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Animal News (Except Bigcats)
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A dog mistook a statue for a real cat: https://www.newsflare.com/video/328594/h...r-real-cat
(12-23-2019, 05:14 PM)BorneanTiger Wrote: A dog mistook a statue for a real cat: https://www.newsflare.com/video/328594/h...r-real-cat Now this: a dog drives its owner's car into a pond in China: https://www.news18.com/news/buzz/watch-i...28323.html 
Half a billion animals perish in Australian bush fires
https://www.couriermail.com.au/technolog...186ab9f52c
- Treating the virus as an unusual kind of animal, due to its ability to infect cells and reproduce, a mystery coronavirus is causing lung infections in the Chinese city of Wuhan: https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51048366
- Bryde's whales seen off the coast of Abu Dhabi: https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-baleen-...9#pid99649
Non-fatal attack of a big, unruly bull on 3 workers in Al-Ain, Emirate of Abu Dhabi, on the UAE's eastern border with Oman, and near the Hajar Mountains: https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-big-her...#pid100413
Huanan Seafood Wholesales Market in Wuhan, where live animals (both domestic and wild) like wolf cubs, foxes, rats and peacocks were traded or slaughtered, has been identified as the source of the coronavirus: https://nypost.com/2020/01/27/coronaviru...s-confirm/
Images of Chinese wet markets: https://www.businessinsider.com/wuhan-co...tos-2020-1
- Bad news for insects and plants: https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-the-sma...#pid101505
- A humane gesture from an orangutan in Borneo? https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-the-gre...#pid101507
New populations of pampas deer Ozotoceros bezoarticus discovered in threatened Amazonian savannah enclaves
Abstract The savannah enclaves (i.e. patches) in the southern Brazilian Amazonia are among the most threatened and poorly surveyed sites in Amazonia. As part of an extensive mammal survey, we set camera traps in three of these savannah enclaves. We obtained 23 independent records of pampas deer Ozotoceros bezoarticus, a medium sized Neotropical cervid that is strongly associated with open habitats and categorized as Vulnerable on the Brazilian Red List of threatened species. These savannah enclaves with confirmed populations of pampas deer lie outside the species’ previously presumed historical range and are at least 350 km from any known extant population. Together, these savannah enclaves add c. 4,000 km2 to the pampas deer's currently known range. The small pampas deer populations in these enclaves are probably isolated by a matrix of Amazon forest, raising questions about spatial genetic structure and meta-population dynamics, and making them vulnerable to local extinction. We highlight the need for further studies, particularly genetic, to assess the conservation status of these populations, the results of which could potentially inform management decisions in other areas of the heavily fragmented range of this species. 
" Some good news to start your week. China announced today it will ban the consumption of most wild animals and severely crack down on the illegal wildlife trade to help prevent zoonotic disease outbreaks like the new coronavirus, which is rapidly expanding to other countries and has infected over 79,000 people. The decision, which was adopted by China’s top legislature, the National People's Congress Standing Committee, sets the stage for further revisions to regulations on wildlife trade, live animal markets, and to China's 1989 Wildlife Protection Law, which regulates the “breeding, domestication and utilization” of wildlife. The announcement appears to indicate that some species, like pigeons and rabbits, will be recategorized as livestock while trade for non-food purposes, such as traditional medicine or pets, will be addressed through “improved regulations” from the State Council and its relevant departments. The directive also specifically excluded marine animals. More details are expected over the coming weeks, including at the third annual session of the 13th NPC, which was postponed from its scheduled date of March 5th. "
" The Standing Committee of the National People's Congress, or China's top legislature, during a session Monday adopted a decision on thoroughly banning the illegal trading of wildlife and eliminating the consumption of wild animals to safeguard people's lives and health. The move aims to safeguard biological and ecological security and effectively prevent major public health risks, among other purposes. The consumption of terrestrial wild animals "of important ecological, scientific and social value" that are under state protection, as well as other terrestrial wild animals, including those that are bred or reared in captivity, shall be thoroughly prohibited, according to the decision. The hunting, trading and transportation of terrestrial #stopwildlifecrime #earthtreeimages " (02-25-2020, 11:46 AM)Spalea Wrote: " Some good news to start your week. China announced today it will ban the consumption of most wild animals and severely crack down on the illegal wildlife trade to help prevent zoonotic disease outbreaks like the new coronavirus, which is rapidly expanding to other countries and has infected over 79,000 people. The decision, which was adopted by China’s top legislature, the National People's Congress Standing Committee, sets the stage for further revisions to regulations on wildlife trade, live animal markets, and to China's 1989 Wildlife Protection Law, which regulates the “breeding, domestication and utilization” of wildlife. The announcement appears to indicate that some species, like pigeons and rabbits, will be recategorized as livestock while trade for non-food purposes, such as traditional medicine or pets, will be addressed through “improved regulations” from the State Council and its relevant departments. The directive also specifically excluded marine animals. More details are expected over the coming weeks, including at the third annual session of the 13th NPC, which was postponed from its scheduled date of March 5th. " About time they did something like that, considering what people do to animals like pangolins: https://www.express.co.uk/news/nature/10...protection
@BorneanTiger :
About #340: I read that the chineses told that the animal's flesh is better when the animal (cat, dog, exotic ...) is suffering, badly wounded, scalded, mutilated or crippled. The open air markets are regularly denounced by the defence associations of animals, but vainly till now. It's the pangolin's revenge.
