tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-47397526740338649072024-03-13T12:14:27.517+00:00The Armchair ZoologistA cosy place to discuss Natural History, Zoos, Architecture, Exploration, Art, The Internet, Museums, Cryptozoology, Books, Films and Conservation, with copies of all the latest blogs on hand, and a nice cup of tea, or G & T.Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-27993256759073575012009-10-26T10:52:00.003+00:002009-10-26T10:57:08.168+00:00HiatusHi everyone,<br />Sorry I haven't been posting recently I moved both house and country and have been rushing around with job hunting, <a href="http://briarrosestitches.blogspot.com/">costuming</a> and trying to find volunteering opportunities.<br />Things are now starting to get into a rhythm, so I hope I can start posting again soon.<br />I do have lots of articles and reviews just waiting for me to sit down and write them, and my volunteering to talk about.Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-90400187318468443632009-07-18T14:01:00.003+01:002009-07-18T14:10:49.317+01:00Return of the AurochsAfter my recent article on Aurochs in Germany, I have just discovered that a herd is being established in South West England.<br /><br />The herd, along with water voles and beavers, are at Uppcott Farm, near Liftondown in Devon and would be worth a visit.<br /><br />Full Article from the Times <a href="http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/science/article6143767.ece">here </a><br /><br />My article on Aurochs <a href="http://armchairzoologist.blogspot.com/2009/02/uberoxen-nazis-and-polish-resistance.html">here </a>Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-25092935718886248172009-07-07T21:23:00.001+01:002009-07-07T21:25:43.354+01:00Earth NewsThe BBC has revamped their news website and now has a decidated section for 'life on Earth'<br /><br /><a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/earth/hi/earth_news/default.stm">Earth News </a>Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-17670452169624328502009-05-05T19:40:00.003+01:002009-05-05T21:18:42.273+01:00Getting Involved Part I - Join a GroupI am lucky in that where I live (Al Ain, UAE) there is a very active <a href="http://www.blogger.com/www.enhg.org">natural history group</a>, which organises field trips and lectures on all sorts of interesting subjects. I have blogged on these trips <a href="http://armchairzoologist.blogspot.com/2008/10/out-of-armchair.html">before </a>and I record what I see on field trips in my <a href="http://nhnotebook.livejournal.com/">online notebook</a>.<br />But even if you live in the city there may be a conservation group that you can join to both meet like minded people and explore the greener parts of your city.<br /><br />Most counties in the UK have a dedicated Wildlife Trust and you can find your local trust <a href="http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/index.php?section=localtrusts">here </a><br />The wildlife trusts helps people to engage with British Wildlife and learn about conservation through activities such as surveying wildlife. They also manage nature reserves and publish <a href="http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/index.php?section=about:publications:newbooks">books</a> and <a href="http://www.wildlifetrusts.org/index.php?section=about:publications:free">reports</a> on their activities.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qE1oJ61YNNQ/SgCetsjACWI/AAAAAAAAAU0/TqPG7MvAFnE/s1600-h/Plecotus_auritus_ras.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 197px; height: 236px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_qE1oJ61YNNQ/SgCetsjACWI/AAAAAAAAAU0/TqPG7MvAFnE/s320/Plecotus_auritus_ras.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5332436466695932258" border="0" /></a><br /><br />If bats are your thing there are a lot of regional Bat Groups under the UK <a href="http://www.bats.org.uk/pages/about_us.html">Bat Conservation Trust </a>umbrella. You can do training courses that will allow you to handle bats (in the UK you need a licence to do so) and they also run the bat helpline that non Batworkers can call if they are having problems with bats or have found an injured one.<br /><br />The<a href="http://www.abdn.ac.uk/mammal/mission.shtml"> Mammal Society</a> is all about the study of British mammals and not only can you participate in field work such as surveying, but they also run <a href="http://www.abdn.ac.uk/mammal/workshops.shtml">training courses</a> on various aspects of mammal study such as radio tracking or identification.<br /><br />The<a href="http://www.amentsoc.org/"> Amateur Entomological Society</a> has fairs and local meetings if you are interested in insects as well as publishing a scientific journal. As with most of these societies you can take part in record keeping and surveying, as well general conservation efforts and raising awareness of British insects.<br /><br />Finally there is the <a href="http://www.thebhs.org/">British Herpetological Society</a> dedicated to the conservation of our native reptiles and amphibians. This group also publish a quarterly <a href="http://www.thebhs.org/pubs_journal.html">academic journal</a>, so great for those really dedicated to Herpetology.