Wildest Nature

ScienceDaily (Apr. 15, 2009) — Where do birds get their red feathers from? According to Esther del Val, from the National History Museum in Barcelona, Spain, and her team, the red carotenoids that give the common crossbill (Loxia curvirostra) its red coloration are produced in the liver, not the skin, as previously thought.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090415074854.htm

Jackdaws love my big sphinx of quartz

2009-04-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090402124238.htm

2009-04-01T06:45:00.000-07:00

Sick Sea Turtle Swims Right to Hospital Doorstep

A sick sea turtle swims to the doorstep of the only place in the world that is licensed solely to treat turtles

http://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Sick-Sea-Turtle-Pays-Unexpected-Visit-To-The-Doctor.html

American Carnivores Evolved To Avoid Each Other, New Study Suggests

2009-03-24T20:34:00.000-07:00

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/03/090310100835.htm

From Science Daily, via Ralph Maugham blog:

ScienceDaily (Mar. 17, 2009) — How do the many carnivorous animals of the Americas avoid competing for the same lunch, or becoming each other's meal?

A possible answer comes from a new study by a pair of researchers at the University of California, Davis. Their large-scale analysis shows that it's not just chance that's at play, but avoidance strategies themselves that have been a driving force in the evolution of many carnivores, influencing such factors as whether species are active daytime or nighttime, whether they inhabit forests or grasslands, or live in trees or on the ground.

The Americas are home to more than 80 species of terrestrial carnivores, including cats, dogs, bears, weasels, skunks and raccoons. Commonly, 20 or more species can occupy the same region.

"For the most part, these overlapping species all share the same prey base -- other animals -- which includes each other," said Jennifer Hunter, who conducted the study for her Ph.D. dissertation in ecology.

Hunter and co-author Tim Caro, professor of wildlife, fish and conservation biology, first plotted the known ranges of all of the American carnivores on one big digital map. Assuming that wherever ranges overlapped, competition and predation between those species was possible, they then compared those animals' behavioral characteristics, body sizes and coloration. By analyzing this huge matrix of information, they were able to tease out broad patterns of strategies employed by each family.

For example, their map showed that the bear and dog families shared ranges with the greatest number of potential competitors. Most species in these families are omnivores, which helps reduce competition for a meat diet.

Raccoon family members, although small, run the lowest risk of becoming prey, because most live out of harm's way in trees.

One of their most surprising findings, Hunter said, was that the most petite carnivores, skunks, along with some weasels, lack an avoidance strategy. "When you look at all these overlays of ecology, these guys share all the same space at the same time with other carnivores."

How do these animals manage to survive? All skunks and a number of weasel species in this exposed group have facial or body coloring with an abrupt demarcation between white and dark. For skunks, this contrasting coloration almost surely warns predators of their noxious spray, Hunter explained, while with some weasel family members -- the notoriously aggressive badgers and wolverines, for example -- it may warn of ferocity.

The work provides a body of evidence for why these behaviors have evolved that could not have been obtained in the field, Hunter said.

The findings were published in the December issue of Ethology, Ecology and Evolution.

Partial funding for the study came from the National Science Foundation.

Some brave men go on a anaconda hunt

2009-03-20T20:59:00.001-07:00

http://izismile.com/2009/03/19/anaconda_hunt_9_pics.html

Extreme Sheep LED Art

2009-03-19T03:02:00.001-07:00

♫No SQUARES in NATURE♫

2009-03-12T08:22:00.001-07:00

Strange fish has see-through head

2009-02-25T05:51:00.000-08:00

http://news.aol.com/article/see-through-fish/355501

Injured deer makes Rossford vet visit, gets stitches in time

2009-02-12T16:29:00.001-08:00

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090210/NEWS16/902100374

Rare photo of the end of the rainbow

2009-02-12T15:40:00.001-08:00

http://sciencedude.freedomblogging.com/2009/02/08/rare-photo-of-the-end-of-the-rainbow

2008-12-27T16:01:00.000-08:00

Purple squirrel baffles experts

A purple squirrel which appeared at a school has baffled experts who are unable to explain its colour.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/3884420/Purple-squirrel-baffles-experts.html

2008-12-01T07:21:00.000-08:00

Acorn Watchers Wonder What Happened to Crop

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/29/AR2008112902045.html

10 Astonishing Treehouses You’d Love to Live In

2008-09-09T16:23:00.000-07:00

http://www.intlistings.com/articles/2008/10-astonishing-treehouses-youd-love-to-live-in/

2008-08-23T16:16:00.000-07:00

World's tallest tree in arboreal witness protection program

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/08/17/TRT611L3TL.DTL

Jethro Tull - Songs From The Wood

2008-08-15T20:26:00.001-07:00

The wandering lepidopterist

2008-08-06T20:58:00.001-07:00

http://www.hcn.org/issues/40.14/the-wandering-lepidopterist

Tree Magic

2008-08-06T20:53:00.000-07:00

http://www.sunshinepress.com/tmagic.pdf

2008-07-06T04:26:00.000-07:00

Amazing striped icebergs

Icebergs in the Antarctic area sometimes have stripes, formed by
layers of snow that react to different conditions.

