Ladybird "Risk to 1,000 Species"
(June 30, 2009) The Harlequin ladybird is putting over 1,000 species in the UK in peril, scientists have warned. "The rate of spread is dramatic and unprecedented," said Dr Helen Roy of the Centre for Ecology and Hydrology. The ladybird has spread to most parts of the UK in just four years, preying on many other insects. However, research outlined at the Royal Society's Summer Science Exhibition suggests local ladybird parasites are adapting to prey on the interloper. To help that process along, scientists are suggesting introducing a mite that renders the ladybirds infertile. Read More>
Source: BBC |
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Wood Harvest puts Pandas at Risk
(June 29, 2009)
People and giant pandas are still coming into conflict. So concludes a report into the firewood collecting habits of people living in one of China's largest panda reserves. It found that over the past 30 years, people living in rural communities have ventured ever deeper into prime panda habitat to collect wood to burn. Unless more is done to meet the needs of these rural households, the report says, they may continue to cut down prime forest, putting pandas at risk. Read More>
Source: BBC |
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Wild Europe Exposed by Giant Photo Project
(June 28, 2009) Captured during the Wild Wonders of Europe photography project, vibrantly colored European bee-eaters flit around Hungary's Puszta, a vast region of plains and wetlands, on May 12, 2008. By July 2009, 66 photographers will have scoured 48 countries to document European wildlife as well as to show that Europe is more countryside than concrete, organizers say.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Legless frogs Mystery Solved
(June 27, 2009) Scientists think they have resolved one of the most controversial environmental issues of the past decade: the curious case of the missing frogs' legs. Around the world, frogs are found with missing or misshaped limbs, a striking deformity that many researchers believe is caused by chemical pollution. However, tests on frogs and toads have revealed a more natural, benign cause. The deformed frogs are actually victims of the predatory habits of dragonfly nymphs, which eat the legs of tadpoles. Read More>
Source: BBC |
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"Grunting" Vibrates Worms to the Surface
(June 26, 2009) Worms usually come out when it rains, but this man knows another way to get them out of the ground. Gary Revell is worm grunting - an unusual method that helps him catch worms. He pounds a wooden stake, called a stob, into the ground and levels his 10-pound flat iron over the top. Then he slowly, rhythmically, rubs the iron over the stob, back and forth. He's making the ground vibrate, and after a short while, earthworms start to climb out of the soil. Read More & See Video> 
Source: National Geographic |
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Many Sharks "Facing Extinction"
(June 25, 2009) Many species of open ocean shark are under serious threat, according to an assessment by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). The Red list gives the status of 64 types of shark and ray, over 30% of which are threatened with extinction. The authors, IUCN's Shark Specialist Group, say a main cause is overfishing. Listed as endangered are two species of hammerhead shark, often subject to "finning" - a practice of removing the fins and throwing away the body.
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Source: BBC |
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Orangutans May Be Closest Human Relatives, Not Chimps
(June 24, 2009) Orangutans, not chimpanzees, are the closest living relatives to humans, a controversial new study contends. The authors base their conclusion on a close physical resemblance between orangutans and humans, which they say has been overshadowed by genetic evidence linking us to chimps. What's more, the study authors argue, the genetic evidence itself is flawed.
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Source: National Geographic |
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New Snakes, Butterflies Found in African Mountains
(June 23, 2009) Some of these mountains in northern Mozambique have never been studied by scientists until now. The British government funded Darwin Initiative has sponsored a series of expeditions to five northern Mozambique mountains. Last month the Darwin Initiative team explored the approximately 100 square kilometer Mount Inago. Read More & See Video>
Source: National Geographic |
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Great White Plan Seal Attacks
(June 22, 2009) Great white sharks do not aimlessly wander the ocean waiting to stumble upon their next meal. Instead, the biggest sharks identify a location from which to strike, and then search the surrounding killing zone for their next victim. That suggests that the sharks use a premeditated hunting strategy akin to that used by some human serial killers. Scientists made the discovery while observing hundreds of great white attacks on fur seals off South Africa. Despite the reputation of many large sharks as effective hunters, few studies have examined whether they follow any pattern in their foraging behaviour. Read More> Source: BBC |
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Jackass Penguins Freed After Rehab (June 21, 2009)
After surviving an oil slick off the Namibian coast and being rehabilitated in South Africa, close to a hundred jackass penguins, or African penguins, were set free and began swimming hundreds of miles home in May.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Monkeys Use False Alarms to Scam Food? (June 16, 2009)
"Oh hey, what's that over there?" This classic means of distracting someone might not work so well among human thieves. For tufted capuchin monkeys, however, the trick could be a clever way to snatch a free meal. Anthropologist Brandon Wheeler wanted to know whether the fruit-eating monkeys engaged in tactical deception, a practice thought to be important in primate evolution.
