Body Of Sea Urchin Is One Big Eye

A purple sea urchin, Credit: Claire Fackler, NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries

From Live Science:

Sea urchins may use the whole surface of their bodies as compound eyes, scientists now suggest.

Although sea urchins don't have any problems avoiding predators or finding comfortable dark corners to hide in, they don't have eyes. The question then is how they see.

Genetic analysis of sea urchins has revealed they have light-sensitive molecules, mostly in their tube feet and in tiny stalked appendages found in among their spines. As such, "it looks like the entire surface of their bodies are acting as one big eye," said researcher Sönke Johnsen, a marine biologist at Duke University.

Read more ....

Czech Zoo Sends Rare Northern White Rhinos To Kenya

From the BBC:

Four rare Northern White rhinos have been flown from a Czech zoo to Kenya, in a desperate attempt to save the species from extinction.

Animal experts hope the rhinos - two males and two females - will breed in their natural habitat in Africa.

Only eight Northern White rhinos are known to survive worldwide, all of them in captivity: six in the Czech Republic and two in the US.

The last four living in the wild in Africa have not been seen since 2006.

Read more ....

Pictured: Majestic Brown Bears Go Head To Head In Remarkable 15-Minute Duel

The bears fought each other in the middle of stunning Alaskan scenery for 15 minutes before wandering off to catch salmon in a nearby river.

From The Daily Mail:

These two brown bears couldn't have picked a more stunning setting to engage in a spot of rough and tumble.

In front of a spectacular, snow topped mountain range in Alaska, the giant animals took each other to task, with one even taking a crafty low side-swipe.

Despite one of the bears holding a definite weight advantage, the pair grappled and exchanged blows.

Read more ....

Octopuses Use Coconut Shells To Make Portable Lairs

From The Telegraph:

Octopuses collect coconuts from the sea bed and use them as portable shelters, scientists have found in the latest example of animals using tools.

Researchers watched as the eight legged creatures, not much bigger than the coconuts themselves, collected shell halves, stacked them two together, and transported them awkwardly under their bodies over distances of up to 20 metres.

Then when they arrived at their destination the octopuses in Indonesia used the two halves like shields to construct a makeshift shelter.

Read more ....

Will The U.S. Military Do Right By The Dugong?

From Scientific American:

Would a plan to build a 2.5-mile-long airfield in Okinawa, Japan, doom a rare manateelike species to extinction? That's the assertion of more than 400 environmental organizations (pdf), which recently sent a letter to President Obama urging him to cancel the plans to expand Camp Schwab, a U.S. Marine Corps base on Okinawa island.

Read more ....

Ocean Acidification Will Threaten Our Food Supply, UK Environment Secretary To Warn

Thousands of Glassfishes swim on the edge of the coral reef near Sharm el-Sheikh in Egypt. Marine species are at risk of extinction due to rising acidity levels in the oceans

From The Daily Mail:

Humanity's food supply will be threatened by the acidification of our oceans unless climate change is tackled, Hilary Benn is to warn as the UN climate summit today.

The UK environment secretary will say acidification provides a 'powerful incentive' to cut carbon emissions.

The comments follow a report by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, which has warned acidification will cause the mass extinction of marine species unless immediate action is taken.

Read more ....

Turtles Act Like Chameleons

A dark-colored midland painted turtle darkens to adapt to its surroundings.
Credit: John Rowe.

From Live Science:

Freshwater turtles’ skin and shells often match the color of their habitat’s substrate, which may help them deceive predators and prey alike. But what happens if turtles change abodes, from a black swamp, say, to a sandy-bottomed pond?

John W. Rowe, of Alma College in Michigan, and three colleagues collected gravid female midland painted turtles and red-eared sliders from the wild, brought them to the lab, and injected them with oxytocin, a hormone that induces egg laying.

Read more ....

Wild Dingos Remember Human Gestures

A female dingo, Queensland, Australia. Research shows that although dingos are no longer domesticated, they still retain the ability to read human gestures. Credit: Bradley Smith

From Live Science:

Dingoes were semidomesticated village dogs once, in Southeast Asia. Then, about 4,000 years ago, they got loose in Australia, where their behavior reverted to that of their ancestor, the wolf. They howl, live in packs, and fear humans.

But even after so long on the lam they’ve retained at least one mark of domestication: an ability to read human gestures.

Read more ....

'Global Surge' In Rhino Poaching

From BBC:

Rhino poaching around the world is on the rise despite efforts to protect the animals, a report warns.

The global surge in the illegal trade has been driven by demands from Asian medicinal markets, the study by conservationists concluded.

It suggests that a decline in law enforcement is the main reason for the rise in poaching in Africa.

The report found that 95% of rhino poaching in Africa since 2006 had occurred in Zimbabwe and South Africa.

Read more ....

Pictured: Amazing Images Of Polar Bear Called 'Coldilocks' Taking A Dip

How do you do? Coldilocks waves at the camera during a rare swim
at her enclosure at the Philadelphia Zoo

From The Daily Mail:

Waving at the camera and kicking off a poolside in Olympic swimmer fashion - these captivating pictures give a revealing insight into the playful nature of majestic polar bears.

The award-winning images were taken by photographer Michael S. Confer after months of trying to get the perfect shot of Coldilocks the bear.

Intent on getting photographs of the 29-year-old beast underwater, patient Michael regularly visited the Philadelphia Zoo near his Armore home. But he returned home disappointed every time after months of visits.

Read more ....

Pictured: The Moment A Whale Delivers A Deadly 'Karate Chop' Blow To A Killer Shark

Moments before the deadly blow. The raised fin is about to come crashing down like a karate chop on a shark (circled). It has been driven to the surface by the orca before this coup de grace.

