Small Mammals

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Small mammals take up a lot of room in our world. These smaller sized warm blooded creatures range from guinea pigs, hamsters, to squirrels, bats, rabbits, mice, and woodchucks.

Animal Friendly Companies: Pet Policies at Work

You probably have heard  of Bring Your Pet (or Dog) to work day, but the conventional ways companies have viewed pets is continuing to expand. Some companies are including pets into the workplace by offering leave time for ailing pets, sanctioning pet areas in the office, and offering pet insurance. This is a growing trend … Continue reading "Animal Friendly Companies: Pet Policies at Work"

Animals Adaptations to Harsh Environments

Animals amaze us with their capacity to exist and thrive in the darkest, driest, hottest, or coldest places in the world. Fanimal has compiled a list of some of the toughest creatures out there and provided insight into their natural mechanisms for adapting to harsh conditions. Below are seven different animals that can teach us … Continue reading "Animals Adaptations to Harsh Environments"

Animals and Curiosity

Clara Battle What do you view as curiosity? Are animals curious? Richard W. Byrne, a professor of psychology and neuroscience at University of St. Andrews in the United Kingdom, says animals who are in the category of ‘generalists’ are more likely to exhibit behaviors considered “curious.” Generalists are animals whose genetic predispositions allow them to … Continue reading "Animals and Curiosity"

Animals That Live In Dirt

Dirt! It’s underneath our feet, supports our living ecosystem, helps us grow tasty fruits and vegetables, and is the home to thousands of different species. Around 25% of Earth’s creatures use soil as their habitat, from Worms, Ants, Bees, Termites, Moles, Gophers, Armadillos, and Groundhogs. Animals that dig or live primarily underground are characterized as … Continue reading "Animals That Live In Dirt"

Checklist for Traveling With Your Pet

Traveling with your pet can be a big task. However, under the right conditions, it can be a better option for you and your pet than leaving them at home or at a pet daycare. Below is  a checklist designed to keep you and your pet comfortable, healthy, and happy. Assess your pet’s health and … Continue reading "Checklist for Traveling With Your Pet"

Civet Series 1: Introduction

This post is the first in a four part series about civets, written by Jes Hooper. Welcome Fanimals and thanks for having me! My name is Jes Hooper and I am an Anthrozoology PhD student from the UK, here to talk to you about civets. As this is probably an opening sentence that needs some … Continue reading "Civet Series 1: Introduction"

Civet Series 2: Kopi Luwak Tourism Trade in Bali

This post is the second in a four part series about civets, written by Jes Hooper. Welcome back Fanimals, to the special blog series on human-civet encounter. This week I will be sharing with you my recent work on the kopi luwak (civet coffee) tourism trade in Bali, Indonesia.  For the past year, I have … Continue reading "Civet Series 2: Kopi Luwak Tourism Trade

Civet Series 3: The Civet Pet Trade

This post is the third in a four part series about civets, written by Jes Hooper. Hi again Fanimals! Welcome back to the third week of the special edition civet blog series. So far, we have seen how humans and civets meet from afar through consuming kopi luwak (civet coffee) and in person through kopi … Continue reading "Civet Series 3: The Civet Pet Trade"

Civet Series 4: Owston’s Civet

This post is the final in a four part series about civets, written by Jes Hooper. Hi there Fanimals! Welcome back to the final blog post in the special edition civet series.  So far, we have introduced the Viverridae family, the ancient lineage of cat-like animals, and we have seen how their relationships with humans … Continue reading "Civet Series 4: Owston’s Civet"

Consuming Civet Coffee

Learn about concerns and considerations of consuming civet coffee as part of Fanimal’s Animals & Tourism video series. Video presentation by Grace Lacher.

Fanimal Rescue Month

Helping U.S. Endangered Animals Now

According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), there are 41,415 endangered plant and animal species and 16,306 of them are nearing extinction. And the US alone has over 1,400 endangered plant and animal species. The best way to fight on behalf of endangered species is to get involved and take action. Here … Continue reading "Helping U.S. Endangered Animals Now"

How Instagram’s animal welfare policy is changing your feed and the lives of animals

Instagram is full of colleagues, friends, and former classmates posting photos of themselves on vacation drinking fancy cocktails, swimming in blue water, watching over-saturated sunsets, and maybe, even exploiting animals. Animal tourism has become a significant part of the travel industry, attracting a growing number of people every year.  If you ask a tourist, they … Continue reading "How Instagram’s animal welfare policy is changing

Interesting Facts about the Desert and its Animals

When we think of dirt, we probably think of soil for growing crops, dusty fields, or hiking along trails through the forest or in the mountains. But the sand of the world’s deserts falls into our general idea of “dirt” as well. Animals interact with this form of dirt very differently than their counterparts living … Continue reading "Interesting Facts about the Desert and its

