According to the US Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS), 47.8 million Americans enjoy feeding birds in their yard. That amounts to about 1/3 of the United States population! The hobby benefits birds too. Primarily, it helps those who have stayed for the winter and are struggling to find food. But it also helps those who …
For a long time, people have believed that what animals ate was pretty cut and dry. If they ate meat, they were carnivores and if they ate plants, they were herbivores with animals eating both plants and meat being omnivores. But while we categorized animals like that, nature is not that simple. Recent research …
National Hedgehog Day is celebrated on February 2nd of every year, the same day as Groundhog Day in the US and Canada. But when did this prickly holiday begin, and how is it celebrated? Read on to learn about the festivities over this tiny, floofy, spiky mammal! What is National Hedgehog Day? As the story …
One of the biggest things that impact a species’ evolution is its environment, where animals live, eat, and mate. The ecosystem has everything to do withr a species’ diet, behavior, and physical characteristics! Although most environments are interconnected, some ecosystems develop in isolation from the wider world, limiting their available resources, territory, and species. Being …
Many environmental issues threaten our animal friends today. Some of these problems are well-known issues that everyone is aware of, such as overhunting, habitat loss, and global warming. Unfortunately, not all issues are as well-understood. Many environmental problems, such as habitat fragmentation, which is strongly linked to habitat loss, tend to go unnoticed. Not many …
A keystone species is an organism that other organisms depend on to such a high degree that its local environment would significantly change if the keystone species were to disappear. While all organisms are important and have important roles in their local environment, in most cases, the environment would remain relatively unchanged. However, if a …