Nature Center Magazine

Sea Monster Found In New Zealand

2013-05-23T04:00:00.000-05:00

The dead body was found lying on Pukehina Beach of the Bay of Plenty on the North Island of New Zealand. It had a gigantic head with long sharp teeth. There were what looked like undeveloped flippers. The lower part of its body was mostly gone with only entrails left. Apparently the creature had been attacked by another creature. What was it?

A young woman taped the remains of the monster and posted on YouTube. Then she asked for help to identify it. Take a look at the video here.

There were a lot of creative ideas about what it might be. Maybe it was a baby Godzilla, a sea goat, Tremor's cousin, a dinosaur, a giraffe, or a mosasaur. My favorite is Chuck Norris's goldfish. Some thought it could be a dolphin, shark, or whale.

The video was viewed by a marine expert. He says it was a killer whale. He knows that whales often wash up on the beach in that area. He believes that the flipper is identical to that of a whale. It looks like it had died in the water and washed up after a period of time.

If someone had notified the proper authorities they could have done tests to positively identify it. The problem is that it washed back off the beach and out to sea. We'll never know for sure what it was.

So you've seen the video. What does it look like to you?

Under The Sea: Lost Lands

2013-05-20T04:00:00.000-05:00

Atlantis was the super advanced continent that was swallowed by the ocean leaving no traces and no survivors, according to myths. Scientists mostly agree that Atlantis, at least as an inhabited continent, was not real. But there are others. Lands that are no longer above sea level.

Pangea was a supercontinent that many scientists believe existed around 300 million years ago. This large land mass broke up and formed the seven continents we have today.

Other supercontinents like Kenorland, Columbia, and Rodinia may have been here before Pangea. Sizes and shapes are not certain.

Rodinia is believed to have formed about one billion years ago. When it broke apart Pangrea was the result.

From science classes in school we learned about tectonic plates and how their movement causes earthquakes. Earthquakes are a dramatic movement of the tectonic plates. The fact is that the plates move all the time. They are responsible for creating mountains too.

When tectonic movement caused Pangea to break apart into several continents there were other things that happened. Microcontinents were formed but they sank below the oceans.

Microcontinents are areas of land that break away from supercontinents and continents. Size is not necessarily a definition of a microcontinent because some are as large as continents. Usually a microcontinent is called that because it is submerged.

The Campbell Plateau is part of a large continental structure that also includes New Zealand. The size of the structure is similar to the size of Australia. Because most of it is beneath the water New Zealand is considered to be an island while Australia is a continent.

Microcontinents sometimes come together to form larger structures. Gondwana was a supercontinent. The northern African edge of Gondwana broke into pieces that resembled pieces of apple. Each of those pieces were microcontinents that moved north to become southern Europe.

Near the island of Mauritius off the coast of Africa scientists found evidence of a microcontinent. They are calling it Mauritia. The beaches of Mauritius have sand that contains fragments of zircon that are between 660 and two billion years old. Mauritius is nowhere close to being that old. The theory is that Mauritia was submerged when India broke away from Madagascar around 85 million years ago.

The continents of Asia and North America are separated by a thin strait. It is only about 150 feet deep. During ice ages or at other times when the sea levels are low the continents are actually connected by a land bridge called Beringia. It is widely accepted that people from Asia used the land of Beringea to cross into North America anywhere from 14,000 to 40,000 years ago.

A previously unknown landscape off the coast of Scotland was accidentally discovered by geologists who were examining ocean mapping data. It is buried beneath more than a mile of sediment. The estimated size is about 3861 square miles. It has furrows cut by rivers and peaks of what were once mountains. They think the land was elevated for a short time by geological processes about 55 million years ago. It was submerged again after about 2.5 million years.

Now scientists may have found a new continent submerged off the coast of Brazil. They have nicknamed it the Brazilian Atlantis. They do not believe that it is the legendary Atlantis. They do not believe that they will find lost cities. It just happens to be in the Atlantic Ocean. Perhaps it was a continent that was submerged when Africa and South America broke apart and formed the Atlantic Ocean about 100 million years ago.

