Jupiter, with an equatorial diameter of 143,884 km (89,405 miles) and a polar diameter of 133,708 km (83,082 miles), is the largest of the eight major planets, with a mass 317.828 times, and a volume 1,323.3 times that of the Earth. It has the shortest period of rotation, resulting in a Jovian day of only 9 hr 55 min 29.69 sec, and it also has more moons than any other planet with 63. The mass of Jupiter, 1.8986×1027 kg, is greater than that of all Continue reading →

Intriguingly, the largest population of camels in the wild, numbering over 200,000 individuals, is found neither in Arabia nor in Mongolia, the traditional homelands of wild camels, but instead in the Australian desert. Camels were imported into Australia from the 1840s until the early 1900s, principally for transportation purposes in Australia’s very hot, arid deserts, but as technology advanced, the camels were not needed so much. Consequently, many were released or escaped into the desert, and have thrived and bred there ever since.

Nandankanan Zoo, in the state of Orissa, India, is home to the world’s largest population of white tigers, with over 34 specimens. This zoo has bred many white tigers, and has sent them to other zoos all over the world. All white tigers currently in captivity around the world are directly descended from a male specimen called Mohan. He was captured alive as a cub in the jungles of the old Indian state of Rewa (now part of Madhya Pradesh) during May 1951, since when Continue reading →