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Do Wild Dogs Sleep as Much as Your Pets? - The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/20... http://static01.nyt.com/i... )

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"A half-century-long study of wolves and their interaction with their prey on Isle Royale, a wilderness island in Lake Superior, found that in winter the wolves would feed for hours on a fresh kill, then sprawl out or curl up in the snow and rest or sleep about 30 percent of the time. “Wolves have plenty of reason to rest,” the study’s researchers wrote. “When wolves are active, they are really active. On a daily basis, wolves burn about 70 percent more calories compared to typical animals of similar size.” The researchers note that while hunting, wolves may burn calories at 10 to 20 times the rate they do while resting. “When food is plentiful, wolves spend a substantial amount of time simply resting, because they can,” the study said. “When food is scarce, wolves spend much time resting because they need to.” Wolves may eat only once every five to 10 days, the researchers said, losing as much as 8 to 10 percent of body weight, but regaining all the lost weight in just two days of eating and resting." - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

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Wolf’s Return to California Stirs Debate - WSJ (http://www.wsj.com/articl... http://s.wsj.net/public/r... )

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"The return of wolves to their former haunts across the West has reached California, where a pack of wolves was spotted for the first time in decades last month, pitting conservationists against ranchers who worry the predators will prey on livestock. Still images of seven gray wolves—two adults and five frolicking pups—were captured in August on a trail camera in Siskiyou County near the Oregon border. The discovery of the pack took place four years after a single radio-collared wolf was detected crossing into California, for the first known time since the animal last existed in the Golden State in 1924. The arrival came as California wildlife officials were still trying to complete a wolf-management plan. Now, state officials are racing to get guidelines in place before conflicts arise, as they have in other Western states, with ranchers trying to defend their herds from predatory attacks, and with hunters who fear the animals will kill too many elk and deer. Since the gray wolf in California is listed as endangered under both federal and state law, ranchers can’t kill or harass them, unless permitted by regulation." - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

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Idaho: Hiking Trail Closed Because of Aggressive Goats - The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/20... )

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"Concerns about aggressive mountain goats have led the United States Forest Service to temporarily close the Scotchman Peak Trail, which leads to the summit of the tallest mountain in Bonner County. Visitors to the hiking trail have been offering food to the goats or even allowing them to eat from their hands, according to the Forest Service. That can cause the animals to behave aggressively in an attempt to get food from humans. There have been reports of goats trying to head-butt or charge hikers; one hiker was bitten. A hiker was fatally injured in 2010 after being gored by a goat in Olympia National Park in Washington." - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

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Goats are buttheads. - bentley - [ 2 ] -

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Why Is That Dog Looking at Me? - The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/20... http://static01.nyt.com/i... http://static01.nyt.com/i... )

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"More than one experiment has made some things pretty clear. Dogs look at humans much more than wolves do. Wolves tend to put their nose to the Tupperware and keep at it. This evidence has led to the unsurprising conclusion that dogs are more socially connected to humans and wolves more self-reliant. Once you get beyond the basics, however, agreement is elusive. In order to assess the latest bit of research, published in Biology Letters Tuesday by Monique Udell at Oregon State University, some context can be drawn from an earlier experiment that got a lot of attention more than a decade ago." - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

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Link to the Biology Letters study: http://rsbl.royalsocietyp... - JustDuckie - -

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Lake District forests hit by ash dieback disease | Environment | The Guardian (http://www.theguardian.co... )

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Trees at four different sites in the Lake District have been found infected with ash dieback disease, according to the Forestry Commission. The sites include areas of woodland near Ambleside and Keswick. It is not known how the trees became infected with the Hymenoscyphus fraxineus fungus (which was originally called Chalara fraxinea). Charlton Clark, a spokesman for the Forestry Commission, said: “The disease can be spread either by spores of the fungus being carried by the wind or by movement of infected ash plants, whose spores can then be blown to neighbouring trees. It could have arrived in the Lake District by either or both these means.” - Halil from Bookmarklet - -

afaik London is still ok, but it's still looking grim for UK ash trees! :( - Halil - -

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How I Learned You Probably Shouldn't Try to Turn Raccoons into Pets | VICE | United States (http://www.vice.com/read/... https://vice-images.vice.... *:*&output-quality=)

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"The raccoon kept coming by, though, and every time he made contact, it was with a little less trepidation. Eventually, to my delight, he would come sit with me on the porch as I sipped a beer or read a book. Maybe one day, I thought, I could walk it down the street on a leash. Raccoons are very smart. Not only do they have opposable thumbs that allow them to manipulate things, they have legitimate problem-solving skills. But eventually, my raccoon did something I didn't know had ever been recorded in such a creature—he got comfortable enough to play pranks. " - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

