Bird’s Eye: Our usual mixed bag, from the fascinating, past the cute, to the terrifying. Dig in.
* Animals in the News In Focus
* Beautiful Bird Huddles Buzzfeed
* Out for a Walk with 42 St Barnards Youtube
* Jumping Goat Presurfer
* Jumping Spiders National Geographic
* Tigers National Geographic
Bird’s Eye: It’s spring, clearly the time to celebrate the energy of youth. (I have the heart of a young child, myself. I keep it in a jar on my desk.) Here are some fine samples of the species.
* Helmetcam Video Of 9-Year-Old Psyching Herself Up For A Ski-Jump Boing Boing
Here’s a POV video of a fourth grade girl psyching herself up for her first run down an intimidating ski-jump. The tension mounts as she narrates her anxieties and checks in with her instructor for comfort, and the payoff — a successful run and delighted cheering — is all the better for it.
* Decorah Eagles Live Cam on Mother and Chicks (Thanks Susie!)
* Baby Pygmy Hippo Takes Her First Swim The Presurfer
* New Born Deer The Presurfer
Bird’s Eye: We start with those who have boldly gone, up out, or down places where other more sane folks wouldn’t. Then a video you will not believe, of a man riding a motorbike on a snow-covered mountain peak. Seriously mad. But why limit excess to humans? Dogs diving is the third section, with magnificent photos. And something to aspire to for the rest of us: can you meet the dormouse challenge?
* 11 Daredevil Stunts That Pushed Human Limits Mental Floss
(with videos for ten of them) An Austrian daredevil named Felix Baumgartner plans to break the world record for highest skydive in August. After taking an air balloon to 120,000 feet, he’ll step out of his helium cocoon at the edge of space and break the sound barrier on his way back to earth.
Sound exciting? It’s already been done. Here’s a list of eleven impossible stunts pulled off by very real human beings.
* Driving On Mountain Top YouTube
* Underwater Dog Photography(Thanks, Diana)
* Snoring Dormouse YouTube
He’s a dormouse. Dormice hibernate in the winter in nests that they make hidden away on the ground. In Britain the dormouse may spend up to a third of its life in hibernation. Dormice usually enter hibernation at the time of the first frost, when nearly all food is gone.
Bird’s Eye: Life below the ground comes in many forms. A stunning excavation of an ant megalopolis (BBC) leads off. We follow with a look at Derinkuyu, a marvellous underground city of 20,000+ in Eastern Turkey. (This link had the best pictures.) And the largest living creature on earth is mostly underground: a 6000 ton clone that has 47,000 aspen trees above the root system. There’s more than we knew living down there.
* Excavating An Ant Colony Boing Boing
An ant megalopolis.
This is simply breathtaking.
In the video, researchers pump 10 tons of concrete down an [abandoned] ant hole and then slowly, carefully excavate the site to see what an ant colony looks like. The result is an intricate structure, equivalent in labor to humans building the Great Wall of China.
The largest of the Cappadocia underground complexes is multi-storey (18 storeys, 85m deep), with fresh flowing water, ventilation shafts and individually separated living quarters or ‘apartments’, shops, communal rooms, wells, tombs, arsenals and escape routes. It has the potential to house up to 20,000 people. The complex was air conditioned throughout, with 52 air shafts discovered so far, one of which is 55m deep… some wells were not connected with the surface, presumably in order to protect the dwellers from poisoning during raids.
* The Glorious, Golden, and Gigantic Quaking Aspen Scitable
One remarkable clone in the Fishlake National Forest is named Pando… [and] represents the astonishing capabilities of an individual clone to spread itself over a huge area. Pando covers about 107 acres and contains about 47,000 individual ramets, each complete with stem, branches and leaves. To date, this clone remains the most massive living organism ever reported with an estimated weight of at least 6,600 tons…. Given its size, it may also be very old, perhaps 80,000 years….
Bird’s Eye: Learn more about Lake Vostok on Wikipedia: the third largest lake in the world, hidden under two miles of ice. It should be drilled into this week, and there’s the opening scene of your horror film, as out of it climbs Cthulhu… But the horror of that pales to nothing when you read about the most terrible polar expedition ever, as described by its sole survivor. And welcome our new giant crab overlords, as over a million start colonizing Antarctic waters.
