Oriental Turtle Dove making a heart with its wings Awww… doves are so Valentines, aren’t they? Soft, pure symbols of love. And who hasn’t seen the sweet turtle doves nestling together cozily? Doves. Are another name for pigeons. Which have been characterized as “rats with wings”. So why do “doves = love” but “pigeons = pests”? Well, it’s funny, because the smaller members of this bird family tend to be named “doves”, while the larger ones are called “pigeons”. So there are only small differences between the two. Here in the U.S, we commonly see the Mourning dove and maybe…
Author: I Spy Animals
In certain areas, male lions delay growing manes until they are much older than other lions. These are known as maneless lions. And strangely enough, three of the most notorious man-eating lions were maneless! The largest man eating lion on record, the Man-Eater of Mfuwe, measured 5 feet from floor to his ears and 10 feet 6 inches long. He was a maneless lion. This lion killed six people in two months. It was shot in 1991 in Zambia. Most famous, though, are the Ghosts of Tsavo. During a nine-month period in 1898, two maneless male lions, thought to be brothers, killed…
In 1820, a sketch of this dolphin was made. It was identified as a new species, sight unseen, in 1824. Since then, only seven of these dolphins, net-caught or washed onto the beach, have been examined. None have been captured alive. What is this secretive creature?
I do have a thing for Polar bears. They look so furry and white…like the bear pulling the sled below.
Look at the pictures below, and see if you can tell me what difference you see in how these babies get their milk.
I do have a thing for Polar bears. They look so furry and white…like the bear pulling the sled below.
Elephants have been painted on for thousands of years. In the past, they were painted for war! But today elephants are painted and decorated for festivals, ceremonies, and just for display. There is an Elephant Festival in Jaipur, India, which begins with a beautiful procession of bedecked elephants. The owners proudly embellish their elephants with vibrant colors, embroidered saddle cloths, and heavy jewellery. It is quite a treat to see female elephants wearing anklets, which tinkle as they walk. An award goes to the most beautifully decorated elephant! Elephant polo, elephant races, and a tug-of-war between an elephant and 19…
I have a little dog, a sheltie who weighs about 20 pounds. Bella is small, but when I take her for a walk, she can practically drag me up the steep hills. I’ve even wondered if I could harness her to a sled so she can pull me around when it snows. Turns out that there are actual events for shelties pulling weighted sleds! So imagine how much power a whole team of dogs would have. Dog sledding has been around for a long time, but you have to check out these other animals that pull sleds…
his big cat has over 40 names in English; names like Mountain Screamer and Deer Tiger, Swamp Lion and Indian Devil*. But we are more familiar with the names Cougar, Puma, and Mountain Lion. Cougars are the fourth largest cat in the world, but are not considered a true big cat because they cannot roar. They do hiss, growl and purr, and are well-known for their screams*. IK1**: Adult coloring is plain (silvery to tawny to red) IK2: Lighter contrasting fur from underbelly up to chin IK3: black coloring around whiskers Check out the links below for some fun information…
There are secrets in the world. Secrets we would probably never see if it weren’t for hunters and photographers. Like coyotes who are part dog. Strangely colored giraffes. Sea slugs that look like candy. Polar bears that hug sled dogs. But in the woods near you, there lurk deer like you’ve never seen before. See the two deer at the top of this page? The one on the right is a big beautiful buck. The one on the left is a buck with some amazing antlers. His antlers are called “nontypical”. They look almost….melted. But deer antlers can…
Black panthers are any member of the big cat family (roaring and non-roaring) that are born with an entirely black or very dark pelt. They are mostly found among leopards and jaguars. So a black panther isn’t a certain species of cat, but a color. For example, a black panther in South America would be a black jaguar. In Africa and India, it would be a black leopard. What about black cougars,tigers or cheetahs? Well, there’s some evidence of black or melanistic tigers, but almost none on the other two big cats. Let’s look at the most common black panthers:…
Did you know there are rhinoceros that don’t live in Africa? The Black rhino and the White rhino, the ones we are most familiar with, live in Africa. White rhinos have square lips for eating grass, and Black rhinos have hooked lips for grabbing branches, bushes, and fruits. Can you guess which one is being fed at the top of the post? 🙂 But the island rhinos live in Java and Sumatra…islands in Indonesia! And there’s the Indian rhino, who lives in…India 🙂 If you’re like me, you want to see how big are all these rhinos are, so.. …I’ve made…