Showing posts with label Fish. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fish. Show all posts
Thursday, August 3, 2017
Octopuses Are Marine Animals and This One Proves That Land is Not a Problem When Hunting for Crabs
Octopuses are Marine animals, that live and breath underwater, so at low tide one would expect them to be imprisoned in rocky pools. This extraordinary species found in Northern Australia is like no other Octopus, and land is no obstacle when hunting for Crabs.
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Friday, July 14, 2017
Chain-Reaction Crash With Minor Injuries, Except for the Slime Eels
If you thought you were enduring a “summer of hell” commute, consider the repulsive mess created on an Oregon highway on Thursday in a collision of modern transportation and prehistoric fish.
Picture the scene from the 1984 “Ghostbusters” movie in which Dr. Peter Venkman, played by Bill Murray, complains about being “slimed.” Then multiply that a thousandfold, and you’ll get some idea of what happened on a coastal highway in Depoe Bay, Ore., about 100 miles west of Portland.
A truck hauling 7,500 pounds of hagfish, also known as slime eels, was traveling on Highway 101 around noon, transporting the fish to be exported to South Korea, where some diners consider them a delicacy.
Traffic was halted for road construction, but the truck driver was unable to stop. The truck’s load shifted, causing one of the containers carrying the hagfish to “fly across the highway,” the Oregon State Police said.
To read more on this story, click here: Chain-Reaction Crash With Minor Injuries, Except for the Slime Eels
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Thursday, April 27, 2017
Washington, DC – Humane Rescue Alliance Celebrating National Adopt-A-Shelter-Pet Day This Weekend: 50% Adoption Fees!
All adoptable animals at shelters and in foster available at discounted fee this weekend (Saturday and Sunday). Standard adoption procedures apply.
WHAT: Discounted (50%) adoption fees to celebrate National Adopt-a-Shelter-Pet Day. Standard adoption procedures apply.
WHO: All available animals for adoption, including dogs, cats, puppies, kittens and small animals.
WHEN: Saturday, April 29th and Sunday, April 30th
Noon – 7 p.m.
WHERE: Humane Rescue Alliance Pet Adoption Centers
1201 New York Ave., NE 77 Oglethorpe Street, NW
Washington, DC 20002 Washington, DC 20011 202-576-6664 202-726-2556
WEBSITE: To view adoptable animals, including animals in foster care, visit www.humanerescuealliance.org.
About the Humane Rescue Alliance:
The Humane Rescue Alliance (formerly the Washington Humane Society-Washington Animal Rescue League) has protected and served the animals of the community for more than 145 years and serves more than 60,000 animals annually. The broad range of programs offered include: rescue and adoption, humane law enforcement, low-cost veterinary services, animal care and control, behavior and training, spay-neuter services, humane education, and many others. The organization is dedicated to ensuring the safety and welfare of all animals, bringing people and animals together, and working with all communities to support these relationships. HRA is based in Washington, DC, the only major urban area in the country that has all of its animal protection programs and services unified in one organization, making the Humane Rescue Alliance a model for the nation.
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Tuesday, September 27, 2016
Baltimore, Maryland - Sunday, November 6 Will Be “Pay What You Want Day” at the National Aquarium
Sunday, November 6 will be “Pay What You Want Day” at the National Aquarium. The day is a continuing effort to provide access to the Aquarium for Maryland residents. The day allows visitors to name their own price for aquarium admission.
“We are committed to connecting our local residents to the aquatic world and our conservation mission,” said John Racanelli, National Aquarium CEO in a statement.
“’Pay What You Want Day’ is part of a series of programs that ensure our communities have the opportunity to visit the Aquarium and be inspired by their 20,000 aquatic neighbors,” he said.
In the past, the National Aquarium welcomed more than 7,500 guests to each of the previous Pay What You Want Days.
The day is supported by T. Rowe Price, who is the Aquarium’s official community engagement partner.
“’Pay What You Want Day’ enables families across Maryland with any budget size to visit and engage with the variety of species living in the National Aquarium,” said Renee Christoff, head of Corporate Social Responsibility at T. Rowe Price.
