Animals & Science

The red panda is an endangered species that continues to decline in numbers as deforestation and agriculture encroach on its habitat and food sources. The National Zoo estimates the world's red...

With the arrival of Spring comes the sound of baby birds in their nests. On occasion a baby bird will fall out of its nest and without proper care the tiny creature will surely die. First try to...

Deer can find food in the wild on their own. They also will take any freebies you offer if given the chance. Food plots attract deer to a location. The deer are more healthy. Feed the deer and you...

The "Journal of Agricultural & Food Information" is a professional journal that highlights and discusses current research and issues related to agriculture and food, and is aimed at...

Iron oxide, commonly known as rust, may seem like an odd ingredient for bird food. In fact, this chemical compound is used in a wide range of products--from cosmetics to animal feed.

The red wiggler commonly used in home and commercial worm farming readily chows down on a range of kitchen scraps. Scientists categorize red wigglers as a manure worm. While that means they will...

Hummingbirds are frequently admired and sought after for their enchanting colors as well as the charming way they dart about. They prefer to feed from certain types of flowers such as such as...

Mice can get into homes easily and destroy belongings and food. If uncontrolled poisons are used to get rid of them, mouse carcasses may become inaccessible within walls and cause horrible odors...

A secondary consumer is a consumer in the second position on the food chain. A secondary consumer consumes the animals that eat only plants. Secondary consumers primarily consume meat and obtain...

Painted turtles are popular pets due to their wide availability, docile demeanor and colorful markings. Painted turtles thrive in captivity as long as they have adequate housing and a balanced...

Plankton is the basis of freshwater and saltwater ecosystems, meaning that all aquatic life is dependent upon the energy and oxygen it provides. Plankton is important to the food web as the...

A food web is composed of food chains. These chains are interconnected and serve to show students the relationships amongst plants, animals and even microorganisms. A food web demonstrates the...

Ants are social, industrious insects that possess a knack for seeking out the most beneficial living conditions for a thriving colony. Unfortunately, this means a host of problems for humans: Ants...

Grizzly bears are omnivorous; they are not fussy eaters and will eat plants, insects and animals. They spend most of their waking hours searching for food, and their movements are guided by this...

Food chains consist of producers, consumers, and decomposers. The majority of consumers and decomposers can be included in more than one food chain. The set of interrelated food chains is a food web.

Grizzly bears, also known as brown bears, are different from other species of bear because of their size, coloration and endangered status in the U.S. Their name comes from the length of the...

Aquatic habitats include all bodies of water, such as ponds, lakes and oceans, as well as streams and rivers. Wetlands specifically are some of the most productive and important ecosystems on the...

Tapeworms are parasites most commonly found in developing countries without adequate sewage and water treatment facilities or rigorous livestock management, although they also infect people in the...

Taking care of a baby bird takes a lot of skill and time, although the rewards are great. Birds make wonderful pets, and raising one from a young age is a bonding experience, especially for the...

If you're a bird lover and you find a baby orphaned bird, chances are you want to do everything you can to make sure it survives and thrives. Unfortunately, many well-meaning people wind up doing...

The digestion system is how the body consumes food, absorbs it in the intestines, and secretes the waste products. The digestive system runs from the mouth, through the stomach, into the small...

Raising sea monkeys can be a barrel of fun, and they are quite easy to care for. The main necessity is to feed them. If you purchased your sea monkeys from a company, you can likely order their...

Hummingbirds have long been very popular with people, and many consider it a treat to have one visit their yard. This has caused quite a few of these people to hang hummingbird feeders in hopes of...

Hummingbirds are graceful and exciting to watch. The best method of bringing hummingbirds into your yard is with a hummingbird feeder. Buying the special food can be expensive, but it can easily...

Eating in space is difficult due to the lack of gravity, but freeze-dried food solves early problems that astronauts contended with. In those early days of space travel, they ate liquefied food by...

