With many of us practising self-isolation or social distancing right now, taking a fun day trip is off the cards for the time being.
Visits to zoos, aquariums and parks are cancelled for most around the globe, with businesses and public spaces shutting up shop as part of measures to slow the spread of the coronavirus.
However, the critters at zoos, rescue centres and sanctuaries are still getting on with their day-to-day life, with teams still on hand to make sure they get fed and watered.
To help you keep a watchful eye on their animals, many venues also have live-streams and web cams set up.
So, if you're missing getting up-close to wildlife while you work from home, here are nine of the best feeds to check out when you need a little cheering up.
San Diego Zoo
The US zoo has several live cams in place, all of which are still running despite the venue being closed. You can check out everything from penguin and giraffes to polar bears and tigers in real time, while there's also pre-recorded footage from the panda enclosure (just bear in mind the time difference).
Monterey Bay Aquarium
The marine-focused destination in California has several cameras installed in its enclosures, with everything from otters and sharks to coral reefs under the lens. The highlight, however, has to be the penguin live-stream, where you can see the aquarium's curious African penguins waddle about.
Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding
If pandas – especially baby ones –are more your thing, you'll find tonnes of them at this Chinese conservation sanctuary, which runs a 24/7 live stream.
Kitten Academy
This cat-fostering facility runs a daily live-stream featuring some of its cutest residents, who are also available to adopt. Unfortunately, it's based in the US so those of us in the UAE can't take these kitties home that easily.
Warrior Canine Connection
This US initiative trains puppies to work with both physically wounded and mentally impacted US military service members and their families. The live-stream of the puppy playroom, where dogs from four weeks ago can explore and socialise, is beyond adorable.
Georgia Aquarium
This marine destination has cameras fixed on everything from jellyfish to sea lions, but it's the live-stream of the beluga whale pool that's the cutest, in our humble opinion.
Animal Adventure Park
The New York zoo has everything from honey badgers to American bison in its currently closed pastures, but it only runs live streams of its star giraffes, April and Tajiri, and Oliver and Johari, where you can watch the long-necked yet graceful mammals amble around their enclosure.
Melbourne Zoo
The Australian zoo welcomed three snow leopard cubs at the end of January, and you can now spy on their daily adventures. The enclosure features two live-streams, both inside and outside their nest box, to up your chances of catching a glimpse.
Beekman Farm
Beekman is a skincare label that uses goat milk, as well as home-grown botanicals, in its signature products. The brand's farm in New York offers a live-stream of its baby goat nursery during its kid season.
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PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
How to invest in gold
Investors can tap into the gold price by purchasing physical jewellery, coins and even gold bars, but these need to be stored safely and possibly insured.
A cheaper and more straightforward way to benefit from gold price growth is to buy an exchange-traded fund (ETF).
Most advisers suggest sticking to “physical” ETFs. These hold actual gold bullion, bars and coins in a vault on investors’ behalf. Others do not hold gold but use derivatives to track the price instead, adding an extra layer of risk. The two biggest physical gold ETFs are SPDR Gold Trust and iShares Gold Trust.
Another way to invest in gold’s success is to buy gold mining stocks, but Mr Gravier says this brings added risks and can be more volatile. “They have a serious downside potential should the price consolidate.”
Mr Kyprianou says gold and gold miners are two different asset classes. “One is a commodity and the other is a company stock, which means they behave differently.”
Mining companies are a business, susceptible to other market forces, such as worker availability, health and safety, strikes, debt levels, and so on. “These have nothing to do with gold at all. It means that some companies will survive, others won’t.”
By contrast, when gold is mined, it just sits in a vault. “It doesn’t even rust, which means it retains its value,” Mr Kyprianou says.
You may already have exposure to gold miners in your portfolio, say, through an international ETF or actively managed mutual fund.
You could spread this risk with an actively managed fund that invests in a spread of gold miners, with the best known being BlackRock Gold & General. It is up an incredible 55 per cent over the past year, and 240 per cent over five years. As always, past performance is no guide to the future.
The specs
Engine: 5.2-litre twin-turbo V12
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 715bhp
Torque: 900Nm
Price: Dh1,289,376
On sale: now
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League final:
Who: Real Madrid v Liverpool
Where: NSC Olimpiyskiy Stadium, Kiev, Ukraine
When: Saturday, May 26, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: Match on BeIN Sports
Takreem Awards winners 2021
Corporate Leadership: Carl Bistany (Lebanon)
Cultural Excellence: Hoor Al Qasimi (UAE)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Bkerzay (Lebanon)
Environmental Development and Sustainability: Raya Ani (Iraq)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Women’s Programs Association (Lebanon)
Humanitarian and Civic Services: Osamah Al Thini (Libya)
Excellence in Education: World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) (Qatar)
Outstanding Arab Woman: Balghis Badri (Sudan)
Scientific and Technological Achievement: Mohamed Slim Alouini (KSA)
Young Entrepreneur: Omar Itani (Lebanon)
Lifetime Achievement: Suad Al Amiry (Palestine)
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