Wildlife

Photographer Oliver Hellowell has Down's syndrome, which his mother says means he sees the world differently to most other people. Oliver's unique way of capturing the natural world has recently gained him a lot of fans. Just over a year ago his mother Wendy O'Carroll set up a Facebook page for the eighteen-year-old's photography. That page now has over ten and a half thousand followers. "It's not just the numbers that have surprised the family, it's the range of people," says Wendy. The page has fans from Brazil to Alaska. Oliver hopes that photography - particularly of birds - can become his full-time profession. - Halil

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/OliverH... - Halil

But rather than lament the changes, he urged everyone to act. “We know climate change is happening. It is regretted by some but it is also to be embraced. It is causing great changes in the distribution of animnals and birds in the countryside. We must take advantage of that. It is very important that we accept there are things coming in ... We must recognise that new animals and plants are coming in. Others are moving north. We ought to be giving thought to wildlife corridors ... and not think that every new arrival is to be repelled. - Halil

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — It’s hard to comprehend how bad the current rate of species extinction around the world has become without knowing what it was before people came along. The newest estimate is that the pre-human rate was 10 times lower than scientists had thought, which means that the current level is 10 times worse. - Halil

The new study next examined evidence from the evolutionary family trees — phylogenies — of numerous plant and animal species. Phylogenies, constructed by studying DNA, trace how groups of species have changed over time, adding new genetic lineages and losing unsuccessful ones. They provide rich details of how species have diversified over time. - Halil

Mark Avery’s e-petition is unlikely to reach the 100,000 signatures necessary to trigger a parliamentary debate, but the fact that someone has challenged the shooting industry’s attitude towards the persecution of the hen harrier is being taken seriously now in many quarters. - Halil

Defra’s response to E-Petition calling for driven grouse shooting to be banned in England http://raptorpolitics.org.uk/2014... - Halil

Most of the fish and birds that she's studied have come from Lake Erie. Mason and her students began collecting fish in January by going to local ice fisherman; Mason wound up with a lot of perch, since that's what they were catching. Through the spring, Mason and her student assistants examined 75 perch and 17 cormorants, a type of water bird. In both cases, a high percentage of the subjects had plastics in their gastrointestinal tracts, Mason says. - Halil

"In this study, the authors investigated contagious yawning and its potential link to empathy in wolves. They observed and recording yawning in a single pack of 12 wolves at Tama Zoological Park, in Tokyo, Japan over five months, in relaxed situations (without visible signs of stress), and recorded the exact time of the yawn, the identity of the initial yawner, and the identity and position of subjects close to the initial yawner. The results suggest that wolves may experience yawn contagion. The strength of the pack member's social bond with the yawning wolf positively affected the frequency of contagious yawning. Additionally, female wolves showed a faster reaction time than males when observing yawns of close associates, suggesting that females are more responsive to surrounding social stimuli. According to the authors, despite the small sample size these results may provide initial evidence that contagious yawning may relate to the wolves capacity for empathy, and suggests that basic building blocks of empathy might be present in a wider range of species than previously thought." - Jessie

"A giant panda slated to be the star of the first-ever live broadcast of the birth of panda cubs has lost the role -- after it was discovered the bear is not pregnant after all, Chinese state media reported. Not only was it a phantom pregnancy, but zookeepers suspect the panda, Ai Hin, may have been faking it to improve her quality of life, the Chengdu Research Base of Giant Panda Breeding told Xinhua on Monday. Ai Hin, age 6, had shown signs of pregnancy, including a change in appetite, moving less and an increase in progestational hormone in July, according to Xinhua. But after almost two months, she began acting normally again, zookeepers said. Experts say pandas sometimes carry on the behaviors associated with early pregnancy after noticing that they get preferential treatment, the news agency reported." - Jessie

I never trusted that panda - Soup in a TARDIS

UK Professor Tom Curtis : I make no apologies for putting micro-organisms on a pedestal above all other living things, for if the last blue whale choked to death on the last panda, it would be disastrous but not the end of the world. But if we accidentally poisoned the last two species of ammonia-oxidisers, that would be another matter. It could be happening now and we wouldn't even know - Halil

Jenny and Hookuh Tinypants have said this to me many times in our chats, I've stop pestering them and others with my endless science questions now, lol, I bet they miss it, haha! ;-) - Halil

Ha! You're never pestering. :) You're passionate and that's cool. :D - Hookuh Tinypants

