Happy Feet:
"Research bands may harm penguins" by Associated Press / January 13, 2011
A king penguin with a tracking band on its flipper walked among other adults and juveniles on the island of Crozet. (BenoÃŽT Gineste/ Nature via AP)
WASHINGTON — Some scientists studying penguins may be inadvertently harming them with the metal bands they use to keep track of the seabirds, according to new research published yesterday in the journal Nature.
The theory is that the metal bands, either aluminum or stainless steel, increase drag on the penguins when they swim, making them work harder, the study’s authors said.
How would you like a metal bracelet attached to your leg, human?
Author Yvon Le Maho of the University of Strasbourg in France said the banded penguins looked haggard, appearing older than their actual age.
Consequently, studies that use banded penguins — including ones about the effects of global warming on the seabirds — may be inaccurate, mixing up other changes in penguin life with the effects from banding, said Le Maho and colleague Claire Saraux....
Yeah, that lie sure has lost its luster.
On a French island in the Indian Ocean between Africa and Antarctica, the researchers followed 50 banded adult penguins and 50 without bands for 10 years, tracking them with under-the-skin transponders....
You won't even notice the ones they put under yours, American. Now roll up that sleeve.
--more--"
Also see: Animals Advance the Agenda: March of the Penguins
The Ugly Duckling (and Other Bedtime Stories)
Enough to make you cry:
"Problem hard to swallow, harder to solve" by Associated Press / January 22, 2011
KIEV — Workers at a Ukrainian aquarium in Dnipropetrovsk didn’t believe it when a visitor said a crocodile swallowed her phone. Then the reptile started ringing.
Gena, the 14-year-old croc who swallowed the phone, hasn’t eaten or had a bowel movement in four weeks and appears depressed and in pain....
--more--"
Also see: Crocodile Found in Charles River
Deaf Dolphins:
"Study of stranded dolphins shows many to be near-deaf; Hearing crucial in animals’ ability to feed, navigate" by David A. Fahrenthold, Washington Post / November 21, 2010
WASHINGTON — New research into the cause of dolphin “strandings’’ — incidents in which weakened or dead dolphins are found near shore — has shown that in some species, many stranded creatures share the same problem.
They are nearly deaf, in a world where hearing can be as valuable as sight.
That understanding — gained from a study of dolphins’ brain activity — could help explain why such intelligent animals do something so seemingly dumb. Unable to use sound to find food or family members, dolphins can wind up weak and disoriented.
Researchers are unsure what is causing the hearing loss: It might be old age, birth defects, or a cacophony of man-made noise in the ocean, including Navy sonar, which has been associated with some marine mammal strandings in recent years.
Related: Probe finds Navy Sonar linked to whale, dolphin strandings
Yeah, it's a "mystery."
The news, researchers say, is a warning for those who rescue and release injured dolphins: In some cases, the animals might be going back to a world they can’t hear....
The study, published Nov. 3 in the journal PLoS One....
Keep them in mind for later, readers.
Each year, from 1,200 to 1,600 whales and dolphins are found stranded off the US coast, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The vast majority are dead....
--more--"
Related: Japanese Deaf to Dolphin Song
Also see: Sedation used to free whale from fishing line
"Kitten dies after flying in cargo hold; Animal appears to have frozen to death, vet says" by Sue Manning, Associated Press / January 27, 2011
LOS ANGELES — Heather Lombardi paid nearly $300 to fly Snickers, an 11-week-old, 3-pound hairless kitten, from Utah to Connecticut in climate-controlled air cargo.
By the time kitten and owner united, Snickers was icy cold and could not move her head or paws, Lombardi said. The kitten died a short time later.
What a horrible way to die for any being.
“I feel so guilty,’’ said Lombardi, who was flying Snickers home from a breeder. “We sat there for nearly an hour. If I’d known, I would have thrown a fit. We just sat there. We had no idea she was dying.’’
*************
Lombardi and her two daughters wrapped Snickers in a coat and ran for the car, where they turned on the heater and headed for the vet. Veterinarian Caroline Flower said Snickers was dead on arrival at the Connecticut Veterinary Clinic in West Hartford....
What a traumatic experience for the kids.
