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[Mallorn Tree]

After 60 years in hiding, wren-babbler is found

By Michael McCarthy, Environment Editor

For nearly 60 years it has been the world's least-known bird - until now. The rusty-throated wren-babbler, a small stub-tailed ball of feathers the size of a mouse, has been seen only once, when a specimen was captured in the Mishmi Hills of north-east India in 1947.
But now two American ornithologists have found and photographed a new example of Spelaeornis badeigularis - by playing its own call back to it.
The American Museum of Natural History in New York disclosed at the weekend that one of its research associates, Ben King, had located the wren-babbler with a colleague, Julian Donahue, a retired curator at the Los Angeles Museum of Natural History.
The men travelled deep into one of India's least-known states, Arunachal Pradesh, in the eastern Himalayas close to the border with Tibet, which even Indians need a permit to visit.
Having procured the necessary three permits as westerners, they took a little-used road deep into the Mishmi Hills, which are 6,000ft high and covered with broadleaved evergreen forest.
At the forest edge Mr King, who is among the world's foremost experts on Asian birds, played a tape of the song of a close relative - the rufous-throated wren babbler - of the bird they were seeking.
A bird with a similar call replied; Mr King recorded this, and played it back. An even stronger response was elicited, and eventually, after an hour of watching the leaves and twigs move, the rusty-throated bird came into view. Subsequent photographs identified the bird beyond doubt.
"It was flying low along the ground and behind bushes and in the brush. We could hear it. And we could see glimpses of it ... It took an hour of chasing this very elusive, secretive bird before we could see enough to convince ourselves," Mr Donahue said.
It was difficult to say, he added, if this was actually the world's rarest bird, but as far as was known it was the bird that had been least seen.
The only previous evidence of the species had been a dead bird found about 30 miles away, during a 1947 expedition into the region led by another American ornithologist, S. Dillon Ripley, who was later to head the Smithsonian Institution in Washington.
"To see this thing alive in the wild is pretty monumental," Mr Donahue said. "Although it doesn't impress most of my friends because they are not bird watchers."
The wren-babbler is about 4 inches long and is distinguished by a triangular rust-colored patch on its throat. Much of its plumage is a chequerboard of brown and white. Its sole scientific distinction is its rarity.
What the world's rarest bird may be is a matter of dispute. Until 2000 it was Spix's macaw, a beautiful blue parrot from north-eastern Brazil, of which only one species survived in the wild; but in that year the wild bird was found dead.
Some people think that tiny numbers of the ivory-billed woodpecker of the United States, which has not been positively seen since 1944, may still survive in the dense forests of Georgia and Louisiana.

[Mallorn Tree]

On the Menu

Is that seaweed? Look again. The sea dragon's disguise helps it stay off another fish's menu. That's one of many animal tricks for staying alive.
Over time, animals have developed many ways to stay away from predators.
Hiding is one of the best ways to stay alive.

Ostatak teksta i pratece slike

ovde

Edited by Mallorn Tree, 08 March 2005 - 05:53.

[balu]

Lady Zlacano Drvce oni pokvarenjaci iz National Geographic-a makli stranu pa se ne moz' naci.

Ili si ti mozda the clan a mi autsajderi nemamo pristup.

[Mallorn Tree]

Kod mene radi - bice da si u pravu za ovo oko uclanjenja.

Ajd` registruij se, nemoj da te bije maler , na home page national geographic. com.

Moram ovako jer em su me neki popljuvali sto samo kacim slike, em na ovom delu Foruma nije omogucen upload..

Posto si vec Balu, shvati da su to Bare necessities

[Mallorn Tree]

Rare European cat in danger of extinction


LISBON (AFP) - The Iberian lynx, a big cat found only in Spain and Portugal, remains "critically endangered" and is at risk of becoming the first large feline to become extinct since pre-historic times, a conservation group warned in a new study.

