In the United States, the bison is an iconic animal, commonly referred to as the American buffalo. When we are babies, we are called “red dogs” because of our orange-red fur. As we grow up, the hair turns dark brown. We have distinctive physical features – a huge head with short, curving black horns, a big, muscular shoulder hump and a shaggy coat. The hair in the front is longer than in the rear.

We ants have been around for more than 130 million years or since the early Cretaceous Period. Today, there are about 14,000 species of us, and an estimated 10 quadrillion ants live on the earth. You can find us everywhere except Antarctica. As social beings, we all live in colonies of various sizes, from just several ants living in a twig to supercolonies with many millions of individuals. We are

Located in the Indian Ocean 400 kilometers off the eastern coast of Africa, this magical place is the fourth largest island in the world after Greenland, New Guinea, and Borneo. Isolated from other landmasses for 88 million years, Madagascar is home to an abundance of unique and unusual species of wildlife. Nearly 90% of animals and plants are endemic, which means they are found nowhere else in th

In this episode, I will introduce more extraordinary cool daddies in the animal world. They are all champion fathers in their own ways. The endurance winner is the emperor penguin dad, for sure! These fluffy and wobbling birds live and breed in the Antarctic landscape. In winter, after the female transfers her precious single egg to her partner, she goes to the sea straight away to replenish herse

Being a father is one of the toughest jobs in the world, and their love is often underrated. It takes a tremendous amount of work and caring to be a good dad for both humans and animals alike. In this two-part program, I will introduce some of the greatest animal papas I know of, who demonstrate the essence of fatherhood through their dedication and sacrifices for their young. The first great fath

Today, she will highlight her belief that whether human beings can continue to exist on our planet will fundamentally depend on our animal friends. “We realize today that there is an incredible cooperation, even love, a solidarity between animals! Probably much stronger than between humans. I think the future belongs to the animals. The animals will save us because they’ve kept the ecological inte

It is our honor to introduce Ms. de la Bigne to you in this two-part series. She is a passionate French animal advocate, journalist, and for 12 years was a presenter for a daily program aired by the French national radio network France Info. This thoughtful lady has authored many books, including “The Secrets of Animal Intelligence.” In 2016, she established an annual event called the Animal Summe

We whales are mysterious beings and one of the oldest aquatic mammals in our world. Although we live in the oceans, 50 million years ago, our ancestors lived on land. Today, we are living almost everywhere in the world’s oceans, from the North to the South Pole. We have a lot of human-like features - we breathe air, have a little hair, are warm-blooded, and feed our babies with milk. There are two

No matter the species, mothers lovingly feed, zealously protect, and gently discipline their young. Nothing compares to the pure and selfless love of a mum for her babies. In today’s program, we will feature some heart-touching animal mothers’ stories, in honor of all the moms around our world. In mid-January 2020, a koala mum was found by Dr. Miller and firefighters clinging to a burned tree. She

On today's show, we will share insights from Supreme Master Ching Hai concerning the many ways in which animals benefit our world. “The animals come to this planet with a special role. Many of them are able to bring down divine power from Heaven, or love, just through their presence because they are very connected with the Divine at all times. Some, like horses and rabbits, can protect their human

Be kind to Animals Week has been observed in the first full week of May every year since 1973. Although it started in the US, this a celebration of compassion that all of humanity can participate in. Our two-part program will feature Supreme Master Ching Hai’s wisdom about how animals bless humans, as well as exemplary stories about some of these incredible furry friends. Supreme Master Ching Hai

In today’s show, we will discuss four animals that are also extraordinary in terms of their ability to survive. They are also known as water bears, which comes from the way they walk. Aside from their tiny size and ubiquity, what stands out about tardigrades is their durability. The physiological response that enables tardigrades to be so tough is called cryptobiosis. It is a reversible suspension

In this two-part program, we will showcase some of the species that live the longest. They are blessed with what is called “biological immortality.” We lobsters are one of those species! Researchers believe that the secret our longevity is an enzyme called telomerase. It protects the ends of chromosomes from shortening and losing some Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) when cells divide. Another species

We crabs come in all different sizes and colors, with other diverse characteristics, and have been known to survive in all sorts of living environments. Crabs that climb trees are so diverse it would probably take humans years and years to discover us all. The coconut crab is classified by your scientists as a hermit crab and is the largest land-living and tree-climbing crab in the world. We usual

With our round cheeks and wide smiles, we quokkas have been dubbed one of the cutest animals on our planet. We are covered with short, very course and thick, grizzled brown fur with lighter parts underneath. Our relatively short tail has very little hair, but our feet are very hairy! On our cute and lovely face are a big, black nose, a pleasing mouth, and a pair of charming black eyes. In 2013, qu

We are nocturnal and spend most of our time in the trees. We walk on all four limbs, slowly and silently. If we are spotted, we hide our face under our arms or stay still like a statue on the branches. That's why the Indonesian people named us malu malu, or the shy ones. The most prominent feature of us slow lorises is our big round eyes that point forward, providing excellent binocular vision and

One of our distinguishing characteristics is a tuft of brown hair that grows from the base of our horns to our forehead. Then we have what looks like a white letter X across the bridge of our nose and around our eyes. We addax have a stocky build, similar to horses. Our diet is 100% plant-based. Although males are dominant in many species, we have the highest regard for our females. But due to hab

I am Alvin, a vegan chamois from the magnificent Swiss AIps. Our distinctive features are a whitish head, black markings below the eyes, and a pair of hooked horns. Originally, we chose the rocky and rugged mountains as our habitat to avoid predators. This also explains why chamois became fast runners and high jumpers. By nature, we have very good eyesight and a keen sense of smell. In the wild, w

The name “orangutan” is originally from the Malay and Indonesian word, “orang,” which means “person,” and “hutan,” that translates as “forest.” So, the name orangutan translates to “person of the forest.” We are considered closely related to humans, as we share 97% of human DNA. We are also considered a Great Ape, along with gorillas and chimpanzees. An orangutan’s lifespan is around 40 to 45 year

Gold-colored animals are relatively rarer, so they are admired by humans, just like the precious metal! Regarded by some as the world’s most beautiful equine, our breed is famed for our toughness, resilience, and endurance, in addition to our legendary speed and intelligence. Some of our breed looks as if they had been dipped in gold! Another animal with a radiant, golden coat is the Golden Retrie