"Range and Virányi developed their new portrayal of dogs and wolves by giving a series of tests to socialized packs of mixed-breed dogs and wolves, four packs of each species, containing anywhere from two to six animals each. The scientists raised all the animals from about 10 days old at the Wolf Science Center in Game Park Ernstbrunn, Austria, living with them 24 hours a day until they were introduced to pack life, so that they were accustomed to humans. Range and her colleagues tested the dogs’ and wolves’ tolerance for their fellow pack members with a mealtime challenge. The researchers paired a high-ranking dog with a low-ranking pack buddy and set out a bowl of food, then gave the same challenge to a pair of wolves. In every matchup, “the higher ranking dog monopolized the food,” Range told the meeting. “But in the wolf tests, both high- and low-ranking animals had access” and were able to chow down at the same time. At times, the more dominant wolves were “mildly aggressive toward their subordinates, but a lower ranking dog won’t even try” when paired with a top dog, Range said. “They don’t dare to challenge.”" - Jessie

"Wolves also beat the hounds on tests that assessed whether the canids were able to follow the gaze of their fellows to find food. “They are very cooperative with each other, and when they have a disagreement or must make a group decision, they have a lot of communication or ‘talk’ first,” Range said. The same was not true for the center’s dog packs; for even the smallest transgression, a higher ranked dog “may react aggressively” toward one that is subordinate. Range and Virányi suspect that the relationship between dogs and humans is hierarchical, with humans as top dogs, rather than cooperative, as in wolf packs. The notion of “dog-human cooperation” needs to be reconsidered, Range said, as well as “the hypotheses that domestication enhanced dogs’ cooperative abilities.” Instead, our ancestors bred dogs for obedience and dependency. “It’s not about having a common goal,” Range said. “It’s about being with us, but without conflict. We tell them something, and they obey.”" - Jessie

In other words, dogs became more like humans. - Todd Hoff

I've said this before, lets save what we have instead of pumping untold millions in trying to resurrect what's been lost. If it's a recent extinction that has huge ecological benefit, then by all means bring it back, but we must save/preserve what we have or we're doomed to repeat the same mistakes, especially if governments think that all we need to do is mix a few test-tubes to bring back lost wildlife as a result of negligent conservation polices. We must never let governments become complacent and think science can save the day when all we need is to be more caring/protective about the environment. - Halil

"Both cubs are male and were born May 6th to first-time parents. They are on exhibit, with their mother, in the 'Himalayan Highlands', which received the Association of Zoos and Aquariums Exhibit Award for outstanding design in 1987. Snow Leopards are classified as “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List. They are among the world’s most endangered big cats, with only an estimated 3,500 to 7,500 remaining in the wild. Their range is limited to remote mountains of Central Asia and parts of China, Mongolia, Russia, India and Bhutan. WCS’s Bronx Zoo is a world leader in Snow Leopard husbandry and participates in the Species Survival Plan, a cooperative breeding program designed to enhance the genetic viability of animal populations in zoos accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. The Bronx Zoo has had more Snow Leopard births (over 70) than any other zoo in North America and was the first zoo in the United States to exhibit the big cats in 1903." - Jessie

"A Belarusian family from the village of Zacherevye, 250 kilometers north of Minsk, is raising an entire family of wolves as pets. It’s been five years since the Selekhs took in a group of young wild wolves, and they’ve got the beasts completely domesticated now. In fact, the pet wolves’ behavior is quite opposite to what people normally expect from them. Wolves are supposed to be instinctively wild, and follow a strict code of hierarchy within the pack – they are led by an alpha couple. But the Selekh wolves display none of these characteristics. They are quite a joyful lot instead, playing games and entertaining 10-year-old Alisa Selekh. They even take turns giving the girl piggyback rides through the Selekhs’ front garden." - Jessie

"The Selekh’s story is a heartwarming one, but animal experts warn that domesticated wolves can be even more dangerous than wild ones. That’s because wild wolves are naturally afraid of humans and tend to flee, but domesticated wolves lose this natural fear, making them the bigger threat." - Jessie

Pic of the girl riding piggyback: https://tw.news.yahoo.com/%E6%8A%... - Jessie

According to AP reporters Ellen Knickmeyer and John Locher, the birds have been nicknamed “streamers” due to plume of smoke that comes from the birds as they ignite in midair after flying through rays at the BrightSource Energy plant. - Halil

Jenny, is there no way of minimizing the impact with some kind of deterrent, be it visual and/or auditory? - Halil

