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The best camouflage
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The Buff-tip moth ( Phalera bucephala) is a remarkable species that has developed a unique strategy to evade predators. When at rest, this moth cleverly disguises itself as a broken stick, blending seamlessly with its surroundings. The moth's wings are intricately patterned and colored to mimic the texture and appearance of a twig, complete with jagged edges and bark-like markings. This exceptional camouflage allows the Buff-tip moth to remain virtually invisible to predators such as birds and small mammals that may otherwise consider it a potential meal. By adopting this disguise, the moth gains a significant advantage in survival, as it can confidently rely on its remarkable mimicry to go undetected in its natural habitat. This fascinating ...
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5217 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
How to stand out in Australia
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A 2-year-old albino kangaroo has been spotted in Canberra’s Namadgi National Park. Albino kangaroos in the wild usually don’t survive because they stand out and become an easy target for predators. Albino animals also have a genetic predisposition towards sight and hearing issues, making life in the wild almost impossible—but Rene(e), which is always surrounded by its mob, has survived against all odds.
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4682 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Hugging, not just a human thing
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Apes manage their emotions much in the same way as humans do. Socially and emotionally competent young bonobos recover quickly from upsetting experiences and are more likely to comfort other young apes, a new study has shown.
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4782 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Two-headed snake
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This two headed albino milk snake was born two years ago in Florida. The condition is known as Polycephaly and occurs when monozygotic twins fail to separate completely. Most organisms with this condition will not live for long, but occasionally you will get cases like this one, where the snake(s?) seem healthy enough and can live for years. The heads act independently of one another, and will fight over food given the opportunity. ...
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4287 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
A fascinating looking whale
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This is Migaloo, the albino white humpback whale. His name is derived from an Aboriginal word that means “white fella.” Migaloo is a favorite for whale watching enthusiasts. He is believed to be the only documented white humpback whale in the world. He was discovered in 1991 and quickly became popular with tourists and locals alike. Since then, sightings have been rare. He migrates from Antarctica to Australia on a yearly basis, and some years he slips by undetected. Most of these photos were taken in 2012 on Migaloo’s return to Antarctica. ...
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5096 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Can anyone whisper, evolution?
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Zookeepers at Central Park Zoo in the US assumed their cotton-top tamarins were falling silent every time someone entered their enclosure, but spectrograms, which provide visual representations of sound, revealed what was really going on. These little monkeys were actually whispering their alarm calls instead of shouting them, which is the first evidence of whispering in a non-human primate species.
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3064 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
These aren't snakes, people - they are lizards
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Four species of legless lizard have been identified in the sand dunes of Antioch, California. This picture introduces Anniella grinnelli, one of the recently found species. It has a bright yellow belly and a lilac back with deep purple lines, and was named after Joseph Grinnell, the first director of the Berkeley Zoology Museum.
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2602 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Chimpanzees have a gift for numbers
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Watch this video.It turns out that our evolutionary cousins can recall number placement better than people can. In the experiment, the task requires the chimp to touch the numbers in ascending order and he has only seconds to make his decisions. The numerals appeared only for a certain limited duration, and were then automatically replaced by white squares. After touching the number one, the rest of the numbers are obscured by squares, making the chimp reliant on his memory to correctly pick the numbers in the right order. After a whistle sounds, the numbers reappear in different positions, so the chimp has to remember the position of all nine numbers after seeing them only briefly. And the chimp quickly aces the test time and time again, r ...
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3244 |
bio_man |
10 years ago |
First non-human to use sign language
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This is Washoe, the first non-human to use sign language. When her caretaker Kat suffered a miscarriage, and Washoe was told that her baby had died, she signed "CRY", drawing a path down her cheek with her finger to mimic a tear. Chimpanzees don't shed tears, and Kat said this one sign told her more about Washoe's mental capabilities than all of her longer, grammatically perfect sentences.
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3216 |
savio |
10 years ago |
One colourful duck
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The Mandarin duck is a sexually dimorphic species, meaning males and females differ in appearance. The male has a rich, colorful appearance, which includes brown cheeks and a long brown and white crown sweeping back from the top of the head. The chest is dark purple, with black and white strips, and the wings are brown with an iridescent blue-green edge. This striking coloration helps the male attract the less-colorful females, which display brownish-black plumage with white markings around the eyes and along the throat. ...
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3715 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
Blue eggs
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Scientists have identified the genetic mutation responsible for the first blue chicken eggs in South American Mapuche fowl and their European descendants, Araucana, 200 to 500 years ago. They used the unique genetic resources conserved by heritage or “fancy” poultry breeders to identify the exact location of the mutation in the genome in blue egg laying chickens and an additional genomic study to reveal the genetic cause of the blue colored eggshell is a harmless ancient retrovirus in the domestic chicken. ...
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3427 |
savio |
10 years ago |
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6004 |
savio |
10 years ago |
How to train a tree
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A bonsai tree is “trained” to grow as a dwarf by pruning and shaping the branches. But seeds from the tree would produce trees that grow to normal size. This shows the there is no inheritance of the characteristics acquired by pruning.
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5565 |
duddy |
10 years ago |
A parrot with a wicked hairstyle
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This is a Palm Cockatoo, also know as the Goliath Cockatoo. Palms are distinguished by their size, huge beak (second only to the Hyacinth Macaw among psittacines and largest proportionate to size), solid black feather coloration, large open crest, bare red cheeks, and red and black tongue. You have to see their tongues to believe the coloration. It's amazing. Palm Cockatoos are severely threatened. They are CITES Appendix I birds and are protected in Australia. As a testament to their rarity, typical prices in the U.S. for Aterrimus Palms are around $8000 and Goliaths around $14,000. Perhaps contributing to their rarity is the fact that, according to both Low and Forshaw, they lay only one egg per clutch. ...
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5915 |
savio |
10 years ago |
Even chimps suffer from hair loss
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This 20-year-old male chimp suffering with alopecia, is a star attraction at an Indian zoo, as he sort of resembles a human. Perhaps being locked up in a zoo makes life a deeply distressing experience
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5163 |
duddy |
10 years ago |