here:
http://www.liger.org/

For even more info on the Liger, go here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Liger

This is so sad.

Scientists have concluded that the freshwater baiji dolphin, only found in China is now ‘likely to be extinct’ after an extensive 6 week study of the dolphin’s habitat when they failed to spot any in the Yangtze river.

Photo Benchilada

The white, freshwater baiji dolphin had a long narrow beak, low dorsal fin, lived in groups of 3 or 4, and fed on a diet of fish.

The team of researchers claim that unregulated fishing has been blamed for the main cause to their disappearance reports BBC News .

World Conservation Union’s Red List of Threaten Species currently classifies the baiji as ‘critically endangered’, and if confirmed, it would be the first extinction of a large vertebrate in more than 50 years.

The handout photo shows Qi Qi, a rare baiji dolphin who was rescued from the Yangtzi river in 1980 after being beached and injured, swimming in Wuhan Baiji Aquarium where she lived for 22 years before dying of old age in 2002.
AFP Photo – Institute of Hydrobiology Chinese Academy of Sciences

Co-author Sam Turvey of the Zoological Society of London described the findings as a “shocking tragedy”.

“The Yangtze river dolphin was a remarkable mammal that separated from all other species over 20 million years ago.” Dr. Turvey said.

“This extinction represents the disappearance of a complete branch of the evolutionary tree of life and emphasizes that we have yet to take full responsibility in our role as guardians of the planet.”

The baiji species was the only remaining dolphin of the Lipotidae, an ancient mammal family believed to have separated from other marine mammals, including whales, dolphins and porpoises, about 40-20 million years ago.

“While it is conceivable that a couple of surviving individuals were missed by the survey teams, our inability to detect any baiji despite this intensive search effort indicates that the prospect of finding and translocating them to a [reserve] has all but vanished.” the researchers said.

The scientists added that there were a number of human elements that caused baiji numbers to decline, including construction of dams and boat collisions. Photos top from CSI Whales Alive and bottom Quinnum

“However, the primary factor was probably unsustainable by-catch in local fisheries, which used rolling hooks, nets and electrofishing,” they reported.

“Unlike most historical-era extinctions of large bodied animals, the baiji was the victim not of active persecution but incidental mortality resulting from massive-scale human environmental impacts — primarily uncontrolled and unselective fishing.” the researchers concluded.

What are we doing to our beautiful and highly intelligent friends???

Related stories:
Pink Dolphins near Extinction

I usually don't post stuff like this on my blog but this touched me and i would really like to see this soldier adopt this dog, for they have an amazing blog.



Target: George W. Bush, President of the United States
Sponsored by: American Humane Association

If any of you have kids than this is for you (and them). I just thought it was kinda cute. Maybe you can print it out for your kids.

Here is some info on the Hummingbird:


Hummingbirds are birds of the family Trochilidae, and are native only to the Americas. They are known for their ability to hover in mid-air by rapidly flapping their wings 15–80 times per second (depending on the species). Capable of sustained hovering, the hummingbird also has the ability to fly backwards, being the only group of birds able to do so^[1]. Hummingbirds may also fly vertically or horizontally, and are capable of maintaining a position while drinking nectar or eating tiny arthropods from flower blossoms. Their English name derives from the characteristic hum made by their wings. Hummingbirds are small birds with long, thin bills. The bill combined with an extendable, bifurcated tongue, has been created in order to allow the bird to feed upon nectar deep within flowers. The bill can be opened wide, and the lower half (mandible) also has the ability to flex downward to create an even wider opening, facilitating the capture of flying insects in the mouth rather than at the tip of the bill.^[2]

The Bee Hummingbird (Mellisuga helenae) is the smallest bird in the world, weighing 1.8 grams (0.06 ounces) and measuring about 5 cm (2 inches). A typical North American hummingbird, such as the Rufous Hummingbird (Selasphorus rufus), weighs approximately 3 g (0.106 ounces) and has a length of 10–12 cm (3.5–4 inches). The largest hummingbird is the Giant Hummingbird (Patagona gigas), with some individuals weighing as much as 24 grams (0.85 ounces) and measuring 21.5 cm (8.5 inches).

