Paw Series

 
House mice originated in Asia but have since extended their range to all over the world, particularly where humans are present. The earliest domesticated mice were kept in the royal palaces of Japan and China. A small, scaly-tailed mouse with a distinct notch in the cutting surface of upper incisors (seen best in side view); [...]

Birds were thought to have been first kept as pets 4,000 years ago, and the tradition probably arose from keeping birds as a source of food. Egyptian hieroglyphics show images of pet birds, including parrots. Parrots were highly prized by the ancient Greeks, who kept the birds in cages made of precious metal. Wealthy Roman [...]

Amphibians are one of the oldest living classes of vertebrates, second only to fish. Many types of amphibians went wiped out over time, including some of the earliest land predators. Today’s amphibians include frogs, salamanders, toads, newts and caecilians.Amphibians are the only land animals that live part of their lives like fish. Just like the [...]

The domestic rabbit is a descendant of the wild European rabbit. Rabbits were introduced to Britain by the Romans who kept them in fenced off warrens and harvested their meat and fur. The earliest known records of rabbits in Britain occurred during the 12th Century. They were first described as conies, after the second part [...]

The most common pet rat is a descendant of the brown rat (Rattus Norvegicus), which spread over to Britain from Asia via the shipping traffic in the 18th century, largely replacing the black rat (Rattus rattus). Rats have lived close to human habitation for centuries, long before the beginning of recorded history. They were originally [...]