Unlike whales and sea lions that rely on a layer of blubber to keep them warm in the icy North Pacific Ocean, the sea otter is protected by its thick fur. While we humans have between 20,000 to 100,000 hairs …[Continue]
Dinosaurs
Although they certainly never went out of fashion, dinosaurs are enjoying a resurgence in popularity because of the recent release of Disney’s animated Dinosaur movie. If all the related dinosaur hoopla is spurring a dino interest in your household, here …[Continue]
Hamsters
My son (following, I suppose, in the footsteps of Abbott and Costello) named his first hamster “Guess” and his second hamster “Who.” Funny banter aside (“What’s the hamster’s name?” “Who.” “The hamster. What’s its name?”) the little fur ball bring …[Continue]
Animal Cams
Live cameras connected to the Web can be either incredibly fascinating or amazingly dull. Bypassing the absurd (such as The Peeling Paint Webcam), I’ve assembled a collection of animal cams that includes a virtual game reserve, adoptable pets, a virtual …[Continue]
Ants
Have you ever been amused by how the same new idea springs up in many different places at the same time? With two animated ant movies currently showing on the big screen ( Antz and A Bug’s Life), it seemed …[Continue]
Aquariums
Ladies and gentlemen, tighten your virtual seat belts, start your computers and rev up your mice. For this whirlwind aquarium tour, we will start in Florida, then it’s California, Oregon, and we’ll finish in Connecticut. Sorry, no cyber-miles will be …[Continue]
Virtual Zoos
In honor of April’s status as Zoo and Aquarium Month, I went searching for the best zoos on the Net. My objective, as always, was to find sites offering a quality educational experience, not just brochure sites listing hours and …[Continue]
Endangered Species
Since the Endangered Species Act was enacted in 1973, many species have been saved from extinction, including the bald eagle, the humpback whale, and the American bison. Sometimes, however, despite enormous investments of time and money, efforts to save a …[Continue]
Venomous Snakes
I am often asked how I come up with topics. This idea grew from a reptile birthday party I attended last weekend with my daughter. The kids really enjoyed petting Baby Boris, an eighteen foot (non-venomous) Burmese python. My research …[Continue]
Big Cats
Lions and tigers and jaguars, oh my! Who can resist these overgrown kitties? My son suggested this topic months ago, and one day made me sit down to look for big cats on the Net. The first site we found …[Continue]
