February 9, 2012
These stories are so cool:
Can’t wait until someone does it with a trapped great white shark…
P.S. The Coromandel Peninsula, just to take the opportunity to make this a geographical learning experience, is on NZ’s North Island, just east of Aukland. The town of Coromandel is on the peninsula’s western shore.
January 29, 2012
In the midst of some research for the exciting new book we’re working on – (sooo exciting…) – we came across this:
And we thought, “Definitely not the album cover for this song!”
P.S. We humbly suggest that if your kids aren’t familiar with this song – well, there are some things that all kids should experience. One of them is this song.
* Lyrics adapted from Dr. Seuss, music by Eugene Poddany.
January 28, 2012
Woah:
Bird enthusiasts are reporting rising numbers of snowy owls from the Arctic winging into the lower 48 states this winter in a mass southern migration that a leading owl researcher called “unbelievable.”
Thousands of the snow-white birds, which stand 2 feet tall with 5-foot wingspans, have been spotted from coast to coast, feeding in farmlands in Idaho, roosting on rooftops in Montana, gliding over golf courses in Missouri and soaring over shorelines in Massachusetts.
A certain number of the iconic owls fly south from their Arctic breeding grounds each winter but rarely do so many venture so far away even amid large-scale, periodic southern migrations known as irruptions.
The New York Times has more.
* Pic.
January 27, 2012
You may be one of the 800 krajillion people who have already seen this video—but we hadn’t! So please amuse us as we introduce you to a video of one extremely friendly grizzly bear. (And the guy’s cackling laugh at the very end of the clip sews this video up like a Savile Row tailor.)
January 24, 2012
Taylor raced back to the truck but instead of jumping in for safety, she released the tailgate to look for something she could use. She grabbed a big grain shovel that they keep on hand to dig out if the truck gets stuck.
She walked back to the moose, making a racket with the shovel on the road, where the snow was hard-packed. She kept shouting for her husband to get over there and help.
Taylor took a swing at the moose and it backed off a little, but then it reared up and stomped its target again. It didn’t let up.
“She walked back to the moose.” Holy toads, that is one unbelievably brave human. Did we mention she’s 85? And that the moose was attacking her husband?
Wow. Go. Read. And thank the stars for grandmas.
January 11, 2012
Oh wait, that’s not right. We saw that photo…and leapt to a mistaken conclusion. (If you click on the photo, then click again, you can really get up close and personal with that froggie.)
New Species of Frog is World’s Smallest Vertebrate…
Let’s all say it together: Holy frog that thing is small.
The frog that’s now considered the world’s smallest invertebrate is named Paedophryne amauensis, paying homage to Amau Village in Papua New Guinea where the little guy was found. Taking credit for the discovery is a team of researchers led by Christopher Austin of Louisiana State University, who published their discovery in PLoS ONE.
[...]
Adult examples of P. amauensis range from 7.0 to 8.0 millimeters. The previous record holder for world’s smallest vertebrate was a fish, Paedocypris progenetica, which ranged from 7.9 to 10.3 millimeters as adults.
Hey, you know what? That fish they just mentioned as now being the the 2nd-smallest vertebrate on Earth, P. progenetica? It could start its own reality TV show: The Smallest Loser.
Get it? Get it?
[wah-wahhh]
January 9, 2012
This photo of a “monster rat!” allegedly found in a Foot Locker store in the Bronx has become a bit of a sensation lately:
Wow! It’s huge! It’s being described as “three-feet-long” and “the size of a small dog”! And…it’s probably more like a foot long (body only), if that, because the old perspective trick is being played on us once again.
As you can see, the guy holding the rat (on some sort of scraper/shovel tool) is reaching to hold it up close to the camera, which makes him look relatively small, and the rat look relatively huge. (The same thing appears to be happening with the guy holding up the “monster rat!” on the pitchfork in the photo at this link.) More than that: The scraper/shovel tool might actually only be six or so inches across—how could we know from the photo?—which means the rat could actually be pretty small. Perspective is a powerful tool!
Much like this OHMYGOD THERE’S AN ENORMOUS CHILD LOOSE IN PARIS!!!
Don’t get us wrong: A rat with a body a foot long is big—but it’s not anything out of the ordinary. Brown or Norway rats (we’re assuming that’s what it is, since it is the most common type of rat in North America and much more of the world today) commonly grow to ten inches in length, and, as most New Yorkers can tell you, often grow larger.
So, how about them Mets?
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December 30, 2011
Today’s post is a roundup of great animal stories we’ve seen this week.
First we visit with a lion who loves to be pampered. Watch the video of him rolling on his back waiting for his pedicure.
Next we have a beautiful image of an elephant’s pedicure session. Getting him ready for the day’s elephant beauty pageant.
Last but not least, here is a chimpanzee that loves to bbq. He’s so good at gathering wood and making marshmallows that I’m thinking of inviting him to our next camping trip.
What’s the best animal story you have seen lately? Post a link in the comments and we’ll do a roundup next week of the top 5. We’ll even give you credit for finding it.
December 21, 2011
Really. We’re not making this up.
That video was uploaded by “KoreanFrogMania.” Just so you know.
* And thanks to Chet in Oregon for the tip!
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December 13, 2011
And of course there’s video of the cute little bugger on the couch:
Is it just us or was that one of the weirdest news segments, production-wise, ever made? (Is that, for example, obligatory seal-themed-news-story music in New Zealand?)
And it seems like that woman missed a real opportunity: She could have tossed out the Christmas goose and had Christmas seal this year! Yum. (“Here, try a flipper…”)
And in other seal news:
• “Big Al,” the Seattle Aquarium’s 19-year-old fur seal, died this morning. Background:
At less than a year old, Al was discovered in a Hoquiam cow pasture after a disorienting storm.
• A seal pup found amongst several Orkney sheep in a field in Scotland is on his way to recovery.
• The Wildlife Conservation Society has tracked an elephant seal—as it traveled more than 18,000 miles.
• And “Soul 2,” the new album by Seal, will be available in the U.S. in January.
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