The stingray encounter that killed Animal Planet star Steve Irwin was reportedly caught on tape – but still, conflicting details about the Crocodile Hunter's final moments are emerging. The ray struck Irwin, 44, with the barb of its tail while he was filming bull stingrays for a TV documentary called Ocean's Deadliest at Batt Reef, Low Isle off Port Douglas, Australia, at about 11:00 a.m. Monday.

Irwin's manager, John Stainton, was widely quoted as telling reporters that he had seen footage of Irwin pulling the deadly barb from his chest before his death, the BBC reports. But later, when CNN interviewer Rick Sanchez asked whether Irwin had pulled out the barb, Stainton said, "Don't you hear a lot of rumors and, and stuff that goes around on these things? And it's just absolute rubbish." Stainton also said he could not bring himself to watch the tape.

Ben Cropp, a cameraman who was on the reef when Irwin was killed, told The Australian newspaper he'd spoken to a member of the production crew who said he'd seen footage of the incident. The tape shows Irwin in shallow water following a large stingray, Cropp said. The animal "probably felt threatened because Steve was alongside and there was the cameraman ahead, and it felt there was danger and it baulked. It stopped and went into a defensive mode and swung its tail with the spike."

The Australian reported Tuesday that police superintendent Mike Keating said investigators had viewed the footage. "There is no evidence that Mr. Irwin was intimidating or threatening the stingray," he said. "My advice is that he was observing the stingray. There are no suspicious circumstances in relation to the death of Mr. Irwin."

Funeral arrangements have yet to be announced, though Queensland State Premier Peter Beattie said on Tuesday that Irwin would be given a state funeral if his family approved. Irwin leaves behind his American-born wife Terri, 42, daughter Bindi, 8, and son Bob, 2. Also on Tuesday, Australia's parliament paused to honor Irwin, who Prime Minister John Howard said had died in "quintessentially Australian circumstances."

Russell Crowe: "He was the Australian we all aspire to be. He held an absolute belief that caring for the richness of our country, meaning specifically the riches of our fauna, was the highest priority we should have. And, over time, we might just see how right he was.

"He was and remains, the ultimate wildlife warrior. He touched my heart. I believed in him. I'll miss him. I loved him and I will be there for his family."

John Howard, Prime Minister: "I am quite shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin's sudden, untimely and freakish death. It's a huge loss to Australia. He was a wonderful character. He was a passionate environmentalist. He brought joy and entertainment and excitement to millions of people. He was a one-off character."

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Britney Forces K-Fed to Dump the Sharks

Britney Spears is taking a stand and forcing K-Fed to get rid of his six -- yes, that's right, six -- sharks before the new baby is born.

Britney Spears is ruining all of K-Fed’s fun. The pop star is making her aspiring rap star hubby, Kevin Federline, get rid of his pet sharks, according to Life & Style. Spears, who is expecting her second child with Federline, apparently fears that the six Australian gray nurse sharks are a bit risky when there are two kiddies around the house.

"Kevin loves those sharks," a family friend told the mag. "He even named them. But Brit said there’s no way he’d be keeping them." K-Fed also says Spears is his toughest musical critic. "She gives me her real opinions about my tunes," he said, reports Passim. "When I get really excited about the songs, she would tell me to slow down."

We'd comment on this report, but we're speechless at the idea that K-Fed is keeping six nurse sharks in a home which will soon have an infant and a toddler in it. This guy has got to be the absolute worst dad in Hollywood. And that's saying something. You tell him, Britney: "Read my lips, K-Fed. No More Sharks." Oh and K-Fed's career? Jumped the sharks -- all six of them -- long ago.

(Photo courtesy of X17online.com.)

Posted on August 21, 2006
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Research Says There Were Blond and Redheaded Woolly Mammoths

New research shows that woolly mammoths may have come in lots of colors. Scientists now believe that there may have been blond, brunette and even redheaded woolly mammoths roaming the plains.

Researchers led by Holger Roempler of the University of Leipzig in Germany were able to extract DNA from a 43,000-year-old mammoth bone from Siberia.

They report in Friday's issue of the journal Science said that the mammoth DNA included the gene Mc1r. That gene codes for a protein that affects hair color in humans and other mammals. Reduced activity of that gene produces red hair in humans and cows and yellow hair in mice, horses and dogs, for example.

Thus it is possible, the researchers concluded, that mammoths existed with a variety of hair colors.

Blond and redheaded woolly mammoths: who would have thought? Next, they'll be telling us that the dinosaurs were pink with purple spots. Although now that we think of it, they already found a dinosaur that had feathers which is more than enough to inspire some Jurassic-sized nightmares about a feathered T-Rex coming after us. So, why not pink dinosaurs?

Posted on July 6, 2006
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One Drink and You Miss the Ape

A new study on drinking reveals that having just one drink can severely impair your observational skills.

