How about going swimming with a killing machine – the American Alligator?

American Alligator

Well if you’re up to it, then you should first consider these facts about that ferocious predator.

And 10: The American alligator has to be in a good mood and have a good attitude says Sean Manning.

“How you feeling Skalie? You wanna go for a swim? Naked?”

Researchers from the Australian Museum, Sydney; the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, the University of Tokyo and the Natural History Museum, Chiba, Japan believe they have solved the puzzle of three seemingly different fish. One fish is all males, another all female and the third all juveniles. The missing link – they’re all the same fish, and they change as they mature.

The fish live in deep water thousands of feet below the surface pretty much by themselves, which makes me wonder, why do we care about what fish are doing there and how much money is wasted trying to find out. But, that’s another issue.

The cetomimidae is a type of whalefish and it’s presence has been known about since the 19th century, but only the female type.

Although their skeletons indicated the three were related, there were so many differences no one could believe they were the same fish. The researchers linked the fish through comparative anatomical study and by obtaining fresh samples and by their DNA.

The fish live within 600 feet of the surface, but as adults they descend thousands of feet into the dark ocean. Meanwhile, the researchers are asking for more money to study things that will make no difference to the rest of the world.

So, about solving the missing link thing. Man and monkey – they’re the same.

More about the whalefish.

“Smile, I am going to eat you.”

This Lemon Shark was the subject in a photo that won the Oceans division of the international Nature’s Best Photography 2008 Windland Smith Rice Awards.

The photographer was Bruce Yates.

Of course, Bruce wasn’t around to collect the award for the photo because he became dinner for the shark. (Kidding). But, we don wonder why the shark is smiling so, don’t we?

Which leads me to ask, do animals have emotions?

This pic was taken on the surface at sunset and was selected from among 20,000 photos to be the winner.

The lemon shark is found mainly in the tropical parts of the Atlantic coasts of North and South America and in the Pacific Islands of Polynesia – French Polynesia – Tahiti, the Cook Islands, and Tonga. They can grow as long as 12 feet but are usually around 8-10 feet. (3meters).

Lemon sharks don’t mind living in captivity, unlike white sharks which refuse food when you lock them up.

There have been 22 lemon shark attacks in the past 400 some years resulting in no deaths.

I confess, I never knew kangaroos could climb trees. I do know why kangaroos don’t like when it rains outside. (answer down below).

Zookeepers in Nebraska are thrilled that one of their rare species of tree kangaroo has had twins.

Twin joeys were born at the Lincoln Children’s Zoo last month.

The proud parents of the Matschie’s tree kangaroos are Milla and her mate Noru. They were found in Milla’s pouch last month. That makes two of the four documented Matschie’s tree kangaroo births last year. Don’t know about you, but I love babies…of all kinds.

According to a Kansas City Zoo zookeeper there are only about 50 tree kangaroos in North America. They live in the wild in the rain forest in northeastern Papua New Guinea. And being in North America means they won’t be home for dinner anytime soon.

Zoo visitors are expected to get a peak when the little guys begin poking out their heads or feet as early as May.

Answer – kangaroo mamas don’t like when it rains outside, because the kids have to play inside.

Japanese continue to pig out on whale meat. Or is is whale out on pig meat?

“Why do people say we can’t eat the things we’ve eaten since the end of World War II?” asked Koji Shingu, the proprietor of a whale eatery called Yushin in Tokyo, a few blocks from the city’s oldest temple, a popular tourist draw.

Japan has hunted whales for hundreds of years and whale meat is a sentimental favorite of people who survived Japan’s post war lean years. At that time whale meat was the chief source of protein, sometimes eaten every day.

Whale Sashimi

Most whale meat eaters are over 40. Young diners eat whale meat for novelty sake.

Japanese whalers hunt between New Zealand and Chile. One crew member has already been lost this year. PETA? Greenpeace? Sea Shepherd chased Japan’s whaling ships for several thousand miles, threw bottles of rancid butter at Japanese boats and even collided with one boat at sea.

Japan catches primarily minke whales and minke whales are not endangered.

“We deal with a ruthless and cruel enemy whose very reason for being here is to inflict agonizing suffering and to deliver cruel death to gentle, sensitive, intelligent and socially complex sentient beings,” says the captain of Sea Shepherd.

Tokyo calls Sea Shepherds aggressive save-the-whales activities terrorism. It seems the harder knuckleheads like Sea Shepherd try, pro-whaling sentiment in Japan increase.

