we love animals

Hamsters :)

Written at Saturday, May 15, 2010 | back to top

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HAMSTERS

Hamsters are from the family group 'rodents', animals that have continuously growing incisors in the upper and lower jaws. They are found in almost every part of the world. There are currently 5 different species:

1) Syrian/Golden Hamsters

2) Dwarf Campbell's Russian Hamster

3)Dwarf Winter White Russian Hamster

4)Roborovski Hamster

5) Chinese Hamster

Hamsters are famously known as one of the most popular pet requests of kids(after cats and goldfish)and are commonly used in science labs for genetic tests and experiments. Their diet consists of plant-based food such as nuts, grains, fruits and vegetable. They occasionally eat tiny insects. In order to digest some of it's undigested food, it has to eat its own feces and droppings for a healthy digestive system. Hamsters store about 20% of it's fat in cheeks, probably why they can be quite chubby.

For those of you living under a rock not knowing what a hamster looks like, it is very stout bodied and has furry ears with a short tail.The Chinese hamsters are the only species with a long tail.They have short legs and wide paws. They are so tiny, about the size of your palm. Mature hamsters can grow up to 30 to 35 cm long. They have very fragile bones, so please handle them with care when you hold one :)

Hamsters come in wide range of colors, depending on their species. It is said that the rare Syrian Hamsters are the most beautiful. Hamsters have a very weak immune system and can easily catch diseases.Females are always in heat(overheating) approximately every 4 days.Symptoms are less appetite and not eating well, less active and reddening of genital areas.The infected hamsters can spread some serious diseases to it's owner, usually by bitting. Hamster bites are common cases of diseases transferable from rodents to man.

Hamsters have tiny voices and they "squek". Squeks are their methods of communicating with others and as mating call. They have very poor eyesight and are colorblind.Hamsters can only see 6 inches in front of them. The average hamster has a life span of about 2 to 4 years and weigh up to about 100 to 150 grams. Females have a gestation period of 15 days, and can give birth to an average of 7 litter. The number of litters born can be as high as 24 in one day!

Hamsters are usually nocturnal and stay up all night, but some don't. Wild hamsters usually fight each other to death. Females are the most aggressive and can kill males or even it's own mate (girl power!! :D ) They convey distress and tension by bitting, showing sense of fright by washing their faces with water(usually for home hamsters kept as pets that are provided with water) and defense when they have their front paws covering their faces? They puff up/blow up their cheeks to show anger (Isn't that just the cutest thing in the world? ) and lay motionless on their backs to show fear. If hamsters have their eyes closed, that means they are in the state of inner peace and solitude. So dear readers, if you notice one day your hamster sitting in it's cage with funny-looking eyes, please don't disturb it as it is probably meditating.

Never ever separate a hamster away from it's mate. Not only is this a selfish act, but this causes stress and depression to hamsters, especially males. The males will get depressed . Depression does not kill a hamster (not like sheep as it dies when stressed ,written in one of our previous posts). When a hamster is depressed, it gains weight and becomes obese.

Hamsters are very friendly and gentle, especially around kids. It usually remember it's relatives and responds well when its being called by the name given by its owner. It also can remember their faces and voices as well.

Fighting Fish

Written at Wednesday, May 12, 2010 | back to top

Do you know this fish? It is very pretty actually. It is called as "fighting fish"

why? all that i know it is called as fighting fish is that they will certainly fight if you put them together into the same aquarium! sometimes they might even kill each other! Especially if both are males!

i remember the first time i bought 2 fighting fishes and i put them together and went mad. sometimes i might thought: do they need a larger space than the aquarium i provide or because they love to fight?

i did learn my lesson from that incident. if i want to put two fighting fishes in one aquarium, one must be male and the other must be female or female and female because they don't fight with each other. i still don't know what might happened, so, I'm going to give it a try. after my mid-year exam ends. :)

these fighting fish is actually Siamese. most of them are. they come in different colors. you can choose any color you want (the colors range is from red to blue to white) at the shop and it only costs you $1.50. if I'm not mistaken. O:)

It's scientific name is Betta Splendens. I can't imagine if i went to shop and said: 'i want to buy a Betta Splendens' rather than saying fighting fish. :)

It's adult size is only about 7cm and it is actually quite small.

