Sanya, the Bactrian camel, leads her calf on a walk at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Minn. The male camel, who doesn't yet have a name, was born on March 7 and weighed 125 lbs at birth” width=”300″ height=”199″ class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-190″ />
Sanya, the Bactrian camel, leads her calf on a walk at the Minnesota Zoo in Apple Valley, Minn. The male camel, who doesn’t yet have a name, was born on March 7 and weighed 125 lbs at birth

Sumatran tigers, Jalur and Cinta, at the Symbio Wildlife Park in Helensburgh, Wollongong, New South Wales. Originally from New Zealand’s Auckland Zoo, where they were the first tigers born at the zoo, the two tigers were shipped to Australia as part of an international breeding program

Staff at St Tiggywinkles Wildlife Hospital in Buckinghamshire have made a little jumper to keep a spineless hedgehog warm. The animal was found by a member of the public in a garden in Bedford and has been named Spudlina by staff as her skin resembles that of a potato. The two year old is undergoing various tests to determine the cause of the loss of her spines and she is currently enjoying regular skin massages with a Vitamin E moisturiser

A flamingo loses its balance and falls over whilst trying to stand on one leg in its pool at Moscow Zoo

The polar bear cub Vicks walks under mother Olinka’s legs in their enclosure at the Blijdorp Zoo in Rotterdam

A baby squirrel curls up into a tiny ball while his mother gently carries him in her mouth to the safety of the nest

the baby lion up by the scruff of the neck with her mouth” width=”300″ height=”300″ class=”alignnone size-medium wp-image-196″ />
A lion cub is carried in its mother’s mouth in the Masai Mara game reserve in Kenya. The mother had taken her newborn out into the open for the first time and had just finished feeding it when the excited youngster misbehaved. The clumsy cub went back for more food and roughly nuzzled at the mother’s belly, causing her to let out a painful roar. The angry lioness then picked the baby lion up by the scruff of the neck with her mouth and carried the hapless youngster back to their den.

Two-month-old North China leopard cub Nekama sits in a basket in her enclosure at the Berlin zoo

Two new-born female white tiger cubs are pictured at Night Safari Zoo in Chiang Mai province, northern Thailand

A six-day-old female chimpanzee clings to her mother Uschi at Bratislava Zoo in Slovakia

A newborn White-Handed Gibbon baby is seen with its mother Bettina, aged 32, as she climbs a rope at the Ramat Gan Safari near Tel Aviv. The birth of the gibbon surprised staff, as it had been 11 years since Bettina last gave birth.

Baby lemurs hang onto their mother at a zoo in Hefei, China

Three baby meerkats are cared for by their family at Bristol Zoo Gardens

An eight-day old capybara relaxes with its mother in their enclosure at the San Diego Zoo, California

Seven ginger guinea pigs rescued by The Blue Cross animal charity have been named after famous red-heads – Fergie, Annie, Bonnie (Langford), Nicola (Roberts), Geri (Halliwell), Bianca (Butcher) and Lily (Cole). The copper-coloured critters were brought into The Blue Cross adoption centre in Burford, Oxfordshire, earlier this month along with five other guinea pigs because their owner could no longer care for them.

This abandoned black-and-white cat with a heart-shaped marking on her side has been named Bette Davis by staff at Gables Farm Dogs’ and Cats’ Home in Plymouth, Devon. She was handed in to the animal shelter last month looking dishevelled and emaciated after she was dumped by her previous owners. Bette is one of dozens of cats currently waiting to be re-homed at the centre.

A cat balances on a row of high fence posts. Owner Loree McComb photographed her cat Johnny balancing on the fence in her back garden in New Mexico, United States

Eleven month old red Tibetan mastiff dog, Hong Dong (Big Splash) was handed over to its new owner, a man, who was only idendified surnamed as Yang, at a private breeding base in Qingdao city, in east China’s Shandong province, on 12 March 2011. Media sources reported that the dog was bought by a multi-millionaire coal baron for 10 million yuan (£945,000) making it probably the most expensive dog in the world

Say hello to the seal who has learned to wave his flipper in exchange for fish. Charlie the seal has discovered that by pleasing the crowd with his friendly antics he can get more fish…

A great grey owl stares into the camera at the Bird Zoo in Marlow, eastern Germany

great sight to see when these majestic birds grab the fish right out of the water. Most of the time they catch them on their first attempt. This eagle flew straight back to the nest when he’d caught the pollock and he probably had to give the lot of it to the wife and kids.”

Thousands of starlings flock into the shape of a bird. Amateur photographer Kenneth Barker snapped the picture at Gretna Green in Scotland.

The tiger is the largest breed of cat. It is a highly adaptable animal and lives in some of the more densely populated areas of the world. The Bengal is the most recognized in the world.

It is native to most of eastern and southern Asia. It is at the top of the food chain with no known predators. Being a carnivore, it feeds on meat from other animals. It can reach up to 13 feet in length and 660 months in weight. Unlike the lion, it is a solitary and territorial animal. The first tigers were known to have live 1.2 million years ago.

The most numerous species, the Bengal, is a rusty brown colored animal with black stripes and a white fringe around the face. The coloring provides camouflage for the animal in the wild. Because of its powerfully built legs and shoulders, it can pull down prey heavier than itself. It usually hunts at night and will attack most animals for food. It will always have good cover, be near water and have enough prey. When it is wounded or unable to catch its prey, it will attack humans for food, hence the name man eater.

There are eight species: Bengal, Indochinese, Malayan, Sumatran, Siberian, South China, Balinese(extinct) and Javan(extinct). The remaining six are considered endangered. Due to growing human populations in their former habitats, conflicts with humans have resulted in the killing many of them.

Another variation of the Bengal is the white tiger. Although rare in the wild, it has been successfully bred in zoos. It tends to be crossed eyed and its life span is less than its orange counterpart. It is a popular attraction at a zoo and was used in Siegfried and Roy’s Las Vegas magic act until February, 2009.

The Animal Planet conducted a poll to determine the world’s favorite animal. It was voted first by 1% more than the dog. There is an estimated 12,000 tigers in the United States kept as pets by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. Only nineteen states ban private ownership of it. Like any wild animal, making it a pet can be dangerous especially when it reaches full size.

It is the national animal of many Asian countries. It is the mascot for many sports teams and companies. Many novels have been written about the animal. It is usually seen in most jungle movies. It remains as a symbol of a fierce but noble animal.
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