To further help with the cost of a visit to the Aquarium, their official partner parking facilities are pleased to offer $10 parking to those attending “Pay What You Want Day” 2016. Guests can bring proof of their Aquarium visit to the LAZ Inner Harbor Garage at 100 S. Gay Street or Lockwood Parking at 124 Market Place for the discounted parking.
For anyone who can’t make “Pay What You Want Day,” the Aquarium also has other opportunities for discounted admission. There are year-round Half-Price Friday Nights (Friday nights after 5 p.m.) and discounted Maryland Mornings for Maryland state residents visiting before noon Sundays through Fridays now through February 28. There are also Dollar Days coming in December.
For more information about The National Aquarium and “Pay What You Want Day,” visit their website.
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Saturday, September 17, 2016
33 Foot Long Humpback Whale Found Dead on New Jersey Beach
Sea Isle City, New Jersey - Bob Schoelkopf, founder of the Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine, said it was a young male, about 33 feet long, and probably weighs about 20 tons. There were no visible signs of injury or trauma.
Schoelkopf said one or two whales beach themselves along the Jersey coast each year; this is the second of 2016.
The whale was first spotted before noon, floating offshore around Ocean City. It eventually washed onto the beach at Sea Isle near 20th Street around 2 p.m.
A crowd of about 100 people had gathered on the beach behind yellow police tape, braving the overwhelming stench to get a glimpse of it.
"It’s sad to see such a beautiful animal dead on the beach like this," said Ann Heffer, a vacationer from Exton, Pa. "I’m glad this doesn’t happen every day."
Officials with the Stranding Center and the New Jersey Division of Fish & Wildlife were on the scene, said Sea Isle City spokeswoman Katherine Custer.
A necropsy will be performed on the beach Saturday morning to learn how it died. Until then, officials brought in heavy machinery to draw the body further up the beach and away from waves that could drag it out to sea again.
A heavy-duty chain tied around its tail snapped under the weight of the animal. Crews had to shorten the length of the chain and add a second, canvas strap to successfully drag it up the beach. No one was injured when the chain snapped.
The necropsy should take about eight hours, Schoelkopf said.
Humpbacks can live up to 50 years, Schoelkopf said, but this one was a juvenile.
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Sunday, August 14, 2016
Rare Fish Called the ‘Nutcracker’ Eats Mens Testicles with Human Like Teeth, Caught in New Jersey Lake
A father and son fishing at a New Jersey lake may be lucky their bodies still have all their pieces after catching a fish called 'the Nutcracker' that is more commonly seen in the Amazon.
Ron Rossi, from the Philadelphia suburb of Delran, was out with his son Frank at a man-made body of water when they hooked what they thought was a piranha.
However, the rare species in Swedes Lake was actually a pacu, an omnivorous fish native to Brazil that has human-like teeth and has been reported to eat the testicles of swimmers and fishermen.
The Rossis realized the bizarre find when they went home and researched the animal after being confused at its lack of sharp, piranha chompers, they told WPVI.
Department of Environmental Protection officials said the South American fish are sometimes kept as pets, who may have dumped the pacu into the lake.
The species can grow up to four feet long and uses its molar-like teeth to crush food that falls into the Amazon River.
Many pet owners mistakenly think they are piranhas when they purchase the more famous species's cousin, which can grow up to 55lbs.
Given the fish's worldwide popularity, it turns out that the Rossis did not make the surprise catch of the century, or even of the last couple years.
A 10-inch pacu was caught in northern New Jersey in September 2013, followed by 17-incher in Washington state, a 20-inch specimen in southern Illinois two months later and a 14-inch pacu in Michigan's Lake St Clair last summer.
The fish's worldwide popularity has seen them spread far from their Brazilian homeland, with the fish being found in Paris, Scandinavia and Oceania.
In Papua New Guinea, where the fish is known as the 'Ball Cutter', a member of the species is thought to have contributed to two men's death from blood loss after it castrated them.
Scientists in Denmark said that reports of pacu eating genitalia were 'overblown' after they issued a joking warning to male swimmers to beware following a sighting of the fish, according to National Geographic.
Some wildlife experts worry that the introduction of pacu into lakes such as the one in New Jersey may endanger local fauna.
However, pacu cannot survive in colder water and the DEP urged owners of the fish to 'humanely destroy' it rather than throwing it into nearby waters.
