NYC - Bronx - Bronx Zoo: Polar Bear

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NYC - Bronx - Bronx Zoo: Polar Bear

Image by wallyg
The polar bear (Ursus maritimus), also known as the white bear, northern bear, sea bear, ice bear or nanuq in some Inuit languages, is a species of bear that is native to the Arctic and the apex predator within its range. Its thick blubber and fur insulate it against the cold. Its fur, commonly mistaken as white or cream-colored due to the way light refracts within each hair, is translucent, providing camouflage from its prey. The bear has a short tail and small ears that help reduce heat loss, as well as a relatively small head and long, tapered body to streamline it for swimming. The polar bear is a semi-aquatic marine mammal that depends mainly upon the pack ice and the marine food web for survival. It has uniquely adapted for life on a combination of land, sea, and ice and is now dependent on this combination. Scientists and climatologists believe that the projected decreases in the polar sea ice due to global warming will have a significant negative impact or even lead to extinction of this species within this century.

Polar bears rank with the Kodiak bear as among the largest living land carnivores. Most adult males weigh 300-600 kg (660-1320 lbs) and measure 2.4-3.0 m (7.9-10.0 ft) in length. Adult females are roughly half the size of males and normally weigh 150-300 kg (330-660 lbs), measuring 1.9-2.1 m (6.25-7 ft).

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The Bronx Zoo, located within the Bronx Park, is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States, comprising 265 acres of parklands and naturalistic habitats and home to over 4,000 animals. Focused on conservation, it opened on November 8, 1899, with 22 exhibits, 843 animals. The zoo's origins date back to 1895, with the establishment of the New york Zoological Society (NYZS), renamed Wild Conservation Scoiety (WCS) in 1993. Only the outer structure of the World of Reptiles remains much as it was in 1899. With the 1941 opening of African Plains, the Bronx Zoo was one of the first U.S. zoos to move away from cages and exhibit animals in naturalistic habitats.

Clouded leopards born at the National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center

Image by Smithsonian's National Zoo
Day-old clouded leopard cub during one of its feedings, which occur every three hours.

Born at the National Zoo's Conservation and Research Center in Front Royal, Va on Tuesday, March 24, the two cubs are the first to be born at the Center in 16 years.

Breeding clouded leopards in captivity has been a challenge, primarily due to male aggression, decreased breeding activity between paired animals, and high cub mortality.

The National Zoo's team has learned how to reduce the risk of fatal attacks by hand-rearing cubs for socialization and also introducing males to their mates when they are six months old, allowing the pair to grow up together.

Clouded leopards Hannibal and Jao Chu, the parents of these cubs and the only compatible pair of clouded leopards at CRC, are proof that these techniques work. The new cubs are being hand-reared by experienced CRC staff.

Photo Credit: Mehgan Murphy/ Smithsonian's National Zoo

NYC - Bronx - Bronx Zoo: Jungle World - Black panther

Some cool endangered species of animals images:

NYC - Bronx - Bronx Zoo: Jungle World - Black panther

Image by wallyg
The Leopard (Panthera pardus) is one of the four 'big cats' of the genus Panthera. Originally, it was thought that a leopard was a hybrid between a lion and a panther, and the leopard's common name derives from this belief; leo is the Greek and Latin word for lion (Greek leon, λέων) and pard is an old term meaning panther. In fact, a "panther" can be any of several species of large felid. In North America, panther means cougar and in South America a panther is a jaguar. Elsewhere in the world a panther is a leopard. Early naturalists distinguished between leopards and panthers not by colour (a common misconception), but by the length of the tail — panthers having longer tails than leopards.

A black panther is a melanistic leopard. These have mutations that cause them to produce more black pigment (eumelanin) than orange-tan pigment (pheomelanin). This results in a chiefly black coat, though the spotted pattern is still visible. especially from certain angles where the effect is that of printed silk. A black panther is able to hunt and kill animals outweighing them by more than 1,350 pounds but this is rare because of competition from tigers and lions.

Black leopards are reported from most densely-forested areas in south-western China, Burma, Assam and Nepal; from Travancore and other parts of southern India and are said to be common in Java and the southern part of the Malay Peninsula where they may be more numerous than spotted leopards. They are less common in tropical Africa, but have been reported from Ethiopia (formerly Abyssinia), the forests of Mount Kenya and the Aberdares.

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The Bronx Zoo, located within the Bronx Park, is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States, comprising 265 acres of parklands and naturalistic habitats and home to over 4,000 animals. Focused on conservation, it opened on November 8, 1899, with 22 exhibits, 843 animals. The zoo's origins date back to 1895, with the establishment of the New York Zoological Society (NYZS), renamed Wild Conservation Society (WCS) in 1993. Only the outer structure of the World of Reptiles remains much as it was in 1899. With the 1941 opening of African Plains, the Bronx Zoo was one of the first U.S. zoos to move away from cages and exhibit animals in naturalistic habitats.

Jungle City Edinburgh 01

Image by byronv2
big cat in Princes Street Gardens

These are all part of the Jungle City organisation, which is debuting in Edinburgh for a couple of months and will move to various cities around the world. There are statues all decorated by different artists all over the place (there's a map on the site), small versions are available to buy as are the actual full size statues, to raise money for wildlife charities and to raise awarness of some of the magnificent species we're endangering: www.jungle-city.org/

Speke's Gazelle (Gazella spekei)

Image by 5of7
Speke's Gazelle (Gazella spekei) is the smallest of the gazelle species. It is confined to the horn of Africa where it inhabits stony brush, grass steppes, and semi deserts. Severe habitat fragmentation means it is now impossible to assess the natural migratory or nomadic patterns of G. spekei. Its numbers are under threat, and despite an increase in population it was announced by the IUCN in 2007 that its status had risen from vulnerable to endangered. Captive population is maintained, and the wild population exists in the lower ten thousands. This photo was taken at the Phoenix Zoo on March 12, 2011.