>.> - JustDuckie - -

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Dinosaur hunting in Inner Mongolia: Gobi Desert a treasure trove for University of Hong Kong-led expedition | South China Morning Post (http://www.scmp.com/magaz... https://www.scmp.com/site... )

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"Part of the problem is that many of China's fossils are dug from the ground by farmers and then sold to museums, other institutes and private dealers. Liaoning's farmers can often earn more by selling fossils than they can by tilling the soil. Although China has strict laws against private fossil sales, the black market thrives. "Scientists, universities and institutes face a real dilemma, because if they buy the fossil they are supporting this industry. But if they are offering you a fossil that is new to science, and it possesses anatomical features that fill in big holes in our knowledge, it's also kind of unethical … to not buy it," says Pittman." - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

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Zen Foxes: Photographer Documents Wild Foxes Enjoying Themselves | Bored Panda (http://www.boredpanda.com... http://static.boredpanda.... )

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"These photos by Roeselien Raimond, a Dutch nature photographer who specializes in taking beautiful photos of wild foxes, show how foxes are experts at enjoying the little things in life. “I love them best when they’re totally at ease: free from pain, fear, cold, hunger or any other discomfort,” she told Bored Panda in an interview. “Of course they have their duties calling as well. But once that rabbit is consumed, the territory defined and taken care of important things like procreation and upbringing, it’s time to relax.”" - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - [ 2 ] -

>.> Has this person never met a cat? - Soup - [ 3 ] -

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Filmmaker goes wild with costars in 'Wolf Totem' - LA Times (http://www.latimes.com/en... http://www.trbimg.com/img... )

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"Director Jean-Jacques Annaud had a fine bromance with a Mongolian wolf named Cloudy during the production of his latest film, "Wolf Totem," which opens Friday. "It was very strange," recalled the French filmmaker, who worked with bears in his 1989 film "The Bear" and tigers in his 2004 drama "Two Brothers." Annaud first met Cloudy, who was the alpha wolf of the pack and star of the movie, when he was one of many wolf cubs being trained by Andrew Simpson, who also works with dogs, hyenas and foxes. "When I visited the pack a year later, he immediately came to me," he said. "Everybody believed it was because I was the two-legged boss of my own pack."" - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

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Fellow FFers (now in diaspora) may remember that I read this book twice by accident, once in English and once in Chinese. You may also remember how it ends. :-( - JustDuckie - -

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The Truth About Real-Life Dire Wolves (http://io9.com/the-truth-... http://i.kinja-img.com/ga... )

9 years ago from Bookmarklet - Comment - Hide - - [ 1 ] -

"If you’d been walking through a glade 15,000 years ago, and noticed a really big wolf coming out of the forest, followed by more really big wolves, you’d need to run fast. Because dire wolves were real. Let’s say you’re strolling through a glade 15,000 years ago. A wolf comes out of the forest. “Oh, that’s a big one,” you think. More wolves come out. You slowly realize—they’re all big ones. Those are dire wolves. Get ready to run." - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

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Hollywood woman finds iguana in toilet | News - Home (http://www.local10.com/ne... )

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"Peppie Tandhascetti said she found an iguana in her toilet bowl Monday morning. "What are you doing in my toilet?" Tandhascetti asks the iguana, as she records it hanging out in her bathroom. "Come on, get out of there and go home." Seconds later, the iguana crawls out of the toilet and heads out the door. Residents in the Emerald Hills subdivision said they've had iguanas come into their homes before. "(I) went to use the commode, opened up the lid and there was what I thought was an alligator in there," Tandhascetti said. Animal experts believe the iguana climbed in through a roof vent, and when it got stuck it started to look for the largest possible opening to escape, which happened to be the toilet." - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

Florida! - JustDuckie - -

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Bears steal bachelorette party's food in Gatlinburg - WSMV Channel 4 (http://www.wsmv.com/story... http://wsmv.images.worldn... )

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"Paige Robinson said she and her friends were packing up the car at her cabin on Sunday morning when they heard a bunch of rustling in the trees. When they looked over the hill from the driveway, they said they saw several bears coming toward them, so they ran up the steps to the cabin. The women were in such a hurry that they left the car open and a gift basket of candy and other goodies lying beside the car, along with the car key. Robinson said at one point, there were five bears going through the group's food, and the mama bear almost got into the car. " - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