A New Jersey man was surprised when he thought he caught a piranha, but the fish turned out to be a pacu, an Amazonian fish famous for eating men's private parts.
The Swedes Lake catch was the latest in an increasing number of pacu being found outside of their native habitat.
Fisherman Ron Rossi (pictured) researched the animal with his son, and environmental officials said that it most likely came from a pet owner who dumped it in the man-made lake
Pacu have spread around the world from their tropical home and been captured in places in northern Europe such as Scandinavia. Above left, a fish captured in Paris was about a foot long
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Wednesday, April 13, 2016
Inky the Octopus Slipped Through a Gap at the Top of His Enclosure: Escapes Down Pipe to Ocean
By the time the staff at New Zealand’s National Aquarium
noticed that he was missing, telltale suction cup prints were the main clue to
an easily-solved mystery.
Inky had said see ya to his tank-mate, slipped through a
gap left by maintenance workers at the top of his enclosure and, as evidenced
by the tracks, made his way across the floor to a six-inch-wide drain. He
squeezed his football-sized body in — octopuses are very malleable, aquarium
manager Rob Yarrall told the New Zealand website Stuff — and made a break for
the Pacific.
“He managed to make his way to one of the drain holes that
go back to the ocean. And off he went,” Yarrall told Radio New Zealand. “And he
didn’t even leave us a message.”
The cephalopod version of “Shawshank Redemption” took place
three months ago, but it only became public Tuesday. Inky, who already had some
local renown in the coastal city of Napier, quickly became a global celebrity
cheered on by strangers.
Inky had resided at the aquarium since 2014, when he was
taken in after being caught in a crayfish pot, his body scarred and his arms
injured. The octopus’s name was chosen from nominations submitted to a contest
run by the Napier City Council.
Kerry Hewitt, the aquarium’s curator of exhibits, said at
the time that Inky was “getting used to being at the aquarium” but added that
staff would “have to keep Inky amused or he will get bored.”
Guess that happened.
This isn’t the first time a captive octopus decided to take
matters into its own hands — er, tentacles. In 2009, after a two-spotted
octopus at the Santa Monica Pier Aquarium in California took apart a water
recycling valve, directed a tube to shoot water out of the tank for 10 hours
and caused a massive flood, Scientific American asked octopus expert Jennifer
Mather about the animals’ intelligence and previous such hijinks at aquariums.
“They are very strong, and it is practically impossible to
keep an octopus in a tank unless you are very lucky. … Octopuses simply take
things apart,” Mather said. “I recall reading about someone who had built a
robot submarine to putter around in a large aquarium tank. The octopus got a
hold of it and took it apart piece by piece. There’s a famous story from the
Brighton Aquarium in England 100 years ago that an octopus there got out of its
tank at night when no one was watching, went to the tank next door and ate one
of the lumpfish and went back to his own tank and was sitting there the next
morning.”
Yarrall said the aquarium has no plans to replace Inky, but
it does intend to better secure the tank where now just one octopus remains.
“They are always exploring and they are great escape
artists,” Yarrall said, according to Hawke’s Bay Today. “We’ll be watching the
other one.”
Thursday, March 24, 2016
A Pennsylvania Goldfish Might Be the 1st of His Species to Get Braces
A Pennsylvania goldfish named Mr. Hot Wing might be the 1st
orthodontic patient of his species
Just weeks after photos of a Michigan dog with braces went
viral, veterinary orthodontics are in the news once again.
This time, however, the patient is a goldfish. A standard
orange goldfish. The kind who lives in a bowl, retails for roughly 27 cents,
and sort of resembles a Buffalo chicken wing when you squint and really think
about it.
His name is Mr. Hot Wing, and he's the first-ever pet of
his kind to make headlines with a corrective dental appliance.
Philadelphia's 6abc Action News reports that Mr. Hot Wing,
who lives in Allentown, Pa., was born without a lower jaw bone, which makes it
impossible for him to hold his mouth open.
Because of this, the fish suffers from breathing and eating
difficulties. Rather, he did before his owner brought him to Dr. Brian Palmeiro
at Lehigh Valley Veterinary Dermatology.
