https://www.wtae.com/article/parrot-uses...ZKrt-5yNLg  
  
Parrot uses Amazon Alexa to order items while owner is away

INTRODUCTION 

This forum is one of the few where originality and quality are appreciated. In order to encourage our members in these departments, this section was created. If you see a post that stands out for some reason, this is the thread to say so. 

The intention is to get to a top-10 every month, starting with December 2018.

We're also thinking about a thread that has remarkable photographs.

If you have more ideas that could result in more quality in the end, let us know.  

I don't know if we should distinguish between a top-10 according to members and a top-10 according to mods. We'll discuss that one later.

Lestodon is a extint genus of megafaunal Ground sloth from South America during the Miocene to Pleistocene periods. Its fossil remains have been found in Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Venezuela, Bolivia, and Brazil. Measuring approximately 4,6 meters (15 ft) from snout to tail tip, it is estimated to have weighed 2.590 Kilograms, it was a herbivore and primarily fed on grasses on the South American plains and is thought to perhaps have used its semi-bipedal stance to obtain foliage from trees.  Lestodon is placed as member of the Mylodontidae as indicated by the lobed form of the last tooth in the dentition.
Taken from the book End of the Megafauna, The fate of the Worlds Huges, Fiercest, and Strangest animals (ROSS D. E. MacPHEE with Ilustrations of Peter Schouten)

In his book, Rise & Fall of the Emerald Tigers, WII scientist Raghunandan Singh Chundawat is of the view that we should protect tigers and not tigers inside the protected areas, as there’s a need for a more inclusive conservation model where local communities and the public at large become partners in the conservation effort.
He discusses the larger threats to Indian wildlife beyond Critical Habitats that are tiny core areas within protected reserves, only 3% of the countries land area—and the possible solutions.

In his portrait of the tendu leaf gatherers and herders, he shows an empathy for the tiger’s human neighbors. Drawing on his own experiences of running a specialist wildlife lodge, The Sarai At Toria, he argues private public partnerships can generate revenues which he is particular should be shared with local communities.

He discusses protected areas during the later part of the book where he states that ‘it is risky to entirely depend entirely on the protected area network for conservation’. Here one agrees with him but in a few pages he moves on to say ‘at present, all our conservation eggs are in one, old, basket; protected area network’. For a culture with conservation ethos (albeit with conservation values disappearing fast like he has pointed out) protected areas are fairly recent and surely not the only practice – we have a long-standing culture of community conservation areas, for example.

Also i should mention that the idea for this thread came from @Jimmy's Chitwan National Park Visit thread.

Quote:

(11-30-2018, 03:06 PM)Rishi Wrote: India should start this kind of trekking & foot safari along forest trail in the buffers of our tiger reserves. That'll be reasonably safe & would create livelihood for the local forest dwellers.
I know it's done only in few places, like Satpura & Periyar.
Brilliant!

It's most definitely on my to-do list now.

Yup for the livelihood of the locals, tourist activities in buffer zone is a must, many locals have also been employed as nature guides here apart from their cultural dance which was included in the package.

To reduce forest dependency of the forest dependent communities living in the buffers & fringes/multiple-use forests, it's not enough to simply compensate them for a cattle killed by predators, or crops destroyed by raiding deers, antelopes, pigs, elephants... We must strive to make them stakeholders in conservation. Because outside the protected areas only thing that is keeping an animal alive is the goodwill & tolerance of the locals.

Attempts are being made worldwide, this thread is for all such steps taken in the right direction!

Well, I decided to make one topic too mostly from curiosity about this matter. Gorillas are often mentioned to be very strong animals. I think, that there is no doubt about it, that they are strong. But even though I like gorillas a lot myself, with time I have become more and more skeptical about certain things. Often is said, that gorilla is pound to pound in top ten what comes to strong animals if insects are counted out. But to what that claim is based really? To hypotheses, estimations etc.... but what is really proven and does it has that reputation mostly because it is so close to humans and people would like to see it as almost a "superanimal".

Personally I don´t believe, that gorilla earns to be lifted to some pedestal to be pound to pound stronger than for instance a bear if there is nothing else, than some hypotheses, estimations and hopes. On the other hand if that can be proven and there are some concrete examples of proven and truly impressive cases where gorilla has shown exceptional strength, it would be nice to know. And here when I say exceptional, I mean compared to other strong animals, not compared to some "average Joe" sitting on couch.

Hopefully people who participate to this discussion (if any :) tolerate criticism and to be questioned too. For instance if someone writes, that gorillas are 20 times stronger than humans he/she can be sure to be questioned and asked to what such claim is based :)

And just in case, I do absolutely love gorillas and hope to them all good, but this issue just is interesting and seems to be a difficult one to find real information. I personally am not so interested about muscle fibres etc. but about real cases and information which aren´t just hypotheses or guesses.

Macroeuphractus outesi  
 
Macroeuphractus, the giant carnivorous armadillo

https://www.scribd.com/document/22302099...Carnivores

Come to discover wild Russia with us! Unique reserves & National parks of the Russian Far East.

Bohai Tour is the only tour operator in Russia which provides photography tours for Amur leopards & Siberian tigers in a wild! 

This is not a safari park, this is real Siberian taiga!

We have exclusive agreements with the parks and reserves of Primorsky krai and photography is done from different hides depending on tour type. 

Read more on our website http://www.bohaitour.com or write us to ask for more info bohaitour@gmail.com or DM.

We are in Instagram @wildrussiantour

*This image is copyright of its original author

Tiger population in sites across Asia have potential to triple: WWF

Wild tiger populations in key tiger recovery sites across Asia, including in India, have the potential to triple, contributing up to 15 per cent increase in the global tiger population, a new study said Wednesday.
Some of the tiger recovery sites cited in the study could be on track to fulfil their highest estimated tiger population capacity within the next 20 years.

18 tiger recovery sites from 10 tiger-range countries were selected for the study, which currently support around 165 (118-277) wild tigers, it said.
These sites have the capacity to harbour up to 585 (454-739) tigers in the study's best case scenario, representing an estimated tripling of their current combined population, it pointed out.

The study, conducted by 49 conservation experts from 10 tiger-range countries, developed site-specific and ecologically realistic targets and timelines for the recovery of tiger populations in the tiger recovery sites, identified under WWF's global tiger conservation programme.
In 2010, the global tiger population reached an all-time low of around 3,200, prompting 13 tiger-range governments to convene and commit to TX2 - to double the world tiger population to beyond 6000 by the year 2022.

The India sites in the study include Rajaji National Park, Nandhaur Wildlife Sanctuary, Valmiki national park in northern India, Manas national park in the east, Balaghat, Achanakmar Wildlife in central India, and Sathyamangalam Wildlife Sanctuary and Tiger Reserve, Anamalai Tiger Reserve and Vazhachal forests in southern India.

The authors of the study, concluded that although the goal to double tiger numbers by 2022 may be ambitious given the limited time frame, it is still possible as long as significant and sustained conservation efforts are taken immediately.
This study has revealed tremendous potential among these sites – although some areas are still lagging behind, particularly in South East Asia, several others are already beginning to experience an increase in wild tigers.

As there are atleast 2 coalitions sired by Matimbas dominant, lets have a thread to learn about them and pictures/imgaes of Matimbas sons

Junior/Buddy - Orpen males
Mbiri  male lions