Most species exhibit conspicuous sexual dimorphism, with males more brightly colored and females displaying more cryptic coloration. ^[3] Iridescent plumage is present in both sexes of most species, with green being the most common color. Highly modified structures within certain feathers, usually concentrated on the head and breast, produce intense metallic iridescence in a rainbow of colors.

Hummingbirds feed on the nectar of plants and are important pollinators, especially of deep-throated, tubular flowers. Like bees, they are able to assess the amount of sugar in the nectar they eat; they reject flower types that produce nectar which is less than 12% sugar and prefer those whose sugar content is around 25%. Nectar is a poor source of nutrients, so hummingbirds meet their needs for protein, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, etc. by preying on insects and spiders, especially when feeding young.

Most hummingbirds have bills that are long and straight or nearly so, but in some species the bill shape is adapted for specialized feeding. Thornbills have short, sharp bills adapted for feeding from flowers with short corollas and piercing the bases of longer ones. The Sicklebills' extremely decurved bills are adapted to extracting nectar from the curved corollas of flowers in the family Gesneriaceae. The bill of the Fiery-tailed Awlbill has an upturned tip, as in the Avocets. The male Tooth-billed Hummingbird has barracuda-like spikes at the tip of its long, straight bill.

The two halves of a hummingbird's bill have a pronounced overlap, with the lower half (mandible) fitting tightly inside the upper half (maxilla). When hummingbirds feed on nectar, the bill is usually only opened slightly, allowing the tongue to dart out and into the interior of flowers.

Hummingbirds do not spend all day flying, as the energy costs of this would be prohibitive. In fact, they spend most of their lives sitting, perching and watching the world. Hummingbirds feed in many small meals, consuming up to their own body weight in nectar and insects per day. They spend an average 10%-15% of their time feeding and 75%-80% sitting, digesting and watching. Obtaining this much food requires a lot of work. Scientists have recorded a Costa's Hummingbirds making 42 feeding flights in 6-5 hours, during which time it visited 1,311 flowers.^{[citation needed]}

For even more info on the Hummingbird, go to the link below:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hummingbird


---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am going to start doing the 'Animal of the Day' like i used to, when i first started this blog. The animal of the day will usually have 10-15 pictures and below the pictures will be some info about the animal. I pick the animals usually at random so you never know what animal will be 'Animal of the day'. If you'd like to see a particular animal please contact me and i will do your animal on a future day.

What a beautiful Panther. I'm so used to Panthers being black i forgot that they can be spotted. This one looks like it's about to go on the prowl. Just gorgeous!

Isn't she a beauty? Someday I'd love to have a horse or two. When i was a teenager we would go horse back riding all the time. If this were my horse I'd name her 'Ghost'

So... Which photo is your fav? I think mine is the mink (or ferret) and the Deer photos

I guess animals are attracted to this old woman. She's got two baby wolves and a baby deer. Actually these animals probably aren't 100% wild.

The animals and the woman seem to be enjoying themselves and that's always nice to see

I just thought it was a cute pic

Hey... when ya gotta go ya gotta go!!!!!!

Thought I'd add this pic for a laugh!

To cute!

I'm not sure if this is an Albino Owl or if it's just a while Owl.. which ever it is, it sure is a beauty!

6 awesome photo's!

This is just a sweet little photo i had to share

I know... MORE PIG STUFF? Well, i thought this was to cute a pic to pass it up.

WOW... I did my 300th most a few minutes ago. 300, that's pretty good!!!

If i have 300 posts that means i have about 1000-1500 photo's. I still plan on counting all my photo's someday.

Also if you notice WWA almost has 2000 visitors. The counter is going up slow but it is going up, so that is good.

I hope you enjoy all the fabulous animal photo's and animal stuff i put here. I enjoy every minute of it!

-Rebecca

Came across these this morning, thought I'd share some of them. Actually it's far to long to show all of them so i selected the first part of the list.