Blue stripes are often created when a crevice in the ice sheet
fills up with meltwater and freezes so quickly that no bubbles form.

When an iceberg falls into the sea, a layer of salty seawater can
freeze to the underside. If this is rich in algae, it can form a
green stripe.

Brown, black and yellow lines are caused by sediment, picked up
when the ice sheet grinds downhill towards the sea.

http://discardedlies.com/beitmidrash/FantasticIcebergs.htm

'Uncontacted tribe' sighted in AmazonStory Highlights

2008-05-30T06:43:00.000-07:00

http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/05/30/brazil.tribes/index.html#cnnSTCText

Curse of the crystal skulls: The real life story of the new Indiana Jones movie

2008-05-26T19:18:00.000-07:00

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-566875/Curse-crystal-skulls-The-real-life-story-new-Indiana-Jones-movie.html#

A husband-and-wife team in Montana studies the elusive wolverine

2008-05-24T02:03:00.000-07:00

http://features.csmonitor.com/environment/2008/05/20/a-husband-and-wife-team-in-montana-studies-the-elusive-wolverine/

Steve Gehman and Betsy Robinson brave frostbite, avalanches, and bears to track the imperiled animal in the northern Rockies.

Jimmy Castor Bunch - Troglodyte

2008-05-22T18:57:00.001-07:00

Do Mountains Cause Brain Damage?

2008-04-12T17:41:00.001-07:00

http://www.newwest.net/topic/article/do_mountains_cause_brain_damage/C41/L41/

STUDY SHOWS GETTING HIGH Kills brain cells

Elephant Paints Self Portrait

2008-03-31T18:00:00.001-07:00

World's tallest horse visits Missoula today

2008-03-22T20:48:00.000-07:00

http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2005/05/08/news/local/znews01.txt

Fish Are Jumpin

2008-03-22T05:11:00.000-07:00

Why do stingrays and other aquatic creatures leap through the air?

From Slate's Explainer:

http://www.slate.com/id/2187114/

Golfer faces criminal charges for killing hawk with shot

2008-03-06T19:38:00.000-08:00

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/golf/pga/2008-03-06-isenhour-hawk_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

"According to court documents, Isenhour got upset when a red-shouldered hawk began making noise, forcing another take. He began hitting balls at the bird, then 300 yards away, but gave up. Isenhour started again when the hawk moved within about 75 yards, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officer Brian Baine indicated in a report.

Isenhour allegedly said, "I'll get him now," and aimed for the hawk."

Teacher appoints student insect monitor

2008-03-04T15:19:00.000-08:00

http://www6.comcast.net/news/articles/odd/2008/03/03/ODD.Insect.Monitor/

NASA Baffled by Unexplained Force Acting on Space Probes

2008-03-01T15:54:00.000-08:00

"Mysteriously, five spacecraft that flew past the Earth have each displayed unexpected anomalies in their motions.

These newfound enigmas join the so-called "Pioneer anomaly" as hints that unexplained forces may appear to act on spacecraft.

A decade ago, after rigorous analyses, anomalies were seen with the identical Pioneer 10 and 11 spacecraft as they hurtled out of the solar system. Both seemed to experience a tiny but unexplained constant acceleration toward the sun.

A host of explanations have been bandied about for the Pioneer anomaly. At times these are rooted in conventional science — perhaps leaks from the spacecraft have affected their trajectories. At times these are rooted in more speculative physics — maybe the law of gravity itself needs to be modified.

Now Jet Propulsion Laboratory astronomer John Anderson and his colleagues — who originally helped uncover the Pioneer anomaly — have discovered that five spacecraft each raced either a tiny bit faster or slower than expected when they flew past the Earth en route to other parts of the solar system."

'Humble and perplexed'

article continues:

http://www.space.com/scienceastronomy/080229-spacecraft-anomaly.html

What a little bird told us

2008-02-25T03:17:00.000-08:00

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-op-rosen24feb24%2C0%2C6033118.story

John James Audubon / New York Historical Society

GONE FROM THE SKY: A portrait by John James Audubon, part of an ongoing exhibit at the New York Historical Society, depicts the Carolina parakeet, once found from the Ohio Valley to the Gulf of Mexico but now extinct.

In the extinction of the Carolina parakeet is a parable on the relationship of man and nature.

