CFZ Temporary News

BUY YOUR WEIRD WEEKEND TICKETS NOW

2010-01-15T12:05:00.000Z

2010-01-14T21:25:00.002Z

WEIRD WEEKEND 2008

http://cryptochick.blogspot.com/2008/08/sic-infit.html

http://cryptochick.blogspot.com/2008/08/life-is-just-like-box-of-chocolates.html

http://cryptochick.blogspot.com/2008/08/things-that-go-bump-in-night.html

http://cryptochick.blogspot.com/2008/08/better-late-than-never.html

(Because Blogger threw a hissyfit, all the pictures were summarily deleted. However pictures from the 2008 event can be found HERE

PLEASE NOTE:

2010-01-14T10:50:00.002Z

The Cryptozoology Online Daily News blog has been restored.

Please visit for all latest news.

Four-inch Chihuahua 'is priceless'

2010-01-13T13:28:00.000Z

Tuesday, January 12 2010, 16:08 GMT
By Mayer Nissim, Entertainment Reporter

A dog-breeding pensioner from West Yorkshire has said that she will not sell her four-inch Chihuahua.

Jean Tindall, 76, named the puppy Lulu after the diminutive Scottish singer, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Tindall, from Bradford, said: "I didn't think anything of it when her mum gave birth to the litter, she looked the same size as all the others.

"But puppies grow quickly and I soon realised that her brothers and sisters were all overtaking her. I don't want to sell her because she will need so much extra care and attention being so small."

She added: "She is so tiny. She's only four inches. She can fit in my hand she's so tiny. You can't believe she's out of the same litter because the rest are twice as big as her.

"I've been breeding and selling Chihuahuas for most of my life and I've had a few inquiries about Lulu because she's such a wonderful, cute little thing. But to me she is priceless, I would never sell her. She is a little star and loves all the attention she gets."

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/odd/news/a195922/four-inch-chihuahua-is-priceless.html

Kylie Minogue congratulates giant carp catcher on Twitter

2010-01-13T13:25:00.000Z

Kylie Minogue praised hero angler Martin Locke after he caught a giant carp which weighed the same as the princess of pop.

Published: 4:04PM GMT 12 Jan 2010

Mr Locke braved sub-zero temperatures in just a T-shirt to break the world record for catching the biggest ever carp a 94 pound whopper.

The enormous mirror carp weighed the same as Minogue and beat the previous record by 3lbs.

Angling records and their celebrity equivalents

After reading about his feat on Telegraph.co.uk she Tweeted: "Hahaaaa congrats Mr Locke!!"

Brit Mr Locke jumped out of his lakeside tent at 6am in temperatures of -3C to net the monster fish that tipped the scales at 94lbs.

Angling records and their celebrity equivalents
Wearing only a T-shirt and trousers, he jumped in his boat and motored 200 yards out to the fish and began reeling it in.

At first he thought he had hooked a sunken tree trunk due to the weight of it but was gobsmacked when he heaved the carp to the surface.

Getting it in his landing net was like 'trying to land a small hippo with a tennis racket,' but after succeeding he towed it to the shore to weigh it.

Despite the early hour and freezing temperatures, many other anglers gathered round to celebrate with the new record holder.

Mr Locke, from South Darenth, Dartford, Kent, left the fish in the shallows until daylight when he photographed the aquatic beast before returning it to the lake in good health.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6975102/Kylie-Minogue-congratulates-giant-carp-catcher-on-Twitter.html

Camel-drawn solar van passes through Alice

2010-01-13T13:22:00.000Z

13 January 2010

Alice Springs residents have been treated to an unusual sight - a camel-drawn, solar-powered mini-van travelling along the Todd River.

Only a trickle is left in the river, whcih began flowing for the first time in a year last Thursday, and peaked at 2.85 metres at the weekend.

Klaus Menzel, 61, has been on the road with his camels Snowy and Willy for eight years and says he is enjoying the desert's wet conditions.

"It is good to have but it is hard to pull through," he said.

"Willy was with me over at Camels Corner but then Snowy his partner came from Queensland.

"We walked 14 wild ones up to Queensland and as a reward I got these two fellas and they been pulling me around ever since."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2010/01/13/2791504.htm

Pony is left to drown in frozen canal

2010-01-13T13:16:00.003Z

Click to enlarge

Metro Ireland, 13 January 2010, p7.

Gay man who tried to poison lesbian neighbours with slug pellets over three-legged cat feud walks free

2010-01-13T13:06:00.003Z

By Jaya Narain
Last updated at 9:24 PM on 12th January 2010

A gay man who attempted to poison his lesbian neighbours by pouring slug pellets into their curry after they accused him of kidnapping their three-legged cat has walked free from court.

Gary Stewart, 37, had fallen out with his neighbours, Ann Marie Walton, 38, and Beverley Sales, 36.

But in an apparent bid to restore cordial relations with the pair he offered them a curry from a local Indian takeaway.

When the couple went to eat the meal they found the curry sauce was laced with dozens of tiny blue slug pellets.

Afterwards Stewart said he had done it after he had found the tyres to his car had been slashed with a knife.

He texted a friend saying: 'It was them next door, the f******* fat lesbians, I'm glad I've poisoned them and yes it was slug pellets.'

He was sentenced to a six month suspended jail sentence at Minshull Street Crown Court in Manchester after pleading guilty to attempting to poison the two women on September 22 last year.

The court was told Mr Stewart, who is HIV positive, was devastated after his partner Paul Kleisier, 43, died of an Aids related illness last summer.

He had previously got on well with his neighbours in Denton, Manchester, Miss Sales, an HGV driver, and Miss Walton, a full-time mother, but fell out with them last year after a series of petty arguments.

Then last summer they were involved in a furious row after Stewart told the council they were neglecting their eight-year-old son, Jack, and social workers were called to carry out an investigation.

After that Stewart is alleged to have kidnapped the family's three-legged cat, Amber, and dumped her in a village miles away.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1242637/Gay-man-tried-poison-lesbian-neighbours-slug-pellets-legged-cat-feud-walks-free.html#ixzz0cUu6rW9d

Dog Senses Arcata Earthquake at News Station

2010-01-13T13:03:00.001Z

Dog Senses Arcata Earthquake at News Station - Watch more Funny Videos

http://www.break.com/index/dog-senses-arcata-earthquake-at-news-station.html

Hippo swims away from flooded Montenegrin zoo, shocks villagers by strolling past their homes

2010-01-12T14:43:00.001Z

Jan 12, 8:07 AM EST

PODGORICA, Montenegro (AP) -- A hippo escaped from a flooded private zoo in Montenegro on Tuesday, shocking villagers who found her strolling near their homes.

Even more shocking, the zoo owner plans to wait a bit before trying to recapture the 2-ton hippo named Nikica.

Nikica escaped as heavy rains sent water flooding through the zoo, raising the water level in her pen and allowing her to swim over the top of the cage surrounding it. The 11-year-old hippo made her way to the hamlet of Plavnica on Skadar Lake in southern Montenegro, where she was still walking around Tuesday afternoon.

"When I got out from my house to feed my cow, I saw a hippo standing in front of the stall," said villager Nikola Radovic. "I thought I was going mad."

The massive animals, which spend much of their days submerged in water, are considered one of the most dangerous animals in the world.

Hippos, native to Africa, are the third-largest land animals, after elephants and white rhinos. They can weigh up to 3 1/2 tons and are plant eaters. They are also intelligent, fiercely territorial, can run faster than the average human over short distances, and have powerful teeth and jaws.

But zoo owner Dragan Pejovic said he plans to wait until the water levels drops before he attempts to recapture Nikica.

"Of course, we will not be able to bring her back until the water recedes," he said, without further explanation. "There is no reason for panic."

"Our hippo is a peaceful and tame animal," Pejovic said, adding that she had lived in his zoo for nine years without causing any trouble to villagers.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/E/EU_MONTENEGRO_HIPPO_ESCAPES?SITE=WIMIL&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
(Submitted by D.R. Shoop)

NH Artist Protests Halt To Bigfoot Project

2010-01-12T14:36:00.002Z

Jan. 06, 2010

New Hampshire Artist Behind Bigfoot Art Project Says Park Ranger Trampled On His Rights

(AP) JAFFREY, N.H. (AP) - A New Hampshire artist and videographer who dressed as Bigfoot in a state park says his rights were trampled by big government.

Jonathan Doyle, of Keene, has complained in a letter to the state parks department that a Mount Monadnock park ranger halted his performance art project in the fall because he didn't have a permit.

Doyle is arguing through the New Hampshire Civil Liberties Union Foundation that his free-speech rights were violated when he was expelled from the state park in Jaffrey. He says he and others with him, some also in costume, were on a lesser-used trail and weren't bothering other park visitors.

Doyle says the state hasn't responded to his letter. The Division of Parks and Recreation says it has been forwarded to the state attorney general's office.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/01/05/ap/strange/main6060393.shtml
(Submitted by Dave McMann)

New cricket species filmed pollinating orchids

2010-01-12T14:30:00.003Z

Tuesday, 12 January 2010
By Rebecca Morelle
Science reporter, BBC News

A new species of cricket has been caught on camera - and its bizarre behaviour has surprised scientists.

Far from living up to the cricket's plant-destroying reputation, this species lends a helping hand to flora by acting as a pollinator.

Scientists say this is the first time a cricket has been spotted pollinating a flower - in this case, an orchid.

A study of the nocturnal insect, which was found on the island of Reunion, has been published in the Annals of Botany.

The creature has yet to be given a scientific name, but it belongs to the Glomeremus genus of crickets, which are also known as raspy crickets.

The insect was spotted by researchers who were attempting to find out how a species of orchid called Angraecum cadetii was being pollinated.

This green-white flower is closely related to the comet orchid, which is found in Madagascar.

Naturalist Charles Darwin predicted that because the comet orchid has an incredibly long nectar spur (the part of the plant that holds the sweet nectar), it would be pollinated by an insect with an equally long tongue.

It was later found that the nocturnal hawk moth with a proboscis measuring approximately 35cm (14in) in length was the pollinator.

However on Reunion, which is situated in the Indian Ocean, hawk moths are very rare and the Angraecum cadetii orchid has a shorter nectar spur than its Madagascan relative, so scientists suspected something else was pollinating it.

To solve this mystery, scientists trained a night-vision camera on the flower.

Claire Micheneau, from the University of Reunion, who carried out the research with the UK's Royal Botanical Gardens (RBG), Kew, and the University of Strasbourg, France, told BBC News: "We were very surprised when we saw a cricket.

"Crickets usually eat flowers, not pollinate them."

The film shows a wingless cricket, which measures about 2-3cm (0.8-1.2in) in length and has extremely long antennae.

It crawls onto the flower and pokes its head in to the nectar spur to drink up the sweet liquid before leaving with lumps of pollen attached to its head and visiting other flowers on the orchid.

Dr Micheneau said: "This is the first time that we have seen flowers being regularly pollinated by a cricket."

The team added that the cricket seemed to be the only pollinator present on the flower and that it was extremely effective at doing the job, possibly thanks to the fact that the size of its head matched the size of the nectar opening on the orchid.

'Sophisticated' cricket

Further analysis of the cricket revealed that the species was new to science.

Professor Mark Chase, director of the Jodrell Laboratory at RBG Kew, said: "It really is a completely bizarre thing for a cricket to do and it is strange for an orchid to become adapted to that kind of pollinator."

The team added that the cricket was also unusual in other ways.

Professor Chase explained: "They do some fairly sophisticated things by cricket standards.

"Most crickets just stop eating and find a place to hide away during the daytime and it's usually a different place every time. But this one finds its way back to its own specific nest.

"And that is a key thing for being able to re-locate the orchids, because they go back to those several times, and it is that capacity to keep track of where they are in their environment that allows them to do this sort of navigation."

The research team is now looking at how the relationship may have come about.

Professor Chase said: "Orchids rarely co-evolve with their pollinators, mostly it is a case of the orchid adapting to an insect or animal that already exists that may visit flowers of other plants, and the orchids sort of tap into that."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8391540.stm
(Submitted by Tim Chapman)

Britain's goat talent

2010-01-12T12:38:00.004Z

Click to enlarge

Metro Ireland, 12 January 2010, p11.

So, how do you make a gorilla stew?

2010-01-12T12:31:00.001Z

YOU keep him waiting for three hours. And if you told that joke in Africa, you'd get more hearty laughs than in Asia. Naturalists have discovered orang-utans and other Asian apes laugh less than their African cousins, such as gorillas and chimps. And they also found that, while humans first learned to laugh from their ape ancestors millions of years ago, we have since learned to use laughter to sneer, mock and ridicule.

'Our observations showed strong differences in the use of laughter between the Asian great apes (orang-utans) and the African great apes (gorillas, chimpanzees and bonobos),' said Dr Marina Davila Ross, of the UK's University of Portsmouth.

'Asian apes and humans laugh clearly more often.'

Evolution has enabled humans to use laughter to mock others while apes simply laugh to enjoy themselves and influence others, she concluded.

'But something happened in the last 5 million years which means humans use laughter for a much wider range of situations.'

Dr Ross, who worked with the University of Veterinary Medicine in Germany, also showed sounds other than laughter can evolve in the context of tickling. Mammals, including flying foxes, make sounds when they are tickled but they are not necessarily laughing.

Metro Ireland, 12 January 2010, p5.

Deadly octopus turns up in girl's bath

2010-01-12T12:00:00.001Z

January 12, 2010

A six-year-old Melbourne girl's weekend hobby has almost turned deadly.

Holly Smith was washing a shell she'd collected at Point Lonsdale beach on Sunday when a blue-ringed octopus fell into her bathtub.

The Geelong Advertiser reports the girl was washing a large, curled periwinkle shell when the deadly octopus fell into the bath.

The blue-ringed octopus is recognised as one of the world's most venomous animals and can cause paralysis in humans within minutes.

The girl's father, Justin Smith, was understandably alarmed by the incident.

"It was just a complete surprise that my daughter's hobby, which I'd been watching in a relaxed manner, turned out to be one that in future I'll need to be watching much more carefully," he told the Geelong Advertiser.

Holly told Channel Seven, "The octopus just plopped out."

"It would have poisoned us," she said.

Holly says she'll keep collecting shells but will be more careful, and is taking the preserved octopus into school for 'show and tell'.

Her mum reiterated that it's a good warning.

Blue-ringed octopuses are common throughout Australia and rest in quiet places before feeding at night.

A bite from the octopus is often relatively painless and may go unnoticed.

http://au.news.yahoo.com/queensland/a/-/latest/6670257/deadly-octopus-turns-up-in-girls-bath/

Cryptolichenology?

2010-01-12T11:50:00.004Z

A new species of lichen discovered in the Iberian Peninsula

11 January 2010 Plataforma SINC

Spanish scientists have described the lichen Phylloblastia fortuita, new to the Iberian Peninsula and to science. Another species from the same family, Phylloblastia dispersa, is also a new entry for Europe and is the first time it has been found outside the tropics. Foliicolous lichens, symbiosis between fungi and algae, are organisms associated with tropical or sub-tropical climates, and their presence in environments such as the Iberian Peninsula, outside of the tropics, is associated with conditions of very stable ecological and environmental conditions

"We have identified three Phylloblastia lichens in the Iberian Peninsula, one of which is new to science (Phylloblastia fortuita), and we present a fourth species new to European flora, Phylloblastia dispersa", Esteve Llop, main author and research at the Departamento de Biología Vegetal-Botánica [Department of Plant-Botanical Biology] of the University of Barcelona (UB) explains to SINC.

Together, the scientists Esteve Llop and Antonio Gómez-Bolea analysed the lichen flora in a protected area near Barcelona. Although some species of lichen have already been recorded on leaves in the North East of the Iberian Peninsula, this is the first time new species have been described.

The study, recently published in The Lichenologist, brings together biological material that had not been identified by researchers in a previous study carried out in 2006, as well as new material related to previous samples. Llop points out that "the literature about the group to which the samples belong had increased because of contributions from intertropical zones with extratropical species".

The field of study where the lichens were found in Catalonia is also important for science. The presence of Phylloblastia fortuita in the Iberian Peninsula and of Phylloblastia dispersa in Europe reveals areas of "great sensitivity" to environmental changes and may serve as indicators of climatic change.

The biologist states that "we have found a new area with Foliicolous lichen flora, rich in important plant life, which, as in other locations, is associated with conditions of ecological and environmental stability", and concludes: "Scientists consider the importance of protecting these locations based on their relevance to ecology and biodervsity".

Full bibliographic information
Llop, Esteve; Gómez-Bolea, Antonio. “The lichen genus Phylloblastia (Verrucariaceae) in the Iberian Peninsula, with a new species from Western Europe”, Lichenologist 41: 565-569 Part 6, noviembre de 2009

http://www.plataformasinc.es/index.php/esl/Noticias/Descubren-una-nueva-especie-de-liquen-en-la-Peninsula-Iberica
(Submitted by Tim Chapman)

Police Investigate Cougar Sighting In Minneapolis

2010-01-12T11:46:00.001Z

Jan 11, 2010 10:23 pm US/Central

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Police are investigating another possible cougar sighting in Minneapolis.

When Norm Mosher was driving home from work Monday morning, he saw what he thought was a golden retriever crossing the road in Northeast Minneapolis near along St. Anthony Parkway near Marshall Avenue.

It was only when the long-time outdoorsman got up close that he realized it was a cat by the way it walked. Its long tail was swinging.

"Cats move in a more sultry manner I guess, people call it slinking," said Mosher. "I call it sauntering."

He drove a little ways but decided to turn back around and check the tracks. He found typical cat's tracks -- no claw marks and a line where the tail hit the ground.

