Could Ants Take Over The World?

Did you know... that for every human in the world, there are one million ants? That means there's between 1 and 10 quadrillion ants on our planet! Imagine how scary it would be if they decided to form an uprising!

Those ants come from an estimated 22,000 different types of species, of which only 12,000 have been identified.

Real Animals With Their Stuffed Counterparts

Of all the pictures we see on Pinterest, some of our favorites are always the pictures of real animals with their stuffed twins. We can't help but say "Awwww!" when we see one of these images, so we decided to round up some of the best and share them with you!

Want to see even more of this adorableness? Then visit our "Animals, Real & Stuffed" board on Pinterest!

Pic Of The Week - Oh, That's Cold!

You might have seen this adorable picture as it went viral on the internet a couple weeks ago. And it's no surprise why, this image is just too cute not to share (even if it is more than 10 years old)!

This is Yakini, a newborn baby gorilla born in 1999, getting a checkup from Royal Children's Hospital neonatal specialist Neil Campbell at the Melbourne Zoo in Australia. Yakini was surprised by the cold stethoscope and mad the adorable face you see on the right.. To learn more about this photo and how Yakini's doing, read this article.

And take a look at this comparison photo we found on Pinterest! It's amazing how much like us monkeys are, isn't it?

The Best New Species Of 2012

Did you know that scientists discover 15,000 to 20,000 new species every year? It seems a little hard to believe, since there are already 8 million existing species known. The International Institute for Species Exploration recently listed their top, most interesting new species of 2012 - check out a few of our favorites.

The monkey that sneezes when it starts to rain

The monkey's nose is so upturned that rain causes it to sneeze. To avoid inhaling water, they sit with their heads tucked between their legs.

The blue tarantula

This jewel-toned tarantula, which hails from Brazil, might be the prettiest tarantula we've ever seen (not that it means we actually want to see it in person).

The banded box jellyfish

As deadly as it is beautiful, this jellyfish was first sited in 2001 but a specimen wasn't captured until 2008. It is one of approximately 50 box jellyfish species.

Animal Figurines Arts & Crafts

We come across a lot of great animal-themed crafts and DIY projects on Pinterest - so many so that it was time to round some of them up and share them with you, our faithful blog readers. Today we're focusing on projects that use animal figurines.

Make colorful animal art by painting your figurines and attaching them to colored canvases. This could work well for a kid's room or even in the hallway, dining or living rooms if you went with a muted color scheme.

Storage containers instantly become whimsical and fun when you add a few animal figurines to the top!

A few modifications can make your figurines the perfect way to remind your children to do certain things, from brushing their teeth to making their bed.

Perfect for any animal-themed party you're throwing, these tiny gift boxes are a fun way to give favors to your guests.

For kids or the grown-up animal lover, these animal jewelry holders are perfect! And this is just one of several creative figurines crafts the blogger from Little Gray Fox came up with.

The Pleasant Note blogger also had several ideas, including turning your figurines into plant holders, shelf hooks and picture holders!

And once you finish up your crafts, don’t forget to head over to TheJungleStore.com to replenish your figurine collection! We have everything from animals to fantasy characters, historical figures to dinosaurs.

Pic Of The Week - Ninja Skills

Who knew squirrels had such good balance (and strong legs muscles)? Not us, until we saw this picture of a squirrel eating while perched between two branches. Not a pose us humans could pull off easily!

But while this squirrels mad ninja skills are impressive, we have to wonder if they're just slightly less so than the ninja skills of this bird, who can balance upside down on tiny sticks and drink water! In the squirrel vs. bird ninja competition, who gets your vote?

Imagination & Knowledge

"Imagination is more important than knowledge" ~Albert Einstein

This quote from Albert Einstein is sure to cause some discussion among our readers – is imagination MORE important than knowledge, or is it JUST as important? We’re not going to entertain the question of whether imagination is less important than knowledge, because we believe imagination is an integral part of a child’s development and education.

And yes, we are biased, considering we sell items that are made to foster children’s imaginations and creativity. And proudly so! We love the fact that the stuffed animals and figurines and puppets in our store are things that take kids on magical adventures, whether it be jungle safaris or animal tea parties or dinosaur hunting.

For some new, fun ways your kids can foster their imagination by playing with stuffed animals and toys, take a look at this post and this post!

PS, this awesome imagination illustration is for sale here!

Things NOT On Our Bucket List: Shark Cage Diving

While shark cage diving is high on the bucket lists of many people, we can firmly say it is NOT on ours. Especially after watching this terrifying video two tourists shot while cage diving. A shark actually came into their cage and then got stuck, leaving them trapped at the bottom of the cage!


No thanks, we can lead a very happy life without having that experience! Want to see some more thrilling shark images? Then read this post and this post from our archives!

