PfA Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Centre

Humanity’s best friend: the Dog, originated from an ancient species of wolf via a genetic ancestor they share with modern Wolves, between 20,000 and 40,000 years ago. Dogs, wolves, foxes and several other animals all belong to the same family of mammals known as Canids. Their evolution coincides and is likely caused by, their domestication by hunter-gatherer humans somewhere during the last Ice Age. It is speculated that this relationship arose due to mutual benefit for both humans as well as for the ancient wolf species. Humans were possibly grateful for dogs lending them protection from other wild animals and aiding them with their keen sense of smell in hunting prey for food. By joining a pack with us, Dogs in turn were assured a constant source of food, safety in numbers, warmth from fire as well as its various other uses, such as forwarding off predators. They benefited from our superior intelligence and our self-proclaimed position as the apex species of the ecosystem. While the...

The word “snake” has etymological roots linking it to words that mean, “to sneak”, “crawl” or “creep”. Thus, it is befitting to use this word in order to describe the creatures that form the Suborder, Serpentes. Snakes are limbless reptiles that move with a slithering motion. In fact, their lack of limbs is a consequence of evolution, resulting in them having developed several different methods of locomotion unique to serpents, enabling them to scale trees and walls, as well as swim rapidly through the water. They lack external eyelids and ears, many relying on infrared sensors in their snout to detect warm-blooded prey and predator alike. Their sense of smell, as well as taste, is perceived through their forked tongue which constantly samples particles in their environment and grants them a heightened ability to identify prey, recognize kin, choose mates, follow trails, as well as locate shelters. The underside of their body is sensitive to vibrations, allowing them to detect prey and...