"I'm terribly surprised, terribly surprised," he said. "We're out here in the middle of Minneapolis."

Mosher told police, who wanted to issue a warning. Although cougar attacks on humans are very rare, Minneapolis Police Sergeant Jesse Garcia asked the people who live in the area keep an eye out.

"If you're jogging down this trail early morning or if you've got small children in you're neighborhood, this thing might make it into the neighborhood," he said. He asked if anyone sees a cougar to call police.

The police called the DNR, who have not yet confirmed the tracks. Last month, there were sightings of a cougar in Champlin, Stillwater and Vadnais Heights.

The DRN warns that if you get close to a cougar, don't turn and run. Rather, back away slowly, puff up your body to appear intimidating and offer it an escape route. Cougars are very solitary animals and will likely run away.

http://wcco.com/local/cougar.sighting.minneapolis.2.1418895.html
(Submitted by Matt Cardier)

Cool for cats

2010-01-11T21:00:00.004Z

Click to enlarge

Brother and sister Sumatran tiger cubs Emas and Wanita, born in May, play in the snow in their enclosure at Dublin Zoo yesterday. The tigers, whose species are native to the hot and humid Sumatran jungle, don't seem too bothered by the cold.

Metro Ireland, 11 January 2009, p5.

Warm and hoppy

2010-01-11T20:59:00.002Z

Click to enlarge

A Turkish Angora cat is dressed in a rabbit costume, complete with carrot, for a carnival dress show, part of the World Xoo exhibition, in Russia's Siberian city of Krasnoyarsk.

Metro Ireland, 11 January 2009, p11.

Pets also need care in the cold

2010-01-11T20:58:00.000Z

PET owners have been urged to ensure their animals have enough food and shelter to survive the freezing conditions. The Irish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals said it has witnessed several cases of neglect and cruelty since the cold snap set in. ISPCA chairwoman Barbara bent said: 'We are calling on animal owners and members of the public to be vigilant during the the current cold spell and winter months o report any neglect or cruelty to animals to the ISPCA.' The charity also advises that dogs not be chained into a kennel, as this restricts the animal from being able to walk around to keep warm.

Metro Ireland, 11 January 2010, p5.

Norfolk cat found frozen in snow survives

2010-01-11T13:45:00.000Z

NORFOLK, Mass. -- A cat found frozen in the snow has made a miraculous recovery.

Annie, a 13-year-old tuxedo cat, disappeared during snowstorm in early December on the day her family was moving. After Annie had been missing for five weeks, her family feared the worst.

“We were so worried about her with the cold temperatures and the snow. We really just kept our fingers crossed, and it’s a miracle she's here,” said her owner, Alison.

Alison helped put up missing pet fliers. The family also contacted Animal Control for help.

“We just crossed our fingers that she could come home and that she would come home or that someone would find her,” said Alison.

This past weekend, Animal Control officers received a call regarding Annie.

“Basically, when I picked her up, she had no signs of life. She was stiff, she was unconscious, cold to the touch and not responding to anything,” said Hilary Cohen, a Norfolk Animal Control officer.

Yet Annie started to move about once she was inside the cruiser.

“I realized driving down the road that her whiskers started twitching, and I realized we needed to work on this cat right away,” said Cohen.

Annie received fluids and heat therapy for nourishment. She also was treated for frostbite.

The cat is recovering nicely and expected to go home some time next week.

“She had a strong heart and a strong will to live that was just incredible,” said Alison.

Animal Control officers say if Annie had been out in the cold any longer, she may not have survived.

See video at: http://www1.whdh.com/news/articles/local/BO133058/

Deadly Portuguese Man O' War jellyfish 'likely' off NI

2010-01-11T13:42:00.001Z

Monday, 11 January 2010

Sightings of whales, dolphins and basking sharks off the Northern Ireland coast are becoming more common.

But a new visitor to the Irish Sea has been raising eyebrows in the Republic of Ireland, and it is also quite likely to be in waters nearer home.

The potentially deadly Portuguese Man O' War (physalia physalis), has been seen off the coast of County Louth, with 30 sightings reported to marine researchers last year, stretching from Wexford to the more northerly county.

In 2007, a swarm of Mauve Stinger jellyfish wiped out 100,000 salmon when they swamped a fish farm off Glenarm in County Antrim.

Since then, the Northern Ireland Environment Agency has been working with Queen's University, Belfast, to carry out small scale surveys of jellyfish activity, concentrating on the Mauve Stingers.

The stinger and Man O' War are normally found further offshore and researchers believe it is likely that a combination of warmer seas and prevailing winds, are responsible for both 'stingers' being in the Irish Sea during the autumn of 2009.

"To date, there have been no confirmed sightings of the potentially lethal Portuguese Man O' War jellyfish around Northern Ireland," an NIEA spokesperson said.

"However, during the latter part of 2009 there were several reported sightings from the Isle of Man and County Louth suggesting that it is likely that small numbers have also been in Northern Ireland waters.

"These sightings peaked during September and October with further reports during November and December."

The Mauve Stinger is a very small orange or purple jellyfish, while the Portuguese Man O' War has a very distinctive shape, including a bottle shaped gas bladder and stinging tentacles that can be several metres long.

The Portuguese Man O' War is not a true jellyfish as such, but a siphonophore - a single creature made up of a colony of organisms.

Both have powerful stings that can potentially produce a severe reaction and the NIEA said people should avoid touching them and seek medical advice if stung.

There are at least eight species of jellyfish which are regularly recorded in Northern Ireland waters, including Moon, Lion's Mane, Compass, Root Mouth, By-the-Wind-Sailor, Blue, Portuguese Man O' War and Mauve Stinger.

Half of the species produce powerful stings.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/northern_ireland/8451544.stm

Behemoth bruin terrorizes Incline Village homes

2010-01-10T17:43:00.002Z

Peter Fimrite, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, January 10, 2010

(01-10) 04:00 PST Incline Village, Nev. --

A gigantic, bullet-scarred black bear with a hankering for human food and a knack for breaking and entering has been terrorizing homeowners on the north shore of Lake Tahoe and deftly outmaneuvering gun-toting rangers, bear dogs and traps.

The burly bruin - a male that weighs an estimated 700 pounds, roughly twice the poundage of the average adult black bear - has broken into and ransacked dozens of homes in Incline Village since last summer, causing tens of thousands of dollars in damage and more than a few sleepless nights.

Wildlife officials have tried everything, but the food junkie apparently knows a bear trap when he sees one, shakes off bullets like they were mosquito bites, and keeps coming back for more.

"He's busted into probably 40 or 50 homes," said Carl Lackey, a bear biologist for the Nevada Department of Wildlife. "I've never seen anything like that before."

Trappers plan to kill the bear if they ever catch him, prompting some animal lovers to rally to the muscular mammal's defense.

Save or kill?

"We offered to capture him and put him in a wildlife sanctuary where he'd have about 100 acres to roam free, but the Nevada Department of Wildlife said they don't want to do that," said Ann Bryant, executive director of the BEAR (Bear Education Aversion Response) League. "They'd rather capture and kill him."

A bear habituated to humans is dangerous because it is more likely to attack when cornered, Lackey explained. This bear, he said, has been shot on two occasions while breaking into homes. One of the bullets reportedly bounced off his head.

"Relocation doesn't work. They come right back no matter how far away you take them," Lackey said. "If they do stay where you put them, a bear that has been breaking into homes is going to continue to do it. How would you feel if we relocated a bear like this near your home?"

The ursine prowler, which some have taken to calling Bubba, has learned how to smash out panels on garage doors and rummage through garbage and garage refrigerators. He has a tendency to barge in long after supper time.

Bubba at the fridge

Marianne Lyons, 68, of Nevada City, was alone in a back bedroom at her son's Incline Village house last summer when a "huge bear" busted into the garage, popped open the fridge and began feasting on frozen meat and other goodies. The behemoth sauntered nonchalantly away when animal control officers came, Lyons said, but returned after they left.

"This happened every hour on the hour until 4 a.m. He would come in, get what he wanted and leave. I was ready to jump out the window," Lyons said. "I just had this feeling he was going to come barreling into the house any minute. I have never been more scared."

Lackey said one resident reported shooting the bear right between the eyes with a .44 Magnum after the hungry giant lifted a sliding-glass door off the tracks and started toward him. The bullet glanced off and sent the bear whirling around the kitchen, and a second shot prompted him to scramble out the back door, according to local newspaper accounts.

'Scars on its face'

A Diamond Peak, Nev., resident said he shot the bear in the back with a .30-30 rifle when the animal charged him just after Thanksgiving.

"I've seen bears before, but this was the biggest bear I've ever seen," said the man, who did not want to be identified out of fear that animal lovers would harass him. "I can tell you this thing was nasty looking, with scars on its face and a gash on its neck."

Lackey said the bear is unusually smart. He has eluded the Karelian Bear Dogs that were put on his trail and waltzes right by bear traps. He even knows the garbage pickup dates in certain neighborhoods and routinely shows up to feast when cans are full, Lackey said.

The bear often leaves a humongous, smelly deposit as a kind of calling card.

Three break-ins

"He actually broke into my garage three different times," said Bill Philpott, whose garage on Pelton Lane in the Mill Creek subdivision was first punched open for an apparent look-see at the end of October and then smashed completely three days later.

"I have a refrigerator in the garage. He opened it up, drank a gallon of orange juice, opened the freezer above and munched two frozen pizzas and snacked on frozen chicken," Philpott said. "He broke all the shelves and racks out of the refrigerator, bit into some fruit punch and squirted it all over everywhere, then dragged the trash can outside and took a crap the size of a basketball on the front lawn."

Philpott replaced the garage door in November, only to have the bear tear it down again.

Plenty of bears

Problem bears are not unusual in the Lake Tahoe area, where 350 or so bruins compete for food. Black bears are rarely dangerous to people - no one has been killed by one in California in the past 100 years - but problems can develop when the carnivores learn to associate an easy food supply with humans, according to experts. Such bears rarely hibernate and tend to be more aggressive.

Bubba hasn't been seen in about three weeks, the longest respite since summer, but Lackey is confident the big bruin is still around, readying himself for another raid.

"Bears like this continue to feed year-round," Lackey said. "That's how you get these 600- to 700-pound bears when they are normally 350 to 400 pounds. At this point there is no point in putting out traps. We'll wait until we get a call saying he is in the area and we'll try to catch him."
E-mail Peter Fimrite at pfimrite@sfchronicle.com.

This article appeared on page C - 1 of the San Francisco Chronicle

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/01/10/BAL71BDC28.DTL

Baby Panda Shows His Bounce Back Ability

2010-01-10T16:01:00.000Z

10:21am UK, Friday January 08, 2010
Angela Barnes, Sky News Online

San Diego Zoo's newest baby panda, Yun Zi, made his media debut by showing off his bounce back ability.

The five month old giant panda cub climbed a tree branch, fell off, and promptly climbed back on.

The zoo's senior keeper, Kathy Hawk, said: "It's all part of the learning process."

She added it would help Yun Zi help get his "climbing legs going."

The cub's mother, Bai Yun, was equally unpeturbed.

She looked on proudly as her bubbly baby boy performed for the cameras.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Strange-News/The-San-Diego-Zoos-Newest-Panda-Cub-Frolics-Falls-And-Bounces-Back-During-His-Media-Debut/Article/201001215516952?f=rss

Fish 'acts like Lord Sugar when dealing with subordinates'

2010-01-10T15:58:00.000Z

A species of fish exhibits traits similar to Lord Sugar when dealing with subordinates who fail in a task, new research has shown.

Published: 7:30AM GMT 08 Jan 2010

Cleaner wrasse, which live on reefs, provide a valuable service by feeding on the parasites of ''client'' fish.

Males are in charge in communities of cleaner wrasse and the new research shows they have much in common with their ''Lord Sugar'' style human counterparts.

Like the belligerent Amstrad founder and boss on the television show The Apprentice, male cleaner wrasse will not tolerate failure.

When the females fall down on the job by offending a client, they are chased aggressively by the angry males.

The behaviour is an unusual example of animals delivering a ''third-party punishment'' for misdeeds that do not directly affect them.

Although cleaner fish pick parasites off their larger reef-mates, they can get a bigger meal by taking a bite of the mucus on a client's skin. However this is seen as an offensive ''cheating'' act, and likely to drive the ''customer'' away.

Any female spotted committing such a flagrant breach of the rules provokes a sharp reaction from the boss.

The boss/employee relationship between male and female cleaner fish was investigated in the laboratory by scientists led by a team from the Zoological Society of London.

A plate full of ordinary food and more tempting prawns was offered to the fish, but removed whenever one of them ate a prawn.

Researchers quickly saw that males would chase females who could not resist the prawns, thereby causing the food plate to be lost. After being punished, the females were less likely to eat a prawn again.

The study, reported in the journal Science, shed light on what occurred between the fish and their ''clients'' in nature.

Dr Nichola Raihani, from the Zoological Society of London, said: ''Clients will leave if they are cheated at a cleaning station. That means the male's dinner leaves if the female cheats. By punishing cheating females, the males are not really sticking up for the clients but are making sure that they get a decent meal.''

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6947717/Fish-acts-like-Lord-Sugar-when-dealing-with-subordinates.html

Dogs flown to new homes

2010-01-10T15:53:00.001Z

A group of Chihuahuas are being flown across the US to find new homes.

08 January 2010 16:30 PM

A group of Chihuahuas are being flown across the US to find new homes.

15 of the animals are being jetted from San Francisco to New York in the hope of finding loving new owners - because they have become a must-have fashion accessory in the area.

While California animal shelters are inundated with the breed, Chihuahuas are in high demand in many other states.

Over recent years a growing number of trend-setting celebrities - including Paris Hilton, Britney Spears and Cheryl Cole - have become owners of the tiny pooches.

The homeless pups will now be flown into New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport by officials at the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and then hopefully re-homed.

http://entertainment.stv.tv/showbiz/149082-dogs-flown-to-new-homes/

Japanese fisherman catches 22-pound bass

2010-01-10T15:49:00.001Z

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

DANIA BEACH, Fla. - A Japanese man is being credited with tying the 77-year-old world record for catching the biggest largemouth bass.

The International Game Fish Association announced Friday that it had confirmed the 22-pound, 4-ounce fish caught by Manabu Kurita. The Florida-based group said Kurita caught the fish July 2 on Lake Biwa, Japan's largest lake.

Kurita's fish tied the record of George Perry, who caught his bass on Georgia's Montgomery Lake on June 2, 1932.

Kurita used 25-pound test line and a live blue gill as bait.

http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/WeirdNews/2010/01/08/12397761-ap.html

Electric ray gives birth to 16 babies

2010-01-10T15:46:00.001Z

A rare electric ray has given birth to 16 babies at a sealife centre.

Published: 8:00AM GMT 09 Jan 2010

It is believed to be the first time the marbled electric ray - which can give a shock almost as strong as mains power - has given birth in captivity in Britain.

The baby rays are in good health and feeding happily on slivers of squid in a nursery tank at Brighton Sealife Centre in Brighton, East Sussex.

The mother was delivered to the centre in September by a local fisherman who was surprised to find the ray among his catch.

Marbled electric rays, or Torpedo marmorata, are usually found in the Mediterranean.

Curator Alex Gerrard said: "She settled in well, but started to go off her food mid-way through December.

"We were worried she might be ill but realise now it was because she was ready to go into labour."

The mum is the size of a large dinner plate and her babies are each as big as the bottom of a coffee cup.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/6953481/Electric-ray-gives-birth-to-16-babies.html

Man-Eater Shark Spines 'To Be Severed'

2010-01-10T15:42:00.002Z

7:03am UK, Sunday January 10, 2010
Huw Borland, Sky News Online

Sharks that attack swimmers will be hunted down, shot in the head and sawed apart until their spines are severed, according to reports.

Perth's Sunday Times revealed the gruesome methods for dealing with man-eaters approved by the Government of Western Australia.

A shark that attacked a swimmer would be slaughtered if it continued to pose a threat to beachgoers, WA Department of Fisheries's Tina Thorne was quoted by the paper as saying.

But the kill order would only be given in "extreme circumstances", as a last resort where there was an immediate danger to the public.

Ms Thorne said fisheries officers would first use a baited drumline and put "attractant" in the water to try to hook the shark.

The creature would then be hauled aboard a boat where officers would "have to use a large firearm to dispatch the animal".

"That is not an easy task, as sharks have very small brains," she said.

Once shot through the head, officers would ensure the creature was dead by "severing the spinal cord and bleeding it out".

"Even if you hook it, you can't just fly over in a chopper and shoot it because of refraction (of the bullets) in the water," Ms Thorne said.

But great whites - the species responsible for most fatal attacks - are protected and a special exemption from the law is required to kill one.

Six people have been killed by sharks in Western Australia in the past 20 years, the paper added.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Sharks-Man-Eaters-To-Be-Shot-And-Sawed-Apart-Until-Spines-Are-Severed-Australian-Reports-Claim/Article/201001215518144?f=rss

Footprints fuel rumours of the beast of Workington's Borough Park

2010-01-09T12:52:00.002Z

By John Walsh
Friday, 08 January 2010

Could these paw prints in the snow be the proof there is a beast of Borough Park who prowls near the pitch at Workington Reds’ football ground?

The mysterious tracks, almost the size of an adult human hand, have been discovered at the sports stadium, supporting previous sightings of a huge black cat-like creature.

Groundsman Jeff Curwen and Reds fan Peter Bratley discovered the mysterious prints in the snow when they were first to arrive at the ground this week.

