Home/Posts Tagged ‘Wildlife & Flora’
Posts Tagged ‘Wildlife & Flora’
Nature, Politics, Wildlife & Flora, Jan 4th, 2010,
For decades, perhaps centuries, there has been one great, never-ending battle: the expansion of man and industry vs. the preservation and existence of all other natural life. What happens when you pit two factions on the same side against one another? Big problems, that’s what. California’s BrightSource Energy company has been pushing for permission to erect 400,000 mirrors on part of the Mojave Desert for a solar-energy project. This project would be the first of its kind on US Bureau of Land Management property. The idea of switching to a renewable energy source is definitely a great thing—unless it interferes…
Tags: brightsource energy, California, center for biological diversity, desert tortoise, environmental conflict, Mojave desert, renewable energy, sierra club, solar power, threatened species, Wildlife & Flora
Climate Change, Wildlife & Flora, Dec 10th, 2009,
According to ‘Ocean acidification – the facts’, a special introductory guide for policy advisers and decision makers released today at UNFCCC COP15 in Copenhagen, increased amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere are responsible for more acidic seawater and are threatening ecosystems and species precious for our food and economy. Moreover, the increased release of CO2 in the atmosphere is also reducing the ocean’s natural ability to absorb carbon dioxide and regulate our climate. In the past, ocean acidification has been linked to mass extinctions of some species; therefore it is reasonable to assume that this current episode of CO2 increase…
Tags: carbon emissions, Climate change, cop15, endangered species, IUCN, oceans, Wildlife & Flora
Nature, Wildlife & Flora, ,
Blue Whales don’t sing like they used to. Their voices become increasingly deeper by the year—and scientists don’t know why. The male blue whale is the only one that sings, so one theory is the younger males are trying to emulate the sounds of older, larger blue whales for the sake of mating purposes. It could easily be compared to the way human males try to (unsuccessfully) make their voices sound lower in order to impress a woman. Whale Acoustics president, Mark McDonald, and his colleagues have been monitoring the whale songs for years. They noticed the change in blue…
Tags: Blue Whales, endangered species, lower whale song frequency, marine life, whale songs, Wildlife & Flora
Wildlife & Flora, Dec 5th, 2009,
A recent study shows that chimpanzees may actually enjoy music. Labeled as the closest animal cousin to humans, chimpanzees were never really previously tested when it came to a love for music. In order to do any such testing, researchers would need to find a subject of any species that has never been exposed to music (which is a difficult thing to do these days). Luckily, Kazuhide Hashiya of Kyushu University in Fukoka, Japan, discovered a chimpanzee who fit the bill perfectly. Sakura, a 17-week-old female rejected by her mother, was raised by humans away from sources like CD players,…
Tags: chimpanzees, music, Sakura, Wildlife & Flora
Nature, Wildlife & Flora, Dec 3rd, 2009,
Siberian Tigers are on the decline, thanks to poaching. Elephants, leopards and a number of endangered species are also falling in numbers, thanks to poaching. More searches are being conducted and arrests are being made, but it does not seem enough to help our animal friends. A 3-month-long operation in Africa, which included the raiding of shops, intercepting vehicles and the use of sniffer dogs, uncovered more than 3,800 pounds (1,768 kilograms) of illegal elephant ivory. According to Awad Dahia, Interpol’s eastern Africa chief, the operation was setup by the international police organization and included the aid of customs departments,…
Tags: elephants, endangered species, ivory ban, poaching, Siberian tigers, Wildlife & Flora
Climate Change, Science & Technology, Videos & Documentaries, Wildlife & Flora, Nov 27th, 2009,
Life in the deep sea is just as weird and wonderful as any alien creatures from outer space that our imaginations might conjure up, a massive study of marine biology shows. Comprising of some 210 expeditions spanning ten years by over 300 scientists from 34 nations, the international Census of Marine Life is in fact the culmination of ‘hundreds of years of research’. Very little is known about ocean life when compared to the eco-systems on land, especially the deep, where ‘unidentified species are often the norm, not the exception’, according to a November 23rd article in the London Times….
