tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-48824309470898467332024-03-06T00:59:34.571-05:00Red Squirrel News ServiceWhen animals make headlines.Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.comBlogger40125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-56564589245278298692011-09-28T07:30:00.000-04:002011-09-28T07:30:07.828-04:00Too sad; don't read<i>Washington Post</i> <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/at-home-pet-euthanasia-grows-in-popularity/2011/09/22/gIQAVL4MxK_story.html?sub=AR">article</a> on the "growing at-home pet euthanasia movement that is beginning to relocate one of pet ownership’s most painful rituals, the final, one-way trip to the vet’s office."Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-33188878434388886282011-09-22T08:47:00.000-04:002011-09-22T08:47:06.809-04:00<i>The Economist:</i>
<blockquote><a href="http://www.economist.com/node/21529081?fsrc=scn/tw/te/ar/mansbestamigo">Pet care is booming in emerging markets, as the growing middle class stops buying dogs for security (or dinner) and starts doting on them. Nowhere has the fashion taken off as quickly as in Latin America.</a><br /></blockquote>
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<br /><i>PHOTO: Economist</i>Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-78418797596085427652011-09-15T08:45:00.000-04:002011-09-15T08:45:20.018-04:00Bird vs. BuildingHow many birds has your building killed today?<br />
<br />The <i>Times</i> <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/15/nyregion/making-new-yorks-glass-buildings-safer-for-birds.html?smid=tw-nytimesscience&seid=auto">says</a> an estimated one billion birds die, per year, crashing into buildings! What! "There are no easy fixes," says the article. Less reflective glass, patterns, nets, even glass with ultraviolet signals, are unappealing options for designers, though they've been implemented successfully in some cases, and may soon be required, by law, for new buildings in San Francisco.<br />
<br />Lighting also is a problem, at night, when bright lights can confuse birds.<br />
<br />But Glen Philips of the New York City Audubon makes a good point: "I hope there will come a time when putting up an all-glass building is like wearing a fur coat."Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-91811158030326654742011-09-10T15:31:00.001-04:002011-09-10T15:31:32.185-04:00Dolphins may have namesExcept for the whole <a href="http://redsquirrelnews.blogspot.com/2011/06/bottlenose-murderers.html">murdering for fun</a> thing, dolphins are awesome. They may even call to each other using different whistles for different individuals - that is, <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn20874-dolphins-call-each-other-by-name.html">names</a>. (Well, it's not a whistle, it's a vibrating membrane. Ew!)<br />
<br />Each individual has an identifying whistle, which his friends copy, though they repeat it a bit differently, which suggests they're not just mimicking. In fact, pairs only use each other's whistle when they've become separated. Neat!Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-38816074527559568382011-09-09T15:05:00.000-04:002011-09-15T08:45:48.799-04:00Crazy elks, murd'rous mooseWednesday night, a drunken moose (Eurasian elk) got herself <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/09/08/sweden.drunken.moose/index.html?hpt=hp_c2">stuck in an apple tree</a>, which had to be pared back and winched down so she could curl up on the grass and pass out. She slept in, but seemed to be fine later the next day.<br />
<br />Apparently this is not uncommon in Sweden, where moose are known to indulge in fermenting apples. Sadly, their revels can end badly. Ingemar Westlund, 68, was just cleared of murder charges after police concluded his wife was <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/8384143.stm">killed by a moose</a>, probably a drunk one. That moose remains at large.<br />
<br />A note here: BBC says “elk,” CNN says “moose.” Elk and moose are distinct members of the deer family, Cervidae, but their names are interchangeable. Except that you will know the Commie scum if they call a moose (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moose">Alces alces</a></i>) an elk (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elk">Cervus canadensis</a></i>)!<br />
<br />Final note: animals get drunk all the time. Elephants are even worse than moose, because they go stampeding through villages, over <a href="http://news.ninemsn.com.au/world/8175805/drunk-elephants-kill-four-people">homes</a> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2010/dec/03/elephants-drunken-rampage-india">and</a> <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/2583891.stm">people</a>. They can even do <a href="http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2003969241_webelephants23.html">harm</a> to themselves, like our friend stuck in the tree.<br />
<br />Wild animals should be given a respectable distance even when they aren’t drunk, of course. But just like humans, unless you have some Excedrin and mimosas on hand, animals are deadliest during a hangover!<br />
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<br /><i>Love to Stephanie, thanks to Shamie.</i>Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-74199700048363396572011-09-09T01:59:00.000-04:002011-09-09T01:59:07.785-04:00More about Lolong, the lovable giant man-eating crocodileEarlier this week, residents of a farming township in the southern Philippines celebrated the live capture of a suspected killer: a one-ton, 20-foot, male saltwater crocodile. In case you’re wondering, that’s fucking huge. It took 100 people to hoist this amazing creature out of its creek - up which it was, presumably, sans paddle.<br />
<br /><a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AS_PHILIPPINES_KILLER_CROCODILE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">“Lolong”</a> stands accused of eating a child two years ago, and may be responsible for a fisherman going missing in July. However, wildlife official Ronnie Sumiller says there’s an even bigger croc still on the loose.<br />
<br />Saltwater crocodiles can grow to 23 feet, and may live more than 100 years. Experts estimate that Lolong is 50 years old - since eating children and fishermen is a sign of midlife crisis in most crocodiles.<br />
<br /><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crocodilia#Differences_between_alligators_and_crocodiles">Crocodiles differ from alligators</a> in a number of ways. Alligators have wider snouts, while a crocodile snout almost comes to a point. Alligators prefer freshwater, crocodiles are fine with saltwater. Gators play poker on Thursdays, crocs get togged up and enjoy a round of golf on Sundays. That’s just the way it is. Also, crocodiles are distinguished by two teeth that jut up outside the mouth like smug tusks. But the two share a common family tree - along with caimans and gharials, whatever those are - that appeared 84 million years ago.<br />
<br />So, they’re awesome. Should they be bound up with heavy ropes and posts and trucked off into captivity for being large carnivores? Probably not. According to <i>The Philippine Star</i>, Lolong’s already <a href="http://www.philstar.com/Article.aspx?articleId=725325&publicationSubCategoryId=68">stressed out</a>, muzzled and caged to be gawked at by crowds and taunted by children.<br />
<br />It’s great that there’s an even bigger one still at large ("Lo-<i>longer</i>"). I say let the monsters multiply!
Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-45726631606421448992011-09-06T08:53:00.001-04:002011-09-06T08:54:02.269-04:00One-ton croc captured in the PhilippinesActually felt pretty horrible for this big guy, even though it's a nightmare!
<iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/FPIrhwI_DI8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-12811695160510720092011-06-30T09:16:00.006-04:002011-06-30T09:24:32.821-04:00Loukanikos the awesome Greek riot dawg<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBR6-OkJHVMHRQ5JqM8E-lAkkPo2ytSAeiDl4OfLieDnkJF8gU21f3kuHfCmnz20qHnlPmKy5PFLyl9DSXwM-PC6jfvDbaPpYJbmtR_8x4rzbyp8W6JQ0dzsTNT-db3JhRmc454puvuY/s1600/louk-7.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFBR6-OkJHVMHRQ5JqM8E-lAkkPo2ytSAeiDl4OfLieDnkJF8gU21f3kuHfCmnz20qHnlPmKy5PFLyl9DSXwM-PC6jfvDbaPpYJbmtR_8x4rzbyp8W6JQ0dzsTNT-db3JhRmc454puvuY/s320/louk-7.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5624003040769126402" /></a>Since 2008, Loukanikos has barked alongside protesters in Greece, where fears of a default have pressured the government to enact harsh austerity measures.<br /><br />Loukanikos means "Sausage" in Greek. <i>Story <a href="http://globalpublicsquare.blogs.cnn.com/2011/06/23/since-2008-greek-rioters-have-had-a-canine-companion-named-loukanikos/?hpt=wo_r1">here</a>.</i>Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-81824730450477016342011-06-03T01:30:00.005-04:002011-06-03T04:50:30.523-04:00Bottlenose murderersDon't let the bottlenose dolphin fool you. Behind <i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bottlenose_dolphin">Tersiops'</a></i> innocent snout there's a cold killer.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.hitech-dolphin.com/image-files/bottlenose-dolphin-picture-2-480.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 363px; height: 480px;" src="http://www.hitech-dolphin.com/image-files/bottlenose-dolphin-picture-2-480.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />“They just seem so quiet and nice,” says a jellyfish, one of the dolphins' neighbors. But <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/blogs/shortsharpscience/2008/09/dolphin-serial-killers.html">reports continue to accumulate</a> of cetaceans killing their fellow seafarers.<br /><br />Why? What motivates them? It doesn't appear to be competition for food. Though it may just be for fun, a <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg21028154.700-californian-dolphin-gang-caught-killing-porpoises.html">recent finding</a> points to a new explanation. Mark Cotter and colleagues at Okeanis observed bottlenose dolphins chasing, ramming, and drowning lone harbor porpoises in the Pacific.<br /><br />Since 21 of 23 dolphins were male, they must obviously have been murdering with that age old motive: sexual frustration.Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-54673319917533238192011-02-04T03:55:00.005-05:002011-02-10T16:58:28.917-05:00Of mice and mothsYes, it's come to this: mice are being tested as explosive sniffers for airport security.<br /><br />Israeli start-up BioExplorers "claims that trained mice can be better than full-body scanners and intrusive pat-downs at telling a bona fide passenger from a terrorist carrying explosives," says a recent <a href="http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20927985.700-sniffer-mice-have-a-nose-for-explosives.html">article</a> in <i>New Scientist</i>.<br /><br />Mice apparently have a more acute sense of smell than dogs, and require less attention. They were conditioned to smell the traces of eight key explosives.<br /><br />The same article reports that moths can be used as bomb detectors as well.<br /><br />"Different chemicals produce distinct voltages on the antennae that the moths use to sense aromas, so the team wired up the moths to record these levels."<br /><br />So, there you are, world, the absurd fixes you're willing to dream up in place of real solutions.Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-36079736508601217972010-09-07T09:45:00.004-04:002010-09-07T10:51:10.863-04:00Nature's monstersOf course there's no such thing as ugly animals, but there's an entertaining attempt to treat the oxymoron in the <i>New York Times</i>: <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/10/science/10ugly.html?_r=3&pagewanted=1&ref=science">"A Masterpiece of Nature? Yuck!"</a><br /><br />It stars the star-nosed mole (<i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Star-nosed_mole">Condylura cristata</a></i>), a tunneler and part-time swimmer from the low, wet parts of eastern North America. It is the world's fastest forager. Pretty much its whole face comprises the eponymous "star-nose," a wheel of eleven pairs of supersensative "tendrils," radiating around a mouth that's hungry for insects, worms, and other small invertebrates.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/08/10/science/10ugly-span/10ugly-span-articleLarge-v2.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 600px; height: 330px;" src="http://graphics8.nytimes.com/images/2010/08/10/science/10ugly-span/10ugly-span-articleLarge-v2.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />"The star-nosed mole's brain processes the information [from its pink, fleshy tendrils] at a very high speed, which approaches the upper limit at which nervous systems are capable of functioning," says <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/neurophilosophy/2009/08/the_star_nosed_moles_amazing_appendages.php">Neurophilosophy blog</a> at <a href="http://scienceblogs.com/">ScienceBlogs</a>. "Approximately half of the brain is devoted to processing sensory information from the nose."<br /><br />It's true, <i>C. cristata</i> may have brains, but it is not a classical beauty. See the <i>Times</i> for more pictures - both a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/slideshow/2010/08/10/science/20100810angier.html">slide show</a> and <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/science/20100812ugly.html?ref=science">reader submissions</a>.<br /><br /><i><b>Other supposedly ugly animals:</b><br /><br />The blobfish (</i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blobfish">Psychrolutes marcidus</a><i>), <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/howaboutthat/7077472/Blobfish-worlds-most-miserable-looking-marine-animal-facing-exinction.html">facing extinction</a>;<br /><br /><a href="http://www.awf.org/content/wildlife/detail/warthog">Warthogs</a>, "neither graceful nor beautiful..." (</i>Phacochoerus africanus<i>);<br /><br />The manatee (</i><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manatee">Trichechus spp.