So far in Hug This Animal, we’ve talked about the polar bear, cheetah and red panda.
Today, we’re going to Hug a Bird that is no longer threatened with extinction. The bald eagle, the national bird of the United States, is a conservation success story. It was one of the original species protected under the Endangered Species Act when it was started in 1973.
In June of 2007, the US Fish & Wildlife Service announced that the bald eagle was being removed from the list of threatened and endangered species. (The bird will remain protected under the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection …read more

I have to admit to being a bit afraid each time I pass by the cheetah exhibit at my local zoo. The tigers, lions, leopards, cougars — none of them scare me quite like the cheetah. That’s my local cheetah below, looking all sleek and camouflaged. (I snapped the first photo below a couple of weeks ago.) I’m not complaining though. Predators are important. Keep reading.
Cheetahs are sprinters, with unique bodies optimized to run very fast for short distances. They can catch prey that escapes the other big cats. Considered the world’s fastest land mammal, cheetahs run at speeds up …read more