New research by the University of Washington may make you think again: Most of the study participants who had had only one cocktail didn't even notice a gorilla walking through the middle of a ballgame. That's right. The UW researchers tested people while they focused intently on a single task — counting the number of basketball passes in a video. Most of them couldn't see much else, such as realize that the clip features a woman in an ape suit who suddenly walks to center screen, beats her chest and exits — a nine-second cameo.

They were twice as likely to miss it as nondrinkers. "We were very surprised to see how strong the results were," said Seema Clifasefi, who led the research in the UW's Department of Psychology. The study was small — only 46 subjects — but it could have implications for drunken-driving laws if expanded research shows similar results, she said. Clifasefi and colleagues at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand, conducted the pilot study with volunteers between 21 and 35 years old. Half got plain tonic water. But the other half got vodka tonics stiff enough, based on their weight and gender, to raise their blood-alcohol content to 0.04 percent, or half the legal limit for driving in Washington. None of the participants knew for certain what they were getting.

Each participant had 10 minutes to down the drinks. Then they were each shown a video of two three-person teams passing a basketball and asked to count the number of passes. Among the participants, only four of those who got vodka, or about 18 percent, saw the gorilla. Of the tonic-only crowd, 11, or about 46 percent, spotted the ape.

The moral of the story is this: those of you who wish to see those naughty gorillas that are planning to crash your local 4th of July celebrations should definitely stick with Coke this weekend.

Posted on June 30, 2006
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The Toughest Guard Cat In New Jersey

Now this is what we call a true watch-cat. A black bear wandered into the back yard of a New Jersey family, but was chased up a tree by the family's orange tabby cat.

The unwelcome intruder was forced up a tree - twice - by the family pet, a tabby cat called Jack. The terrified bear was only able to make its escape when owner Donna Dickey called the hissing cat into the house. Ms Dickey said Jack liked to keep a close watch on his territory and often chased away small animals, but one of this size was a first.

"We used to joke, 'Jack's on duty', never knowing he'd go after a bear," Donna Dickey told local newspaper The Star-Ledger. "He doesn't want anybody in his yard," she added. The bear was first spotted in the tree by neighbours who thought the 15lb (7kg) cat was just looking up at it. They then realised the bear was afraid of the cat. After some 15 minutes, the bear descended, but was chased up another tree, before finally making its escape when Jack was called indoors.

Jack: he's 15lbs of sheer intimidation.

Posted on June 10, 2006
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The Littlest Dinosaurs

German scientists have discovered a species of dinosaurs that was really tiny compared to their gigantic cousins.

When you think dinosaurs, you think big. But German scientists say they've discovered a species that evolved into a dwarf, ending up only about one-third the size of its closest known relatives. The fossils were of a four-legged plant-eater that was no lap dog: It measured about 20 feet from its snout to the tip of its long tail and it weighed about a ton. But next to its close evolutionary cousin Camarasaurus, a well-known beast that stretched some 59 feet long, this guy was a runt.

What happened? The researchers say it's a case of island dwarfism, the tendency of big species to shrink over time when they find themselves on an island. It's well-known among mammals, as with fossil elephants only about 3 feet tall found in Sicily and elsewhere. Scientists think that in an environment of limited resources, smaller body size becomes an advantage, and so captive populations shrink in body size over long periods of time.

*****

Sander, who specializes in the microscopic structure of bone, got his first look at the fossils in 2003 after an amateur bone-hunter found them in a quarry. Sander and other scientists initially thought they were from juvenile animals, but details of the bone structure showed they came from adults. Eventually the scientists realized they had remains from more than 11 animals of varying ages, including at least one fully grown adult. The bone analysis also showed that Europasaurus grew more slowly than bigger dinosaurs. Its small size was a normal growth pattern for the species and not the result of disease, Sander said.

That has been a point of contention in trying to explain the so-called hobbits of Indonesia, fossil remains that have been interpreted as revealing that a dwarf species of humans lived on a remote island thousands of years ago. Mark Norell, a dinosaur expert at the American Museum of Natural History, said island dwarfism had been talked about for the hobbits and many animals, and "to find it in dinosaurs is pretty neat."

We agree, Europasaurus is pretty neat.

Posted on June 8, 2006
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Hermaphroditic Sea Squirts Invade Long Island Sound

The AP reports that blob-like creatures known as Sea Squirts are invading the Long Island Sound.

The researchers say they have found colonies of invasive sea squirts, blob-shaped animals that reproduce easily, on the floor of the sound.

They believe this variety of sea squirt, known as didemnum, arrived on the hulls of ships from Asia. They have no known predators.

"This thing has the potential for causing significant economic impact when it attaches to the floor of the Sound, where it blankets and suffocates shellfish and lobsters," said Ivar Babb, director of UConn's Undersea Research Center at Avery Point in Groton.

They sound like a real menace and they are listed here in the USDA's invasive species index. Ivar Babb sure doesn't like them.

"This thing is ugly," Babb said. "It has no socially redeeming virtues."

