It's Nature

One of the first distinctly recognised Oriental cat breeds is the Siamese cat. Although the name suggests that it is from Siam (now called Thailand), the exact origins of this cat is unknown. It is believed that the cat is from South East Asia, and may have descended from a sacred temple cat. In...

Developed in South Africa in the 1900’s primarily for meat production, the Boer Goat’s name is derived from the Dutch word, “Boer” which means farmer. It is thought that Boer Goat was a hybrid whose roots include indigenous goats from the Fooku and Namaqua Bushmen, as well as some European and...

Horses are hooved mammals that are part of the Equidae family. Evolving over a period of 45 to 55 million years, it was a small multi-toed creature that involved into the large, single-toed creature that tis found today. Humans started to domesticate the horse around 4000 BC, and domesticating...

The domestic goat is a domesticated hybrid sub-species between the wild goats of Eastern European and Southwest Asian goats. There are over 300 distinct goat breeds in the world. They are one of the oldest domesticated animal species in the world, and they gained popularity as pets in the 20th...

As a domesticated sub-species of the Red Jungle Fowl, the chicken is one of the most common domestic animals with a population even larger than China! With a global population of 24 billion in just 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other bird species. A Brazilian rooster (male...

The soursop is a flowering evergreen tree that is native to Central America, the Caribbean, and the northern part of South America. The sourop is also native to countries in Sub-Saharan Africa that are within the tropics. Today, it also grows in some parts of Southeast Asia and in Florida, USA....

Ambrella (aka the Malay Apple or the Golden Apple) is a tropical tree found around the equator. It is known as an edible fruit which contains a fibrous pit. Most people do not know this fruit as “ambrella”, as there are many regional names for it. In Trinidad and Tobago is is called Pomme cythere,...

Originally described as Chaetodon faber by the Fresh Naturalist, Pierre-Auguste-Marie Brousoonet in 1782, the Atlantic Spadefish was later changed to Chaetodipturus faber. The Atlantic spadefish is the only member of its family, Ephippidae, to reside in the western Atlantic Ocean. Its range is...

Marine angelfish are a perciform fish that are found on shallow reefs in the tropical Indian, Atlantic, and western Pacific oceans. There are 7 genera and 86 species in this family, which is the Pomacanthidae. These should not be confused with freshwater angelfish that is found in the Amazon river...

The Pacific Angelshark, also known as a monkfish, was first described by the first Curator of Ichthyology at the California Acadamy of Sciences by William O. Ayres in 1859. They live in the eastern Pacific Ocean, from as far north as southeastern Alaska, to the Gulf of Mexico, Costa Rica, and down...

Pterophyllum is a genus of freshwater fish from the Cichlidae family more commonly known as angelfish. All angelfish species actually originate from the Amazon River, Essequibo River, and Orinoco River basins in South America. There are 3 Pterophyllum species which are known for being laterally...

The goldfish is a freshwater fish which can be commonly found in househould aquariums. It was one of the first fish that was domesticated. It is a member of the carp family and is native to east Asia. It was first domesticated in China more than 1000 years ago, and there are several distinct...

Pugs are a very small breed of dog that is famous for its wrinkly and short-muzzled face. It is also known as a Chinese pug, Dutch bulldog, Dutch mastiff, and a Mini mastiff. Pug puppies are called “puglets”. This dog originated from China, and in ancient China it was called ‘lo-sze’ or ‘foo’. Pug...

Also known as the cacao or cocoa tree, Theobroma cacoa is a small, evergreen tree that is native to the deep tropical regions of the Americas. It grows up to only 4 to 8 metres tall, and is famous around the world for its seeds which are used to make chocolate and cocoa powder. Its scientific name,...

The ringstraked guitarfish is a small inshore guitarfish species found in the Northwest Pacific Ocean. Specifically, it is found in the warm temperate and tropical waters in the Northwest Pacific and is native to China, Japan, Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The Ringstraked guitarfish is native to East...

Coconuts are part of the Arecaceae family (ie palm family) and is the only accepted species in the Cocos genus. The Coconut tree is a large palm tree that can grow up to 30 metres tall, has pinnate leaves that are about 4 to 6 metres long, and pinnae at 60 to 90 cm long. Its old leaves break away...

The carambola, also known as the starfruit, is the fruit of the Averrhoa carambola tree. This tree species is native to the Philippines, Indonesia, India, and Sri Lanka. In the Philippines, they are called either ‘saranate’ or ‘balimbing’ depending on how sour it is. This tree is also popular...

Tangerines are an orange coloured citrus fruit that is a variety of the Mandarin orange. Like mandarins, tangerines are smaller than most oranges and are easier to peel and split into segments. Compared to an orange, it has a sweeter (or less sour or tart) taste. Tangerines growing on a tree This...

Native to China is the peach tree, which is famous for its edible and juicy fruits called a peach. Peach trees are deciduous and grow up to 4 – 10 metres tall. Its leaves are long at between 7 – 16 cm long, and 2-3 cm broad. Its flowers grow in the spring time before the leaves and are pink. The...

A cactus (or in plural – cacti or cactuses) are the member of the Cactaceae plant family which is native to the Americas. However, there is one exception which is the Mistletoe cactus which is native to Europe. Cacti are usually used as an ornamental plant, however there are some varieties that are...