CuriousAnimals » Endangered animals

Giant Panda Birthday Party

angel — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 09:03:19 +0000

First of all, we all have to know that giant pandas belong to endangered species. That’s why every cub is treated like a blessing of God. In this photo we can enjoy a giant panda cub with a huge three-tiered cake. That is the way to celebrate panda birthdays in the San Diego Zoo, Zhen Zhen.

Cats that Glow in the Dark

angel — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 09:50:40 +0000

Frankly speaking till today, I used to believe that glow in the dark is exceptionally the prerogative of road signs, but my world has turned upside down after manipulations of South Korean scientists with a fluorescent protein gene. They have cloned cats that glow in the dark.

Glowing wasn’t main aim of scientists, it’s just a side-effect. Cats do glow in the dark while exposing to ultraviolet rays. The cloned cats look red fluorescent under ultraviolet beams while ordinary cats are green under the same beams. Actually, the cats don’t shine in the dark, only some parts of cats where fur cover is not thick glow in the dark.

So, scientists from Gyeongsang National University, succeeded to produce 3 cats with altered fluorescence protein (RFP) genes. It’s a great step in science for both further development of cloning (for example endangered animals) and genetic diseases treatment. Cats are Turkish Angoras and they were born in January and February.

Tigers – When Hunters Become Victims

angel — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 13:00:00 +0000

Tigers… I’ve always wanted to have one. They seem so cute (especially, when they are young) and inoffensive. But, now (because I am not a child anymore) I perfectly understand, that these beautiful and powerful animals are dangerous, but they still need our help, our protection. Unfortunately, nowadays, tigers are an endangered species. Earlier, there were 8 species of tigers and now 3 of them are extinct and 5 are endangered.

Tigers are predators and the largest feline species in our world. Also, they are the heaviest cats in the wild. In general, tigers’ length is from 2 m to 4 m and their weight – 306 kg. Tigers have bright reddish fur coats and black or brown stripes (as a rule, tigers have approximately 100 stripes). They make tigers so recognizable! It is interesting, but pattern of stripes is unique to each tiger, the same as fingerprints to a person. For most of us the Bengal Tiger, is a typical representative of all tigers and namely its image we imagine while speaking about tigers, ’cause they constitute nearly 80% of the entire tiger population. Tigers live in India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, China, Russia (the Siberian tiger is capable of surviving in extremely cold areas!), Thailand, Indonesian, Laos etc.

The word “tiger” comes from the Greek “tigris” and means an “arrow”, because of their amazing reaction and speed. Present day tigers are strong swimmers, they prefer swimming in ponds, rivers and lakes.

Unfortunately, tigers are haunted for their fur, bones of tigers are used in Chinese traditional medicine, for example in pain killers. But, it was banned. Very often tigers are called men-killers and sometimes, these things really happen. As a rule, only injured or very old tigers attack people. A tiger that killed a person will be killed or poisoned.

By the way, in a poll from Animal Planet, tigers were named World’s Favourite Animal, tigers got 10 904 votes, 17 votes more than dogs. More and more people keep or want to keep tigers as pets. A tiger is a potential danger. Most people don’t understand that keeping a tiger as a pet is almost unrealistic fantasy – give the wolf the best food, but he would hanker for the wood.

There are incredible white tigers, they are just a mutation, but a very beautiful one, yeah?

Sun Bears Are Under the Threat of Extinction

angel — Wed, 14 Nov 2007 06:53:59 +0000

On the 12th of November, sun bears were given a status of Vulnerable animals. There are 8 kinds of these bears and 6 of them are under the threat of extinction. These bears can be found in places ranging from the eastern Himalayas to China, also in some parts of Indochina and the Malayan peninsula. Their favourite places of living are tropical forests.

Sun bears are called so because of a white to orange spot right in the middle of the chest. The coat of sun bears is black, very glossy and sleek. This spot has the form of sun-rising. Sun-bear considered to be the smallest of all the existing bear species (from 1.2 to 1.5 m from head to tail). This bear has rather long paws with sharp claws and palms allowing it to climb. Tail is not big at all. These bears have a funny peculiarity – they walk on the whole foot – it looks so unusual! Sun bears are perfect tree-climbers, they adore sleeping on trees. Also, these bears are nocturnal animals. Sun bears possess long tails, making them capable to catch food on distances. They traditionally eat termites, bees, earthworms and even fruits. But, when occasion offers they can happily eat small rodents and lizards. In some areas, sun bears are reported to damage crops.

Threats:

number of sun bears is constantly goes down. So, the first reason is deforestation of their natural place of living;
hunting (these bears are hunted for sport, fur, meat and gall bladder, that is popular for improving health). Malayan sun bears are hunted for bile and paws;
young bears are sold as pets (as they are considered to be small and non-aggressive to people).