This undated photo shows Snickers, a kitten that died after a flight from Utah to Connecticut Saturday. (L. Preece And H. Lombardi via AP)
--more--"
Also see: Dogs may help detect cancer of the colon
Labrador retriever named most popular dog
Must do the best job sniffing your ass.
Tufts veterinary students (from left) Kacie Stetina, Benjamin Polansky, and Barry Brower kept an eye on the coyote yesterday after it was rescued by the Animal Rescue League of Boston. (Andy Cunningham/Tufts Wildlife Clinic)
--more--"
Related: Pack of Wild Dogs Running in Dorchester
Coyote on the Common
Better get him to the zoo:
The Franklin Park and Stone zoos house 1,800 exotic animals and attract more than 500,000 visitors yearly. (Dina Rudick/Globe Staff/File)
--more--"
Also see: A Day at the Boston Zoo
I'd rather not, thanks.
Author Yvon Le Maho of the University of Strasbourg in France said the banded penguins looked haggard, appearing older than their actual age.
Consequently, studies that use banded penguins — including ones about the effects of global warming on the seabirds — may be inaccurate, mixing up other changes in penguin life with the effects from banding, said Le Maho and colleague Claire Saraux....
Yeah, that lie sure has lost its luster.
On a French island in the Indian Ocean between Africa and Antarctica, the researchers followed 50 banded adult penguins and 50 without bands for 10 years, tracking them with under-the-skin transponders....
You won't even notice the ones they put under yours, American. Now roll up that sleeve.
--more--"
Also see: Animals Advance the Agenda: March of the Penguins
The Ugly Duckling (and Other Bedtime Stories)
Enough to make you cry:
Ukranian Crocodile Tears:
"Problem hard to swallow, harder to solve" by Associated Press / January 22, 2011
This crocodile at a Ukrainian aquarium ate a phone weeks ago and hasn’t eaten since. (Associated Press Television News)
KIEV — Workers at a Ukrainian aquarium in Dnipropetrovsk didn’t believe it when a visitor said a crocodile swallowed her phone. Then the reptile started ringing.
Gena, the 14-year-old croc who swallowed the phone, hasn’t eaten or had a bowel movement in four weeks and appears depressed and in pain....
--more--"
Also see: Crocodile Found in Charles River
Deaf Dolphins:
"Study of stranded dolphins shows many to be near-deaf; Hearing crucial in animals’ ability to feed, navigate" by David A. Fahrenthold, Washington Post / November 21, 2010
WASHINGTON — New research into the cause of dolphin “strandings’’ — incidents in which weakened or dead dolphins are found near shore — has shown that in some species, many stranded creatures share the same problem.
They are nearly deaf, in a world where hearing can be as valuable as sight.
That understanding — gained from a study of dolphins’ brain activity — could help explain why such intelligent animals do something so seemingly dumb. Unable to use sound to find food or family members, dolphins can wind up weak and disoriented.
Researchers are unsure what is causing the hearing loss: It might be old age, birth defects, or a cacophony of man-made noise in the ocean, including Navy sonar, which has been associated with some marine mammal strandings in recent years.
Related: Probe finds Navy Sonar linked to whale, dolphin strandings
Yeah, it's a "mystery."
The news, researchers say, is a warning for those who rescue and release injured dolphins: In some cases, the animals might be going back to a world they can’t hear....
The study, published Nov. 3 in the journal PLoS One....
Keep them in mind for later, readers.
Each year, from 1,200 to 1,600 whales and dolphins are found stranded off the US coast, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The vast majority are dead....
--more--"
Related: Japanese Deaf to Dolphin Song
Also see: Sedation used to free whale from fishing line
Kitty Kargo:
"Kitten dies after flying in cargo hold; Animal appears to have frozen to death, vet says" by Sue Manning, Associated Press / January 27, 2011
LOS ANGELES — Heather Lombardi paid nearly $300 to fly Snickers, an 11-week-old, 3-pound hairless kitten, from Utah to Connecticut in climate-controlled air cargo.
By the time kitten and owner united, Snickers was icy cold and could not move her head or paws, Lombardi said. The kitten died a short time later.
What a horrible way to die for any being.
“I feel so guilty,’’ said Lombardi, who was flying Snickers home from a breeder. “We sat there for nearly an hour. If I’d known, I would have thrown a fit. We just sat there. We had no idea she was dying.’’
