You will not find marine iguanas like me anywhere else in our world. We are the only sea-going lizards! When marine iguanas don’t have enough to eat, they not only become thinner, they also become shorter. Scientists have observed that during times of EI Niño-induced food shortages, our bodies shrink in length and then regrow when food becomes plentiful again. The researchers think that we actually digest up to 20% of our bones to survive. Adult iguanas can switch between shrinkage and growth repeatedly throughout their lifetime – a perfect adaptation to EI Niño events.

Shiro first headed for the beach. Without any hesitation, he ran into the water and started swimming. The distance from Aka to Zamami is 3.6 kilometers, and the seas can be rough. Altogether, it took about three hours for Shiro to reach the island. There, waiting for him, was a beautiful female mongrel named Marilyn. That is why Shiro repeatedly swam back and forth between the islands. The love story of the two dogs became so popular throughout Japan that a movie was made about it in 1988 entitled, “I Want to See Marilyn.”

Besides enjoying the music played by people, we animals are brilliant at playing the piano, drums, and other instruments to create our own melodies. This horse is tickling the keys like no other. Just like some of the jazz greats, a terrific freestyle piece on the keyboard! Nora（a cat）, an animal shelter rescuee originally from New Jersey, USA, is famous for her piano concertos. She plays daily much to the delight of her caregiver Betsy Alexander, a piano teacher. She even plays duets with her human friends!

Have you ever quickly stood up and felt faint or light-headed? The unsettling sensation can be caused by a drop in blood flow to your brain. We have the unique ability to not pass out from dizziness when we lower our head to ground level to drink water and then lift our head up again. Another special way we can control our body has even assisted astronauts with space travel. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) scientists in the US observed that baby giraffes, to prevent blood pooling in their legs, rapidly thicken or inflate their veins after birth to walk.

We feel we are quite unique and very intelligent. For example, scientists have concluded our smarts to be comparable to that of the powerful vegan primate, the wise gorilla. We are also known to be very sensitive to our surroundings. For example, our species can sense the change in the air when heavy winds and rains are on their way. As a result, we become more active and expressive in our movements, chasing each other around playfully thus causing ripples and waves on the river’s surface. Local humans who have been astute enough to pay attention to us have been able to predict the coming of a storm whenever they see us act in this way.

Animals are inherently spiritual and always connected to God, and Dr. Du says they too may leave behind relics after passing. It’s very easy for animals to have luminous relics. Either a stone-like relic or a flower-like relic. Dogs and cats understand the truth. They are very straight, very innocent. They come to help people. So, their world is very simple. Animals are actually afraid of pressure or stress. Don’t say, “Mommy loves you so much.” Don’t just say you love them. In their world, “I love you even if you don’t love me.” Love is not possessive! Love should mean seeing the needs of the other person only. That is real love.

Not only do canine and feline companions provide psychological support to humans, but we also are very gifted in assisting with your physical conditions. But why are dogs and cats able to relieve your stress? It is because they can smell it with their nose. When you are very sad, and when you pour your heart out and talk to them, they can smell the changes in your hormones. So, in fact, they often comfort you. “It’s ok; it’s all right.” After all your sorrows are washed away, you will feel better.

When we love the animals, our love will naturally develop. Those of you who are taking care of dogs, birds, or other pets, know how it’s like. When you are with them, and when you look at them, you just want to love them. You can’t think of anything else, and there is nothing you can do about it. You just want to love them and pamper them. Then, naturally your home is permeated with this ambience of love. It will engulf our whole house, our home, and eventually it will spread to the world. If there is such a loving atmosphere in every home, the world will definitely be in peace.

If you’ve never heard a kookaburra singing, just think of your laughter after hearing a really funny joke. That gives you an idea of the echoing sound of the ever-chuckling kookaburra! In indigenous Australian culture, kookaburras are viewed as emotionally fragile birds. Making fun of us can hurt our feelings, thus taking away our joyous laugh which serves to wake up our world. It is believed that great respect should be shown to us at all times to keep harmony and happiness on our planet.