<br /><br />If your tastes are more exotic then there are hobbyist's societies such as <a href="http://www.international-herpetological-society.org/">the International Herpetology Society </a>and the B<a href="http://www.thebts.co.uk/">ritish Tarantula Society</a> that can cater for you.<br />These groups have lectures, and often arrange trips to Zoos and shows, where you can meet even more people and get involved.<br /><br />Tell me about what you do to get involved.Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-34499190353857492792009-04-27T12:33:00.004+01:002009-04-27T13:03:11.147+01:00Quirks and Quarks on CBC Radio 1Quirks and Quarks is Canadian public radio's science programme, and is probably one of the best English language science radio shows. The shows covers a wide range of topics with space and nature being among the most popular. The majority of shows consist of ten minute interviews with the scientists themselves. Often these will be projects that are currently in the news, and the website provides excellent links not only to CBC articles and official press releases, but often to the paper that has been published.<br />The presenter Bob Macdonald is excellent, he does not patronise the audience and is an intelligent interviewer who comes across as genuinely interested in the people he interviews, and doesn't just act the 'everyman journalist talking with those crazy egg head science people' which can happen in some science journalism.<br /><br />Here is an extract from a January show<br /><br />Unnatural Selection<br /><br />"It's perhaps not surprising that humans are having an impact on the evolution of other animals on the planet. What is surprising, according to <b>Dr. Chris Darimont</b>, an NSERC postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Environmental Studies at the University of California, Santa Cruz, is the way we're doing it."<br /><br /><a href="http://www.cbc.ca/quirks/archives/08-09/qq-2009-01-17.html#5">listen to the whole segment here</a>Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-35357987093183615262009-04-23T11:28:00.001+01:002009-07-18T17:47:42.138+01:00Getting Involved Part II - Nature Walk2. Go for a Walk with a Camera & Notebook<br /><br />Wherever you are head off for a walk. Keep your eyes peeled for every little sign of nature, even in the city centre. I have seen wild snap dragons growing on the roof of a plastic bag factory and ferns in the roof of a station. Take photos, make notes and share on your blog or a blog dedicated to <a href="http://community.livejournal.com/urban_nature/">urban nature</a>.<br /><br />If you are in country do the same, really stop and examine where you are, sit down and get to ground level, look for insects, smell the smells, avoid cowpats, close your eyes and listen to the birds singing and again take pictures and make notes.<br /><br />Wherever you have been, when you get home get out a field guide and try and identify what you have seen. If you are having trouble there are various fora dedicated to helping you ID your sightings.<br /><br />Forums & ID Guides<br /><br />UK<br /><a href="http://www.nhm.ac.uk/nature-online/life/insects-spiders/bug-forum/?q=forum/3/container">Insects & other Invertebrates</a><br /><a href="http://www.rspb.org.uk/wildlife/birdidentifier/index.asp">Birds </a><br /><br />US<br /><a href="http://bugguide.net/node/view/3/bgpage">bugs</a><br /><br /><br />UAE<br /><a href="http://uaebirding.com/uaephotos.html">Wildlife</a><br />Sadly the excellent forum on this site has been hacked.Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-81226664800398599592009-02-25T16:34:00.009+00:002009-03-16T16:06:05.897+00:00On the Track of Known Unknownspost on Scorpion Geckos removed until Drew Gardner has published in Tribulus.Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-67162031481433372112009-02-24T14:56:00.003+00:002009-02-24T15:14:57.676+00:00Miss Potter's Feeling for FungusI'm sure you've all read Peter Rabbit, or even seen the 2007 film <i>Miss Potter</i>, but did you know that Beatrix Potter's first love was Mycology? <br />A swift google this morning lead me to some interesting sites that tell about her research into lichens and fungus, she even had a paper read by the Linnean Society. <br />Her interest started when she worked as a scientific illustrator and she pursued it by reading papers on mycology, often these were written by foreign researchers as mycology was not so popular in Britain at the time. <br />Plenty more information on her scientific work can be found here<br /><br />http://www.chemheritage.org/EducationalServices/pharm/antibiot/readings/potter.htm<br /><br />and here is a brief overview of the masses of information that the Linnean Society has on her and her work.<br /><br />http://www.linnean.org/index.php?id=104<br /><br />Sorry about the non hyperlinks but the html just refused to work.Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-58048513474726576832009-02-11T09:50:00.010+00:002009-02-25T18:31:05.651+00:00Überoxen, Nazis and the Polish ResistanceIt seems like not a month goes by without the media reporting that some extinct animal, maybe, could be, cloned at some point in the near future. Generally these stories are just fluff, but very few people know about the attempts in the 1920s and 30s to bring back the Aurochs, a prehistoric Ox that most domestic cattle are derived from. This being the period between the wars the motivation was not so much conservation, but driven by a desire for something pure and strong, a kind of livestock equivilant of the Eugenics movement which was highly influential at the time, not only in Germany, but also the rest of Europe and America.<br /><br />The man in charge of this experiment was Lutz Heck, director of the Berlin Zoo from 1932 to 1945. His memoirs 'Animals my Adventure' are an interesting read, in them he recounts his trips to Africa to collect animals, his attitudes to the Africans would make a modern reader uncomfortable, as he had none of the skill of Gerald Durrell in portraying natives as just as human as 'the rest of us'.<br /><br />The most striking passage in the book is a description of an Allied air raid that hit the Zoo. If you have ever visited Berlin you will know that the Zoo is in the centre of the city, and very close to the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church, which was was used a orientation point by the Allied Air Forces and so the Zoo bore the brunt of many air raids. Many animals were lost, and even to this day there are information boards at the Zoo depicting the damage, to both building and animals, the image of a dead elephant's legs sticking out of the rubble sticks in ones mind.<br /><br />Not covered in his memoirs are his actions during Nazi Era. When Germany invaded Poland, he took the liberty of raiding the Warsaw Zoo for its best specimens and attempted to make a deal with the director Jan Zabinski. This aspect of his life is covered in the book 'The Zookeeper's Wife' by Diane Ackerman which portrays the lives of the Zoo staff during the war, and the refuge that the Zoo became for the Jewish citizens of Warsaw.<br /><br />Heck's main interest, as a Zoologist was the Aurochs, he decided that by breeding together varieties of domestic cattle that had characteristics of this ancient beast he could recreate it. This project was begun in the 1920s, and carried on into the 30s with the approval of Hitler and Goering, who hoped that he would be able to create an Aryan Theme park in eastern Prussia, where Germans could go and experience the life of the Aryans.<br /><br />Ron Jonson goes into detail on this in his radio programme 'Quest for Aryan Cows' which has interviews with Heck's grand-daughter and includes a visit to the park in Munich where the descendants of Heck's cattle live on a island.<br /><br />Despite their fearsome reputation and the awe in which they were held back in the 1930s, Jon Ronson is not that impressed by them. After all they are really just domestic cattle that are a facsimile for Aurochsen and not the genuine article. Maybe one day we will be able to clone one, but DNA extracting technology would have to be far better than today as the last aurochs died nearly four hundred years ago.<br /><br />Were we to clone a thylacine or an Aurochs, we would just be recreating the genetic bottleneck that in part led to their extinction and we must think very carefully about how we go about cloning such things should it ever become scientifically viable.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00hc946/Jon_Ronson_and_the_Quest_for_the_Aryan_Cow/"><br />Jon Ronson and the Quest for the Aryan Cow</a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Zookeepers-Wife-War-Story/dp/039333306X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234347835&sr=8-1">The Zookeepers Wife - Diane Ackerman </a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.amazon.co.uk/Animals-My-Adventure-Lutz-Heck/dp/B000M1QO52/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1234347982&sr=1-1"><br />Animals; My Adventure- Lutz Heck</a><br /><br /><a href="http://www.wernercohn.com/Nazi%20Background.html">More information on the effects of Nazism at the Zoo, during and after the Nazi Era</a>Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-58486200345221080812008-12-31T15:13:00.005+00:002008-12-31T15:23:38.296+00:00The Blackbourne Pavilion at London ZooThe Blackbourne pavilion has recently been refurbished. As one of the older buildings of London Zoo, it has been remodelled in an homage to the Victorian collector. Outside the entrance is an enchanting ‘steam powered’ clock that does a display on the hour. Inside is a large oil style painting of a Victorian ornithologists study surrounded by silhouettes of various species of bird.<br /><br />In the main area there are aviaries with toucans and bali starlings, coupled with a scatter of cabinets with museum style specimens of such things as birds eggs. This is particularly unusual as most Zoo exhibits focus on the conservation angle rather than the scientific angle.