</a><i>), a bloated, mopey torpedo shunned by researchers;<br /><br />And our own Sphynx cat, an inbred "gargoyle of human creation!"</i><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/IW_SGC_Classicalcats_Valentino.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 543px; height: 399px;" src="http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5d/IW_SGC_Classicalcats_Valentino.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-40206943199047026332010-09-01T20:18:00.003-04:002011-09-09T13:46:04.312-04:00Bedbugs take overBedbugs (<i>Cimex lectularis</i>) are gross, creepy, and they're multiplying, virtually usurping power in New York City and the entire state of Ohio. But, as a <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/31/science/31bedbug.html?_r=1&ref=science">great article</a> from the <i>New York Times</i> points out, they don't appear to spread disease, and there may be more to fear from the pesticides used against them.<br />
<br />
According to the article, few researches focus on this particular parasite; "most study grants come from the pesticide industry and ask only one question: What kills it?"<br />
<br />
Those researchers that do specialize in bedbugs are charmingly kooky: "The classic bedbug strain that all newly caught bugs are compared against is a colony originally from Fort Dix, N.J., that a researcher kept alive for 30 years by letting it feed on him."<br />
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Since 2006, the fight has <a href="http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/08/25/eveningnews/main6805735.shtml">cost</a> over $250 million nationwide, a vexing battle since the blood-suckers resist most pesticides. Currently, hope is fixated on <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ioPwXC10YqCaNpR9YhvGB9lWpheAD9HU4F1O0">propoxur</a>, which the EPA warns may be carcinogenic, banning it for indoor use in 2007. Ohio, with four winners in Terminix’s <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/health/ct-top-15-bedbug-infested-cities-pg,0,4951231.photogallery">top 15</a> bedbug-infested cities, is leading 25 other states in petitioning for an emergency exemption.<br />
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It’s a toss-up between dangerous chemicals: "authorities around the country have blamed house fires on people misusing all sorts of highly flammable garden and lawn chemicals to fight bedbugs," <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5ioPwXC10YqCaNpR9YhvGB9lWpheAD9HU4F1O0">says</a> the AP.<br />
<br />
Maybe our blood-eating buddies are here to stay. They’ve even <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/richard-z-chesnoff/ground-zero-mosque-imam-h_b_700855.html">found their way</a> into national politics.Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-57643176491566783422009-06-13T10:20:00.003-04:002009-06-13T10:31:36.620-04:00Cracked.com spreads some healthy animal paranoia<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx6zz4_7BgpNRAOj0-gRCHkMFXSu4b8iqwqy4g2iAFLZqgADdplK-rY_Z7e19aYOpc-nP7dXLBaJbOXZRDKdxkXytIfHhUK1r5nhJmlL44-Jo6-DwnG2C4k_uf33-1fLMJgFPoLWBqsIY/s1600-h/crackedbig072203.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 146px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx6zz4_7BgpNRAOj0-gRCHkMFXSu4b8iqwqy4g2iAFLZqgADdplK-rY_Z7e19aYOpc-nP7dXLBaJbOXZRDKdxkXytIfHhUK1r5nhJmlL44-Jo6-DwnG2C4k_uf33-1fLMJgFPoLWBqsIY/s200/crackedbig072203.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346819629107882834" /></a>Have to admit, I'm a bit jealous of the animal coverage at <a href="www.cracked.com"><i>Cracked.com</i></a>, a magazine I stopped reading about 15 years ago. Their <a href="http://www.cracked.com/article_17453_5-diabolical-animals-that-out-witted-humans.html">recent contribution</a> to man's endless quest to understand his animalian brethren includes stories of a spiteful grizzly bear, a manipulative dolphin, crows taking over Japan, etc. etc. Plus they use funny curse words.Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-59982923982987163382009-06-12T10:59:00.003-04:002009-06-12T11:09:35.165-04:00Jellies: Rulers of the sea??!!<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKMg4x7aATV77_iDwvUSOC4f13_cXEWBdxHytRV8w9oPYwsWwX8TQ2Ld69VeVnTWtZnKuJt3qBVzU2_ziaZYKT6su5oJa9jA4gSfH2DoGMsjCqanHR5bN5LlIys6RX55dukgoNDOboWE/s1600-h/2008-Jan-27-Jelly_Fish.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 171px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQKMg4x7aATV77_iDwvUSOC4f13_cXEWBdxHytRV8w9oPYwsWwX8TQ2Ld69VeVnTWtZnKuJt3qBVzU2_ziaZYKT6su5oJa9jA4gSfH2DoGMsjCqanHR5bN5LlIys6RX55dukgoNDOboWE/s200/2008-Jan-27-Jelly_Fish.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5346458428947626594" /></a>Terrible, just terrible. "<a href="http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2009/06/08/2592139.htm">Jellyfish threaten to 'dominate' oceans</a>."<br /><br />New methods for controlling these awful things include exploding them with sound waves. Apparently the species currently increasing are not generally considered to be edible. Darn.<br /><br />I've written more about these menaces <a href="http://redsquirrelnews.blogspot.com/search/label/jellyfish">elsewhere</a>. I don't want to think about it anymore today.Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-22668368529377201902009-06-05T09:50:00.007-04:002009-06-05T10:33:53.312-04:00Tool-using rookies; a squirrelous video; uproarious wordplay<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGfzooAJ-NtLA41mTqEBlei106M6r_J0U6xRk-1NWnruH_gnbNKjsTnjisDpx7vkhFFfLY59uQlmChLcJS9uTp80oneJWQstE4ovnL3KJWg6O6l6hyphenhyphenZXxQni7akNc6EzMZPEZzPNupvGI/s1600-h/BIRDS-1.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGfzooAJ-NtLA41mTqEBlei106M6r_J0U6xRk-1NWnruH_gnbNKjsTnjisDpx7vkhFFfLY59uQlmChLcJS9uTp80oneJWQstE4ovnL3KJWg6O6l6hyphenhyphenZXxQni7akNc6EzMZPEZzPNupvGI/s400/BIRDS-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343848766313257970" /></a>Unlike their corvine cousins, rooks don't show off their tool-using ability in the wild, but that doesn't mean they're a simpler breed. Given appropriate conditions in the lab - and a "tasty morsel" like a waxworm to tempt them - rooks (<i>Corvus frugilegus</i>) can use various combinations of sticks and stones to dip their beaks in some treats. They can even modify a stick or a piece of wire to complete the task.