Tags: census, Census of Marine Life, Climate change, deep sea, ocean, species, Wildlife & Flora
Science & Technology, Wildlife & Flora, Nov 12th, 2009,
The animal experimentalists are at it again, this time with the crackpot scheme of pushing the boundaries on combining human and animal DNA even further. Britain’s Academy of Medical Sciences is conducting a study to answer one simple question on the matter: How far is too far? The study is expected to last a year or more, with the intention of placing clearer boundaries for scientists while seeing how much the general public is willing to accept of such meddling. If the recent past is any indication, most will not be overly thrilled by the prospect; especially environmental and religious…
Tags: animal experiments, animal lab tests, combining animal and human DNA, human and animal experiments, Wildlife & Flora
Nature, Science & Technology, Nov 8th, 2009,
Many animals have come and gone through the history of the world. We all know of the passing of the dinosaurs, the dodo birds, and possibly the Tasmanian tigers. Unfortunately for the creatures of the world, the list of extinctions keeps getting longer, with little hope of survival in sight. The IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) surveyed 47,677 animal and plant species for this year’s “Red List”. Their results show that 17,291 of all the species surveyed face risk of extinction. To break down the numbers even more: 20% of all known mammals, more than 25% of reptiles,…
Tags: 17000 animals, endangered species, extinction, extinction events, IUCN, Wildlife & Flora
Wildlife & Flora, ,
![]( "<!--:en-->Video from CNN: Protecting China")
' src='http://gf3.statico.be/wp-content/themes/greenfudge/thumbnails/1801.jpg' alt='video-from-cnn-protecting-chinas-wildlife' class='art-teaser' width='95' height='95' /> Wildlife in China is not something we hear that much about, so it’s refreshing to see a story on CNN about wildlife conservation in China. CNN reporter Wang Mangmang meets a wildlife photographer who is documenting the unique animals who live near Qinghai Lake, the largest lake in China. A region of 160 square kilometers was established two years ago to protect the native species around the lake, including the rare diagonal antelope, of which there are only 300 left in existence. Despite their protected status, the antelope are still threatened by desertification and barbed wire used by local herders….
Tags: China, CNN, Wildlife & Flora
Wildlife & Flora, Nov 1st, 2009,
It may surprise some to learn that wolves are a lot like people. They have a strong sense of family. They tend to stick with the same mate for life (or until one of them dies). They use their body language and vocalization to communicate with others. And they also go through their own type of mid-life crisis. Yes, you middle-aged men and women are not the only species in the world that go through that crazy patch in your life (some of which never get past it either). A recent study finds that a wolf’s ability to hunt peaks…
Tags: hunting, Wildlife & Flora, wolves, Yellowstone National Park
Climate Change, Nature, Wildlife & Flora, Oct 31st, 2009,
It seems good fortune may finally be smiling down upon the polar bears of North America. The US government is planning to designate over 200,000 square miles in Alaska as critical habitat for the polar bears. Although the bears are merely listed as a threatened species by US standards, it is enough to garner them a hefty amount of protection; mainly due to the fact that climate change has caused quite the loss of Arctic sea ice, which the bears depend on for survival. The critical habitat that is to be set aside will cover 200,541 square miles (519,399 square…
Tags: Alaska, Climate change, endangered species, Polar bears, Wildlife & Flora
Nature, Wildlife & Flora, ,
Henry David Thoreau once said: “It is not part of a true culture to tame tigers, any more than it is to make sheep ferocious”. If only people today saw things the same way he did. The future of the world’s tigers is diminishing fast and looking very bleak, despite efforts made to protect them and bring them back. Of the nine known subspecies of tigers, 3 became extinct during the 20th century; the beginning of which saw more than 100,000 tigers in existence. Now their numbers have dwindled down to 3 or 4 thousand at the most. The other…
Tags: endangered species, Nature, poaching, population decrease, tigers, Wildlife & Flora
Nature, Wildlife & Flora, Oct 30th, 2009,
What can grow 30 meters long, breathe air, travel millions of miles during its lifetime and that live as long as 100 years? Whales of course! These huge, yet gentle mammals with brains bigger then ours have lived in the oceans for more than 50 million years. They survived continental shifts, meteor strikes and maybe even the ice age! But it took humans only a few centuries to almost wipe these animals off the planet. Considering how we take offence when fictional Jurassic creatures try to wipe us off on celluloid, its really hypocritical of us not to consider their…
Tags: save the whales, whale conservation, whale population, whaling, Wildlife & Flora