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A King Cobra Is on the Loose in Florida | TIME (http://time.com/4021438/k... https://timedotcom.files.... )

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"A king cobra has been on the loose in Orlando since Tuesday, officials say. “We are used to snakes here in Florida, but a king cobra is a totally different story,” a TV anchor said on WESH2. The male cobra is green and yellow and about 8-feet long. The owner, Mike Kennedy, didn’t report the escape right away when it went missing on Tuesday, and could face criminal penalties." - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

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Selfie with rattlesnake turns out exactly like you think it would | News - Home (http://www.clickorlando.c... )

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"Alex Gomez, 36, was picking up trash with his nephew at his family's ranch in Lake Elsinore, California, when he picked up a rattlesnake, put it around his neck and took a selfie. He was rushed to the hospital and treated with anti-venom, but the swelling may cause doctors to amputate his hand." - JustDuckie - -

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Hey. Not Florida. - Joe from iPad - [ 2 ] -

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Wolf pack discovered in Northern California (http://www.mercurynews.co... http://extras.mnginteract... )

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"In a major breakthrough for wildlife conservation, a pack of gray wolves has been discovered in southeastern Siskiyou County, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Thursday. The wolves, dubbed the Shasta Pack, consist of two adults and five pups. Fish and Wildlife captured photographic evidence of the pack after spotting a lone wolf in May and July. Wolves were eliminated in California in the 1920s, but have recently begun a comeback. A male named OR7 entered California in 2011 but left the state in 2013 to join a pack in Oregon. Fish and Wildlife presumes the parents of the cubs came from Oregon, though officials do not think they are a direct descendent of OR7. The department is awaiting the results of a DNA analysis to better determine the animals' lineage, and it plans to place a tracking collar on at least one of the adults." - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

So very cool. - Jennifer D. - [ 1 ] -

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Train delayed as firefighters hunt for snake in toilet - Taipei Times (http://www.taipeitimes.co... )

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"The Taiwan Railways Administration (TRA) said it received a report at 9:56am that a passenger on the train to Hualien had found a snake in the men’s restroom on the No. 2 carriage. When the train arrived at Yilan Railway Station at 10:07am, firefighters boarded the train, but did not find the snake. After being delayed by nine minutes, the train continued its journey to Hualien. The TRA said the train conductor then spotted the snake again and caught it with the help of the cleaning staff when the train was between Beipu (北埔) and Hualien. They caught the snake in a big plastic bag and turned it over to the Hualien County Fire Department. The train arrived at the Hualien Railway Station at 11:36am — 16 minutes late." - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

"The TRA said the snake was likely brought on board the express train as a pet by a passenger." - JustDuckie - -

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Meet the African Golden Wolf: New Canine Discovered After 150 Years : News : Nature World News (http://www.natureworldnew... )

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Characteristic of the wile canines of oral tradition, jackals, it seems, had us tricked. Researchers have found what they are calling concrete evidence that a species of golden jackal living in Africa and Asia is actual two separate species - marking the first discovery of a new canine group in over 150 years. - Halil from Bookmarklet - -

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Cool! Thanks, Halil! - JustDuckie - -

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As invasive pythons perk up in the heat, state asks for snake-spotting help | Miami Herald (http://www.miamiherald.co... http://www.miamiherald.co... )

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"On Thursday, the Miami-Dade Fire Rescue Venom Response Team was called out to a Redland farm near Southwest 208th Avenue and Southwest 307th Street where a python had eaten one goat and killed another the night before. The consumed goat was “about the size of an average pit bull,” said Lt. Scott Mullin. The farmer shot and killed the python, which measured about 11 1/2 feet, Mullin said. On Wednesday night, the team also picked up a 6 1/2 foot Colombian red-tailed boa constrictor in Hialeah. Said Mullin, who captured a 10-foot python at a chicken farm in South Miami-Dade on Monday: “It’s been, actually, a busy week.”" - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

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Notting Hill Fox Infiltrates Tory Heartland By Napping On Window Ledge Near Rachel Johnson's House (http://www.huffingtonpost... http://i.huffpost.com/gen... )

9 years ago from Bookmarklet - Comment - Hide - - [ 8 ] -

"Rachel Johnson spotted the animal on Wednesday while out and about in her local Notting Hill and captured photos of the cheeky pest, published by the London Evening Standard." - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

