Weekly Featured Animal: The Seal

My friend Captain Fairlong shared this video he captured while on an expedition in Greenland. This little baby seal is too cute for words, I had to share him with you.





The seal caught sliding around is a Harp Seal. They mainly reside in the icy oceanic waters of the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans. Able to dive nearly 1,000 feet and can remain submerged for up to 15 minutes in the freezing waters. Baby seals like the one in the video go without food for SIX WEEKS. They lose half their body weight until the dive and begin hunting for themselves. Talk about survival of the fittest!


Over at The Jungle Store we have a variety of seal accessories. My favorite is this white seal furry purse.

Granted I don't use mine on any of the expeditions I go on, but when I'm back in civilization I like to remember my animal friends by taking them out on the town. ha!

Animal Fact of the Day

Dolphins have two stomachs!!! One for storing food and the other for digesting it, probably a good thing considering they can consume up to 30 pounds of fish a day.


Enjoy this friendly dolphin video and remind if you need anything dolphin related check out The Jungle Store.

In the news: Baby Dolphins are Washing Up Along the Coast

According to the Sun Herald, baby dolphins are washing up along the Mississippi and Alabama shorelines at ten times the normal rate.

“For some reason, they’ve started aborting or they were dead before they were born,” Solangi said. “The average is one or two a month. This year we have 17 and February isn’t even over yet.”

Even though this is the first birthing season since the BP oil spill in the Gulf, it's still too early to determine the exact cause of this unfortunate increase.

You can read more over at the Sun Herald.

Domestic and Wild

I would be pretty confused if I was that corgi, too! I doubt that little doggy has seen many creatures smaller then itself let alone a goat!

Animal Fact: Black Bears

Black bears are North America's most familiar and common bears. They normally live in forests and are excellent tree climbers, but have been to know to live in swamps and mountains.  Despite their name, black bears can be blue-gray or blue-black, brown, cinnamon, or even (very rarely) white. 


An unusual fact about these mammals is that contrary to popular belief they are not true hibernators. Even though they don't eat, drink, or go to the bathroom during winter months they will awake if disturbed. 


Enjoy this epic battle between a black bear and a cougar. 

Presidential Pets

Since it's President's Day, I thought I would share some of the more interesting presidential pets.

Thomas Jefferson owned two bear cubs which were a gift from Lewis and Clark.

John Quincy Adams had an American alligator.

Theodore Roosevelt owned a badger [Josiah], pig [Maude], zebra [unknown name] and a one-legged rooster [name unknown]. The photo is of a young Roosevelt with his pet parrot. 

Taft let two cows graze the White House Lawn. Their names were Mooly Wooly and Pauline Wayne. Unsure of which cow that is illustrated below. 

Calvin Coolidge by far had the best pets! Including but not limited to raccoons [Rebecca and Horace], donkey [Ebeneezer], bobcat [Smoky], lion cubs [Tax Reduction and Budget Bureau], pygmy hippo, wallaby, duiker, AND A BLACK BEAR! That is First Lady Grace Coolidge holding Rebecca the raccoon. 

Can any of you tell me the name of the newest first pooch?

Happy Friday!

Hope you all have a wild weekend! This video should make you chuckle. Can't wait to go play with my animal friends!

RIP Coco

Sad news coming out of the Columbus Zoo. Apparent their beloved 37 year old Asian elephant, Coco, has passed away. Here's a video of Coco during feistier times. You'll be missed by many.

Polar Bear Backflips!

Nikita, one of the newest additions at the Kansas City Zoo, spends her day perfecting this routine for all to see!

Animal Fact of the Day: Koalas naps!

You might want to rename your afternoon cat nap to koala naps. These cuddly marsupials need up to twenty hours of sleep a day! Since they have a slow metabolism and eat for three to five hours a day, Koalas have to recharge their bodies for an extended period of time.Get your very own Koala to snuggle with over at The Jungle Store!

As you'll see in the below video, Koalas have to slow chew on the eucalyptus leaves until they are eventually an easily swallow-able paste.

Even though this creatures look innocent they are quite vocal and fiesty as you'll see in the last two clips!

Valentine's Day Animal Fact

When most  humans hear a mosquito’s high-pitched whine they are immediatedly put on guard antipaciting the insect’s itchy bite. But to mosquitoes of the opposite sex, that foreshadowing is a powerful love song. Mosquitoes engages in a wing-beating courtship duet that depends on very specific frequencies.

When males and females come together, they match up their wingbeat frequencies — but not at the male’s rate of 600 beats per second, or the female’s 400. Rather, they make minor adjustments that produce a harmonic, or multiple, of their tones, which rings in at about 1200 beats per second. Just right for love, apparently.

Happy Valentine's Day!!

Don't forget to give those special people in your life a big ol' bear...errr lion hug today!