Digging the world's artifacts
The crested auklet enjoys a very unique way of attracting mates.
Already looking like a bassist of a punk band (check the nose hair clip), the bird also smells like tangerines.
The seabird’s plumage emits the citrus aroma in its mating process to draw more attention from the crowd.
Crested auklets mainly live in the Northern Pacific and Bering Sea.
In July 2010, 10 years of rain fell into parts of Pakistan that left millions of people (and spiders) homeless.
As a survival mechanism, spiders took homage and blanketed some of the trees.
What resulted was cotton candy and ghost-like cocooned trees that protected the locals against a rash of mosquitoes.
Photos by Russell Watkins
People have more in common with flamingos than they think.
Flamingos are known to seek out a specific set of friends they mix well with and ignore other groups that they don’t like.
Researchers at The University of Exeter who studied flamingo species for five years at the Wildfowl and Wetlands Trust (WWT) Slimbridge Wetland Center found that these social animals tend to form lasting bonds with specific groups.
In addition to “hanging out,” these friendships are also important to survival in the wild.
“Our results indicate that flamingo societies are complex. They are formed of long-standing friendships rather than loose, random connections,” said Dr. Paul Rose of the University of Exeter.
“Flamingos don’t simply find a mate and spend their time with that individual.
“Some mating couples spend much of their time together, but lots of other social bonds also exist.
“We see pairs of males or females choosing to ‘hang out’, we see trios and quartets that are regularly together.
“Flamingos have long lives—some of the birds in this study have been at Slimbridge since the 1960s—and our study shows their friendships are stable over a period of years.
“It seems that—like humans—flamingos form social bonds for a variety of reasons, and the fact they’re so long-lasting suggests they are important for survival in the wild.”
Friends of a pink feathers tend to flock together. You can learn more about the study in the official paper here.
James Mollison of TOPIC ventured into one of Tokyo’s animal cafes where you can sip your coffee with your animal of choice (cats, dogs, and rabbits). But this coffee shop was a little different.
Tokyo’s Pakuchi Bar is apparently one of eight owl cafes in the big city. The owner, Tomo Nanaka, owns 30 of them which she allows in public on the weekends and on special holidays. Even more, she’s named them after musicians and bands.
Below are some of my favorite. From left to right: Kurt Cobain, The Chemical Brothers, Beck, and The Cure.
(All images via James Mollison)
Photographer Sam Rowley’s image of two mice fighting over leftover food in the London Underground won People’s Choice Wildlife Photographer of the Year. The snap was selected by the public from more than 48,000 submissions to London’s Natural History Museum.
Entitled “Station Squabble,” the photo depicts how some wildlife have adapted to survive in urban environments.
“I’m so pleased to win this award. It’s been a lifetime dream to succeed in this competition in this way, with such a relatable photo taken in such an everyday environment in my hometown,” says the 25-year-old photographer.
“I hope it shows people the unexpected drama found in the most familiar of urban environments.”
Rowley spent an entire week in the London Underground following the critters around and waiting for the perfect shot. Thankfully, he was rewarded for his patience.
Take a look at some of the other finalists.
Iguanas in South Florida are falling out of trees due to freezing temperatures.
Weather in South Florida dropped into the 30s on Tuesday night, which immobilized the iguanas and turned their bodies dormant.
“Don’t be surprised if you see iguanas falling from the trees tonight,” the Miami National Weather Service office tweeted.
The good news is that the iguanas woke up when the heat turned back up on Wednesday morning, like this one. While Miami suffered its coldest temperatures in 9 years, it’s expected to be back to 80 on Friday.
Grover Krantz was one of the few anthropologists who dedicated their time to studying Sasquatch, aka Bigfoot.
As a cryptozoologist, Krantz believed that Bigfoot might exist and did everything he could to research it. Five of his ten books explored the possible existence of the ape-like creature.
Perhaps even more interestingly, the peculiar scientist donated his body to science with the one condition that his dog Clyde, an Irish wolfhound, would be right by him.
“I’ve been a teacher all my life and I think I might as well be a teacher after I’m dead, so why don’t I just give you my body,” said Krantz. “But there’s one catch: You have to keep my dogs with me.”
Both Krantz and Clyde are on display at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington DC.
PS, if you’re wondering why mentions of Bigfoot may be on the decline, blame technology.
What looks like it was taken out of a country western film, here are two Kangaroos fighting each other from the outback in Australia.
Kangaroos usually loaf around most of the time — if they’re not eating or jumping around — so to see them duking it out like humans in a good old boxing match is fascinating.
For all the jokes about humans fighting kangaroos, it seems unlikely that humans could defend against the extremely muscular hind legs of these marsupial kickboxers — their kicks are so lethal they can crush bones!
But in more serious terms, if you want to donate to help fight the rampant Australia fires — of which millions of wild animals have been a victim, including kangaroos — donate here.
With the polar vortex sweeping the Midwest and other parts of the nation, there are some animals like alligators that welcome the freeze.
Crocodiles in North Carolina take in winter by letting their body freeze while allowing their nostrils to hang out in the air.
The survival mechanism is called brumation, where there the reptile hibernates underwater for a few days at a time to lowers its body heat and metabolism. Peep the video after the jump.
Known as the Kallima
The upper side of the dead leaf butterfly is beautifully colored, with yellow and dark blue and blue patterns. Check out the two videos after the jump, including the video of the dragontail butterfly.