There isn't much to this story, but it is quite amusing, as you can probably see in the picture below.
According to Blogger Andrew Smith, "This photo illustrates one danger of building light rail to the far-flung suburbs: unwanted riders." What happened here? Pretty much, in the winter of 2002, a coyote boarded a Red Line Max train at the Portland International Airport in Portland, Oregon. As it says in the caption in the picture below, the coyote was gypped of its ride, and was force to deboard by the wildlife specialists at the airport.
Brief tangent: why would an airport need a wildlife specialist, let alone specialists, plural? "For situations like this" you say. OK, but how often do these situations occur? I don't really, know, as I am not expert, but still. Seems a bit shady to me.
Never mind. I just looked it up. Here is why: BIRDSTRIKES.
Anyways, the incident also led to the band called "Sleater-Kinney" creating a song called (can you guess it?) "Light Rail Coyote." An interesting little story, to be sure.
Saturday, August 11, 2012
Simba, Pumbaa, and Other Swahili Names From "The Lion King"
Recently I decided to learn a bit of Swahili, and I have stumbled across a few things that I thought were quite interesting! For instance, did you know that "Safari" meant "Trip" in Swahili? I certainly didn't! And the old movie entitled "Hatari!" actually means "Danger!" in Swahili! Who knew!
Then, I found that "Simba" meant "Lion." There was, of course, a lion that went by the name of Simba, in the first season of Big Cat Diary, I believe. I had just assumed he was named after Simba from "The Lion King," which is still a possibility, but it could really go either way.
But I think it clear where the name of "Simba" came from for the Lion King. As a matter of fact, many of the characters have names that mean something else in other languages. For example, Ed, the hyena, is actually short for "Edward" in English. Below is a list of others.
- Nala - Gift
- Pumbaa - Simpleton
- Rafiki - Friend
- Sarabi - Mirage
- Shenzi - Uncouth
- Sarafina - Bright Star
- Banzai - Skulk, or Lurk
Thursday, August 9, 2012
A Look Ahead, Fun Fact 8/9/2012
First off, check out today's post about the coati, down below!
Here's this weeks "A Look Ahead:"
Friday: Simba, Pumbaa, and Other Swahili Names From "The Lion King" - Learn what the names of some of your favorite characters mean!
Saturday: The Light Rail Coyote - All about the coyote who hitched a ride on a train.
Sunday: Guards of the Fairy Penguin - Guarding the world's smallest penguins with professional snipers!
FUN FACT: THE JACKALOPE IS REAL
"Scoff," most of you are probably saying. "This guy is pathetic." Pathetic I may be, but the jackalope is, in fact, real; just not necessarily in the way you might think.
Although the first picture is a fake (photo credit: Mona Kamath), the one above, as well as down below, are both real. Clearly these are not antlers, but what are they? Well, these "antlers" are actually tumors, caused by the Cottontail Rabbit Papilloma Virus (CRPV). Many rabbits get by just fine with these growths. In 2003, a man named Grant VanGilder (a cool last name if there ever was one) took this picture in Mankato, Minnesota, an hour or so outside of Annandale, Minnesota. According the Mr. VanGilder (awesome), “He is still alive and kicking and is the talk of the neighborhood.” However, if the tumors grow to big, they could effect the animal in its ability to feed or flee, which would eventually lead to its downfall. The picture above is of a mounted cottontail rabbit, caught near Topeka, Kansas.
When early settlers would see these animals, they would most likely assume that they were a crossbreed between a deer and a rabbit. Although most people understand this now, at the time, people also thought that the jackalope was so rare because it would only mate during lightning storms with hail, tasted like lobster, and can mimic the voices of drunk people.
So presumably, settlers, cowboys, and the like would discover these cottontails, dead or alive, and talk about them, show them around. From this, it has been speculated, and seems most likely, that the jackalope arose. It seems as if rabbits in Germany get this cancer as well, explaining the origin of Germany's "Wolpertinger."
More recently, people such as Ronald Reagan have used the jackalope as a way to mess with people. The story goes that during press tours of his house in the '80s, he would show the reporters a mounted jackalope head, and tell them he had caught it himself, when, in actuality, it had been a gift from James Abdnor, a senator for South Dakota.