* Scientists Close To Entering Vostok, Antarctica’s Biggest Subglacial Lake Washington Post
After drilling for two decades through more than two miles of antarctic ice, Russian scientists are on the verge of entering a vast, dark lake that hasn’t been touched by light for more than 20 million years….If the Russians break through as planned within the next week, it will cap more than 50 years of research in what are considered the harshest conditions in the world — where the surface temperatures drop to 100 degrees below zero. ….Vostok, which is about the size of New Jersey, is the world’s third-largest lake by volume of water. Priscu said the gas in the lake makes it like a can of carbonated soda: Open it under high pressure, and it will spurt out.
He said the doomsday scenario for the Russian breakthrough would be if the suddenly released water pushed its way past machinery to block it and shot up the borehole, which is six to eight inches in diameter at the top. The result, he said, could be an enormous geyser that could empty a quarter of the lake. Priscu said he didn’t expect that to happen, but if it did, the sudden addition of substantial water vapor to the antarctic atmosphere could change the continent’s weather in unpredictable ways.
* The Most Terrible Polar Exploration Ever The Smithsonian Magazine
Even today, with advanced foods, and radios, and insulated clothing, a journey on foot across Antarctica is one of the harshest tests a human being can be asked to endure. A hundred years ago, it was worse. Then, wool clothing absorbed snow and damp. High-energy food came in an unappetizing mix of rendered fats called pemmican. Worst of all, extremes of cold pervaded everything; Apsley Cherry-Garrard, who sailed with Captain Scott’s doomed South Pole expedition of 1910-13, recalled that his teeth, “the nerves of which had been killed, split to pieces” and fell victim to temperatures that plunged as low as -77 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cherry-Garrard survived to write an account of his adventures, a book he titled The Worst Journey in the World. But even his Antarctic trek—made in total darkness in the depths of the Southern winter—was not quite so appalling as the desperate march faced one year later by the Australian explorer Douglas Mawson. Mawson’s journey has gone down in the annals of polar exploration as probably the most terrible ever undertaken in Antarctica.
* Climate Change Sees Giant Crabs Invade The Antarctic The Independent
King crabs up to a metre across have invaded deep waters on the edge of Antarctica, probably because of climate warming, and are playing havoc with the seabed wildlife, according to a new report. More than a million of the crabs are thought to have colonised the Palmer Deep, a basin more than 4,300ft down off the Antarctic Peninsula, where they are wiping out species such as sea cucumbers, sea urchins and starfish.
Bird’s Eye: Animal “friendship”? When two species interact in a way that seems to give pleasure to both, “play” is as good a description as anything. Why do these images make humans feel happy? Watch, and let Tikkunista know. Guaranteed to raise a smile, particularly after the preceding sturm und drang.
* Whale and Dolphins are Friends Boing Boing
Sometimes, you need to start off your week with a dose of happy news. For instance, this video from the American Museum of Natural History details two recent instances where scientists have observed a whale and several dolphins interacting in ways that are something we might classify as “play”.
It’s hard to talk about animal behavior without getting too anthropomorphizing, but think about it this way: In both instances, the whale and dolphins did not appear to be competing with other, they did not appear to be fighting, nor were they cooperating in a goal-oriented way. When scientists say “animals are playing” they don’t necessarily mean “play” the way human children play, but they do mean behaviors that go beyond simple eat/sleep/defend/breed necessities. Play might be learning. Play might be about forming social bonds that help an individual later on. And however you interpret it, spotting examples of spontaneous, inter-species play in the wild is kind of a big deal.
* Mr. Duck – Friend of Fish Everywhere Bits and Pieces
* Touched By A Mountain Gorilla Wimp Video (Thanks, Antonia)
Bird’s Eye: We start with one vision of what dogs look like: bred and coiffed and perfectly conforming to breed standards. (Full disclosure: my dog is different.) Then we look at sled dogs in Greenland, and end up with a seriously balanced dog strutting his stuff. Enjoy!
* Westminster Dog Show National Geographic
38 show photos.
* The Cold Patrol: Sled Dogs National Geographic
* Dog Balances On Chain Bits and Pieces
Bird’s Eye: A double dish of Eyecandy this week! We start with three links that show how animals look (flying Devil Rays look a lot like nothing you’ve ever seen before), then end with three links on how animals sound. We’ll have links for smell, taste, and touch as soon as we get the bugs out of the transmission process.