Palmeiro, described by Action News as "the fish
doctor," reportedly performed surgery on Mr. Hot Wing to open his mouth.
Then, after conducting "a lot of research" on the
topic, he fashioned some custom braces out of a plastic credit card to correct
Mr. Hot Wing's bite … or lack thereof.
"Fish Braces!!??" wrote the veterinary clinic on
Facebook last week under a post-op photo of its little patient. "Mr. Hot
Wing came in today for trouble breathing and inability to eat. He was born
without a lower jaw bone and his mouth could not stay open. Brian Palmeiro did
surgery to open his mouth and created this brace to help his mouth stay
open."
Mr. Hot Wing may be the first fish to get braces, in a
matter of speaking, but he's not the first to benefit from Palmeiro's plastic
card veterinary devices.
The Lehigh Valley clinic shared a photo of a larger fish,
who appears to have a makeshift splint on his fin, in November.
All in all, Mr. Hot Wing's braces were said to have cost
about $150.
That may sound like an expensive vet bill for a fish that
likely cost less than a dollar, but you can't put a price on family. And hey —
it's still way cheaper than human braces.
Or dog braces, for that matter.
Put pic #1 here
Mr. Hot Wing, who lives in Allentown, Pa., was born without
a lower jaw bone, which made it hard for him to breathe or eat before his
'braces' were put on. (Lehigh Valley Veterinary Dermatology/Facebook)
Put pic #2 here
(Left: Matt Elsberry/Flickr, Right: Ernesto Andrade/Flickr)
Put pic #3 here
Put pic #4 here
Tags;
Goldfish, Fish, Pet, Pet Health, Goldfish Gets Braces,
Braces, Veterinary Orthodontics, Lehigh Valley Clinic,
Mr. Hot Wing, who lives in Allentown, Pa., was born without
a lower jaw bone, which made it hard for him to breathe or eat before his
'braces' were put on. (Lehigh Valley Veterinary Dermatology/Facebook)
(Left: Matt Elsberry/Flickr, Right: Ernesto Andrade/Flickr)
Tuesday, March 8, 2016
Sambo Fish: Eat Mosquitos’ Larva Before the Insects Mature and Carry the Zika Virus
With the Zika virus spreading toward the United States,
threatening pregnant mothers and the 2016 Olympics, aid workers have placed
hope in a familiar fish.
In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, the Virginia-based
non-profit Operation Blessing helped avert an outbreak of the West Nile virus
in New Orleans by supplying abandoned swimming pools full of water – ideal
breeding ground for disease-carrying mosquitos – with fish that feast on
mosquito larva.
Now the group hopes to halt the spread of the Zika virus in
Central America by breeding and distributing fish that can eat mosquitos’ larva
before the insects mature and carry the disease, which has been linked to an
epidemic of birth defects in Brazil and spread quickly throughout Latin
America.
Based out of Mexico’s Acapulco area, Operation Blessing is
working in El Salvador to supply a mosquito-eating fish called Sambo—one native
to the area—that families can place in sinks and containers where drinking
water is stored, CBN reports.
El Salvador’s Vice Minister of Health, Eduardo Espinoza,
has hailed the Sambo fish as a successful method in reducing the virus, and
multiple groups have distributed it nationwide.
Operation Blessing plans to curb the disease in Mexico by
working with its government to distribute a similar fish native to that country
called Gambuja.
The non-profit is also in talks with the government of
Honduras, according to CBN, an affiliate of the non-profit.
Bill Horan, president of Operation Blessing, said the fish
provide a uniquely effective option for combatting diseases known to be carried
by the mosquitos.
"Mosquito bed nets are not as effective as they were
for most because the Aedes Aegypti sleeps at night,” he told the network. “They
don't bite often at night.”
In the U.S., health officials in several states have
confirmed human cases of the virus, none acquired locally. The disease can also
spread through blood transfusions and sex.
Monday, February 8, 2016
Hermit Crabs Make Adorable Pets: But These Little Packages of Cuteness Are High-Maintenance
Hermit crabs make adorable pets but these little packages
of cuteness are high-maintenance and require very exacting care
Hermit crabs are widely believed to be easy to care for,
and ideal first pets for children. Neither of these beliefs is true.