I'd like to be Under the sea In an octopus' garden In the shade

The Beatles

Why Do Tigers Have Stripes?

2013-05-16T05:00:00.000-05:00

The huge tiger crept silently through the tall grass, watching its prey every step of the way. The tiger was ready to pounce at just the right moment. The other creature had no idea the tiger was there because it was hidden very well in all that tall grass.

Just a small example of how a tiger hunts. A tiger is like most cats; it makes it a habit of sneaking up on its prey before it goes in for the kill. It's pretty obvious that it knows the best way to do it. But what does that have to do with a tiger's stripes?

Well, it has everything to do with why a tiger has stripes. Hiding in that tall grass can only get a creature as large as a tiger so far. The tiger has to have something extra to help it sneak up on its prey. That's where the stripes come in.

When a tiger is standing or crouching in tall grass, its stripes go up and down, just like that tall grass. And the golden brown color of the grass is remarkably similar to the colors of the tiger. That gives the tiger a natural camouflage that makes it much easier to hide in the tall grass.

It was evolution that gave the tiger those stripes. The tiger that was able to hide the best was the one that got its prey. That tiger was able to survive. The other stripeless tigers were left by the wayside of evolution.

Those stripes run deep. They are not just in their fur color. A tiger's stripes are embedded deep into its skin. I wonder what it would look like without the fur. Forget that part. My mind drifted off for a few seconds there. It's still true though.

So anyway, we now know that the miracle of evolution gave the tigers stripes so they could hide better in the tall grass, and their prey would never know they were close until it was too late. Then the tiger's stripes enabled it to be fed so it was one tiger that didn't go hungry. I'd say that's a pretty good explanation of why tigers have stripes.

Nessie: The Evasive Loch Ness Monster

2013-05-13T03:00:00.000-05:00

A lot of lakes around the world claim to have a monster. Loch Ness in Scotland is the most famous of them all.

The monster has been nicknamed Nessie. By the way, the picture I chose to go along with this article has been proven to be a hoax. There has been a lot of made up proof for Nessie and there is also a lot that seem to be true.

The Loch Ness monster is a cryptid. which just means the existence of Nessie has not been proved. It is not a myth which has no basis in fact or a natural explanation.

Loch Ness is the second largest loch (lake) by volume in Scotland. It is a fresh water lake about 755 feet deep. It holds more fresh water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined. There is plenty of room for an animal to hide.

Scotland was invaded by the Romans in the 1st century A.D. There they found the people they called Picts. The Picts were fierce tattoo covered people who lived in tribes. There are still stones standing around Loch Ness that were carved by the Picts.

The Picts left recognizable pictures of all the animals of the land in their carvings. They were obviously fascinated by them. There is only one animal that is not familiar. It's a funny looking beast with a long muzzle, a spout or head locket, and flippers instead of feet. The carved stones around Loch Ness show that Nessie has been around for at least 1500 years.

In 565 A.D. St Columba saw a man in the Ness River being threatened by a huge beast in the water. The Ness River flows into Loch Ness. The holy man raised his hand, invoking the name of his god and commanding it "go back with all speed". St Columba chased the serpent, as he called it, away saving the man. St Columba saw the monster at least one more time that year.

A future BBC correspondent wrote a book in 1974 about the Loch Ness Monster. In his research he discovered quite a few references to large animals in Loch Ness. All from before the 20th century. Many were eyewitness accounts.

In 1933 a new road was built along the shore of Loch Ness to give a view from the north side. A local couple was driving on the road when they saw a huge animal rolling and plunging on the surface. The report written for the papers called the beast a monster for the first time. The name Loch Ness Monster stuck.

Again in 1933 a couple said they saw a creature answering the description of Nessie lumbering across the new road. People flocked to Loch Ness to get a look at the monster. The media went crazy and sent correspondents to watch for the beast. Radio programs were interrupted to bring the latest reports. A circus offered a big reward for the capture of the monster. Boy scouts and other outdoorsmen sat on the shore waiting for a look.

