“The fennec fox is a small nocturnal fox found in the Sahara of North Africa. Its most distinctive feature is unusually large ears. The name “fennec” comes from the Arabic word for fox, and the species name zerda has a Greek origin that refers to its habitat. The fennec is the smallest species of canid in the world; coat, ears and kidney functions have adapted to a high-temperature, low-water, desert environment. In addition, its hearing is sensitive enough to hear prey moving underground”. – Wikipedia

Photo: A Baby Fennec is seen at Sunshine International Aquarium on June 24, 2009 in Tokyo, Japan. The small nocturnal fox babies were born on May 17 2009. (Photo by Junko Kimura/Getty Images)

“Cassowaries are large, flightless birds related to emus and (more distantly) to ostriches, rheas, and kiwis”, writes Olivia Judson in the September issue of National Geographic magazine. How large? People-size: Adult males stand well over five foot five and top 110 pounds. Females are even taller, and can weigh more than 160 pounds. Dangerous when roused, they’re shy and peaceable when left alone. But even birds this big and tough are prey to habitat loss. The dense New Guinea and Australia rain forests where they live have dwindled. Today cassowaries might number 1,500 to 2,000. And because they help shape those same forests – by moving seeds from one place to another – “if they vanish”, Judson writes, “the structure of the forest would gradually change” too. (Photo by Christian Ziegler/National Geographic)

A demonstrator wearing a face mask reading “Who gave the order?” looks on during a protest to mark the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, in Bogota, Colombia on November 25, 2020. (Photo by Luisa Gonzalez/Reuters)

Why would you want to buy a Christmas tree if you have a luscious full beard? Or maybe you have a friend that is willing to volunteer? Just glue some ornaments onto his facial forest and make him stand in the corner. Just don’t forget to feed him! You don’t want your Christmas tree to go bad before the holidays are over! Stephanie Jarstad had created something similar in her project, The Twelve Bears of Christmas, in order to honor the Decembeard (much like Movember), in order to bring awareness to Men’s health problems. (Photo by Stephanie Jarstad)

In this January 3, 2018 photo several female Gelada baboons, also known as bleeding-heart baboons, cuddle with their youngs in order to keep warm at the Wilhelma zoo in Stuttgart, Germany. (Photo by Sebastian Gollnow/DPA via AP Photo)

Turkana tribesmen walk with guns in order to protect their cattle from rival Pokot and Sambur tribesmen near Baragoy, Kenya February 14, 2017. Cattle rustling and competition for grazing have long troubled northern Kenya, but severe drought and political rivalries ahead of the elections have exacerbated the situation between ethnic tribes. (Photo by Goran Tomasevic/Reuters)

Santa Claus wears a mask as he pushes a sleigh full of curbside grocery orders to an Aldi customer at a parking lot in Palatine, Ill., Saturday, December 19, 2020. For this weekend only, Santa Claus is delivering groceries to Aldi customers in Palatine and several other towns in the Chicago area. (Photo by Nam Y. Huh/AP Photo)

With their wings at full length, these beautiful golden eagles soar through the skies in a glorious training session to hunt their prey. Others sit on the arms of their owners and trainers. Batzaya Choijiljav, 41, from Mongolia has taken these magnificent pictures at the annual traditional Kazakhs festival, October 2015. (Photo by Batzaya Choijiljav/Caters News)