wild animals
Animals the way nature intended it; explore the world of wild animals and the controversies surrounding domestication and hunting of feral beasts.
Close Encounters of the Red Kind
I've been trying to get more creative with my gift giving over the last 18 months. It hasn't been easy. Recently, when my Darling Dad turned 75, I avoided all the books, chocolates and monogrammed pens that I would normally look at (and all the golfing, fishing and outdoorsy stuff that I wouldn't), and made the decision to book in a fun Daddy-Daughter experience to celebrate the big day.
Sarah KatherinePublished 6 years ago in Petlife25 Facts About Cheetahs
Fact #1 Another name for a cheetah is Acinonyx Jubatus, which is the scientific name for it. Fact #2 There are about 7000 cheetahs in the wild and only about 6000 of them are mature.
Elizabeth LayfieldPublished 6 years ago in PetlifeSwimming With Sharks
Swimming with some of the ocean's scariest predators was always on my "to do" list, though, honestly, it's not something I thought would ever actually happen. It was one of those dreams that you'd tell people was on your bucket list, next to "jump out of a plane" and "clean up under my bed." Yeah, THAT bucket list.
Mikayla WalkerPublished 6 years ago in PetlifeMeeting Real Life Big Cats
So as most children will tell you, big cats are the BEST wild animals EVER because they're just so big and scary and fast and... You get my drift. Well if you've ever really wondered what the experience of meeting one of the worlds big cats is really like, here's my story.
Mikayla WalkerPublished 6 years ago in PetlifeThe Wolf Conservation Center Cries out for Understanding and the Wolf's Importance to the Environment
The Grey with Liam Neeson is a very entertaining film in which a group of plane crash survivors find themselves stranded in the territorial hunting grounds of a large, ferocious wolf pack. Ruthlessly and mindfully stalked, only Liam Neeson remains as the human alpha to face a canine counterpart that puts species supremacy above its own survival. Leaving the viewer looking into the determined eyes of the two combatants, the lack of an onscreen outcome still amounts to pure movie magic. But the reality of the entire scenario is as likely as a great white shark jumping on a boat to eat its aggressors. More troubling, this type of broad misconception leaves Maggie Howell of the Wolf Conservation Center in South Salem with her work cut out with her.
Rich MonettiPublished 6 years ago in PetlifeGharials - The Best of the Crocodile Grins!
The first successful breeding of gharials (Gavialis gangeticus) in Europe took place at Protivin Crocodile Zoo in the Czech Repulic this year, an incredible achievement—congratulations! Following this, I decided to dedicate this entry to the urgent plight of the gharial and take this opportunity to nerd out about what are hands down my favourite species of crocodilian.
Laura DaykinPublished 6 years ago in PetlifeWhales Should Not Be Held Prisoner
We take a sum of about ten to twenty dollars and pay our admission to the zoo to watch animals for our own entertainment. Many zoos encompass the United States and are often visited. We see and analyze monkeys, birds, lions, tigers, and bears and we observe the adventurous animals. Children seem to love to see the animals in "habitats" but, in reality, the "habitats" are not what they should be. We wholeheartedly take kids to these places in order for them to see and witness creatures they would not, unless taken to the zoo. One animal that really stands out are whales. Whales are huge, beautiful creatures that are extremely intelligent. Although whales are extravagant, they should not be held in captivity in places like SeaWorld because they are dangerous to keepers, their living space is too small for their instinct, and they do not work particularly well with other whales swimming around.
Corey HurtPublished 6 years ago in PetlifeTilikum: A Killer Whale with a Killer Attitude
Tilikum was a very well-known captive orca, he really lived up to his killer whale title in his lifetime in captivity. He was born in 1981, and when he was just two years old, he was captured in Iceland. A year later he was moved to a Sealand park in British Columbia. Tilikum died in early 2017, aged just 36 which is under half a killer whale's typical lifespan in the wild. However, this is pretty normal for captive whales as the average age of death for orcas at SeaWorld is just 13.
Sophie TurnerPublished 7 years ago in PetlifeWhy I Quit My Career in Dolphin Training
Six months ago I left the dolphin industry after twelve years. The reason for me initially leaving was the ending of my contract. However the decision to not roll right into another dolphin job was a long and tough debate with "myself" and who I wanted to be.
Nefel IbataPublished 7 years ago in PetlifeHow Do Zoos Prepare for Hurricanes?
Preparing for a hurricane is hard enough as it is, but it's even more complicated when you have thousands of wild animals to protect and care for. While pet owners are generally urged to evacuate, zoos do not have that ability. For one, the stress of travel, especially a last-minute relocation, can harm and even kill many animals. Hurricanes also are not easily predictable. Relocating animals can end up putting them in greater danger, even if they do survive the evacuation process. By the time zookeepers are positive they're in the path of a hurricane, it's often too late to pack up the animals, enough food and bedding for an indeterminable amount of time, and any other necessities onto a truck and face the hundreds of miles of evacuation traffic. Therefore, zoos generally hunker down for the long haul when a natural disaster is predicted. So how do they protect thousands of animals from something as vicious as a hurricane?
Chelsea LynnePublished 7 years ago in Petlife- Top Story - September 2017
Mahopac Author and Conservationist Gives Voice to the World’s Big Cats
As a child, animals put Alan Rabinowitz at ease. His misfiring neurons would follow suit and put his stuttering problem at bay. This opened an avenue for just about the only conversations had until he was 19, and yielded common cause with the recipients. The captive connection forged with the jaguars at the Bronx Zoo eventually propelled him to becoming one of the world’s leading big cat experts and author of numerous books. Among them is his latest—The Indomitable Beast.
Rich MonettiPublished 7 years ago in Petlife The Cold-Blooded Mammal Humans Drove to Extinction
About 5,000 ago, humans drove the Balearian cave goat to extinction on the Spanish islands of Minorca and Majorca. With no natural predators until the arrival of humans, these goats survived for millions of years with a scarcity of resources, baffling scientists with their ability to thrive until a study was conducted on their fossilized bones and discovered they were cold-blooded.