A man who worked as an actor, director, and was a big game hunter found footprints. He made plaster casts and sent them off for identification. Tourists went crazy. The prints turned out to be from a stuffed hippopotamus foot that had been used as an ashtray. Needless to say the scientific community wasn't in love with Nessie any more.

But there have been more than 4000 eyewitness reports of sightings since then. The descriptions of the monster vary slightly but they all agree there is something there. They are not all people you would consider to be crack-pots. There are professional people like lawyers and doctors. Priests, scientists, policemen, fishermen,and school teachers. Even a Nobel Prize winner. All sober upstanding members of their communities.

In the 1950's a doctor from Inverness, the nearest town to Loch Ness, published a book containing sketches drawn from descriptions given by eyewitnesses. She told how many of her friends had been ridiculed for saying they had seen Nessie. Because of her book an aeronautical engineer decided to devote his life to finding proof of the Loch Ness monster. He did manage to get some film of something moving across the loch.

That book inspired new interest by some scientists. They started to seriously investigate Loch Ness for signs that there is something unknown to science living in the loch. Early underwater sonar detected large moving objects that they couldn't identify. In 1987 they found 3 objects using military technology.

The 1970's produced more advanced technology. Using both sonar and underwater photography they got pictures of an object that looked like the flippers of an aquatic animal. That led to some proclaiming that Nessie is a plesiosaur. A plesiosaur is an ancient reptile believed to be extinct along with dinosaurs about 65 million years ago.

Zoologists still have not caught the Nessie bug the way some would like. Maybe if there was a specimen for them to study they would be more receptive.

In the meantime there have been more sightings. Ordinary people see the monster. There have been several sightings of underwater movement by what appears to be an animal by several research teams. Most of them were not looking for Nessie. One of these teams said that the object was the size of a small whale.

A final note on the Loch Ness Monster. The man who exposed the picture that is above is a believer in Nessie. He has said he would stake his life that Nessie is real. He has seen her and hopes to see her again someday.

This spring celebrates the 80th anniversary of the 1933 sightings. There are big plans around Loch Ness and in Inverness. Who know? Maybe this will be the time the Loch Ness Monster lets us finally get the proof we need.

BREAKING NEWS: I just read that a cruise line that gives tours in Loch Ness has insured it's ships against beastly disaster. It will be protected in the case of damage from Nessie.

Not Your Usual Flower

2013-05-09T03:00:00.000-05:00

I think spring has sprung! It is warm and sunny outside. There is a refreshing soft breeze. Birds and animals are out and about. The buds on the trees are turning into leaves. And I am beginning to think about flowers.

The yard of one of my favorites homes from childhood was full of larkspur instead of grass. There were lilacs, morning glorys, roses, marigolds, and violets. Four o'clocks and coxcomb grew along the edge of the sidewalk. That was the front yard.

My mother always planted a full flower garden and made beautiful fresh arrangements to brighten the house and fill it with the aromas of all the flowers. She had many and various kinds but her favorite was zinnias. They came in a wide variety of colors and sizes and filled her arrangements with so much color.

My father was partial to roses so we always had a few bushes around the house. Snapdragons were for kids. If you take a snapdragon and gently squeeze the sides of a blossom you can see the dragon's mouth open and close. It is a family tradition to teach the little ones the magic of the snapdragon.

I am longing for the fragrances and colors now. I try but my flowers never seem to flourish the way my mother's flowers did. I enjoy wandering around town looking at the gardens in all the yards. It is a special time of year.

I also enjoy the unusual. I began to wonder about unusual flowers. I am amazed at how many there are. Allow me to introduce you to a few of them.

Mimosa Pudica has a flower that looks like a wispy lavender dandelion with white beads at the end of the wisps. It is a sensitive flower. The slightest movement will cause it to collapse in upon itself. Not to worry... it does reopen. Of course to touch it will cause the collapse but even a bit of wind will do the trick.