"They topple green bins like it’s nothing, lift up freshly laid sod and lie quietly in wait of barbecue droppings under backyard picnic tables. In a dog-eat-dog world, Toronto’s most adorable menace might think they’re just doing what it takes to survive — even, it turns out, stare down Rob Ford. “I’ve had some standoffs with some raccoons,” the mayor told reporters at city hall on Monday. “Seriously, they just look at you, and they’re not scared anymore. It used to be you could yell or scream at them, [now] they just look at you. I mean, right up to my front door.” His nine-year old daughter “starts freaking.” His wife won’t go outside to take out the trash. “It’s like we have to make deals, who is going to go out and put out the garbage at night, because they’ll just sit there.”" - Jessie

"In general, raccoons will scurry away if the person claps loudly or makes him or herself appear large and in charge, said Mr. Gates. “From what I know, raccoons understand humans have the upper hand.”" - Jessie

I asked one of the bat scientists participating in the Southwestern Research Station bat census what would happen if White Nose Syndrome showed up in Arizona, a key migratory corridor for bats traveling to Central America. “Oh God,” he said. 
There was a long silence.
“It would be the end of the world.” - Halil

"An Olympic wrestler and Fort Carson soldier was cited Thursday night after he allegedly stalked and hunted a deer with a bow and arrow at a car dealership in southwestern Colorado Springs. Colorado Springs police and wildlife officials rushed to Motor City on Thursday night after a man identified as Dremiel Byers, 39, was seen shortly before 7 p.m. lurking about Kuni Lexis in the 600 block of Auto Heights. Colorado Parks and Wildlife officials were called in and Byers was given "several hunting and wildlife violations," which included hunting out of season and illegal take." - Jessie

It's a weird case. That animal frequented the area. Looks like he also has an eviction notice on the door of his home. - Eric @ CS Techcast

"An exhibition aimed at raising public awareness of the conservation of the endangered leopard cats was launched yesterday at Taipei Zoo to coincide with the debut of Chi Pao (集寶), a female leopard cat cub that was sheltered by the Endemic Species Research Institute and later transferred to the zoo after being injured in a placement project. The institute said Chi Pao was born in March last year, thanks to the institute’s Situ Conservation Research Project, which breeds leopard cats at its facility before placing them in suitable environments in the wilderness, adding that there are no more than 500 leopard cats remaining." - Jessie

"Forestry Bureau Director-General Lee Tao-sheng (李桃生) said that the leopard cat bears a special meaning for conservation as it is an important indicator of the well-being of the nation’s lowland forest ecology. Once a prolific species in low-altitude mountainous areas across the nation, leopard cats can now be seen only in mountains between Miaoli County and Greater Tainan as a result of loss of habitat caused by development, as well as poaching and road accidents." - Jessie

"It’s no secret that wolves, foxes, and dogs are highly social animals. But beyond all the wagging, pawing and yipping we like to try to interpret, canids may have yet another way to communicate. New research hints at the possibility that dogs and their ilk could be sending each other signals with their eyes. A team of Japanese researchers looked at pictures of nearly every canid species and found that those with highly social pack and hunting behaviors were more likely to have easily-visible eyes. They then watched some of those species interact in zoos and concluded that those with eyes that were easier to see were more likely to be social. The results were published in a study in PLoS One on June 11." - Jessie

"“What this study shows is that there’s a correlation between facial markings and sociality and the need to communicate,” said zoologist Patricia McConnell of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, a dog behavior researcher who was not involved in the study. The scientists organized 25 different wild canid species according to their facial features (using around a dozen photos of individuals from each species) into three groups and then looked to previous research to characterize the social behavior of each group." - Jessie

"Raging waters were no match for two determined swimmers in Canada. Farm owner Colin Graham has watched a family of foxes roam his Saskatchewan property for the past several months. When flooding hit the province Sunday, he noticed one of the young ones was stranded on a rock surrounded by water. So Graham and his friend, Jordan Olson, did the only thing they could think of: They jumped into the floodwater to save the foxes, CBC News reports. "[They] have been sitting out on this rock pile near our house for all spring," Graham told the Canadian news outlet. "My sister wondered what happened to the foxes, so we drove out there and there was just one rock sticking out of the top of the water." Only one of the foxes was visible in the estimated 8 feet of water, but both Graham and Olson swam out into the flooded field to see if there were any more stranded. Bystander Derek Roeher shared photos of two men swimming through floodwater to save the foxes." - Jessie

