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Elephants outsmarting humans on Indonesia's Sumatra: report


Agence France-Presse
Tue, 08 Jan 2008 10:30 UTC
A herd of wild elephants on Indonesia's Sumatra has repeatedly outsmarted efforts to stop them stealing crops, wising up to attempts to chase them off with burning torches, a report said Monday.

The head of Way Kambas natural reserve in Lampung province, Hudiono, told the state-run Antara news agency that a herd of 25 to 30 elephants had been nightly roaming out of the reserve to raid crops since Thursday.
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Frog

It's raining iguanas after Florida cold snap


terradaily.com
Sun, 06 Jan 2008 22:47 UTC
An unexpected cold snap this week sent thermometers plummeting in Florida and heat-hungry iguanas dropping from tree branches like autumn leaves, scientists and witnesses said.

Passersby in Bill Baggs and Crandon parks in Key Biscayne, south of Miami, were seen picking up the seemingly lifeless lizards from the ground beneath trees and setting them in the sun, where after a brief warm-up, most revived and scampered off into the bushes.

The cold-blooded lizard-with-a-mohawk's comfort level begins at 23 degrees Celsius (73 Fahrenheit) and it positively thrives at 35 C (95 F). But on Wednesday and Thursday, the mercury in south Florida dropped to 4-5 C (39-41 F).
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Fish

Pacific Salmon Invading Atlantic, Threatening Penguins

James Owen
National Geographic News
Wed, 02 Jan 2008 01:07 UTC
Ocean-swapping Pacific salmon are moving into Atlantic waters, scientists say.

©Miguel Pascual, Centro Nacional Patagónico
A researcher displays a chinook salmon found in the headwaters of the Santa Cruz River in Argentina. A new study has found that the invasive salmon, native to the North Pacific, are invading the South Atlantic, posing a threat to penguins and sea mammals that compete with the fish for food.
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Frog

Big Rat, Tiny Possum Found in Rainforest


Associated Press
Tue, 01 Jan 2008 14:16 UTC
Researchers in a remote jungle in Indonesia have discovered a giant rat and a tiny possum that are apparently new to science, underscoring the stunning biodiversity of the Southeast Asian nation, scientists said Monday.

Unearthing new species of mammals in the 21st century is considered very rare. The discoveries by a team of American and Indonesian scientists are being studied further to confirm their status.

©Unknown

The animals were found in the Foja mountains rainforest in eastern Papua province in a June expedition, said U.S.-based Conservation Inter­national, which organized the trip along with the Indonesian Institute of Science.
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Bug

Bedbug epidemic attacks New York City

Douglas Feiden
Daily News
Sun, 30 Dec 2007 22:31 UTC
A bedbug epidemic has exploded in every corner of New York City - striking even upper East Side luxury apartments owned by Gov. Spitzer's father, the Daily News has learned.

©Daily News
Unfed bugs are 1/4 to 3/4 inch long. They are brown or red-brown in color and the upper surface of the body appears crinkled. Recently fed, they are engorged with blood, dull red in color.
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People

Hundreds Stung by Jellyfish in Brazil


Associated Press
Sun, 30 Dec 2007 13:23 UTC
SAO PAULO, Brazil - Swarms of jellyfish stung nearly 300 swimmers looking to cool off from a heat wave in a southeastern beach city, Brazilian media reported Sunday.

At least 15 people including children and teenagers were treated in Praia Grande for severe stings, doctor Adriano Bechara told the Tribuna newspaper, though their lives were not in danger.
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Cow

Bluetongue spreads to Scotland: government


Agence France-Presse
Sat, 29 Dec 2007 13:46 UTC
A new case of bluetongue has been detected in Britain, for the first time in Scotland, the Scottish government said Saturday.
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Alarm Clock

Philippines work to save giant clams


upi.com
Fri, 28 Dec 2007 21:40 UTC
A new effort is under way in the Philippines to stem the declining population of the world's largest clams, called taklobos.

A "clam garden" was built about 250 feet off the shore of Pico de Loro Cove in Batangas to provide new habitat for the giant clams, which can reach five feet in diameter and weigh up to 570 pounds, The Manila Times reported Thursday.

The reseeding was accomplished using clams brought from Bolinao, Pangasinian, the newspaper said. The conservation project is a joint effort of the Hamilo Coast, SM Investments Corp. and the World Wide Fund for Nature.
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Life Preserver

Saving Plants that Save Lives


wwf
Thu, 27 Dec 2007 06:37 UTC
Poor or non-existent collection controls are threatening the survival of many of the plant species used in traditional and modern medicines. Some estimates indicate that 15,000 of the 50,000 - 70,000 plant species used for medicinal purposes and mostly collected from the wild may be threatened, many as a direct result of unsustainable collection practices.

Three years of collaboration in which WWF has played a key role have now produced the first set of principles and criteria for the sustainable wild collection of plants.
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Better Earth

Walrus Habitat is Melting Away

Dan Joling
livescience.com
Tue, 25 Dec 2007 20:46 UTC
Federal marine mammal experts in Alaska studying the effects of global warming on walrus, polar bears and ice seals warn there are limit to the protections they can provide.

They can restrict hunters, ship traffic and offshore petroleum activity, but that may not be enough if the animals' basic habitat - sea ice - disappears every summer.

"Ultimately it's beyond my scope," said Joel Garlich-Miller, a walrus expert for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in Anchorage. "I can't make ice cubes out there."

Garlich-Miller said 3,000 to 4,000 mostly young walrus died this year in stampedes on land on the Russian side of the Chukchi Sea, the body of water touching Alaska and Russia just north of the Bering Strait. Instead of spending the summer spread over sea ice, thousands of walruses were stranded on land in unprecedented numbers for up to three months.

Anatoly Kochnev, who conducts walrus research for Russia's Pacific Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography, said the loss of 3,000 to 4,000 animals this year from mostly one demographic could be disastrous.



©NOAA
A walrus rests on sea ice. Experts no fear the diminishing icy landscape of the Arctic landscape could damage walrus populations.

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