Genomic evidence for two phylogenetic species and long-term population bottlenecks in red pandas
Abstract The red panda (Ailurus fulgens), an endangered Himalaya-endemic mammal, has been classified as two subspecies or even two species – the Himalayan red panda (A. fulgens) and the Chinese red panda (Ailurus styani) – based on differences in morphology and biogeography. However, this classification has remained controversial largely due to lack of genetic evidence, directly impairing scientific conservation management. Data from 65 whole genomes, 49 Y-chromosomes, and 49 mitochondrial genomes provide the first comprehensive genetic evidence for species divergence in red pandas, demonstrating substantial inter-species genetic divergence for all three markers and correcting species-distribution boundaries. Combined with morphological evidence, these data thus clearly define two phylogenetic species in red pandas. We also demonstrate different demographic trajectories in the two species: A. styani has experienced two population bottlenecks and one large population expansion over time, whereas A. fulgens has experienced three bottlenecks and one very small expansion, resulting in very low genetic diversity, high linkage disequilibrium, and high genetic load. (02-13-2020, 09:07 PM)BorneanTiger Wrote: - Bad news for insects and plants: https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-the-sma...#pid101505 Now for some good and interesting news: A Himalayan species of the butterfly, the Indian fritillary (Argynnis hyperbius), has been found in Wadi Wurayyah (which I mentioned earlier), in the Hajar Mountains of eastern UAE: https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-the-sma...#pid104661
Daniel Rosengren: " A Fire Salamander photographed in the Carpathian mountains of Romania. These salamanders have been confirmed to get over 50 years old. The beautiful black and yellow colouring of this amphibian is actually a warning. There are poison glands in the skin that can excrete an extremely toxic compound called samandarin. It is used for defence and could kill a human. Samandarin is believed to be an ingredient in Salamander brandy, a drink that's reported to have hallucinogenic and aphrodisiac effects, something that has not been proven though. "
2 New Electric fish/Eel species that are more powerful than the Poraquê discovered in the Amazon.
https://folhabv.com.br/noticia/CIDADES/Capital/Nova-especie-de-peixe-eletrico-emite-descarga-de-860-volts/57873 The 2 new species are Electrophorus varii and Electrophorus voltai and they can generate an electric discharge of 860 volts compared to the 650 volts from the already known Poraquê turning them to be the strongest generator of bioelectricity animals. They also got different skull shapes.  *This image is copyright of its original author New species. Carlos David de Santana got shocked alot by capturing many Poraquês (Photo by Douglas Bastos) *This image is copyright of its original author Electrophorus varii in the Javari river. In order to capture and search specimens of the electric fish poraquê, the Brazilian researcher Carlos David de Santana had to enter streams in the Amazon and, even wearing rubber gloves, some shocks were inevitable. To capture and search specimens of the electric fish poraquê, Brazilian researcher Carlos David de Santana had to enter streams in the Amazon and, even wearing rubber gloves, some shocks were inevitable. The five-year research resulted in the discovery of two new species of electric fish - one that is capable of discharging up to 860 volts, the highest voltage ever recorded on an animal. Until then, the record was 650 volts with the already known Poraquê species (Electrophorus electricus). Associated researcher at the National Museum of Natural History at the Smithsonian Institute, in Washington DC, USA, Santana has just published the discovery in an article in the journal Nature Communications together with a group of several scientists, including several Brazilians. Poraquê is an electric fish that lives in South America and can reach 2.5 meters in length. There are about 250 types of electric fish, which produce weak discharges, used for navigation and communication. The Poraquê is the only one that produces strong electric discharges, used for hunting and defense. They are produced by three electrical organs in the body. Until now, it was believed that there was only one species of why: Electrophorus electricus, described in 1766 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus. But two new species were discovered, differentiated by the voltage of the electrical discharges emitted and a process of DNA sequencing. The "fact that two new species were discovered 250 years after the first of the group was described is an example of the enormous biodiversity that exists in the Amazon," says Santana. "And not only in the Amazon. We only know a small portion of the planet's biodiversity. And we know even less about the biology of these species - animals and plants," he says. "And we cannot let that be destroyed. It is a very big loss in the long run." Poraquê ( the one with 650 volts ) electrocuting shock/killing a Caiman that tried to prey on it in Brazil.  *This image is copyright of its original author Poraquê.  *This image is copyright of its original author Poraquê and Amazon Rainforest. https://www.diarioonline.com.br/noticias/para/534840/pesquisadores-descobrem-peixe-eletrico-mais-poderoso-que-o-poraque  *This image is copyright of its original author Researcher Wolmar B. Wosiacki with one of the two new species of electric fish from the Amazon. In the article, the scientists present Electrophorus varii and Electrophorus voltai, with a surprising detail: one of them, E. voltai, has the capacity to generate an electric discharge of 860 volts, making it the strongest bioelectricity generator to date. In addition to the importance of describing the new electric fish, the advisor says that “understanding the diversity of pigs can reveal a wide spectrum of enzyme varieties with bioelectrogenic function of great interest to science, such as the production of natural nanoconductors and natural capacitors and batteries hydrogel, which can energize medical implants ”. The research steps took into account patterns of genetic, morphological and ecological data of the species, providing descriptions that now serve as a reference for future studies and possible applications of this knowledge. The two new species discovered are distributed in the Xingu and Tapajós rivers, and for the time being they are not considered threatened, but the current situation of environmental crisis in the Amazon may change this status. "The Xingu River is being destroyed by the Belo Monte hydroelectric plant, which will affect the poraquê populations that live in the Xingu," says Santana. "And the biodiversity of the Amazon is under threat as a whole. It is really a pity that this is happening, with so many species yet to be discovered." According to Fapesp, there are several groups that study applications of research carried out with poraquês, including the analysis of the use of enzymes for the production of medicines and a model for creating batteries. Currently, other groups are studying possible applications of research on why, whether in analysis of enzymes produced by electrical organs, in order to test them as components for the production of drugs for possible treatments of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, or as a model for the creation of batteries for prostheses and sensors implanted in humans, for example. |
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