Jeff said: “I can tell tracks by now. There was a fox there as well because his prints are neat and all in line and there were also marks and tracks from rabbits and birds.

“But these prints were different. They certainly made Peter and I look around for more.

“They didn’t seem to be on the pitch, funnily enough, but round the tunnel side and behind the Derwent end goals.”

Jeff has an inkling of what might have been responsible as two years ago he had a nerve-jangling moment while working on the ground.

“I was working on my own over by the popular side when I noticed something move behind the seats on the terracing,” he added.

“It walked behind the seats and I could see its tail and the top of a head.

“It was a big, black cat-like creature and when it seemed to see me it turned to its right and got away out through the entrance at the back and apparently over into Lonsdale Park.

“I told a few people what I had seen but nobody seemed to believe me.

“There has got to be some connection with that creature and the prints. You could see the claw marks at the end of the prints.”

There have been several sightings in Cumbria over the years of large, black cat-like creatures.

The British Big Cats Society say that the non-native creatures are stalking Britain and their numbers could be on the rise.

First published at 11:26, Friday, 08 January 2010
Published by http://www.newsandstar.co.uk

http://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/footprints_fuel_rumours_of_the_beast_of_workington_s_borough_park_1_658342?referrerPath=home
(Submited by Lindsay Selby)

Neanderthal 'make-up' discovered

2010-01-09T12:47:00.002Z

Saturday, 9 January 2010

Scientists claim to have the first persuasive evidence that Neanderthals wore "body paint" 50,000 years ago.

The team report in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) that shells containing pigment residues were Neanderthal make-up containers.

Scientists unearthed the shells at two archaeological sites in the Murcia province of southern Spain.

The team says its find buries "the view of Neanderthals as half-wits" and shows they were capable of symbolic thinking.

Professor Joao Zilhao, the archaeologist from Bristol University in the UK, who led the study, said that he and his team had examined shells that were used as containers to mix and store pigments.

Black sticks of the pigment manganese, which may have been used as body paint by Neanderthals, have previously been discovered in Africa.

"[But] this is the first secure evidence for their use of cosmetics," he told BBC News. "The use of these complex recipes is new. It's more than body painting."

The scientists found lumps of a yellow pigment, that they say was possibly used as a foundation.

They also found red powder mixed up with flecks of a reflective brilliant black mineral.

Some of the sculpted, brightly coloured shells may also have been worn by Neanderthals as jewellery.

Until now it had been thought by many researchers that only modern humans wore make-up for decoration and ritual purposes.

There was a time in the Upper Palaeolithic period when Neanderthals and humans may have co-existed. But Professor Zilhao explained that the findings were dated at 10,000 years before this "contact".

"To me, it's the smoking gun that kills the argument once and for all," he told BBC News.

"The association of these findings with Neanderthals is rock-solid and people have to draw the associations and bury this view of Neanderthals as half-wits."

Professor Chris Stringer, a palaeontologist from the Natural History Museum in London, UK, said: "I agree that these findings help to disprove the view that Neanderthals were dim-witted.

But, he added that evidence to that effect had been growing for at least the last decade.

"It's very difficult to dislodge the brutish image from popular thinking," Professor Stringer told BBC News. "When football fans behave badly, or politicians advocate reactionary views, they are invariably called 'Neanderthal', and I can't see the tabloids changing their headlines any time soon."

Hybrid boy?

Another study published in the same issue of PNAS provides intriguing evidence about the relationship between humans and Neanderthals.

An international team of researchers examined teeth from the skeleton of a human child that was discovered in Portugal in the late 1990s.

It was suggested by some scientists at the time that this skeleton, which dates from the Upper Palaeolithic period - between 10,000 and 40,000 years ago - might have been the product of human and Neanderthal interbreeding.

The researchers found that the skeleton's teeth shared some features with Neanderthals rather than modern humans.

Although this does not settle the argument of whether the child was a hybrid, it does indicate, the researchers write, that "these earlier Upper Palaeolithic humans are not simply older versions of [today's] humanity".

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8448660.stm
(Submitted by D.R. Shoop)

'Bear Cam' from a Minn. den may show live birth

2010-01-08T15:29:00.000Z

Associated Press

Last update: January 8, 2010 - 8:14 AM

ELY, Minn. - A video feed is going live from the den of a hibernating wild bear.

The den is near Ely in northern Minnesota, and researchers say there's a better than average chance that its resident, Lilly, will give birth to 1-pound cubs around mid-January.

It's the work of film-and-video producer Doug Hajicek. He set up a similar "bear cam" in 1999, but no cubs were born.

Viewers and researchers will be able to witness Lily around the clock. The camera will transmit in color by day and produce infrared images at night. A motion sensor will trigger video and sound transmission when there's activity. Otherwise, it will send stills.

The feed will be available on the North American Bear Center's Web site at http://www.bear.org starting at noon Friday.

http://www.startribune.com/local/80994787.html?elr=KArksLckD8EQDUoaEyqyP4O:DW3ckUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUUZ

Disturbing spread of invasive bees

2010-01-08T13:33:00.002Z

STEVE GRAY
January 8, 2010 - 6:13AM

A bee that has caused untold harm overseas is causing grave concern after it was found on the rich Atherton Tableland west of Cairns in far north Queensland.

Two swarms of Asian honey bees have been located on the Tableland, the latest near Lake Eacham.

It is not the bees themselves that are causing great concern, but the fact they can host the varroa mite.

These mites attack European honey bees and the hives sicken and eventually die.

No country has yet been able to eradicate these honey bees or the mites once they've become established.

Quarantine authorities managed to contain and destroy an incursion of Asian honey bees into Darwin in 1998.

Asian honey bees were first detected at the port of Cairns in May, 2007 and while none of the 41 colonies located and destroyed thus far have carried the mite, it may only be a matter of time before varroa mites invade the continent.

Australia is considered the last bastion against the mite which has devastated commercial honey production in the United States and Papua New Guinea.

Biosecurity Queensland's Asian honey bee eradication co-ordinator Charlotte Greer said while Cairns was home to few bee hives, there were many on the Atherton Tableland, adding to the risk the exotic bees could bring.

While the risk from the varroa mite to Australia's $75 million honey and beeswax industry is obvious, it pales into insignificance against bees' value in pollinating plants, estimated to be between $4 billion and $6 billion, according to a House of Representatives report.

Ms Greer said authorities were nonplussed that swarms were appearing on the Atherton Tableland up to 50 kilometres from the coastal areas around Cairns.

A swarm was found near Mareeba in August and another was spotted by an alert local at Lake Eacham this week.

"It's so far away from everything, that's the shock to us," Ms Greer said.

"We're just scratching our heads as to how the bloody hell it got there, but we're very keen to find out."

She said an "uninformed hobbyist" may have inadvertently moved the bees or a swarm may have escaped from a shipping container during transport.

Far north Queenslanders are being asked to check their properties for signs of the invaders.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/disturbing-spread-of-invasive-bees-20100108-lx3k.html
(Submitted by Matt Cardier)

'Scary' internet plot to disrupt live TV ghost-hunter show sparks security alert

2010-01-08T13:26:00.004Z

By Daily Mail Reporter
8 January 2010

A bizarre plot to disrupt a live TV ghost show and even attack its presenter has been uncovered.
Bloggers on a so-called 'urban exploration' website were caught discussing plans to wreck tomorrow's opening edition of 'Most Haunted'.

The show is being broadcast every evening for the next seven days from a deserted RAF base in Norfolk.

The episode - called The Silent Town - is expected to focus on ghosts and spirits said to haunt RAF West Raynham, which lost 86 planes during bombing raids and attacks on Nazis.

Fronted by ex-Blue Peter presenter Yvette Fielding, the show on Living TV is watched by more than half a million viewers.

But after Most Haunted announced its new location for the January show, bloggers on an urban exploration site quickly hatched a plan to turn the tables on the programme.

Urban explorers sneak into disused buildings - from manor houses to military bases and closed down mental institutions - and take photos of the site before posting the pictures online and describing the site.

But in a new twist, a group of the explorers - who are well-acquainted with the layout of RAF West Raynham - said they wanted use their knowledge of the site to 'scare the s***' out of the presenters live on TV.

One called dangerous dave even offered a pint of beer to anyone who smacks Yvette Fielding.

He said on the blog: 'If someone does a hit on that dippy cow in Most Haunted (Yvette Fielding) there's a pint in it.'

Another said: 'Right - lets go f*** with them and don our white sheets.'

One member, calling himself ukmayhem, asked the blog: 'Is it illegal to disrupt live filming?'

Another added: 'I'd be right up for messing with their show, its such bulls***. We are currently working on a plan.'

A reply on the same thread stated: 'We really should arrange to sneak in and scare the s*** out of them - what's the best options for spooking the spook-hunters?'

One blogger branded the Most Haunted team 'w******', adding: 'I am gutted that Most Haunted are going to ruin the place.'

In 2006 filming on Most Haunted was cancelled after three members of the crew were 'slashed by an unseen force' on their backs an legs as they investigated underground vaults in Edinburgh on Halloween.

And former presenter Derek Acorah was regularly 'possessed' by phantoms and even 'pulled down a mineshaft' by a spirit during a live episode in West Yorkshire in 2005.

RAF Raynham has two runways, four hangars and a watch tower which was used to direct bombing missions to Germany.

Until 1994 the base was used as a summer training camp for soldiers, but in the past 16 years it has fallen into a state of total disrepair and was sold by the Ministry of Defence in 2005 to a private housing contractor.

The 160-acre site, however, remains a deserted wasteland with remnants of it's past history strewn all over the base.

The interactive live show, presented by Yvette Fielding on location and by Paul Ross in the studio, uses demonologists and historians to explain to viewers what is going on.

Viewers can also access four webcams and report ghostly happenings to the studio online.

A spokesman for Living TV said today that they were aware of the plans and that security was now 'tight'.

She added: 'Disruption to the live show will be almost impossible.'

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-1241584/Plot-attack-presenters-Most-Haunted-busted-pranksters-caught-discussing-plans-online.html#ixzz0c1kTJAPS
(Submitted by Dave McMann)

Earliest Four-Limbed Animals Left Mud Tracks

2010-01-08T11:56:00.004Z

The finding of 395-million-year-old footprints in Poland turns back the clock on the evolution of four-legged creatures.

By Jennifer Viegas Wed Jan 6, 2010 07:57 AM ET

This is a sketch of a Devonian tetrapod making tracks. It is based on a species from the Late Devonian of Greenland but is a reasonable approximation to the track-maker of newly-found prints in Poland.
Per Ahlberg

The world's first four-limbed animals, called tetrapods, crawled on land much earlier than scientists thought, judging by tracks left behind by some of the animals in a prehistoric Polish lagoon.

The fossilized footprints from these animals are 18 million years older than the earliest tetrapod body fossils, pushing the emergence of four-limbed creatures back to at least the early Middle Devonian period, according to two papers published in the latest issue of the journal Nature.

Tracks left behind by the animals 397 million years ago show how they walked on their short, thick legs through the mud of what was once a coral reef lagoon. That type of location, with its regular tides and abundant food sources consisting of "washed-up dead animals," likely set the stage for the fish-to-land animal transition, according to the authors.

The crawlers have not yet been identified, but co-author Per Ahlberg told Discovery News that they were "basal tetrapods, the common ancestral stock of all the living tetrapod groups."

Dogs, cats, humans and any other animal with four limbs fall into that large overall group.

But there was something fishy about these early animals.

"There isn't anything living today with the strange combination of fish and tetrapod-like characteristics that we see in the earliest fossil tetrapods," said Ahlberg, an Uppsala University Professor of Evolutionary Organismal Biology.

Ahlberg and his colleagues found and studied the tracks at what is now the Zachelmie Quarry in southeastern Poland. Their analysis shows some of the animals appear to have moved in a straight line without dragging their bodies on the ground, while others had a less symmetrical gait.

The largest of the individual prints shows not just feet, but the animal's "whole limb as far as the knee," the researchers wrote. On one fossil track, "the tip of each triangular toe shows a small distinct cushion or pad," they added.

Before the discovery of these tracks, it was thought certain fish evolved into four-limbed animals during the Givetian Period, 391 to 385 million years ago. Fossils seemed to neatly support this timing for the fin-to-limb gradual change, since some fish, known as elpistostegids, appeared to belong to a mid-point stage where the fish had tetrapod-like heads and bodies, but retained fish characteristics, such as paired fins.

"In fact, tetrapods and elpistostegids coexisted for at least 10 million years," the researchers point out. "This implies that the elpistostegid morphology was not a brief transitional stage, but a stable adaptive position in its own right."

The scientists compare the coexistence of four-limbed animals and these fish with what happened to dinosaurs and birds. Dinosaurs didn't all just evolve into birds. Feathered and winged theropod dinosaurs were still around long after the first birds appeared about 150 million years ago.

Another revision to the animal history books concerns the habitat of the first tetrapods, according to Philippe Janvier and Gael Clement of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris.

In a separate commentary in Nature, they call the new finds a "stunning discovery." They write that the sea and lagoon location described by Ahlberg and his colleagues "is at odds with the long-held view that river deltas and lakes were the necessary environments for the transition from water to land during vertebrate evolution."

Given this difference, and the very early date of the tracks, Janvier and Clement believe the new findings "lob a grenade" into accepted theories of the fish-to-tetrapod transition.

http://news.discovery.com/animals/tetrapod-tracks-poland.html

BBC to launch review into allegations of bias in its science coverage

2010-01-08T08:14:00.000Z

The BBC Trust is to launch an investigation into allegations of bias in its coverage of science.

By Urmee Khan, Digital and Media Correspondent
Published: 3:18PM GMT 06 Jan 2010

The BBC has been criticised for its reporting of science stories in recent months and it has been accused of failing to cover the climate change debate objectively.

The Trust will carry out the review in the spring to assess the "accuracy and impartiality" of the corporation's coverage of science.

The corporation’s governing body said the review follows "heated debates" around topics like GM crops, MMR and global warming.

The BBC came under fire in November, after a broadcaster admitted he knew about controversial emails in which scientists discussed "spinning" climate data long before it reported on them.

Paul Hudson, a BBC weather presenter and climate change expert, said he was sent the leaked emails from the University of East Anglia, indicating that researchers massaged figures to mask the fact that world temperatures have been declining in recent years, a month before the story broke.

It raised questions about why the BBC did not report on the matter sooner, and it reignited the debate over whether the corporation is biased on the issue of climate change.

Peter Sissons, the veteran newsreader, claimed last year that it was now "effectively BBC policy" to stifle critics of the consensus view on global warming.

The review, which will be published in 2011, will assess science output relating to public policy and "matters of political controversy".

The "science" label will include technology, medicine and environment coverage that "entails scientific statements, research findings or other claims made by scientists". The review is expected to consult scientists and experts in the field.

Richard Tait, a BBC trustee and chair of the Trust's editorial standards committee (ESC), said: "Science is an area of great importance to licence fee payers, which provokes strong reaction and covers some of the most sensitive editorial issues the BBC faces.

"Heated debate in recent years around topics like climate change, GM crops and the MMR vaccine reflects this, and BBC reporting has to steer a course through these controversial issues while remaining impartial.

"The BBC has a well-earned reputation for the quality of its science reporting, but it is also important that we look at it afresh to ensure that it is adhering to the very high standards that licence fee payers expect."

However, some critics have said the BBC Trust is not in a position to conduct the review as it is regarded as being to close to the corporation.

Godfrey Bloom MEP said: "I would like to see a completely independent judicial review, the BBC cannot be objective as it has consistently shown. It has blocked sceptics of a scientific view point of climate change for years. No debate is allowed. It is biased in its reporting which is a disgrace and nothing less than a fully independent review is good enough."

A BBC Trust spokeswoman said: "As set out in the BBC's Charter and Agreement, the Trust is the body charged with ensuring that the BBC's coverage of any issue is duly impartial. This review, which will be carried out independently on behalf of the Trust, will take an in-depth look at the BBC's coverage of science, taking into account the views of relevant stakeholders, to make sure that the coverage adheres to the high standards that audiences expect."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/tvandradio/6941616/BBC-to-launch-review-into-allegations-of-bias-in-its-science-coverage.html
(Submitted by Ray D)

Alan & Fleck have an "Arctic Fox" of a time

2010-01-07T12:10:00.006Z

There are two particular residents of Kent who have been enjoying the cold snowy conditions more than anyone else.

Wildwoods resident Arctic foxes have been feeling right at home as snow blankets their enclosure making them truly feel they are in the arctic.

During the rest of the year Alan and his daughter Fleck find modern Britain a bit on the warm side but in the winter they really perk up.

Arctic foxes are natives of the cold arctic regions of Northern Europe and can cope with temperatures as low as -50 degrees Celsius. Once a British species they became extinct in the UK after the last ice age - mainly killed by man for food and fur.

Arctic Foxes are just one of the huge range of British animals that can be seen at the Wildwood Discovery Park, for more information visit the website at http://www.wildwoodtrust.org/ or telephone 0871 7820087.

Wildwood is an ideal day out for all the family where you can come 'nose to nose' with British Wildlife. Wildwood offers its members and visitors a truly inspirational way to learn about the natural history of Britain by actually seeing the wildlife that once lived here, like the wolf, beaver, red squirrel, wild boar and many more.

Wildwood is situated close to Canterbury, just off the A291 between Herne Bay and Canterbury. For more information visit our website at http://www.wildwoodtrust.org/ or telephone 0871 782008.
Arctic Fox Facts

Arctic fox a member of the order Carnivora and is one of 14 fox species in the dog family, the Canidae.