ANIMAL FACTS

• The koala is the world’s fussiest eater and feeds uniquely on eucalyptus leaves.
• An elephant's tooth can weigh as much as 12 pounds.
• In Alaska, it is legal to shoot a bear - but you'll break the law if you wake up a bear to take its photograph.
• Americans own 55 million dogs, and 60 million cats.
• Adult fleas can live for up to 2 years during which time the female can lay up to 1,200 eggs.
• Elephant seals are air-breathing mammals, but they can hold their breath for up to two hours while diving.
• Apart from humans the only land animal that cries is the elephant.
• The longest snake is the reticulated python, which can reach over 33 ft.
• In Lousiana, you can be jailed for ten years for stealing an alligator.
• Dragonflies have the largest eyes and sharpest eyesight of any insect. Each eye is made up of more than 30,000 separate rod-like units.
• Desert rats can copulate 122 times an hour.
• One of the many Tarzans, Karmuala Searlel, was mauled to death on the set by a raging elephant.
• A scientist at Michigan State University has calculated that the production of a single hens egg regquires about 120 gallons of water, a loaf of bread requires 300 gallons, and a pound of beef 3,500 gallons.
• Great Whites can swim at up to 25 mph. They must swim continually or they would sink, as they don't have a swim bladder to keep them afloat like a bony fish.
• The collective name for a group of frogs is an "army of frog"; in the case of their warty cousins, it’s a "knot of toads".
• Strands of spider web are stronger than steel wire of the same thickness.
• The collective name for a group of frogs is an “army of frogs”; in the case of their warty cousins, it’s a “knot of toads”.
• Dolphins are the only other animals besides humans that get pleasure out of sex. They are also the only other animals that have sex for reasons other than reproduction.
• Contrary to popular belief, biblical Jonah was swallowed by a Great White Shark, not a whale. It is thought that a shark may have been landed with a man's body inside, prompting the myth to arise.
• Not all polar bears hibernate; only pregnant females polar bears do.
• Most scientists agree that Great White Shark attacks on humans often stem from territorial aggression because of a perceived invasion of their space, and are usually non-predatory in nature.
• Naked mole rats are the only hairless mammals.
• One 15 foot great white was found with 200 plus crabs in its stomach.
• An armadillo can walk under water.
• House mice are able to drop vertically down 12 feet without injury.
• Goldfish history can be traced back over 1500 years to Ancient China.
• Only 2% of male red deer are seriously injured in their antler-rattling contests.
• An American Animal Hospital Association poll showed that 33 percent of dog owners admit that they talk to their dogs on the phone or leave messages on an answering machine while away.
• Frogs may be hypnotised by placing them on their back and gently stroking their stomach.
• The African driver ant Dorylus lives in colonies of up to twenty-two million workers. Their combined mass is more than fifty kilograms, and they feed off and protect a territory of a massive fifty thousand square metres.
• Twenty-eight species of anemone fishes are known, along with 10 species of anemones that act as hosts.
• The average body temperature of a sparrow is 105.8 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Sheep's milk is used to produce Roquefort cheese.
• A female donkey's milk is closest to human milk.
• Stone-aged people tamed dogs to help them track game.
• A seagull can drink salt water because it has special glands that filter out the salt.
• The difference in weight between a 'newborn' caterpillar and the fully grown larva is typically 1000-fold or even more.
• Snake venom is ninety percent protein.
• The hippopotamus has the world's shortest sperm.
• A rabbit's teeth never stops growing. They are kept worn down by gnawing on food.
• Scientists estimate that there are currently 1.4 million animal species known to science; with possibly as many as 30 million on the planet.
• The only two mammals to lay eggs are the platypus and the echidna. The mothers nurse their babies through pores in their skin.
• Kittens can clock an amazing 31 miles per hour at full speed, and can cover about three times their body length per leap.
• The tuatara lizard's metabolism is so slow they only have to breathe once an hour.
• Male bees will try to attract sex partners with orchid fragrance.
• The giant cricket of Africa enjoys eating human hair.
• The octopus's testicles are located in its head.
• The tuatara lizard of New Zealand has three eyes - two in the center of its head and one on top.
• It takes the deep-sea clam 100 years to grow to a length of one-third inch.
• The Venus flytrap can eat a whole cheeseburger.
• The porcupine's love for salt often leads the animal to roadways or walkways where salt has been sprinkled to melt the ice.
• Hamsters love to eat crickets.
• Dinosaurs lived on Earth for around 165 million years before they became extinct.
• The rare Hawaiian monk seal has been known to dive to about 1,650 feet.
• The female green turtle sheds tears as she lays her eggs on the beach. This washes sand particles out of her eyes and rids her body of excess salt.
• Rats multiply so quickly that in 18 months, two rats could have over a million descendants.
• The color a head louse will be as an adult can depend on the color of the person's hair in which it lives.
• The kangaroo and the emu are the two animals found on the Australian coat of arms.
• Elephants and short-tailed shrews get by on only two hours of sleep a day.
• Urine from male cape water buffaloes is so flammable that some tribes use it for lantern fuel.
• One way to tell seals and sea lions apart is that, sea lions have external ears and testicles.
• Sharks can go up to at least 6 weeks without feeding. The record for a shark fasting was observed in an aquarium with the Swell Shark, which did not eat for 15 months.
• The shell of an egg constitutes 12% of its weight.
• In ancient Egypt, entire families would shave their eyebrows as a sign of mourning when the family cat died.
• The Sanskrit word for 'war' means 'desire for more cows'.
• Using its web-like skin between its arms, an octopus can carry up to a dozen crabs back to its den.
• Electric Eels can reach up to 2 metres in length and larger specimens can generate 500 volts of electricity.
• The zorilla is the smelliest animal on the planet. Its anal glands can be smelled from a half mile away.
• Sheep can survive for up to two weeks buried in snow drifts.
• Bats can eat from one-half to three quarters their weight per evening.
• It takes 24 hours for a tiny newborn swan to peck its way out of its shell.
• Certain fireflies emit a light so penetrating that it can pass through flesh and wood.
• The porcupine's love for salt often leads the animal to roadways or walkways where salt has been sprinkled to melt the ice. They will lick and gnaw on anything containing salt, such as saddles, canoe paddles and axe handles.
• There are more species of fish than mammals, reptiles and birds combined.
• When angered, the Tazmanian devil turns pinkish red.
• Penguins can jump as high as 6 feet in the air.
• When cornered, the horned toad shoots blood from its eyes.

