31 December 2009
Check it out: "Animal magic: the wildlife discoveries of 2009, from BBC
Worth-reading round-up of nonhuman news from '09, "Animal magic: the wildlife discoveries of 2009" from BBC Earth News
"We watched eagles hunting reindeer calves, and two stags locked in mortal combat, while we learnt how intelligent primates can struggle with grief."
30 December 2009
29 December 2009
27 December 2009
"Acacia plant controls ants with chemical" sez BBC News
The closer humans look, the more nonhuman communications we detect: Acacia plant controls ants with chemical
26 December 2009
22 December 2009
NYTimes.com: "Another Challenge for Ethical Eating - Plants Want to Live, Too"
Do we have to stop eating veggies, too? Check out Another Challenge for Ethical Eating - Plants Want to Live, Too:
"Plants “forage” for resources like light and soil nutrients and “anticipate” rough spots and opportunities. By analyzing the ratio of red light and far red light falling on their leaves, for example, they can sense the presence of other chlorophyllated competitors nearby and try to grow the other way. Their roots ride the underground “rhizosphere” and engage in cross-cultural and microbial trade.
“Plants are not static or silly,” said Monika Hilker of the Institute of Biology at the Free University of Berlin. “They respond to tactile cues, they recognize different wavelengths of light, they listen to chemical signals, they can even talk” through chemical signals. Touch, sight, hearing, speech. “These are sensory modalities and abilities we normally think of as only being in animals,” Dr. Hilker said."
Animal Based Logo Marks Sweater | Design You Trust. World's Most Provocative Social Inspiration.
Animal Based Logo Marks Sweater
"Designer Karl Grandin takes 180 animal-based logo marks and compiles them into a pattern which is then made into a lovely sweater!"
"Designer Karl Grandin takes 180 animal-based logo marks and compiles them into a pattern which is then made into a lovely sweater!"
"Strong Red Tail"
"Close to Columbia Tennessee, December 1, 2009. He let me get close cause he had his eye on something moving?"
19 December 2009
18 December 2009
The Texas Observer: "…more captive tigers live in Texas than prowl in the wild in India."
A Tiger's Tale by Melissa del Bosque
"It’s nearly impossible to know how many tigers and other exotic animals live in Texas because no state or federal agency tracks the number of animals in private ownership. Farinato can only guess at the number. Some animal experts estimate at least 3,000 tigers in the Lone Star State. That means more captive tigers live in Texas than prowl in the wild in India."
"It’s nearly impossible to know how many tigers and other exotic animals live in Texas because no state or federal agency tracks the number of animals in private ownership. Farinato can only guess at the number. Some animal experts estimate at least 3,000 tigers in the Lone Star State. That means more captive tigers live in Texas than prowl in the wild in India."
17 December 2009
Blue Whale Songs Get Even Bluer : Discovery News
Blue Whale Songs Get Even Bluer : Discovery News:
"For decades, blue whales have been singing with increasingly deeper voices, reports a new study. In some cases, the pitch of their songs has dropped by more than 30 percent. Frustrated researchers cannot yet explain why."
16 December 2009
14 December 2009
"Animals and Us: Maintaining Hope and Keeping Our Dreams Alive in Difficult Times" - Psychology Today
Animals and Us: Maintaining Hope and Keeping Our Dreams Alive in Difficult Times | Psychology Today:
"Humans are big-brained, invasive, and omnipresent mammals who seem to think they can do almost anything they want. Individuals in most cultures claim to love nature and other animals but then go on to wantonly abuse them in a multitude of ways. Clearly, our relationship with the rest of the world is a very confused one and our actions are often contradictory and paradoxical.
Ecosystems and webs in nature are being recklessly and routinely destroyed. Animals are dying and vanishing before our eyes - even as you read this essay - and concerned citizens all over the world are asking, 'Where have all the animals gone?' We are deep in a serious crisis out of which it will be difficult to emerge successfully. We have annihilated the planet in very undignified and shameful self-centered ways."