Foxes, unlike wolves, share many traits with cats – highly sensitive whiskers on their muzzles and wrists, lighter, more agile bodies, partially retractable claws, they stalk and pounce and have soft toe pads and hair between their toes (thought to be adaptations for sneaking up on rodents), and pointier cat-like canines for efficient killing.

One suggestion for these adaptations is that Nature came up with common solutions to common problems; another is that the fox’s cat-like features were inherited from an ancient ancestor that lived before the cat-dog split.

Intelligent and adaptable, brazen and curious.

It will defend its food against a marauding wolf, explore the deck of an icebound ship and stick its nose in an explorer’s tent.

Generally a solitary predator, hunting and feeding alone, unlike its more sociable cousins, the wolf and the dog; largely nocturnal.

The Sami people of northern Scandanavia call it svale – the bold one.

Its range is circumpolar, everywhere north of the Arctic Circle – US northern tundra, Canada from the Yukon to Hudson Bay, Labrador and Baffin Island, Norway, Sweden, Finland and northern Russia, plus almost all Arctic islands and the polar ice cap (explorers have found Arctic fox tracks within a few miles of the North Pole itself).

Some foxes stay in the same area throughout their lives; others undertake epic journeys of thousands of miles.

Population estimates vary between 300,000-1 million worldwide, but the number is considered irrelevant because populations reproduce and die in dramatic waves (boom and bust). The important consideration is that the species survives successfully on such an extreme environment.

Adaptation

Almost every aspect of Arctic fox physiology is finely tuned to conserve heat energy.

The Arctic fox breaks some of the key rules of biology: 1) that larger animals have an easier time in cold conditions because a large body has a smaller surface area, relative to its body mass (i.e. heat doesn’t leave a bulky mass as fast as it does a small one) and 2) Allen’s Rule - after zoologist Joel Allen – which states that warm-blooded animals living in cold environments tend to have shorter limbs and more compact bodies.

The Arctic fox is tiny and combines long legs and a slender body with a flatter face and shorter ears.

Its circulation is designed to conserve heat loss. The arteries and veins in the animal’s extremities are very close together, transferring heat energy from the outgoing warmed arterial blood to the incoming veins, before it can be lost in the outer extremities. So the blood in the feet and extremities is a lot cooler and the warm blood is kept circulating in the core areas of the head and torso, conserving heat. Rather than heat the whole house, the Arctic fox closes the door on those areas than can withstand a lower blood temperature. Caribou/reindeer do the same.

It can also shrink the blood vessels leading to its skin to control heat loss.

This means its paws in particular can be maintained at just above the point at which they would succumb to frostbite, well below the animal’s core body temperature.

Why is this cold tolerance so amazing?

Scientists regard the Arctic fox’s cold tolerance with awe, especially as instead of using shelter as they are usually out in the open, curled in a ball, against the worst Arctic blizzards.

The fox is dealing with the following problems:
- a difference in temperature between its blood and the air around it of perhaps 100ºC
- a barren Arctic environment with little food
- no behaviour changes to cope with the cold – it doesn’t hibernate, migrate or socialise to huddle together and conserve heat
- its size is tiny – it’s the smallest tundra animal living out in the open in winter (an adult Arctic fox weighs just 3.5Kg, compared with an Arctic hare which weighs 50% more).
Scientists say the Arctic fox is pushing animal life as far as it can go.

Many of the other Arctic species are considered cheaters – they have evolved to avoid the cold rather than endure it. Many bird species migrate south to avoid the worst of the Arctic winter and small mammals like lemmings survive by spending the entire winter in a relatively warm network of tunnels under the snow.

'The bat swooped down and bit each of the men'

2010-01-07T12:01:00.001Z

DANIEL HURST
January 6, 2010

There are fears for three men bitten by a bat infected with the potentially deadly lyssavirus in central Queensland on Tuesday.

The animal has tested positive to the Australian bat lyssavirus, which can cause serious illness in humans and has killed two people since it was identified in 1996.

The men were all attacked by the 'little red flying fox' while walking separately along a track at Joseph Banks Conservation Park near the Township of 1770, south of Gladstone.

Australian bat lyssavirus is one of seven types of lyssavirus which are found around the world, according to a Queensland Health fact file.

Another type of lyssavirus is the potentially fatal rabies.

The men - two of whom were visitors to the area - have returned to their homes in Ipswich, Hervey Bay and Agnes Water while a course of post-exposure prophylactic treatment and counselling are arranged.

''The bat swooped down and bit each of the men on the head or ears,'' acting chief health officer Christine Selvey told reporters.

"There is a risk the virus can be transmitted to humans, however we have a very highly effective treatment regime.

"If it's not correctly treated then the virus can spread along the nerves to the brain which causes an infection of the brain which would be fatal.''

The bat was killed by the third victim and then taken to Queensland Health's Coopers Plains lab for testing.

Biosecurity Queensland's principal veterinary scientist Janine Barrett said the Australian bat lyssavirus was carried by less than one per cent of the bat population, and passed on from animal to animal by scratching or biting.

Queensland Health figures show five bats tested positive to Australian bat lyssavirus last year.

Dr Selvey said the only two known cases of Australian bat lyssavirus in humans were in the 1990s.

Both were fatal.

''Since then we have introduced routine prophylaxis for bat bites and scratches and there have been no further cases,'' she said.

Anyone attacked by a bat is urged to contact medical authorities.

http://www.brisbanetimes.com.au/queensland/the-bat-swooped-down-and-bit-each-of-the-men-20100106-lu3f.html
(Submitted by Matt Cardier)

Why Nessie may have sunk without trace

2010-01-07T11:52:00.003Z

Click to enlarge

Metro, 7 January 2010, p25.

Melbourne Zoo's pregnant elephant

2010-01-07T11:47:00.002Z

Metro, 7 January 2010, p21.

Taiwan scientist discovers 'strawberry' crab

2010-01-07T11:33:00.003Z

5 January 2010

TAIPEI — A Taiwanese marine biologist said Tuesday he had found a new species of crab which is coloured like a polka-dotted strawberry.

Professor Ho Ping-ho of National Taiwan Ocean University said he made the discovery while carrying out research on the environmental impact from a shipwreck last year on the beaches of southern Kenting National Park.

"One was dead while the other was dying when they were found on a beach of Chialoshui," Ho told AFP, referring to a scenic coastal village in the national park.

The two female crabs, with the bigger one measuring 2.5 centimetres (one inch) in size, have been made into specimens.

"Luckily the oil leak from the shipwreck was not serious, otherwise the two crabs might have been polluted and escaped our eyes," Ho said.

The professor said he was writing an essay on the new species.

http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5j-55UkNcr2A2-bnLhsbnuPt473xw
(Submitted by Chad Arment)

Fossil tracks record 'oldest land-walkers'

2010-01-06T18:25:00.002Z

Wednesday, 6 January 2010

By Jonathan Amos
Science correspondent, BBC News

The oldest evidence of four-legged animals walking on land has been discovered in southeast Poland.

Rocks from a disused quarry record the "footprints" of unknown creatures that lived about 397 million years ago.

Scientists tell the journal Nature that the fossil trackways even retain the impressions left by the "toes" on the animals' feet.

The team says the find means that land vertebrates appeared millions of years earlier than previously supposed.

"This place has yielded what I consider to be some of the most exciting fossils I've ever encountered in my career as a palaeontologist," said team member Per Ahlberg from Uppsala University, Sweden.

"[They are] fossil of footprints that give us the earliest record of how our very distant ancestors moved out of the water and moved on to the land and took their first steps."

Numerous trackways have been identified in the Zachelmie Quarry in the Holy Cross Mountains.

They represent the movements of many animals as they scurried around what would have been a tropical muddy shoreline in the Middle Devonian Period of Earth history.

Slabs of carbonate rock are dappled with prints that range in size and detail.

Some indentations are obscured where successive animals have trampled over the same patch of ground; but others retain exquisite features of the pads and digits that made them.

The animals were probably crocodile-like in appearance and lived an amphibian-like existence (although those specific animal forms did not appear until many millions of years later).

The dimensions of the prints suggest some individuals were more than two metres long.

The Polish and Swedish scientific team analysed the trackway patterns to reconstruct how the ancient creatures would have moved their "hips", "elbows" and "knees".

This confirms that only true four-legged animals, or tetrapods, could have left the marks.

Theory holds that the first land creatures evolved from fish that had pairs of lobed fins. The precise timing of this transition has been a dynamic field of study in recent years.

The assumption of palaeontologists had been that there was a swift but stepwise transition between water and land.

Perhaps the most notable fossil in this story is an organism called Tikaalik rosea, an animal that had features intermediate between fish and tetrapods.

But Tiktaalik lived about 375 million years ago; and although there are slightly older transition fossils, the Zachelmie Quarry tetrapods break the neat and simple timeline.

"The discovery of undoubted trackways from the earliest period of the Eifelian - that is 379 million years ago - pushes back the divergence between fishes and the four-legged vertebrates by about 18 million years, if not probably more," commented Dr Philippe Janvier from the National Museum of Natural History, Paris, France.

"I suspect that now we can push the divergence back to the Emsian stage, maybe 400 million years ago. That's surprising, but this is what the fossil evidence tells us," the independent researcher told BBC News.

Another key surprise from the research is the recognition that these tetrapods lived in a marine environment, perhaps a coral lagoon.

The favoured origin before now for the emergence of tetrapods had been marshy environments, such as deltas or lakes where freshwater dominated.

The team behind the latest research said the new explanation made sense because it would have allowed marine ancestors of tetrapods gradually to acquire terrestrial competence while accessing a new and essentially untouched resource of food washed up with the tides.

"In the intertidal setting, you've got a smorgasbord laid out twice a day," said Dr Ahlberg.

"Every time the tide goes out, it leaves behind this drift-line of dead and moribund animals. All this was just left there for vertebrates - our ancestors - to emerge on to land and pick them off."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/8443879.stm

Loch Ness monster death rumours denied

2010-01-06T17:09:00.000Z

The head of the Loch Ness monster's fan club has denied suggestions that the animal is dead following just one credible sighting last year.

Published: 6:25AM GMT 06 Jan 2010

A new documentary examines the possibility that the monster might be extinct as its reported appearances become increasingly rare.

Gary Campbell, president of the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club, said only one sighting, made just off the Clansman Hotel on 6th June, 2009, was judged by him to have been a credible report.

And according to Mr Campbell such reports are increasingly rare.

He said: ""That's why were so relieved to have heard about this sighting.

"In June, when it was reported, nobody had seen anything for a year. If it hadn't been for that one, we would have been really, really worried.

"There is an embarrassment factor to seeing Nessie. The first thing people say to you is, 'Had you had a drink?'

"Ten years ago we had a lot of good sightings, but in the last two or three years, they have tailed off."

He added: "What we regard as a dependable sighting is very much down to the person who sees it.

"This was a local chap who knows the things that Nessie isn't - boat wakes, debris on the loch or seals in the summer. A local person will know what these things look like."

However, there were a number of "more dubious" sightings over the course of 2009. These included a sonar contact witnessed by "'Allo,'Allo" star Vicki Michelle and other cast members from the stage version of the popular BBC sit-com when they took a pleasure cruise on Loch Ness in May during the play's week-long run at Eden Court.

Their boat, the Jacobite Queen, picked up five mysterious arch shapes on its sonar between Dores and Urquhart Castle.

Also claiming a possible Nessie picture was data analyst Ian Monckton from Solihull who used his car headlights and the flash from his camera, to take a picture of what he thought could be the elusive monster while driving to Invermoriston late at night.

The 2009 episode "Death at Loch Ness" of the documentary series "MonsterQuest" looked at the theory that the Loch Ness Monster might be extinct.

In this programme researcher Robert Rhines' claim that Nessie, if it existed, may now in fact be dead and its corpse is lying somewhere at the bottom of Loch Ness is investigated.

To prove this theory wrong, Mr Campbell hopes new witnesses might come forward.

"If people start to believe this, it might start to affect tourist numbers.

"Whether you believe in Nessie or not, the Loch Ness Monster is one of the most important tourist attractions we have.

"Perhaps, though, the answers are to be found underwater instead of on the loch's surface.

"Unknown sonar contacts happen all the time.

"Maybe Nessie is just keeping her head down."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6936872/Loch-Ness-monster-death-rumours-denied.html

Loch Ness Monster 'is not extinct'

2010-01-06T17:05:00.002Z

Wednesday, January 6 2010, 11:47 GMT
By Mayer Nissim, Entertainment Reporter

The president of the Official Loch Ness Monster Fan Club has said that reports of the creature's death have been greatly exaggerated.

Gary Campbell said that he was concerned until Nessie was spotted near the Clansman Hotel on June 6 last year, The Daily Telegraph reports.

Campbell said: "That's why were so relieved to have heard about this sighting. In June, when it was reported, nobody had seen anything for a year. If it hadn't been for that one, we would have been really, really worried.

"Ten years ago we had a lot of good sightings, but in the last two or three years, they have tailed off. What we regard as a dependable sighting is very much down to the person who sees it."

Of the suggestions that the famed monster had died, he continued: "If people start to believe this, it might start to affect tourist numbers.

"Whether you believe in Nessie or not, the Loch Ness Monster is one of the most important tourist attractions we have."

He added: "Perhaps, though, the answers are to be found underwater instead of on the loch's surface.

"Unknown sonar contacts happen all the time. Maybe Nessie is just keeping her head down."

http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/odd/news/a194293/loch-ness-monster-is-not-extinct.html

Two killer whale types found in UK waters

2010-01-06T16:58:00.002Z

Tuesday, 5 January 2010

By Jody Bourton
Earth News reporter

Scientists have revealed that there is not one but two types of killer whale living in UK waters.

Each differs in its appearance and diet, with males of one type being almost two metres longer than the other.

The killer whales could be at an early stage of becoming two separate species, the researchers say.

The international group of scientists has published its results in the journal Molecular Ecology.

"It's exciting to think about two very different types of killer whale in the waters around Britain," says Dr Andy Foote from the University of Aberdeen, UK, who undertook the study.

"Killer whales aren't really a species that we think of as being a regular visitor to Britain, but in fact we have two forms of these killer whales in our waters," he told the BBC.

Scientists have found different forms of killer whale that occupy particular niches in the Pacific and the Antarctic, but this is the first time that they have been described in the North Atlantic.

Dr Andy Foote undertook the study along with colleagues from universities and museums in Denmark and the UK.

Killer whales (Orcinus orca), otherwise called orcas, live in family groups called pods.

As the largest member of the dolphin family, killer whales are known for their intelligence and range of hunting behaviours.

Tooth work

There was very little prior to this study to suggest that different types of killer whale would be found in the North Atlantic.

However, Dr Foote and colleagues studied teeth from remains of killer whales stranded over the past 200 years and found a difference in tooth wear.

"We found that one form, which we call 'type 1' had severely worn teeth in all adult specimens," explains Dr Foote.

"The other form, 'type 2', had virtually no tooth wear even in the largest adults."

In the wild, killer whales that "suck up" herring and mackerel display this tooth wear.

Knowing this, the researchers suspected a difference in diet and ecological niche between the two groups.

Dolphin predator

Using stable isotope analysis that gives clues to the orcas' diet, the scientists found that type 1 is a generalist feeder, consuming fish and seals.

Type 2, on the other hand, is a specialist feeder that scientists suspect exclusively feeds on marine mammals such as small dolphins and whales.

This specialisation for alternative ecological niches has also resulted in a difference in shape and appearance.

"The two types also differed in length, with type 2 adult males being almost two metres larger than types 1 males," Dr Foote says.

The researchers also found that colour, pattern and number of teeth vary between the groups.

Dr Foote says the fish feeding type 1 killer whales are found across the North East Atlantic and around Britain.

The cetacean hunting type 2 killer whales are regularly seen off the west coast of Scotland and Ireland.

New species

Genetic analysis indicates the two types belong to two different populations.

"Type 1 specimens were from closely related populations, but the type 2 whales were more closely related to a group of Antarctic killer whales," Dr Foote explains.

Comparing the findings with studies on killer whales around the world shows that killer whales have radiated to fill different ecological niches.

"It's similar to how Darwin's finches have adapted to different ecological roles in the Galapagos, but on a larger scale," Dr Foote notes.

He suggests this could be an important discovery for the future of the animals.

"They seem to have occupied completely different ecological niches and have started to diverge morphologically. This divergence may eventually lead to the two types becoming different species."

He also recommends the two types be considered "evolutionary significant units" and monitored separately in order to more effectively conserve one of the oceans most charismatic animals.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8440000/8440002.stm

(Submitted by Liz R)

The giant Amazon arapaima fish is 'under threat'

2010-01-05T14:40:00.003Z

By Matt Walker
Editor, Earth News

The arapaima, a giant species of fish that lurks in the Amazon river, may be threatened by overfishing.

Studies reveal that errors in the classification of the species could mean that it is being pushed closer to the edge of extinction than thought.

The arapaima is the largest freshwater fish with scales in the world.

But there may actually be four species rather than one, say scientists, and a lack of research and management may allow some to be fished to extinction.

The threat to the future of these fish has been revealed in research conducted by Dr Leandro Castello of the Woods Hole Research Center in Falmouth, Massachusetts, US, and Professor Donald Stewart of the State University of New York in Syracuse, US.

They have reviewed what is known about populations of the arapaima, and conducted detailed investigations into the status of the fish in the wild.

Previously, it was thought there was one species of arapaima (Arapaima gigas), which also goes by the common names pirarucu or paiche.

This perspective is based on a taxonomic review done over 160 years ago.

Adults grow to almost 3m in length and can weigh more than 200kg, making the fish the largest with scales living in freshwater anywhere in the world.