There are as few as 100 to 120 of the leopard-spotted cats in the wild, including around a dozen breeding-age females, from about 100,000 at the beginning of the 20th century, the report by SOS Lynx found.
Hunting, road deaths, and most of all a sharp drop due to disease in the number of wild rabbits, the lynx's main prey, has led to disappearance of the cat, it said Wednesday.
"It is not in Africa, Latin America or Asia where the first big cat extinction in modern times is likely to occur, but within the borders of the rich, supposedly 'developed' and environmentally-friendly European Union,

vise o tome

[Mallorn Tree]

Eksperti UNESCO: Neće biti hidroelektrane na Tari

Podgorica - Ekspertska misija UNESCO i Svjetske unije za zaštitu prirode (IUCN) energično se usprotivila gradnji hidroelektrane "Buk Bijela" i najvjerovatnije stavila tačku na višegodišnje planove da se potopi najljepši kanjon u Evropi.
Misija je zvanično obavijestila vlade Crne Gore i Republike Srpske da će Komitetu za svjetsku baštinu (MAB) predložiti da Nacionalni park "Durmitor" stavi na listu ugroženih lokaliteta, jer projekat "Buk Bijela" predstavlja "potencijalnu prijetnju za izuzetnu univerzalnu vrijednost lokaliteta, kao i za njen integritet, posebno zato što bi spomenik prirode i UNESCO rezervat biosfere, basen rijeke Tare, bio potopljen projektom brane".

Preskočena javnost


Misija UNESKO preporučuje šire učešće građana u raspravi o projektu "Buk Bijele", jer, prema njenom mišljenju, dosadašnji okrugli stolovi ne bi mogli nazvati "učešćem javnosti". Takođe se preporučuje da tenderi koji se odnose na ovaj projekat, kao i na bilo koju alternativu, treba da prođu transparentnu i međunarodno kontrolisanu proceduru.

Ekspertska misija UNESCO IUCN boravila je u Crnoj Gori i Republici Srpskoj od 16. do 21. januara, na zahtjev generalnog direktora UNESCO i na poziv vlasti Crne Gore i Republike Srpske. U zaključcima i preporukama opširnog izvještaja, koje objavljuju podgoričke Vijesti, upozorava se da bi "planirani projekat uticao na vrijednosti i integritet lokacije, jer bi "Buk Bijela", smještena nizvodno na Tari, izazvala uticaj koji bi predstavljao prijetnju za zaštićenu oblast".
Misija je zaključila da to predstavlja potencijalnu opasnost za vrijednosti svjetske baštine i predložila da vlade Crne Gore i Republike Srpske pažljivo razmotre svoju energetsku strategiju, uključujući potrošnju, obnovljivu energiju i prihode.
- Snažno preporučujemo jačanje saradnje između Crne Gore, Srbije i BIH oko koordiniranja aktivnosti na objema obalama kanjona Tare, zajedničke zaštitne aktivnosti u cijelom basenu, saradnju u cilju potencijalnog budućeg proširenja svjetske baštine uz Nacionalne parkove "Sutjeska" i "Biogradska gora" i zaštite planinskog vijenca uz rijeku Taru, stvarajući veliku prekograničnu zaštićenu oblast čiji će centralni djelovi biti dva nacionalna parka i velika tampon zona lokacije svjetske baštine, piše u preporukama.
- Od vlasti BIH zahtijeva se da u potpunosti poštuju Konvenciju o svjetskoj baštini i da ne preduzimaju nijednu akciju koja predstavlja prijetnju za vrijednosti i integritet lokacije smještene na teritoriji druge države. Pozivaju se obje države da u potpunosti primijene preporuke međunarodne ekspertske misije i zahtijeva od Vlade Crne Gore da preduzme mjere i minimizira, poželjno i eliminiše sve direktne i indirektne prijetnje za imovinu svjetske baštine. Postojeća ekološka studija elektrane nije u skladu sa međunarodnim standardima, navodi se u izvještaju.
Komentarišući Sporazum o saradnji dvije vlade o izgradnji "Buk Bijele", misija je konstatovala da sporazum nema pravni status, a da je podjela vlasništva nad elektranom nepravedna, jer se "približno 80 odsto sliva i vodenog toka nalazi na teritoriji Crne Gore, a samo 20 odsto u BIH".
Eksperti naglašavaju da je, usvajanjem različitih pravnih akata, Crna Gora zaštitila cijeli kanjon Tare do spajanja sa Pivom, ali da je, uprkos tome, u Prostornom planu usvojenom 1997. godine, "određena mogućnost izgradnje hidroelektrane na sredini Tare".
Misija preporučuje da, prije razmatranja bilo kakvog plana izgradnja hidroelektrane vlast uzme u obzir lekcije iz "slučaja Plužina".
U izvještaju se navodi da je "Kanjon Tare jedan od glavnih izvora prihoda, posebno za siromašnije lokalne zajednice Žabljaka i Plužina, kao i Foče" i da bi to bilo dovedeno u pitanje potapanjem i promjenom toka rijeke. Iako se u ekološkoj studiji tvrdi da bi izgradnja brane i rad "Buk Bijele" obezbijedili dodatna radna mjesta, takve operacije može obavljati ograničeni broj osoblja zbog visokog tehnološkog nivoa i automatskog rukovanja i kontrole opreme. Stoga se ne očekuju pozitivni efekti koji bi nadoknadili gubitak radnih mjesta povezanih sa turizmom, poljoprivredom i šumarstvom, upozorava ekspertska misija. Veseljko Koprivica