The Hydhora Africana is found in the desert area of Southern Africa. It is a parasitic plant that lives almost entirely underground. The fleshy salmon colored flower looks like a snake rising up from the ground. It is a beautiful flower but smells a lot like feces. That attracts the dung beetles that are needed to pollinate the plant.

Black whiskers that can be as much as 28 inches long are the dominate characteristic of the Black Bat Flower. It has a delicate maroon-black blossom and looks like a bat. The diameter of the flower can be as large as one foot. It can grow to 36 inches high. It is native to Southeast Asia.

One of the most beautiful European ariods is the Dracunculus Vulgaris, also known as the Voodoo Lily. It has a black appendage that unfolds and grows to more than 4 feet tall. The rest of the flower looks like a magnificent red cape that becomes up to 3 feet high. This gorgeous bloom smells like rotten meat. It is also extremely poisonous.

Orchids are considered to be exotic beautiful flowers. They are popular for many romantic occasions. This is no accident. They are known as sexual deceptors. Orchid blooms mimic the shape and size and colors of local insects that they are trying to lure. They also emit female reproductive pheromones that draw the males to the plant. Pollination continues.

Atropa Belladonna is also known as Deadly Nightshade. It is native to Europe, Western Asia, and North America. It has a delicate purply-blue flower. All parts of the plant are poisonous. It has been used throughout history as medicine, poison, and a hallucinogen. They use it to make cosmetics.

A lovely flower with white petals that are embellished with purple spots is a native to Japan. The Toad Lily is one of the prettiest flowers I have seen. The flowers are usually about two and a half centimeters wide.

Strurt's Desert Pea has blood-red blooms with a bulbous black center. Central and Northwestern Australia is where they are found.

Tropical zones of Asia and Africa are where you can see Flame Lilies. They have breathtakingly beautiful blossoms of red or yellow or a combination of the two. They do actually look like flames.

Some call it the Clock Flower because it has dark "hands " in the center that look like the hands of a clock. The Passion Flower has about 500 different species. The passion in the name does not refer to love. Instead it refers to the Passion of Christ. These flowers are now found everywhere in the world except Antarctica.

The flowers of the Jade Vine are claw shaped flowers that hang from the vine in clusters. They are found in tropical rainforests of the Philippines. The color ranges from mint green to blue green. It is considered to be an endangered species.

The world is full of flowers of all kinds. I have mentioned a small few. The colors, shapes, and sizes vary. We have a myriad of uses for them, not all ornamental. Some are so fragrant that humans try to copy the odor for perfumes. Some smell so bad that we cannot wait to be away from them.

But spring is here and I am ready for flowers. I would like to hear from you about your favorite flowers or unusual flowers that you have seen.

Why Do Roses Have Thorns?

2013-05-06T03:00:00.000-05:00

Roses are some of the most beautiful and sought after flowers. You can quickly pick most kinds of flowers and take a big smell and feel good for a little while after. But if you try that with a rose you might just get a finger pricked with one of its thorns.

Maybe our first reaction is that it's such a shame that roses have thorns that could hurt us this way. Why do they have to do that? All we really wanted to do was pick them and love them and then watch them slowly die. Why would a such a beautiful rose take offense to that?

Okay, let's get serious. Why do roses really have thorns? Is there a big secret behind this, or is the answer so obvious it might just poke us right in the nose? Let's examine the answer to these questions just a bit.

Roses happen to be beautiful to look at, fragrant to smell, and sweet to taste. All of that would most likely attract all sorts of creatures great and small, right? Right! So, all of these differently sized creatures would obviously be going up to the roses and looking at them, smelling them, and tasting them. All of that would be pretty rough on the rose plant, wouldn't it? That's where the thorns come in.

Rose plants developed these thorns after awhile of this abuse so that these creatures would leave them alone. It was the only way the roses had to protect themselves from being destroyed. Without the thorns, the roses wouldn't last very long. So, you guessed it. The thorns on roses are a defense mechanism to keep them from being harmed.