Unfortunately, hermit crabs are very difficult to keep healthy, and they should
be kept in groups. Not only are hermit crabs are not hermit-like at all, they
are gregarious partiers who will keep a crab-party going all night.
You’ve probably seen the clear plastic critter-carriers and
one-gallon fish tanks where hermit crabs are sometimes displayed. These are not
safe homes for hermit crabs. In fact, if the critter-carrier has a standard
“berry-basket” top for ventilation, the crab inside is probably already dying a
slow and painful death. Hermit crabs breathe air through modified gills. They
will drown in water, and they have no lungs. If the gills ever dry out, the
animal is in serious trouble. The resulting death by suffocation can take
months, but it is inevitable. Therefore, maintaining sufficient humidity in the
hermit crab enclosure is very, very important.
This brings us to the topic of equipment.
ESSENTIAL EQUIPMENT
This list is a very rudimentary introduction to the
equipment needed to keep crabs healthy.
- An aquarium tank, marine terrarium, or large covered enclosure strong enough to contain wet sand. Be sure the cover is tight enough to prevent the crabs from pushing their way out, that some air can get in, and that it keeps moisture inside the tank;
- Water-conditioning fluid, to neutralize chlorine and its by-products in the water;
- Safe sea salt, of the kind sold for marine fish and crustaceans;
- Safe sand, enough to be a few inches (15cm minimum) deep in the tank;
- Water dishes, sea sponges, shallow food dishes, and a slotted scoop to remove uneaten food from the sand;
- Quarantine tank, which is basically the full set-up in miniature, for safe moulting;
- Hidey-huts for the crabs to relax in, during the day;
- Extra shells of the correct sizes and shapes, at least three per crab;
- Thermometers for the sand and hygrometers for the main tank and the quarantine tank;
- Branches and rocks to climb on;
- Moss and extra sea sponges for soaking, to help keep the humidity above 75%; and
- Heater for one end of the tank: most hermit crab species like a temperature of 75-80F/24-27C on the warm end of the tank.
EXERCISE
These cute little crustaceans will keep themselves fit, presuming
their tank is big enough. They love to climb, and crawl, and pull. If you are
very careful, you can “walk” them across your hands held low over a soft
surface. As the crab moves across one hand, bring the other one around in
front. To do this, your hands need to be positioned side to side, and not
fingertip-to-fingertip. Otherwise, the surface will be too narrow and the tiny
crab will become frightened.
FEEDING
Hermit crabs are beachcombing scavengers. As omnivores,
they require both meat and plant-matter in their diets. Unfortunately, the
commercial crab foods do not make a good diet for hermit crabs. They tend to
contain preservatives, but some are safe enough: read the ingredient list. The
real problem is that commercial foods are boring. Crabs don’t like to smell the
same meal twice in a row. They will be happiest if every meal is a little
different: some fish and a touch of apple today, perhaps some chicken and
seaweed tomorrow. (Thacker, 1998).
Wash all fruits and vegetables before feeding them to your
crabs, and use de-chlorinated water to do it. Always do everything you can to
keep your crabs away from chlorine. Meat can be raw or cooked, or even
freeze-dried, but avoid preservatives (including salt).
That’s not to say that everything always needs to be fresh.
Stock up on an assortment of jars of baby foods. Keep some freeze-dried
daphnia, bloodworms, tubifex, and shrimp on hand from the aquarium section of
the pet store. Offer a few pieces of low-salt cat food.
Crabs need calcium. The simplest way to provide it is to
drop a couple of cuttlebones onto the floor of the tank. Cuttlebone is sold in
the pet-bird section of the pet store.
Unlike many animals, hermit crabs need two kinds of water
bowls: one with freshwater and one with salt water. The salt water cannot be
made with table salt, because of the iodine in it. Both bowls need to be big
enough for the crabs to submerge themselves, and easy to crawl out of so the
crabs don’t drown. A piece of sea sponge in each bowl makes a convenient safety
raft.
GROOMING
The hermit crab tank needs to contain a conditioned
freshwater bowl and a conditioned saltwater bowl. The precise details of these
will vary with the particular species you keep.
