Cheetah boasts that, because he can run faster than any other animal, he is the real king of the beasts. Wining a race against the other animals only reinforces his posturing. He boasts that he can even run faster than the wind. The wind takes up the challenge, leading to an outcome that keeps cheetah's tears running down his cheeks as a permanent reminder of his place in the natural world. How Cheetah Got His Tears is a story that warns of the perils of boasting, yet shows that the capacity to accept defeat with grace and humility can lead to reconciliation and acceptance.
The history of life on Earth is dominated by extinction events so numerous that over 99.9% of the species ever to have existed are gone forever. If animals could talk, we would ask them to recall their own ancestries, in particular the secrets as to how they avoided almost inevitable annihilation in the face of daily assaults by predators, climactic cataclysms, deadly infections and innate diseases. In Tears of the Cheetah, medical geneticist and conservationist Stephen J. O'Brien narrates fast-moving science adventure stories that explore the mysteries of survival among the earth's most endangered and beloved wildlife. Here we uncover the secret histories of exotic species such as Indonesian orangutans, humpback whales, and the imperiled cheetah-the world's fastest animal which nonetheless cannot escape its own genetic weaknesses. Among these genetic detective stories we also discover how the Serengeti lions have lived with FIV (the feline version of HIV), where giant pandas really come from, how bold genetic action pulled the Florida panther from the edge of extinction, how the survivors of the medieval Black Death passed on a genetic gift to their descendents, and how mapping the genome of the domestic cat solved a murder case in Canada. With each riveting account of animal resilience and adaptation, a remarkable parallel in human medicine is drawn, adding yet another rationale for species conservation-mining their genomes for cures to our own fatal diseases. Tears of the Cheetah offers a fascinating glimpse of the insight gained when geneticists venutre into the wild.
Cheetah boasts that, because he can run faster than any other animal, he is the real king of the beasts. Winning a race against the other animals only reinforces his posturing and he boasts that he can run even faster than the wind. The wind takes up the challenge, leading to an outcome that keeps cheetah’s tears running down his cheeks as a permanent reminder of his place in the natural world. How Cheetah Got His Tears, an original story with the feel of African folklore, warns of the perils of boasting, yet shows that the capacity to accept defeat with grace and humility can lead to reconciliation and acceptance.
Describes the anatomical features that make the cheetah the fastest animal on land, includes fascinating facts about its habits and behavior, and compares its speed to that of other animals.
Born and raised on the mean streets of Newark, New Jersey, Yanika Johnson aka Cheetah is far from your average female. A true thug in every sense of the word, Cheetah has the ego and persona to prove it all. After she and her best friend Naj take the Newark drug trade by storm, haters begin to do just what they do best . . . HATE. Can the tough streets of this brick city accept being run by two women? Or will their budding empire come tumbling down?
The animals don’t understand why they never see Bushbaby, so they assume he is shy. One by one, they try to coax him out of his hole in the tree, but Bushbaby never appears. As night falls, the animals head off to sleep. All, that is, except Owl, who has been silently observing the day’s events. As Owl prepares for the night, he calls to Bushbaby, who bounds out of his hole, awake and alert. Throughout the hours of darkness, Owl, Bushbaby and the other nocturnal animals go about their everyday activities before returning to their beds as daybreak dawns.
Rhinoceros has a magnificent horn, which all the animals admire. All, that is, except Hippo, who is jealous of Rhino's horn, and wants one of her own. While Rhino is asleep, Hippo steals her horn and, after some mishaps, sets it on her snout. But Hippo quickly discovers that wearing a large and heavy horn brings more problems than rewards. Soon all the animals are telling her that a rhino horn belongs on a rhinoceros. Hippo starts to doubt her decision, and when she comes face to face with the compassionate Rhino, Hippo understands that there is no room in the world for jealousy. Hippo returns the horn to its rightful owner and slips quietly into the deep water as Rhino and the rest of the animals gather at the river's edge for their evening drink.
Why does the magical Tear Thief catch children's tears as they fall? Find out in this moving tale about how we express our feelings. Lyrical text by Carol Ann Duffy, one of the most prominent poets writing today, makes this a lovely read-aloud.
