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Extreme Creature

Scientists have always pondered if there is life in outer space.  Well, perhaps one such alien is sitting right in your backyard!  Find some moss, and there’s a good chance you’ll find an animal called a Tardigrade.  Screen Shot 2015-08-24 at 7.01.07 PMThe reason why we don’t see them every day is because they are so small. In fact, they’re only a millimeter long and look like a tiny pudgy alien bear.  
Tardigrades, also known as water bears, are perhaps the hardiest of all creatures!  They can survive temperatures as low as 0ºC and and greater than 100ºC (that means in ice and boiling water).  By going into an anhydrobiotic state, which is their own form of hibernation, these “tiny bears” can survive without water or food for decades, and can even be exposed to the vacuum and radiation levels of outer space for 10 full days and still come back to life.   Truly remarkable, these micro-animals have become the poster child for astrobiology.  If you go to the Museum of Natural History in NYC this year, you’ll find a neat exhibit on extreme life, with Tardigrades taking center stage.  And here is an awesome and fun animation video from Industrial Motion Art.

I’m IzzyKat and remember to bikepenguin !


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23 and counting

On the Chinese island of Hainan, in the South China Sea, the lesser primate ape called Hainan Gibbons struggle to keep population thriving.  It is the only place in the world where you can find this species of Gibbon apes.  From 1960 to 1980 their habitat was decimated as a result of deforestation by the Chinese paper making industry, and many gibbons were slaughtered, as their bones were thought to be a useful ingredient in Chinese medicines.  In a span of 20 years more than 2000 Hainan gibbons were killed, and by 1980 there were only 7 left in the world.  Since then sanctuaries in China have been  trying to restore the population.  Today there are 23 Hainan gibbons in the world.

Even though there are no Hainan gibbons in any zoos, there are many zoos that have gibbons (there are about 17 species). So the next time you are at the zoo visit the gibbons, and think about their close cousin in Hainan (the featured photo is of the white handed Gibbon who lives at the Oakland Zoo).

I’m Izzykat and remember to bikepenguin!

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Mister Ed meet NOC the Beluga

What do parrots, Mister Ed and NOC the Beluga whale have in common ?

You guessed it – they all can speak … well, sort of.  In 1984 scientists led by Sam Ridgeway from the National Marine Mammal Foundation in San Diego recorded a Beluga whale named NOC (no-see) making sounds that mimic human speech (click here).  Pretty incredible if you ask me, but why not just ask a Beluga yourself – you might be surprised by what she says.

I’m IzzyKat and remember to bikepenguin !

 


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It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a … what … a flying fish ?

Screen Shot 2014-10-12 at 6.35.32 PMYes, that’s right, a flying fish !  This interesting creature has a tail to propel its body out of the air.  When its out of the water, it uses its fins like wings.  There are 40 types of flying fish.  Strangely, fisherman hunt this precious creature, but, fortunately, they are not yet listed as endangered.   The main predators of flying fish are marlin, tuna, swordfish, mackerel and humans.  Flying fish are also stealthy, they attach their eggs to natural rafts such as clumped seaweed and the baby fry have hair on their body to make them look like sea plants.  Excitingly, there is even a “Flying Fish Festival” at Catalina Island in late May or early June.  So the next time you go to Catalina, don’t just look down for fish, look up.

I’m Izzykat and remember to bikepenguin !


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Where there’s smoke there’s an … orangutan ?

Is that an orangutan in a cage smoking a cigarette ?  I couldn’t believe it – a Smoking Great Ape ! Visitors to the Taru Jurug zoo in Indonesia, had been tossing lit cigarettes into Tori’s cage for at least a decade, and sadly, overtime, as she mimicked the behavior of the tourists, Tori became addicted. She was even known to throw tantrums when in need of a fix. Although it took more than a decade, the zoo keepers helped her kick the habit by placing Tori on an isolated island within the confines of the zoo. It worked, and, even better yet, in 2012 Tori gave birth to a healthy infant orangutan.

So, although we share 96.4% of our genetic makeup with orangutans, the next time your at the zoo (or anywhere for that matter), don’t mimic the humans.

Im Izzykat and remember to bikepenguin !


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Got Camel Milk ?

Almond milk, soy milk, goat milk, milk milk (cow’s milk) and now, believe it or not, camel’s milk. Yes, camel’s milk – I just saw a bottle of it at Whole Foods.

The Company that makes it is called Desert Farms, located in Santa Monica California.  It is a conglomerate of 9 Amish family farms scattered throughout the United States.  Some of the farms have but a single camel, while the largest has roughly 50, most of the farms have about 10, including both Bactrian (2-hump) and Dromedary (1-hump), as well as hybrids.

Desert FarmsThe Desert Farms website is very informative (Desert Farms).  I learned that camels are native to North America but were hunted to extinction 9000 years ago.  Today there are about 3,000 camels in America.  Moreover, Desert Farms makes numerous claims to the benefits of Camel milk over cow’s milk, such as higher protein, lower cholesteral, a close substitute for human mother milk, and a number of medicinal uses.

Camel’s milk is expensive.  A pint will cost you about $25 at whole foods.  Desert farms explains that it is not easy to breed camels, and lactation lasts only about 10 months.  So the next time (or first time) you drink camel milk, don’t waste a drop.

I’m IzzyKat – and remember to bikepenguin !

 


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Elephant Whisperers

I just saw a fantastic movie on PBS, “the Elephant Who Found a Mom.”  It is about a baby elephant orphan named Aisha and an amazing lady, Daphne Sheldrick, who became her foster mom.  Daphne has dedicated her life to saving elephants who are orphaned by poachers (click here for the link to the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust).

Elephants are incredibly emotional.  They experience deep feelings of joy, anger, grief and love.  From what I saw in the movie, the maternal love of an elephant calf is on par with that of humans.  So that they don’t get lonely, keepers stay with the young elephants 24 hours a day, and rotate shifts to prevent the elephants from becoming too attached.  But for those keepers who love them the most, there develops a deep and special bond – they are the “elephant whisperers.”

I’m IzzyKat and remember to bikepenguin !


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Ugly is the New Cute !

Ugly animals generally get short shrift, but that may soon change.  The Ugly Animal Preservation Society is on a mission to save, you guessed it, Ugly Animals from extinction.  Their website (click here) is awesome and so is their President for Life – Simon Watt (click here for his personal website – ready, steady, science!).  The society recently held a contest to determine which animal is the ugliest on earth – the Blobfish was the well deserved winner.  So for now, forget Best in Show, Ugly is the new Cute.

I’m IzzyKat and remember to bikepenguin !