One way to distinguish a male and female fighting fish is that female is not as highly colored as male and they shorter fins.

So if you want to buy a female and a male, compare their colors! Who knows if the seller tricked you.

Dedicated to Fish of M4P

kitten(;

Written at Saturday, May 8, 2010 | back to top

well-i belived everyone do love cat am i right??how about kitten??are they the same??or maybe kitten is more more adorable than cat?the answer is YES for some reason..here are some information about kitten...hope you enjoy reading them(:

A kitten is a name for a not yet fully-grown cat.A litter of kittens usually consists of two to five kittens.kitten emerge in a sac called the"AMNION"which evetually can be bitten off and eaten by th mother.Poor them..

The mother's milk plays an important role for the kitten's nutrition and growth.It helps to transfer anti-bodies to the kitten which can also help to protect them against infectious diseases.

kitten opens their eyes about seven to ten days following birth.So,kittens are unable to see as well as adult cats until seen week after birth are reached,pity them though.

Amazingly,kitten develop very quickly from about two weeks.During that period of time,they begin to explore the world outside.As well as learning to wash themselves.As they reach three to four weeks old,the kittens are begin to eat solid food.

Last but not least,kittens are vulnerable to harm,believe me! So,start loving kittens from now on...not just kitten though other animals as well.

Proboscis monkeys

Written at Monday, May 3, 2010 | back to top

These creatures live in parts of Borneo island and some can be found in Brunei. They may not what we call as cute or adorable but what makes them unique apart from all other monkeys in the world are their enormous belly and unusual long noses. They are also called Dutch monkeys. The reason? They resembles the Dutch plantation owners in Borneo long time ago who were large men with large red noses and big potbellies.

Proboscis monkeys are famous of their cucumber shaped noses. The longer they live, the bigger their noses become. But did you know that only the males' noses get bigger? Some Proboscis Monkeys have noses reaching down to their chins, but they are primates, like humans. In fact they are so big it may be that the male needs to move his nose out of the way to eat their food. You may think it’s funny to see a picture of proboscis monkeys because they start to look like someone you know.

Baby proboscis monkeys are not so recognizable since their noses are not that big and only the nostrils can be seen. The female have rather pointy upturned ones, which is much different from the males.

So why is the nose so important to the male proboscis monkeys? Well, they are generally to attract females because for them, the bigger the nose is, the better. When the monkey becomes angry or needs to send a warning to other monkeys, the nose chamber swells with blood which then amplifies the warning calls. Animals can often have strange features but they always serve them in some way.

The habitat of Proboscis monkeys are rainforests of the lowlands and most of all mangrove-forests at the river mouths. They are able to swing from branch to branch using their hands but are also very skilled in running on all fours. If proboscis monkeys are in a hurry, they jump from tree to tree. They prefer this way to move when they have to cross rivers or escape from predators like the Clouded leopard. If there's no other opportunity to escape left, Proboscis monkey drops themselves into the water even from high branches. They are very skilled swimmers and divers. But even so, some died because the water current drives them away from land and they drowned.

Proboscis Monkeys began to disappear rapidly from 30 to 40 years ago and is one of the endangered species in the world. The reason was that people cut down their precious mangrove forests. Some even hunt them (not to eat them) and drive them away from their natural habitats to gain more land. People were unaware at that time so as we can see, there’s less proboscis monkeys to be seen nowadays.

Even though some exist in Brunei, it's really rare for us to see any of the animals. They can't be kept in a zoo because the environment is not suitable for them. So the best way to keep them alive is just to leave them alone to live in their own natural habitat.

Squirrel

Written at Friday, April 30, 2010 | back to top

Have you ever seen a squirrel? For some imaginary minds, they may be cute. At least most people think they are cute. their "cuteness", i should say, depends on the individuals themselves.

