How does Alveolar Echinococcosis occur in foxes, coyotes, dogs, and other cats?

Wild foxes, coyotes, and cats get infected when they eat Echinococcus multilocularis larvae in infected rodents, field mice, or voles. Cats are less susceptible than dogs, but because they catch and eat rodents often, may also become infected. Once the animal becomes infected, the tapeworm matures in its intestine, produces eggs, and the infected animal passes eggs in the stool. These tapeworm eggs, which are directly infectious to other animals, are too tiny to see, and will stick to anything with which they come in contact. Coyotes, foxes, dogs, and cats are not harmed by the tapeworm and do not have symptoms of Alveolar Echinococcosis .

Tags: Alveolar Echinococcosis

Facts about polar bears...

I don't get it. If polar bear is of great importance, so, why the extinction?
The Polar bear is easily the most recognizable symbol of the arctic. Nanuq, (polar bear) derives all of its food from the sea and is seldom found far from the drifting pack ice. Polar bears live mainly on the sea ice, hunting ringed seals, which is their primary source of food. Traveling on the sea ice, in search of seals can result in home ranges of 50,000 to 350,000 square km for an individual bear. Although polar bear meat is considered delicious it is never eaten raw like other meats because it carries many parasites. The polar bear liver is never eaten or fed to the dogs because it causes Vitamin A poisoning, which results in severe illness or even death. Polar bear meat, like most country foods, is an excellent source of iron and protein. Polar bear fat provides Inuit with Vitamin A and omega-3 fatty acids which helps reduce the risk of heart disease. Polar bear meat is usually baked or boiled in a soup or stew. The hide of the polar bear is quite remarkable; each hair is able to trap ultraviolet light and conducts radiation to the black surface of the skin, where it is absorbed. Polar bear pelts are used to make clothing, but this practice is not widespread here in Canada as it is with the Inuit of Greenland. This may be due to two reasons, the first of which is, caribou and sealskins are more abundant, and two, the general nature of the polar bear hide, it is wiry and bulky making it difficult to turn into comfortable winter garments.
Tags: Polar bears, wildlife

Highly sensitive smell organ...

A domestic cat's sense of smell is about fourteen times as strong as a human's. Cats have twice as many smell-sensitive cells in their noses as people do, which means they can smell things we are not even aware of. Cats also have a scent organ in the roof of their mouths called the vomeronasal, or Jacobson's, organ. When a cat wrinkles its muzzle, lowers its chin, and lets its tongue hang a bit, it is opening the passage to the vomeronasal. This is called gaping, "sneering", or "flehming". Gaping is the equivalent of the Flehmen response in other animals, such as dogs, horses and big cats.
Tags: Cats, wildlife