Along with the water that the crabs will use for “grooming”
themselves, these creatures must be provided with an assortment of appropriate
shells. The shapes will vary, again according to species, but whatever the
species you should provide at least three shells per crab in your tank. The
shell sizes should be slightly smaller than, equal to, and slightly larger than
the crab’s current shell. Please, please, please stay away from painted shells.
The “non-toxic” paints are meant to be non-toxic to your children: they are
generally not safe for your hermit crabs.
HOME ENVIRONMENT
Hermit crabs are primarily nocturnal. They enjoy exploring
their home, re-arranging things, and seeing how many of them can sit on a perch
before it falls over. You’ll hear them clacking away with their claws through
the wee hours. If you do most of your sleeping at night, you probably don’t
want to put the crab tanks in the bedroom.
Also, keep in mind that hermit crabs are invertebrates who
are subject to the same kinds of poisons that are used to kill insects and
spiders. If people in your neighborhood spray their lawns, or if someone in
your house tends to go after spiders with a can of “bug-spray”, hermit crabs
are not for you.
TRAINING
There is no training required for hermit crabs. While you
will need to rescue them from time to time, especially during moults, and
you’ll need to provide appropriate shells for them to choose from, they will
act according to their natures.
WHERE TO NEXT?
Are these little guys right for you? They are adorable, no
question, but they are very difficult for beginners to keep healthy and happy.
In many ways, parrots and the licensed exotics are easier to maintain. Perhaps
consider a dog instead? Or a pony?
If you have decided that hermit crabs are the right pet for
your family, the next step is to do some reading. This care-sheet has only
introduced you to the barest skim off the top of the information you need.
Investigate the details of putting together a proper enclosure, and the details
of shell replacement, and the details of temperature and humidity. Next, put
together the main tank and a quarantine tank, and monitor the humidity and
temperature for a week or two. Once that is stable, seek out several healthy
crabs and a nice assortment of high-quality shells for them.
Wednesday, January 27, 2016
Hungarian Artist and Photographer Flóra Borsi Explores the Human-Animal Connection in a Series of Manipulated Photos
The relationship between humans and animals is one that
many artists have explored since the beginning of time. And since people
haven’t stopped loving animals both domestic and wild, it’s still a theme that
draws in art-lovers and animal-lovers alike.
Hungarian artist and photographer Flóra Borsi explores the
human-animal connection in a series of manipulated photos called Animeyed,
where she “shares” an eye and creates a double portrait of herself and the
animal.
The results are startling and beautiful, and Flóra manages
to create a distinct character in each portrait, changing her hair and makeup
to reflect the appearance of the animal.
While animals are of course lovely to look at, capturing
them in art is also an important reminder to viewers that they share a planet
with us, and that we must remember their needs as well as our own.
Like the photographer who captures endangered animals to
raise awareness for their protection, Flóra’s photos remind us that we each
have a deep connection to nature, even if we don’t always remember that.
To capture the personality of the animal, and to make
herself blend into the animal’s appearance, Flóra uses makeup and effects.
Lacy ears and dramatic “cat-eye” eyeliner recall a slinky
black cat.
Orange hair and lipstick match this goldfish’s shiny
scales. To line up her eye and the animal’s, Flóra uses digital manipulation.
So the fish isn’t out of the water, don’t worry!
And while the photos are beautiful, she still retains a
sense of humor, like this fishy portrait, complete with matching hair!
Her portraits each have a distinct feeling and character to
them, shaped by the color and texture of the animal, as well as the
associations that we humans have with them. This white dove, for example,
suggests purity.
Flóra herself also seems to become different in the
presence of the different animals, and especially thanks to the makeup and
costuming.
She captures the moods we associate with the animals
perfectly, like this nervous rabbit.
Monday, January 25, 2016
Man Takes a Fish from a Freezer Drops it into a Metal Tank: It Comes Alive
Footage has surfaced showing a group of men removing a fish
from a freezer and dropping it into a small metal tank
The fish floats motionless for about a minute – before
stirring its fins and emitting a few bubbles then gliding around the tank,
appearing to have been brought back to life.
It’s unclear when or where the baffling video - which was
uploaded this week to social media - was filmed.
This is not the first time frozen animals have been
resurrected: in December a family brought a kitten back to life in Utah,
America, after performing CPR on the animal in front of a fireplace.