A Few more

• n 1740 a cow was found guilty of sorcery in France and publicly hanged.
• A newborn Chinese water deer is so small that it can almost be held in the palm of the hand.
• A 1,200-pound horse eats about seven times it's own weight each year.
• A butterfly has to have a body temperature greater than 86 degrees to be able to fly.
• The tsetse fly infests 36 African countries and a total of 9-10 million square kilometres of land.
• It takes 35 to 65 minks to produce the average mink coat. The numbers for other types of fur coats are: beaver - 15; fox - 15 to 25; ermine - 150; chinchilla - 60 to 100.
• Carnivorous animals will not eat another animal that has been hit by a lightning strike.
• About 600 species of plants are carnivorous. Most eat insects but also on the menu are frogs, birds and even small monkeys.
• The 1st buffalo ever born in captivity was born at Chicago's Lincoln Park Zoo in 1884.
• Squirrels are immune to rabies.
• Unlike a frog, a toad cannot jump.
• All racehorses in the U.S. celebrate their birthday on January 1st.
• The candlefish is so oily that it was once burned for fuel.
• The snow leopard protects itself from extreme cold when it sleeps by wrapping its 3-foot-long tail around its nose.
• Despite man's fear and hatred of the wolf, it has not ever been proved that a non-rabid wolf ever attacked a human.
• The venom of a female black widow spider is more potent than that of a rattlesnake.
• Lassie was played by several male dogs, despite the female name, because male collies were thought to look better on camera. The main "actor" was named Pal.
• All pet hamsters are descended from a single female wild golden hamster found with a litter of 12 young in Syria in 1930.
• A chicken once had its head cut off and survived for over eighteen months, headless.
• Octopus and squid are thought to be the most intelligent of all invertebrates.
• During warm weather hippopotamus's secrete sweat that is pink. This substance not only cools them down but also helps fight infections of the skin.
• By feeding hens certain dyes they can be made to lay eggs with varicolored yolks.
• A baby octopus is about the size of a flea when it is born.
• The female dairy goat is a doe; the male, a buck; the young, kids; and a castrated male, a wether. Their life span is eight to twelve years.
• In 1888, an estimated 300,000 mummified cats were found at Beni Hassan, Egypt. They were sold at $18.43 per ton, and shipped to England to be ground up and used for fertilizer.
• The anaconda, one of the world's largest snakes, gives birth to its young instead of laying eggs.
• In the 1800's cats were used to deliver mail. In 1879, in Belgium 37 cats were used to deliver mail to villages, however they found that the cats were not disciplined enough to do this.
• In a day, an elephant can drink 80 gallons of water.
• The name of the dog on the Cracker Jack box is Bingo.
• There are more plastic flamingos in America than real ones.
• Aphids are born pregnant without the benefit of sex. Aphids can give birth 10 days after being born themselves.
• More than 99.9% of all the animal species that have ever lived on earth were extinct before the coming of man.
• Asian tree frogs build nests in trees over water. When their tadpoles hatch, they drop directly into the water.
• It is estimated that a single toad may catch and eat as many as 10,000 insects in the course of a summer.
• In the last 4000 years, no new animals have been domesticated.
• The world's oldest known captive goldfish, Tish, died peacefully at home in his tank at the age of at least 43 in 1999.
• It was discovered on a space mission that a frog can throw up. The frog throws up its stomach first, so the stomach is dangling out of its mouth. Then the frog uses its forearms to dig out all of the stomach's contents and then swallows the stomach back down again.