"There are no howls after a pack of wolves managed to get into a polar bear enclosure at a Winnipeg zoo. The Assiniboine Park Zoo says it has made some changes after the wolves dug a tunnel from their enclosure to visit the bears. Media reports say five wolves walked around without disturbing two female polar bears that were asleep at the time. The tunnel forced the zoo to remove the wolves and the two bears and close part of the new Journey to Churchill exhibit until repairs could be made. The critters are now back in their respective enclosures and the exhibit has reopened. A zoo spokesman says such adjustments are absolutely normal with the opening of any new exhibit." - Jessie

I love that the wolves were basically just going "ehhh....nice. maybe we can sleep here tonight guys?" - Sir Shuping is just sir

"When a breeding wolf dies, its sex and the size of its pack can determine whether that pack continues, according to research published July online by the Journal of Animal Ecology. In 2012, biologists at Denali National Park and Preserve noted a drop in wolf sightings following the death of a breeding female from a pack that lived along the Denali Park Road. This was one of several instances where the death of an individual wolf from legal trapping or hunting sparked widespread attention in recent years. "This isn't the first time we have noticed that the loss of a breeding wolf can affect the fate of the pack. We thought it would be valuable to systematically look at what happens to the pack and population following the death of a breeder," said author Bridget Borg, a University of Alaska Fairbanks biology graduate student and National Park Service biologist. Borg's research looked at changes in wolf pack fate, reproduction and population growth following the death of breeders. "Given the park's current low wolf densities and small average pack sizes, we are concerned about harvest of wolves from packs that reside primarily within the park," said Don Striker, Superintendent of Denali National Park and Preserve. "The death of a breeding wolf could harm the packs that provide the greatest opportunities for park visitors to see a wolf in the wild, either through a lack of reproduction or the loss of the entire pack."" - Jessie

"Turtles can be a major hazard on the runway, and they've been responsible for many a delayed flight. Diamondback terrapins crawl into JFK from nearby Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, but they didn't start causing major problems until a few years ago. Airport has since removed hundreds of the turtles and laid down miles of black tubing under the airport's perimeter fence. Russell Burke of Hofstra University has been working with Port Authority's chief wildlife biologist Laura Francoeur to study the turtle problem since it started. (Yes, airports often have wildlife biologists, but they're usually most occupied with birds.) Their work involves making casts of the shells of turtles they find in JFK. Turtles shells have rings like trees that give away their age. That's when Burke noticed a pattern: the turtles were mostly seven to nine years old. Did something happen seven to nine years ago?" - Jessie

"Indeed, in 2008, an outbreak of distemper killed many of the raccoons in the safe wildlife refuge. Raccoons are voracious eaters of turtles—they usually wipe out 95 percent of newborn turtle hatchlings. Without raccoons, hypothesizes Burke, the lucky turtles survived to spill out into the airport. An unlucky few, however, have been hit by airplanes instead. " - Jessie

IT'S ALWAYS RACCOONS. - Jessie

Arrived in England before 1879, perhaps through cargo sent to Torquay. In England it has a reputation as one of the few local spider species which is capable of inflicting a painful bite to humans, with most bites resulting in symptoms similar to a bee or wasp sting. - Halil

found in my sisters garden shed - Halil

"A recent sighting in Yilan of the protected Maroon orioles (Oriolus traillii) has prompted birdwatchers to stake out the site against poachers. With the news that a family of orioles was nesting in a pomelo tree in Renshan Parking Lot in Yilan County’s Dongshan Township (冬山), bird-lovers rushed to the site with cameras. They took shifts standing guard over the rare visitors. According to Yilan Photography Society chairperson Lee Lung-yung (李龍墉) the number of Maroon oriole families in Yilan is decreasing. In previous sightings, after poachers were tipped off about the location of the rare birds, they stole the fledglings even before they were old enough to fly their nests, Lee said. To prevent a recurrence this time, bird-lovers took shifts from Wednesday to Friday standing guard after dark, before they were able to hire a security firm to take over." - Jessie

"A new study published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences by an international team of researchers, including Z. Jack Tseng, a Frick Postdoctoral Fellow in the Museum’s Division of Paleontology, identifies a newly discovered 3- to 5-million-year-old Tibetan fox from the Himalayan Mountains, Vulpes qiuzhudingi, as the oldest close relative of the living Arctic fox Vulpes lagopus. The finding lends support to the idea that the evolution of present-day animals of the Arctic region is intimately connected to ancestors that first became adapted for life in cold regions in the high-altitude environments of the Tibetan plateau." - Jessie