Picture Of The Week - Jaws In Real Life

This is terrifying. It's the stuff nightmares are made of. And what makes it even more terrifying is knowing there are people who have seen this in real life, up close and personal.

Although shark attacks are relatively rare, they happen enough to make us fear this awesome creature. It's images like this that make us VERY afraid to go into the water.

College Dorm Room Decorating Ideas

Leaving for college for the first time is a very exciting, and somewhat scary, experience! It helps when you have a dorm room that looks and feels like home - cozy, comfortable and (maybe most importantly) cute. The Jungle Store has a great variety of decorations and home items that will help your daughter make her dorm room her own.

Every new college students needs a new bedroom set to set the tone of the room!

Reversible Zebra/Leopard Set (comes in pink too), Brown Zebra Daybed Set

And throw pillows to make the futon seem more like a real couch.

Blue Bird Pillow, Leopard Suede Pillow, Horse Throw Pillow

A soft blanket she can curl up in when she's cold or sick.

Flora & Fauna Throw, Butterfly Throw

Cute picture frames for the family pets.

Me & My Cat Frame, Love My Dog Frame

And you can't forget the finishing touches that really make the room here.

Scented Candle Tin, Butterfly Fan, Hummingbird Key Hook

Visit our website to see our entire collection of home and decorative items.

The Flight Of The Rhinos

We weren't quite sure what was happening in this picture of a blindfolded rhino being hoisted in the air, but we assumed it wasn't good. Turns out, we were wrong. The rhino is the picture is being airlifted to a safe, undisclosed location to keep it out of the path of poachers.

According to the story: "For some endangered rhinos, a 1,000-mile journey to rescue from them poachers starts with a helicopter ride — hanging upside down, blindfolded and sedated. That might sound uncomfortable, but experts say it's easier on the massive mammals than by other means. This new procedure is gentler on the darted rhino because it shortens the time it has to be kept asleep with drugs."

It's an unusual method of transportation, for sure, but we're happy conservationists have found a way to keep these endangered rhinos safe!

Pic Of The Week - Don't Open The Door!

Knock knock. 

Who's there?

Alli.

Alli who?

Alligator, coming to eat you!

 

That's the first thought we had when we saw this terrifying picture of an alligator trying to get into a home (presumably in Florida). We couldn't find any information about this picture, but the image pretty much says it all. Can you imagine the horror of someone opening the door and facing that big creature?!

And while we were searching for information, we came across a similar, and equally scary, picture of an alligator - this time it looks like they were trying to use the front door. Apparently, when you live in Florida, it's always important to look out the door before you open it!

Silkies - The Fluffiest Chickens Of Them All

When we found this image on Pinterest, we just had to know what these unusual-looking birds were! The answer: Silkies.

Silkies are a breed of chicken known for their fluffy feathers, which are said to feel like - obviously - silk. But this isn't the only thing that makes Silkies stand out from other chickens. They are also have five toes instead of four and black or grayish skin, bones and earlobes! Can you imagine having that chicken for dinner?

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, despite their dark meat, silkies are considered a gourmet cuisine in several Asian countries.

The Silkies that don't make it into the oven are often kept as pets. Silkies are known for their friendly and mild-mannered temperaments (plus, imagine how much fun it would be to pet them!).

The Jungle Store Back To School Checklist

It's hard to believe that it's already time to start thinking about back to school, isn't it? Time to meet new teachers, pick out first day outfits and, of course, go shopping for back to school supplies!

If you only know The Jungle Store as a place to get your favorite stuffed animals, think again! We have a great selection of school supplies, from notebooks to backpacks and more. Check out the great animal-themed back to school items we have for your kids, from pre-K to high school!

Backpack & Bookbags 

Binders

Notepads & Journals 

  

Lunch Bags & Boxes

Pens & Desk Accessories

With fun school supplies like these, your kids will be excited to go back to school so they can use their new things! Visit the school supply section on our website to see our entire selection.

 *And don't forget to pin or Facebook share your favorite items!

Picture Of The Week - That Stings!

We have to admit we get a little squirmy when we look at this picture (and apologies if it makes you feel a bit squeamish too) but we had to share because it's such a unique picture. In fact, it's the only picture of its kind.

This picture shows a honeybee flying away after stinging a man, with its stinger lodged in the man's arm and abdominal tissue trailing from its body. Honeybees have barbed stingers that tear loose when stuck in a victim's skin, which results in their death minutes later.

The photo was taken by Kathy Garvey, who works with the UC Davis Department of Entomology. She estimates she's taken 1 million photos of bees over her lifetime, but as far as she knows this is the only documented picture of a bee sting like this to exist.

Read more how she got the photo here.