They are also air-breathers, coming to the surface every 5 to 15 minutes to gulp air, a behaviour which allows them to colonise muddy oxygen-poor rivers and lakes within the Amazonian basin and prey on other fish that find it difficult to move in such conditions.

However, in an ongoing study, Prof Stewart has analysed nearly all preserved specimens of supposed arapaima available in museums in the world.

So far he has only found one specimen of Arapaima gigas.

The others are suspected to be closely related species, including some as yet unreported.

"Our new analyses indicate that there are at least four species of arapaima," says Dr Castello.

"So, until further field surveys of appropriate areas are completed, we will not know if Arapaima gigas is extinct or still swimming about."

Concern about the fish's numbers comes from other work done by Dr Castello and Prof Stewart.

That suggests that arapaima sexually mature relatively late, and need very specific habitats to both live and reproduce.

Their research also shows that populations of the fish are being put under severe pressure by fishermen.

Because of the fish's huge size and habit of coming to the surface, it has long been a favoured fish to catch, with fisherman using harpoons and gill nets to land their prey.

"They have the curse of being tasty and of having to breathe air," says Dr Castello.

Fishermen have been catching large numbers of arapaima in this way since the 1800s.

But now, while a few populations are increasing, others are being overfished, say the researchers, who have published a paper warning of the fish's fate in the Journal of Applied Ichthyology.

And while Brazil implemented regulations to manage arapaima fisheries some 20 years ago, most fishermen do not follow the regulations, say the authors.

"Arapaima can be viewed as badly overexploited and under some level of threat of extinction," says Dr Castello.

One solution, they say, is to encourage community-based schemes for fisheries, and there is much need for additional action on the part of the government.

For example, their research shows that fishermen who specialise in hunting arapaima with harpoons can accurately count the fish, due to the fish's habit of breaching the surface for air.

The fishermen can then select a sustainable proportion of the population to hunt.

"Populations of arapaima managed with this system increased about 50% annually, while yielding increasing catches and hence economic profits to the fishermen," says Dr Castello.

Around 100 such community schemes are in place, and some previously overexploited populations have recovered.

"Such results are extremely rare in wildlife conservation, especially in tropical countries where wildlife conservation challenges are greater than elsewhere," says Dr Castello.

But much more needs to be done to research these fish in more detail and prevent overfishing, the scientists warn.

In particular, "the present situation may be one in which one species of arapaima is recovering in certain areas, while unrecognised species are going extinct," they say.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/newsid_8428000/8428949.stm
(Submitted by Lidsay Selby)

Cambridge role in chameleon discovery

2010-01-05T10:57:00.003Z

The newly discovered chameleon (Kinyongia magomberae), found by conservation zoologist Trevor Jones in the Udzungwa Mountains of Tanzania.

News - Academia/Research
Written by News Desk
Tuesday, 05 January 2010 10:32

A new species of chameleon discovered in Tanzania has been identified and named by a team of life science experts including Anglia Ruskin University Research Fellow Trevor Jones.

Conservation zoologist Trevor was the first to photograph the newly-named ‘Magombera’ chameleon when he spotted it walking on the inside of his tent.

He was camped in the Mwanihana forest, in the Udzungwa Mountains of south-central Tanzania, studying endangered monkeys, and knew that there was no species of its kind reported from that site.

One year later, Dr Andrew Marshall, from the University of York, also spotted the reptile while surveying monkeys in another forest, the Magombera Forest, when he disturbed a tree snake eating one. The specimen was collected and tested and compared to others found in East Africa.

The study that followed included Dr Marshall and researchers from the Meseo Tridentino di Scienze Naturali, the South African National Biodiversity Institute, Anglia Ruskin University and the University of Stellenbosch.

Anglia Ruskin University’s Faculty of Science & Technology’s life sciences team has also been instrumental in the discovery of a new species of monkey and elephant-shrew, both in Tanzania.

The chameleon has been named Kinyongia magomberae (the Magombera chameleon). It was named after the second forest it was discovered in, to highlight this unprotected and highly threatened site. It is hoped that the naming of the chameleon will help to convince the government to give further protection to the area.

The Magombera discovery brings the total of known chameleon species to 161. Chameleons are a specialised group of lizards that often have the ability to change colours and are known for their dinosaur-like heads and parrot-like feet. The new species is most easily distinguished from its closest relatives by a very small and immobile horn-like appendage on the end of its nose.

Trevor Jones is a conservation zoologist who has worked on a wide range of mammals and birds in East Africa and Europe. Since 2002, he has carried out ecological research, monitoring and training in the biodiverse forests of the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania.

From 2002-2004, he habituated a group of endemic Sanje mangabeys, and completed the first systematic study of their ecology and behaviour. In 2004, during an exhibition searching for unconfirmed populations of mangabeys, he instead discovered one of the two known populations of ‘kipunji’, Africa’s first new monkey species for 20 years.

http://www.businessweekly.co.uk/2010010536020/academia/research/cambridge-role-in-chameleon-discovery.html

Dolphins Are 'Non-Human Persons'

2010-01-05T10:56:00.000Z

Scientists agree on this amazing statement

By Tudor Vieru, Science Editor
5th of January 2010, 09:20 GMT

The scientific community has finally come to a consensus regarding dolphins. Experts believe that the marine animals are the second most intelligent species on the planet after humans. The creatures are so smart and bright, that they should be referred to as non-human persons, they add. Recent research has demonstrated that their brains are similar to our own in many key features that denote high intelligence. Other tests have also shown that dolphins can learn basic language, and also that they are a lot smarter than chimpanzees. The primates have been considered for a long time the second most intelligent species, but the new work disproves that, Times Online reports.

“Many dolphin brains are larger than our own and second in mass only to the human brain when corrected for body size. The neuroanatomy suggests psychological continuity between humans and dolphins and has profound implications for the ethics of human-dolphin interactions,” zoologist Lori Marino, from the Atlanta, Georgia-based Emory University, explains. The expert scanned the brains of many dolphins using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), and also conducted a number of comparative tests between the brains of the marine animals and those of primates.

Previous investigations in dolphins' routines showed that each of the animals had a unique personality that was shaped by the society it lived in, exactly as was the case with humans. They also communicate with each other via a complex language, even if not articulated. They have the ability to recognize themselves in the mirror, which makes them one of a handful of species capable of doing this. Some specialists say that a fully developed dolphin can reach the level of intelligence of a three-year-old human being, which is no small feat.

The animals also have the ability to teach each other various tricks. For example, a formerly captive dolphin that was taught to tail-walk in an aquarium, was seen teaching others to do the same thing, after it was released. Needless to say, the researchers were amazed to see this happening right before their eyes. The feat denotes a high degree of intelligence, trust and cooperation on the animals' part, which is very rare to come by in species other than humans. “The scientific research […] suggests that dolphins are ‘non-human persons’ who qualify for moral standing as individuals,” Loyola Marymount University Ethics Professor Thomas White says.

http://news.softpedia.com/news/Dolphins-Are-Non-Human-Persons-131113.shtml

Family: Edinburgh Zoo

2010-01-05T10:55:00.000Z

Published Date: 04 January 2010
By JANET CHRISTIE

If you go down to the zoo today be sure you're wrapped in a warm, furry coat. And even then you might find Corstophine Hill a little on the chilly side, rather like the animals, a substantial number of whom had retreated into their nests, burrows, pens and generally cosy places when we visited.

The painted hunting dogs dozed deep among the hay, dreaming of the dog days of summer on the plains of their African homeland, the gibbons curled tight around each other like a two-for-one scarf offer in the sales and the flamingos were just a pink blush of a memory, nowhere to be seen.

Which left centre stage to the penguins, who couldn't have been happier with the cold snap. They puffed out their chests, waddled up to meet any visitors, proudly showed off their fluffy King Penguin baby, the first at the zoo in five years, flapped along to the end of their diving board and took turns to do a will-I-won't-I routine, then flopped into the icy water and performed underwater aerobatics with an exhilaration we've never seen them display in summer. They were looping the loop and kicking their height with delight, loving every minute. We could have watched them all day, if we hadn't lost the feeling in our feet and fingers after half an hour and retreated to the monkey house where a warm welcome awaited us.

Cheeky little monkeys of various varieties performed on the ropes and beautiful big Drills, with Cheryl Cole cheekbones and a steady gaze held ours. "They look sad," said my daughter, aged six (pictured left). But with so few left in just a tiny area of the Congo, they're a perfect example of the argument for keeping animals in captivity in order to protect the species, and to engage in conservation and research. That can also be said of the pygmy hippos whose pen we visited next to see the baby born this summer. With so few people visiting the zoo, now is the perfect time to engage the keepers in conversation and we heard of their excitement when the newborn hippo was found in the pen, and that they're one of only two breeding pairs in the UK.

Back out on the hill, by the time we'd reached the place where the big cats live I was ready to climb in beside the tigers and leopards for a cuddle but, after a quick count of spots and stripes, we headed instead for the Budongo Trail, where Edinburgh Zoo's chimps hang out in their new state-of-the-art home. As we thawed and watched their antics, we also learnt a bit about the Royal Zoological Society's work with chimps in Uganda and then before we knew it, it was chucking out time. It had happened again – time had been gobbled up like a croc chewing on a wildebeest and we hadn't seen half of the animals we'd intended to visit and we left, saying as always: "We'll be back."

Edinburgh Zoo, 134 Corstorphine Road, Edinburgh, EH12 6TS, 0131-334 9171, www.edinburghzoo.org.uk, open every day, November to February 9am to 4.30pm, tickets adults £14, children 3-15, £9.50, under threes free, concession £12, family tickets from £29.

• This article first appeared in the Scotsman on Saturday 2 January, 2010

http://living.scotsman.com/features/Family-Edinburgh-Zoo.5952245.jp

Sharks need friends

2010-01-05T10:53:00.000Z

By danielclark, YourNews contributor
Posted January 4, 2010

SEBASTIAN — Sharks - demons of the sea - or a diverse group of animals that deserves an image makeover?

Marine biologist Hannah Mead will change your perception of them in "Even Sharks Need Friends," a presentation of the Turtle Coast Sierra Club at the Library in Sebastian on Jan. 19, at 7 p.m.

Mead will show you what makes a shark a shark, and how those traits make them susceptible to overfishing. Emerging evidence suggests that the use of unsustainable fishing practices, like long lining and a profitable market for shark fins, are causing the depletion of local and global shark populations.

Mead earned dual degrees in Marine Biology and Ecology from Florida Tech. She recently returned from living in South Africa, where she earned a Master's degree in Zoology from the Marine Biology Research Institute at the University of Cape Town. All of her free time was spent at sea with white sharks, either tagging/observing them for governmental and PhD projects, or as an onboard scientist for a commercial cage diving company, promoting education and conservation among the clients.

Her free time was also spent catching shy sharks for research or cruising with the cow sharks off the Cape peninsula and the whale sharks of Mozambique. Being immersed in such a "sharky" community solidified her commitment to research, and their conservation.

Admission to this program is free and open to the public. A social hour with refreshments begins at 6:30 p.m. The North Indian River County Library is located three miles west of U.S. 1 on Sebastian Boulevard. Call (772) 589-1355 for more information.

http://www.tcpalm.com/news/2010/jan/04/sharks-need-friends-1281/

Zoological Survey stall a huge draw

2010-01-05T10:49:00.001Z

Staff Reporter

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Tarantula spider, kept in a sand-filled glass case, was centre of attention at the Zoological Survey of India (ZSI) stall at the Pride of India Exhibition organised on the sidelines of the ongoing 97th Indian Science Congress.

Most visitors tapped and stroked the glass case trying to evoke some response while the exhibitors requested them to leave the creature in peace.

Tarantulas are found in tropical and desert regions and are mostly harmless to humans.

The spider was the only live specimen on display at the stall. Preserved exhibits of rare moths, dragonflies, butterflies, fish varieties and small reptiles endemic to the Western Ghats were drawing crowds. Preserved specimens of ‘atlas moth,’ the largest moth species in the country; the rare ‘pig nosed frog, also called ‘living fossil,’ etc were on display.

“It is called living fossil because molecular studies show that this species has not had any morphological changes since two million years. Which means that it has lived with the dinosaurs,” said K.P. Dinesh, zoological assistant at ZSI, Kozhikode.

The Giant Earth Worm, another species endemic to Nilambur in Kerala, is another interesting display. This worm can grow up to a metre in length.

Taxidermy of a large size anteater was another interesting sight at the stall which also had on display lively pictures of the flora and fauna from the Western Ghats.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/05/stories/2010010550530200.htm

Canadian family's dog saves 11-year-old boy from cougar

2010-01-05T10:43:00.001Z

A Canadian family's golden retriever saved its 11-year-old owner's life on Saturday when the boy was charged by a cougar in British Columbia.

Published: 11:52PM GMT 04 Jan 2010

Austin Forman was in his family's garden in Boston Bar with Angela, the family's 18-month-old pet dog, when he was charged by the wild cat.

Angel positioned herself between her young master and the cougar, sustaining puncture wounds.

"I was really scared. At first, I didn't know it was a cougar. I thought it was another dog," Austin told the Canadian news website CTV News on Sunday. "As soon as it went underneath the light, I saw that it was a cougar. I knew at that moment, I had to go inside."

The boy fled into his home, yelling: "A cougar is eating Angel!"

Sherri Forman, Austin's mother, called police, and a nearby constable from the RCMP sped to the scene, where the wild cat was attacking the dog.

The cougar had dragged Angel under the porch, where it continued to savage the dog's neck and face despite the officer firing two rounds into its hind quarters.

When the officer finally shot and killed the wild cat, its jaws remained closed on the dog's face.

When the cat was finally killed, the dog was silent for a few moments, then took a big gasp of air and got to her feet.

The dog, which has a swollen eye, was expected to recover with the help of a local vet.

Mrs Forman praised the family pet.

"She must've known something was up," she said. "Now, she's our guardian angel."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/northamerica/canada/6933888/Canadian-familys-dog-saves-11-year-old-boy-from-cougar.html

See also: http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20100104/bc_cougar_100104/20100104?hub=Canada (inlcudes video)
(Submitted by Kelly McGillis)

Mammoth Task As London Zoo Takes Stock

2010-01-05T10:40:00.000Z

2:49am UK, Tuesday January 05, 2010

Laura Bundock, Sky News Online

From the tallest giraffes to the tiniest spiders, London Zoo is carrying out its annual animal stock take.

Zookeepers there will spend the day counting every creature.

Which is easy if you're in charge of the slow-moving sloths, but slightly trickier if you're Rachel Jones, the aquarium manager.

With 5,500 fish to count, it can get confusing.

"There are some that spend their lives living in the rock and occasionally you'll see a little face poking out, and you have to be quick to count it," she said.

"Others bomb all over the place and are really hard to catch up with."

It's not just the fish which are counted. Every coral, snail and starfish is also added up.

London Zoo is home to 752 species and, with several new exhibits, this year's stock take will be the zoo's biggest ever.

Last year, they counted 15,107 animals. This time around, there are giant Galapagos tortoises, aardvarks, a new Komodo dragon and newborn lion cubs to include.

And with births, deaths and even disappearances each year, the annual roll call is vital for keeping tabs on the zoo's inhabitants.

"On the whole we've got a good idea of how many animals there are, especially if they change tanks or we move them, but the count does give us a clear picture of exactly who's where," added Rachel.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/UK-News/London-Zoo-Starts-Stock-Take-Of-All-Its-Animals-Insects-And-Aquatic-Creatures/Article/201001115514283?f=rss

Mouse nest found on policeman's filthy desk

2010-01-05T10:37:00.001Z

Exterminators called in to deal with an infestation at a police station found a mouse nest on a messy desk.

Published: 9:21AM GMT 05 Jan 2010

Pest controllers were called to an office in Kennington, south London, used by weapons and technology experts at the Metropolitan Police after reports of 'mice everywhere'.

According to internal police reports, a family of mice even set up home in one police worker's desk - burying themselves in his paperwork.

The report reminds workers of 'the Met's clear desk policy' - meaning everything on your desk must be filed away by the end of each day so cleaners can do their jobs.

It states: "Employees came across a number of mice at a police building.

"Action was taken to remove the mice from the premises and there have not been any sighting of mice since."

A spokeswoman for the Met said that the 'paperwork home' set up on one desk by mice consisted of 'paperwork that did not relate to operational police matters'.

"Some of the desks were so messy it was a wonder anyone could find anything," said one officer.

"It got to the stage where mice droppings were found on desks and that's when everyone thought 'it's time to do something about our desks'.

"That's when one guy found a mouse nest in his paperwork. It's fair to say he was a little embarrassed."

Lambeth cops spend more than £25,000 on vermin exterminators last year, including £4,299 to get rid of 'unwanted birds' and £12,018 on 'rodent or mammal extermination'.

The sum also included £108 for 'getting rid of geese', although a police spokesman could not shed any further light on this particular expense.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6935222/Mouse-nest-found-on-policemans-filthy-desk.html

Kumble to co-opt Men in Blue to save forests and animals

2010-01-05T10:03:00.000Z

Mysore, Jan 3, DH News Service:

Anil Kumble has said he will co-opt his fellow cricketers for advocating conservation of the rich natural resources of Karnataka.

The former India cricket team skipper, who is Vice-Chairman of Karnataka Wildlife Board said on Sunday that many Indian cricketers were interested in protection of wildlife and they would be requested to create awareness among people.

“The time has come to show that both man and animal can co-exist without giving any scope for confrontation,” said Kumble, who was here in connection with the valedictory function of Youth Club of Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens. There was urgent need to protect whatever wild animals left in Karnataka forests, he felt.