<br /><br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/8059688.stm">See the videos at BBC News</a>.<br /><br />"The interesting thing about the rooks is that they do not use tools in the wild," says the deliciously named Christopher Bird, the study's lead author.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lwO1sToQpWyXQ9W5g9vnDkS_t0hboHW6On4GXc680kpjZVGJz_ICDYEEcZ1k545STj4AgxR6wcRtjCHEWHnWHkpCCYu0FuYMJxdqx5aVhULTsWAHwzwIMjUYQJ4cU0ShGHn5IK5yzpE/s1600-h/1176151461_crow-soccer.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 294px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj0lwO1sToQpWyXQ9W5g9vnDkS_t0hboHW6On4GXc680kpjZVGJz_ICDYEEcZ1k545STj4AgxR6wcRtjCHEWHnWHkpCCYu0FuYMJxdqx5aVhULTsWAHwzwIMjUYQJ4cU0ShGHn5IK5yzpE/s400/1176151461_crow-soccer.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343849859491357602" /></a>"The upshot," <a href="http://www.economist.com/science/displaystory.cfm?story_id=13726746">says</a> the <i>Economist</i>, "is that toolmaking, at least in crows, does not look like a specifically evolved ability but rather an extension of general intelligence. Perhaps wild rooks are not presented with a need to use tools, and so don’t bother."<br /><br />Other non-primates - elephants, cetaceans, various birds and rodents - <a href="http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/01/animaltools/">also</a> use <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tool_use_by_animals">tools</a>. There may be uncounted species among them like the rooks who just don't exhibit tool use in the wild, where it's unnecessary.<br /><br />And here we have a delightful video of the lengths those rascally <a href="http://redsquirrelnews.blogspot.com/search/label/squirrels">sciurids</a> will go to for a treat or a candy bar - not so different, us and the animals, hmm?<br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/x37V8v6vTco&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/x37V8v6vTco&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-52204796086522588242009-06-04T18:38:00.004-04:002009-06-04T18:47:32.418-04:00Ten million years of tickling<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUZOi8XZyeZWV5hk6w5oXnT_1ix2HlQ50GiPfa4XX9_Ndff48dsPcJI9wn91sYmudIXQP18GtGomo283ZV2VNhSeY_yNArHCs3YxHM3wJk3ZG5Q1lLX9z3heTmd576wdzROC2IQZPDOg/s1600-h/1717c337-b5c6-4db1-8061-7f9bd0ac319a-big.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 197px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgnUZOi8XZyeZWV5hk6w5oXnT_1ix2HlQ50GiPfa4XX9_Ndff48dsPcJI9wn91sYmudIXQP18GtGomo283ZV2VNhSeY_yNArHCs3YxHM3wJk3ZG5Q1lLX9z3heTmd576wdzROC2IQZPDOg/s320/1717c337-b5c6-4db1-8061-7f9bd0ac319a-big.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5343606720691391810" /></a>Should we ban animal-tickling? Apparently not. <i>AP</i> <a href="http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_SCI_APE_LAUGHTER?SITE=FLPEJ&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT">reports</a> that upon comparison, the sounds evoked by tickling three human babies and 21 orangutans, gorillas, chimps, and bonobos, all appeared to be the same thing: laughter. I would have protested, but since they didn’t scream, strike out, and feel unendurably queasy, I think we can let this one pass. (Judge for yourself – videos below.)<br /><br />Most importantly, researchers say the similarities suggest a common evolutionary origin, possibly back further than 10 million years. Other research has even shown a form of <a href="http://tierneylab.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/03/18/what-happens-when-you-tickle-a-rat-see-for-yourself/">laughter in rats</a>, and work continues outside the primate domain.<br /><br />To see if they would cry, researchers fed the baby simians some red wine and showed them "The Notebook" starring Ryan Gosling.<br /><br /><b><i>Vids:</b></i><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/TrIdgS9vnpk&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/TrIdgS9vnpk&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/Gglm7adEKPw&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/Gglm7adEKPw&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&hl=en&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object><br /><br /><object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/C0kxmfSGCaE&hl=en&fs=1&"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/C0kxmfSGCaE&hl=en&fs=1&" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object>Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-69361656519927716002008-12-24T21:37:00.003-05:002008-12-24T21:43:19.942-05:00Animal Views at Washington Post<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGHnRjw1qJbR5Q6Mte-76Tlhd09fpD_SLE5S2AdtijowF8jTX_HapHF8M10PiFoNKNfBFWb3Szb5VHCAOk0VikoTmqaMEJrAmKKKBdsVwu0ucxGspnXPfqfV6ZFemYRETgbfWGzGqkdM/s1600-h/cat_santa.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 327px; height: 383px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidGHnRjw1qJbR5Q6Mte-76Tlhd09fpD_SLE5S2AdtijowF8jTX_HapHF8M10PiFoNKNfBFWb3Szb5VHCAOk0VikoTmqaMEJrAmKKKBdsVwu0ucxGspnXPfqfV6ZFemYRETgbfWGzGqkdM/s400/cat_santa.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5283552662134768002" /></a><br />Just <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/gallery/2008/12/24/GA2008122401725.html?hpid=multimedia1&hpv=local">go there</a> immediately. Awesome pictures of elephants playing in snow (they look like they're laughing!), a baby hippopotamus (ADORABLE), a meerkat (meerkats are awesome), a cat in a Santa hat (NEVER out of season!)... Apparently the <em>Post</em> does this every week! Go go go!!Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-28393692229356913642008-12-15T21:52:00.010-05:002008-12-15T23:19:46.413-05:00Fauna feed - various animal news, bad puns<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJp-Kk-RxJhI9J-4oIku5Ejr88xN8LYTJrnetCZnRWpa-biRIn9XB2510b8Izpsb7yi7Y5zxzTFzlAlZB6Yg_uKmC2AI8u7QFdr_mC9LhWdwrpr3acYpMnN6kcP8bS-jBT7SHONIyhYM/s1600-h/jfishstings.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFJp-Kk-RxJhI9J-4oIku5Ejr88xN8LYTJrnetCZnRWpa-biRIn9XB2510b8Izpsb7yi7Y5zxzTFzlAlZB6Yg_uKmC2AI8u7QFdr_mC9LhWdwrpr3acYpMnN6kcP8bS-jBT7SHONIyhYM/s320/jfishstings.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280234651686152754" /></a><em>They're back!