09 December 2009
06 December 2009
04 December 2009
02 December 2009
ExtInked: tattoos to save the world - CultureLab - New Scientist
ExtInked: tattoos to save the world - CultureLab - New Scientist:
"How far would you go to help save an endangered animal? How about allowing someone to jab ink into your skin with tiny needles, 150 times a second?
That's exactly what hundreds of volunteers signed up for last weekend at ExtInked, where people came from far and wide to have one of Britain's most endangered species permanently tattooed on their body, making them a life long ambassador for that species.
ExtInked is the brainchild of the Ultimate Holding Company, a Manchester-based arts collective. Each volunteer filled out an application explaining why they deserved to be the canvas for their chosen flora or fauna. Of the hundreds that turned up, 100 were chosen and, over the course of the weekend, 100 original tattoos were carefully inked onto shoulders, calves, backs and hip bones by artists from the local studio Ink vs Steel."
"How far would you go to help save an endangered animal? How about allowing someone to jab ink into your skin with tiny needles, 150 times a second?
That's exactly what hundreds of volunteers signed up for last weekend at ExtInked, where people came from far and wide to have one of Britain's most endangered species permanently tattooed on their body, making them a life long ambassador for that species.
ExtInked is the brainchild of the Ultimate Holding Company, a Manchester-based arts collective. Each volunteer filled out an application explaining why they deserved to be the canvas for their chosen flora or fauna. Of the hundreds that turned up, 100 were chosen and, over the course of the weekend, 100 original tattoos were carefully inked onto shoulders, calves, backs and hip bones by artists from the local studio Ink vs Steel."
01 December 2009
BBC - Earth News - Clever ravens cooperatively hunt
BBC - Earth News - Clever ravens cooperatively hunt:
"Brown-necked ravens team up to hunt lizards, revealing an unexpected level of intelligence, say scientists.
Ornithologists observed a number of birds acting together to trap and kill their prey in Israel's Arava Valley.
Two of the ravens would fly to the ground to block the lizard's escape route, while the others attacked it.
The behaviour suggests the birds must know what each other and the lizard are thinking, known as a 'theory of mind', say the scientists.
Details of the behaviour are published in the Journal of Ethology."
"Brown-necked ravens team up to hunt lizards, revealing an unexpected level of intelligence, say scientists.
Ornithologists observed a number of birds acting together to trap and kill their prey in Israel's Arava Valley.
Two of the ravens would fly to the ground to block the lizard's escape route, while the others attacked it.
The behaviour suggests the birds must know what each other and the lizard are thinking, known as a 'theory of mind', say the scientists.
Details of the behaviour are published in the Journal of Ethology."
Chimpanzee Information: Non-Human Primates, Chimpanzees and Monkeys Used In Research
Chimpanzee Information: Non-Human Primates, Chimpanzees and Monkeys Used In Research:
"The numbers of nonhuman primates used in research has gradually increased in the last decade and significantly exceeds the numbers of nonhuman primates used when the USDA first began to record numbers of animals utilized in research. In 1973, the first year for which records were kept, 42,298 nonhuman primates were used, and in 2006, the latest year for which records are available, 62,315 were used. These figures do not take into account the nonhuman primates used for breeding. In addition, 47% of nonhuman primates, some 29,000 individuals, were subjected to painful and distressful experiments in 2006."
"The numbers of nonhuman primates used in research has gradually increased in the last decade and significantly exceeds the numbers of nonhuman primates used when the USDA first began to record numbers of animals utilized in research. In 1973, the first year for which records were kept, 42,298 nonhuman primates were used, and in 2006, the latest year for which records are available, 62,315 were used. These figures do not take into account the nonhuman primates used for breeding. In addition, 47% of nonhuman primates, some 29,000 individuals, were subjected to painful and distressful experiments in 2006."
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