That's pretty harsh but we don't like these lowlife good-for-nothing sea squirts either if they are suffocating the delicious New England seafood.

Posted on May 31, 2006
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The Myths Of The Maternal Instinct

Just in time for Mother's Day, The New York Times features a horrifying article about the myth that mothers naturally care for their offspring and will fight to protect them. Taking some really gross examples from the animal world, the articles details how animal mothers routinely kill, eat and abandon their young, and why nature set things up that way.

Among several mammals, including lions, mice and monkeys, females will either spontaneously abort their fetuses or abandon their newborns when times prove rocky or a new male swaggers into town.

Other mothers, like pandas, practice a postnatal form of family planning, giving birth to what may be thought of as an heir and a spare, and then, when the heir fares well, walking away from the spare with nary a fare-thee-well. "Pandas frequently give birth to twins, but they virtually never raise two babies," said Scott Forbes, a professor of biology at the University of Winnipeg. "This is the dark side of pandas, that they have two and throw one away."

*****

Unlike humans, Dr. Hardy said, the apes never abandon or reject their young, no matter how diseased or crippled a baby may be. Yet because female chimpanzees live in troops with other nonrelated females, a ravenous, lactating mother feels little compunction about killing and eating the child of a group mate. "It's a good way to get lipids," Dr. Hrdy said. As meal plans go, cannibalism can be no-muss, no-fuss.

Nooooo! Not the pandas!! Worst. Mother's Day. Feature. Ever.

Posted on May 9, 2006
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Bat Cave Students Face Possible Criminal Charges

Officials are mulling mulling over whether or not to file charges against students at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville who tried to create a real, live Bat Cave in their dorm room.

A joker who made a bat cave out of a dorm room, and three other students believed to have stolen the dozen or so nocturnal critters used in the caper, could be in for criminal charges, officials said Thursday. At least five University of Arkansas at Fayetteville students had been in close contact with the bats, but state epidemiologist Dr. Frank Wilson said the exposure wasn't significant enough to require rabies shots. Health officials urged anyone else who was near the bats to be evaluated.

Three students gathered the brown bats during a caving expedition at Devil's Den State Park in northwest Arkansas, said university police Lt. Gary Crain. "The bats were pretty docile; they were sleeping. It was pretty easy to pick them like apples," Crain said. After they brought the bats to campus, a fourth student "thought it would be funny to release them in someone's room," he said. After the flying mammals were set loose in the dorm room April 5, animal control officers captured them and released them back into the wild.

Crain said that far from seeking to cover their tracks, the students posted pictures of the bats on the Internet site facebook.com. "That made it a little easier for us," he said. Prosecutors are considering charges, which could include theft for taking the bats and harassment _ "at the very minimum" _ for releasing the creatures, Crain said. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission also could pursue wildlife-related charges, he said. Three of the students are 19 and one is 20, Crain said. With no charges filed Thursday, he declined to identify them. Fayetteville animal control officials said the bats appeared to be healthy, and rangers at Devil's Den State Park said they have seen no instances of sick bats.

We're guessing that the student who "thought it would be funny to release them in someone's room" will get 20 years with possibility of parole after 12 years. Too lenient? Ok, life without possibility of parole. That sounds fair.

Posted on April 28, 2006
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Hot New Designer Sunglasses For the Insect in Your Life

At least the scientists in Germany are working on something important: this photo entered into a German science-photo competition showcases the latest in designer wear for your pet housefly.

The photo shows a fly wearing his hot new designer lesnes, which were specially cut using a laser in order to fit the fly's 0.08-inch-wide (2-millimeter-wide) head.

Manufacturing firm Micreon GmbH submitted the insect's picture for the Bilder der Forschung (Photos of Science) 2005 competition. Selected images were on display last week in a Munich shopping center.

Micreon, based in Hannover, Germany, created the fly's eyewear using ultrafast laser micro-machining. The firm notes on its Web site that the process can create objects with high precision at scales of less than a thousandth of a millimeter.

We'd planned to order one hundred pairs for our favorite houseflies, but Accounting put a stop to it pronto. Killjoys.

Posted on March 31, 2006
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Cat Terrorizes Connecticut Town

A Connecticut town is being terrorized by a local cat named Lewis.

Residents of the neighborhood of Sunset Circle say they have been terrorized by a crazy cat named Lewis. Lewis for his part has been uniquely cited, personally issued a restraining order by the town's animal control officer. "He looks like Felix the Cat and has six toes on each foot, each with a long claw," Janet Kettman, a neighbor said Monday. "They are formidable weapons."

The neighbors said those weapons, along with catlike stealth, have allowed Lewis to attack at least a half dozen people and ambush the Avon lady as she was getting out of her car. Some of those who were bitten and scratched ended up seeking treatment at area hospitals. Animal Control Officer Rachel Solveira placed a restraining order on him. It was the first time such an action was taken against a cat in Fairfield.