Feral Children Raised By Animals

2013-05-02T03:00:00.001-05:00

Mowgli was raised in the jungle by wolves in stories by Rudyard Kipling. According to Disney, Mowgli was raised by many animals in the forest. Tarzan was raised by great apes in the stories by Edgar Rice Burroughs. Romulus and Remus of Roman mythology were left to die only to be rescued by a she-wolf who raised them as her own. They went on to found the city of Rome (after Romulus killed Remus during an argument, he named Rome after himself).

Now even though all of these characters are considered to be fiction they have a couple of things in common. They were without their parents as babies and they were raised by animals. This is the definition of feral children. Are there real feral children raised by animals? Let's see.

In the Ukraine an 8 year old girl was found living in a dog kennel with the dogs. This happened in 1991. Her parents put her there when she was 3. She was not able to speak but she could bark. She ran on all fours just like the dogs. She has been taught to speak but she is behind other humans mentally. She lives in a mental institution and tends cows at a farm near the institution.

In 1867 a 6 year old boy was found following wolves into their cave in India. He ran on all four limbs like the animals. The hunters who discovered him smoked them out of the cave and killed the wolf then captured the boy. He was placed in an orphanage where he acted like any wild animal. He tore off his clothes and only ate food from the ground. He finally learned to eat cooked meat but he never learned to speak. He was in his 30's when he died.

A minister in India came across two little girls who were part of a wolf pack along with a mother wolf and her cubs. He took the girls back to civilization to live in his orphanage. They were about 3 and 7 years old. Eventually the girls stopped searching for the wolves but they never mixed in with other kids. The little one died the following year from illness. The older one did learn a few words but never really communicated well. After another 7 years she succumbed to illness also. The minister often wondered if he had made a mistake by taking them from the wild.

A 4 year old boy in Uganda saw his father kill his mother. He ran into the forest. He was discovered in 1991 but he refused to be rescued by villagers, as is often the case with feral children. The villagers chased the monkeys away and took the boy back. He was taught to speak and sing. He eventually became a member of Pearl of Africa, a children's choir.

The year was 2008. A 5 year old girl was found in an apartment in Siberia. She had animal characteristics and barked at people. She had been abandoned by her parents and closed in that house with only cats and dogs for company. She couldn't speak but she understood human language. She preferred to lap her food from a plate rather than use utensils. She would jump up against the door when her human caretakers would leave the room.

Russian police alerted the public to watch for a "werewolf" boy in 2007. Just one day from being rescued from a wolf's lair made of leaves and twigs and in freezing temperatures he escaped from a clinic where they were trying to treat him. His behavior was wolf-like. He walked with bent legs and his toenails were long like claws. He didn't speak and apparently didn't understand speech. He looked like he was about 10 years old but tests suggested that he was probably older. Because of his fear and wild behavior authorities believed him to be dangerous. He was captured and is now about 37. He can communicate through sign language but he is still more wolf than man. They think his family might have been victims of political assassinations and he survived.

The wild boy of Aveyron was found in 1799 in a French forest He was about 11 years old. He was unable to talk and lived like a wild animal. He never learned to speak but was educated well enough to live under supervision until he died ate the age of 40. The doctor who worked with him developed many of the techniques used to educate physically and mentally disabled people. His methods were used as the foundation of the Montessori Schools.

In 2002 a 7 year old boy was found in the forests of Transylvania eating the carcass of a dog. He had lived in an abusive household. When he was 4 his mother left to escape the brutality and the boy ran away soon after. He lived in a cardboard box in the forest and at least on wild dog took care of him during the 3 years he was there. After his rescue he was shown on television and his mother saw and identified him. He was quick to re-enter the human race and they believe he will be satisfied at being human.

