Puffins are any of three auk species (or alcids) in the bird genus Fratercula with a brightly coloured beak in the breeding season. These are pelagic seabirds that feed primarily by diving in the water. They breed in large colonies on coastal cliffs or offshore islands, nesting in crevices among rocks or in burrows in the soil.All puffin species have large beaks. They will shed the colourful outer parts of their bills after the breeding season, leaving a smaller and duller beak. Their short wings are adapted for swimming with a flying technique under water. In the air, they beat their wings rapidly (up to 400 times per minute) in swift flight, often flying low over the ocean’s surface. Similarities in body shape and colour between puffins and penguins are due to convergent evolution.

The puffins are stocky, short-winged and short-tailed birds, with black upperparts and white or brownish-grey underparts. The head has a black cap, the face is mainly white, and the feet are orange-red. The bill appears large and colourful during the breeding season. The colourful outer part of the bill is shed after the breeding season, revealing a smaller and duller true bill beneath.

Although the puffins are vocal at their breeding colonies, they are silent at sea. They fly relatively high above the water, typically 10 m (30 ft) as compared with the 1.6 m (5 ft) of other auks.

Puffins breed in colonies on coasts and islands; several current or former island breeding sites are named as Puffin Island. The male Atlantic Puffin builds the nest and exhibits strong nest-site fidelity. Both sexes of the Horned Puffin help to construct their nest. Horned Puffin burrows are usually about 1 meter (3 feet) deep, ending in a chamber, while the tunnel leading to a Tufted Puffin burrow may be up to 2.75 meters (9 feet) in length. The nesting substrate of the Tufted and Atlantic Puffins is soft soil, into which tunnels are dug; in contrast the nesting sites of Horned Puffins are rock crevices on cliffs. The Atlantic Puffin burrow is usually lined with material such as grass, leaves and feathers but is occasionally unlined. The eggs of the Atlantic Puffin are creamy white but can be occasionally tinged lilac.

Puffins form long-term pair bonds or relationships. The female lays a single egg, and both parents incubate the egg and feed the chick.

Puffin Birds are a favorite bird among sea life habitats. Their unique look is appealing to many. For all those Puffin Bird enthusiasts I created the I Love / I Heart Puffins design.  

For centuries, whales have been hunted for meat and as a source of raw materials. By the middle of the 20th century, however, industrial whaling had left many species seriously endangered, and whaling was ended in all but a few countries. Several organizations have been founded to try to eliminate hunting of whales and other threats to whales’ survival.

The Blue Whale is the largest known mammal that has ever lived, and the largest living animal, at up to 35 m (105 ft) long and 150 tons.

Whales generally live for 40–90 years, depending on the species, and on rare occasions live over a century. Recently a fragment of a lance which had been used by commercial whalers in the 19th century was found in a bowhead whale off Alaska, showing the whale to be between 115 and 130 years old. Furthermore, a technique for dating age from aspartic acid racemization in the whale eye, combined with a harpoon fragment, indicated an age of 211 years for one male, making bowhead whales the longest lived extant mammal species. Whale flukes often can be used as identifying markings, as is the case for humpback whales. This is the method by which the famous Humphrey the whale was identified in three separate sightings.

The koala is broadly similar in appearance to the wombat (its closest living relative), but has a thicker coat, much larger ears, and longer limbs. The koala has large, sharp claws to assist with climbing tree trunks. Weight varies from about 14 kg (31 lb) for a large southern male, to about 5 kg (11 lb) for a small northern female. The koala’s five fingers are arranged with opposable thumbs, providing better gripping ability. The first two fingers are positioned in apposition on the front paws, and the first three fingers for the hind paws. The koala is one of the few mammals (other than primates) that has fingerprints. Koala fingerprints are similar to human fingerprints; even with an electron microscope, it can be quite difficult to distinguish between the two.

Conventional wisdom has held that the chicken was domesticated in India, but recent evidence suggests that domestication of the chicken was already under way in Vietnam over 10,000 years ago. From India the domesticated fowl made its way to the Persianized kingdom of Lydia in western Asia Minor, domestic fowl were imported to Greece by the fifth century BCE. Fowl had been known in Egypt since the 18th Dynasty, with the “bird that lays every day” having come to Egypt from the land between Syria and Shinar, Babylonia, according to the annals of Tutmose III.

The chicken is believed to have descended from both the Red Junglefowl and the Grey Junglefowl, though hybrids of both wild types usually tend to be sterile. Recent genetic work has revealed that the genotype for yellow skin present in the domestic fowl is not present in what is otherwise its closest kin, the Red Junglefowl. It is most likely that the yellow skin trait in domestic birds originated in the Grey Junglefowl.