In effect, Lewis is under house arrest, forbidden to leave his home. Solveira also arrested the cat's owner, Ruth Cisero, charging her with failing to comply with the restraining order and reckless endangerment.

Sounds to us like Lewis needs some kitty Paxil.

Posted on March 29, 2006
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U.S. Training Sharks to Be Underwater Spies

The BBC reports that the U.S. is planning on training sharks to conduct underwater surveillance. The scientists plan on controlling the sharks by implanting electrodes in their brains.

It says the aim is "to exploit sharks' natural ability to glide through the water, sense delicate electrical gradients and follow chemical trails". The unusual project was unveiled last week in Hawaii, it says. The research is being funded by the Pentagon's Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), according to the magazine.

Remote-controlled sharks do have advantages that robotic underwater surveillance vehicles just cannot match: they are silent, and they power themselves. It aims to build on latest developments in brain implant technology which has already seen scientists controlling the movements of fish, rats and monkeys. "Neural implants consists of a series of electrodes that are embedded into the animal's brain, which can then be used to stimulate various functional areas," the magazine says.

It says such devices are already being used by scientists at Boston University to "steer" a spiny dogfish in a fish tank. The next step for the Pentagon scientists will be the release of blue sharks with similar devices into the ocean off the coast of Florida. As radio signals will not penetrate the sea, communications with the animals will be made by sonar. The US navy has acoustic signalling towers capable of sending sonar signals to a shark up to 300km (187 miles) away, the magazine says. It says the scientists will be particularly interested in the animals' health during the tests. "As wild predators, it is very easy to exhaust them, and this will place strict limits on how long the researchers can control their movements in any one session without harming them. "Despite this limitation, though, remote-controlled sharks do have advantages that robotic underwater surveillance vehicles just cannot match: they are silent, and they power themselves," the magazine says.

This reminds us of that movie called Deep Blue Sea, in which a bunch of stupid scientists put electrodes into some sharks' brains and did some other things to them. They thought they could control the sharks. They were wrong.

Posted on March 2, 2006
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Happy Groundhog Day

Groundhog Day is an important North American holiday (with origins in Germany) where Americans and Canadians look to groundhogs to determine the next six weeks of weather. The forecast is complicated because there are multiple groundhogs each forecasting for a different region. Here is the forecast from a few of the groundhogs.

Punxsutawney Phil (Pennsylvania) -- six more weeks of Winter

Wiarton Willie (Ontario, Canada) -- early Spring

Shubenacadie Sam (Nova Scotia) -- early Spring

General Beau Lee (Georgia) -- early Spring

Birmingham Bill (Alabama) -- six more weeks of Winter

Jimmy the Groundhog (Sun Prairie, Wisconsin) -- early Spring

Groundhog Central has forecasts from dozens of other groundhogs. Punxsutawney Phil is arguably the best known groundhog. He was in the movie Groundhog Day starring Bill Murray and Andie MacDowell. Punxsutawney Phil now even has Vaseline Intensive Care as a official sponsor. Since Phil saw his shadow you can get a free bottle of Vaseline here. Phil's website says he lives forever by drinking groundhog punch.

How many "Phils" have there been over the years? There has only been one Punxsutawney Phil. He has been making predictions for over 120 years!

Punxsutawney Phil gets his longevity from drinking "groundhog punch," a secret recipe. Phil takes one sip every summer at the Groundhog Picnic and it magically gives him seven more years of life.

Posted on February 2, 2006
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Scientists Create Glow in the Dark Pigs

Those fun-loving Taiwanese scientists are at it again: they've created glow in the dark pigs.

They claim that while other researchers have bred partly fluorescent pigs, theirs are the only pigs in the world which are green through and through. The pigs are transgenic, created by adding genetic material from jellyfish into a normal pig embryo. The researchers hope the pigs will boost the island's stem cell research, as well as helping with the study of human disease.

The scientists, from National Taiwan University's Department of Animal Science and Technology, say that although the pigs glow, they are otherwise no different from any others. Taiwan is not claiming a world first. Others have bred partially fluorescent pigs before; but the researchers insist the three pigs they have produced are better.

*****

To create them, DNA from jellyfish was added to about 265 pig embryos which were implanted in eight different sows. Four of the female pigs became pregnant and three male piglets were born three months ago.

In daylight, the researchers say the pigs' eyes, teeth and trotters look green. Their skin has a greenish tinge. In the dark, shine a blue light on them and they glow torch-light bright. The scientists will use the transgenic pigs to study human disease. Because the pig's genetic material encodes a protein that shows up as green, it is easy to spot. So if, for instance, some of its stem cells are injected into another animal, scientists can track how they develop without the need for a biopsy or invasive test.

You know that it's just a matter of time before one of these scientists goes all Jeckyll and Hyde on us and injects himself with the jellyfish DNA.

Posted on January 19, 2006
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Butterstick Ventures Outside

Sweet little Butterstick ventured outside for the first time, which is an important milestone for the baby giant panda who lives at the Smithsonian National Zoo.