A 12 year old boy was found in the Andes Mountains of Peru in 1990. He was supposed to have been raised by goats for 8 years. He survived by drinking goat's milk and eating roots and berries. He usually walked on all fours. His hands and feet were scarred into a formation that acted like hooves. He could communicate with the goats but could not seem to learn human language.

When he was only 3 months old a Russian boy was abandoned by his parents. The family guard dog took care of him like he was a puppy. When he was found in 2004 he acted like a dog. He walked on all fours and bit people who came too close. He always sniffed his food before eating it.

A mother in Russia decided to conduct an experiment. Her whole apartment was filled with birdcages full of birds. She also fed wild birds at the windows. She had a son that she didn't beat and she fed him. But she never spoke to him. In 2008 he was 7 years old when discovered. He only communicated with the birds by chirping and flapping his arms like wings. The mother gave custody to the governement and he is being treated in a rehabilitation facility.

In 1946 a boy aged 10 to 14 years old was seen running with a herd of gazelles in the Syrian desert. It took an army jeep to catch him. because he could run at speeds of up to 50 MPH. He was extremely thin but very strong and fit. He was captured and tied at the hands and feet. They believed that he had been in the wild since he was a baby. He was institutionalized and tried to escape in 1955 but was recaptured.

A chimpanzee family in Nigeria raised a little boy who was found when he was about 2 years old in 1996. He was physically and mentally disabled and had probably been abandoned by his parents. When walking he walked on his legs dragging his arms on the ground like a chimp. At night he would jump around and throw and smash things. After 6 years he was calmer but still acted like a chimp. He died in 2005.

A woman who lives in England has written a book called " A Girl With No Name: The Incredible Story Of A Child Raised By Monkeys". She was born in Colombia. When she was 4 years old kidnappers botched their attempt and abandoned her in the jungle.

She stayed with the monkeys and copied their behavior. She ate nuts and berries that they left behind. She began to forget about her family and even her own name.

About 5 years later hunters captured her and sold her to a brothel for a parrot. She escaped and took to thievery in the streets before being taken in by a family who named her and raised her the rest of the way.

She is now 60 years old with a family of her own. Her children say that she still clambers quickly up trees and catches birds and rabbits with her hands.

It's a sad fact that many young children are abandoned or lost in wild places all over the world. Most of them die or are lunch for wild animals. Then there are the ones who are adopted into the animal families.

Why Do Lions Roar?

2013-04-29T03:00:00.000-05:00

A lion's roar is a familiar sound to most of us. We've heard it many times on television at some point or at our local zoo. It's a pretty loud sound, isn't it? Many of us giggle at the sound, or at least find it interesting and amusing. That's because we're lucky enough to be separated from the lion that made it.

Both male and female lions roar, but the male has a roar that can travel up to 5 miles. At least, that's how far away a human can hear it. it's unclear how far another lion can be to still hear the sound, but almost certainly lions can communicate with each other for well beyond that distance. Only lions that are part of a pride roar. Solitary lions stay relatively quiet. That may give us a clue.

Lions are very social animals, and they frequently need to communicate with each other. A nice loud roar can serve that purpose rather well. But what would they communicate with each other? The sound of a lion's roar can be like a quick phone call home.

A male lion may roar to let the other members of the pride know that all is well. The female lion's roar is usually different than the male's roar. They are much quieter than the large male lions. A female can call out for roaming or lost cubs, and she can give a roar to bring the other adult pride memebers back to help in case of danger.

So a lion's roar can be explained rather simplistically. It is used to communicate with the rest of the pride. It's like a quick status update or a call to come home.

Dancing Birds

2013-04-25T03:00:00.000-05:00

When I was a child we watched Mutual of Omaha's Wild Kingdom every Sunday. It was a program about life in the wild and hosted by Marlin Perkins.

Marlin Perkins was the narrator of the program. He did not go out amongst the animals like the Crocodile Hunter did. He did not have the overpowering personality of the Crocodile Hunter either but he had a wealth of information.

