Happy National Panda Day!! Today, we celebrate one of the most beloved animals around the world. Giant pandas, Ailuropoda melanoleuca, are native to China and are the only living member of the genus, Ailuropoda. Pandas are members of the carnivorous Ursidae bear family. However, they have evolved to eat a diet consisting of close to 99% bamboo. Their jaws, teeth, digestive system and even their paws with a “false thumb” […]
In this post, we travel back to 1947 to explore a fascinating review by Dr. Max Kleiber from the University of California – Davis. Published in Physiological Reviews, this review examined the relationship between body size and metabolism. Simply asking the question of whether horses produce more heat per day than humans or rats will lead one to conclude that indeed they do because of their larger body size. However, […]
Happy Valentine’s Day! While humans often exchange cards, candy, flowers and other goodies this day, I thought it would be fun to check out some of the ways animals and zoos celebrated the day. Animals at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo enjoyed special treats in celebration of Valentine’s Day: Animals at the Farm Sanctuary shared kisses: The Oregon Zoo wanted to wish a Happy Valentine’s Day to all the ‘significant otters’ […]
Giant panda bears have a very unusual trick to staying warm. This unusual behavior was first noted by scientists at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Beijing who observed a giant panda rolling around in horse manure in the Qinling mountains in central China during the winter of 2007. To see whether this was just a rogue panda or a more common behavior, scientists set up camera traps and observed […]
Check out this new YouTube video of an adorable baby baboon with leucism, not to be confused with albinism as discussed in the video: https://youtu.be/TbzkrWdGpTQ
Life Lines by Dr. Dolittle 