• Despite man's fear and hatred of the wolf, it has not ever been proved that a non-rabid wolf ever attacked a human.
• Goldfish lose their color if they are kept in dim light or are placed in a body of running water, such as a stream.
• On June 20th, 1782, the United States Congress made the "American Eagle" the national emblem of the United States.
• You're more likely to get stung by a bee on a windy day than in any other weather.
• The 'Silverback' gorilla is 30 per cent taller and almost twice as heavy as the females in the group he dominates.
• The pom-pom cut was originally developed to increase the Poodle's swimming abilities as a retriever. The haircut allowed for faster swimming but the pom-poms were left to keep the joints warm.
• Before the enactment of the 1978 law that made it mandatory for dog owners in New York City to clean up after their pets, approximately 40 million pounds of dog excrement were deposited on the streets every year.
• A pregnant goldfish is called a twit.
• The biggest pig in recorded history was Big Boy of Black Mountain, North Carolina, who was weighed at 1,904 pounds in 1939.
• When ants find food, they lay down a chemical trail, called a pheromone, so that other ants can find their way from the nest to the food source.
• There are more than 100 million dogs and cats in the United States. Americans spend more than 5.4 billion dollars on their pets each year.
• Snails produce a colorless, sticky discharge that forms a protective carpet under them as they travel along. The discharge is so effective that they can crawl along the edge of a razor without cutting themselves.
• A duck's quack doesn't echo anywhere, and no one knows why.
• Contrary to popular belief, dogs do not sweat by salivating. They sweat through the pads of their feet.
• The heart of a blue whale is the size of a small car.
• Lewis and Clark traveled with a 150-pound Newfoundland named "Seaman." This pooch was a respected member of the expedition team and his antics were included in the extensive diaries of the famous explorers.
• 'Zorro' means 'fox' in Spanish.
• For Stephen King's "Cujo" (1983), five St. Bernards were used, one mechanical head, and an actor in a dog costume to play the title character.
• A cat uses its whiskers to determine if a space is too small to squeeze through. The whiskers act as feelers or antennae, helping the animal to judge the precise width of any passage.
• The Venus flytrap takes less than half a second to slam shut on an insect.
• Brazil has the most species of mammals (524), fresh water fish, insects and parrots of anywhere.
• Dogs and humans are the only animals with prostate glands.
• The world record frog jump is 33 feet 5.5 inches over the course of 3 consecutive leaps, achieved in May 1977 by a South African sharp-nosed frog called Santjie.
• A 7-year study, which concluded in the summer of 2000, found that 33 U.S. deaths were caused by rottweilers, pit bulls were responsible for 27 deaths.
• The underside of a horse's hoof is called a frog. The frog peels off several times a year with new growth.
• German Shepherds bite humans more than any other breed of dog.
• Swans are the only birds with penises.
• Though human noses have an impressive 5 million olfactory cells with which to smell, sheepdogs have 220 million, enabling them to smell 44 times better than man.
• When the Black Death swept across England one theory was that cats caused the plague. Thousands were slaughtered. Ironically, those that kept their cats were less affected, because they kept their houses clear of the real culprits, rats.

Thousands of starlings fly around and land on this one tree weighing it down and then they suddenly fly off making the tree snap up again. This wonderful Caught on Video bird nature moment is an awesome site to see.