Wildlife
Beavers are exceptional foresters
Beavers are exceptional foresters
Beavers have shaped the North American landscape more than any other critter.
By Dr. Reese Halter June 2010
Beavers are formidable harvesters. They can drop a 10-inch diameter tree within minutes. Yet, they also know how to re-grow forests and promote water conservation.
Beavers are the largest of all North American rodents, weighing a whopping 44 pounds. They move slowly and awkwardly over land and so they've mastered the path of least resistance — floating through the forest. In fact, they are experts in the world of fresh water.
Among their remarkable traits is the flat, hairless paddle-like tail that allows beavers to prop themselves up while standing and whack the water in a highly effective, loud warning mechanism. Their dense undercoat of fur provides excellent insulation in water. Their lips close behind the huge, ever-growing front teeth for underwater chewing. They have self-stopping ears and nostrils for diving and large back feet with webbed toes make them powerful swimmers. Two serrated claws on each hind foot are used for combing water repellant oil through their coat. Small, agile front fingers allow delicate handling of tiny objects.
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Last Updated ( Monday, 18 April 2011 11:20 )
World's least known top predator is half-cat, half-mongoose
Thursday, 24 March 2011 04:26
Mysterious cougar-like fossa has retractable claws, specialized carnivorous teeth, and sits atop Madagascar's food chain. By Bryan Nelson Feb 2011
FOSSA: Mysterious carnivore with retractable claws is Madagascar's top predator.
Last Updated ( Thursday, 24 March 2011 04:57 )
To Help Costa Rican Jaguars Survive, Ease Their Commute
Wednesday, 12 May 2010 17:18
LAS LOMAS, Costa Rica — Héctor Porras-Valverdo tried to adopt a Zen attitude when he discovered recently that jaguars had turned two of his cows into carcasses.
The jaguars’ numbers may have dwindled, but they still roam the forests here in eastern Costa Rica, making their presence known by devouring the occasional chicken, pig or cow.
“I understand cats do this because they need to survive,” said Mr. Porras-Valverdo, 41, a burly dairy farmer.
A few years ago, he acknowledged, his first reaction might have been to reach for a gun. But his farm now sits in the middle of land that Costa Rica has designated a “jaguar corridor” — a protected pathway that allows the stealthy, nocturnal animals to safely traverse areas of human civilization.
Farming snails to save the world's rarest gorillas
Thursday, 29 April 2010 15:49
In a place of poverty and hunger, how do you save a species on the edge of extinction? A difficult question that conservationists have long-been working to tackle, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has come up with a new plan to protect the world's most endangered gorilla, the Cross River gorilla, from poachers by providing locals with an alternate and better income from farming snails.
In a new initiative funded by Great Apes Program of the Arcus Foundation, WCS has selected eight former poachers from four villages to become snail farmers. But why farm snails?
In Nigeria, snails are a highly sought-after delicacy and provide enough to support a family. According to WCS, operating costs to run a snail farm run about 87 US dollars, whereas profit from 3000 snails sold annually runs about 413 US dollars, leaving the snail farmer 326 US dollars a year. On the other hand, poaching a gorilla for bushmeat brings in only about 70 US dollars. Unlike poaching, income from snail farming is reliable and regular.
How to apologize to an orangutan
Wednesday, 28 April 2010 14:53
In the rare mid-April sun of drizzly, seaside Seattle I was watching orangutans at the zoo communicate.
It was a good day because the orangutans, each in their own way, in their own time, was letting the keeper Andy Antilla know that his apology was accepted.
Orangutans remind us of rudimentary courtesy and moral behaviour. If we forget, it damages the relationship with them, as it would with us.
Last Updated ( Wednesday, 28 April 2010 15:08 )
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Beavers have shaped the North American landscape more than any other critter.
By Dr. Reese Halter June 2010
Beavers are formidable harvesters. They can drop a 10-inch diameter tree within minutes. Yet, they also know how to re-grow forests and promote water conservation.
Beavers are the largest of all North American rodents, weighing a whopping 44 pounds. They move slowly and awkwardly over land and so they've mastered the path of least resistance — floating through the forest. In fact, they are experts in the world of fresh water.
Among their remarkable traits is the flat, hairless paddle-like tail that allows beavers to prop themselves up while standing and whack the water in a highly effective, loud warning mechanism. Their dense undercoat of fur provides excellent insulation in water. Their lips close behind the huge, ever-growing front teeth for underwater chewing. They have self-stopping ears and nostrils for diving and large back feet with webbed toes make them powerful swimmers. Two serrated claws on each hind foot are used for combing water repellant oil through their coat. Small, agile front fingers allow delicate handling of tiny objects.
World's least known top predator is half-cat, half-mongoose
Mysterious cougar-like fossa has retractable claws, specialized carnivorous teeth, and sits atop Madagascar's food chain. By Bryan Nelson Feb 2011
FOSSA: Mysterious carnivore with retractable claws is Madagascar's top predator.
To Help Costa Rican Jaguars Survive, Ease Their Commute
LAS LOMAS, Costa Rica — Héctor Porras-Valverdo tried to adopt a Zen attitude when he discovered recently that jaguars had turned two of his cows into carcasses.
The jaguars’ numbers may have dwindled, but they still roam the forests here in eastern Costa Rica, making their presence known by devouring the occasional chicken, pig or cow.
“I understand cats do this because they need to survive,” said Mr. Porras-Valverdo, 41, a burly dairy farmer.
A few years ago, he acknowledged, his first reaction might have been to reach for a gun. But his farm now sits in the middle of land that Costa Rica has designated a “jaguar corridor” — a protected pathway that allows the stealthy, nocturnal animals to safely traverse areas of human civilization.
Farming snails to save the world's rarest gorillas
In a place of poverty and hunger, how do you save a species on the edge of extinction? A difficult question that conservationists have long-been working to tackle, the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has come up with a new plan to protect the world's most endangered gorilla, the Cross River gorilla, from poachers by providing locals with an alternate and better income from farming snails.
In a new initiative funded by Great Apes Program of the Arcus Foundation, WCS has selected eight former poachers from four villages to become snail farmers. But why farm snails?
In Nigeria, snails are a highly sought-after delicacy and provide enough to support a family. According to WCS, operating costs to run a snail farm run about 87 US dollars, whereas profit from 3000 snails sold annually runs about 413 US dollars, leaving the snail farmer 326 US dollars a year. On the other hand, poaching a gorilla for bushmeat brings in only about 70 US dollars. Unlike poaching, income from snail farming is reliable and regular.
How to apologize to an orangutan
In the rare mid-April sun of drizzly, seaside Seattle I was watching orangutans at the zoo communicate.
It was a good day because the orangutans, each in their own way, in their own time, was letting the keeper Andy Antilla know that his apology was accepted.
Orangutans remind us of rudimentary courtesy and moral behaviour. If we forget, it damages the relationship with them, as it would with us.
