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About picture 1 : Six red panda cubs gather around a food bowl during their unveiling at Fuzhou Panda World. The research center bred ten cubs this year. Eight survived.

The World Conservation Union lists the species as endangered. Deforestation of their high-altitude habitat is the primary threat.

Adult red pandas—which look more like raccoons than like their namesake bears—reach the size of a house cats, though the red pandas' bushy tails add an additional 18 inches (46 centimeters).

about picture 2 : Lacking eyelids and true eyelashes, a New Caledonian crested gecko at the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo licks its eyeballs to keep them moist in a photo released last week.

The geckos are native to their namesake French territory in the South Pacific Ocean. Scientists thought the species was extinct until a population was rediscovered in 1994.

Today the gecko is widely kept in the pet trade. Its conservation status is under review by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

about picture 3 : How small is a Kihansi spray toad at birth? This photo of a one-week-old at the Wildlife Conservation Society's Bronx Zoo gives an idea.

The toads are native to a lone gorge in Tanzania, though the conservation group believes the species is extinct in the wild due to habitat destruction, disease, and climate change.

The society has bred the toads—which give birth to live young rather than lay eggs—for seven years and plans to reintroduce some to Tanzania.

about picture 4: Surf's up, pooch! A dog shakes after catching a wave in the small-dog heat at the third annual Surf Dog Surf-A-Thon hosted by the Helen Woodward Animal Center.

The surf dogs raise money to support the shelter by catching as many waves as they can in a half-hour session. Sponsors make a per-wave pledge. The event's champion won a trip to K-59, a surf spot in El Salvador.