At the tender age of five months, the National Zoo's panda cub on Thursday ventured into the outside world for the first time. With his mom looking on, Tai Shan took his first steps outside his indoor habitat, where he walked along the side fences and the back wall, then summoned up the courage to go to the center of the yard, where mother Mei Xiang was munching bamboo.

Tai Shan eventually spent two hours in the morning chill, climbing on some fallen tree limbs and following his mother around. All the while, his dad, Tian Tian, was fast asleep in the outside exhibit next door, the zoo said in a statement.

They may call him Tai Shan, but he'll always be little Butterstick to us.

Posted on December 25, 2005
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It's Panda Birthday Time

The celebration of all things panda-related continues unabated. In China, the 25-year-old panda Basi was feted with flowers, fruit, a birthday cake and a tablet carved with the Chinese character "shou" which means "longevity."

Yesterday hundreds of visitors swarmed into Panda World in the capital city of east China's Fujian Province to join in a special birthday party for Basi. Across the park everyone could hear a special song specially written for the occasion. The panda walked around her pool and later, maybe shy in the face of so many enthusiastic visitors, went to her little cave to enjoy the cake.

Basi is well-known at home and abroad. In 1987, she was sent to San Diego in the United States for a six-month exhibition. She was also what "Panpan," the mascot of the 11th Asia Games, (held in Beijing in 1990) was based on. Basi has already lived quite a long time; the average life of the giant wild panda is only 12 years. "Mom is coming to see you!" called out an old woman. She saved the panda's life 21 years ago in Baoxing County in Sichuan Province.

Li Xingyu, now 50, recalled that when she was working on her farmland on a snowy day in 1984, she saw a panda floating down a stream, unconscious. Li immediately pulled the creature up to the bank and warmed it with her thick jacket. The panda came to and was treated well by villagers. The next day, the panda was sent to a professional breeding center and was named after the Basi Creek, where she was saved. "I haven't seen Basi since I saved her," said Li. "I'm so happy to be invited here to see her and celebrate her birthday. I have four children, but Basi is my fifth child, my little daughter," Li said. She brought fresh bamboo, apples and water from her home in Baoxing County as birthday presents for Basi.

Last month began the Second Fuzhou Panda Culture Festival, which just ended with Basi's birthday celebration. Special stamps, postcards and calendars were have been issued in commemoration of the birthday.

We're so fired up about the end of the Panda Festival that we think we're going to take the rest of the week off to celebrate. Time to order refreshments!

Posted on December 19, 2005
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Japanese Zookeepers Put Penguins on a Diet

Some Japanese penguins are being put on a diet, according to the Associated Press.

It's wintertime and the king penguins at a zoo in northern Japan are putting on weight. But the keepers there have a solution: exercise. Authorities at Asahiyama Zoo are taking the penguins on 500-yard walks on the snowy grounds twice a day, said zoo spokesman Tetsuo Yamazaki.

"Just like in humans ... the fat accumulates during the winter months, and the blood-sugar level rises," Yamazaki explained from the zoo, 570 miles northwest of Tokyo. The zoo's 15 king penguins aren't exactly obese. Penguin winter weight varies from 33 pounds to 40 pounds, said zoo official Kazunobu Maru. So far, only one of the flock is 40 pounds, he said.

The reason for weight gain is natural, zoo officials say. "In order to withstand the cold, the penguins have a habit of standing very still during winter months," Yamazaki said, while in the summer they can walk around and swim as much as they want. To fend off obesity, the zoo instituted the winter exercise program in 2003. The penguins have tender webbed feet and can only walk significant distances on snow, so the program can only take place during the colder months. The zoo, on the northern island of Hokkaido, takes the penguins on strolls from December until April. The first walk of the season was Thursday.

Boy, those Japanese zookeepers at the Asahiyama Zoo really crack the whip. What if the penguins don't want to go on forced walks, but just huddle together in the cold like in March of the Penguins? At least they won't get eaten by killer whales, though. March on, little penguins!

Posted on December 15, 2005
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The Attack of the Giant Jellyfish

It's really happening: the giant jellyfish are everywhere and they're really hard to kill. The Times (U.K) reports on the appearance of mysterious giant jellyfish in the Sea of Japan.

They are called echizen kurage and they sound like monsters from the trashier reaches of Japanese science fiction. They are 6ft wide and weigh 450lb (200kg), with countless poisonous tentacles, they have drifted across the void to terrorise the people of Japan. Vast armadas of the slimy horrors have cut off the country's food supply. As soon as one is killed more appear to take its place.

Echizen kurage is not an extraterrestrial invader, but a giant jellyfish that is devastating the livelihoods of fishermen in the Sea of Japan. Nomura's jellyfish, as it is known in English, is the biggest creature of its kind off Japan and for reasons that remain mysterious its numbers have surged in the past few months.

