Autumn is one of the most striking seasons of the year up here in the mountains! You will be in awe at the splendid palette of colors nature uses: vibrant tones of red, yellow, brown and orange! As we gaze at the beautiful trees and limpid skies, our feet rejoice in the rustling of the leaves covering the ground, after graciously circling around us as to say a last farewell.To prepare for t

World Day for Farmed Animals was first observed on October 2, 1983, by the non-profit animal rights group Farm Animal Rights Movement (FARM). This date was chosen to coincide with the birthday of Mahatma Gandhi, the world-renowned non-violent resistance leader from India. One of the purposes of this movement is to promote the compassionate vegan diet.There are countless humans, organization

Today, the 4th of October, is World Animal Day, when humans pay their highest tribute and respect to all the animals who share our wondrous planet with us. This annual celebration is held on the feast day of Saint Francis of Assisi – Patron Saint of the Animals, a dedicated animal lover and vegetarian. Also, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), a Shining World Compassion Award recipient, a

Today, October 2nd is World Day for Farmed Animals. On this day, attention is drawn to the abuse and mass exploitation of animals for food and other uses. It is estimated that more than 70 billion cows, pigs, chickens, turkeys and other innocent animals are raised and slaughtered each year. Let’s hope this annual day of remembrance serves as a wake-up call for humanity to understand the suffering

The earliest known examples of the three hares motif were discovered on paintings in Buddhist cave temples in China dating from the 6th and 7th centuries. Later on, the three-hare motif travelled west along the Silk Road and reached the Middle East and Europe, where it became widely associated with Judaism and Christianity. There the three hares represent the Holy Trinity, the doctrine that God ex

I notice that hares and rabbits differ in their physical appearance. Hares look larger and also have longer hind legs. Hares and rabbits count on the numerous veins in their furless ears to dissipate heat and regulate their body temperature. We snowshoe hares have comparatively smaller ears as heat travels shorter distances through our body and keeps us warmer in the colder climates we reside in!

Across this vast African continent live 19 species of elephant shrews or sengis, including us, the round-eared elephant shrews. We are quite small, about the size of rodents. Each species has their own territory, and we can be found in various regions except for Western Africa and the Sahara Desert. Our name comes from our elongated noses which are like an elephant’s trunk, and our small, round bo

Today we will discover some fascinating examples of how animals are able to heal themselves through self-medication, or zoopharmacognosy, by using their intuitive abilities to detect the healing properties of plants. Parasite removal is the most common use of natural therapeutic medicines by animals. In a couple of well documented cases, sick chimpanzees swallowed the juice of the Vernonia

In today’s program, we will share with you some amazing animals who have strong relationships with one another, and who display a deep loving connection within their family. Our species, the Eurasian wolf, is the subspecies of the grey wolf. We wolves may look tough, but our hearts are warm and soft. We are extremely loyal, and family is a priority for us. You know, living together in a pack helps

Japanese dwarf flying squirrels inhabit the sub-alpine and boreal evergreen forests of Japan. We are a member of the Sciuridae family, which includes small and medium sized rodents. We prefer to stay in the trees, hanging off branches and eating much healthier vegan foods such as leaves, seeds, buds, cones, sprouts, berries and nuts. There are two types of Japanese flying squirrels: Pteromy

Our family, the Himalayan red panda, can be found in parts of Nepal, Bhutan, northern India, northern Myanmar, Tibet, and the western Yunnan Province of China. I have a beautiful red color to my fur and my species only grows to the size of a very large domestic cat. We were named pandas almost 50 years before our better known, giant black and white panda cousins were. Did you know that we a

Some of us animals are blessed with a unique ability to camouflage ourselves so that we blend into our surroundings. We can do this in different ways depending on our features. For us snow leopards, we use our fur to achieve this, and we are so good at it that we have been given the nickname “ghost of the mountain.” The Eastern Screech Owls are gifted with the ability to blend almost seamlessly wi

Our striped skunk family is native to North America, ranging from the Atlantic to Pacific Oceans. We always nest less than 3 kilometers from water. Although we can’t see very well because we are nocturnal and our eyes lack nictating membranes, our ability to smell and hear are exceptional. We normally live alone and although we like to only come out at night, we sometimes stay out looking f

Much research shows that male birds with brighter plumage colors have a better chance of pairing, as females recognize bright plumage colors as an indicator of good health and strength. In order to tell subtle color differences between individual males, females produce more opsins or specialized light sensitive proteins in their retinas over time. This causes the male’s plumage to become more and

"We belong to the family of passerine birds, who are renowned for the striking colors the males display on their plumage. Many people consider us one of the most beautiful birds in North America. Therefore, we have a nickname 'nonpareil' in French, which means “without equal.” In Mexico we are commonly known as siete colores, meaning 'seven colors.' ""Carotenoids, melanin and porphyrins are

Welcome to “Four Seasons, Part 2 of 4: Lively Serenades on Summer Nights.” Our band of frogs take charge of the opening act. Our song serves as the Overture for the nocturnal symphony. When we start singing, we breathe in and then close our nostrils and mouths; the airflow in our lungs triggers our vocal sacs which expand and amplify our notes. Our neighbors seem to think that we are equipped with

In part 1 Ms. Tieche shared with us that her purpose in making “The Invisible Mammal” was to increase awareness of the threats we are facing and to show how important bats are to humans and ecosystems. In today’s program, we’ll uncover more of the devastating diseases that bats have been suffering from and what humans can do to help save us. "When they get white-nose syndrome, this is a fungus tha

Ms. Kristin Tieche is from San Francisco, California, United States of America and has been involved in the filmmaking industry for many years, receiving much acclaim for her award-winning environmental and social commentary films. Her documentaries cover a wide variety of themes, from identity crisis in “Forms of Identification,” to urbanism, sustainability, and biking in “Velo Visionaries,” to w

The Earth's magnetic field runs in curves all around the globe from the south magnetic pole to the north magnetic pole. Animals equipped with internal compasses are able to navigate by analyzing its direction, intensity or inclination to determine their location or direction. Dogs are famous for their incredible sense of smell, which scientists estimate is between 10,000 and 100,000 times m

As you learn about our species, you will be amazed by the job we do. We work just like a beauty salon in the human world. I forgot to tell you that I have a big family, including four unique cousins: the Black Spot, the Hawaiian, the bicolor, and the red lip. All my cousins live mostly in the tropical Pacific Ocean. My kind, the bluestreak, is the most well-known cleaner wrasse of them all. We lov