<br /><br />The aviary room itself is very light, and the iron beams and pillars are all freshly painted and looking as good as when the house first opened in the 1800s.<br /><br />Through the aviary to the first flight area. This is less Victorian apart from the binoculars, which resemble stereoscope machines.<br />When I visited one of these viewers had been appropriated by a bird as a nesting site and was roped off.<br /><br />Past this room again is the main attraction of the Blackbourne Pavilion, the only free flying Humming Birds in Europe. They are almost impossible to photograph, but very nice to see.<br />Personally I found the Pavilion a very good reconciliation of modern Zookeeping with Victorian Architecture.Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-56290397156810461172008-12-22T11:39:00.004+00:002008-12-22T12:09:43.796+00:00My LinksFirstly a bit of self promotion;<br />Natural History Notebook is my daily journal of Natural History sightings.<br />The entries are mainly bullet points and pictures, just to keep a log of what I see and where, but might be interesting and I'd love help IDing things.<br /><br />Tetrapod Zoology is the blog of Darren Naish, a british Palaeontologist and all round Zoology type, who not only writes about his academic work, but also toy dinosaurs and anything else that takes his fancy. He is also Cryptozoology friendly and has appeared on the British Big Cat episode of Monsterwatch a TV show about cryptids.<br /><br />The World We Don't Live In is a blog by Emile a student of palaentology at the American University of Beirut. His blog mainly covers dinosaurs, and reptiles, but this allows for such things as speculation on fictional biology and dissecting creationist tracts.<br /><br />Strange Science is a website that looks at how the fields of Palaeontology and Biology have changed through the use of illustrations from out dated books as well as biography of important biologists. Very interesting and often amusing. Good for day dreams about strange beasties.<br /><br />Cryptomundo is a cryptozoology blog run by Loren Coleman. it keeps the world right up to date with any kind of cryptozoological news.<br /><br />WTF nature is a Live journal community dedicated to highlighting natural phenomena that makes you just want to to say ' what the fuck?' or maybe just 'wow' Highlights have been the crustaceans that eat fishes tongues and then lodge themselves in their mouths as an ersatz tongue.<br /><br />Zooillogix is an animal news blog with mainly light hearted stories.<br /><br />Messybeast.com is an archive of pictures relating to domestic animals (mainly cats) both historical and current. There are articles on rare and extinct animal and a grea collection of albino and other mutations including hybrids.Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-10489409299328369912008-12-15T17:52:00.005+00:002008-12-15T18:44:35.393+00:00Art<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://www.artknowledgenews.com/files/WalterFordEothen.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 375px; height: 280px;" src="http://www.artknowledgenews.com/files/WalterFordEothen.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Just browsing for calendars and found an artist who paints surreal animal paintings in the style of natural history water colours. The style of Walton Ford is familiar, but the subjects are are odd, often dark serving as a critique on Colonialism and comment on Natural History.<br /><br />From an article about his 2006 Exhibition at Brooklyn Museum<br />"Using the animal kingdom as a mirror of the human world, Ford employs his skill as an artist and observer to communicate his views on society."<br />http://artipedia.org/artsnews/exhibitions/2006/09/26/walton-ford-at-brooklyn-museum/<br /><br />This article in the New York Magazine contains an Interview with the artist which explains the background of some of his pictures and where he gets his inspiration from.<br /><br />http://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/art/n_7839/index1.html<br /><br />More pics to be found on Google Images.Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-78500058628949893692008-10-27T16:29:00.003+00:002009-02-26T06:59:40.317+00:00Out of the Armchair......And into the Deckchair<br /><br /><br />Last Thursday I went light trapping in Wadi Tarabat just at the base of Jebel Haffeet. It turned out to be a cosy affair with just me, Mike Gillett and Brigitte Howarth attending. I nearly gave up and went home when I couldn’t spot a flock of cars at the carpark where we were meeting, but a few texts and phone calls and things were sorted out. You’d have though the committee members of the Natural History group would have the group’s bumper stickers on their cars!<br /><br /> Any way we got to Wadi Tarabat and set up the light trap (and the deckchairs). It was fairly simple; consisting of two white sheets on the ground with a double bulb, which gave out UV and visible light, in the middle. Due to the breeze we did not get any large beetles (which Mike, the beetle expert, was hoping for) but there were other moments of interest.