1 . Four best zoos in the UK

Established in 1828, London Zoo is the oldest scientific zoo in the world. It is situated in Regent’s Park and is home to around 755 different animal species with about 16,802 animals. In addition to being famous for being the oldest scientific zoo, it’s also the very first zoo to launch an Aquarium, an Insect House, a Children’s Zoo and a Reptile House.

Ticket prices online: Children £15 and adults £21. Under 3 — free entry.

This charming child-friendly zoo has more than 155 species located within 60 acres of well-kept land. It has at least 50 displays every day, plenty of hands-on experience opportunities and 5 play areas. It remains up-to-date by expanding continuously and children are guaranteed to enjoy the Madagascar express road train.

Ticket prices online: Children £14 and adults £21. Under 3 — free entry.

Whipsnade Zoo is the UK’s biggest zoo set in over 600 acres of beautiful scenery. It first opened in 1931 and now houses 227 different species that comprise over 10,000 animals. The remarkable feature of this zoo is the wandering herds of elephants that freely move around the zoo grounds, making it a wonderful place to take excellent natural pictures to show off to friends and family.

Ticket prices online: Children £18 and adults £25. Under 3 — free entry.

This 12-acre zoo houses more than 450 species. Moreover, it has used its space resourcefully for a small zoo — probably one of the smallest in the world. For example, the latest Gorilla House is an award-winning area with the world’s first walkable glass roof.

Ticket prices online: Children £9 and adults £14. Under 2 — no entry fee.

3 . Amur tigers, also known as Siberian tigers, are interesting animals. They are the biggest cats in the world. A full-grown Amur tiger can weigh over 600 pounds. Unlike lions that live in groups, tigers are solitary animals. Tigers also have very good eyesight and hearing. Its eyesight is six times better than a human’s.

Amur tigers live in the forests located in the Russian Far East and northeastern China. They have a thick yellow fur coat with black stripes(条纹). Their stripes are like human fingerprints. Every tiger has a different and unique stripe pattern. Tigers use their striped coat to hide themselves from the animals they hunt. Their thick fur and a thick layer of fat keep them warm during the long, cold winters in the forest.

As powerful and quiet hunters, Amur tigers usually hunt at night. Sometimes these tigers travel hundreds of miles looking for food. They hunt deer and wild boar(野猪) that live in the forest. They also hunt smaller types of bears. A hungry Amur tiger can eat more than 50 pounds in one night.

Today, Amur tigers are an endangered species. People illegally hunt Amur tigers. Amur tigers are also still in danger because the forests they live in are being destroyed. Illegal logging(砍伐) and new roads destroy their forest homes. It makes it hard for the tigers to find food. It also makes it difficult for the tigers to travel for long distances. They almost disappeared forever at the beginning of the 20th century—They were hunted until only 40 tigers remained in the wild.

Countries like Russia then began to protect these big cats. They made it illegal to hunt them and tried to protect their forest habitat. After these changes, the number of Amur tigers living in the wild increased. Scientists believe there are about 540 Amur tigers living in the wild today.

4 . Some animals enjoy playing just like humans do although researchers used to think that applied mostly to birds and mammals. An animal plays when it does something that doesn’t seem to be constructive to its survival so it’s not about food or shelter, for instance. The behavior is also often done again and again.

However, scientists have now conducted experiments that seems to prove bees play too. As far as the experts know, bees are the only insect to do so.

Researchers from Queen Mary University in London earned out an experiment in which bumble bees were taught to roll little balls with the aim of being rewarded with food. They then discovered the insects kept rolling balls even when they weren’t rewarded. They then did another experiment: a path was built from the beehive to a section containing food. Balls were placed on each side of the path leading to the food. The balls on one side were glued down and couldn’t move and the balls on the other side were free and capable of moving. The bees could stay on the path to get to their food, but they always went to the side of the moveable balls and rolled them along. One bee even rolled the balls 44 times in one day.

Researchers say the experiments may well show insects are more evolved than we think.

5 . Biologist Marc Bekoff studies dogs, wolves and coyotes.     1    . If they’re in the same pack, animal friends may sleep close to one another. They greet one another, travel together, share food and groom each other. Animal friends are nice to one another, and they even play together.    2    .

Playing together, for instance, helps animals bond and keeps them close to the group. “Coyote pups who don’t play together are more likely to go out on their own.    3    .” says Bekoff. “If an animal has a special friend, both friends benefit by having someone to watch out for them.”

    4    . When a young rhinoceros sets out on its own for the first time, it may look for an older travel friend, and this companion helps to find food and water and avoid predators. Young male elephants hang out together when they leave their mothers’ herds, and young dolphins do, too. Pairs of bottlenose dolphins sometimes form strong bonds and pal around together for years. Among chimpanzee groups, some pair up to groom each other, hunt together, share food and defend each other from danger.

Why do animals have friends? “Mainly because in the long run they benefit from friendships,” scientist Franz de Waal says. “It is all give and take.    5    .”

6 . As the air cools and sunlight decreases each fall, thousands of western monarch butterflies (帝王蝶) return to California to spend winter. One of the best places to watch the colorful scene is Pismo Beach.

From now through February, over 10, 000 will fly to trees at Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove, one of five locations in the state to host so many of the colorful creatures. Just like tourists, the western monarchs prefer the sunny and warm conditions of the beachside state park.

The migration peaks in November, when the last of the western monarchs settle into the trees at Pismo Beach Monarch Butterfly Grove. Some have flown over 1, 000 miles from as far away as Canada to escape winter's low temperatures. The butterflies gather on tree branches, where they mostly remain sitting, until sunlight bathes the trees and the western monarchs begin to beat their wings. Activity reaches its peak in February.

While this annual sight is wonderful, it pales in comparison to what used to be. Millions of western monarch butterflies used to spend winter in California and Mexico only a few decades ago. Climate change, loss of natural habitat and harmful chemicals are just a few of the environmental threats that have caused a more than 99% decrease in populations since the 1980s, according to a research.

“In monarchs’ overwintering trees, there were once so many butterflies that the sound of their wings was described as a summer rain,” states the Center for Biological Diversity. “Early newspaper descriptions described branches breaking under the weight of so many butterflies.”

Conservation efforts are underway in several states, including California, to help restore populations of monarch and western monarch butterflies. However, it is unknown how successful these attempts will be. Scientists are concerned about the possibility of a complete collapse of the species since numbers have dropped so dramatically in the last few years.

8 . Have you ever wondered how dogs can walk barefoot(赤脚)in the snow? Now a Japanese scientist may have the answer-an inside central heating system.

The secret lies in how dogs circulate(使循环)their blood to prevent cold surfaces from chilling(使冷却)the rest of their bodies, according to Hiroyoshi Ninomiya, a professor at Yamazaki Gakuen University.

The system uses warm, oxygenated blood(含氧血)to heat the cold blood that has been in contact with a cold surface before returning it to the dog's heart and central circulation. "Dogs exchange heat at the end of their legs. Arterial(动脉的)blood flows to the end of their legs and then heats up venous(静脉的)blood before returning it to the heart, " Ninomiya said of his findings. "In other words, they have a heat exchange system in their feet."

Ninomiya studied a well-kept dog's leg under a microscope and found that because of the nearness of arteries and veins(静脉)in the foot pad,the heat in the blood carried from the heart to the arteries is easily conducted to the cooler blood in the veins.

This heat transference(热量转换)keeps a constant temperature in the foot pad, even when exposed to very cold conditions.

Dogs are not alone in having this sort of heat exchange system, which is shared by other animals such as dolphins.