There are several roads in the park, but none penetrate far into the interior. The park features a network of hiking trails, although the size and remoteness means that it will usually take more than a weekend to get to the high country in the interior. The sights of the rain forest, with plants run riot and dozens of hues of green, are well worth the possibility of rain sometime during the trip, although months of July, August and September frequently have long dry spells.

An unusual feature of Olympic National Park is the opportunity for backpacking along the beach. The length of the coastline in the park is sufficient for multi-day trips, with the entire day spent walking along the beach. Although idyllic compared to toiling up a mountainside one must be aware of the tide; at the narrowest parts of the beaches, high tide washes up to the cliffs behind, blocking passage. There are also several promontories that must be struggled over, using a combination of muddy steep trail and fixed ropes.

The Crucifix Toad is a ground dwelling frog, which inhabits the arid areas of western New South Wales and Queensland. To survive long periods without water, the Crucifix Toad will bury itself underground and encase itself in a cocoon. Upon rain, they will emerge from the ground, and begin breeding in temporary ponds. The males call from within the pond to attract the female. The call is a “woop”. The development of the tadpole is rapid. This is to reduce the risk of them dying from the pond drying up.

The frog exudes a tacky and elastic “frog glue” onto its dorsal skin when provoked. Its purpose is uncertain; it may be intended to confuse and deter predators such as snakes, or to trap biting insects (which would later be consumed when the frog sheds and eats its skin). Male Crucifix Toads have been documented to use this glue to attach themselves onto the larger females during mating.

The leatherback turtle behind three is the largest of all living sea turtles and the fourth largest modern reptilecrocodilians. It can easily be differentiated from other modern sea turtles by its lack of a bony shell. Instead, its carapace is covered by skin and oily flesh. Instead of teeth, the leatherback turtle has points on the tomium of its upper lip, with backwards spines in its throat to help it swallow food. Leatherback turtles can dive to depths as great as 4,200 feet (1,280 metres).

The leatherback turtle is a global species with a cosmopolitan range. Of all the extant sea turtle species, D. coriacea has the widest distribution, reaching as far north as Alaska and Norway and as far south as the Cape of Good Hope in Africa and the southernmost tip of New Zealand. The leatherback is found in all tropical and subtropical oceans, and its range has been known to extend well into the Arctic Circle. Globally, there are three major, genetically-distinct populations. The Atlantic Dermochelys population is separate from the ones in the Eastern and Western Pacific, which are also distinct from each other.

A third possible Pacific subpopulation has been proposed, specifically the leatherback turtles nesting in Malaysia. This subpopulation however, has almost been eradicated. The beach of Rantau Abang in Terengganu, Malaysia, had once had the largest nesting population in the world with 10,000 nests per year. However in 2008 only 2 leatherback turtles nested at Rantau Abang and unfortunately the eggs were infertile. The major cause for the decline in the leatherback turtles is the practice of egg collection in Malaysia.

This breed is first mentioned in the time of Moses, roughly 1500 BC The first Angora goats were brought to Europe by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, about 1554, but, like later imports, were not very successful.

Angora goats were first introduced in the United States in 1849 by Dr. James P. Davis. Seven adult goats were a gift from Sultan Abdülmecid I in appreciation for his services and advice on the raising of cotton. More goats were imported over time until the Civil War destroyed most of the large flocks in the south. Eventually, angora goats began to thrive in the southwest, particularly in Texas, wherever there are sufficient grasses and shrubs to sustain them. Texas to this day remains the largest mohair producer in the U.S., and second largest in the world.

In North America, the moose range includes almost all of Canada, most of central and western Alaska, much of New England and upstate New York, the upper Rocky Mountains, Northeastern Minnesota, and Michigan’s Upper Peninsula and Isle Royale in Lake Superior. Isolated moose populations have been verified as far south as the mountains of Utah and Colorado. In 1978 a few breeding pairs were introduced in western Colorado, and the state’s moose population is now more than 1,000.

In Europe, moose are found in large numbers throughout Norway, Sweden, Finland and the Baltic States. They are also widespread through Russia. Small populations remain in Poland (Biebrza Nat. Park), Belarus and the Czech Republic.

Geese are monogamous, living in permanent pairs throughout the year; however, unlike most other permanently monogamous animals, they are territorial only during the short nesting season. Paired geese are more dominant and feed more, two factors which result in more young being produced.