Posts for 'Land Mammals' Category

The weird world of dinosaurs has just gotten a tad more bizarre. Scientists found a nearly complete fossil of a new dinosaur that sports a noticeable hump, maybe as possible advertising.

The hump on the dinosaur's back, which was at least 16 inches tall, may have been used to help this meat-eating theropod communicate among its own species, scientists theorize. Discoverer Francisco Ortega of Spain named it Concavenator corcovatus which means "the hunchback hunter from Cuenca."

Ortega said the hump could have been used to store fat or regulate body temperature, but there is also the distinct possibility that it was used by concavenators to somehow differentiate themselves or communicate with each other. But with only one of these dinos, it's only speculation and is hard to figure out what the humps were meant to convey if they were tools of communication, he said.

NORTHERN AUSTRALIA'S NATIVE MAMMALS are under serious threat, with 10 on track to become extinct within the next 10 to 20 years if nothing is done, and perhaps another dozen vulnerable to extinction, experts say.

"We've had signs of decline for more than a decade now, but there's always been some chance that what we were witnessing was just part of a natural oscillation," says John Woinarski, director of biodiversity for the Northern Territory Government, and co-author of a new report on the problem. "But over the last 12 months, we've completed a major series of monitoring and other studies, and all the results are bleak.

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Yellowstone vacations are a great way to observe wildlife up close. If you choose to drive through the park you might miss some of the smaller animals that call Yellowstone National Park home. But a drive through the park just might be the best way to see some of the larger mammals almost any time of the day or year.

One of the highlights of Yellowstone vacations is seeing the large herds of bison. Bison are often seen grazing in the meadows along the roadway. The bison is the largest land mammal in all of North America. They have occupied Yellowstone National Park continuously since prehistoric times. Males can weigh up to 2000 pounds, while the females range up to 1000 pounds. They are fast creatures for their size and can run as fast as 30 miles an hour. They can also change direction very quickly, so never approach these animals on foot. They are best observed from the safety of your vehicle.

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One in five species of Australian mammals are at risk of extinction, a new report says. Of the 388 species of mammals found naturally in Australia, 78 are listed as vulnerable, endangered or extinct in the wild.

In addition, nearly 14 per cent of amphibians, five per cent of reptiles and six per cent of birds are at risk. The figures are included in a new report.

The Numbers of Living Species in Australia and the World, released by federal Environment Minister Peter Garrett on Tuesday.

Mr Garrett said the report was the only one in the world to document the world's 1,899,587 known plant and animal species.

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One of the two remaining wild herds of pure bred European bison is down to an effective population size of just 25.  That is despite the actual number of wild bison in the herd having steadily risen to around 800.  The effective population measures the bison's genetic diversity, and can help predict the animal's survival chances.  At 3m long, 2m tall and weighing up to 900kg, the European bison (Bison bonasus) is Europe's heaviest surviving land mammal.

It survives in the wild in just a few herds, the two largest of which live on either side of the Bialowieza forest which straddles Belarus and Poland. While European bison can interbreed with American bison (Bison bison), they are generally considered to be separate species, having considerable genetic and morphological differences.  However, the species has a tortured history.

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The Cincinnati Zoo announced this week that one of its resident cheetahs, an 8-year-old female named Sarah, will participate in an attempt to set a new land speed record for mammals.  Sarah will vie for the record with another 8-year-old female cheetah named Nkosazana (which means "Princess" in Xhosa, one of South Africa's official languages) from a South African organization called Cheetah Outreach.

The two cheetahs won't face off in a head-to-head race; instead, each will make three timed 100-meter dashes on an enclosed course in her home country.  Nkosazana (or Zaza for short) will run first; her attempt at record-breaking will be held Aug. 15.  A little less than a month later, on Sept. 9, Sarah will travel to the Kentucky Speedway near Sparta, Ky., where Cincinnati Zoo staff hope she'll be able to beat the time set by Zaza.

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The battle for the title of fastest land mammal will move to another level next month, reported WLWT-TV in Cincinnati.

Sarah, the Cincinnati Zoo's 8-year-old female cheetah, will attempt to break the world record for all land mammals, including humans, in the Olympic 100-meter dash, when she takes on Zaza, an 8-year-old female South African cheetah.

Moya, one of the Cincinnati Zoo's former ambassadors who passed away earlier this year, set the 100-meter world record in 2000. Moya bettered his brother Nyana's 1999 record a few times, with a final record of 6.60 seconds.

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Cincinnati, OH - Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and American sprinter Tyson Gay are two of the fastest humans on earth. Both are known for speed and both hold 100 meter world records with times of 9.72 seconds and 9.77 seconds respectively. Sarah, the Cincinnati Zoo’s eight-year-old female cheetah, will attempt to break the world record for all land mammals, including humans in the Olympic 100-meter dash, when she takes on “Zaza”, an eight-year-old female South African cheetah.

“We are going to run the spots off Zaza,” said Cathryn Hilker, founder of the Cincinnati Zoo’s Cat Ambassador Program, as a friendly challenge to her South African counterpart, Annie Beckhelling.

“Our Zaza is going to give that cheeky American cat, Sarah, a run for her money,” responded Beckhelling.

Here’s how it works. Each cheetah will get three runs. Zaza will set the world record for female cheetahs when she goes first August 15 at Cheetah Outreach in South Africa at a measured course set by the Athletic Standards of South Africa. Her time and video of the run will be shared with the Cincinnati Zoo prior to Sarah’s run. Sarah will then attempt to break Zaza’s time with three runs of her own on September 9 at the Kentucky Speedway at a measured course, certified by Road Running Technical Council of USA Track & Field.

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Some scientists who work with dolphins believe that these sea-dwellers show a sense to the disability and physical trauma associated with function and pain in humans, therefore making the cranio-sacral therapy possible. Dolphins, with their internal sonar or echo-location can feel where the person hurts the most and are able to gently nudge and play without hurting the person.

Once, two dolphins saved a writer while he was swimming far off the coast of California. The man was a good swimmer and swimming had become his daily routine. One day, far away from the shore, he felt very tired, too tired to lift his arms or kick. Suddenly, two dolphins came to his rescue. They swam with their bodies touching him and they propelled him forward by fastening their nose under his arms to keep him afloat, until they came close to the shore where there were other people. By this time, the writer had regained enough strength to swim a few more yards to safety. He says the dolphins didn't leave immediately. They kept leaping off shore to make sure he made it to land safely.

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To predict how species will adapt to global warming, scientists can try to learn from the past. That’s what a team of researchers has done in a new PLoS Genetics study, by piecing together how southern elephant seals responded to climate change thousands of years ago.

The team analyzed elephant seal remains from a now-abandoned breeding site along the Victoria Land Coast in Antarctica. Genetic tests suggested that the seals colonized the area about 8,000 years ago – right around the time that the West Antarctic ice sheet retreated, leaving open beaches ideal for breeding. The seals probably came from another colony about 2,500 kilometers away, the authors found, then returned to that colony when the ice sheet advanced again.

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