A brief history of boxer dogs. Their lineage and various jobs the've done for people over the years.

The Emperor Penguin is most noted for its size, reaching up to four feet in height, making it the tallest penguin of its species. Its stomach is white and its wings and back are black, lending its trademark "tuxedo look."

The largest land mammal on the earth, weighing up to 16,000 pounds, elephants have captivated observers for centuries. Elephants have been used for labor, war, entertainment and hunting. Elephants are one of the most unique animals due to their enormous size and unusual physical characteristics.

Wild animals are beautiful creatures with varying sizes, colors, and habitats. Although some can be seen in zoos, the place they are meant to be is in their own environment. Unfortunately, animals such as whales, panda bears and sea otters, are not always safe in these places and are dying out. What is causing their threat of extinction? Several factors have an influence on this growing problem.

Although they’re not the least bit aware of it, caribou have become the subject of a hot political debate that has been boiling over the past five years. It would seem these unobtrusive creatures of the remote arctic tundra and boreal forests of North America and Greenland would be far from the spotlight of national politics, but their future became uncertain when Washington announced plans to open the Alaska National Wilderness Reserve (ANWR) to oil and gas drilling.

Few spectacles symbolize autumn better than a gang of Canada Geese crossing a cloudy sky in V-formation. Common throughout most of North America, Canada Geese live around ponds, rivers, and lake shores where they feed on aquatic grass, roots, and young sprouts, as well as corn and grain. A strong inward pull called instinct urges these waterfowl into the skies to make this great annual southward migration.

“Look, it’s a monkey!” the father says to his son, pointing at the caged chimpanzee sitting with his back to the onlookers. The information sheet posted on the wall corrects the misnomer, but I doubt the man will read it. Sure enough, the pair strolls forward to look at the next ‘monkey,’ which is really an orangutan.

It is August on the coast of Iceland, and the air is filled with the deep garbled growls of hundreds of puffins. The social birds have come to shore for the short breeding season, and the rocky banks are dotted with their squat, football-shaped bodies.

The sun hangs leaden in the sky over the frozen tundra of the high arctic. Flat expanses of land are dotted with low-growing shrubs dusted with frost. From the south a herd of musk oxen loiter along, digging away the icy surface of the ground to reach nutritious lichen and ground plants, oblivious as eight stealthy white figures move in around them.

One look at herd of Musk Oxen, and you wonder if you’ve traveled back in time to the Pleistocene, the age of Saber-toothed Tigers and Woolly Mammoths. Reportedly, these venerable beasts have existed since the last ice age, 600,000 years ago.

Early May on Kodiak Island. Fog drowns the lush forest in mystery. Spattered across a black earthen floor, slushy snow melts in shadowy rings. From a wooded den, a shaggy brown head appears. Unbelievable in size, the creature emerges slowly.

While a zoo definitely has it's place in animal watching, it doesn't compare to seeing animals in their own natural habitat. After a recent visit to Yellowstone National Park, this felt especially true for me. A traffic jam caused by young buffalo calves and their mothers crossing the road is an experience not to be missed.

To gaze into their eyes is to touch tranquility. Perhaps it is because they spend so much of their lives removed from our terrestrial sphere that these creatures can inspire such serenity in just one glance. Perched in the canopy of the tall Eucalyptus forests of Australia, koalas pass their lives unperturbed, nap to nap, meal to meal.

We are all familiar with dolphins, whales and sharks; we know what tuna and snapper look like, but what about some less familiar fish such as lizardfish, giant squid, or blind eels? There are so many lesser known animals in the depths of the ocean that we hear little or nothing about most times.

We all know what wolves and coyotes look like, and nearly everyone is familiar with bears, deer and turtles; what about some less familiar animals such as capybara, kiwi, or tapirs? There are so many lesser known animals on this planet that we hear little or nothing about most times, it is interesting to investigate a few of these creatures and understand them a little more.

In this article, I write about the pleasures of having a cat as a pet. It took quite a long time for my wife to persuade me into letting her have a cat, but we now have three. I would certainly recommend other people to give a cat a home as they are no trouble at all and add lots of value and love to the household.