[Mallorn Tree]

A beastly business: pets and divorce

The first rule of divorce is 'don't get mad, get everything' - and that now includes Fido and Felix. Sanjiv Bhattacharya meets the pampered pets caught up in bitter custody battles
24 March 2005

In a vet's office in Los Angeles, a wife sits with her divorce lawyer and her husband sits with his, waiting in opposite corners for a Pomeranian we'll call Lemons, the pet they bought when they were happily married. Today, now split, they're here to settle who gets Lemons. Her case is that she fed the dog, but he insists he walked it. As with almost everything in this marital meltdown, the dog is a bone of contention.
As the vet brings Lemons in, wife and husband spring to life, both calling and patting their knees. "Here girl! Come on Lemons!" The creature looks confused, and then bounds over to the wife. It's settled - Lemons apparently has a greater emotional bond with her. Such is the force of these calling contests that, in an out-of-court settlement two months later, she'll be awarded full custody. In return, she will compensate her ex with $1,200 (about £630).

ovde

[Mallorn Tree]

Breeding success for rare kakapo
By Kim Griggs
in Wellington, New Zealand


Down on a lonely island off the southern tip of New Zealand, three new kakapo have just been born.
These new chicks bring the total number of one of the world's rarest birds to 86.
The critically endangered kakapo - fat, green, musty-smelling nocturnal parrots, which cannot fly but which can climb trees - are confined to New Zealand's offshore islands.
Once, they roamed mainland New Zealand from sea level to the mountains.
Decimated by introduced predators, the kakapo population dwindled to just 51 in the mid-1990s, but an intensive conservation effort has boosted kakapo numbers in the past few years.

ovde

[Varvarin]

Extremes of Eel City

[Varvarin]

Japan loses commercial whaling vote
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Australia's hopes of proposing an early resolution criticizing Japan's announcement that it plans to double its annual scientific catch of minke whales from 440 to 850 were scrapped due to proceedings Australia saw as slow.
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Anti-whaling states say Japan exploits a loophole in the 19-year-old ban on commercial whaling to hunt the giant mammals in the guise of science, and that much of the whale meat ends up on store shelves and on the tables of gourmet restaurants.

Edited by Varvarin, 21 June 2005 - 21:52.

[Mallorn Tree]

New Lemur Species Named After John Cleese

"A new species of wooly lemur has been named in honour of John Cleese in recognition of his work to protect lemurs in general. According to the article, the lemurs don't walk, per se, but have known to do some very silly walks. Good show." From the article: "The avahi cleesei, which weights less than two pounds and eats leaves, was discovered in Western Madagascar in 1990 by a team led by anthropologist Urs Thalmann and his colleague Thomas Geissman of Zurich University."

click me

[Indy]

Australia's hopes of proposing an early resolution criticizing Japan's announcement that it plans to double its annual scientific catch of minke whales from 440 to 850 were scrapped due to proceedings Australia saw as slow.
.

Anti-whaling states say Japan exploits a loophole in the 19-year-old ban on commercial whaling to hunt the giant mammals in the guise of science, and that much of the whale meat ends up on store shelves and on the tables of gourmet restaurants.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Mnogo smesno zgrazanje Ozija nad kitolovcima, kad se ovde ojadise ubijajuci kengure...

Al' ajde, kitova kao ima manje.

[Indy]

New Lemur Species Named After John Cleese

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Ne bih mogao da zamislim nesto sto ce matorog Kliza vise obradovati. Toliko ih voli da mu nije smetalo jednom kad ga je murle ugrizao za prst kad je ovaj krenuo da ga mazi...

[Mallorn Tree]

Kakvo drushtvance