A nice day out for the whole family! Come and see our beautiful birds, huge mammals(哺乳动物), lovely marsupials(有袋类) and reptiles(爬行类) in our zoo! Scientists will give wonderful lessons about animals every Tuesday! Don’t miss it!

There are all kinds of animals on our planet. Some are cute, but some are not. Some are small, but some are big. Here are four of the funniest, friendliest animals. But remember, although they look nice, it doesn’t mean they are always friendly.

Not all dogs are so cute, but most of them are pretty friendly. When you come near an unfamiliar dog. remember to hold out your hand, so he can smell you and see you mean not to harm.

Cows love to eat grass, and they eat quite a lot! You needn’t be afraid of this kind of quiet farm animals. But don’t run at a cow in a field or touch one, unless you are told by an adult it’s okay.

Horses are big and beautiful animals, but they can be frightened easily. A horse might jump up if she hears a loud noise, or kick her legs if you come near too suddenly. All horses, like humans are different.

Chimpanzees make funny faces and put on a real show at the zoo, but believe it or not, they can be very dangerous. And they are strong, too much stronger than humans (人类). So you should never make a chimp mad!

In the past, African penguins (企鹅) laid their eggs in holes dug in their own guano (粪便). But in the 1800s, most of the guano was shipped by traders to the UK, where it was used to make plants grow better. Since then, many penguins have nested (筑巢) in the open. It’s easy for them to get heatstroke (中暑).         Shaun Welman, an animal expert, has seen penguins sitting with their eyes closed, heads drooping (下垂) and mouths open in the burning midday heat, trying to protect their eggs.

Because penguins evolved (进化) to keep heat in cold water, they can easily overheat on land. Usually, penguins leave their nests regularly to cool off in the sea. But without proper holes, this leaves their eggs unprotected.

“Now the African penguin is on the endangered species list, mainly because of human,” Welman says. Since 1900, the African penguin population has dropped from three million to only 48,000.

Luckily, a team of researchers seems to have found a way. Over the past years, the team has put more than 1 ,500 handmade ceramic (陶瓷的) nest boxes in five areas where the penguins live, including Bird Island in Algoa Bay, South Africa, which is home to nearly half of the world’s remaining African penguins. Looking like small round houses, the double-walled ceramic nests can keep African penguins cool.

The ceramic nests remain around 1℃ lower than a penguin’s resting body temperature, which is about 37℃. “The nests are so useful,” Welman says. “Even if adults had to leave nests for some reason, their eggs would never be at any risk of overheating.” In an experiment, the team recorded ground temperatures of nearly 51℃ outside a ceramic nest box, while only 23℃ inside.

Welman adds that African penguins, which nest in the open, will be increasingly influenced by their environment as the climate (气候) changes.