For almost 40 years, a truly unique animal caused curiosity and gave pleasure to thousands of visitors to Barcelona zoo. Snowflake was the world’s only albino gorilla, he is thought to have been born in 1964 and he was captured by villagers in Equatorial Guinea as a baby. Instead of the thick brown fur typical of young gorillas, his coat was pure white.

Through a series of fortunate circumstances, Snowflake ended up as a resident of Barcelona zoo where he was given his name. He became internationally famous and was adored by people all over the world.

On November 24 2003, after a two-year battle with skin cancer, Snowflake sadly passed away, but he is still famous now for being a animal record breaker and hitting the headlines.

Posted: November 24th, 2008 under World Records.
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Most people know very little about these fascinating animals, pigs are curious and insightful animals which are thought to have the intelligence beyond that of an average three year old human child, pigs are sometimes smarter than most dogs and are every bit as friendly, affectionate and loyal.

Pigs are at best in their natural surroundings, not on factory farms as this is when they are at their most social and playful and are very protective of each other and bond well. Pigs who live on farms are denied everything that they desire and love the most, they are never free to roam on pastures and laze in the sun or breathe fresh air and all of these things contribute to developing personalities of pigs.

You may also be surprised to learn that pigs also have dreams, recognize their own names and lead a social life within their own groups which they live in, and people who run animal sanctuaries often say that pigs have their own individual animal characteristics and they have learnt this through seeing pigs enjoy listening to music and playing with footballs just like humans do.

Posted: November 7th, 2008 under Funny, Weird But True.
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Leading animal behavior scientists from across the globe now tell us that chickens are inquisitive and interesting animals whose cognitive abilities are more advanced than those of cats, dogs, and even some primates.

Chickens apparently understand sophisticated concepts and they learn this from watching each other, they can demonstrate self-control and worry about the future. This information has come from Dr. Chris Evans who studies animal behavior and communication at Macquarie University in Australia, he has also said, “As a trick at conferences I sometimes list these attributes without mentioning chickens and most people think I am actually talking about monkeys.

Chickens understand relationships and still relate to objects and understand they exist even when they are hidden from view; this puts some of the abilities of chickens above some of small children, this information has put a whole new meaning to the word “bird brain”, chickens have shown us they can do things that people didn’t think they could do, there are definitely hidden depths to chickens!

Posted: November 7th, 2008 under Weird But True.
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Children at a nursery were shocked at play-time when they discovered a three headed frog hopping around at playtime in their nursery garden, the creature not only had three heads but also had six legs and has stunned wildlife experts who believe the creature could be an early sign of environmental problems. At a first glance the creature just looked like three frogs huddled together says Laura Pepper from the Green Umbrella Nursery in Weston-Super-Mare, the children couldn’t believe it and were very shocked!

“I have never seen anything like this - frog’s are primitive animals so if they have an occasional extra toe it is not unusual but this is very strange and has never been seen before” says Mike Dilger, from the BBC Natural History Unit.

All the creature’s eyes and legs appear to function normally, but it is not known whether it eats using all three of its mouths.

The amphibian was kept in a container for several hours but hopped away later while nursery staff were showing it to curious parents.

Posted: October 31st, 2008 under Weird But True.
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10.) A baby eel is called an elver and a baby oyster is called a spat.

9.) Sharks and rays are the only species known to never get cancer. Scientists believe this may be because they have cartilage rather than bones.

8.) A blue whale’s tongue weighs more than an elephant.

7.) Oysters are usually ambisexual. Through their lives they change from male to female and back again numerous times.

6.) All shrimp are born as males, but slowly grow into females as they mature.

5.) Elephants can smell water from as far away as three miles.

4.) A group of twelve or more cows is called a flink.

3.) Birds cannot go into outer space. They use gravity to assist them in swallowing, so any bird would quickly choke and die in an environment without gravity.

2.) The duckbill platypus has been known to store as many as six hundred worms at a time in the pouches of its cheeks.

1.) Cows have been proven to give more milk when they listen to music!!!

Posted: October 31st, 2008 under Funny, Informative.
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