Something About Animals

Random Fact: An elephant's trunk is so precise that it can pick up a single seed from the ground. (src)

Over 1.5 million animals in the world have been named so far, and no one is quite sure how many there are left to discover. Estimates on the number of animal species in the world range from 2 million to 100 million. The rainforests and deep oceans are still areas of mystery that have not been penetrated. Who knows how many undiscovered species could be living in them?

Of the animals discovered, about 10,000 species are endangered or threatened. And of course, there are so many that are already extinct and may never be discovered. Then there are those that lived so long ago that we can only find out about them through their fossils. I think it is important thought, that every now and then we remind ourselves that numbers are only that, and that they cannot express the full story, the whole picture. One and a half million is a number hard to imagine, but the sheer size of the number makes me realize how little I know, and makes me excited about starting to learn. And knowing that 10,000 species are in danger of becoming extinct is very different from appreciating what could be lost.

The point is that the world is full of mystery, but also that people are full of knowledge. There is a whole world out there, one that I hope I will someday be able to explore but as of yet have not had the chance to. But through this site, I hope to share the knowledge that I learn about the world of animals. So please, explore...

"For instance, on the planet Earth, man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much - the wheel, New York, wars, and so on - whilst all the dolphins had ever done was much about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man - for precisely the same reasons."

- Douglas Adams in The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy