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.

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.

Deer live in a variety of biomes ranging from tundra to the tropical rainforest. While often associated with forests, many deer are ecotone species that live in transitional areas between forests and thickets (for cover) and prairie and savanna (open space). The majority of large deer species inhabit temperate mixed deciduous forest, mountain mixed coniferous forest, tropical seasonal/dry forest, and savanna habitats around the world. Clearing open areas within forests to some extent may actually benefit deer populations by exposing the understory and allowing the types of grasses, weeds, and herbs to grow that deer like to eat. Additionally, access to adjacent croplands may also benefit deer. However, adequate forest or brush cover must still be provided for populations to grow and thrive.

The American horned owls and the Old World eagle-owls make up the genus Bubo, at least as traditionally circumscribed. This genus, depending on definition, contains about one or two dozen species of typical owls (family Strigidae) and occurs in many parts of the world. Some of the largest living Strigiformes are in Bubo. Traditionally, only owls with ear-tufts were included here, but this is now known to be wrong.

Global warming is the increase in the average temperature of the Earth’s near-surface air and oceans since the mid-20th century and its projected continuation. Global surface temperature increased 0.74 ± 0.18 °Global warming is the increase in the average temperatureC (1.33 ± 0.32 °F) during the last century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) concludes that most of the observed temperature increase since the middle of the 20th century was caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases resulting from human activity such as fossil fuel burning and deforestation. The IPCC also concludes that variations in natural phenomena such as solar radiation and volcanoes produced most of the warming from pre-industrial times to 1950 and had a small cooling effect afterward.

The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world’s largest carnivore species found on land. It is also the largest bear, together with the omnivore Kodiak bear which is approximately the same size. An adult male weighs around 350–680 kg (770–1,500 lb), while an adult female is about half that size. Although it is closely related to the brown bear, it has evolved to occupy a narrow ecological niche, with many body characteristics adapted for cold temperatures, for moving across snow, ice, and open water, and for hunting the seals which make up most of its diet. Although most polar bears are born on land, it spends most of its time at sea, hence its name meaning “maritime bear”, and can hunt consistently only from sea ice, spending much of the year on the frozen sea.

In the United States, the sole resident armadillo is the Nine-banded Armadillo , which is most common in the central southernmost states, particularly Texas. Their range is as far east as South Carolina and Florida and as far north as Nebraska; they have been consistently expanding their range over the last century due to a lack of natural predators and have been found as far north as Illinois, Indiana and southern Ontario.