Can’t we all get along?

Taotao is just ten months old. He has a sad story. His mama left him when he was a little guy, much like Knut in German, except that Taotao is in China.

Taotao’s keepers smeared polar bear urine and crap all over themselves so that Taotao would be fooled and let them help him. It worked. Taotao eventually sucked the fingers of his keepers, as opposed to other areas. He let them nurse him and he grew.

Taotao eventually grew from just several hundred grams to 35kg. Taotao now has his own private swimming pool and is growing. His favorite books are when keepers read global warming horror stories to him.

Keepers theorize that Taotao’s mother abandoned him because she was too young when he was born.

Taotao survived, however. Little guys who grow against the odds give us hope, no?

Since old mosquitoes spread diseases, Aussie researchers have been pondering what to do. The conclusion…have the buggers die sooner, without killing them or poisoning them, of course. That won’t work as the PETA mosquito bunch will be all over us, um, them.

Scientists have been trying genetically engineer mosquitoes to become resistant to malaria and dengue fever and such as an alternative to mass spraying of insecticide.

Just recently, researchers have discovered a way to breed mosquitoes to carry an insect parasite that will cause them to die sooner. Mosquitoes born with the parasite lived only 21 days instead of the usual 50 days…not long enough to encounter malaria and endure two weeks of incubation before the bug can spread the disease.

The plan is to somehow let the parasite grow more rapidly, attach to mosquitoes that carry diseases and have the mosquitoes die younger before they can infect anyone.

I don’t know about you, but it seems pretty naive to me to think that somebody thinks they can control the rampant setting free of parasites to kill bugs that are intent on causing diseases.

Tinks is going on a diet, like it or not.

Seems they had to fatten the fellow up just so as they could have him joining Britain’s Pet Fit Club, put him on a diet and get him crowned champion if he loses weight on a 100-day diet and fitness regime. There is something seriously wrong with this picture. How about we fatten up the owner till s/he is five times or more his/her normal size, then make that person lose it all in 100 days?

Eight of Britain’s most overweight pets are competing in a 100-day diet and fitness test in hopes of becoming the pet fit club champion.

How about this for a new year’s resolution? Let’s not abuse our pets. Let’s not let them get so fat they have to compete in such ridiculous schemes.

Isn’t there a belief that animals/pets often times look like their owners?

What’s your New Year’s resolution?

Here today, gone tomorrow and back again today. That’s the story with the Gumprechts green pitviper and a Theloderma licin.

Scientists have found more than 1,000 new species in Southeast Asia’s Mekong region over the past 10 years. A spider as big as a dinner plate, a rat thought to have gone extinct 11 million years ago and a cyanide-laced, shocking pink millipede were also found.

A Gumprechts green pitviper and a Theloderma licin

The species were found in the rainforests and wetlands along the Mekong River, which flows through Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam and the southern China. The official number is 1,068 and just some quickies: the huntsman spider has a leg span of 30cm; the dragon millipede produces cyanide (I wonder who found this out and how?).

Scientists also found species in rafters at restaurants.

Lots of biodiversity in the region said the head of the World Wildlife Fund. The species included:

1. 519 plants,
2. 279 fish,
3. 88 frogs,
4. 88 spiders,
5. 46 lizards,
6. 22 snakes,
7. 15 mammals,
8. 4 birds,
9. 4 turtles,
10. two salamanders and a toad

and a partridge in a pear tree.

Discoveries took place on average of two a week for 10 years. And, all was right with Charles Darwin lovers.

Source: Cri

Whenever I want to be reminded there is hope for the world, I look for a baby. We have a 10-month old now who is full of life and desire and curiosity and anticipation and and….

Staff at Belgrade Zoo are showing off two new white lion cubs. They are the first of their rare species to be born in Belgrade. Ah, and they give hope to the animal world that all can be okay.

Mom is a white lioness, Masa. Pop is a regular-color lion, said the zoo manager. White lions are not a separate species, neither are they albino. These genetically rare cubs are unique to the Timbavati area of South Africa. There were born on Tuesday.

White lions don’t usually make it in the wild because they are considered divine by local people and a valuable prize by hunters. If the religious don’t get them the guys skipping Sunday services will.  In 2004 a study counted only 30 of them in the African wild. In order to keep the species going, they have been bred selectively for generations in zoos across the world.

Hmm…keeping a species going requires a breeder. Interesting…interesting.