The problem has become so serious that fishery officials from Japan, China and South Korea are to meet this month for a "jellyfish summit" to discuss strategies for dealing with the invasion. Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party has formed a jellyfish countermeasures committee and fishermen are at work on technology to keep the marauders out of their nets.

The problem first became obvious in the late summer when fishermen chasing anchovies, salmon and yellowtail began finding huge numbers of the jellyfish in their nets. Often the weight of the echizen kurage broke the nets or crushed the fish to death; those that survived were poisoned and beslimed by their tentacles. Fishermen on the northern tip of Honshu, Japan's main island, were forced to suspend work at the height of the lucrative salmon season. In Akita prefecture some communities saw their incomes fall by 80 per cent. The gizzard shad fishers of South Korea have also been plagued by the Nomura's.

Apparently the area where China's rivers run into the sea is where the monsters came from. But we're sure that the fact that China sends huge amounts of toxic chemicals down those rivers out to sea has absolutely nothing to do with the rise of the behemoth jellyfish.

Posted on December 8, 2005
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King Kong Looks Real Says Zoo Director

Everyone's waiting to see how Peter Jackson's King Kong stacks up against Lord of the Rings. We know at least one thing: King Kong looks quite real, according to the Director of the Bronx Zoo.

Gorilla expert Dan Wharton, director of the prestigious Bronx Zoo, saw a preview screening yesterday and said Jackson's gorilla looked entirely authentic.

"Jackson has achieved the impossible," he said.

In addition to creating a realistic giant gorilla, Weta Digital had to use 5,000 computers to recreate New York in the 1930s, by digitally erasing all buildings built after that time. In fact, they had to get their own substation because their power needs were impacting the nearby town of Miramar.

Posted on December 5, 2005
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Scientists Testing Cyber Hugs on Chickens

Someday you may be able to add "hug a chicken" to the list of things you can do with a computer and an Internet connection. Singapore scientists are busy working on vibration jackets for the chickens which is the logical first step toward actual chicken cyber hugs.

Singapore scientists looking for ways to transmit the sense of touch over the Internet have devised a vibration jacket for chickens and are thinking about electronic children's pyjamas for cyberspace hugs.

A wireless jacket for chickens or other pets can be controlled with a computer and gives the animal the feeling of being touched by its owner, researchers at Nanyang Technological University (NTU) told Monday's edition of The Straits Times.

The next step would be to use the same concept to transmit hugs over the Internet, it said.

Do chickens even like hugs? Eventually human cyber hugs will be possible as long as you are wearing your human vibration jacket.

Posted on November 29, 2005
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Justin Timberlake Fears Spiders

Singer Justin Timberlake is terrified of spiders. His arachnophobia is so bad that he recently had to call the hotel staff for help to remove a spider from his hotel suite.

The pop heartthrob has confessed his arachnophobia has become so bad he refused to enter his plush suite after spotting an eight-legged creepy crawly lurking inside.

The sexy singer, who is dating Hollywood beauty Cameron Diaz, admitted he had to call hotel reception to get a member of staff to get rid of the tiny creature for him.

He told Britain's Smash Hits magazine: "I'm really, really scared of spiders. I just hate them. I was staying at a nice hotel and I had to call reception because I spotted one in my room. I was too scared to get rid of it myself."

The American Humane Association reminds Jason and others with arachnophobia that there is nothing to be afraid of -- spiders are actually helpful creatures.

One of the most common fears among humans is arachnophobia, but there really is nothing to be afraid of. Spiders are actually very helpful creatures to humans. They help plants reproduce by pollinating them. They help recycle dead trees and animals back into the earth. They are a source of food for birds, fish, and small mammals. And, they eat many harmful insects, helping to keep your garden pest-free.

However, there are some spiders that Jason Timberlake and other humans should stay away from like the deadly Sydney Funnel Web Spider.

Ten minutes after a person is bitten by a Sydney Funnel Web Spider the first symptoms start. The first symptom is numbness around the tongue and mouth. Next the person will have spasms of the tongue and the heart rate will rapidly increase. Nausea and vomiting will soon start along with sweating and salivation. The victim will then become agitated and soon find it difficult to breath. They may become confused and not be able to concentrate. By this stage the victim may be in a coma and the blood press will rise dramatically. The muscles will begin to twitch. At this stage the possibility of death is extremely high.

Posted on November 28, 2005
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Marshmallow, the National Thanksgiving Turkey

Here is a photo of President George Bush pardoning Marshmallow, the National Thanksgiving Turkey. More about our National Thanksgiving Turkey can be found here on The White House website. The website says that the name Marshmallow was voted on by the public. There was even an alternate turkey named Yam in case something terrible happened to Marshmallow. The site also has information about the turkey's retirement schedule.

A few minor modifications were made to prepare the birds for the National Thanksgiving Turkey presentation. About 30 turkeys were removed from the normal commercial production flock and are being raised separately on the Trites farm. The birds are periodically hand fed and given additional interaction with people in an effort to acclimate them.