Some might get confused between squirrels and chipmunks. Ask this to children: "what is a squirrel?' They might answer either 'a cute animal like a rat?' or simply 'what is that?'

change your question to 'what is a chipmunk?' i bet, most of the children might answer it as 'Alvin and the Chipmunks!' yes, i would have answered that when you asked me about chipmunks. they are a cartoon characters. cute ones too.

this is not what we are talking about now.

so yes, chipmunks is smaller than squirrels but chipmunks are fatter than squirrels which made chipmunks more adorable than squirrels.

let's focus on squirrels. the sizes of squirrels varies. For example, the gray squirrel can be up to three time as large as the red squirrel but smaller than a fox squirrel. yes, there are many many types of squirrels. There are flying squirrels too!

these squirrels usually live in a hole in tree trunks , or in treetop crow's nests. The homes in the treetops are called dreys and sometimes consist of two rooms and a nursery! can you imagine that?

Squirrels start mating when they are a year old. It takes about six weeks from the time the squirrels mate until the baby squirrels, called kittens, are born. Twice a year, in the spring and at the end of the summer, the female squirrel has two to five kittens.

squirrels live up to 10 to 12 years. after their sixth year, they are called as old squirrels. they can be dead either being hunt by predators (e.g. owl), man (squirrel-hunting. poor squirrels), traffic and natural death in which usually happens at the age of 12.

if you want to see one, you can go to a forest reserve and watch the trees. i have actually seen one when i was visiting the Bubungan Dua Belas. There are two of them. they are covered in brownish fur and yes, they are cute but i don't dare to come near them cause they may be 2 possible results 1. they bite. even a cat's scratch can easily hurt me. 2. they ran and i don't want that to happen since it is quite fun seeing squirrels. out of my imagination, they are not small. they are quite large, about the size of a newborn cat's kitten. they are also thin.

that's it for squirrels. Enjoy.

Sheep

Written at Saturday, April 24, 2010 | back to top

Sheep

Sheep are mammals that are ruminant. They are usually bred for livestock by shepherds. Sheep are usually born in spring. Colors range from pure white to dark chocolate. They are one of the earliest domestic animals used for agricultural purposes. A male uncastrated sheep is known as a 'ram' whereas the female is known as an 'ewe'. Apart from it's importance in dairy farming, it also provides us with wool. Wool is most widely used any animal parts.

Sheep production are usually located in Australia, New Zealand, South American nations and British Isles. Sheep are herbivorous, that means they only eat grass and not meat. Water is a fundamental requirement needed in the daily lives of sheep. They only drink clean water and refuse to drink water containing algae. Hay acts as their staple food during the winter season. Ewes weigh about 45-100 kg. Rams are much heavier, weighing between 45-160 kg. At four years old, they akready have full teeth. A mature sheep has 32 teeth. An ewe which lost most of it's teeth are known as "broken mouth" and ewes that lost all it's teeth are known as "gummers".

There are currently about 200 breeds in existence. Sheep actually have good hearing, and not to mention, good sight. They can see behind themselves without turning their heads! This is because they have quite different eye structure than other animals. A common breed, known as the "ovis aries" actually have a leader of the flock. So every once in a while they follow their leader to new pastures. Sheep can become stressed when left seperated from it's flock. It can also remember and recognize humans or fellow flock members for years. Although the members of the flock are close to each other, they maintain better relationship to sheep actually related to them.

Sheep are thought as extremely unintelligent and often compared to pigs in terms of stupidity as they have the tendency to panic. Even though this fact is true, it doesn't change our view of sheep as fluffy,cute creatures. Stress actually kills sheep even though they are healthy and strong.

One of the many abilities of sheep is that they are able to differentiate emotional stress of humans through facial expressions.

The gestation period of sheep is 5 months. Labor usually take 1-3 hours. Most of lamb are born twins. They are able to stand within an hour of birth. After several weeks, lambs are being vaccinated so they will grow healthy and strong. This however, does not guarantee that it will not be infected with diseases. Farmers may also start the process of "ear-tagging", where the lamb's ears are being pierced to be attached with numbers. Sheep are prone to diseases and infections. They are smart enough to hide their diseases, to prevent being targeted by predators. Predators are usually felines, bears, ravens and dogs.

Beef are one of the most high-demand food in the market. It conquers chicken and pork, known to be the most frequent meat products buyer usually purchase. Most popular food associated to beef are meatloaf, beef burgers, steak etc. Doesn't it sound so tasty? Wool is also very popular. However these few days wool prices are falling. This is a huge loss for many sheep owners. Sheepskin are used for clothes, rugs and footwear. Sheep bone are used for making dice in board games and buttons. Sheep tallow (fat) are used to make candles, soap and base for make up (girls, check your make-up! ).

