Animals in the virtual world

www.tigerhaven.org

Tiger Haven boasts of a lot of big cat resources, and not without reason. From here you can become a tiger's friend (they'll show you how), take part in tiger talk, learn about the various big cat species and their behavior, how they interact with people, what is involved in caring for them, and feast your eyes on pictures of these magnificent animals. The content relies heavily upon our own experiences and observations rather than library text and statistics, and there are pictures to illustrate the content. The pictures have some telling captions like impatient, dandylion, cautious and imploring. The one shown here is the 'tactful' cub named Kashmir. The pictures make good desktop motifs and you can also download a screensaver. Happy cat hunting.

www.seaworld.org

The SeaWorld/Busch Gardens Animal Information Database is a treasure trove for info on the animal world. Though the main focus is on creatures who dwell in water, there is a lot of easily accessible information on a variety of both land and sea animals. Animals covered include the Bengal tiger, gorillas, rat snakes, baleen whales, corals, insects and endangered species. The file on each species includes their scientific classification, fun facts, and biological values. Fun facts are not really funny, but are nice to know. Like did you know that bull giraffes forage higher in trees than cow giraffes thus reducing food competition between the sexes?

www.cranes.org/

We found the largest site for Indian wildlife at Wildlife Chronicle. Here you can not only access the latest info on Indian wildlife but also download some marvellous pictures for free. Additional, superior quality photos are available on custom-made CDs provided for sale. The BookFlip applet which runs on the homepage displaying a series of wildlife images sure adds to the attraction of the site. Updates are available on sections like Indian national parks, endangered species, and wildlife projects and issues. Then you have feature stories, current news, and some bizarre man-animal encounters. The people behind the site also organise wildlife safaris, but from the prices quoted, these seem to be aimed primarily at foreigners.

www.bnhs.org

The Bombay Natural History Society (BNHS), which traces its origins to 1883 finally unveiled its own site last month. The organisation, whose most distinguished member was the legendary birdman Salim Ali, has been doing yeoman service in the field of natural history research, education and conservation. At the site you can glean information about the activities of the BNHS, the history of the organisation and the contents of the latest issue of its journal which ranks among the best in the world of natural history. As the site develops, one hopes that the content of all 96 issues of the journal is made available here for reference.

www.petersononline.com/birds/

Peterson is one of the leading publishers of bird books in the world. They now also publish the data on CD-ROMs some of which is now available at this Website. Sections include identifications, birding links and resources, skill builders, birdwatchers digest and bird of the month. Much of the information refers to birds of North America, but then some details are also useful for the Indian birder. Like the section which tells you what to look for in identification of birds goes beyond regions as the characteristics are generic to birds. Thus you have the visual categories like field marks, and shape and size; behaviour patterns; migration; flight; and breeding and nesting seasons. Then check out the daily fun facts about birds, which are also archieved. All in all, a handy reference guide for both the amateur and serious bird watcher.

www.wcmc.org.uk/species/data/

With the steady growth of so-called civilisation, more and more natural species are becoming endangered. If you want to check out the list of various categories of these animals, come to this World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC) -- Species Information Website. The WCMC provides information services on conservation and sustainable use of the world's living resources, and helps others to develop information systems of their own. The site includes the threatened plants database, the tree conservation database and the IUCN Red List of threatened animals. This is a must-visit site for those involved in conservation.

Manuel Fernandes

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