</em> Goopy stinging groups of gobs given the deceptively poetic name "blooms" are overrunning seas too numerous to name, and costing fishing and tourism industries hundreds of millions of dollars over the past few decades. Jellyfish are swarming all across the globe, a phenomenon I reported on a while ago (<a href="http://redsquirrelnews.blogspot.com/2007/12/jellyfish-plague-punishes-humans.html">"Jellyfish plague punishes the humans"</a>), but never thought was so out of hand, turning fisheries and beaches into "<a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/12/081212170654.htm">veritable jellytoriums</a>" in the newly invented words of <em>ScienceDaily</em>.<br /><br />These jellyfish jams can be deadly but usually just stick to disrupting industry, commerce, and infrastructure. "[S]uspicion is growing that population explosions of jellyfish are being generated by human activities," such as pollution and global warming.<br /><br />In other freaky news, <em>LiveScience</em> <a href="http://www.livescience.com/animals/081212-fastest-mandible-strike.html">reports</a> that a species of Panamanian termite has the world's fastest bite, clocking in at 157 chomp and awe mph. "Because a termite soldier faces down enemies inside a narrow tunnel and has little room to parry and little time to waste, this death blow proves to be incredibly efficient, though it works only over short distances."<br /><br />The <em>New York Times</em> runs an <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/science/earth/12species.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss">article</a> about fear among conservatives that the 1972 Endangered Species Act might be used as a "'back door' means of regulating the emission of gases that accelerate climate change."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6m9zfNjKB0T7NyjpZ7OBNfj2X83Q506JFKCfaxv1taE7Qcon0u-X2i95eWYSPEThOK1M0Xvvorr6a5nmkCMYTFgJVNLfM3QjwAvWk7Y2pSxl4EPLog39nCINX8sWLEKlepDFcbmK2o8/s1600-h/PolarBearIce.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 284px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM6m9zfNjKB0T7NyjpZ7OBNfj2X83Q506JFKCfaxv1taE7Qcon0u-X2i95eWYSPEThOK1M0Xvvorr6a5nmkCMYTFgJVNLfM3QjwAvWk7Y2pSxl4EPLog39nCINX8sWLEKlepDFcbmK2o8/s400/PolarBearIce.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5280237735467995826" /></a><br /><br />They've also got a "radical" editorial out <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/08/opinion/08mon4.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss">calling for a moratorium</a> on bluefin tuna fishing - if only they could show a bit more radicalism (or at least backbone) on topics like the decision to invade Iraq!<br /><br />For some real radicalism, we turn to PETA, which is "so very excited" to bring us <a href="http://blog.peta.org/archives/2008/12/score_one_for_n.php">good animal rights news</a> from Bernalillo County, New Mexico. After pressure from citizens, the county council voted on a bill that, among other things, requires better living conditions for farm animals, and bans the sale of cats and dogs in pet stores. (And just a few days ago I found out I have to hate <em>zoos</em> too!)<br /><br />Lastly, I found an oldish article on the <em>New York Times</em> site about <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/30/nyregion/westchester/30colwe.html?_r=1">service dogs</a> trained by inmates of the maximum security Bedford Hills women's prison. The majority of the dogs go to Iraq War veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. (<em><a href="http://www.thecuteproject.com/photos/2282/pup.in.a.bucket!/">Do not read this article</a></em> if you don't want to cry, and certainly don't watch the accompanying video - I almost cried and I barely have <a href="http://redsquirrelnews.blogspot.com/2008/12/beware-of-dog-silently-judging-you.html">canine emotions</a>, let alone <em>human</em> ones!)Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-27653106324812735452008-12-14T18:55:00.007-05:002008-12-14T22:25:35.120-05:00Beware of Dog (silently judging you)<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGS7oItU3IB5um4OteZC82tJeMWVQl3J7kQWjC6177rbjEHsMVAl1iy8LpW1IH5LJV63SmbneTaJx_glzQTJm2vOReNGoc9lZGQ3GeTCdE89wUg1JfBFVfr0MFkz64z4-mPpTQtncHbfs/s1600-h/chomp.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 288px; height: 192px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgGS7oItU3IB5um4OteZC82tJeMWVQl3J7kQWjC6177rbjEHsMVAl1iy8LpW1IH5LJV63SmbneTaJx_glzQTJm2vOReNGoc9lZGQ3GeTCdE89wUg1JfBFVfr0MFkz64z4-mPpTQtncHbfs/s400/chomp.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279804272186741474" border="0" /></a>Many will insist it's unfair to feed one dog and not the others looking on, even if it's your dog and your aunt has brought her smelly unruly doggy brood over for a visit. But however smelly they are, her dogs may in fact be indignant at your invidious gesture, at least judging from a study by the University of Vienna's Clever Dog Lab, out last week in the <em>Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences</em>.<br /><br />"Here," says <a href="http://www.pnas.org/content/early/2008/12/08/0810957105.abstract">the abstract</a>, "we investigated whether domestic dogs show sensitivity toward the inequity of rewards received for giving the paw [that's British for "Shake!"] to an experimenter on command in pairs of dogs." They showed that when one dog was rewarded for shaking, and the other wasn't, the neglected one would soon resist the command.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyACwzCkCcvsjpZJGOAH4AyRUoQgkddvXm8IiuZV0f5jouUD9P4ebm0AzwQQp0TKC8a17CXTRY8OXAT6TJbcmOKSxRl_Y2J4Rdm05qycbS_gSFDxVaaoBqq2JIC0kOkH1yOV8H3Hm_vqI/s1600-h/dogchess.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 260px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyACwzCkCcvsjpZJGOAH4AyRUoQgkddvXm8IiuZV0f5jouUD9P4ebm0AzwQQp0TKC8a17CXTRY8OXAT6TJbcmOKSxRl_Y2J4Rdm05qycbS_gSFDxVaaoBqq2JIC0kOkH1yOV8H3Hm_vqI/s400/dogchess.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279852679889845442" /></a><br />"Our results suggest that species other than primates show at least a primitive version of inequity aversion, which may be a precursor of a more sophisticated sensitivity to efforts and payoffs of joint interactions."<br /><br />Detractor Clive Wynne, an associate professor in the psychology department of the University of Florida, <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5goqDNpGnvVACLUqZHdJUW1z-XZ3AD94UT47G0">told AP</a>, "What it means is individuals are responding negatively to being treated less well."