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Source: National Geographic |
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World's Fastest Flyer is a Hummingbird? (June 15, 2009)
Clocking in at a maximum of 229 feet (70 meters) a second, the peregrine falcon has long reigned supreme as the fastest flying bird in the world. But if size matters, that title actually belongs to the tiny Anna's hummingbird, new research reveals.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Elephant Relocation Halted in Africa (June 12, 2009)
Hoisted-upside down-onto flatbeds, tranquilized Malawian elephants were being trucked away after deadly encounters with local people. Now the community, fearing loss of tourism revenue, says the animals should stay.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Battling Termites? Just Add Sugar (June 10, 2009)
If you've ever had to battle the tenacious termite, sweet revenge may be near. A substance derived from glucose has been shown to weaken the insects' immune systems, making them vulnerable to infections from lethal microbes, a new study says.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Boat Alarm Could Save Manatees (June 07, 2009) Manatees can't hear the low sounds of boat engines, which is why the animals are frequently injured, a researcher says. A high-pitched alarm could solve the problem.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Explosive Digs May Cut Off Kenya Wildlife Migration
(June 03, 2009) A new rock quarry being excavated with explosives in Kenya's Amboseli National Park may endanger migration corridors of elephants and other wildlife, conservationists say. The operation has continued despite a temporary stop order issued in May by Kenya's high court, they add.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Giant Whale Thieves Caught on Video - A First (May 29, 2009)
Sperm whales that steal fish from fishers' lines have been caught red-handed in new underwater videos released this week. At depths of 328 feet (100 meters), the massive mammals were shown plucking the fishing line at one end to free the tasty black cod at the other end-like shaking apples from a tree, scientists say.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Komodo Dragons Attacking Islanders (May 27, 2009)
Recent Komodo dragon attacks on Indonesians-including a park ranger who shows his Komodo scars-have convinced some villagers that the man-size lizards are becoming more aggressive.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Rooks Reveal Remarkable Tool Use (May 26, 2009)
Rooks have a remarkable aptitude for using tools, scientists have found. Tests on captive birds revealed that they could craft and employ tools to solve a number of different problems. The findings, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, came as a surprise as rooks do not use tools in the wild.
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Source: BBC |
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Komodo Dragons Kill With Venom, Researchers Find
(May 19, 2009) Komodo dragons kill using a one-two punch of sharp teeth and a venomous bite, scientists have confirmed for the first time. The find dispels the common belief that toxic bacteria in the Komodos' mouths are responsible for ultimately killing the dragons' prey. An animal that escapes a Komodo's initial attack soon weakens and dies. The fierce carnivore tracks the wounded creature and dines at its leisure once the prey collapses.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Rare Bird Gets Own "Luxury" Beach (May 16, 2009)
An exclusive stretch of tropical beach in Indonesia has gone to the birds-literally. The odd-looking maleo (above, right) has been given 36 acres (14 hectares) of "luxury" protected coast on the Binerean Cape in northern Sulawesi, the Wildlife Conservation Society announced this week.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Gorillas are No Dummies, Zoo Study Shows (May 13, 2009)
While researchers have rigorously tested chimpanzee intelligence for years, they have paid far less attention to gorillas. That's because gorillas rarely use tools, and scientists had assumed the great apes are not as mentally astute. But ongoing research at the Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago suggests otherwise.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Some Sharks, Barracuda Completely Gone in Caribbean
(May 10, 2009) The big fish that prowl the Caribbean reefs - gaping groupers, sharp-toothed barracuda, and gigantic sharks - are completely gone in some places due to overfishing, a new study says. The problem is worst in the most densely populated Caribbean countries, where fishers have wiped entire reefs clean of large predators.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Spiders Getting Bigger - Global Warming to Blame? (May 07, 2009)
As if global warming isn't giving us enough to worry about, now scientists say it could lead to bigger-and possibly more-spiders of at least one species. A group of Danish scientists wondered whether global warming would make the hairy, meat-eating wolf spiders of northeastern Greenland bigger, since longer summers mean more hunting time. The little-known species, Pardosa glacialis, grows as long as 1.6 inches (four centimeters), study co-author Toke Høye of Aarhus University estimates.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Over 200 New Amphibians Found in Madagascar (May 06, 2009)
Highlighting a "vast underestimation" of Madagascar's natural riches, up to 221 new species of amphibians have been found on the island country, including the frog Boophis ulftunni, pictured. The find nearly doubles the number of known amphibians in Madagascar, a new study says.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Robot Animals Snare US Poachers (May 03, 2009)
On a remote U.S. Forest Service road in Arizona a few years ago, the driver of a white minivan slowly rolls to a stop, sticks a rifle out the window, and starts firing at what look to be wild turkeys. State officers hiding in nearby bushes emerge, running toward the vehicle and shouting: "Game and Fish Department! Cease fire! Put down your weapon!"