So next time one of your friends says "There's no such thing as a jackalope!" make sure to set the record straight. Tell them everything that you have just learned, and they will think you are really smart. Because you ARE smart.
Here's this weeks "A Look Ahead:"
Friday: Simba, Pumbaa, and Other Swahili Names From "The Lion King" - Learn what the names of some of your favorite characters mean!
Saturday: The Light Rail Coyote - All about the coyote who hitched a ride on a train.
Sunday: Guards of the Fairy Penguin - Guarding the world's smallest penguins with professional snipers!
Monday: Shrinky Dink: The Channel Island Fox and The Island Effect - How getting trapped on an island caused these foxes to shrink!
Tuesday: Stupid People Stealing Turtles - What sounds better than stealing a bunch of turtles from a museum?
Wednesday: The Sounds of Star Wars - Chewbacca may look like a bear, but was he voiced by one, too?
Thursday: The Loch Ness Monster....Fact or Fiction? - Spoiler Alert: It's Fiction
Friday: Perfume-Loving Lions and Record-Breaking Cheetahs - Lions from the Denver Zoo fawn over the men's perfume "Obsession," while Sarah the cheetah become the world's fastest animal!
FUN FACT: THE JACKALOPE IS REAL
 |
| A "jackalope." Photo Credit: Mona Kamath |
Although the first picture is a fake (photo credit: Mona Kamath), the one above, as well as down below, are both real. Clearly these are not antlers, but what are they? Well, these "antlers" are actually tumors, caused by the Cottontail Rabbit Papilloma Virus (CRPV). Many rabbits get by just fine with these growths. In 2003, a man named Grant VanGilder (a cool last name if there ever was one) took this picture in Mankato, Minnesota, an hour or so outside of Annandale, Minnesota. According the Mr. VanGilder (awesome), “He is still alive and kicking and is the talk of the neighborhood.” However, if the tumors grow to big, they could effect the animal in its ability to feed or flee, which would eventually lead to its downfall. The picture above is of a mounted cottontail rabbit, caught near Topeka, Kansas.
When early settlers would see these animals, they would most likely assume that they were a crossbreed between a deer and a rabbit. Although most people understand this now, at the time, people also thought that the jackalope was so rare because it would only mate during lightning storms with hail, tasted like lobster, and can mimic the voices of drunk people.
So presumably, settlers, cowboys, and the like would discover these cottontails, dead or alive, and talk about them, show them around. From this, it has been speculated, and seems most likely, that the jackalope arose. It seems as if rabbits in Germany get this cancer as well, explaining the origin of Germany's "Wolpertinger."
More recently, people such as Ronald Reagan have used the jackalope as a way to mess with people. The story goes that during press tours of his house in the '80s, he would show the reporters a mounted jackalope head, and tell them he had caught it himself, when, in actuality, it had been a gift from James Abdnor, a senator for South Dakota.
So next time one of your friends says "There's no such thing as a jackalope!" make sure to set the record straight. Tell them everything that you have just learned, and they will think you are really smart. Because you ARE smart.
Animal Spotlight: The Coati
First of all, everybody should like us on Facebook! Here is the link: http://www.facebook.com/thenaturalworld1
And next, lets take a look at today's "Animal Spotlight:" The Coati!
The coati is a creature of many names. Often called the Brazilian aardvark, they are also called crackoons (pronounced like "raccoon") and (my personal favorite) "snookum bears." The coati shares much in common with the red panda, one of the Animal Spotlights from earlier in the week. It, like the red panda, is not a bear, despite what its nicknames imply, and is also a part of the superfamily "Musteloidea."
The coati has a plantigrade stance, much like humans, bears, and its relative, the raccoon. Look at the picture below. See how the squirrel has the whole portion of its foot on the ground, while the dog has only part of its foot on the ground? If you were to walk on the balls of your feet, then you would essentially be walking with a digitigrade stance as well.
There are four species of coati. Two of them have been labeled as "Least Concern" by the IUCN, but two of them have not been studied enough to formulate a conclusion as to their status in the wild. That doesn't bode well, however. Together, they live in the North American countries of the United States (Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas), Mexico, throughout Central America, and in the South American countries of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, just to name a few.
Finally, here is a link to an interesting and amusing news article talking about wild animals running around in the UK. Enjoy!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10365422
And next, lets take a look at today's "Animal Spotlight:" The Coati!