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaA_hQqvurEodVVX9IZMgFQwZE7yaXqCAXzncRPxYk2nR-VlvVsPvugUDQhH3OXnGtpjdBHS54g-iiF7MVTZrHN_rN0hgOu8beWbrnCUFjIqspYOaGT1_xLGSIbx_nR_p4MuFmGmjRn-g/s1600-h/smart_dog.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 288px; height: 226px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjaA_hQqvurEodVVX9IZMgFQwZE7yaXqCAXzncRPxYk2nR-VlvVsPvugUDQhH3OXnGtpjdBHS54g-iiF7MVTZrHN_rN0hgOu8beWbrnCUFjIqspYOaGT1_xLGSIbx_nR_p4MuFmGmjRn-g/s400/smart_dog.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279813060599186354" /></a>They are, <a href="http://blog.wired.com/wiredscience/2008/12/dogenvy.html">agrees</a> evolutionary biologist Marc Bekoff, co-author of the forthcoming book <em><a href="http://www.press.uchicago.edu/presssite/metadata.epl?mode=synopsis&bookkey=368323">Wild Justice</a></em>, "but it also means they are picking up on what being treated less well means, and that's really important. The animals are aware of being treated less well." No sources care to explain how those two interpretations differ.<br /><br />"Until recently, psychologists believed most animals lacked the 'sense of self' needed to experience so-called secondary emotions such as jealousy, embarrassment, empathy or guilt," <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article5299040.ece">says the <em>Times</em> (UK)</a>.<br /><br />Indeed, studies like this may be closing the gap we tend to think separates us from animals. "In two areas, we're unique," says Bekoff. "We're the only species I know of that cooks food and [we have an] incredible propensity for evil."<br /><br /><center><object height="344" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/i7JhXOEuPLM&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1"><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/i7JhXOEuPLM&color1=0xb1b1b1&color2=0xcfcfcf&feature=player_embedded&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" height="344" width="425"></embed></object></center><br /><br /><em><a href="http://www.nc.univie.ac.at/index.php?id=14571">Meet the clever dogs</a> of the Clever Dog Lab.<br /><br />In <a href="http://www.wctv.tv/home/headlines/35818849.html">related news</a>, Florida animal welfare officials are warning against giving pets for the holidays, as returning such unwanted "gifts" after they become attached can be detrimental to their health.<br /><br />"Animals can go through the same emotions people do," says one official.</em>Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-50652346205641826562008-12-13T03:05:00.005-05:002008-12-13T03:36:49.083-05:00New Species: Your name here<em>Ain't found </em>nothin<em> since the last post. Probably something or other long extinct, some kind of bacteria, etc. But here's the really exciting news.</em><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu8IzYELRSIAyMApo6mSmlx2-5QEmhv3gMY_5YV9boA3yDMymmsT4frWEpm9WAdFRwbjNsLha8FLsX-kepAEXN-P7ioeomoSQ1FID8q4MzNGeuKX2ks4kGNGqWtXygkuuUU4zYPtC_cg0/s1600-h/Bats.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 200px; height: 200px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiu8IzYELRSIAyMApo6mSmlx2-5QEmhv3gMY_5YV9boA3yDMymmsT4frWEpm9WAdFRwbjNsLha8FLsX-kepAEXN-P7ioeomoSQ1FID8q4MzNGeuKX2ks4kGNGqWtXygkuuUU4zYPtC_cg0/s400/Bats.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279189791682626914" /></a>"Starting Monday," <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/chi-purdue-bats-naming-rights-species,0,1804387.story">reports</a> the <em>Chicago Tribune</em>, "Purdue University researchers will be auctioning off the naming rights to seven recently discovered types of bats hailing from Mexico, South America, Central America and Africa. And if the bats seem too 'last Christmas,' there's also a pair of yet-to-be-named Amazonian turtles up for grabs."<br /><br />Indeed, "universities and ecological organizations across the country have begun to view the naming rights to new species of birds, bugs and mammals as a way to draw big bucks to fund their research."<br /><br />Stephen Colbert already caught onto this I guess and made some good sarcastic self-conscious jokes about it. Feigning indignity at the <a href="http://redsquirrelnews.blogspot.com/2008/05/new-species-legless-lizards-dwarf.html">naming of a trapdoor spider after Neil Young</a>, he had the biologist fan who named it on the show for what I'm sure was a snippy chiding. He then proceeded to have a trapdoor spider named after him, no joke: <em><a href="http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25956273/">Aptostichus stephencolberti</a></em>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66RY4jzpxy9ywO_pJWEazp4hx66qE8zpnkgmk9xO1k-pHSCXDpfUxSx5Ize6o_n_FAIxEiqVjq2OVvWgRVsHXFNU_y-mvS1nWqzVA-tZLttXMasE6ui4HC6gAdPq08H3tUlZBhcaIlrc/s1600-h/aptostichusstephencolberti.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 350px; height: 263px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg66RY4jzpxy9ywO_pJWEazp4hx66qE8zpnkgmk9xO1k-pHSCXDpfUxSx5Ize6o_n_FAIxEiqVjq2OVvWgRVsHXFNU_y-mvS1nWqzVA-tZLttXMasE6ui4HC6gAdPq08H3tUlZBhcaIlrc/s400/aptostichusstephencolberti.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279190711633325058" /></a><br /><br />John Bickham, Purdue professor who discovered the as yet unnamed bats, "said there are about 1.6 million known species of organisms, estimated to be only 10 percent of what exists on the Earth."<br /><br />"'We're losing species every minute,' he said. 'People don't really understand the full impact of this. We're really talking about losing the organisms that may be necessary to sustain the foundation on which the Earth is built. And yet we don't even really understand them.'"Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-77214924661070553332008-12-13T01:23:00.006-05:002008-12-13T02:11:43.424-05:00Elephants' lifespans drastically cut short by poachingAbsent from my post below (<a href="http://redsquirrelnews.blogspot.com/2008/12/zoos-news.html">"Zoos News"</a>) was a perspective that incorporates conservation and poaching — a glaring omission.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBvNw90pZwuubcCM-gC5spbOoUOYtnA3cAPshZkCHHT6ypfgzjGoVk3nBxLcgd7cGjZ3T1WMFFpNPuepWi5-FOfQMysZ4W7l1VSqCcrYBKzTNjZTlF4lKu94HxJXtkUK1HQDwDb3oo_M/s1600-h/elephants.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEisBvNw90pZwuubcCM-gC5spbOoUOYtnA3cAPshZkCHHT6ypfgzjGoVk3nBxLcgd7cGjZ3T1WMFFpNPuepWi5-FOfQMysZ4W7l1VSqCcrYBKzTNjZTlF4lKu94HxJXtkUK1HQDwDb3oo_M/s400/elephants.