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Source: National Geographic |
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Birds can Dance, Experts and (Zany Videos) Reveal (May 01, 2009)
Snowball the dancing parrot shifts rhythm as music changes. And so far, they're the only known animals to display such rhythm. Cats, dogs, and lab monkeys spend lots of time around human music. But no animal had ever been confirmed as moving to a beat-leading to the common belief that animals ain't got rhythm.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Spider "Resurrections" Take Scientists by Suprize (April 27, 2009)
Like zombies, spiders in a lab twitched back to life hours after "drowning"-and the scientists were as surprised as anyone. The spiders, it seems, enter comas to survive for hours underwater, according to a new study. The unexpected discovery was made during experiments intended to find out exactly how long spiders can survive underwater-a number of spiders and insects have long been known to be resistant to drowning.
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Source: National Geographic |
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All Octopuses Are Venomous, Study Says (April 20, 2009)
Australia's tiny blue-ringed octopus has long had a venomous reputation-one bite can kill an adult human in minutes. But now it seems the rest of the eight-legged species' relatives are not as harmless as once thought. According to a new study, all octopuses, cuttlefish, and some squid are venomous. The largest known octopus species, the giant Pacific octopus, can reach sizes of more than 16 feet (5 meters) across. But the 5- to 8-inch (12.7- to 20.3-centimeter) blue-ring remains the only one dangerous to humans.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Light Shed on Glowing, Gloppy Green Worms (April 17, 2009)
It's not every day that the words "glowing" and "mucus" are mentioned in the same breath, but here's one such sentence: a seafloor-dwelling fireworm that's long fascinated sailors by oozing glowing green mucus into the sea has finally been put under the microscope.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Up to 2,000 New Orangutans Found on Borneo (April 14, 2009)
It may seem hard to miss hundreds of fiery-orange apes-unless they live hidden in 2 million acres (809,371 hectares) of Borneo's rugged mountain forests. Combing through the island's East Kalimantan Province-part of Borneo's Indonesian sector-last December, conservationists discovered 219 orangutan nests.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Perthshire Osprey Lays Easter Egg (April 13, 2009)
The oldest breeding osprey in Scotland has returned to her nest in Perthshire, with her mate of 15 years. The female, which is more than 20 years old and has travelled 3,000 miles from Africa to the Loch of Lowes, has laid a record 53 eggs and raised 44 chicks since 1991.
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Source: BBC |
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Dolphin "Talk" Made Visible?
(April 12, 2009) An acoustics engineer in the U.K. claims he's got a key tool in decoding the language of dolphins. He's invented a device that visualizes dolphin sounds, but skeptics have their doubts.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Ultra Rare Shark Found, Eaten (April 11, 2009)
In just a short time, one of the rarest sharks in the world went from swimming in Philippine waters to simmering in coconut milk. The 13-foot-long (4-meter-long) megamouth shark, caught on March 30 by mackerel fishers off the city of Donsol, was only the 41st megamouth shark ever found, according to WWF-Philippines.
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Source: National Geographic |
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Boxes to Save Penguin Chicks? (April 06, 2009) African penguins, or jackass penguins-the only penguins to breed on the African continent-are dwindling in number, mainly because of pollution and overfishing. Now conservationists hope a fiberglass box can help penguin chicks survive.
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Source: National Geographic |
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6,000 Rare, Large River Dolphins Found in Bangladesh (April 04, 2009)
A previously unknown population of Irrawaddy dolphins discovered in Bangladesh has given scientists "great hope" for the survival of the rare species, conservationists said Wednesday. A research team estimated that 6,000 Irrawaddy dolphins thrive in the country's Sundarbans mangrove forests and nearby waters of the Bay of Bengal.
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Source: National Geographic |
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