The coati is a creature of many names. Often called the Brazilian aardvark, they are also called crackoons (pronounced like "raccoon") and (my personal favorite) "snookum bears." The coati shares much in common with the red panda, one of the Animal Spotlights from earlier in the week. It, like the red panda, is not a bear, despite what its nicknames imply, and is also a part of the superfamily "Musteloidea."
The coati has a plantigrade stance, much like humans, bears, and its relative, the raccoon. Look at the picture below. See how the squirrel has the whole portion of its foot on the ground, while the dog has only part of its foot on the ground? If you were to walk on the balls of your feet, then you would essentially be walking with a digitigrade stance as well.
There are four species of coati. Two of them have been labeled as "Least Concern" by the IUCN, but two of them have not been studied enough to formulate a conclusion as to their status in the wild. That doesn't bode well, however. Together, they live in the North American countries of the United States (Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas), Mexico, throughout Central America, and in the South American countries of Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador, just to name a few.
Finally, here is a link to an interesting and amusing news article talking about wild animals running around in the UK. Enjoy!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/10365422
Wednesday, August 8, 2012
Top Ten: Extinct Sea Monsters (Part 5 of 5)
Our final edition of "Top Ten: Extinct Sea Monsters!
9. Tanystropheus - Living during the Middle Triassic Period, Tanystropheus is somewhat of a misfit amongst this group, as he is not really a sea-monster, and was, at most, a semi-aquatic animal (think otters). Purportedly piscivorous, Tanystropheus fossils are usually found in semi-aquatic sites. Its neck has been likened to that of the Plesiosaurs, like Elasmosaurus. They would all use their necks to surprise a group of fish, long before the fish would be able to see the body of the reptile. Remains have been discovered throughout France, Germany, and Italy, amongst other places.
10. Tylosaurus - Interestingly enough, the closest living relative of the extinct mosasaurs, of which Tylosaurus is a member, are the monitor lizards, like the Komodo dragon. Both the monitor lizards and the mosasaurs have a third eye on the top of their heads, although it just looks like a little white dot on the top of the head of the monitor lizard. It doesn't work in the same fashion as their other eyes, however. Look towards a light (not the sun, because apparently that can actually be harmful) and close your eyes. You can still still some light, right? Now, move your hand back and forth in front of your face, between your eyes and the light. Can you see how the light changes? You can't see anything more distinct than the fact that something moved between you and that light. That is what the third eye of monitor lizards and mosasaurs would have been like. Tylosaurus also inhabited the Western Interior Seaway during the Late Cretaceous. Remains, amongst other places, have been discovered in Alabama and Kansas, amongst other places.
So that concludes our "Top Ten: Extinct Sea Monsters" edition! Unfortunate that we had to break it up into five parts, to be sure, but hey, that's life!
This post is part of the "Top Ten: Extinct Sea Monsters" series. For the rest of the posts in this series, click HERE.
9. Tanystropheus - Living during the Middle Triassic Period, Tanystropheus is somewhat of a misfit amongst this group, as he is not really a sea-monster, and was, at most, a semi-aquatic animal (think otters). Purportedly piscivorous, Tanystropheus fossils are usually found in semi-aquatic sites. Its neck has been likened to that of the Plesiosaurs, like Elasmosaurus. They would all use their necks to surprise a group of fish, long before the fish would be able to see the body of the reptile. Remains have been discovered throughout France, Germany, and Italy, amongst other places.
10. Tylosaurus - Interestingly enough, the closest living relative of the extinct mosasaurs, of which Tylosaurus is a member, are the monitor lizards, like the Komodo dragon. Both the monitor lizards and the mosasaurs have a third eye on the top of their heads, although it just looks like a little white dot on the top of the head of the monitor lizard. It doesn't work in the same fashion as their other eyes, however. Look towards a light (not the sun, because apparently that can actually be harmful) and close your eyes. You can still still some light, right? Now, move your hand back and forth in front of your face, between your eyes and the light. Can you see how the light changes? You can't see anything more distinct than the fact that something moved between you and that light. That is what the third eye of monitor lizards and mosasaurs would have been like. Tylosaurus also inhabited the Western Interior Seaway during the Late Cretaceous. Remains, amongst other places, have been discovered in Alabama and Kansas, amongst other places.