* 13 Adorable Baby Kangaroos Peeking Out of Their Mothers’ Pouches Environmental Graffiti
It’s common knowledge that kangaroos are found in Australia (although smaller related species such as tree kangaroos also live in New Guinea). Most people are also aware that, as marsupials, kangaroos have a pouch in which their babies live and grow. Yet, the true wonder of the way mama kangaroos give birth and begin to rear their young begs belief – and makes most other mammals look downright boring! Prepare for cuteness overload as we take a look at the facts behind this amazing process while marveling at some aww-inspiring images of baby kangaroos (known as ‘joeys’) in their mothers’ pouches
* Pelicans And Flying Rays (via The Presurfer)
Pelicans and the incredible flying Devil Rays in the Sea of Cortez.
* Animals in 3D Flickr – Photo Sharing!
(Don’t have a pair of red–green glasses? Print this page on transparency film….)
* Puppy Hears his First Wolf Howl - YouTube
* What A Rhino Sounds Like (via The Presurfer)
* Kookaburra Calls (via The Presurfer)
Bird’s Eye: It’s holiday time, and everyone’s come home: from the other side of the country, from prison, from college, from that place whose name one dares not speak. And now you have to amuse them. For hours! Let’s face it, you need a major distraction. Fortunately, Tikkunista is at the ready. Here are three large time-fillers.
* Panoramic Images: Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History
Tilt, swivel, and zoom into the following galleries: Rotunda, Fossils: Dinosaurs 1, Fossils: Dinosaurs 2, Fossils: Dinosaurs 3, Fossils: Dinosaurs 4, Ancient Seas 1, Ancient Seas 2, Fossil Lab, Early Life, Fossils: Plants 1, Fossils: Plants 2, Fossils: Mammals 1, Fossils: Mammals 2, Ice Age 1, Ice Age 2, African Cultures, Discovery Room, Sant Ocean Hall: Shores & Shallows, Sant Ocean Hall: Coral Reef, Sant Ocean Hall: Open Ocean, Sant Ocean Hall: Whale, Sant Ocean Hall: Journey Through Time 1, Sant Ocean Hall: Journey Through Time 2, Sant Ocean Hall: Diversity, Mammal Hall: Entrance, Mammal Hall: Africa 1, Mammal Hall: Africa 2, Mammal Hall: South America & Australia, Mammal Hall: North America, Orchids 1, Orchids 2, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Hope Diamond, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Precious Gems, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Minerals 1, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Minerals 2, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Minerals 3, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Mining, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Rocks, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Earth, Geology, Gems & Minerals: Space, Western Cultures 1, Western Cultures 2, Bones: Mammals, Bones: Reptiles, Bones: Fish, Insect Zoo, Butterfly Pavillion,
* Isaac Asimov – The Foundation Trilogy: Free Download & Streaming : Internet Archive 8 hrBBC Radio
The Foundation Trilogy is an epic science fiction series written over a span of forty-four years by Isaac Asimov. It consists of seven volumes that are closely linked to each other, although they can be read separately. The series is highly acclaimed, winning the one-time Hugo Award for “Best All-Time Series” in 1966.
* Star Trek TNG Ambient Engine Noise (Idling for 24 hrs) YouTube
One of my favorite things about the Star Trek franchise are all the great ambient sounds that represent the engine noise on the various ships. My favorite ambient noise from the whole series is the engine idling noise in TNG. I have cleaned up a sample from the show and then looped it for 24 hours. Great for ambiance and imagining that you’re in deep space (Download link available)
Bird’s Eye: The speed of time is normally sixty seconds per minute. But sometimes you can see things differently, thanks to the magic of fast/slow photography. See the magic of light, of nature, of Saigon traffic though time-shifted images. And then read ten fascinating facts about time.
* Louie Schwartzberg – GratitudeTEDx (Thanks, Dave!)
* Traffic in Saigon Presurfer
* Ten Facts About Time Reddit
10. A lifespan is a billion heartbeats. …Larger animals live longer; but they also metabolize slower, as manifested in slower heart rates. These effects cancel out, so that animals from shrews to blue whales have lifespans with just about equal number of heartbeats — about one and a half billion, if you simply must be precise. In that very real sense, all animal species experience “the same amount of time.