<br /><br /><br />Once we settled down to watch we were joined by a few large wasps. Luckily they were males so they couldn’t sting. The most interesting thing about these were their fuzzy abdomens, which made them look larger than they were. As nothing much was appearing I took the torch to look for geckos. I found two Stenodectylus doriae (whip tailed gecko) under some trees. These geckos are quite slow, and I could almost touch them, before they scuttled away. They are probably about average size for a gecko, very pale, almost translucent, and have brownish bars across the top of the body. Their eyes typically large nocturnal eyes and their snouts are quite snubbed.<br /><br />I then wandered back to the light trap and managed to walk into a thorn tree whose branches extended out further than I thought. Luckily the spines broke off the tree instead of gouging into my flesh. I then had to sit down and pick out the spines that were lodged in my finger. They were curved like cat claws so if they had been less dry they could have made for a nasty scratch. A quick scrub with the antibacterial hand gel and I was off again, this time to show the geckos to Mike and Brigitte, who identified them and took a couple of photographs.<br /><br /><br />We then took a walk around the wadi looking out for anything else interesting. The best thing was a resurrection plant which Brigitte dug up for me. It came home with me and when I put it in a glass of water, the branches did indeed unfurl. However after a bit it curled itself back up again. It is now planted in a pot on the balcony. We then settled down at the light trap to watch for more arrivals. There were a couple of moths, some very small beetles and some adult ant lions, who although not as intriguing as their larvae were quite pretty. The best things we found in the trap were the picture wing flies which Brigitte has made a special study of. Unlike most picture wing flies the species here have a distinct picture of a small generic insect on their wings, absolutely fascinating.<br /><br />Picture and text by Brigitte Howarth here<br />http://www.enhg.org/resources/articles/pic_wing/pic_wing.htm<br /><br /> Just as we were about to pack up a very large green cricket appeared and when it declared to be nothing out of the ordinary Brigitte claimed it for her Wonder Gecko (Teratoscincus scincus) which she had rescued and now keeps in a vivarium. We finished up with a look at the unnatural rolling green hills of the Green Mubaasara. They are kept permanently watered and a shrubby succulent plays the role of grass on the slopes. The only natural thing about the area are the hot springs which are open for bathing.Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-5085775684807571822008-10-04T14:32:00.004+01:002009-03-21T16:54:46.134+00:00Armchair on TourI got out of the armchair briefly and spotted this Chamaeleon (<span style="font-style: italic;">Chamaeleo</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">arabicus</span>) at Al Mughsail, in Oman<br /><iframe width="425" height="350" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Al+Mughsayl,+Oman&ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hl=en&cd=1&geocode=FSDfAQEdR5U0Aw&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=23.875,57.630033&ll=16.909766,53.781939&spn=0.009752,0.013196&z=14&iwloc=addr&output=embed&s=AARTsJouHaJ0EqKAbyT_Mgx_xQqOuAVkOA"></iframe><br /><small><a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Al+Mughsayl,+Oman&ie=UTF8&oe=utf-8&client=firefox-a&hl=en&cd=1&geocode=FSDfAQEdR5U0Aw&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=23.875,57.630033&ll=16.909766,53.781939&spn=0.009752,0.013196&z=14&iwloc=addr&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View Larger Map</a></small><br /><br />He was in the middle of the road, near a roundabout. He walked across the road, and then into a drain where he impressed us with his cricket catching abilities.Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-68202749468999017952008-04-22T18:54:00.002+01:002008-04-22T18:57:40.739+01:00National Moth Night (UK)Time to get out of the armchairs and look for Moths!<br /><br />Saturday 7th June is National Moth Night in the UK and is a chance to help out by observing and counting moths.<br />The website has some tips on how to attrach Moths and also events in your area.<br /><br /><a href="www.nationalmothnight.info">www.nationalmothnight.info</a>Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-75116703244184614382008-04-01T19:38:00.003+01:002008-04-01T19:42:37.473+01:00Insect Digitally Extracted from amberNot only have palaeontologists extracted images of insects from cloudy amber but they have used the digital information to construct a scale model<br /><br />More here<br /><br /><url>http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7324564.stm</url>Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-51320172512566164742008-03-26T19:43:00.002+00:002008-03-26T19:51:52.621+00:00the Tower Menagerie- Thomas HahnThe Menagerie at the Tower of London lasted nearly 600 years and served as both a source of income and a place to deposit royal presents.