Presidents traditionally have granted the National Thanksgiving Turkey a "pardon". For the past 15 years, the National Thanksgiving Turkeys and their alternates have been retired to Frying Pan Park in Fairfax County, Virginia. The farm is a 1930s-era replica farm operated by the Fairfax County Parks Department.

Frying Pan Park? Well at least the poor turkeys can retire safely even if the name might frighten them. Happy Thanksgiving Buzz readers!

Posted on November 24, 2005
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Liger Kittens Born

Deb: What are you drawing?

Napoleon Dynamite: A liger.

Deb: What's a liger?

Napoleon Dynamite: It's pretty much my favorite animal. It's like a lion and a tiger mixed... bred for its skills in magic.

Napoleon must be stoked today because a new litter of ligers was born in a Russian Zoo.

Three liger cubs have been born in the Novosibirsk Zoo to unusual parents: an African lion and a Bengalese tigress, the zoo’s director Rostislav Shilo told RIA Novosti Monday. The cubs are called ligers, a term derived from their parents’ species, lion and tiger.

The cubs were born as a result of a genuine attachment between the lion and the tigress who have been kept in neighboring cages since childhood. Such a cross would be impossible in a natural environment, since tigers and lions only mate with their kin.

The litter is the couple’s second, the zoo director added. In summer 2004 ligress Zita was born in the zoo. Zita is now one year and four months old. "She is growing and developing like any other young animal," Shilov said about the ligress. "She runs, she plays around, there are no problems with her at all."

It is hard to say whether the ligress looks more like a lion or a tiger, but she behaves more like a tiger, zoo keepers say. When she is angry or getting ready to attack, she holds down her ears like tigers do, they said. Zita also loves to swim, while young lions do not.

No word yet on what magical skills the ligress possesses.

Posted on November 17, 2005
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Happy Birthday to the Giant Tortoise

The BBC reports on the exciting birthday festivities for a 175 year-old tortoise. Australia Zoo held a birthday bash for one of the world's oldest known living creatures, a Giant Galapagos tortoise. The tortoise was treated to a pink hibiscus flower cake.

Although the animal's exact date of birth is not known, DNA testing has indicated its approximate age. Some people believe the tortoise, known as Harriet, was studied by British naturalist Charles Darwin. Darwin took several young Giant Galapagos tortoises back to London after his epic voyage on board HMS Beagle.

DNA testing has suggested the giant creature was born around 1830, a few years before Darwin visited the Galapagos archipelago in 1835. However, Harriet belongs to a sub-species of tortoise only found on an island that Darwin never visited. At the time of Darwin's visit, Harriet would have been about as big as a dinner plate. She now weighs 150kg (23 stone) and is roughly the size of a dinner table.

According to the BBC's Phil Mercer, in Sydney, Harriet has become somewhat of a celebrity at the Australia Zoo on Queensland's Sunshine Coast. She receives a thorough wash every morning and is fed a vegetarian diet that includes green beans and celery. Her keepers believe she has survived for so long because she has enjoyed a stress-free life.

Happy Birthday, Harriet: you don't look a day over 102!

Posted on November 15, 2005
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Baby Elephant Makes His Debut

The new baby African elephant who was born at the Indianapolis Zoo was introduced to the public. He's so little that he has to use a step stool to nurse. Luckily, he has a bevy of zookeepers to produce a step stool when needed.

The baby African elephant continues to do well. He and mother Kubwa are bonded, he is nursing consistently, and loves taking naps! At this point in time, he is using a little step stool to reach the mammaries on Kubwa, who is an unusally tall elephant. Kubwa's first calf, Amali, also used a step stool to nurse for the first several weeks of her life. Kubwa is very protective of her calf and very alert to where he is at all times. She is very gentle with him, and helps him up using her trunk if he gets going too fast or trips up. He is still a bit unsteady on his feet, but he gets more coordinated every day!

The Indianapolis Zoo had a contest to name the elephant; the results will be announced tomorrow. We hope they pick something good. It's a good thing he's an elephant and doesn't know that people are emailing in crazy suggestions from all over the country. And Butterstick is taken.

Posted on October 31, 2005
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Baby Panda Gets His Name

The Washington National Zoo announced that the new panda cub now has a name: Tai Shan, which means "Peaceful Mountain."

The National Zoo announced the name during a ceremony Monday, keeping a Chinese tradition of waiting 100 days after birth until naming. The male cub, born July 9, is the first giant panda born at the National Zoo to survive more than a few weeks.

The zoo invited panda-fans to vote online for one of five Chinese names for the cub, all approved beforehand by the zoo and Chinese authorities. More than 200,000 votes were cast. The cub's mother, Mei Xiang, and father, Tian Tian, are on a 10 year loan to the zoo from China. Baby Tai Shan will also return to China some time after his second birthday. The cub has recently taken his first steps and began cutting his first teeth.

You can see the Panda Cam here.