So that concludes our "Top Ten: Extinct Sea Monsters" edition! Unfortunate that we had to break it up into five parts, to be sure, but hey, that's life!
This post is part of the "Top Ten: Extinct Sea Monsters" series. For the rest of the posts in this series, click HERE.
Top Ten: Extinct Sea Monsters (Part 4 of 5)
7. Archelon - Archelon is the largest sea turtle that
has been discovered to date, the closest living relative that Archelon has
is the "Critically Endangered" leatherback sea turtle, the largest sea turtle
alive today. Living in the Late Cretaceous Western Interior Seaway
between 75-65 MYA, Archelon has been discovered in the states of South
Dakota, Wyoming and Kansas.
8. Leedsichthys - Often cited as the largest fish known to humankind, the largest Leedsichthys had an estimated length of 72 feet, but some researchers believe that it could have grown to sizes that would rival those seen in the blue whale, the largest known animal ever to live on planet Earth. Although Leedsichthys swam the seas only during the Jurassic Period, the group that it belonged to survived until the end of the Cretaceous Period. Remains of this filter feeder have been uncovered in England, France, Germany, and Chile.
COMING UP NEXT WE HAVE:
9. Tanystropheus
10. Tylosaurus
This post is part of the "Top Ten: Extinct Sea Monsters" series. For the rest of the posts in this series, click HERE.
8. Leedsichthys - Often cited as the largest fish known to humankind, the largest Leedsichthys had an estimated length of 72 feet, but some researchers believe that it could have grown to sizes that would rival those seen in the blue whale, the largest known animal ever to live on planet Earth. Although Leedsichthys swam the seas only during the Jurassic Period, the group that it belonged to survived until the end of the Cretaceous Period. Remains of this filter feeder have been uncovered in England, France, Germany, and Chile.
COMING UP NEXT WE HAVE:
9. Tanystropheus
10. Tylosaurus
This post is part of the "Top Ten: Extinct Sea Monsters" series. For the rest of the posts in this series, click HERE.
Top Ten: Extinct Sea Monsters (Part 3 of 5)
5. Elasmosaurus - Next up on our trip across time is Elasmosaurus. One of the largest of the Plesiosaurs ever discovered, Elasmosaurus grew up to 46 feet long, which was about half neck. Equipped with a fairly small head, Elasmosaurus would have been incapable of going after large prey, so it would have mostly stuck with fish. Elasmosaurus lived during the Late Cretaceous, a time when much of North America was "Beneath the Waves," under something that we call the "Western Interior Seaway." Remains of this animal were first uncovered in Kansas, but it almost certainly swam all over the seaway, including in Colorado.
6. Dunkleosteus - Dunkleosteus, a creature we talked about a few weeks ago in our post about the Coelacanth, is another fascinating animal. Almost thirty-five feet in length, Dunkleosteus was a member of the Placoderms, a group of armored fish that were only around for about 50 MYA. A long time, to be sure, but not very long compared to the 400 million year reign of the sharks. While the Placoderms themselves lived during the Silurian and Devonian Periods, they went extinct during the transition to the Carboniferous Period, at the end of the Devonian. Dunkleosteus fossils have been discovered in North America, Poland, Belgium, and Morocco.
COMING UP:
7. Archelon
8. Leedsichthys
9. Tanystropheus
10. Tylosaurus
This post is part of the "Top Ten: Extinct Sea Monsters" series. For the rest of the posts in this series, click HERE.
6. Dunkleosteus - Dunkleosteus, a creature we talked about a few weeks ago in our post about the Coelacanth, is another fascinating animal. Almost thirty-five feet in length, Dunkleosteus was a member of the Placoderms, a group of armored fish that were only around for about 50 MYA. A long time, to be sure, but not very long compared to the 400 million year reign of the sharks. While the Placoderms themselves lived during the Silurian and Devonian Periods, they went extinct during the transition to the Carboniferous Period, at the end of the Devonian. Dunkleosteus fossils have been discovered in North America, Poland, Belgium, and Morocco.
COMING UP:
7. Archelon
8. Leedsichthys
9. Tanystropheus
10. Tylosaurus
This post is part of the "Top Ten: Extinct Sea Monsters" series. For the rest of the posts in this series, click HERE.
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