What we would see on Sundays was how the animal of that day behaved in its natural habitat. We would see where the animal lived and what conditions it needed to successfully survive. We could watch how the animal interacted with others like themselves. Mating rituals were almost always included although in the 1950's no actual mating was shown, of course.

I was always fascinated by the mating rituals of birds. Often a major part of the ritual was a dance of some sort. Some could be on the violent side but they were always full of beauty.

It was thought that birds only danced to attract a mate. Now researchers are finding that sometimes they dance just for the sheer joy of dancing.

Scientists realized that they were seeing young single birds running, leaping, bowing, spinning, tossing grass in that graceful way that they dance. But they were not trying to impress a bird of the opposite sex because there were none in the area to impress.

Cranes are the birds they have been studying. Cranes of all ages dance any time of the year. It takes very little to put them in the mood to dance. A gust of wind, a floating feather, or a rolling stick could be the trigger. Most often they are in a relaxed state.

So the conclusion is that they are playing. There are five criteria to determine play in an animal. 1) It is a repeated behavior, 2) It does not contribute to survival, 3) It is spontaneous and voluntary, 4) The animal is healthy, and 5) The animal is free from stress.

It has long been considered that play was only a practice of humans and a few birds but more and more animals a exhibiting this behavior. Perhaps all animals do it.

The next question is why do they play? Some researchers think it might be a form of evolutionary advancement. Others see it as a way for young animals to emulate adult animals and learn what they need to know when grown. It may also be a way for adults to keep their mates interested in the adult relationship.

Perhaps we can learn something from the birds.

Florida Is Being Slimed!

2013-04-22T03:00:00.001-05:00

Maybe they came by accident... like eggs on an orange peel that hatched later. Maybe somebody thought they were unusual and easy to catch so they thought they'd be a good pet. They may be used in some religious ceremonies. However it happened, Florida is being overrun by Giant African Land Snails.

In Miami-Dade they catch about 1,000 of these snails every week. Since they were first discovered in 2011 they have found approximately 117,000 Giant African land snails.

In 1966 they got a serious infestation when a little boy brought some home in his pocket to be pets. His grandmother found them and released them in her garden. In seven years there were more than 17,000 of them. It cost more than a million dollars and ten years to get rid of them then.

As you can see in the picture Giant African land snails are in fact giant. They can grow to be the size of rats. They are cute guys. They seem like they are looking at you and trying to communicate. That makes them all the more appealing to us.

The problems they cause are not so appealing. They eat more than 500 different kinds of plants. That means pretty much anything in their paths in Southern Florida. Their shells are so strong that if you run over one with your car it can give you a flat tire. If they are in the grass while you are mowing your lawn the shells become projectiles when they are hit by the blades of the mower. Not to mention the damage to the blades.

A lot of houses in Florida are made of stucco. These huge snails eat stucco because it contains calcium. Calcium is necessary for keeping a strong shell. And the snails are so big they are causing a lot of damage to houses.Their slime and excrement leave a slimy mess wherever they go.

On top of all that the Giant African land snails carry a parasitic rat lungworm that can infect humans. Illness, including a form of meningitis, is transmitted by these worms.

Each female lays about 12,000 eggs each year. After Florida's rainy season all these baby snails will come up from the ground to eat, damage, and lay more eggs. Florida's rainy season should be over in a little over a month.

There seem to be no natural enemies of this species of snail here. That often happens when a new species is introduced to a country.

So now authorities are trying to figure out the best way to get rid of these pests. Bait to lure them into captivity so they can be taken out of Florida is one suggestion.

Why / How Do Bees Make Honey?

2013-04-18T03:00:00.001-05:00

Honey is that deliciously sweet stuff that bees make, and we can buy in the stores in sometimes oddly shaped containers. I'm not sure of too many other products that animals make that we also use. Oh sure, you might say milk or eggs, but this is just a bit different. We're all pretty sure why those are made, but honey, while not a huge mystery, is a little more mysterious. What do we really know about bees and honey?

There are many things I didn't know. For instance, I always thought there were only two kinds of bees, the queen and the male drones. But there are also the worker bees, which are sexually undeveloped females. These worker bees are the ones that make the honey.