From The Daily Mail:

These incredible pictures demonstrate how orca whales use a 'karate chop' to stun and then finish off killer sharks.

In a rare battle of beasts these images show how several populations of skilled killer whales around the world have learned how to overcome huge sharks, that most animals give a wide berth.

Using a combination of superior brain power and brute force, the highly-intelligent orcas are able to catch and eat what many think of as the ocean's top predators.

Read more ....

Violent World Of Raptors Explored

Ospreys have talons that are large, highly curved and nearly uniform, especially suited for catching fish. This osprey snatched a fish from the Firehole River in Yellowstone National Park. (Credit: MSU photo by Kelly Gorham)

From Science Daily:

ScienceDaily (Nov. 25, 2009) — A journey that started with a box of bird feet carried three Montana State University graduate students into the gruesome world of raptors and led to their findings being published in a prominent journal.

Normally focused on dinosaurs, the students compared the claws and killing methods of four types of raptors and published a paper about their research in the Nov. 25th issue of PLoS ONE, a scientific journal published online by the Public Library of Science. The birds of prey that were studied live in North America and Europe and include eagles and hawks, owls, osprey and falcons.

Read more ....

Surf's Up! Hawaiian Sea Turtles Take To The Waves

Here comes the wave: A giant Hawaiian sea turtle prepares to ride the surf

From The Daily Mail:

He has eaten a big lunch and had a snooze on the beach. So this turtle is looking for a nice quiet journey home.

Rather than be crashed about on the breakers as he makes his way back out to sea, he ducks down to the sand for a smoother ride.

The Hawaiian green sea turtle makes the same journey every day to and from the Laniakea Beach in Hawaii, where he munches on seaweed and takes his rest.

Read more ....

Female Wild Horses Stick Together

Wild mares socialize in new Zealand's Kaimanawa Mountains. Credit: Elissa Z. Cameron

From Live Science:

Wild mares that form strong social bonds with other mares produce more foals than those that don’t, researchers have found, in what may be the first documented link between “friendship” and reproductive success outside of primates.

The study followed bands of feral horses in the Kaimanawa Mountains of New Zealand over the course of three years. Elissa Z. Cameron, now at the University of Pretoria in South Africa, and two colleagues computed sociality scores for 56 mares, based on parameters such as the proportion of time each animal spent near other mares and the amount of social grooming she did.

Read more ....

Film Crew Dives Into The Incredible Secret World Of The Giant Manta Ray

Filming a manta at a 'cleaning station'. Injured rays are frequent visitors so their wounds can be cleaned by tiny, butterfly fish

From The Daily Mail:

Gliding through the oceans like ghosts, these mysterious manta rays have been captured in unique footage filmed off the coast of Mozambique.

Biologist Andrea Marshall is shown performing a ballet-like dance with the inquisitive giant fish, which she described as 'the most beautiful underwater birds.'

Read more ....

Pictured: The 12ft Leopard Seal About To Eat Penguin

The moment a 12ft leopard seal catches the penguin Photo: AMOS NACHOUN/BARCROFT

From The Telegraph:

A diver has captured the moment a 12ft leopard seal - with its mouth wide open displaying its two-inch long razor sharp teeth - prepared to lunch on a penguin.

The animal was photographed in the shallows of Antarctica's freezing Southern Ocean.

The agile leopard seal of Pleneau Island near Port Lockroy is part of a group that congregate each year on the Antarctic Peninsula to feed.

Read more ....

Middle-Aged Wolves Retire From the Hunt

Middle-aged and older wolves tend to leave the hunting to their younger counterparts, according to a new study. Wolves usually lose their hunting prowess at age 3, about halfway through their lives. Getty Images

From Discovery:

It takes wolves a year or two to learn how to hunt, but their ferociousness doesn't last long.

According to a new study, most wolves lose their prowess by age 3, just halfway through their lives. After that, they have to rely on younger members of the pack to catch the majority of their meals.

The discovery adds to growing evidence that aging affects animals much like it affects people. The findings might also change the way scientists think about the health of both wolf packs and the elk they prey on.

Read more ....

Killer Dolphins Baffle Marine Experts

From The Telegraph:

It's hard to visualise but the intelligent and ever-friendly dolphin can also be a determined killer.

• Orca whales hunt eider ducks for practice
• 'Tougher laws' to protect friendly dolphins
• Shark pictures show amazing killing display

New evidence has been compiled by marine scientists that prove the normally placid dolphin is capable of brutal attacks both on innocent fellow marine mammals and, more disturbingly, on its own kind.

Read more ....

Skunks: From A Continuing Series On Revolting Creatures.

From Slate:

A mother skunk trailed by six little striped kits is a sight at least as charming as ducklings following their mother. Skunks themselves are not revolting. It's the pungent, oily, yellow-green liquid that streams out of nozzles on either side of a skunk's anus that is revolting. Lovable though the creatures are, there will never be a children's book called Make Way for Skunks.

Read more ....

The Story Behind Our Photo of Grieving Chimps

Cameroon—At the Sanaga-Yong Chimpanzee Rescue Center, more than a dozen residents form a gallery of grief, looking on as Dorothy—a beloved female felled in her late 40s by heart failure—is borne to her burial.

From National Geographic:

The November issue of National Geographic magazine features a moving photograph of chimpanzees watching as one of their own is wheeled to her burial. Since it was published, the picture and story have gone viral, turning up on websites and TV shows and in newspapers around the world. For readers who’d like to know more, here’s what I learned when I interviewed the photographer, Monica Szczupider.

Read more ....