The Sad Music of Dancing Bears

As their name suggests, wild animals like bears must be found in the wild, in their natural habitat where they dance to the melody of clapping leaves or be lulled by the hum of the afternoon breeze. But for some bears, they have to dance to a different music, an evil tune played by the strings of exploitation and cruelty. They have to dance to the rhythm of the reins that made them helpless and degraded. They have to dance….



Dancing bears, also known as tame bears, are tourist attractions in many parts of the world. They are wild bears captured when they were still young, though some of them are born and bred in captivity. The practice of taming bears for entertainment began in the Indus Valley Civilization. Romani, an ethnic group which originated in the Indian Subcontinent, were known to tame bears since the Middle Ages up until the end of the 14^th century. The practice continued in places like India, Bulgaria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Siberia.

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Image courtesy of Wikimedia.

Critically Endangered Foxes and Wolves

Wolves and foxed may be some of the wildest animals in nature. Yet, their savageness does not exempt them from dangers and menaces that threat their survival. They belong to the family of Canidae which includes the dogs, jackals, coyotes, and other dog-like animals. The International Union for Conservation of Nature listed five species of Canidae under the status of Critically Endangered, meaning that they face extreme risk of extinction. Here are the five critically endangered wolves and foxes:

Island Fox (Urocyon littoralis), also known as coast fox, short-tailed fox, Channel Islands fox, insular gray fox, California Channel Island fox and island gray fox, is a small fox endemic to six of the eight Channel Islands of California. Its head-to-body length is only 48-50 cm and it weighs between 1 and 2.8 kg. The island fox has gray fur on its head, a ruddy red coloring on its sides, white fur on its belly, throat and the lower half of its face, and a black stripe on the dorsal surface of its tail.



Threats to these animals are the presence of golden eagles in the island, introduction of diseases and parasites, and diminished food supply and general degradation of the habitat. The decline of the island fox population was first identified in the 1990s. In 1999, adult population reduced to 15 from 450. Presently, federal protection has been done. The National Parks Service has initiated captive fox breeding programs on San Miguel, Santa Rosa and Santa Cruz Islands, successfully increasing the numbers of resident foxes. In 2004, there were 38 San Miguel island foxes, all in captivity; 46 foxes in captivity on Santa Rosa Island and 7 in the wild; Santa Cruz Island had 25 captive foxes and a stable wild population of around 100 foxes. The Catalina Island Conservancy also runs a captive breeding program on Catalina Island; in 2002, there were 17 foxes in captive breeding programs and at least 161 wild foxes.

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Crocodiles Can Climb Trees

In a mouth-gaping result of a study by Vladimir Dinets and his team, it was found out that certain species of crocodile can climb trees. You heard it right, crocodiles can indeed climb and perch on the limbs of trees.

In a report called as Herpetology Notes, four species of crocodiles were identified as able to climb trees. Some were spotted to have climb up to 13 feet above the ground, and as far as 16 feet down a branch.

Well, doesn’t that you give you chills? Crocodiles are already dangerous wading in the waters, what more can they do from up above the trees? Just imagine….

Furthermore, Dinets and his colleagues also observed that smaller crocodilians were able to climb higher and further than the larger ones. "Climbing a steep hill or steep branch is mechanically similar, assuming the branch is wide enough to walk on," the authors wrote. "Still, the ability to climb vertically is a measure of crocodiles' spectacular agility on land."






This tree climbing and basking habit is believed to be due to two reasons: thermoregulation and surveillance of habitat. Usually, crocodile species with this ability are found in areas where there is less ground to bask on, which urges these animals to find alternatives to regulate their body temperature. In a way, this also improves surveillance of both threats and prey.

More of these crocodile facts can be found in Dinets’ “Herpetology Notes” and his book called “Dragon Songs”. Vladimir Dinets is a research assistant professor in the Department of Psychology in the University of Tennessee.

Sources:

Yahoo News

e! Science News

”Tarsiers Can Turn Their Heads 180 Degrees” and Other Fun Facts about Philippine Tarsiers

The Philippine tarsier is one of the most unique and peculiar animals on the planet. I have seen this creature several times and it is really very cute and adorable. It is very small that I wish to have one hang on my bag’s zipper or with my keys. LOL! On a serious note, the tarsier deserves some respect and attention as it is under endangered status already. Well, here are some facts about the Philippine tarsier that you may not know:

 

• Measuring only 85 to 160 millimeters (3.35 to 6.30 in) in height, the Philippine tarsier is one of the smallest primates. It is about the size of a human fist and will fit very comfortably in the human hand.
• The tarsier’s eyes are fixed in its skull, meaning it can be turned in their sockets. So if it wants to see what’s beside and behind it, it has to turn its entire head. This is a special adaptation for its neck which allows its round head to be rotated 180 degrees.

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Critically Endangered Albatross

The International Union for Conservation of Nature or IUCN has listed several flora and fauna species which are classified as critically endangered. This status is given to animals facing extremely threat of extinction. Some of these species have not been cited for a long time.  For others, there are no valid documents for their continued existence or possible extinction. The most common threats for these animals are habitat destruction and human activity.

Among the animals identified by IUCN as under critically endangered status are four species of albatross. Here are the basic descriptions of these birds.

Amsterdam Albatross. This is a huge albatross endemic to the Amsterdam Island in the southern Indian Ocean. Unlike other albatrosses which are usually white, the Amsterdam Albatross has a brown plumage. Its weighs 4.8 – 6 kg (11-18 lb) and possesses a wingspan of 280 – 340 cm (110-130 in). The adult bird has chocolate brown upper parts, and is white on its face mask, throat, lower breast, and belly. It has a broad brown breast band along with brown undertail coverts. Its pink bill has a dark tip and dark cutting edges, and finally, its underwings are white except for the dark tip and the dark leading edge.

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