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Can any arachnids fangs penetrate a gastropods skin? I only ask as I saw a spider try to bite a slug, it didn't look like any penetration took place as it simply darted on the slug several times attempting to bite it and then gave up. It was quite shocking, the slug slithered away but curious if any venom might have been injected during these attempts. Thanks

9 years ago - Comment - Hide - - [ 4 ] -

also, why hasn't anyone made a giant mutated gastropod sci fi monster movie yet? ;-) - Halil - [ 1 ] -

There are fishing spiders, which are known to catch fish and slugs, among other things: http://www.uark.edu/ua/ar... - John B. - [ 2 ] -

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Unusual Friendship Between Wolf And Bear Documented By Finnish Photographer | Bored Panda (http://www.boredpanda.com... http://static.boredpanda.... http://static.boredpanda.... )

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"“It’s very unusual to see a bear and a wolf getting on like this” says Finnish photographer Lassi Rautiainen, 56, who took these surprising photos. The female grey wolf and male brown were spotted every night for ten days straight, spending several hours together between 8pm and 4am. They would even share food with each other. “No-one can know exactly why or how the young wolf and bear became friends,” Lassi told the Daily Mail. “I think that perhaps they were both alone and they were young and a bit unsure of how to survive alone…It is nice to share rare events in the wild that you would never expect to see.”" - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

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World Lion Day: 17 stunning images celebrating the King of the Jungle - Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.u... http://i.telegraph.co.uk/... )

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"In honour of World Lion Day, photographer, guide and predator expert Paul Goldstein has selected some of his favourite images of the endangered animals. Wimbledon-based Paul has spent years studying and photographing lions. The photographs were taken at the Olare and Mara North Conservancies and in the Reserve, in Kenya. " - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

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Ukrainian Armed Forces to employ raccoons - English pravda.ru (http://english.pravda.ru/... http://pravda-team.ru/eng... )

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"The Ukrainian Armed Forces may soon have new soldiers, and those soldiers will be raccoons. Reportedly, the animals will be used for combat engineering purposes. The work to train the animals look for mines are already being conducted in the Kharkov region of Ukraine. In one of the military units of Kharkov, there is a raccoon named Hook. Dog handlers have picked a female for the raccoon - a female raccoon named Alice. After the animals produce offspring, they will be taught to search for explosives. The raccoon is a resilient animal that can escape from predators. Raccoons are known to be very cunning and resourceful creatures that have not proved their ability to military learning, Pravda.Ru reports. " - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

>.> Now they're getting military training. - JustDuckie - -

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Is the 'new' Norwegian wolf really wild? -- ScienceDaily (http://www.sciencedaily.c... http://images.sciencedail... )

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"Today's Norwegian wolves live fairly regulated lives. So how wild are they, really? "Many people are concerned with keeping the wolf wild, natural and authentic. The challenge for the modern management programme is that detailed monitoring and management jeopardize the status of 'the new Norwegian wolf' as wild and authentic -- and that people eventually won't see the value of preserving the wolf," says Håkon B. Stokland at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology's (NTNU) Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture. He has written his PhD dissertation on how the conservation and management of wolves has been carried out in practice, and the consequences of these practices." - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

"With the advent of genetic markers as a mapping tool, scat, fur remnants and residual materials from dead wolves have been collected. These are analysed in a laboratory in Trondheim that creates gene profiles of the wolves. Almost all the wolves dating back to 1983 are plotted onto a pedigree chart, and the family tree shows that almost all the wolves in the 1980s originated from two Russian wolves. Later, five Russian wolves joined the population (one in 1991 and four in 2007), which has helped the inbreeding problem. "There's been a lot of debate about the Norwegian wolf not being Norwegian. Scandinavian and Russian wolves can be genetically distinguished, but practically speaking they are virtually identical," Stokland said." - JustDuckie - -

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Rare bird photo contest canceled - Taipei Times (http://www.taipeitimes.co... http://www.taipeitimes.co... )

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"The New Taipei City Government has canceled a proposed photography contest focused on a rare Siberian white crane that migrated to a wetland in the city late last year amid criticism the contest could threaten the bird’s habitat with the influx of competitors and tourists. The contest was promoted on the city’s Animal Protection and Health Inspection Office Web site to raise awareness of bird conservation and the rarity of the white crane — an endangered species — but the office canceled the contest due to conservation concerns, office director Chen Yuan-chuan (陳淵泉) said. The office has deployed a security guard to maintain order at the site, cordoned off the rice paddies where the bird dwells and set up warning signs to caution the public against getting too close to the bird, Chen said." - JustDuckie from Bookmarklet - -

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