Posted on October 21, 2005
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Armed and Dangerous Dolphins

We were thrilled to see that all eight Gulfport Oceanarium dolphins all made it through the hurricane and are on their way to a new home. But apparently, that's not the only dolphin story that came out of Hurricane Katrina. The Guardian (UK) reports that the Navy is covering up another hurricane-related dolphin escape. Only these dolphins are armed and dangerous.

It may be the oddest tale to emerge from the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. Armed dolphins, trained by the US military to shoot terrorists and pinpoint spies underwater, may be missing in the Gulf of Mexico. Experts who have studied the US navy's cetacean training exercises claim the 36 mammals could be carrying "toxic dart" guns. Divers and surfers risk attack, they claim, from a species considered to be among the planet's smartest. The US navy admits it has been training dolphins for military purposes, but has refused to confirm that any are missing.

Dolphins have been trained in attack-and-kill missions since the Cold War. The US Atlantic bottlenose dolphins have apparently been taught to shoot terrorists attacking military vessels. Their coastal compound was breached during the storm, sweeping them out to sea. But those who have studied the controversial use of dolphins in the US defence programme claim it is vital they are caught quickly.

Leo Sheridan, 72, a respected accident investigator who has worked for government and industry, said he had received intelligence from sources close to the US government's marine fisheries service confirming dolphins had escaped. "My concern is that they have learnt to shoot at divers in wetsuits who have simulated terrorists in exercises. If divers or windsurfers are mistaken for a spy or suicide bomber and if equipped with special harnesses carrying toxic darts, they could fire," he said. "The darts are designed to put the target to sleep so they can be interrogated later, but what happens if the victim is not found for hours?"

Usually dolphins were controlled via signals transmitted through a neck harness. "The question is, were these dolphins made secure before Katrina struck?" said Sheridan. The mystery surfaced when a separate group of dolphins was washed from a commercial oceanarium on the Mississippi coast during Katrina. Eight were found with the navy's help, but the dolphins were not returned until US navy scientists had examined them. Sheridan is convinced the scientists were keen to ensure the dolphins were not the Navy's, understood to be kept in training ponds in a sound in Louisiana, close to Lake Pontchartrain, whose waters devastated New Orleans.

Well, that certainly explains why the Navy was so eager to "help out" the Oceanarium in its rescue effort. Animal rights groups oppose the use of dolphins in warfare, but sources indicate that a covert program has been going strong since the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole.

So, the question becomes: where are the armed and dangerous dolphins now? Here's some advice: you might want to re-think that scuba-diving trip you had planned for anywhere in the Gulf of Mexico.

Posted on September 26, 2005
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All Eight Dolphins Rescued

Happy dolphin news: all eight dolphins have been now been rescued from the ocean and taken to a naval engineering base where they are being treated for injuries and starvation.

Led by a marine biologist who specializes in dolphins, a rescue team had rescued four of the dolphins by Friday. But when they went back on Saturday, they couldn't find the rest of the group. They searched by plane and boat, and finally found them Tuesday -- they were swimming towards land, apparently tired of waiting for the humans to get their act together and bring everyone home.

[W]hen rescuers returned on the fourth day, the remaining four dolphins had left the area. NOAA couldn't move all the dolphins at once because they had limited equipment and only one pool to put them in.

"This area is so damaged," Foster said. "There's not many swimming pools, not many holding areas ... so what we did was take the most compromised animals and move them to the Holiday Inn (swimming pool)."

When the last four of the dolphins were located on Tuesday, they were in the channels in front of the Beau Rivage Casino. All of the dolphins have since been reunited and are on their way to recovery.

"We're all just thrilled that the dolphins are now safe and sound," said NOAA Fisheries Service biologist Laura Engleby. "Certainly we were really concerned about the challenges they were faced with out there. We were so excited to see that they were all together. This has just been a huge success."

The veterinarian said some were 100 pounds underweight and had deep lacerations, which are being treated. The group of dolphins had never been in the same pool before, but formed a pod during the disaster when they were swept out of their Gulfport, Mississipi Oceanarium home pools by the storm surge. Now the owner says he'd like to keep them all together since it appears they've formed a family unit.

But dolphins are expensive to keep. Let's hope that they recover fully, and that Sea World or some canny corporate donor buys or sponsors the entire group.

Posted on September 21, 2005
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Four Dolphins Rescued, Four to Go

Ok, this dolphins-needing-rescuing story is really starting to stress us out. There are eight bottlenosed dolphins who were swept out of their pools during Hurricane Katrina. They're in the Gulf of Mexico and want to go back to their trainers (raised in captivity, they have no idea how to evade predators or even hunt for fish). Plus, they're injured and starving, according to the veterinarian treating them.

They got two of the most injured dolphins at the end of last week. Then, they got a mom and her son on Saturday, according to the Dolphinsrus.com, the official website of the Oceanarium.

Mom and Son Reunited: Kelly Saved

More wonderful news came on Saturday when Marine L