*************
Lombardi and her two daughters wrapped Snickers in a coat and ran for the car, where they turned on the heater and headed for the vet. Veterinarian Caroline Flower said Snickers was dead on arrival at the Connecticut Veterinary Clinic in West Hartford....
What a traumatic experience for the kids.
This undated photo shows Snickers, a kitten that died after a flight from Utah to Connecticut Saturday. (L. Preece And H. Lombardi via AP)
--more--"
Also see: Dogs may help detect cancer of the colon
Labrador retriever named most popular dog
Must do the best job sniffing your ass.
Tufts veterinary students (from left) Kacie Stetina, Benjamin Polansky, and Barry Brower kept an eye on the coyote yesterday after it was rescued by the Animal Rescue League of Boston. (Andy Cunningham/Tufts Wildlife Clinic)
--more--"
Related: Pack of Wild Dogs Running in Dorchester
Coyote on the Common
Better get him to the zoo:
The Franklin Park and Stone zoos house 1,800 exotic animals and attract more than 500,000 visitors yearly. (Dina Rudick/Globe Staff/File)
--more--"
Also see: A Day at the Boston Zoo
I'd rather not, thanks.
Elephant Old Folks Home:
"Elephant refuge may take on public role" by Associated Press / January 31, 2011
Scott Blais, seen last month, cofounded the refuge, which seeks to play an educational role in elephant care. (Josh Anderson/ Associated Press)
HOHENWALD, Tenn. — Nestled on a secluded tract in rural Tennessee, the sanctuary would probably startle outsiders if they were permitted to see it. For the past 15 years, elephants who had spent lifetimes in zoos and circuses have found a place to retire, rest, and roam, far from noisy audiences and free from cramped quarters.
In 1995, two former elephant trainers, Carol Buckley and Scott Blais, started the sanctuary near Hohenwald, in part because Tennessee’s temperate climate and vegetation made it a good home for elephants....
I'll bet the last few winters have really been a shock to their systems
--more--"
HOHENWALD, Tenn. — Nestled on a secluded tract in rural Tennessee, the sanctuary would probably startle outsiders if they were permitted to see it. For the past 15 years, elephants who had spent lifetimes in zoos and circuses have found a place to retire, rest, and roam, far from noisy audiences and free from cramped quarters.
In 1995, two former elephant trainers, Carol Buckley and Scott Blais, started the sanctuary near Hohenwald, in part because Tennessee’s temperate climate and vegetation made it a good home for elephants....
I'll bet the last few winters have really been a shock to their systems
--more--"
Related:
"Mammoth bones are unearthed
HOBBS — Archeologists in New Mexico have discovered what they believe is a complete mammoth skeleton. The New Mexico Natural History Museum Foundation will hold a conference this week during which executive director Calvin Smith will detail the find. Amateur archeologists have unearthed a femur, tibia, fibula, and a carpal bone (AP)."
Some day they will find bones in Tennessee.
And it will be a while before you see any of these critters around:
"Fungus, virus suspected in collapse of bee colonies" by Randolph E. Schmid, Associated Press / October 7, 2010
WASHINGTON — Researchers have a pair of new suspects in the mysterious collapse of honey bee colonies across the country.
The widespread damage to the bees has caused concern because the insects are needed to pollinate scores of crops.
Researchers say samples collected from hives affected by the syndrome indicated the presence of a virus as well as a fungus. The two pathogens were not found in bee colonies not affected by the syndrome, called colony collapse disorder, the researchers reported in yesterday’s edition of the journal PLoS ONE....
Previous studies looked at the possibility of multiple viruses found in the colonies as well as potential harm from pesticides.
Related: New virus may be killing bees
Found in Israel, huh?
The new study said the suspect virus is insect iridescent virus, similar to a virus first reported in India 20 years ago, as well as a virus found in moths....
And why the cut and edit, BG?
The analysis of the bees was done at the Army's Edgewood Chemical Biological Center at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in Maryland.
So the science magazine is really an Army lab mouthpiece, huh?
--more--"
Not related: Pupils’ bee study holds up under scientific scrutiny
As if I would believe in any "science" the agenda-pushing media has to spread.
Related: No More Bee Buzz
