To my dear visitors and commenters

Hi, everybody! I've noticed with lots of joy and happiness, that thousands of comments have been written in my posts. It's wonderful that so may people around the world appreciate my work. Therefore, I want to thank you for that and ,at the same time I want to ask you to be this blog's followers. It's fast and easy! Make it be even more visited and spread all over the world! I'm a woman, a teacher of English in Portugal, and I've been away for quite a long time because of my father's health. Unfortunately he died from Covid19 a few months ago. Now I felt it was time to restart my activity in this and other blogs I owe. I've recently created a new one in a partnership with a street photographer, Mr. Daniel Antunes. He's fabulous! https://pandpbydandd.blogspot.com I'd like you to visit it and, who knows, become our followers. The poems, chronicles and thoughts are all mine. Thank you so much! Kisses :-)

Search This Blog

Thursday, August 15, 2013

Completely new mammal olinguito discovered in South America

Scientists in the US have discovered a new animal living in the cloud forests of Colombia and Ecuador, South America.


It has been named olinguito and is the first new species of carnivore to be identified in the western hemisphere in 35 years.
Scientists say it's really rare to discover a new mammal these days.

At the museum

The trail began when zoologist Kristofer Helgen uncovered some bones and animal skins in storage at a museum in Chicago.
"It stopped me in my tracks," he said, "the skins were a rich red colour and when I looked at the skulls I didn't recognise the anatomy."
Olinguito
It was different to any similar animal I'd seen, and right away I thought it could be a species new to science," said Dr Helgen

Why the museum?

Museums all over the world keep animal specimens for future records, and not all of them have been closely studied.
Many were collected more than a century ago and were often mislabelled or not properly identified.
But recent advances in technology mean scientists can extract DNA from even the oldest remains.
Olinguito

By comparing DNA samples with the other five known species, Dr Helgen was able to confirm the olinguito had not yet been identified.

  • Smallest member of the animal family that includes racoons
  • Measures 35cm in length and weighs 900g
  • Males and females are similar in size
  • Eats fruit mainly, but also insects and nectar
  • Solitary and nocturnal animals that spend their time in trees
  • Female olinguitos raise a single baby at a time
  • Found only in cloud forests of northern Andes in Ecuador and Colombia
Source: Smithsonian Institution

On the trail

But even after identifying the olinguito, a crucial question remained: could they be living in the wild?
"We used clues from the specimens about where they might have come from and to predict what kind of forest we might find them in - and we found it!"
The olinguito is now known to inhabit a number of protected areas from Central Colombia to western Ecuador.

Olinguito

The olinguito is a carnivore - the same as the group of mammals that includes cats, dogs and bears and their relatives.


Although it is a carnivore, it eats mainly fruit, comes out at night and lives by itself, producing just one baby at a time.
"It's hard for me to explain how excited I am," says Dr Helgen.
Dr Helgen has used such mammal collections to identify many other new species, including the world's biggest bat and the world's smallest bandicoot.
But he says the olinguito is his most important discovery.
Its scientific name is Bassaricyon neblina.
The last carnivore to be identified in the Americas was the Colombian Weasel.
Age of discovery
Scientists have catalogued only a fraction of the planet's lifeforms.
New species of insects, parasitic worms, bacteria and viruses are discovered on a regular basis, but new mammals are rare.
"This reminds us that the world is not yet explored and the age of discovery is far from over," says Dr Helgen. "The olinguito makes us think - what else is out there?"

From CBBC Newsround

Wednesday, August 14, 2013

Humpback whale rescued from shark nets off Australian coast


A nine metres long baby humpback whale has been rescued off Australia's Gold Coast after being caught up in shark nets.
It is believed the mammal became entangled overnight on Tuesday, but swam away without any injuries after being released.


 Sea World rescuers were able to free the whale quickly as it remained calm and weather conditions were favourable. The whale swam away freely and without any injuries. Three whales have been caught in Queensland state shark nets so far this year.

Chile investigates unexplained Andean condor deaths

Health authorities are trying to find out what poisoned at least 20 condors in the Andes mountain range between Chile and Argentina.



The huge endangered birds, with a wingspan of up to 3m, were found near the town of Los Andes, about 80km east of the Chilean capital, Santiago.
The authorities say two birds died, but 18 are recovering at a clinic.
They suspect the damage may have been caused by eating carcasses of poisoned cattle, fox or puma.
Witnesses alerted the authorities on Sunday after seeing the condors, known for their effortless gliding at high altitudes, flying low and crashing into rocks.
Andean condor being treated
'Phosphorous compounds'
Once on the ground, they were not able to take off again and walked apparently dizzily and foaming from the beak, authorities say.
Two of the birds were reportedly found dead, as well as two foxes.
"[The poisoning] seems to have been caused by the ingestion of an ill animal or one that ate another being with some phosphorate compound," the regional director of the Chilean Farming and Cattle Service, Pablo Vergara, told the Argentine newspaper Clarin.
The chemical compound can be found in herbicides and poison used to kill animals considered to be pests.
The poisoned condors were taken to a veterinary clinic, given an antidote and are said to be recovering.
The possibility of finding more animals with the same symptoms has not been ruled out.
The Andean condor is one of the world's biggest bird species and is considered a symbol of the region.
Scientists estimate less than 10,000 condors live in the wild.



Sunday, August 11, 2013

UK zoo creates a skink to save rare lizards

Chester Zoo is now home to six pairs of one of the world's rarest lizards - the Bermuda skink.
In what has been described as a "lifeboat" project, researchers hope to develop a captive breeding programme that will ensure the continued survival of the critically endangered population.
Dr Gerardo Garcia, the zoo's curator of lower vertebrates and invertebrates, explains the threats facing these animals and some of the challenges of establishing a successful breeding programme.
The Bermuda Skink or Bermuda Rock Lizard (formerly Eumeces longirostris) is one of the rarest lizards in the world. Adult males and females have shiny brown or black body scales, a pale belly and an orange throat patch.  They can grow up to 8 inches long. Juveniles have coppery scales, a pale belly, and have black and cream coloured stripes running down both sides of their body. Baby skinks have bright blue tails, which they use to confuse predators (who bite the tail instead of their head).  The skink then escapes and grows a new tail. 

 Bermuda Skink - female with eggs

Skinks usually stay on the ground or crawl up onto rocks to bathe in the sun, and are found living in small patches all over Bermuda on the rocky shorelines as well as on small islands.  While the total island’s population of skinks is unknown, most live in Spittal Pond Nature Reserve and on the Castle Harbour Islands. If you see a skink you can report it bycontacting the Department of Conservation Services.

Bermuda Skinks are considered critically endangered and face many threats.  Loss of natural habitat through building and development, predation from rats, cats and kiskadees, and entrapment in litter (like glass bottles) all affect the survival of our skinks. The Bermuda Skink is protected under the Bermuda Protected Species Act 2003.

Learn More About Skinks:


Wikipedia

Search results