After assuming office as vice-chairman of Wildlife Board, he had visited Bandipur National Park and interacted with field staff and also with forest officials working in the national park.He came across several shortfalls in maintaining the national park and discused problems of the staff. He would submit a detailed report to the State government for action.

He said he would also be visiting Nagarhole National park to study problems and issues. Protection of flora and fauna is everybody’s duty and participation of general public in this endeavour is a must.

Patrolling must

Asked about his impressions of his visit to Bandipur National Park, Kumble said every State is facing one or the other problems in regard to protection of flora and fauna. As for Karnataka, there is an critical need to intensify patrolling of roads that pass through national parks in order to check rash and negligent driving. People tended to drive vehicles in neck-break speed without concerns for animals, resulting in death of wild animals.

Kumble said the Wildlife Board intended to help the Department of Forest which is striving for protection of natural resources. He would like to meet villagers and understand their problems in order to put an end to the problem of man-animal confrontation especially in villages bordering forests. The problem of animals straying into villages is because of encroachment of forest by people. NGOs will be involved in the efforts.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/44749/kumble-co-opt-men-blue.html

Firefighters battle blaze, and many, many pythons

2010-01-04T19:40:00.000Z

Firefighters trying to control a trailer fire in southern Utah discovered they had an unexpected further problem to contend with: lots of snakes.

Tom Phillips

Kristeen Checketts, the animal control officer in St. George, Utah, said there were about 19 pet pythons in the trailer when it caught fire Thursday morning at a park for recreational vehicles.

Once the fire was put out, Checketts and firefighters began pulling out snake after snake - most of them in cages, and some up to 18 feet (5.5 meters) long.

Checketts says 11of the reptiles survived, according to The Spectrum newspaper.

The snakes' owner tried to revive another by massaging it and blowing into its mouth through a plastic pipe.

Fire Captain Jason Whipple says the accidental fire started with a heat lamp in one of the snake cages.

http://www.metro.co.uk/weird/807709-firefighters-battle-blaze-and-many-many-pythons

Puffin warden wanted for Welsh island

2010-01-04T19:36:00.000Z

A fresh start for the New Year is up for grabs - as a castaway on a remote island with just half a million birds for company.

Published: 10:09AM GMT 04 Jan 2010

The vacancy for the job as warden of Skomer Island is expected to attract hundreds of applications from people wanting to get away from it all.

It is being described as the British equivalent of The Best Job in the World - the competition held last year to find a warden for Australia's Great Barrier Reef.

Skomer, two miles off the Pembrokeshire coast, has no blazing sunshine, coral reef or exotic wildlife.

But to those who want the great escape, it is closest Britain has to a desert island paradise.

It has no mains water, no electricity, no roads, shop, or pub, and is separated from the mainland by Jack Sound, one of the most treacherous stretches of water off the British coast.

It is inhabited by puffins, manx shearwaters, kittiwakes, razor bills and guillemots, along with thousands of wild rabbits.

It even has its own unique species - a tiny creature called the Skomer Vole which is not found anywhere else in the world.

The island is carpeted by bluebells throughout the spring and surrounded by a marine reserve, rich in sealife, including dolphins and porpoises.

And the new warden will live in a clifftop bungalow in the heart of the island's main puffin colony.

Wildlife Trust of South and West Wales chief executive Sarah Kessell said: "We are looking for a very special person to take care of our flagship reserve.

"The warden will have to manage people and resources, be familiar with conservation techniques and be confident on board boats."

The vacancy has come up because the current warden Jo Milborrow wants to return to the mainland after six years on Skomer and its sister island Skokholm.

She and her husband Dave, the assistant warden on Skomer, want a fresh challenge.

Jo, 33, said: "After six unforgettable years we have packed up and shipped our belongings off for the last time.

"I feel incredibly lucky to have lived in such an amazing place.

"Gaining an intimate knowledge of one place, its wildlife and seasonal rhythms are things I value greatly.

"This in-depth relationship with our surroundings is hard to establish in modern life."

The job pays between £14,000 and £16,000 for a 48 hours week with accommodation thrown in free.

Part of the work involves greeting the hundreds of birdwatchers and day trippers who arrive by the tiny ferry boat in the spring and summer - weather permitting.

But only the warden and a few overnight visitors get to see the island's greatest spectacle - the nightly arrival of hundreds of thousands of Manx Shearwaters, a rare seabird which lives underground.

A third of the world's breeding population of Manx Shearwaters breed each summer on Skomer before flying off to warmer climes in the winter.

Jo said: "To have shared my home with puffins, peregrine falcons, shearwaters and storm petrels and to be able to help protect these birds and inspire other people about them has been a high point of my life.

"I wish the new warden as many memorable times as we have been lucky enough to share."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthnews/6931016/Puffin-warden-wanted-for-Welsh-island.html

Couple taped up tortoises to smuggle into Britain

2010-01-04T19:33:00.001Z

A couple kept seven wild tortoises in a hotel room while holidaying on a Greek island then tried to smuggle them into the UK, a court heard today.

Published: 3:54PM GMT 04 Jan 2010

Herpetologist Michael Mates and his partner Carol Wormley, both 42 and from Walthamstow, east London, returned from Corfu with the animals hidden in luggage, magistrates in Harlow, Essex, were told.

Both were ordered to carry out unpaid work and banned from keeping reptiles for 10 years after admitting breaking laws designed to protect wildlife.

Prosecutor Angela Hughes said the Hermann's Tortoises had been taken from their natural habitat in Corfu then packed in bags and suitcases. She said one was taped to stop it moving around.

Miss Hughes said the couple kept the creatures in a hotel room before taking them on to a plane and flying to Stansted.

She told the court that both were arrested when they landed at the airport in July.

Magistrates were told that Gates was a herpetologist who had a collection of reptiles.

Jeremy Sirrell, for Gates, said his client had been trying to rescue the tortoises after seeing them treated cruelly and had not intended to sell them.

Mr Sirrell said while on holiday Gates had picked up tortoises he saw being kicked around by boys, then bought more from a ''woman selling flowers''.

He said Gates had been ''stupid'' by deciding to bring the tortoises home instead of going through proper channels.

David Dadds, for Wormley, said his client had ''gone along'' with Gates' wishes and had not understood that what she was doing was wrong.

Gates, who worked as a driver, admitted causing unnecessary suffering, failing to ensure animals' needs were met and transporting live animals taken from the wild. He was ordered to carrying out 150 hours of unpaid work. Wormley, who worked in the retail industry, admitted failing to ensure animals' needs were met and transporting live animals taken from the wild. She was ordered to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6932083/Couple-taped-up-tortoises-to-smuggle-into-Britain.html

Giant tongue almost kills dog

2010-01-04T19:32:00.000Z

04 January 2010 16:30 PM

A dog in Scotland almost died after an accident left her with a giant tongue.

Family pet Penny almost suffocated when her tongue swelled to four times its normal size following a bizarre accident.

The pooch was tucking into to her favourite treat - a pig's heart - when part of the dead animal's aorta became stuck around the base of her tongue.

As her mouth muscle started to swell, the 18-year-old animal frantically clawed at her face to try and free it.

Penny's owner Linda Donnelly rushed the animal to a pet hospital in Glasgow.

Vet Dermot Mullen said: "I am just pleased I was able to save her. The prognosis was not at all good."

Linda added: "Pigs' hearts are now completely off the menu!"

http://entertainment.stv.tv/showbiz/147971-giant-tongue-almost-kills-dog/

Ivory Power

2010-01-04T19:05:00.000Z

A forensic zoologist has devised a smart way to limit the world trade in illegal ivory. Under EU law, only antique ivory from before 1947 can be traded legally but there was no accurate way to date ivory... until now.

Dr Ross McEwing from Edinbugh Zoo has devised a technique to test for levels of the carbon 14 isotope in bones and tusks. The higher the level, the more likely it is to originate for the post-1947 era. Testing begins this summer.

Metro, 4 January 2010, p9.

Frito the llama escapes getting munched, back at home in Wyo. after 2nd llama killed by cougar

2010-01-04T18:53:00.002Z

Associated Press
Last update: December 31, 2009 - 1:50 PM

ALTA, Wyo. - Frito the llama defied his name and didn't get eaten.

Lou Centrella seemed sure that was Frito's fate after a mountain lion killed another of his llamas on Sunday. Frito was nowhere to be found after the attack on the other llama, named Grayson.

On Monday, the cougar returned to the Centrellas' yard in western Wyoming to feed on the llama it had killed. Concerned the big cat may have acquired a taste for llama, Centrella shot it.

Wildlife officials say he was within his rights, but Centrella says he felt bad about killing the mountain lion.

Centrella and his daughters Lane and Mila went looking for Frito on Wednesday. They found him four miles away, across the state line in Driggs, Idaho.

They put a rope on the errant llama and led him home through the snow.
___
Information from: Jackson Hole News And Guide, http://www.jhnewsandguide.com/

http://www.startribune.com/nation/80430382.html?elr=KArks:DCiU1OiP:DiiUiacyKU7DYaGEP7vDEh7P:DiUX

(Submitted by D.R. Shoop)

Tropical wildlife washed-up on Dorset beaches

2010-01-03T10:55:00.001Z

3:00pm Saturday 19th December 2009
WILD and windy weather has washed up some rare and unusual visitors to Dorset’s beaches.

Tropical crabs, birds blown off course and rare barnacles are among the wildlife reported by Dorset Wildlife Trust after storms and strong south-westerlies.

Six rare types of goose barnacle have reached the coast in recent weeks, including one, Conchoderma virgatum, which trust staff have nicknamed the “pyjama barnacle” because of its stripy skin.

“These animals usually spend their lives in warmer waters, drifting around the oceans of the world, hitching a lift on any floating debris, whether it be mats of seaweed, bird feathers or plastic bottles,” said Julie Hatcher, marine officer.

Very rarely, other oceanic hitch-hikers find their way to the coastline, including a tropical Columbus crab, found by local marine expert Lin Baldock on Ringstead beach.

This is only the second time in 100 years that Columbus crabs have been found here. They hit the headlines in 2006 when around 30 were discovered on the beaches, following extremely stormy conditions.

Among birds driven by the storms was a grey phalarope, a wading bird blown off course as it headed for the southern oceans from its Arctic breeding grounds.

It was seen surfing the waves and picking tiny bugs from the water just below the trust’s Fine Foundation Marine Centre, at Kimmeridge.

Birds including puffins and petrels, that are normally far out to sea at this time of year, have been washed up dead, battered by the wind and waves and unable to feed.

“Now is the time to get out on the beach and search among the strandline,” said Julie. “After such a stormy period you never know what creatures you may turn up, and it may even be something never recorded in Dorset before.

“Take photos and send them to Dorset Wildlife Trust for recording. The more we know about what’s out there, the better we will be able to protect it,” she said.

Send marine sightings to kimmeridge@dorsetwildlifetrust.org.uk or call 01929 481044.

http://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/4805552.Tropical_wildlife_washed_up_on_Dorset_beaches/

(Submitted by Mark North)

Rare wildlife found at Purbeck firing range

2010-01-03T10:51:00.000Z

1:00pm Thursday 31st December 2009

By James Tourgout

A LIVE firing range in Purbeck is home to some of the rarest pond life in the country.

Ponds on Ministry of Defence land on the Lulworth firing ranges at Povington contain a caddis larva never before recorded in Dorset and a number of nationally scarce insects and plants.

They include the small red damselfly, the Downy Emerald dragonfly, the threatened medicinal leech, pilwort rare aquatic fern and rare beetles.

The 11 ponds were investigated as part of the Purbeck Important Ponds Project and feature high on the list of the best of the area’s ponds.

Rachel Janes, who is Dorset Wildlife Trust’s Purbeck pond project co-ordinator, said: “The exciting thing about these ponds is that, while they do not have a vast range of species because they are naturally acidic, many of the species that they do have are rare and certainly special to this kind of habitat.

“These ponds are extremely important nationally.”

Dorset Wildlife Trust led the project with funding by Biffa Waste Services’ Biffaward, the Environment Agency and the Dorset Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

It identified the best of Purbeck’s ponds with the help of landowners, including the MoD.

The ponds remained undisturbed because of their location in a live firing area and are free of agricultural chemicals or introduced species such as fish. Stuart Otway, head of Natural Environment for Defence Estates, said management of defence estate land presented an enormous challenge because of its size and diversity.

“It is vital that we provide the right facilities needed to train and prepare our service personnel, in particular for current operations in Afghanistan,” he said. “But we must also balance that requirement with sensible stewardship of the estate.”

Oliver Howells, natural environment advisor for Defence Estates said: “The ponds across Lulworth ranges receive no active management and the survey has shown how pristine these ponds are because they’ve not been drained or modified.

“The fact they’ve never been stocked with fish is also very important.”

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/4826090.Rare_wildlife_found_at_Purbeck_firing_range/

(Submitted by Mark North)

Weymouth Sea Life 'dragons' fall for mistletoe

2010-01-03T10:50:00.000Z

9:40am Tuesday 29th December 2009
By Martin Lea

MISTLETOE has tricked leafy seadragon creatures at the Sea Life Park in Weymouth into a mating frenzy after they confused the Christmas plant for a love-rival.

The odd-looking marine creatures bear a striking resemblance to the Christmas kissing plant.

So when the males were a little slow in getting to know the female seadragons at an aquarium, staff decided to decorate their tank with sprigs of mistletoe.

And it had the desired effect as it apparently sparked jealousy in the male seadragons who now see the plant as a love rival.

Fiona Smith, display supervisor at the Sea Life Park, said: “The males have suddenly started engaging in heated courtship with the females.

“It seems the males view the Christmas decorations as potential rivals and they are making sure they don’t lose out.

“We knew the seadragons looked like mistletoe and at first we decorated the tank as a bit of fun but it has had the desired effect.

“It looks like mistletoe can fire underwater passions so we may keep it in the tank year round.

”The Sea Life Park hopes to be the first place in Europe to breed the animals that are usually found around Australia.

The attraction has only recently taken delivery of the creatures, but were not encouraged with their initial lack of courtship.

Seadragons – phycodurus eques in Latin – are close relatives of seahorses and like them, it is the male that looks after the eggs by carrying them in a clump on his belly.

The Sea Life Park is one of the world’s most successful seahorse breeding facilities and its marine experts hope their expertise will guide them to similar success with the seadragons.

http://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/4822560.Weymouth_Sea_Life__dragons__fall_for_mistletoe/
(Submitted by Mark North)

Bass Strait barnacle 300 million-year-old king of species

2010-01-02T20:19:00.000Z

December 30, 2009

A RARE barnacle found only in Bass Strait is the oldest of the species, as well as one of its most unique members, according to researchers who came across the crustacean by a lucky accident.

The tiny ibliform barnacle, which is just 2.5 millimetres long, dates back to the Paleozoic era, about 300 million years ago.

That means the ibliform barnacle pre-dates all other types of barnacles and gives researchers a clue as to how the species evolved.

''Their earliest forms evolved from Bass Strait and the Tasman Sea,'' said John Buckeridge, professor of natural resources engineering at RMIT University.

And unlike most barnacles, which rely on shells and camouflage to protect them from predators, Professor Buckeridge said the cream-coloured barnacle used the toxic substance bromine, collected from sea water, to make itself unpalatable to predators such as carnivorous snails, small fish and crustaceans.

The ibliform, however, has an incomplete shell that does not cover the barnacle's lower, vulnerable areas where the bromine-heavy parts are mostly concentrated.

Professor Buckeridge's research with RMIT research fellow Jessica Reeves, published this month in the journal Integrative Zoology, found up to 7 per cent of some parts of its body is bromine.

''That's a remarkably high percentage,'' Professor Buckeridge said. ''It's much higher than anything else I've ever seen apart from an algae, also found in Bass Strait. It would be more than unpalatable, it would be poisonous.''

He said there was only one other type of barnacle, the deep sea tetrachaelasma found in waters off Madagascar, which had bromine in its body.

''The shells of these ibliform are made of the same stuff as our teeth. It's a primitive feature not found in modern barnacles,'' Professor Buckeridge said.

The ibliform barnacle, which was recognised as a new species in 2006, is so rare that scientists have only six specimens.

It was found by accident after fishermen delivered a coral-like substance to Museum Victoria, not realising there was a barnacle attached.

http://www.theage.com.au/national/bass-strait-barnacle-300-millionyearold-king-of-species-20091229-lisj.html

Endangered species to get daily web spot in 2010

2010-01-02T20:18:00.000Z

GENEVA (Reuters) - Endangered species from polar bears to giant salamanders, great white sharks to beluga whales and Namibian quiver trees to Cuban crocodiles will have their day on the Internet throughout 2010.

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said on Thursday it would issue throughout the coming year an extensive daily portrait of each of the 365 animals, birds and plants most under threat of disappearance.

"It is time for governments to get serious about saving species and making sure it is high on their agenda for next year, as we're really running out of time," said Jane Smart, a biodiversity expert at the Swiss-based IUCN.

"The scientific evidence of a serious extinction crisis is mounting," Smart said. A third of the some 1.8 million identified species were under growing threat.

Experts believe there could be as many as 6 to 12 million more species as yet unknown to science.

From January 1 2010, declared the U.N. Year of Biodiversity, IUCN will draw on latest research for its annual Red List of endangered wildlife to portray in detail the possibly doomed species of the day.

The material will be posted on the IUCN website (www.iucn.org).

"We will start with some better known species before moving to cover plants, fungi, invertebrates, and more, including less charismatic ones," the inter-governmental body said.

The polar bear, whose fate as the arctic ice-shelf melts has been widely recognized, will have star billing on January 1.

Before December's U.N. Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen, IUCN said inaction would put the future of some of the world's best-known creatures at risk.

