The Cape white-eye (Zosterops virens) is a monogamous small passerine bird in the white-eye family and native to southern Africa. The species is about 12 cm long with rounded wings, strong legs, and a conspicuous ring of white feathers round the eyes. The upperparts are green, and the throat and vent are bright yellow. The Orange […]

Lauren Finka, Postdoctoral Research Associate, Nottingham Trent University Many have experienced that super friendly cat who seems to love being stroked one minute, only to bite or swipe at us the next. It might be easy at this point to blame it on the cat, but what’s likely happening here is that we’re just not […]

ASPCA Ever watched your dog roll on the ground, lick her coat or chew at her fur? These are her ways of keeping clean. Sometimes, though, she’ll need a little help from you to look and smell her best and stay healthy. Bathing The ASPCA recommends bathing your dog at least once every three months, […]

ASPCA Fleas and ticks are two of the most frequent pet care concerns. While prevention is the best defense against these parasites, it’s important to be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of fleas and ticks so you can help your pets if necessary. Fleas Fleas are the most common external parasite to plague […]

A polite explanation Mary Scholes, Professor and holder of a Research Chair in Applied Systems Analysis, University of the Witwatersrand and Robert (Bob) Scholes, Acting Director of the Global Change Institute (GCI), University of the Witwatersrand, University of the Witwatersrand Something interesting just happened in Wakkerstroom, a small town in Mpumalanga province, South Africa. The […]

The fork-tailed drongo or common drongo (Dicrurus adsimilis) is found across most of sub-Saharan Africa. It reaches a length of 23-26 cm. It is glossy black in colour – males are a bit more glossy than females – the tail is long and forked, the bill is strong and the eyes are a deep red. […]

ASPCA The Effects of Aging As they age, cats often suffer a decline in functioning, including their cognitive functioning. It’s estimated that cognitive decline – referred to as feline cognitive dysfunction, or FCD – affects more than 55% of cats aged 11 to 15 years and more than 80% of cats aged 16 to 20 […]

The puff adder is an ambush hunter that relies on its camouflage to sit and wait for prey to walk by. It is the fastest striking snake in the world at 5m per second strike speed. Unfortunately this is also why the most amount of medically significant bites come from the species. They are wide […]

Vicky Boult, Postdoctoral Researcher in Conservation Biology, University of Reading Worrying news has recently come to light: hundreds of elephants have been found dead in Botswana, and as yet, there is no clear cause of death. But as an expert in elephants and their conservation, I believe we can at least rule out a few […]

The actual process of producing the purring sound is complicated, and is still not completely understood, but it involves the muscles of the larynx and the diaphragm being activated by bursts of nerve activity that originate in the brain and occur 20 to 30 times every second. Jan Hoole, Lecturer in Biology, Keele University Why […]