Should pandas be allowed to go extinct?

Conservationists all over the world are working hard to save animals. But is that always the best idea? One scientist has come forth with the very controversial claim that giant pandas should be allowed to die out in the wild. Check out this Reuters article on the subject, and let us know what you think.
http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE58L1P320090922

Have You Tried Our New FREE Audio Zootles?

Have you pressed the free audio download button at the top of this page yet? We are eager to hear what you thought of the download process, and what you or your child thought of your free audio version of Zootles Frogs. What parts did your family like best? The frog "music"? Quirky Otto, always inserting his wry comments? Tell us, too, if keeping up with the narrator was easy or hard. We want our free downloads to serve you better and better!

Dolphin Ancestry

Dolphins have an interesting history...their ancestors are thought to have been land-dwelling animals that looked sort of like wolves. Would you be interested in seeing more on the history and development of dolphins and other animals in the Zoobooks series?

Help Us Choose a Cover Photo!

One of the fun parts of putting a magazine together is choosing the cover photo. It can often be wonderfully difficult to narrow down the choices! What do you think of these two images here for the cover of our upcoming November issue, Dolphins? We'd love to hear your artistic opinion.

Digital Sneak Peeks

We are strongly considering making a digital version of Zoobooks available on our website in advance of each month's printed issue. How does this strike you? We hope it will whet our readers' appetites, and stir up even greater anticipation for their printed issue. But should we be concerned that this will make the printed issue "old news" when it arrives? We'd love to hear your thoughts.

Animal All Stars

The ostrich lays a bigger egg than any other bird in the world. In our upcoming Zoobooks issue, Animal All-Stars, we have a couple of choices as to how to demonstrate this amazing egg. First, we can show an ostrich egg juxtaposed with a tiny hummingbird egg. Or, we can show how a single ostrich egg has been known to feed as many as 8-10 people by showing the egg in relation to a table full of people. (The Bushmen of Africa have always been careful to harvest one egg for food while leaving another in the nest to ensure a continued healthy ostrich population.) Which sounds more intriguing to you?

New at Germany's Dortmund Zoo

The Los Angeles Times combines facts with fascination in this charming story about some new lion cubs at the Dortmund Zoo in Germany. The little guys are pretty doggone (or should we say catgone?) irresistible. Did you know that all females in a lion pride work together to protect and feed all the cubs? Because multiple females can catch more food than a single mother could catch, all of the babies eat better and stay healthier. Let us know if you have any interesting lion cub info you'd like to add to what we can learn here: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/unleashed/2009/02/lion-cubs.html