Wolverine y Tormenta al estilo mexica en el #XMenDa
Queen.
I always have to reboot this.
For anyone wondering, this is amazing enrichment for the animal and a great way to involve guests! The lions aren’t forced to play with the rope if they don’t want to, and these guys (and anyone else who tries this out) have an awesome close up and hands on experience, all without having to come in direct contact with the cat!
This definitely counts as #actually cute. This video is from the San Antonio Zoo, and the lioness’ name is Axelle. As @ordinaryredtail said above, the tug of war interaction is entirely voluntary on her part.
My guess is that the zoo staff did use some positive reinforcement training to teach her how to pick up and pull on the rope at first, because that’s not necessary something a lion would just do on their own. While it’s also probable that she’s rewarded with something tasty did choosing to engage with the members of the public like this, Axelle wouldn’t be engaging if it was a negative experience for her (there aren’t enough snacks in the world to coerce a lion into doing something they find actively distressing). If she didn’t want to participate, she could just walk away.
Some sanctuary and animal rights groups have taken issue with this interaction because they consider it unethical to ask a lion to engage in any “unnatural behavior” “for the benefit of the public,” calling it exploitation. It is worth keeping in mind, however, that learning and engaging in novel behaviors is hugely enriching for animals in human care, and that lions have no concept of exploitation. As long as the lion is not bothered by the presence or noise of the crowd, is not injured or harmed, and is engaging on an entirely voluntary basis, this sort of thing is entirely ethical. It is far safer than any type of interaction where a member of the public is coming into direct context with a big cat, but still allows people to directly experience the sheer strength of a lion up close.
Washington/California
Here you can see how the three tallest mountains in Washington state (Baker, Adams, & Rainier) stack up against the tallest mountain in the contiguous United States (Whitney).
Zbrush model and animation of the middle and inner ear. I hope to add to the animation when I learn After Effects in a few weeks!
Kiakshuk
Kiakshuk (1886-1966) was an Inuit artist and storyteller. It was not until he was in his 70s that Kiakshuk took up drawing and print making, thanks to the encouragement of a friend. Over the course of six years, Kiakshuk produced 52 prints that became vital to the development of the Inuit graphic arts history. His body of work is filled with imagery and stories from the traditional Eskimo lifestyle.
A polar bear peers up from beneath the melting sea ice on Hudson Bay as the setting midnight sun glows red from the smoke of distant fires during a record-breaking spell of hot weather. (Photo and caption by Paul Souders)
Just to brighten your day. Image by Robert F. Bukaty.
East coast needs a lot of help 😂
I’ve stayed in some interesting places, but this just makes you want to learn the back story. Or to know if more than one incident was required for the making of this sign.
A day off and finally had time to sit down and finish articulating Jynx’s stunning left front paw! @lolita_decay #skeleton #articulation #petpreservation #cats #catskeleton #art #sculpture #odd #oddities #vultureculture #claws #anatomy #animalbones #pagan #occult #bones #mutant #polydactyl #science https://www.instagram.com/p/BnSWybvlVoF/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1d3l37ln65rpi
"My heart rate started increasing, and I got goose bumps all over. I'd never seen anything like that before, it was amazing," said Jennifer Herkes, who is the heritage manager for the Carcross/Tagish First Nation in Yukon.
I didn’t know Mr. T pityed fool’s that weren’t woke, but that’s awesome. #respect
“I think about my father being called ‘boy’, my uncle being called ‘boy’, my brother, coming back from Vietnam and being called ‘boy’. So I questioned myself: “What does a black man have to do before he’s given the respect as a man?” So when I was 18 years old, when I was old enough to fight and die for my country, old enough to drink, old enough to vote, I said I was old enough to be called a man. I self-ordained myself Mr. T so the first word out of everybody’s mouth is “Mr.” That’s a sign of respect that my father didn’t get, that my brother didn’t get, that my mother didn’t get.“
-Mr. T on the subject of his name
If Democrats take the House, their current ranking member of the Financial Services Committee becomes the chair of the committee, and has the power to subpoena Trump’s bank records. That member is Maxine Waters. Vote.
Journey to the Top of the World - Adventures in Utqiaġvik
Two weeks ago my colleague Vicki Cornish and I traveled to Utqiaġvik to meet with marine mammal hunters and ANO members as part of our co-management review. I arrived on Sunday evening and after dinner with some colleagues from the North Slope Borough (NSB), I decided to cautiously venture out of the bunkhouse to get a better view of the ice on the Chukchi Sea. Within several minutes of leaving the bunkhouse I was informed by someone on a ATV that there had been a polar bear sighting and that I should be careful. So, of course, I continued up the road to the berm that borders the sea to check it out. A few minutes after that, the Utqiaġvik Police stopped me and said I needed to get inside. That’s when I was picked up by one of my colleagues and we went searching for the bear. Well, we found it and it was safely chased out of town by the local Polar Bear Patrol.
Photo: Polar bear that was safely removed from Utqiaġvik. The patrol staff estimates that it was likely 4-4.5 years old and recently left by its mother.
