International Polar Bear Day, Monday, Feb. 27th

Well, it's that time, again: it's International Polar Bear Day! These beautiful, enormous creatures are in the spotlight lately because there has been so much talk about their potential extinction. What a sad world it would be without them. Check out this great gallery, with lots of information in the captions, for more information about the world's biggest bear (along with the Grizzly -- go Canada!).
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/gallery/2012/feb/27/international-polar-bear-day-in-pictures#/?picture=386459748&index=0

Japanese Snow Monkey Culture

In the last post on ANW, I reported that animals enjoy sports and learn to use tools from older generations -- in other words, I noted that animals have what we call "culture," a shared set of experiences passed down from one group to the next that is not innate or instinctual, but learned. Well, these snow monkeys in Japan prove my point yet further. As you'll see in this video, this particular group of macaques is the only group in Japan that enjoys a fine day at the outdoor spa, just like so many Norwegian humans. They learned to do it from their babies, no less. Watch them take a dip in the hot springs:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/travel/video/2012/feb/06/snow-monkeys-hot-springs-video

Snowboarding Crow

When we think of animals playing, we tend to tell ourselves that they do so to hone their skills for living. For example, baby cougars stalk each other and wrestle, skills that they'll need to bring down prey when they're big cougars. But this video is about to make you rethink this explanation for animal play. Why, oh, why, I ask you, does a European Hooded Crow need to practice snowboarding? Answer: he doesn't. He just likes the sensation of whooshing through the snow, just like we do. We're running out of characteristics that divide humans from animals. It used to be "tool use" that made us unique, and then they realized that African monkeys had not only been using tools, but also making them for years -- and that they even passed down their tools from one generation to the next, like a mother passing on her sewing machine to a loyal daughter. So, we said, "Uh, snowboarding? Yeah! That's what makes us different from the beasts!" Think again!

http://veganelder.blogspot.com/2012/01/playing-in-snow.html

Fancy Fowl

"Gorgeous chicken" sounds a bit like an oxymoron. It's at least an uncommon combination of words. But I defy anyone to deny that this is a gorgeous chicken. Its feathers are so perfectly clean and white and wonderfully fluffy! It seems to know how beautiful it is.

Gecko Wisdom

This tiny Hawaiian gecko is memorable for more than his part in a fantastic photo. I think he teaches us a good lesson for 2012, something we can take to heart and try to apply to our own lives: we are all perfectly suited to our natural environments, and we shouldn't try to modify it to match some unnatural vision of what humans should be. Let nature lead you, as William Wordsworth wrote, and you'll find your truest self.

Meerly Christmas

I know it's a little perverse to make animals appear to be enjoying religious holidays, but I can't resist the antics of meerkats at any time of the year! The keepers at Blair Drummond Safari Park near Stirling, England, moved some traditional Christmas decorations into the meerkat enclosure and the results were, predictably, adorable! Apparently the little ones looked at their beautiful reflections in the tree ornaments all afternoon. Check out the full slideshow!

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/gallery/2011/dec/15/meerkats-christmas-scottish-safari-park#/?picture=383376864&index=3

Nose Dive!

Look out, wee mousy! This fox is going to come down hard into the snow and find you in your tiny, frozen hiding spot. What are the leaping foxes in our lives that we, mouse-like, don't see coming for us until it's too late?