Bird’s Eye: The bird is suspicious about training dogs, particularly bird dogs. And he’s right to be suspicious, as most of what you’ve seen on TV is increasingly shown to be …uh… just plain wrong. Dogs aren’t obsessed with alpha vs beta. Alpha wolves don’t fight for their position. The same guidelines that work with children work with dogs: no violence,loving positive reinforcement. But we included a cute video of a dog learning how to howl from a wolf, because we couldn’t resist.
* De-Bunking the “Alpha Dog” Theory Whole Dog Journal Article (Thanks, Cat!)
The alpha myth is everywhere. Google “alpha dog” on the Internet and you get more than 85 million hits. Really. While not all the sites are about dominating your dog, there are literally millions of resources out there – websites, books, blogs, television shows, veterinarians, trainers and behavior professionals – instructing you to use force and intimidation to overpower your dog into submission. They say that you, the human, must be the alpha. They’re all wrong. Every single one of them
…While professing that “training dogs is about building a relationship that is based on respect and love and understanding,” even [The Monks of New Skete’s] most recent book, Divine Canine: The Monks’ Way to a Happy, Obedient Dog (2007), is still heavy on outdated, erroneous dominance theory.
* Cesar Millan – The Dog Whisperer: Critics Answers Lisa Mullinax (Thanks, Cat!)
Since writing The Dog Whisperer Controversy, I have received emails from fans who vehemently disagree with what I have written. In an effort to dispel many of the myths viewers have about the show, I have responded to the most common arguments below.
Your article was biased!
To be clear, I am quite biased on this subject. Just as a nutritionist would not write an article equally weighing the pros and cons of junk food, I am not compelled or obligated to present a balanced view of the show. I have, however, presented a factual argument.
The show gives an inaccurate representation of dog behavior that ignores everything we know about animal behavior today. My bias also stems from years of personal experience, along with the combined experience of my colleagues who have personally seen the results of these types of methods used to suppress problem behaviors.
*Puppy Learning from Wolf Howl Youtube
Bird’s Eye: Two of one and one of another: further evidence of how global climate change is affecting the Arctic, followed by agreement not to do anything during the terms of office of those currently in power. And an unprecedented film of an Icicle of Death, extending from the surface to the sea floor where it kills starfish and urchins, (rather than the people destroying our planet, unfortunately.)
* Looking Way Back at the Rate of Arctic Melting New York Times
The current rate of sea ice loss in the Arctic is a change without precedent for 1,450 years, a paper published on Thursday by Nature concludes. Scientists from Canada and the United States reconstructed the Arctic sea ice cover back to the year 561 using a variety of factors including ice core samples, tree ring counts and lake sediment analysis and, where available, ice observation records.
The scientists conclude that warmer air temperatures, most likely caused by climate change, are responsible for the decline of the multiyear sea ice at a rate of 8.6 percent a decade and “may soon result in an ice-free Arctic Ocean.” Other periods of Arctic sea ice loss were, by contrast, caused by shifts in the directions of warm ocean currents. The scientists said that both the magnitude and the duration of the current ice melt is without precedent.
* Rich Nations ‘Give Up’ On New Climate Treaty Until 2020The Guardian
Governments of the world’s richest countries have given up on forging a new treaty on climate change to take effect this decade, with potentially disastrous consequences for the environment through global warming.
Ahead of critical talks starting next week, most of the world’s leading economies now privately admit that no new global climate agreement will be reached before 2016 at the earliest, and that even if it were negotiated by then, they would stipulate it could not come into force until 2020.
The eight-year delay is the worst contemplated by world governments during 20 years of tortuous negotiations on greenhouse gas emissions, and comes despite intensifying warnings from scientists and economists about the rapidly increasing dangers of putting off prompt action.
* A Bizarre Underwater “Brinicle of Death”David Attenborough BBC
With time lapse cameras, specialists recorded salt water being excluded from the sea ice and sinking. The temperature of this sinking brine, which was well below 0C, caused the water to freeze in an icy sheath around it.
Where the so-called “brinicle” met the sea bed, a web of ice formed that froze everything it touched, including sea urchins and starfish.
The unusual phenomenon was filmed for the first time by cameramen Hugh Miller and Doug Anderson for the BBC One series Frozen Planet.
