Week 10: Elusive Spots

The Amur Leopard is one, if not the most, endangered big cat in the world. With only 30 to 35 recorded individuals left in the wild this cat needs our help. These beautiful animals
are "only found in the Russian Far East and North East China". They are elusive and majestic. Only using humble camera traps are scientists able to capture images of the Amur leopard. Conservationists and veterinarians use skilled trackers to locate, dart, and check the physical health of these big cats. They also take blood samples to identify individuals.

Poachers are the main reason Amur leopards are dwindling. Not only do poachers hunt leopards for there fur, but they also hunt the leopards' food source. Many types of deer are illegally killed for sport and other recreational activities that authorities are trying to prevent or better yet stop. There are several groups in Russia that are geared towards protecting the leopards by monitoring their locations using tracking techniques. The "protectors" have caught poachers and have issued more than 500 citation violations and confiscated over 500 illegally owned guns. \



With the help of local communities, conservationists, and zoos hopefully this species can make a come back and get taken off the endangered species lists. It will take a very long time to do this, but with a little effort and passion for the survival of the big cats, the future will look "spottier", brighter.

Posted by: Em Arsenault (10)

http://www.amur-leopard.org/index.php?pg=gallery
http://www.amur-leopard.org/index.php?pg=1

The Rude Brood Parasite

Studies on animal behavior show many ways in which birds evolve extravagant and mind-boggling characteristics that improve their fitness. These intricate characteristics, such as the bowerbird's nest filled with color schemed ornaments and the manikins perfected moonwalk are males attempts to win over females, in order to pass as many genes as they can to the next generation. Unfortunately, the females have no extra energy on becoming great dancers or to build a beautiful home, in fact they don't even have time to produce any beautiful coloring or anything attractive on their outside coating. They are plain ugly because all of their energy goes to bringing up her children, regardless if the male is present or not.

There are a few species though, that somehow cheated the system. The females evolved to lay their eggs in a different bird species nest. This phenomenon is called brood parasitism. They then do not have to raise their children, but leave it to another struggling mother not of her kind to do the work. The bird not only drops her eggs off into the nest, but many times also inhales the eggs of the other mothers, getting a meal in while disguising the fact that there is a new egg present. This arms race between the two species has been going on where the poor working mothers evolve ways to distinguish between the foreign egg and her own, but the parasitic birds are becoming better and better at disguising their eggs. They also have their eggs hatch slightly faster than the rest of the eggs in the nest. Therefore, they get the best treatment and first dibs at the energy of the mother as she scrounges for food to feed and raise the foreign child. There have been hypothesis that the opening of the foreign baby's mouth with its inner bright coloring is simply enough to initiate the fixed action potential of this hard working mother to feed it, even if the bird baby looks and sounds absolutely nothing like her species.

These parasitic behaviors are starting to be favored with increasing deforestation. The populations of brood parasites are increasing, which is increasing the chances that the host mother will be unfortunate enough to be caught with one. Therefore, the populations of the host birds are slowly but surely decreasing.

http://www.nature.com/scitable/knowledge/library/the-ecology-of-avian-brood-parasitism-14724491

Posted by Abbie Saranteas

In the Spirit of the Holidays...

Whether you celebrate Christmas or not, you are probably aware of Santa and his magical flying reindeer that pull his sleigh. (Spoiler alert) Although in 6th grade I learned that Santa is not real, his flying reindeer are... sort of. The reindeer are not actually flying, but they do believe that they are on account of a hallucinogenic mushroom found through out colder climates in Northern Europe. The fungus, Amanita muscaria, contains a psychoactive chemical called Muscimol that affects an organism's central nervous system and alters perception, mood, and behavior. Reindeer throughout Scandinavia are known to seek out and eat this mushroom for its mind altering affect. After consuming the "magic" mushroom the reindeer commence playing and frolicking as if experiencing the sensation of flying. While reindeer love consuming this mushroom, its psychedelic affects are not for all forest creatures like musk ox which purposely avoid this mushroom. Humans have consumed this mushroom throughout history, including the vikings and have experienced its magical powers.

Happy holidays everyone and if you know a reindeer flying under the influence don't be afraid to reach out and help.

Weird Science-BBC

Posted by Suzanne Sullivan

Talking Dog?

Since we were little kids many of us have always wanted to see or find a talking animal that could communicate with humans or at least make sounds that resemble human words. In this youtube clip I have is of a husky dog talking? Or this is what the link says. Is the dog in this clip actually consciously responding to and repeating what the human is saying or is it just an innate mimicking characteristic the dog has. What would be the mechanism that makes this dog make human like sounds? Or maybe this dog isn't making any resemblance of human words at all and that in our mind we are using mental gymnastics to make it seem like the dog is talking.In the video the dog name Mishka is repeating what the owner is saying by some barks that very roughly sound like the tone at which the owner says the words but not articulating the words. Is this dog unique or just doing this because it's a natural response. You be the Judge. However subconsciously we want this dog to talk and respond and articulate words back to us in clear English. We want something unique that has never been done before. For some of us we want to prove that mankind isn't the only sentient being in the universe. That maybe some animals have traits and qualities that make them conscious of the world around them. That they are able to put in perspective their place in the universe.


posted: by Andrew Ryan