If you’re like me, you might be thinking, is Polar Bear Patrol a real thing? It definitely is in many villages in the North Slope. And not only does this patrol provide tools to help prevent negative interactions between humans and polar bears, it also addresses issues with brown bears as well. Patrol staff are the first call to make when a bear is sighted within the vicinity of a village where is may cause problems and they will use non-lethal methods, when possible, to deter or remove the bear. Due to the reduction in sea ice that has been occurring, many polar bears have been coming onto shore more often which increases the likelihood of human-bear interactions. I feel very very lucky to have had the chance to see a polar bear in person. Such a sighting wasn’t even on my bucket list for Alaska because I know how infrequent such sightings can be, especially when you’re only in town for 3 days. I was very fortunate to have had this experience and my marine mammal sightings only increased after this…
Photo: Ringed seal on the ice off of Point Barrow.
Vicki and I were able to take a trip out to Point Barrow on our last afternoon in town and saw quite a few ringed seals hauled out on the ice. This one was quite large and fairly close to the shore so we were able to get a good look at it. On top of seeing lots of seals, we were able to walk out on the ice of the Beaufort Sea and even stick our hands in some melted water on the ice (don’t worry, the ice was completely stable and we were never in any danger of falling through).
Photo: Sticking my hand in Beaufort Sea water.
In addition to some pretty exciting wildlife encounters, we also had some really insightful conversations with many folks involved in co-management. As expected, we heard a lot about the Alaska Eskimo Whaling Commission (AEWC), which was highlighted in the Community Highlight blog a few weeks ago. Bowhead whales are a large portion of the marine mammal resources harvested by communities on the North Slope and Utqiaġvik is no exception. Utqiaġvik whaling captains successfully harvested 8 whales this spring and I was incredibly fortunate enough to be able to try a whale steak during my visit.
Photo: Steering Committee member Billy Adams explains to Vicki Cornish and I how the traditional skin boats for whale hunting are assembled each year. This process takes all year as the skin, from bearded seals, need to be cleaned and dried after being harvested and then sewn together with the sinew from caribou.
During our focus group with hunters, including Billy, we heard about the challenges faced by marine mammal hunters and an extensive history of how bowhead co-management first began back in the early 1980s (as briefly described in a previous blog). For me, one of the most informative points to come out of the discussion had to do with communication and how to best disseminate news and important information to hunters and communities. Radio is a form of communication that can reach large numbers of people, especially if you have someone who is an effective speaker that will capture and hold the audience’s attention. I thought this was such a great idea that we set up a radio interview for my trip to Nome the following week (more on that next time).
Another interesting point that was raised was that some marine mammal species, such as ice seals, tend to be self-regulated by weather and ice. If the ice is not close to shore or accessible to hunters, the seals are not available for hunting, thus regulating how many can be taken for subsistence purposes. Just days after our return from Utqiaġvik, the decision to overturn the listing of ringed seals as threatened was itself overturned, resulting in the reinstatement of ringed seals as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. This announcement has raised many questions from Alaska Native communities that will hopefully be answered in the coming months.
Photo: Hunter focus group in Utqiaġvik (from left to right: Vicki, Joe Leavitt, Warren Lampe, Jenna, Billy)
The week after our trip, the whaling crews that successfully landed bowheads this spring were celebrated during Nalukataq. These celebrations involve a feast, a blanket toss that is traditionally done with the bearded seal skin that covered the hunting boat, and Iñupiaq dancing. While we were sad to miss the festivities, we are very grateful that we were able to meet with so many people during our trip and learn more about co-management and marine mammal subsistence issues related to bowhead, polar bear, and walrus. If possible, I hope to return to Utqiaġvik for the whale hunt in the fall. While this mostly takes place from boats and on land, compared to the spring hunt that is largely based on the ice, it would still be an amazing experience to learn more about the spiritual connection between Alaska Natives and the whales, and to better understand the importance of this subsistence resource to the communities.
Photo: Vicki and I under the famous bowhead jawbone arch in Utqiaġvik.
Ice cave in Root Glacier near Kennicott, Alaska
A trio of dogs buried at two ancient human sites in Illinois lived around 10,000 years ago, making them the oldest known domesticated canines in the Americas.
Radiocarbon dating of the dogs’ bones shows they were 1,500 years older than thought, zooarchaeologist Angela Perri said April 13 at the annual meeting of the Society for American Archaeology. The previous age estimate was based on a radiocarbon analysis of burned wood found in one of the animals’ graves. Until now, nearly 9,300-year-old remains of dogs eaten by humans at a Texas site were the oldest physical evidence of American canines.
Ancient dogs at the Midwestern locations also represent the oldest known burials of individual dogs in the world, said Perri, of Durham University in England. A dog buried at Germany’s Bonn-Oberkassel site around 14,000 years ago was included in a two-person grave. Placement of the Americas dogs in their own graves indicates that these animals were held in high regard by ancient people.
An absence of stone tool incisions on the three ancient dogs’ skeletons indicates that they were not killed by people, but died of natural causes before being buried, Perri said.
Some researchers have proposed that whoever made the first excursions into the Americas arrived on dog-powered sleds. People had reached South America at least 15,000 years ago (SN: 12/26/15, p. 10), well before ancient people buried dogs at Illinois’ Koster and Stilwell II sites. It’s unclear whether humans reached South America via coastal or inland routes. But no dog remains have been found in northwestern North America, where the earliest settlers crossing a land bridge from Asia would have entered the New World. Either those people had no dogs, or they and their furry companions stayed on the land bridge, possibly blocked by two massive ice sheets, until rapidly moving inland around 10,000 years ago (SN: 2/16/08, p. 102), Perri said.
“As much as we want to believe that dogs initially pulled us into the New World, that may not have been the case,” Perri said.