Category: Animals

How many Tyrannosaurus rex walked the Earth?

Post author By The Conversation
Post date April 19, 2021
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Tyrannosaurus rex (rex meaning “king” in Latin) lived throughout what is now western North America 68 to 66 million years ago, during the Upper Cretaceous period. Back then, there was a big island (an island continent) called “Laramidia” there. But, how many Tyrannosaurus rex walked the Earth? At the same time, and in total?

Ashley Poust, University of California, Berkeley and Daniel Varajão de Latorre, University of California, Berkeley

The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.

Environment Animals Life on Earth Plants

Regrowing a tropical forest – is it better to plant trees or leave it to nature?

Post author By The Conversation
Post date March 24, 2021
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Amazon rainforest — Aerial view of the Amazon Rainforest, near Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian state of Amazonas. Photo: Neil Palmer

The destruction of tropical forests is a major contributor to biodiversity loss and the climate crisis. In response, conservationists and scientists like us are debating how to best catalyze the recovery of these forests. How do you take a patch of earth littered with tree stumps, or even a grassy pasture or palm oil plantation, and turn it back into a thriving forest filled with its original species?

David Burslem, University of Aberdeen; Christopher Philipson, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, and Mark Cutler, University of Dundee

Animals Life on Earth Oceans

Amazing Blue Whale Drone Footage

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date February 20, 2021
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This… is… wonderful. A blue whale drone footage published by the DolphinDroneDom channel with the title of “the best Blue Whale drone footage on YouTube”. The video actually deserves its title. A must-watch. Speakers on!

Animals Life on Earth Oceans

20 Amazing Sperm Whale Facts

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date February 5, 2021
2 Comments on 20 Amazing Sperm Whale Facts

A mother sperm whale and her calf off the coast of Mauritius. The calf has remoras (sometimes called suckerfish) attached to its body. Image by Gabriel Barathieu - https://www.flickr.com/photos/barathieu/7277953560/, CC BY-SA 2.0, Link

The sperm whale, also known as the cachalot (Physeter macrocephalus), is the largest toothed whale and one of the most extraordinary animals in the ocean. These deep-sea giants have fascinated humans for centuries, with their impressive size, unique behaviors, and mysterious underwater lives. Here are the 20 amazing sperm whale facts that reveal what makes these incredible creatures so special.

Animals Life on Earth

20 Amazing Fox Facts

Orange fox in snow — An orange fox in snow. Algonquin Park, ON, Canada. Photo by Amanda Frank on Unsplash

Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals. They belong to the dog family (Canidae, from Latin, canis, “dog”, see notes 1). Here are 20 amazing fox facts.

Prehistoric Animals Evolution Life on Earth

Why Crocodiles today look the same as they did 200 million years ago?

Post author By The Conversation
Post date January 12, 2021
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Adam Britton: "Here is a photo of Smaug the crocodile. Why? Smaug does not need a reason." Smaug is a 5-meter long (16.3 ft) Australian Saltwater Crocodile living in Darwin, Australia. According to its Facebook page, "Smaug is a movie and TV star working with Big Gecko (Adam & Erin Britton) and can be hired to dramatically improve your production through his sheer presence". Smaug is 60-year-old and about 500 kg (1,100 lbs) in weight.

One of the most enduring tropes about crocodiles is to describe them as “living fossils”. They are cold, slow-moving, and scaly, so they look like how one might picture a dinosaur. Like many clichés, there is an element of truth to this comparison. The crocodiles from 200 million years ago look surprisingly like the ones we know today.

Environment Animals Life on Earth

Top 5 Places that require bird control

Post author By Our Planet
Post date December 9, 2020
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Today, pigeons have made themselves feel at home in the cities like New York, but they actually belong to the seaside cliffs in the rest of the world where they were domesticated thousands of years ago. They were farmed for protein at first, like chicken. Then they were bred as messengers. Around the 16th century, pigeons became show birds because of the hobbyists. And when Europeans moved to North America in the same century, they brought pigeons with them. To cut it short, the link between humans and pigeons goes way back.

Animals Life on Earth

20 Grizzly Bear Facts

The grizzly bear (Ursus arctos horribilis, horribilis means "horrible" in Latin) is a very large brown bear living in North America. When they stood, their average total height is 198 cm (6.50 feet), but, when on their hind legs (standing upright), 3 meters (9.8 feet) tall male grizzlies have been reported. Photo: A grizzly bear in the forest. Source: Deposit Photos

Explore 20 fascinating grizzly bear facts, from their habitat and diet to their physical characteristics and conservation status. Get a closer look at these majestic North American brown bears!

Animals Life on Earth

Snow Leopard: 20 Amazing Facts About the “Ghosts of the Mountains”

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date September 28, 2020
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The snow leopard (Panthera uncia), also known as the ounce, is a large cat and one of the five species classified in the genus Panthera, others being the lion (Panthera leo), tiger (Panthera tigris), jaguar (Panthera onca), and leopard (Panthera pardus). It is native to the mountain ranges of Central and South Asia. Here are 20 amazing snow leopard facts.

Animals Life on Earth

Akashinga “The Brave Ones” Trailer

Post author By M. Özgür Nevres
Post date June 6, 2020
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Akashinga trailer — Akashinga "The brave ones" trailer (screenshot)

Akashinga: The Brave Ones tells the real story of Akashinga, the all-female anti-poaching unit in Zimbabwe that is revolutionizing the way animals (particularly elephants) are protected and communities are empowered.

The movie is executive produced by the well-known Canadian filmmaker and environmentalist James Cameron and directed by Maria Wilhelm, the Executive Director of the Avatar Alliance Foundation and President & COO of CAMERON Companies.