<br />In this book Thomas Hahn explores both the events around the tower and the changing attitudes towards animals from the 13th Century right up until 1835 after the advent of the Zoo in Regent's Park.<br /> Hahn shows how the ravens of the Tower have replaced the role of the royal lions in predicting the fortunes of the royal family and leads us on a interesting aside on how Art has depicted animals.<br />This a good read for anyone who is interested in the history of Zoos and the attitude of Man towards animals. It also makes for an interesting way of looking at the history of the tower its self.<br /><br />Amazon Link<br />http://www.amazon.co.uk/Tower-Menagerie-Amazing-Collection-Beasts/dp/074348388X/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1206560485&sr=8-2Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-89551964712949099652008-03-26T19:37:00.001+00:002008-03-26T19:39:30.999+00:00Elephants Filmed using Water stored in their throats<div class="mxb"> <div class="sh"> 'Cool' elephants caught on film </div> </div> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IBYL --> <div class="mvb"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="416"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="bottom"> <div class="mvb"> <span class="byl"> By Rebecca Morelle </span> <br /> <span class="byd"> Science reporter, BBC News </span> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/999999.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="416" /><br /> </div> <!-- E IBYL --> <p> <!-- S IBOX --> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="416"> <tbody><tr> <td class="sibtbg"> <div class="o"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44514000/jpg/_44514387_elephant_416.jpg" alt="Elephant (Natural World)" border="0" height="200" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="416" /> </div> <div class="o"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/inline_dashed_line.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="2" width="416" /><br /> </div> <div> <!-- S IMED --> <div class="mvtb"> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7310000/newsid_7313500?redirect=7313542.stm&news=1&bbram=1&nbram=1&nbwm=1&bbwm=1&asb=1" onclick="javascript:newsi.utils.av.launch({el:this});return false;"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/icons/video_text.gif" alt="" align="left" border="0" height="13" vspace="0" /><b>How elephants keep their cool</b> </a> </div> <!-- E IMED --> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <br /> <!-- E IBOX --> <!-- S SF --> <b>The tactics used by elephants to keep their cool in extreme desert heat have been caught on camera.</b> </p><p> A BBC crew filmed the tusked beasts spraying themselves with water that they had stored in a reservoir in their throats several hours earlier. </p><p> Although this skill for storing water was first documented 100 years ago, the team believes this is the first time it has been filmed.<br /></p><br /><p><br /></p><p>BBC News<br /></p><br />comeplete aricle here<br /><br /><br />http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7312442.stmRoselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-91582487673535481292008-03-25T21:12:00.000+00:002008-03-25T21:13:36.350+00:00Fountain of Youth<div class="mxb"> <div class="sh"> Secrets of the 'immortal worms' </div> </div> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IBYL --> </span><div class="mvb"> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="416"> <tbody><tr> <td valign="bottom"> <div class="mvb"> <span class="byl"> By Brady Haran </span> <br /> <span class="byd"> BBC News </span> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/999999.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="416" /><br /> </span></div> <!-- E IBYL --> <!-- S IIMA --> <span style="font-size:85%;"> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="203"> <tbody><tr><td> <div> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44467000/jpg/_44467527_outlet203.jpg" alt="sewage outlet" border="0" height="152" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /></div></td></tr></tbody></table><br /></span><span style="font-size:85%;"><b>Is this sewage outlet the "fountain of youth"?</b> </span><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The small waterway behind Nottingham's Queens Medical Centre looks unspectacular, but may help unlock the secret to increasing human lifespans. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">Scientist Aziz Aboobaker and fellow researchers use the outlet as a source of planaria (flatworms). </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">They say the worms are helping us understand stem cells and leading to advances in human medicine. </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">The planaria are special because they have a high proportion of adult stem cells, with Dr Aboobaker nicknaming them "immortal worms". </span></p><p> <span style="font-size:85%;">He says: "The coolest thing is that we can take a worm in the lab, chop its head off, and within seven days the worm has grown a whole new brain. </span></p><br /><span style="font-size:85%;">rest of the article and a video here<br /><br />http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/nottinghamshire/7277202.stm</span>Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-56298839454694997312008-03-25T21:07:00.000+00:002008-03-25T21:08:42.875+00:00Geckos<b>More from the BCC Website<br /><br /><br /><br /></b><div class="mxb"> <div class="sh"> Tail 'key' for gecko acrobatics </div> </div> <!