Have you ever wondered how, outside of the trash like plastic or wastewater that may sadly end up there, the seas remain so pure？ If you guessed that it is the amazing sea ecosystems that keep the oceanic environments so beautiful, you are right! It is known that there are more than one billion microbes in a liter of seawater. Some animals, such as sponges, clams, oysters, and mussels, keep the ocean pure by continuously filtering the water. A cleaner wrasse works about four hours a day and can clean more than 2000 “customers” daily!

We are frugivorous and nectarivorous and thus love nectar and pollen from the flowers of trees. Moreover, we eat various fruits like bananas, mangos, figs, dates and avocados – almost any kind of pulpy fruit is good for us. Because fruit is one of our primary foods, we are also known as fruit bats. We are also called flying foxes because we can soar in the air and our cute, furry faces look quite a bit like that of a fox! Bats, including megabats and microbats, are the only mammals capable of real and sustained flight with our own wings.

Researchers have analyzed the purrs of many different cats and have determined that the sounds we make are mostly within the range of 20 to 140 hertz. Experiments have shown that vibrations in this range are therapeutic for bone growth, pain relief, mending fractures, reducing swelling, wound healing, muscle growth and repair, breathing difficulties, and relieving migraines. So, when we cats get injured, we may purr to stimulate our own healing. What’s more – since we know we have this ability – we will often cuddle up and purr when our human companion in hurt or sick, because we want to help.

As a matter of fact, two researchers did some experiments and found strong evidence that we cats are sensitive to human emotional cues. They found that the cats behaved differently when their caregivers was smiling compared to when they were frowning. When faced with their smiling companion, a cat was much more likely to show affectionate behavior such as purring, rubbing or sitting on their lap. The cats also seemed to want to spend more time with their smiling human friend than when he or she was frowning.

We are the heaviest known bony fish in the world, look like a laterally flattened oval disc. One of our fascinating characteristics is that we don’t have a real tail or caudal fin, and our back end looks truncated. It is pretty normal if you find us floating on the surface of the water with one side up towards the sun. We are well-known as the ultimate sunbathers, and that is why we are called sunfish.

Animal moms are compassionate and caring, thinking nothing of sacrificing their health and safety to defend, nurture and raise their young. Their wholehearted dedication to their babies deserves our utmost admiration and appreciation. Hens are exemplary brave mothers and very mindful of their chicks’ safety. During a rainstorm, if there is no shelter, momma hen will spread her wings and let her babies stand under them. She doesn’t care that she gets completely soaked at all!

Dr. Kang believes the best parenting style for today’s youngsters are the “dolphin parents” who strike a balance between the two previously mentioned extremes（“tiger parents” and ”jellyfish parents”）. Similar to dolphin mothers in the wild, dolphin parents are collaborative and have rules and expectations, but they also encourage independence and creativity. Did you know dolphin mothers are superheroes? They do not sleep for a whole month after they give birth to a calf! Do you know why?

In fact, I truly hope everyone can be loving and compassionate to all beings, every week of every year! And being vegan is the best way to start showing your gentleness and compassion to animals. Animals are more than just wonderfully intelligent. They are selfless, loving and devoted friends, as well as parents and spouses. No matter what species, if you give them love and respect, they will love and protect and help you in so many ways, both visibly, and invisibly.

Celebrating Be Kind to Animals Week May 5-11, 2019. Animals are loving. Animals are noble. They are fun! They are just like us. Animals are great! In honor of Be Kind to Animals Week, I invite you to join me in watching a few heartwarming clips of my fellow animal friends.

I’ve heard many people say, “Aww, he’s so adorable!” But if you really want to see how cute a chinchilla can be, you should check out my cousin BuBu. She has lots of photos and videos on Facebook and Instagram. Our super-soft fur is what we are famous for, but it is also the reason why we have almost become extinct in the wild. I’ll bet you’ve never seen a chinchilla in the wild. There are a few reasons for that. Number one: When was the last time you climbed over 3,000 meters? Number two: How well can you see in the dark?

Now, the common misconception is that those needles must be dipped in medication, steroids, something. And I say, no, no, no, they’re just stainless steel needles. There’s no magic here. There’s no medicine. When we put the needles in the acupoints, that’s where the action actually starts to occur. Oftentimes when a patient has the acupuncture, it does have a calming effect, and most clients will report that for the rest of the day or the next day, their pet is more quiet than usual.