These also included the emperor penguin, the arctic fox, clownfish which were popularized by the hit film "Finding Nemo," Australia's koala bear and almost every species of salmon, both marine and freshwater.

By Robert Evans
Reuters UK
http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE5BU1WK20091231?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0

'Chicken' frog saved from pot

2010-01-02T20:16:00.002Z

Tuesday, December 29, 2009, 09:12

PAIGNTON Zoo has joined a global conservation project with the arrival of a rare species.

It is now home to a giant frog which has two misfortunes — it is both tasty and large enough to be a meal.

The mountain chicken, or giant ditch frog, is one of the largest frogs in the world weighing in at more than 2lbs.

A zoo spokesman said: "The mountain chicken might be one of the most-confusing animals in the world. It is not a bird and it doesn't live in the mountains but it is certainly one of the most endangered."

Disease and the threat is human consumption has contributed to its decline.

"The national dish of Dominica, the mountain chicken was so-called because of its large size and because its meat is said to taste like chicken.

"Its importance to Dominican culture is reflected in its inclusion in the national coat of arms.

"On Montserrat, in the Caribbean, the eruption of the island's volcano destroyed vital habitat."

It is listed as critically endangered and there are only about 160 individuals in captivity anywhere in the world

Now Paignton Zoo has taken receipt of its first mountain chicken, a four-year-old female has from the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust at Jersey Zoo via the Zoological Society of London.

She is being kept under strict bio-security conditions to protect against the spread of disease.

Mike Bungard, curator of lower vertebrates, said: "We want to get used to the basic husbandry of the species before we take on more.

"The plan is for us to act as a holding station for first generation zoo born.

"The plan is to release these frogs into the wild, although that relies on overcoming the problems in the wild that caused the decline in the first place."

The wild population has declined by 80 per cent in the last 10 years and the species is now critically endangered.

There are thought to be just 8,000 individuals left, and the species is found on the Caribbean islands of Dominica and Montserrat, though its range formerly extended to Guadeloupe, Martinique, and Saint Kitts and Nevis.

The Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Zoological Society of London are leading the conservation work.

Paignton Zoo head reptile keeper Rod Keen is going to Jersey Zoo at the end of the month to train to work with the species.

http://www.thisissouthdevon.co.uk/news/Chicken-frog-saved-pot/article-1654505-detail/article.html

Christmas lights? No, it’s the wagtail tree: Hundreds of roosting birds cover every twig and branch

2010-01-02T20:14:00.000Z

Going back to Jon's posting a few days ago about the pied wagtails outside Tesco in Barnstaple, here is another sighting of a wagtail roost over the festive season - this time in Tunbridge Wells, Kent.

With most town centres currently festooned with fairy lights, you might not give this tree a second glance.

But take a closer look and you'll realise that it's not been decorated but is in fact alive with little birds.
The long-tailed black and white bird is usually seen on its own, flitting through the sky in search of insects. Its other common trait is to stand on the ground frantically wagging its tail up and down – hence the name.

But when dusk falls, they gather in large numbers.

This flock was spotted by photographer David Tipling among the decorations in Tunbridge Wells.

He said: 'At first I thought they were lights that weren't working. People were walking underneath oblivious.

‘It has been so cold recently that perhaps they find it warmer roosting in the middle of town rather than out in the countryside.

'They did look a little spooky, all of them gathered there together.'

Dr Nigel Collar, from conservation group BirdLife International, said: 'There are two theories as to why so many wagtails roost together. The first is information exchange – they're all sizing each other up to see who's put on weight, lost weight and where the best food is to be found.

'The second is that it helps protect them from nocturnal predators as the larger numbers mean there's always one bird with his eyes open.'

The birds can be found across most of the UK, and leave some of the highland and northern areas of Scotland in winter.

They are a sub-species of the White wagtail, which breeds in much of Europe, Asia and north Africa.

By Emily Andrews

Daily Mail Online
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1239545/Christmas-lights-No-s-wagtail-tree-Hundreds-roosting-birds-cover-twig-branch.html

Biodiversity board prepares list of species

2010-01-02T20:12:00.000Z

Imran Khan
First Published : 30 Dec 2009 04:08:00 AM IST

BANGALORE: The Karnataka Biodiversity Board (KBB) has prepared a list of the threatened species in Karnataka, wherein along with tiger, sparrow, frog and lion-tailed macaque, 89 plant species of Western Ghats have been included.

The list, prepared with help from Zoological Survey of India and Botanical Survey of India, has listed 19 animal species of Karnataka and 89 plant species of Western Ghats as threatened.

Along with tiger, bonnet macaque, purple frog and Malabar spotted civet have been listed as threatened species.

The list also includes marine mammals like dugong and blue whale along with leather- back turtle and hawks bill turtle.

Indian vulture, free-tailed bat and Salim Ali’s fruit bat - which goes with the scientific name ‘latidens Salimali’ - have also been made part of the threatened species list.

About the list, member secretary of the Karnataka Biodiversity Board, R C Prajapati said, “We had received a letter from the National Biodiversity Board urging the state board to declare certain species as threatened in Karnataka”.

He said subsequent to that, a list was prepared. Prajapati said that the list had been sent to the state government. "It will be forwarded to the union ministry and once the ministry takes a look, it would issue a notification in this regard," Prajapati added.

http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/story.aspx?Title=Biodiversity+board+prepares+list+of+species&artid=COl/IItFy/M=

UGC forms panel to look into dissections

2010-01-02T20:08:00.002Z

Saturday, Jan 02, 2010
Special Correspondent

Animal lovers raise hue and cry

NEW DELHI: Giving animal lovers a reason to rejoice, the University Grants Commission (UGC) has set up an expert committee to look into the possibility of banning dissection of animals for zoological experiments in colleges and universities. The five-member committee will hold its first meeting on January 6. Frogs, cockroaches and earthworms are most commonly dissected species from Class X onwards in science groups. Constituted at the initiative of Human Resource Development Minister Kapil Sibal, it will suggest ways and means to switch from actual dissection of animals and insects for experiments to virtual experimentation with the help of computers.

The committee is chaired by H.A. Ranganath, Vice Chancellor of Bangalore University, and comprises S. Balasubramanian, Director of DRDO Centre for Life Sciences at Bharathiar University in Coimbatore; Sunil Chhumber of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences; Roop Lal, Department of Zoology of Delhi University; and a nominee of the Director-General of Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Talking to The Hindu, Dr. Balasubramanian said: “I have some ideas which I will discuss during the meeting.”

Mr. Sibal’s initiative came after some pharmacology students drew his attention into the issue.

Animal rights activists have been raising the issue and following a hue and cry raised by them, the Ministry of Environment and Forests came up with a set of guidelines to be followed by the institutions and researchers.

http://www.hindu.com/2010/01/02/stories/2010010256910300.htm

Tarantula Owner Sees Red After Hairy Moment

2010-01-02T20:00:00.000Z

3:58pm UK, Friday January 01, 2010

Lulu Sinclair, Sky News Online

Tarantula lovers are being warned to avoid getting up close and personal with their pet - or else do it from the other side of an aquarium pane.

That is a lesson that a 29-year-old man from Leeds in Britain learned the hard way, according to the medical journal, The Lancet.

In February of last year, the man turned up at St James's University Hospital in Leeds after three weeks of stinging pain in one eye, which had become red, watery and light-sensitive.

Doctors prescribed antibiotics, assuming he was afflicted with a particularly stubborn case of conjunctivitis, but the treatment did not help the symptoms.

When they re-examined the patient with high-magnification lenses, doctors spotted ultra-thin, hair-like projections sticking into the cornea.

They were so small that even microforceps could not remove them.

That is when the man recalled a close encounter with his pet spider shortly before his eye first became irritated.

While cleaning a stubborn stain on the glass tank that was home to his Chilean Rose tarantula, he turned his head to find the fist-sized arachnid very near by.

The spider released a "mist of hairs" which hit his eye and face, according the journal.

Treatment with topical steroids largely cleared his symptoms, but as late as August he continued to complain of mild discomfort.

"As a defence mechanism against potential predators, the tarantula will rub its hind legs against its abdomen to dislodge special hairs from the back of its body," the study explained.

"Multiple barbs allow the hairs to migrate through ocular tissue as well as other surfaces."

Moral of the story? "We suggest that tarantula keepers be advised to wear eye protection routinely when handling these animals," it concluded.

http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Strange-News/Spiders-Tarantula-Lovers-Warned-To-Keep-Out-Of-Eye-Range-Of-Eight-Legged-Friends/Article/201001115512759?f=rss

Monogamouse

2010-01-01T15:00:00.000Z

Dec 30th 2009
From The Economist print edition

Genetically modified prairie voles may illuminate the human condition

LOVE, of course, is what makes the world go round, but what makes love go round? To aesthetes, such a question is imponderable. To scientists, it is not only ponderable but increasingly open to scrutiny---the more so now that Zoe Donaldson and her colleagues at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, have succeeded in creating a new kind of transgenic prairie vole. For, unlikely as it might seem, these tiny rodents could be the key to understanding bonding, trust and even decision-making in humans.

For those unfamiliar with the delightful prairie vole, it is a small rodent found in the grasslands of central North America. What makes it unusual among mammals is that it is both sociable and monogamous. Prairie voles groom each other, nest with one another, collaborate to guard their territory and are affectionate and attentive parents who form, for the most part, devoted couples. Their close relatives the
meadow voles, by contrast, prefer a solitary, promiscuous existence.

It turns out that these large behavioural differences between the two species are caused by small genetic ones. To be precise, they have been linked to a hormone called vasopressin and the protein molecule that acts as its receptor. Prairie voles have many vasopressin receptors in the reward centres of their brains. It seems as though these are wired up in a way that causes the animal to take pleasure from monogamy. In people, by contrast, certain variations of the vasopressin receptor have been linked with rocky marriages, and overenthusiastic journalists have
dubbed it the "divorce gene".

Being able to create genetic variants of prairie voles to order would therefore be helpful to research. And that, as they describe in the December issue of /Biology of Reproduction/ , is what Dr Donaldson and her team have done. Using viruses as carriers, they have introduced novel genetic material into embryonic prairie-vole cells, and then grown each modified cell into a complete animal.

In this case, to prove the point, the gene they introduced was for green fluorescent protein---a molecule derived from jellyfish. This molecule, as its name suggests, glows bright green when exposed to light of a suitable frequency. The resulting glowing prairie voles were evidence that the embryos had indeed been altered, and that the alteration had been transmitted to every cell in the vole's body, including its sex cells. The offspring of such voles will therefore carry the change as well.

Having proved the principle, Dr Donaldson--- or anybody else who wishes to---will now be able to make voles that do more than just glow in the dark. Biologists will thus be able to test theories about how behaviour is governed by the vole's various genes. This, in turn, should help explain complex social interactions seen in both rodents and people.

In some cases the monogamous rodents will, no doubt, become promiscuous. Certainly, the reverse can happen. One study has already shown that it is possible to inject a viral vector for the vasopressin receptor into the brains of the fickle meadow voles and make them better partners and parents. It may be some time before such interventions are available for human males, but women can always live in hope.

Vultures face extinction as gamblers seek visions of the future

2010-01-01T14:56:00.000Z

Inhaling smoked vulture's brain confers gift of premonition, according to vendors of traditional medicine in parts of Africa

David Smith in Johannesburg, guardian.co.uk, Wednesday 30 December 2009 17.52 GMT

It's a tiny organ that, the superstition goes, holds the secrets of the future. When smoked and inhaled, the brain of a vulture is said to confer the gift of premonition. To put it bluntly, most users hope to sneak a look at next week's national lottery numbers.

Such is the demand for vulture brains to use in muti – traditional medicine – that wildlife experts fear the birds could be driven to extinction within two or three decades. They also warn that hunting could intensify as gamblers seek an advantage when betting on the football World Cup in South Africa.

Vultures' acute vision, and ability to find prey, has kindled a belief that they possess clairvoyant powers. Their brains are dried and rolled into a cigarette or inhaled as vapours in the hope they will bring a vision of the future - including lottery numbers and sports results.

Andre Botha, manager of the birds of prey working group at the Endangered Wildlife Trust in South Africa, said: "People believe it's foresight and this finds fertile ground in people's imagination. If it worked for the lottery, everyone would use it and we'd have a lot of millionaires walking around today.

"There is a lot of betting in South Africa. So we may see an increase connected to gambling around the 2010 World Cup."

A 2007 study found that 160 vultures are sold a year for muti in eastern South Africa, with the total across the region thought to be much higher. About 1,000 are killed every year in Tanzania alone.

The birds are shot, trapped or poisoned by hunters. One tactic is to poison an animal so the vultures that feed on the carcass themselves fall victim. "You can have 300 or 400 converge on a poisoned carcass and all be wiped out," Botha added. Brains and other body parts are then sold at street markets or shops in Johannesburg and other cities.

Steve McKean, a researcher at the conservation body Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, was quoted by South Africa's Star newspaper: "Traditional use as it is currently happening is likely to render vultures extinct in southern Africa on its own within 20 to 30 years."

Seven of the nine species of vulture are rated endangered. Botha said there was demand for the bearded vulture in Eastern Cape province. Traditional healers prefer that the bird be captured alive as the head needs to be removed while it is still living so that "the brain does not flow down into the spinal cord" and the muti loses its potency.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2009/dec/30/vulture-extinct-gambling

'Best Job' winner stung by deadly jellyfish

2009-12-31T12:32:00.000Z

December 30, 2009

Ben Southall - the winner of a competition for the best job in the world - has been stung by a deadly jellyfish.

The 34-year-old Brit was just days away from the end of his six month stint at "caretaker" of Hamilton Island in Queensland when he was stung by a deadly Irukandji jellyfish.

Though tiny (they measure just 2cm) the Irukandji are extremely venomous and stings can often result in people being hospitalised, and are sometimes fatal.

Ben had been on a 'hard-earned break' from his £75,000, six-month job when he was stung while jetsking.

Given that his normal duties include scuba-diving to check on marine life and writing a blog about his experiences we are finding it a bit hard to feel sorry for him.
Speaking of the jellyfish sting Ben said: "I’ve spent nearly six months here in the tropical paradise that is Queensland and so far I thought I’d done particularly well at avoiding any contact with any of the dangerous critters that consider this part of the world their home.

"I was enjoying a post Christmas jetski session with some friends at a quiet beach on Hamilton Island and as I climbed off the back of the ski and onto the beach felt a small bee-like sting on my forearm."

Feeling hot, sweaty, sick and having a headache Ben went to see a doctor who knew instantly what it was and straight away put him on a course of treatment.

" I had a couple of injections which immediately took away the uncomfortable pain I was feeling and I slipped into a comfortable sleep," Ben added.

"I’d had a minor brush with what can be a very serious jellyfish and has led to people being hospitalised for a number of days, my slight knock was enough to tell me that it’s not something to be messed around with and I really should have been wearing a full stinger suit."

http://newslite.tv/2009/12/30/best-job-winner-stung-by-deadl.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+newslite+%28news%3Alite.tv%29

Skunk diet

2009-12-31T12:31:00.000Z

30 December 2009 16:30 PM

A skunk in Britain has lost a quarter of his body weight after going on a diet.

The animal - named Mr. Bumbles - was put on a crash diet after his weight reached almost 15lb, which is twice the recommended weight for a skunk of his size.

Mr. Bumbles was given to the Tropiquaria Zoo in Somerset, South West England after his owners admitted to feeding him two greasy bacon sandwiches a day.

He has now lost 4.5lb after following a strict diet of fruit and enjoying two long walks a day.

http://entertainment.stv.tv/showbiz/147326-skunk-diet/

Keep pets on leash on New Year's Eve: website

2009-12-31T12:28:00.000Z

Agence France-Presse 12/31/2009 11:34 AM

SOFIA, Bulgaria – Pet owners should walk their animals on a leash during the New Year's firecracker season to prevent a surge in the number of lost animals, a Bulgarian pet-finding website urged on Wednesday.

The website www.bezdom.info, which finds homes for stray animals and reunites lost pets with their owners, said it was bracing for the traditional flood of ads for lost and found animals during the holiday.

"It's always the same reason -- animals get stressed out and panicked by the loud noises of traditional fireworks and crackers on New Year's Eve," the website said.

"Walk your pets on a leash only and during the daytime," it advised.

"If you lose your pet, do not leave the place where you last saw it, as chances are it will soon come back."

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/classified-odd/12/31/09/keep-pets-leash-new-years-eve-website

Pigs close motorway after crash

2009-12-31T12:26:00.000Z

Agence France-Presse 12/31/2009 9:36 AM

LONDON – A busy motorway was closed for hours on Wednesday after an accident involving a lorry carrying a herd of pigs, posing a risk to motorists, police said.

Some 12 pigs ran around on the carriageway of the M11 motorway north of London following the early-morning crash, involving a truck carrying a load of 82 animals.

The other pigs, each weighing some 20 stones (125 kilos), were trapped in the wreckage, said a spokesman, adding that some of the escaped animals subsequently began grazing on a motorway embankment.

"The southbound carriageway has been closed at Junction 8 and the road is likely to remain shut for around six hours while recovery work and repairs to the central reservation continues," said an Essex Police spokesman.

"The northbound carriageway has also been closed and could remain shut for about two hours because of fears that the pigs could cross from the southbound lane and be a danger to road users."

http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/classified-odd/12/31/09/pigs-close-motorway-after-crash

Dog rescued from duck pond by 17 firemen

2009-12-31T12:23:00.000Z

A dog who slipped into an frozen duck pond escaped death after a team of 17 firefighters came to his rescue.