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279167056306683250" /></a>Six suspects stand accused in the US of working with "a trans-Atlantic ring that routinely sneaked ivory, much of it elaborately carved, out of three African countries — Uganda, Ivory Coast and Cameroon — that prohibit such exports and then slipped it past customs agents at Kennedy Airport..." <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/nyregion/04ivory.html?ref=africa">according to</a> the <em>New York Times</em>.<br /><br />"Poaching elephants for their ivory is still the primary factor in the decline of their populations in Africa, wildlife officials say."<br /><br />And in <em>National Geographic</em> is an <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/12/081211-zakouma-elephants-missions.html">article</a> on the dizzying losses of elephants to poaching in Chad, a "massacre," in the words of one observer, that could wipe out the population within three years. The army helps guards and employees protect elephants in Zakouma National Park, but clashes with poachers can prove fatal.<br /><br />A serious examination of these majestic megafauna's <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/science/12zoo.html?_r=1&ref=us">quality of life in our zoos</a> should of course inquire into their lives at home, and their prospects for conservation there. Questions arise like how to shift priorities in impoverished countries where ordinary people have few options but to poach or starve.<br /><br />And how do we reverse environmental degradations like global warming so that <a href="http://www.zoo-berlin.de/en/experience/young-animals/ice-bear-knut.html">our friend Knut the polar bear</a> won't be sent home to find all his ice melted?Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-55120408098018905632008-12-12T23:26:00.008-05:002008-12-13T00:04:03.626-05:00Zoos NewsLots of news out recently to more or less condemn zoos to <a href="http://www.peta.org/actioncenter/actionalerts.asp">animal cruelty's shit list</a>, alongside slaughterhouses, vivisections, and puppy mills. Plenty of controversy, too, of course.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx2tg2FLlBd3sfdMu65h0Rdxab6jDCukYLbezq2D_FLuhifOKRS9TF197hk9DABYPfnYlmwOED6F1vQ4oqYfEQtR0BOx4v2h9yRzkUNreftFlkEoEDrbKDRlcMni5MjKJINxQA0mh5Sw0/s1600-h/elephants-forget-forgive-funny-reml.png"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgx2tg2FLlBd3sfdMu65h0Rdxab6jDCukYLbezq2D_FLuhifOKRS9TF197hk9DABYPfnYlmwOED6F1vQ4oqYfEQtR0BOx4v2h9yRzkUNreftFlkEoEDrbKDRlcMni5MjKJINxQA0mh5Sw0/s320/elephants-forget-forgive-funny-reml.png" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279132778503494066" /></a>The big seller was out today, under headlines like <a href="http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1865628,00.html?imw=Y">"Free Dumbo! Zoos are bad for elephants"</a> and <a href="http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=how-zoos-kill-elephants">"How zoos kill elephants."</a> The <em>New York Times</em> balances it out with <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/12/science/12zoo.html?ref=us">"Critical Report on Health of Zoo Elephants Debated,"</a> although its two sides are the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and the Association of Zoos and Aquariums.<br /><br />Findings from the study in question: "living in a zoo drastically shortens the lives of Asian and African elephants"; "bringing elephants into zoos profoundly impairs their viability." The numbers are hard to dispute, but the representative from AZA casts a smidgen of doubt on them.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodUhS8ztqmC4u5_wIL19ercZuON-2ZLNR-v7BLSeT69y5NDH8Dux8_rXu5Ql0VwPC712t1HKIAyigT8YGrufMXBue8K65SMpoCR-OYELRcgBzow3ikFEnDVdvSM0U9l1-UFjZU4RSrA4/s1600-h/elephantlove.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 275px; height: 399px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiodUhS8ztqmC4u5_wIL19ercZuON-2ZLNR-v7BLSeT69y5NDH8Dux8_rXu5Ql0VwPC712t1HKIAyigT8YGrufMXBue8K65SMpoCR-OYELRcgBzow3ikFEnDVdvSM0U9l1-UFjZU4RSrA4/s400/elephantlove.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279133124776417650" /></a>There is also a <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1093970/Three-quarters-elephants-British-zoos-overweight.html">warning</a> out about weight problems affecting elephants' feet in British zoos.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/Weekend/story?id=6420903&page=1">More sadness</a> as the economic downturn pressures the Berlin Zoo to try and send its polar bear superstar Knut packing:<br /><br />"Like many zoos, the Berlin Zoo is caught in the economic downturn. Knut will need a mate but because of budget constraints, the Berlin Zoo cannot afford to expand his living enclosure. The place he has always called home will most likely have to sell him to another zoo." (I wrote <a href="http://redsquirrelnews.blogspot.com/2008/04/economic-downturn-sinks-to-new-lows.html">here</a> a little bit ago about the now official recession affecting puppies and kitties.)<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK81ZukmkJb_cNLP9tITgX_y4r2FGxBWSxwrixmKq0YHc8PPZ0u1WJ7SCWWCalx6N187J8OjhjJ29qK61tpBVjrY6hJ2mU33Zmjt6tlyi44Y7dS5d85fJBWpe3_Z_mMfXIcTxSH1lTt5M/s1600-h/knut_polar_bear_cub_german_vanity_fair.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 265px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjK81ZukmkJb_cNLP9tITgX_y4r2FGxBWSxwrixmKq0YHc8PPZ0u1WJ7SCWWCalx6N187J8OjhjJ29qK61tpBVjrY6hJ2mU33Zmjt6tlyi44Y7dS5d85fJBWpe3_Z_mMfXIcTxSH1lTt5M/s320/knut_polar_bear_cub_german_vanity_fair.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5279134177033258178" /></a>There's a really <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/03/knut-polar-bear-berlin-zoo">compelling op-ed</a> at the <em>Guardian UK</em> by Craig Redmond, the campaigns director for the Captive Animals' Protection Society. It puts Knut's story in the broader context of a "zoo industry" that "is happy to reap the benefits of money and publicity but not so keen to provide for the lifetime care of animals when they lose their appeal." Again, debatable. A look at the comments is pretty interesting. Redmond also <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/12/elephants-zoos-animal-welfare">weighs in</a> today on the elephant lifespan study.