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This is a look at some unlikely interspecies relationships. How do they meet? Not through the internet. Sometimes zoos and rescue centers need an extra mother for an orphaned young animal. Sometimes well-fed zoo animals are looking for some more playtime pals. And sometimes in the wild, strange things happen.

In Costa Rica, along the Pacific coast, near the town of Quepos is Manuel Antonio National Park. There in a small area surrounded by picturesque beaches, you may see many monkeys, sloths, colorful crabs, red-eyed green tree frogs, some bats, butterflies and various other birds and creatures.

Why is it that Pygmy creatures are more attractive than full-sized animals? Do they retain some of the tiny new-born charm into adulthood? By nature of being a pygmy they all have that special small but powerful, little-big-guy demeanor. They are all fascinating. Of course, it can be advantageous in the wild to be tiny. Big fat animals must eat a lot to maintain their bodies but the little guy can survive on some smaller dishes. Here is a top 10 list of some of them (more than 10 now).

Thinking about a pet monkey? Sounds fun. Unfortunately, it is not a very good idea to buy a monkey. It is possible. You can find bulletin boards and classified advertisements offering monkeys for sale and you can buy monkeys in the United States and in other countries. Monkeys are cute (so are tigers and pandas) but it isn’t very practical for individuals to own them. I will try to explain the reasons why not to buy a monkey.

The Chinese have an astrological system with a 12-year cycle. Animals represent each year in the cycle with certain characteristics. These are the “Chinese astrological signs” or the “zodiac symbols” for the given years. The word “zodiac” comes from the Latin “zodiacus”, which in turn comes from the Greek “zoidiakos kuklos”, meaning “circle of the zodiac”, or “circle of animals”. This is using the root of the word “zoo” meaning animal which is now used in English to mean animal park (short for zoological park) and also used in the word “zoology” meaning the study of animals.