History and Culture

The Indian Ocean is the world’s third largest ocean, covering 20% of the earth’s water. The warmth of the Indian Ocean keeps phytoplankton production low in most of the ocean. As a result, there is not a tremendous amount of life in the Indian Ocean. Russia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan all border this ocean […]

Finland claims to be the last wilderness in Europe. The country has large lakes and forests and a fairly small population relative to its size. There are at least sixty native mammal species, 248 breeding bird species, over seventy fish species and eleven reptile and frog species in Finland today. Finland’s cold climate is home […]

According to the Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs, “some 47,000 living species have been identified in Israel, with another 4,000 assumed to exist. There are 116 species of mammals native to Israel, 511 kinds of birds, 97 types of reptiles and seven types of amphibians.” Conservation There are 190 nature reserves and 66 national parks […]

Celebrities live their lives in the public eye and so do their pets. Some famous pet-lovers are: Martha Stewart has adopted four Chow Chows: Zu-Zu, Paw-Paw, Cin-Cin, and Empress Woo; and seven Himalayan cats: Teeny, Weeny, Mozart, Vivaldi, Verdi, Berlioz, and Bartok. John Lennon had an obsession with cats. John and Yoko Ono shared their […]

Sir Winston Churchill was a British politician and statesman who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom during World War II. Churchill was also an animal lover. Churchill’s private secretary, Sir John Colville, gave him a cat named “Jock.” Before he died he asked that his home, Chartwell Manor, always keep an orange cat […]

The cold climate of Wales means that the native animals are hardy creatures. They include sheep and cattle, wild goats, the Welsh Mountain Pony, and the puffin. In 1934, the Duke of York gave Pembroke Welsh Corgi puppies to his daughters, Elizabeth, later to become Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, and Margaret Rose. Queen Elizabeth […]

Native Americans welcomed wolves into their homes and domesticated them. According to a Native American legend, the dog freely chose to become a companion to man. Dogs were considered part of the family and given names which reflected their personalities and characteristics. Before the introduction of horses to North America (by the Europeans), dogs were […]

Since 1949, Tibet has been part of China, but was an independent country until then. Some of the wildlife found in Tibet includes Tibetan eagles, marmots, Himalayan mouse hares, foxes, and Himalayan ravens. Marmots, which are rodents which live in burrows, are the most common animal seen in Tibet. Himalayan mouse hares have been seen […]

Thailand spans widely varying geological and climactic zones, in which over 10 percent of the world’s animals live. It is home to more than 285 mammal species and 925 species of birds. Some of the animals native to Thailand are the White-Handed Gibbon, Dusky langur (also known as the leaf monkey) and the Mudskipper (a […]

Sweden is home to wildlife such as the moose, roe deer, the wolf, the lynx, the bear, the wolverine and the red fox. Many birds make their home in the mountains or on the coastline of Sweden. The kingfisher and the dipper are two special Swedish birds. Many birds of prey are almost extinct in […]