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Anaplasmosis [pronounced an-uh-plaz-moh-sis] can be caused when a dog is bitten by a tick carrying the Anaplasma phagocytophilum bacterium. This bacterium is carried by the deer tick or the western blacklegged tick, the same variety of ticks that carry Lyme disease. A less common form of anaplasmosis comes from the bite of a brown-dog tick carrying the bacterium Anaplasma platys. Anaplasmosis has been reported in dogs in all 50 states, but most infections come from the Northeast, Upper Midwest, Southwest, and the West Coast....

tiger getting a vaccination through chain link fence Credit: Courtesy of Oakland Zoo Some of the first animals to receive a COVID-19 vaccine are seemingly straight out of The Wizard of Oz: lions, tigers, and bears. Normally I wouldn’t lead off a story with such a cliche—and risk death at the hands of former editing professors in the process—but that’s who was first in line to get a coronavirus vaccine at the Oakland Zoo late last month: tigers, black and grizzly bears, and mountain lions....

cat in roomy crate; pet hurricane prep tips Credit: Oleg Batrak / Shutterstock With Hurricane Ian bearing down on Florida’s west coast, it’s a good time to remind ourselves how to best prepare our pets for tropical storms. Hurricanes are terrifying. On Wednesday morning, Ian approached Florida as a Category 4 storm (nearing Category 5) with winds around 155 mph. The wind and immense rain will cause horrendous damage, and we want ourselves and our furry kiddos to avoid as much of it as possible....

Scorpions are definitely not the sort of animals you can try and hold in your hands when you see one in the wild. Have you heard of this scorpion whose genus name Androctonus translates from Greek to ‘man-killer’? It doesn’t exactly sound like a friendly wild insect!This scorpion in the genus Androctonus has the common name fat-tail scorpion or fat-tailed scorpion due to its distinctly large and wide ’tail’. However, even though this organ is often called and mistaken for a tail, it is actually called a metasoma....

The brahminy kite (Haliastur indus) is a species of recognizable medium-sized raptors (birds of prey). Adults have a reddish-brown body plumage that contrasts with their white head and breast, allowing them to be distinguished from other raptors. This species of bird has dark-fingered wing tips and a low tail. The tip of its rounded tail is white. These medium-sized raptors are distinguished by a squarish pale patch on the underwing carpal area....

The wigeon family of dabbling ducks consists of three species. The Eurasian wigeon (Mareca penelope) is one such Old-World species of the wigeon family similar to the North American wigeons, covering a wide range map. They are also known by another synonymous binomial name: ‘anas penelope’. The term ‘anas’ is a Latin word that means ‘duck’. ‘Penelope’ refers to a duck that needed to be rescued from the water. These ducks are common in the Palearctic region of Europe and Asia and visit North America as their wintering range....

Goitered gazelle is one of the six species of Asian gazelle that belongs to the genus Gazella. They are also known as black-tailed gazelles (Gazella subgutturosa) and Persian goitered gazelles. They are commonly found in Central Asia. One of the subspecies known as Arabian sand gazelle is found in Syria, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the Persian Gulf. They are usually found in small family groups consisting of five individuals. In winter, they form larger groups....

The grey-faced buzzard eagle (Butastur indicus) belongs to the family Accipitridae and genus Butastur. It is a medium-sized bird species found in the range that consists of northeastern China, East Russia, Japan, Korea, and wintering take places in South east Asia. The habitat of this buzzard consists of streams, woodlands, paddy fields, and grasslands. The breeding range of this dove is mixed evergreen and coniferous in forest edges, mountains, marshes, meadows, and also near agricultural lands....

If you want to read about an interesting South Asian fish that can double down as an excellent aquarium fish, then the honey gourami species is what you are looking for. This fish is part of the gourami family of fish and are native to the rivers and streams of the Indian subcontinent. Due to their peaceful nature and slow pace, honey gouramis have gained significant popularity around the globe as pet fish....

Fossils of this late Cretaceous dinosaur were discovered in the Lameta formation in Jabalpur of India. Friedrich von Huene named this genus in 1932, and in 1933, Huene along with Charles Alfred Matley, described the species. The syntypes are numbered as GSI K27/614, GSI K20/612, and GSI K27/599. The first two syntypes are partial distal caudal vertebra, and the third one is a distal tail vertebra. This species is quite rare since sufficient data could not be gleaned from the very few fossils that have been recovered....