Nature, Wildlife & Flora, Oct 29th, 2009,
As cliché as that phrase sounds, “live and let live” is exactly what biodiversity is all about. This seamless coexistence of all species is what makes life on earth so interesting. From microbes to whales, life on earth comes in all kinds of packages. If earth was a disco with each clubber representing a different species, than a Friday night is similar to what earth’s biodiversity looks like. And if some of the regulars stop coming after some time then that would be extinction of species. When the new guys join the crowd, it is like new species or sub-species…
Tags: biodiversity, Nature, Wildlife & Flora
Wildlife & Flora, Oct 23rd, 2009,
For years, it was believed that alligators were promiscuous and not all that interested in life or long-term partnerships. Luckily, beliefs and theories can be disproven, and they have been once again. A study that was conducted in the Rockefeller Wildlife Refuge in Louisiana showed that 70% of the female American alligators chose to stay with their partner for long periods of time. The findings of this 10 year study shocked scientists, since the large reptiles live in such populated areas and random female-male encounters are quite common. “Given how incredibly open and dense the alligator population is at RWR…
Tags: Alligators, monogamous animals, monogamy, Wildlife & Flora
Wildlife & Flora, Oct 19th, 2009,
I have an extreme case of arachnophobia. The mere sighting or mentioning of a spider makes me cringe—and flee the area, if possible. When I found out that yet another spider species was discovered and to be added to the list of over 40,000 already found, I was not a happy camper. But, as I read further about this new critter, I made some discoveries of my own that made it seem a bit more fascinating and a little less scary, for a change. The Bagheera kiplingi—as it was called—resides down in Central America. This eight-legged jumper is about the…
Tags: spider, vegetarian, Wildlife & Flora
Nature, Wildlife & Flora, ,
Crows are very mysterious birds. Associated with life, death and rebirth, they are very cunning and master tricksters. It’s no wonder then that for years, the Banggai Crow (Corvus unicolor) was believed to be extinct. But now, they are seen lurking amongst their native habitat again. Known only by 2 specimens described in 1900, this Indonesian Crow was found on Peleng Island, off the east coast of Sulawesi, Indonesia, in 2007. Pamela Rasmussen, a Michigan State University zoologist verified the finding. She studied the 2 original specimens—located at the American Museum of Natural History in New York—and compared them to…
Tags: Banggai Crow, endangered species, extinct, Indonesia, Wildlife & Flora
Politics, Wildlife & Flora, Oct 17th, 2009,
The critically endangered leatherback sea turtle may gain a better chance of survival in the Pacific Ocean. NOAA Fisheries officials are considering the possibility of designating special habitat for the turtles off the coasts of California and Oregon. Pushed by a petition and lawsuit filed by conservation groups—including Oceana, the Center for Biological Diversity, and Turtle Island Restoration Network—the decision must be made by December 4th. Since the turtles migrate from nesting areas in Indonesia to the U.S. Pacific coast each year in order to feed on jellyfish, the conservation groups proposed designating that particular patch of ocean as critical…
Tags: critical habitat, endangered species, leatherback sea turtles, Nature, NOAA Fisheries, Wildlife & Flora
Science & Technology, Oct 16th, 2009,
Now you can explore critical rainforests and real-life success stories of Greenpeace, Conservation International and World Wildlife Fund’s protection efforts through Google Earth’s virtual tour. The Amazon Rainforest in Brazil was under threat due to massive deforestation to make way for soy bean plantations; Greenpeace has helped put a moratorium in place to safeguard the Amazon until permanent forest protection measures can be implemented. This moratorium is being observed by companies who are consumers of soybeans, mainly, the supermarket and fast food industry. Conservation International’s initiative to reduce deforestation in Madagascar is in close partnership with government and local communities….
Tags: amazon rainforest, Google Earth, Science & Technology, Sebangau, Wildlife & Flora
Climate Change, Videos & Documentaries, Wildlife & Flora, Oct 15th, 2009,
Parrots are colorful birds from the tropics. They delight us with their beautiful plumage, mischievous antics and witty banter. We generally associate them with pirates, the Amazon jungle and unintentional mockery. Outside of tropical and some subtropical climates, we are only used to seeing parrots and parakeets in zoos or as exotic pets, not in large flocks soaring around south London. But according to a BBC report from October 1st, there are around 44,000 wild parakeets living in the U.K., with 90% of those located in the London area and their numbers are estimated to be growing at a rate…
Tags: london, parakeet, parrot, UK, Wildlife & Flora