In an even more far-fetched example, Japanese researchers
have this month revived a water bear that have been frozen for 30 years and
survived.
Not only did the microanimal survive three decades entombed
in ice, but it laid 19 eggs – and 14 of them successfully hatched.
The baffling video shows a group of men remove the fish
from a freezer and drop it into a metal tank
After lying motionless for about a minute the fish emits some bubbles and begins gliding around the tank
In December a family in Utah brought a frozen kitten back to life by performing CPR in front of a fireplace
This month Japanese researchers revived a 'water bear' that
had been frozen for 30 years - and the microanimal even laid 19 eggs – 14 of
which hatched
Wednesday, December 30, 2015
Rare Sighting: Giant Squid Spotted Close to the Surface of Toyama Bay in Central Japan
It isn't every day that a mystery from the deep swims into
plain sight. But on Christmas Eve, spectators on a pier in Toyama Bay in
central Japan were treated to a rare sighting of a giant squid.
The creature swam under fishing boats and close to the
surface of Toyama Bay, better known for its firefly squid, and reportedly hung
around the bay for several hours before it was ushered back to open water.
It was captured on video by a submersible camera, and even
joined by a diver, Akinobu Kimura, owner of Diving Shop Kaiyu, who swam in
close proximity to the red-and-white real-life sea monster.
"My curiosity was way bigger than fear, so I jumped
into the water and go close to it," he told CNN.
"This squid was not damaged and looked lively,
spurting ink and trying to entangle his tentacles around me. I guided the squid
toward to the ocean, several hundred meters from the area it was found in, and
it disappeared into the deep sea."
Yuki Ikushi, the curator of Uozu Aquarium in Uozu, Toyama,
told CNN that there were 16 reports of Architeuthis squid trapped by fishing
nets last season, and this one is the first sighting this season, which runs
from November to March.
"We might see more in this season, but it's very rare
for them to be found swimming around (the fishing boats') moorings."
The Toyama squid is a fairly small example of the species,
estimated at around 3.7 meters (12.1 feet) long, and may be a juvenile. Giant
squid are thought to grow as large as 13 meters (43 feet) long. They typically
inhabit deep waters, and it is unclear why this one wandered into the bay.
Tuesday, December 29, 2015
Fishermen Help Pregnant Stingray Give Birth Inside Their Boat
The incredible moment a stingray gave birth on a boat after
being caught by a group of fisherman was caught on camera.
Javier Capello shared a 39-second long video to YouTube
Saturday of the pregnant stingray giving birth on his boat.
The video starts with a man placing his hand on the
stingray's belly, gently prodding the creature.
Moments later, one tiny baby ray popped out and started to
wriggle around the boat.
The man continues to press on the stingray's belly, as more
tiny stingrays pop out back to back.
He pauses for a few seconds, and then presses the
cartilaginous fish's belly again, causing more small stingrays to be born.
The video shows at least 12 stingrays being born on the
boat thanks to the help from the unknown man.
Capello, who also shared the video to Reddit, explained
that they caught the pregnant stingray with 'just the basic: Line, hook, living
bait' and 'used a little morena' as bait.
“We didn't really know what to do, she was having problems
letting the littles (sic) out so we gave her some help,” Capello wrote.
“We thought she was dying at first because we cut her tail
off before realizing she was pregnant.”
In the end, Capello wrote that they “felt guilty and threw
them all back,” including the mother and that “luckily they survived.”
It's unclear exactly where or when the video was filmed.
Rays are ovoviviparous, meaning they carry litters of young
inside them numbering up to 13 which feed on individual yolk sacks.
Female rays are capable of storing a male ray's sperm
inside their bodies without getting pregnant for years before impregnating
themselves at a later date.
The video starts with a man placing his hand on the
stingray's belly, gently prodding the creature. Moments later, one tiny baby
ray popped out and started to wriggle around the boat.
The man continues to press on the stingray's belly, as more tiny stingrays pop out back to back. He pauses for a few seconds, and then presses the cartilaginous fish's belly again, causing more small stingrays to be born.
The video shows at least 12 stingrays being born on the
boat thanks to the help from the unknown man.
In the end, Capello wrote that they “felt guilty and threw them all back,” including the mother and that “luckily they survived”.
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