Published: 7:30AM GMT 31 Dec 2009

Matt - an eight-year-old Cocker Spaniel - ran across ice and tumbled into freezing waters in Dean Country Park, Kilmarnock.

As the dog struggled to escape, fire crews from Kilmarnock and a water rescue unit from Ayr raced to the scene after the alarm was raised.

Using ladders and specialist equipment, they managed to reach Matt and fish the shivering Spaniel out of the pond.

Matt had been taken for a walk by his owner's neighbours when the drama unfolded.

The firefighters were hailed as heroes by grateful owner Shelia Johnston

"I still can't believe one little dog caused so much fuss and had 17 firemen looking after him. I'm so grateful to all of them," she said.

"Matt came from the SSPCA's rescue centre at Cardonald so it's actually not the first time he's been rescued - but hopefully it will be the last.

"The vets have told me he's going to be fine. They put him under the heat lamp and hair dryer as soon as he arrived at the surgery.

"He had been out for a walk with my neighbours when he ran on to the pond and fell in.

"They were as delighted as me that everything turned out all right in the end."

Stevie Logan, Kilmarnock Fire Brigade's station commander, said: "The dog was in clear distress and had been in the water for some time when we arrived.

"He was trapped in a circle of water with ice surrounding it and couldn't get out.

"The people in this case did exactly the right thing by phoning us, and not attempting to rescue it themselves.

"Too many people have drowned trying to rescue their dogs, and although it is a hard thing to do to stand by and watch the dog struggling, we do have the specialist knowledge and equipment to carry out a rescue."

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/6912509/Dog-rescued-from-duck-pond-by-17-firemen.html

Photographs capture baby panda as it tries to escape playpen

2009-12-31T12:19:00.000Z

These pictures show a baby panda trying – and failing – to make a clean getaway from her playpen in the Sichuan Province, China.

Published: 8:14AM GMT 31 Dec 2009

The images of Wen Li and her twin sister Ya Li were taken at the Chengdu Giant Panda Research Institute.

They show Wen Li struggling up the side of her playpen, before losing her balance and toppling over the side. Fortunately the panda cub was caught by one of her handlers before hitting the floor.

Wen Li and Ya Li were born on July 19, 2009. Just two other pandas were born at the institute in the same year, compared to 18 born in 2008.

Researches have argued that mothers at the institute were simply too “exhausted” to have any more babies.

The institute was set up 1987 with six pandas rescued from the wild. Just over two decades later it is home to 83 giant pandas, about a third of the total pandas kept in captivity in China.

They are a source of national pride in China and their dwindling numbers have become a countrywide concern. They are the rarest type of bears and, with fewer than 3,000 still in the wild, are considered to be among the world’s most endangered species.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/6914996/Photographs-capture-baby-panda-as-it-tries-to-escape-playpen.html

Lifeguards to get texts from approaching sharks

2009-12-31T12:16:00.000Z

December 31, 2009 7:52 AM

Australian lifeguards will soon get text messages when Great White sharks swim near the beaches they are patrolling.

Researchers are electronically tagging the man-eating predators with GPS units which will constantly monitor their movements.

If the sharks then get too near to a beach a satellite receiver will automatically send out emails and text messages to wildlife officials and lifeguards.

Currently 74 white sharks have been tagged and there are 20 communications-equipped monitoring stations have been installed off the Perth coast.

Bosses say they hope the network will "provide timely alerts of tagged sharks' presence close to beaches" -- obviously this is unless the lifeguard is busy playing a game on his phone at the time. Australian Department of Fisheries’ Senior Research Scientist Dr Rory McAuley said: "With more monitors installed we have improved chances of hearing from tagged sharks, when they are around.

"Although sharks are being tagged to improve our understanding of the risk of attacks, it is also important that beachgoers are advised of detections."

http://newslite.tv/2009/12/31/lifeguards-to-get-texts-from-a.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+newslite+%28news%3Alite.tv%29

Will Britons Lap Up Creamy Camel Milk?

2009-12-31T12:11:00.000Z

11:13am UK, Thursday December 31, 2009

Ashish Joshi, Gulf correspondent

Camel milk could soon be on supermarket shelves in Europe after a Dubai-based dairy applied for an export licence.

Camelicious already sells its products across the Gulf region and now the company has ambitious plans to break the European market.

But it needs to convince EU officials the camel milk meets stringent health and safety tests.

Camelicious lawyer David Wernery says camel milk is far more nutritious than its cow counterpart.

"First of all, the vitamin C content is very much higher in camel milk than in cow's milk, about 4 or 5% more," he said.

"It is low in fat, naturally low in fat, so cow's milk has about 4%, camel milk has almost 2% fat.

"So it is like drinking skimmed cow's milk but it still has the rich texture and full body taste of normal milk."

The idea was first hatched almost 10 years ago by David's father Ulrich, who is Dubai's chief veterinarian.

He had just returned from a conference on camel husbandry in Tajikistan.

This is where he first tasted milk from the humped beast.

Mr Wernery Sr was so taken with the milk that he set about persuading his employer, Dubai's ruler Sheikh Mohammed, to invest in his plan.

"The Bedouins who lived in the desert lived mainly from camel milk and dates," he said.

"Without camels, they would not have survived in the desert.

"The milk was a very good source of protein but it has never been used for commerce.

"When I came back from the conference, I told Sheikh Mohammed that he has wonderful race camels but they also produce milk.

"It is the white gold of the desert and I tried to convince him to open a commercial dairy farm. He was very enthusiastic.

"For two years we tested 16 camels with a camel-milking machine and a stand.

"It was then that Sheikh Mohammed called me and said 'let's start the dairy farm tomorrow'."

That small experiment has grown into a multi-million pound dairy and the specialist hand-selected herd is now over 3,000 strong.

The custom-made machinery and the state-of-the-art milking plant are top secret.

Journalists are not allowed on site because, according to the dairy managers, they "may carry infections that could compromise the camel herd".

But it's more probably because the race is on in the Arab world to farm and harvest one of the few abundantly available resources.

One problem facing potential dairy farmers is that most camels produce insufficient milk to make commercial profit.

One way around that is to invent one that does. Earlier this year scientists in Dubai unveiled Injaz, the world's first cloned camel.

She was created in a laboratory using cells taken from the ear of a slaughtered camel.

Injaz represents hope for the future of the uber camel: one that is stronger, faster and more productive.

One by-product of camel milk that is already available in Europe is chocolate.

Because it is less than 50% animal product, it is not subject to the same rules as the milk.

The chocolate is popular in the Far East and Camelicious claims it struggles to meet growing demand from its local Middle Eastern customers.

General manager Martin Van Almsick reckons once customers get over their initial reservations they are hooked after their first bite.

"What is inside the chocolate fulfils the promise. Everyone who has a chocolate in their mouth is able to tell," he said.

"Camel milk has a slightly salty taste, we tried to preserve that special quality in the chocolate and everybody can tell."

See video at: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Strange-News/Camel-Milk-Camelicious-Dairy-From-Dubai-Hoping-To-Export-White-Gold-Of-The-Desert-To-Europe/Article/200912415511568?f=rss

Woman hit by falling moose head in bar

2009-12-31T12:08:00.000Z

31 December 2009

A New York woman is suing a bar - after she suffered concussion when she was hit by a falling moose head.

Raina Kumra says she was minding her own business at the White Slab Palace on the Lower East Side when the stuffed head fell off a wall.

In papers filed in Manhattan Supreme Court, her lawyer complained: "The taxidermy moose head weighed approximately 150lbs, with antlers spanning over three feet."

Ms Kumra says it caused her "chronic neck pain, anxiety, fatigue, dizziness and other serious and severe personal injuries," including "embarrassment".

Ms Kumra, an internet design consultant, declined to comment, reports the New York Post.

But the lawsuit says that since the incident, her "overall health, strength and vitality have been greatly impaired."

The suit seeks unspecified money damages from the bar for "failing to ensure that the plaintiff and other patrons of the defendants would not be struck by the loosely affixed... moose head".

The White Slab Palace is also declining to comment.

http://web.orange.co.uk/article/quirkies/woman_hit_by_falling_moose_head_in_bar

The Puerto Rico Primate breeding project controversy continues

2009-12-30T18:16:00.000Z

Opponents of the Bioculture monkey breeding facility at Pueblito del Carmen in Guayama announced Tuesday that a Superior Court judge has ordered the controversial project to be halted, but an attorney for the firm is denying the claim, contending that he has not been notified.

Emil Rodríguez Escudero, an attorney for Bioculture, said through a spokeswoman, Annie Bird, that neither the company nor its lawyers have been notified of such a court decision. Olga Colón, a Pueblito del Carmen resident who supports the project, said she has received numerous phone calls from area residents saddened by the possibility that Bioculture may have to cease operations.

“If this were true it would be very sad and they are hurting the community because at least 50 individuals will now be left jobless,” said Colón, who noted that the firm has also created more than 100 indirect jobs.

The information that a Guayama judge had paralyzed the project was made by Roberto Brito, a resident of Pueblito del Carmen who has spent more than a year fighting the Bioculture facility, which has also stirred up opposition from People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, politicians and actors, including Benicio del Toro.

Brito and other opponents of the facility filed a petition for an injunction in October, contending that Bioculture officials broke the law in their obtaining of permits from government agencies. They said the firm’s operations could hurt the environment and pollute the water. The company is slated to breed Macaque monkeys so they can be used, elsewhere, for scientific experiments.

Bioculture officials, who have denied that they have broken local laws, filed a defamation lawsuit against Brito in November. The reported ruling against Bioculture Tuesday was hailed by Guayama Mayor Glorimarie Jaime, who opposes the project even though the past municipal administration had given it a seal of approval. “We are not interested in having the monkeys in Guayama. If these monkeys are not going to be sold here then what is the interest in raising them here?” she told a television news station.

Colón, a school principal, said that while Brito lives in the community he does not represent the majority, who support the project. She said more than 300 Pueblito del Carmen residents out of 450 endorsed in writing the Bioculture project. “Brito is representing people who do not live in the community and is being supported by PETA. He receives Social Security and does not care about taking away jobs from the people” she charged.

Brito could not immediately be reached for comment.

She said Pueblito del Carmen is a community on the verge of extinction and in dire need of jobs. “We have up to 20 abandoned homes from people who went to the states because they could not get jobs. Our elementary school is on the verge of closing because of low enrollment,” she said. Colón also blasted the mayor for her “failure” to ensure young people in Guayama have jobs. “Jaime opposes Bioculture but has failed to provide alternatives to help her community. I am very saddened by her attitude,” she said. “As far as I am concerned, we will continue to support[Bioculture].”

World's oldest duck died

2009-12-30T18:12:00.000Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/hampshire/8434907.stm

Page last updated at 13:10 GMT, Wednesday, 30 December 2009 'Oldest duck' Edwina dies aged 22. A 22-year-old tea drinking mallard, thought to be one of the oldest
recorded living ducks, has died.

Edwina was rescued by Ian Knight and Christine Christopher two decades
ago after she was almost pecked to death by her family. The couple, from Ringwood, Hampshire, initially called her Edward but changed her name when she started to lay eggs.

Mr Knight said Edwina, who died on Monday, had been buried in their
garden under an ornamental duck as a memorial.

Sea-duck

He said that when he first discovered Edwina she was being attacked by her family as she was the "runt of the litter". The family rescued her, but when Mr Knight attempted to release her
back into the wild she followed him home and had lived with the family ever since.

Edwina also became fond of tea and toast, which she would have for breakfast in the family home where she spent time living in the garden and garage. Mr Knight told BBC News the family was "devastated". "She wasn't well over Christmas because of the cold spell we have been
having and her legs became a bit wobbly.

"We were going to take her to the vet after the holidays but we found her inside her little house. It was going to happen eventually but it's like losing one of your family, I have had her since she was only a few days old."

Edwina was buried in the family's garden in a box, with an ornamental duck placed on top of her final resting place as a memorial. The British Trust for Ornithology (BTO) said the oldest known wild mallard in the UK is 20 years and five months. The oldest known wigeon stands at 34 years, the oldest gadwall at 21 and the oldest teal at just over 18 years. But the oldest wild duck on record is a sea-duck called Eider at 35 years and six months.

The birds' ages have been calculated through the BTO's ringing scheme.

MOOSE ATTACK (well sort of)

2009-12-30T13:02:00.000Z

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20091230/ap_on_fe_st/us_odd_moose_head_lawsuit

NEW YORK - A Web designer says she was struck by the decor at a New York City restaurant - when it fell on her head. Raina Kumra says in a negligence lawsuit filed last week that a 150-pound stuffed moose head with 3-foot-wide antlers plummeted off a wall at the Scandinavian-themed White Slab Palace onOct. 4 and hit her. She says she suffered a concussion and other injuries.The owner of the Manhattan restaurant hasn't returned a telephone message left by The Associated Press. Nor has Kumra, who's representing herself inthe case.Kumra filed her lawsuit in state Supreme Court in Manhattan. She's seeking unspecified damages

'World's best job' man stung by tiny, lethal jellyfish

2009-12-30T11:29:00.000Z

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/asia-pacific/8434351.stm

Page last updated at 05:39 GMT, Wednesday, 30 December 2009
'World's best job' man stung by tiny, lethal jellyfish

The man who landed what was dubbed "the best job in the world" as the caretaker on a tropical island off Australia has been stung by a lethal jellyfish.

Briton Ben Southall, who beat 34,000 applicants to secure the position, was stung during his last week in the job.

The culprit was the peanut-sized Irukandji jellyfish, whose venomous sting can be lethal.

In his blog, which he keeps as part of his job, he describes the incident as "a little sting on the beach".

But it was his progressive symptoms of fever, headache, lower back pain, chest tightness and high blood pressure that led doctors to diagnose the sting.

"I thought I'd done particularly well at avoiding any contact with any of the dangerous critters that consider this part of the world their home," Mr Southall writes in the latest update to his online diary.

Stinger suit

"I've avoided being boxed by a kangaroo, nibbled by a shark and bitten by a spider or a snake - but then in my final few days on Hamilton Island I fell foul of a miniscule little creature known as an Irukandji," his blog continues.

The jellyfish - which struck as he descended from a jet-ski - is virtually invisible to the naked eye and can be deadly - in 2002 two tourists died after being stung.

It is so small it can pass through the nets that protect popular swimming spots in Queensland from larger jellyfish.

But Mr Southall - who has fully recovered after a dose of antibiotics and rest - admitted that he had been inadequately dressed for the excursion.

"It's not something to be messed around with. I really should have been wearing a full stinger suit, as is recommended at all beaches here this time of year," he said.

Mr Southall, 34, a charity fundraiser from Hampshire had to undergo a gruelling selection process to get the A$150,000 ($134,000) role - including swimming, snorkelling and one-to-one interviews.

Leopard cat found for 1st time in decades on Tsushima's lower island

2009-12-30T11:22:00.000Z

Leopard cat found for 1st time in decades on Tsushima's lower island
Dec 29

NAGASAKI, Dec. 29 (AP) - (Kyodo)—A rare leopard cat has been found for the first time on the lower island of Tsushima, in Nagasaki Prefecture, directly confirming their existence there for the first time in more than two decades, conservation officers said Tuesday.

The highly protected Tsushima leopard cat, one of two species of wildcats found in Japan, was until recently feared to have completely disappeared from Tsushima's lower island, though as many as 150 are thought to still survive on its upper island.

Officers of the Tsushima Wildlife Conservation Center said the 1,130- gram juvenile, a male thought to have been born only last spring, was found in a weakened state Monday on the property of a company in Izuhara town by an employee who notified authorities.

Officials of the Tsushima Wildlife Conservation Center, established by the Environment Ministry to study the Tsushima leopard cat and assist in recovery of the critically endangered species, were summoned to the scene.

They said the rescued feline, apparently suffering from malnutrition, is currently being nursed back to health at the center.

Leopard cats leave their mother's home range 6 or 7 months after birth, at which time they must struggle to survive on their own.

The Tsushima leopard cat, which is about the same size as a domestic cat but can be distinguished by a white spot on the back of each ear, is thought to have arrived on Tsushima from the Asian continent about 100,000 years ago.

The 696-square-kilometer mountainous territory of some 40,000 people lies in the Korea Strait, only 49.5 kilometers off the Korean Peninsula and 138 km away from Kyushu Island. It separated into two main islands by artificial waterways.

Kamijima, Tsushima's larger and less populated upper island, is home to an estimated 80-110 of the small wildcats, down from an estimated 250-300 in the 1960s, conservation officers said.

But on Shimojima, the lower island, the last confirmed wildcat sighting was in March 2007 when an automatic camera took a photograph of one, confirming their existence there for the first time since 1984 when one was found dead along a road, they said.

Wildlife officer Shinsuke Mizusaki said the leopard cat's numbers have been declining throughout Tsushima mainly due to habitat loss and road kill. Since 1991, 42 of the wildcats have been killed on Kamijima roads, including one earlier this month.

To reverse the decline of the Tsushima leopard cat, which was designated by the Japanese government as a Natural Monument in 1971, it was declared a National Endangered Species in 1994 and a government-funded project was established to protect it.

The project involves field research, habitat restoration, captive breeding and public education about threats to the wildcats which also include diseases carried by domestic cats, illegal snare trapping and feral dogs.

In recent years, the Japanese government has been studying the feasibility of reintroducing wildcats to Shimojima.

The Tsushima leopard cat, which goes by the scientific name Prionailurus bengalensis euptilura, is regarded as an isolated subspecies of the leopard cat, found across Eurasia.

Japan's other wildcat species is the Iriomote cat, or Prionailurus iriomotensis, found on the island of Iriomote in southern Okinawa Prefecture.

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