Bringing nature to the children

2008-02-18T10:55:00.000-08:00

http://www.pressrepublican.com/archivesearch/local_story_048003749.html

Python and 7-year-old Cambodian boy have become best friendsss

2008-02-17T17:14:00.001-08:00

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/world/stories/DN-snakeboy_03int.ART.State.Edition1.4593a15.html

Kid Hollywood & The Navajo Dog

2008-02-15T06:01:00.000-08:00

http://www.rense.com/general80/kid.htm

In the eye of the beholder

2008-01-27T19:54:00.000-08:00

How we treat animals reveals much about ourselves

by Tracy Rose in Vol. 6 / Iss. 38 on 05/03/2000

"Last June, James M. Sandlin shot a stray dog four times and nearly hacked its head off with an ax.

The killing outraged animal lovers and prompted the Buncombe County district attorney's office to prosecute the Fairview man on a charge of felony cruelty to animals. After the case ended in a mistrial last month, Sandlin was retried on April 4 and was convicted of the felony charge.

But had the animal in question been wild, it's unlikely that Sandlin would have been charged with cruelty to animals, legal experts say.

"If it had been a deer in hunting season, it would not have been animal cruelty," explains Ben Loeb, a professor at the Institute of Government at UNC-Chapel Hill, who's studied the state's animal laws. "If you're unlucky enough to be a deer, you haven't got much protection."

So why does the law treat some animals differently than others? On a fundamental level, the answer seems to lie in the way our society views the animal world. Humans have developed a complex -- and sometimes contradictory -- relationship with animals. And like many human relationships, this one smacks of possession, loyalty, love, fear and power"

Story continues:

http://www.mountainx.com/news/2000/0503cruelty.php

Fish and Bird (Final)

2008-01-27T12:26:00.001-08:00

Honour sought for 'Soldier Bear'

2008-01-25T20:24:00.000-08:00

"A campaign has been launched to build a permanent memorial to a bear which spent much of its life in Scotland - after fighting in World War II.

The bear - named Voytek - was adopted in the Middle East by Polish troops in 1943, becoming much more than a mascot.

The large animal even helped their armed forces to carry ammunition at the Battle of Monte Cassino.

Voytek - known as the Soldier Bear - later lived near Hutton in the Borders and ended his days at Edinburgh Zoo.

He was found wandering in the hills"

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/south_of_scotland/7208505.stm

Dolphins Finally Invent The Wheel

2008-01-22T18:02:00.000-08:00

http://www.thethinkingblog.com/2008/01/dolphins-finally-invent-wheel.html

Vegetarian Lioness: Little Tyke

2008-01-22T11:35:00.000-08:00

http://www.vegetarismus.ch/vegepet/tyke.htm

Little Tyke turning away her head from meat (and wincing).

Darren Naish: Tetrapod Zoology: Controversial origins of the domestic dog

2008-01-20T09:23:00.000-08:00

Darren Naish: Tetrapod Zoology: Controversial origins of the domestic dog

Canine conversation?

2008-01-18T20:44:00.000-08:00

http://community.livejournal.com/wtf_nature/93585.html

ONE OF THE RAREST OWLS TAKEN.;

2008-01-15T05:10:00.000-08:00

http://query.nytimes.com/mem/archive-free/pdf?_r=1&res=9F04E7D61730E033A25755C0A9619C94679ED7CF&oref=slogin

A Prize Much Valued by the University of Washington.

From The Spokane (Washington) Spokesman- Review.

July 6, 1896, Wednesday

Page 3, 537 words

What Was the New Zealand Monster?

2008-01-12T08:59:00.001-08:00

http://www.gennet.org/facts/nessie.html

Scientists discover molecular basis of monarch butterfly migration

2008-01-09T21:05:00.000-08:00

"Since its discovery, the annual migration of eastern North American monarch butterflies has captivated the human imagination and spirit. That millions of butterflies annually fly a few thousand miles to reach a cluster of pine groves in central Mexico comprising just 70 square miles is, for many, an awesome and mysterious occurrence. However, over the past two decades, scientists have begun to unveil the journey for what it is: a spectacular result of biology, driven by an intricate molecular mechanism in a tiny cluster of cells in the butterfly brain."

http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/28857

The Enduring—Yet Downplayed—Mysteries of Comets

2008-01-07T05:54:00.002-08:00

http://www.thunderbolts.info/goodspeed.htm

"On December 24, 2007, the website Space.com published a report entitled, "The Enduring Mysteries of Comets." The premise is intriguing, since it is rare for science media to acknowledge that "mysteries" of any real significance exist for conventional theories. Unfortunately, the report mentions few of the recent discoveries that have thrown the popular "dirty snowball" model of comets into disarray.

"We have now had four close encounters with comets, and every one of them has thrown astronomers onto their back foot." -Stuart Clark, New Scientist, September 09, 2005."