Kangal dogs, also known as Kangal Shepherd Dog or Kangal Çöban Köpeği, are a powerful and large ancient livestock guardian. The first Kangal dogs originated from Sivas in Turkey. Over hundreds of years, Kurdish Kangal dogs have been selectively bred as a Turkish shepherd based on their strength, size, appearance, and temperament. Overall, they are a large and formidable breed. Thanks to the isolation of the first Kangal dogs from the Sivas region, Kangal dogs have been free of any form of cross breeding....

When we speak of exotic birds from South American countries, it is impossible to not talk about the Northern Potoo. Its distribution is across many islands and places, such as the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Mexico, Costa Rica, Jamaica, Honduras, and Hispaniola. If you travel to any of these places, you are bound to find them sitting on a perch, on branches, or in the middle of trees, with an even distribution across said islands and places....

Pangasius is a genus of Asian shark catfish. There are 22 species of fish that fall under this genus and they are mostly native to Southeast Asia. They are mainly found in Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Thailand. They are taken from these places for farming and aquaculture purposes, and then they are sold in fish markets worldwide. You will find fillets of this fish in European markets. This species of fish is even kept as a pet, but they need large aquariums in order to survive as they can grow to be 9....

Pembroke Welsh Corgi, a dwarf dog (welsh means dwarf), is a herding dog breed that is used particularly to herd cattle and other livestock. The dog breed of Pembroke Welsh Corgi is the favorite pick of Queen Elizabeth II. King George VI introduced her to the breed and it became her favorite pick. The Queen received her first Pembroke Welsh Corgi in 1933. The dog’s name was Dookie. History says that corgis were brought to wales by Flemish weavers in the 10th century....

A spider monkey is a type of monkey that is a member of the Atelidae family. They have seven different species, namely, Ateles Belzebuth, or white-bellied spider monkey, Ateles Chamek or Peruvian spider monkey or black-faced spider monkey, Ateles hybridus or brown spider monkey, Ateles marginatus or white-cheeked spider monkey, Ateles fusciceps or black-headed spider monkey, Ateles geoffroyi or Central American spider monkey or Geoffrey’s spider monkey, Ateles paniscus or red-faced spider monkey....

The spider tortoise (Pyxis arachnoides) is part of the family Testudinidae. Spider tortoises are one of only two species found in the genus Pyxis. The other species in the genus is the flat-tailed tortoise (Pyxis planicauda). They are also known as flat-backed spider tortoises and Madagascan flat-tailed tortoises. This species is endemic to the west coast of the island of Madagascar.The spider tortoise (Pyxis Arachnoides) has three subspecies. These have different sizes and colors and hence are divided into three groups....

Stingrays (family Hexatrygonidae) are known to glide gracefully through the water. There are about 200 species of stingray in the oceans around the world. They are also found in freshwater lakes and rivers. Stingrays are related to sharks and categorized as sea rays too. The body of the stingray is made of cartilage. They can also camouflage during times of danger. A stingray tail is venomous, and upon sensing danger, they can barb their predators with it....

Belonging to the genera elaphe, and members of the rat snake family, yellow rat snakes (Pantherophis alleghaniensis) are a group of fascinating reptiles that are also great quality pets. With distinctly striped bodies and vibrant shading, yellow rat snakes fall under the category of non-poisonous group snakes. These members of the rat snake clan are the southeastern representative of the family. The yellow rat snakes range in shade from yellow to olive....

People like to keep pet guinea pigs in small cages as they are friendly animals who can be easily kept as pets.They need regular grooming to stay fit and healthy. It takes weeks to train a guinea pig; however, it is fun to play with them once trained.The number of toes that guinea pigs possess is different than what humans do. They have around four toes in their forelimbs and only three in their hind limbs....

Just watch this pair of enthusiastic Great Danes who are just so freakin’ excited their dad has come home in a viral TikTok video. We, and 43 million other people, can’t get over it! In the video’s opening snippet, two Great Danes are standing on their hind legs, resting their front paws on their human sister’s shoulders and back. A third lays on the floor behind them. The dancing trio is seen swaying back and forth (appearing to slow-dance) until … Dad gets home....