"The origin of the cold-adapted Pleistocene megafauna has usually been sought either in the arctic tundra or in the cool steppes elsewhere. But the team’s new fossil assemblage boosts an alternative scenario, which the authors call the “out of Tibet” hypothesis. It argues that some of the Ice Age megafauna (which in North America include the woolly mammoth, saber-toothed cat, giant sloths, and others) used ancient Tibet as a “training ground” for developing adaptations that allowed them to cope with the severe climatic conditions. These Tibetan ancestors were thus already adapted to cold climates by the start of the Ice Age (2.6-.01 million years ago). " - Jessie

"Two distinct populations of grey wolves have been found living side-by-side in British Columbia, Canada. The research built on the knowledge of indigenous people who had distinguished between the mainland "timber wolf" and island "coastal wolf". Scientists compared DNA from wolf faeces to determine if the two groups were different. They say their findings show that different environments can influence genetic changes. The team, based at the University of Victoria, reported their research in the journal BMC Ecology." - Jessie

"Team member Dr Chris Darimont, Hakai-Raincoast professor at the University of Victoria, said discussions with Heiltsuk elder Chester Starr led to the prediction on which their work was based. "He (Mr Starr) asked if we were going to study the 'timber wolves' of the mainland or the 'coastal wolves of the islands'," Dr Darimont said. "I thought that was peculiar because the state of science at the time told us that there really shouldn't be differences within wildlife populations across such a short distance, especially as wolves are fantastic swimmers. "Chester explained that timber wolves are creatures of the mainland, who liked the more mountainous habitat and the plentiful deer and other terrestrial foods, but the island wolves were smaller seafood lovers. He knew they were different."" - Jessie

{"But the elder's idea did not fit well with the current understanding of wolf biology and the researchers initially dismissed it. Since then, evidence has shown genetic differences within closely-occurring populations of sea turtles, fish and mammals, including wolves. The team went on to study 116 individual grey wolves living in the Bella, Bella area and identified a genetic difference between mainland and island wolves. "As scientists we should be sceptical, not dismissive. Earlier in my career, I had assumed that ecological knowledge could only come from science. I was wrong, and it's exciting to learn from this and similar experiences with indigenous colleagues," Dr Darimont said. " - Jessie

"When wolves start to reclaim their historic territories in the wilds of California, they’ll be protected under state law. The California Fish and Game Commission voted last week to protect gray wolves under the state’s Endangered Species Act after being petitioned by the Center for Biological Diversity. The decision came just a few days after biologists documented the presence of two wolf pups in the Oregon portion of the Rogue River-Siskiyou National Forest that straddles the California-Oregon border. The pups, which are likely to be part of a litter of four to six pups, are the offspring of the wolf known as OR-7, which has made California part of his range for the past four years. “This is a great day for wolf recovery in the West,” said Amaroq Weiss, the Center’s West Coast wolf organizer. “I’m just so thrilled that we have a new wolf family in southern Oregon and that these beautiful animals are finally getting protection in California. This is the first chapter in a longer story of wolves returning to California and living here in the wild.”" - Jessie

"Oregon’s growing wolf population has tripled in the past three years, and it is widely anticipated that more wolves from Oregon will make their way into California. OR-7’s journey to California involved his first dispersing westward across Oregon into the Cascade Mountains, then dropping south into California. Recently the tracks of another wolf were documented in the Oregon Cascades, the first since OR-7. The fact that OR-7 has made California part of his range for parts of four consecutive years substantially increases the likelihood he will continue to explore the state with his newly formed family and that his pups could form packs of their own in California in the near future. “Wolves are at a critical moment,” said Weiss. “The federal government is proposing to strip federal protection from these animals across the country, including states like California where wolves are just starting to return. This makes state protection essential, and is all the more reason to celebrate this historic decision by the commission this and remarkable news about this new wolf family.”" - Jessie

Cue whining by all the ranchers in California. Thankfully we're predominantly an agriculture state and not a livestock state, but there will still be whining. - Hookuh Tinypants

Comparison photo here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki... - Jessie

Thanks everyone! I will let him know. - Jessie

So here’s a piece of worrying news for anyone concerned with wildlife conservation: these very birds of prey now face a poisoning threat from a veterinary drug which has already wiped out millions of vultures in India. - Halil

"A fox is stealing dozens of shoes in a Leeds suburb and dumping them outside a woman's house. The problem has become so bad that Elaine Hewitt has been forced to put a shoe rack outside her home in Horsforth so neighbours can reclaim their missing footwear. Ms Hewitt said the vulpine crimewave began a few months ago when she found a single shoe in her back garden. The fox is now leaving a shoe a day, ranging from sandals to work boots." - Jessie

:D - Halil

Check your closet, Halil! :-P - Jessie

:)) - WoH: Professor MOTHRA