-- S BO --> <!-- S IBYL --> <div class="mvb"> <span class="byl"> By Rebecca Morelle </span> <br /> <span class="byd"> Science reporter, BBC News </span> </div><br /><b><br />A gecko's tail is as crucial to the animal's acrobatic ability as its "sticky" feet, scientists report.</b> <p> High-speed video reveals that the creature uses its tail as a "fifth leg" to prevent it from slipping as it climbs wet surfaces. </p><p> And the footage shows that if it does fall, a flick of the tail is all it takes for the gecko to land feet-down. </p><p> The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). <!-- E SF --> </p><p> The researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, said the discovery could aid the development of improved climbing robots and unmanned gliding vehicles. </p><p> <!-- S IBOX --> <table align="right" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="208"> <tbody><tr> <td width="5"><img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/shared/img/o.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="5" /></td> <td class="sibtbg"> <div class="o"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/44498000/jpg/_44498602_gecko_2.jpg" alt="Gecko (Science Photo Library)" border="0" height="300" hspace="0" vspace="0" width="203" /> </div> <div class="o"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/inline_dashed_line.gif" alt="" border="0" height="1" hspace="0" vspace="2" width="203" /><br /> </div> <div> <!-- S IMED --> <div class="mvtb"> <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/mediaselector/check/player/nol/newsid_7300000/newsid_7301400?redirect=7301491.stm&news=1&bbwm=1&bbram=1&nbwm=1&nbram=1&asb=1" onclick="javascript:newsi.utils.av.launch({el:this});return false;"> <img src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/v3/icons/video_text.gif" alt="" align="left" border="0" height="13" vspace="0" /><b>Tail is like "fifth leg"</b> </a> </div> <!-- E IMED --> </div> </td> </tr> </tbody></table> <!-- E IBOX --> </p><p> The gecko is one of nature's best climbers - its feet are covered with millions of microscopic hairs that allow it to effortlessly cling to smooth surfaces. </p><p> But while the reptile's hairy toes have been extensively studied, little has been known until now about the role of the gecko's tail. </p><p> Bob Full, director of UC Berkeley's new Center for Interdisciplinary Bio-inspiration in Education and Research, and an author on the PNAS paper, said: "Initially, we thought the gecko's climbing ability was all in the feet, but now we know that this is clearly not true and the tail is critical."<br /></p><br /><p><br /></p><br /><p></p>The rest of the article and more videos here<br /><br />http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7300879.stmRoselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-9794846660128368922008-03-25T20:55:00.000+00:002008-03-25T20:57:09.448+00:00ArchaeozoologyFrom BBC News<br /><br />Tower's royal lions 'from Africa'<br /><br /><b>Two lion skulls found during excavations at the Tower of London originated in north-west Africa, genetic research suggests.</b> <p> The big cats, which were kept by royals during medieval times, have the same genetic make-up as the north African Barbary lion, a DNA study shows. </p><p> Experts believe the animals were gifts to English monarchs in the 13th and 14th centuries. </p><p> <!-- E SF --> At the time, the Barbary lion roamed across much of Africa. </p><p> The two well-preserved lion skulls were recovered during excavations of the moat at the Tower of London in 1937. They have been radiocarbon dated to AD 1280-1385 and AD 1420-1480. </p><p> Researchers at the University of Oxford extracted DNA from the skulls, and found that it matched that of the north African Barbary lion. </p><br />Rest of the article and a video here<br /><br />http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7311134.stmRoselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4739752674033864907.post-34711666128747220472008-03-25T20:23:00.000+00:002008-03-25T20:44:09.477+00:00Hello, Welcome.Hello Bloggers.<br />This is just a first post to say Hi and to let you know what I am planning to post about.<br /><br />*Al Ain Zoo, UAE<br />*Crystal Palace Dinosaurs<br />*Amazing Things Rare Things book and Exhibition<br />* The blogs and websites i have linked in my links<br />*The Blackburn Pavilion at London Zoo<br />* Aquazoo/Loebbecke Museum in Düsseldorf<br />* Zarafa: A Giraffe's True Story book review<br />* The Tower Menagerie Book review<br />*The Aye- Aye and I book review<br />*news stories that interest me<br /><br />Watch this space...Roselhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16712160352016656586noreply@blogger.com0