Kookoo for Quokkas! The Happiest Animal in the World

If you are on any social media platform, you may have seen a small animal posing with a huge smile on its face. These animals are called Quokkas and they have taken over social media with their friendly appearance and behavior. And, bonus points, they have been named the happiest animal in the world. This … Continue reading "Kookoo for Quokkas! The Happiest Animal in

Puppy Mill Interview with Dr. Kristin Lamoureux

Naomi Lichtenstein How Badly Do You Want a Puppy? This week I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Kristin Lamoureux, who serves on the Advisory Council of Fanimal, in addition to her work at Virginia Tech University’s Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management, where she works full time. Her background is in sustainable development and she … Continue reading "Puppy Mill Interview with Dr. Kristin Lamoureux"

Save Pangolins

In July 2019, Mr. Raoul Mbali, Operations Manager of the Forest, Research and Environment in Tshopo Project (FORETS Project) which is based in the Yangambi Biosphere Reserve, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) contacted MENTOR-POP Fellow; Jonas Kambale in Kisangani. On his way from Yangambi to Kisangani (about 100 Km), he met two young boys selling … Continue reading "Save Pangolins"

Selfies with Animals

Animal exploitation has become a growing concern among animal advocates with the increased use of social media to share life experiences. Through this lens, issues have come to light regarding how we photograph and interact with animals. Consider that 40% of selfies taken with animals on Instagram have been labeled as “bad” in regards to … Continue reading "Selfies with Animals"

Small but Mighty

Animals range from gigantic to tinier than a speck of dust. Some of the smallest organisms on earth have unique and crucial benefits to our ecosystem, some are just plain peculiar. At Fanimal, we value them all, and during November are honoring critters on the teeny-tinier side. Hummingbirds are some of Earth’s most interesting avian … Continue reading "Small but Mighty"

Swimming Swine

Learn about swimming swine, a popular tourist attraction in the islands of the Bahamas, as part of Fanimal’s Animals & Tourism video series. Video presentation by Natalie Schafer.

The Aye-Aye: Unlike any Other

Dayna Rothenbucher The aye-aye, scientifically known as Daubentonia madagascariensis, is endemic to the island of Madagascar along with many other kinds of lemurs. This particular primate is so far removed from other primates that it was split off into its own Family of Daubentoniidae, which contains the single Genus and species of Daubentonia madagascariensis.  The … Continue reading "The Aye-Aye: Unlike any Other"

The History of Pet Portraits

It is currently commonplace to take photos of and with your pets. We even take photos with our friends’ pets, our family member’s pets…basically any cute animals that we encounter. It is also common to display photos of your pets in your home or share them on your social media accounts. However, the admiration of … Continue reading "The History of Pet Portraits"

The Secret Sounds of Quiet Animals

Even though animals cannot speak in the same way that  humans do, they still have their own unique way of communicating with each other.  Some communicate by making powerful roars, chirping loudly, screaming, or barking. However, some animals are fairly quiet which can certainly have its advantages. One animal that quietly moves  from place to … Continue reading "The Secret Sounds of Quiet Animals"

Tracking Animals Through Their Print

Animals usually have certain senses that prevail over others. Some animals have phenomenal hearing, an acute sense of smell, or extremely sensitive nerve endings that detect even slight movements in water or the ground. For humans, the sense of sight seems to be one of the strongest senses for studying surroundings, and tracking things. We … Continue reading "Tracking Animals Through Their Print"

Ways That Animals Express Joy or Happiness

Ludwig Huber, a researcher at the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna’s Messerli Research Institute, conducted a study in 2015 which conclusively found that dogs can interpret emotion through human facial expression. Throughout the study, Huber and his team realized that man’s best friend had the ability to differentiate images of happy human faces from images … Continue reading "Ways That Animals Express Joy or Happiness"

What’s a pangolin, you ask?

Why Animals Need Soil

Soil is essential to every animal on earth. It is a critical part in providing food, water, air, and habitat to animals.   Food One of the most important reasons animals depend on soil is because it allows for their food to grow. Plants are a main source of food for herbivores, omnivores and even … Continue reading "Why Animals Need Soil"

Why Dirt and Animals Could Benefit Your Immune System

We know that many people obtain comfort from emotional support animals while other people obtain assistance from trained service animals. It turns out that spending time with animals can also improve other aspects of human health, such as heightened immune systems. A 2004 study found that college students who spent time petting a dog tested … Continue reading "Why Dirt and Animals Could Benefit Your

Why Does My Dog Do That?

Have you ever seen your dog do something that made you think Why is my dog doing that? Well, it turns out that most of your dog’s weird habits have a meaning! Here are five odd dog behaviors that have actual meaning. Chasing tails or “Whirling” In almost every cartoon with a dog, you can … Continue reading "Why Does My Dog Do That?"

Why You Should Give a Dam About Beavers

The beaver (castor canadensis) is the largest rodent living in North America, and one of nature’s most fascinating architects. They are equipped with special tools that allow them incredible construction abilities in places that are otherwise very difficult to work. Beavers work tirelessly to still moving water. The goal is to create a pond with … Continue reading "Why You Should Give a Dam About