Black sheep are considered unlucky for most farmers, but some still rear them anyways. Farmers usually look for sheep depending on their face colour and their horn. In ancient times, sheep are a symbol of God, Sheep are worshipped by the Jewish in the olden days. Overall, sheep have an important mark in our planet, apart from being one of the most adorable animals in the face of our earth, they provide us with a healthy diet and an important in some cultures.

Giraffes

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GIRAFFES

Giraffes are African mammals, tallest of all land species and ruminants (mammals that digest plant-based food by softening it's stomach then vomitting the undigested mass and chewing it again). They are well know for their long legs,necks and beautiful spotted patterns. Giraffes belong in a species known as "CAMELOPARDALIS".

The average height of a male giraffe is 18 feet, whereas females grow up to 14 feet. Male giraffes weigh up to surprisingly 1360 kilos and females 680 kilos. It's feet are the size of dinner plates.They are very social creatures, grazing the grassland in groups or herds especially females. They enjoy associating in groups. Males however, prefer to hang with the 'bachelor mate-free' giraffes. Older giraffe's tend to isolate itself, preferring to be lonely in the wild. Giraffes have a life span from 15 to 20 years.

It takes a lot of food to power up this gentle monster. It eats about 34 kilos of food per day! It's favourite meal include acacia trees. Acacia trees contain lot of water. Giraffes with a diet of acacia trees can eventually go weeks without water. Apart from acacias, it still enjoys grass and fruits.

I'm sure the first thing that comes into your mind when you hear the word 'giraffe' is an animal with an extremely long neck. It comes in handy when it tries to reach for some delicious leaves on the tall tree tops. Both sexes have horns. The horns are usually used to indicate whether it is a male or a female depending on it's shape and length. Males have long, bald horns. It is structured that way because male giraffes tend to combat one another with it's head. Females have short horns and contain hair known as ossicones.

Giraffes are SO big, hiding itself from predators is just useless and a waste of time. It's major predators include crocodiles and lions. Fortunately, they run at around 48 km/h , just the right speed to escape some of it's foe. Female giraffes have a gestation period (period where the mother carries it's young in her womb) of about 14 months. It usually gives birth to 1 young. The calf is born by it's mother dropping it to the ground, landing on it's head. The baby giraffe is dropped about 1.8 metres above the ground. This looks like it hurts, but thankfully, the baby giraffe can't feel a thing. Newborns have an average weight of 45-60 kg and are able to walk an hour after birth. When they grow old, their mothers leave them in nurseries.

In the olden days, people mistake a giraffe for a combination of a camel, due to it's long figure, and a leopard, because of it's spots. Giraffes have sleeping requirements between 10 mins to 2 hours, which totals it up to an average of 1.9 hours of sleep a day! They sleep standing up. They have really long tongue, about 18 to 20 inches long. Giraffes sometimes use it to wipe or scare of insects that are on it's face, and usually just swallow those around it's mouth. Surprisingly, the quiet-looking animal is actually loud. They are able to moo, hiss, roar, snort and whistle. What a perfect way to communicate with one another!

Giraffes look very gentle and innocent but they are dangerous too. It has a very deadly kick, so deadly that in just one kick, it is able to crush it's predator's spine and shatter it's skull. Lions enjoy delicious baby giraffes, and when it spots one, it continues to stalk it. When it's mother see's it , she usually stands infront of her young, defending it. Some lions don't care and just continue to attack it, unaware that the mother's kick can put an end to it's life just immediately. So,on a visit to an African safari one day, NEVER disturb a baby giraffe unless you really think you don't want to live anymore.

The numbers of giraffe in the wild are decreasing. This is because they are hunted for food by predators and hunters. It is also killed for it's fur, suitable for designs and patterns. In Africa, the members of the tribes usually kill it for it's tail and use it as a bracelet, as it is said to be good luck by their ancient ancestors. Thankfully, they are not in the level of endangered species but it lies at the 'risk of being endangered' in the many many years to come as there are no government protective laws securing it's future in the jungle. This is unfortunate as they actually wowed the world over with their enormous size and mild nature and i personally think they are one of the most beautiful creatures on our planet.