Squirrels are primarily vegetarian but do include a few insects in their diets. Most of what they eat includes roots, leaves, stems, shoots, bark, fruit and nuts from a broad range of plants....

You've found a baby bird---perhaps the most vulnerable creature on earth. Your best option is to try to locate the nest from which it came. Contrary to popular belief, birds will take back babies...

Wild birds lay eggs when environmental conditions are best for providing adequate shelter and food for building nests and feeding their young. Typically nesting occurs during the spring season,...

Raccoons (procyon lotor) are best known for the black eye mask, bushy ringed tail, and mischievous nature. They have five fingers on their softly-padded, sensitive paws, are excellent climbers,...

Euglenas are unique unicellular organisms because they are both autotrophic (making their own food) and heterotrophic (attaining their food from outside sources). Euglenas possess chloroplasts...

More and more people are actively working to preserve nature near their homes and offices. As humans encroach on animal habitats, animals find it more difficult to find food year-round. Many...

Paramecia are microscopic single-celled organisms that are widespread in many freshwater environments. In fact, a drop or two of pond water can yield hundreds of these creatures, and viewing them...

The first documented hummingbird feeder was a bottle filled with sugared water and decorated to look like a flower. In the beginning, the purpose of the hummingbird feeder was simply to attract...

In deer country, it's common to see large numbers of does and bucks browsing in fields at dusk or during early morning hours. Deer are wild animals, always on the lookout for predators and danger....

Birds do not have teeth and therefore do not chew food like mammals do. They grind up their food in an organ called a gizzard. This is a muscular organ that is part of the stomach. It contracts...

Whales catch food through the use of echolocation, which involves sending out a rhythmic clicking and buzzing noise that will bounce off objects, letting the whales know the distance between...

A gorilla's diet consists of mainly plant food, as gorillas are generally herbivorous animals. Get an idea of the types of plants gorillas each, which can add up to 40 pounds of food a day, with...

There are over 40 different types of birds that are commonly referred to as sea gulls. Many people do not even realize that there is more than one type of sea gull. Sea gulls are a common site in...

Squirrels forage for their food within 200 yards of their nests. This is about the area of two football fields, and it is the total distance that they are comfortable covering. They even tend to...

Mussels are a type of mollusk, typically found in freshwater. There are over 750 species of mussel, but all species share a similarity in how they feed.

Dolphins have no need to chew their food, because time dictates that they consume fish quickly so that there is no risk of the fish swimming away. Find out how evolutionary design has caused...

Deer are attracted to certain kinds of foods. A farmer will often feed his deer grains, much like chickens, as their main staple of food. However, deer will eat almost anything that they can...

Jellyfish eat a number of different things, but their main source of food is plankton, which are tiny plants that float in the ocean. Discover other food sources for jellyfish, such as...

A wolf is a canid, a carnivorous animal in the dog family. The wolf with its relatives the fox, coyote and domestic dog primarily eats meat. The adult wolf weighs 40 to 175 pounds. A typical wolf...

Attracting birds to your backyard is not only fun, but rewarding as well! Perhaps this is one reason birding has gained in popularity over the years. With a some simple steps, you too can have...

A pheasant eats a diet of grass, weeds, grains and insects. They also eat corn and soybeans. As for crops, pheasants eat berries, apples, oats, peas and alfalfa sprouts. During most seasons of the...

Boasting the best nose on the planet, a bear relies on its highly evolved sense of smell to find sources of food that are sometimes miles away. Once a meal is found, bears often use their powerful...

Hamsters are small rodents. In the wild they are native to southeast Europe, western Asia and the Middle East. Hamsters live in underground burrows that they dig themselves. Due to the hot climate...

Blue jays live in wooded forests all over North America and in close proximity to people and food sources. Learn about how blue jays find food through bird feeders and plants with berries with...

Gophers are burrowing rodents, and as such, they find their food primarily by their sense of touch and smell like other rodents do, such as moles. Gophers have large heads, huge teeth and strong...