Life for the Wild

[lifeforthewild]

Lost British birdsong discovered in New Zealand birds

Recordings of New Zealand yellowhammer accents enable scientists to hear how their British relatives might have sounded 150 years ago

[lifeforthewild]

Dingoes run the show… right down to the shrubs

If you’re a little shrub, and you thought you didn’t need to worry about apex predators… thought the vertebrate carnivore was in your area wasn’t important to your establishment and survival… Well …

[lifeforthewild]

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[lifeforthewild]

Native flora and fauna is widely considered 'good', while introduced species are 'bad'. contesting this notion made Wellington ecologist Jamie Steer a target.

[lifeforthewild]

Being a kākāpō ranger is a bit like looking after a celebrity’s child. They’re always in the spotlight and need the utmost care and attention to thrive. This was something I discovered when I visited Anchor Island, in Dusky Sound, earlier this year. We arrived to find rangers from the Kākāpō Recovery Programme had five hand-reared chicks in a holding pen, ready to be released into the wild.

[teded]

How Smart are Orangutans?

Along with our other great ape cousins – the gorillas, chimps, and bonobos – orangutans belong to our Hominidae family tree, which stretches back 14 million years. As the only great apes from Asia, orangutans have adapted to a life high in the rainforest canopies. 

Many of the skills they learn are transmitted through the special bond they have with their mothers – the most extended in the animal kingdom next to humans. Orangutan mothers usually give birth to one baby at a time, waiting up to 8 years before having another. This gives the young, who begin as fully dependent infants, plenty of time to learn how to climb and distinguish the hundreds of plants and fruits that make up their diet. Female orangutans even stay with their mothers into their teen years to learn child-rearing.

As they grow up, orangutans also develop a complex set of cooperative social skills by interacting with their peers and siblings. Much like ourselves, young orangutans involuntarily mimic the facial expressions and emotions of their playmates, with behaviors that closely parallel human smiling and laughter.

Once they finally venture out on their own, orangutans continue to develop their resourcefulness, putting the skills they’ve learned into practice. Adults build a new nest each night by carefully weaving twigs together, topping them with soft leaves, pillows and blankets. This process requires dexterity, coordination, and an eye for design.  

Orangutans also use a variety of tools to make their lives in the jungle easier. They turn branches into flyswatters and backscratchers; construct umbrellas when it rains; make gloves from leafy pads ; and even use leaves as bandages to dress their wounds.

But orangutan intelligence goes far beyond jungle survival. Research in controlled environments has shown that orangutans are self-aware, being one of the few species to recognize their own reflections. They also display remarkable foresight, planning, and cognition.

While orangutans are able to pass cognitive tests with flying colors, there are certain problems that they need our help to solve.  Indonesia has the world’s highest rate of deforestation, and millions of acres of rainforest are burned annually to support the logging and palm oil industries.  Deforestation exposes the 30,000 orangutans remaining in the wild to poachers. They kill mothers so that baby orangutans can be sold as exotic pets.

In Malay, the word orangutan translates literally to “the person of the forest” – a reminder of our common lineage. And despite orangutans being some of the smartest animals on Earth, outsmarting their extinction requires the creativity, empathy, and foresight that our species share.

From the TED-Ed Lesson How smart are orangutans? - Lu Gao

Animation by Anton Bogaty

[creatures-alive]

Young Fox Hunting In The Snow - Life Story by BBC

[lifeforthewild]

Newly discovered ruby sea dragon seen alive in wild for 1st time

Australian researchers have observed two specimens of a rare sea dragon that's never before been seen alive.

[nubbsgalore]

each year in july, hundreds of beluga whales congregate to mate and give birth in the mouth of the cunningham river in canada’s arctic somerset island. during high tide, they swim upstream with their backs barely covered by the shallow water and their stomachs rub the small rocks of the riverbed.  (photos x, x, x)

[lifeforthewild]

Each day passionate staff in good zoos care for wildlife, many of which are on the brink of extinction. We are in the midst of a global extinction crisis. The plight of animals globally is something that concerns all of us. We believe that zoos, every day, play a critical role in bringing communities closer to animals and inspiring people to take actions to save wildlife. Here are 5 facts about good zoos. FACT 1: Good Zoos help fight wildlife extinction FACT 2: Good zoos educate visitors FACT 3: Good zoos attract good people FACT 4: Four of Australia’s leading zoos are not-for-profitt FACT 5: Good zoos constantly strive for better and better animal welfare

[lifeforthewild]

Tech in the Hand Saves Wildlife in the Bush

By Antony Lynam and David Marvin December 12, 2016

[decepticun]

Coast Redwood | by (ER Post)

[lifeforthewild]

Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 - See The Winners Here - Conjour

With almost 50,000 entries from 95 countries, the Natural History Museum's Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2016 has delivered incredible images.

[lifeforthewild]

Arrow, a German Shepherd, is part of an elite team of K9 operatives trained to take part in special operations like anti-poaching and smuggling. He has just been entered into the Guinness Book of Records as the first 'sky diving anti poaching dog". Two year old Arrow made his maiden jump with handler Henry Holsthyzen of the Paramount Group Anti -poaching and K9 Academy. Hassan Arouni speaks to them both.

[skcgsra]

ecosystems → temperate coniferous forest

a terrestrial biome found in temperate regions of the world with warm summers and cool winters and adequate rainfall to sustain a forest. In most temperate coniferous forests, evergreen conifers predominate, while some are a mix of conifers and broadleaf evergreen trees and/or broadleaf deciduous trees. 

[lifeforthewild]

Wombats have buns of steel – and they might literally be deadly

They're famous for cube-shaped poop. But have you heard about their deadly butts?

[lifeforthewild]