<br /><br /><b>Other celebrity zoo critters:</b><br /><b><em></em></b><blockquote><b><em>"Colo, the first gorilla ever born in a zoological setting" – Columbia Zoo</em></b><br /><br /><b><em>New-born elephant baby, Samson, "plays with everything from sticks and leaves to big pumpkins and squash" – Maryland Zoo in Baltimore</em></b><br /><br /><b><em>Nipper, a dapper penguin from the Tennessee Aquarium, stars in his own commercials.</em></b><br /><br /><b><em>"Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in California has a White Bengal Tiger named Odin who dives for snacks of red meat...dazzles crowds," etc.</em></b><br /><br /><b><em>"At the National Aviary in Pittsburgh, Patrick the penguin paints. And, for a pretty penny, a piece can be commissioned."</em></b></blockquote><b><em>- from </em><a href="http://www.abcnews.go.com/GMA/Weekend/story?id=6420903&page=1">ABC News</a></b>Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-54091801166037401532008-12-11T14:14:00.006-05:002008-12-11T14:26:30.441-05:00Pee-waves: Animals and EarthquakesRan across an impressive and amusing <a href="http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/display.php?id=36588">article</a> in the <em><a href="http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/">Washington City Paper</a></em> tackling the enduring question of animals' and pets' supposed quake-sniffing abilities. Cecil Adams writes that researchers have posited all manner of earthquake-attendant phenomena that might relate to the strange behavior of animals right before a quake - but that also there appears to be no evidence of said "strange behavior."<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.eatnineghost.com/wp-content/uploads/crazypets/pets01.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 450px; height: 299px;" src="http://www.eatnineghost.com/wp-content/uploads/crazypets/pets01.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a>Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-15832573532252432512008-11-22T09:27:00.005-05:002008-11-22T09:37:01.958-05:00Old news is good news<em>It doesn't matter that this news is two years old (July 5, 2006). I found this absurd photograph on </em><a href="http://www.nationalgeographic.com/">National Geographic</a><em> after <a href="http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&q=frog&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wi">a Google image search for "frog"</a>:<br /><br /><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/07/images/060705-mouse-frog_big.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 461px; height: 327px;" src="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/07/images/060705-mouse-frog_big.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/07/060705-mouse-frog.html">The article</a>, I'm sorry to report, has to do with a devastating monsoon in India that presumably was not nearly so whimsical.</em>Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4882430947089846733.post-58341501988002581812008-11-18T13:16:00.006-05:002008-11-18T14:19:35.254-05:00New Species! Leaping lemurs, sea creepies, a gecko in gay Paris<em>New species popping up all over the place!</em><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGdGGmqMmqv5Vk0IkXWLdNn84C1-CicMuSDj6bKHRIi2X2Xe_2eExXcUUm-bZCYBA-LQgTfw4wuvkSmoXySOXPLrSBu54lE1dC2DxTCWt4StoL03zkqBYotFNNxf51nVZ-zMphMOg4sE/s1600-h/lemur.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 301px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrGdGGmqMmqv5Vk0IkXWLdNn84C1-CicMuSDj6bKHRIi2X2Xe_2eExXcUUm-bZCYBA-LQgTfw4wuvkSmoXySOXPLrSBu54lE1dC2DxTCWt4StoL03zkqBYotFNNxf51nVZ-zMphMOg4sE/s320/lemur.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270074214058085650" /></a>From the treetops of Indochina and Sundaland will now be leaping three <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/11/081110-photo-flying-lemur.html">certifiably separate species</a> of flying lemur, or "colugo." The colugos had been thought to comprise only two species, the Sunda colugo and the Philippine colugo. But upon comparison of DNA between Sunda colugos from mainland Indochina, Java, and Borneo, researches <a href="http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/11/081110153612.htm">discovered</a> each region had a unique species, having diverged as much as five million years ago.<br /><br />Colugos glide using a membrane stretched between their appendages, like a flying squirrel. Apparently, their diversification "might be explained by the colugos' unusual way of getting around. While they have the most developed gliding membrane of any mammal, they are nearly helpless on the ground, leaving them incapable of crossing large open spaces that lack trees." Groups could easily have isolated themselves and had to settle down and speciate.<br /><br />That's not to disparage these floating fellows, since they are the closest living group of mammals to ours, the <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/11/071101-lemur-relative.html">primates</a>.<br /><br />Scientists from the seven year old <a href="http://canadianpress.google.com/article/ALeqM5hV_s-KQVrctqYGVoqWJ790gbrP2Q">Census of Marine Life</a> met recently to discuss the 120,000 undersea species they'd documented thus far, including newly discovered blind lobsters, giant oysters, sea spiders the size of dinner plates, and the progenitor of many deep sea octopodes. Creepy pics, as usual, at <em><a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/11/photogalleries/marine-life-census-photos/">Natty G</a></em>.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQ4kp7rAgXFZ8BCrF9S3Mq2-GHYywiujCBFht6cKG136GMOX8vzY_vT5f-bvYJyeBqzc_pIvDxlBgMdWKbsepD3N40Y2D_wFfNWNcE3x_cD1v_Q4oQzIwifQOZae6UXylnqnXh5L7cPo/s1600-h/tarsier.jpg"><img style="float:left; margin:0 10px 10px 0;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 302px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhZQ4kp7rAgXFZ8BCrF9S3Mq2-GHYywiujCBFht6cKG136GMOX8vzY_vT5f-bvYJyeBqzc_pIvDxlBgMdWKbsepD3N40Y2D_wFfNWNcE3x_cD1v_Q4oQzIwifQOZae6UXylnqnXh5L7cPo/s400/tarsier.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5270078099196401858" /></a>Lastly, a new gecko with a <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/feedarticle/8014950">dramatic tale</a>, and the recently rediscovered <a href="http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2008/11/081117-tarsier-photo-missions.html">pygmy tarsier</a> from Indonesia, feared to be extinct since the 1920s.<br /><br /><em>Pics: Norman Lim, colugo; Sharon Gursky-Doyen, tarsier</em>Chris Yarrisonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03562570834024457510noreply@blogger.com0