Worker bees start out by foraging nectar from flowers. So whenever you see a bee hovering around a flower, it's most likely one of the female worker bees. The nectar is the first step in making honey.

The bees actually collect this nectar in their mouths, where they mix it with an enzyme that they naturally secrete. Sounds yummy already, huh?

The bees then bring this combination of nectar and enzyme back to the hive, where they deposit it into the honeycomb, which is made up of hexagonal shaped cells. This is how they make the honey. But now we need to know why.

So, why do they do all this work? They surely don't do this so we humans can enjoy a nice gooey dollop of bee spit, do they? Well, no, it's obviously not quite as simple for us as that. Bees quite clearly do it for themselves, and not for us. But it isn't really a complicated reason at all either.

Before I just come right out and give you the answer, I need to explain a few things. You see, honey is full of nutrients and sugars. That combination gives a nice burst of energy to any who eat it, including the bees. Uh oh, I think I might have given away the secret already. But there's a little more to it.

The bees store this honey in the honeycomb for a very good reason. Honey is used as food for them in the colder months when there is no other food available for them. They are really making this honey as a way of planning ahead. It shows that bees are probably much smarter than many of us realize. They know that they won't have available food sources at some point in the future, so they go ahead and make and store honey for that anticipated time.

So worker bees make honey from a combination of flower nectar and a secreted enzyme that they then store in their honeycomb as food for the winter. A simple answer that deserved this bit of an explanation, don't you think?

Flat Francesca

2013-04-15T03:00:00.000-05:00

I just got the most marvelous idea from our dear friend Jean Pell at The Joy of Bird Watching. I hope you do not mind that I took it from you, Jean. It is a fun project.

Jean received a gift from her much loved granddaughter Francesca. In school Francesca drew a picture of herself. She colored it appropriately and sent it off to Grandma. Her name was Flat Francesca, a take-off of Flat Stanley, who has been around for a lot of years.

But let us begin at our beginning. Have each person (adults too) draw a picture of themselves on a piece of notebook paper. You can use lined or unlined... it will not matter much. Using crayons, or water color paints for the more artistic, clothe your drawing and color hair, eyes, etc. Name it. Mine would be Flat Emma.

Now comes the fun part. Take a nature walk, go on a picnic, or just find a pleasant place in the yard. Place Flat Whoever in a scenic spot and snap a picture.

Make sure you label each picture. If you take Flat Whoever with you often you will be amazed at the visual history you are making.

Flat Whoever can even take a side trip or two without you. Send your flat person to someone else and ask them to take Flat Whoever on an adventure with them. Perhaps you will even get some pictures from other countries.

Children will enjoy finding just the right spot for Flat Whoever to have a picture taken. Encourage their artistic senses, but make certain that they do not get into a dangerous situation. Poison ivy and angry animals come to mind.

I am going to start doing this. Perhaps a future article will show you some of the places Flat Emma is going to visit.

Jean posted some of the places Flat Francesca saw. The link is at the beginning of this article. It looks like she had a good time. I would love to know how your Flat Whoever does.

The correct answer to What Am I? is:AN EGG. Congratulations to all of you geniuses who were right.

What Am I?

2013-04-11T03:00:00.000-05:00

Put on your thinking caps. It is time for a pop quiz. I will give you some clues. You can see how many clues it takes before you can guess what I am... if you can guess what I am. See if you can be the first to leave the correct guess in the comments section.

As always the correct answer will be included in my next article. There is no prize other than the satisfaction of knowing how intelligent you are. Good luck.

01. I come in various colors but my contents are the same.

02. I am often associated with birds, but many other living things have me too.

03. Many people think of me early in the morning but I am good all day long.

04. My outer surface has as many as 17,000 pores. I take in air and odors through these pores and at the same time I release moisture.

05. I age more in one day at room temperature than I do in a week if I am kept cool.

06. Candlers measure the size of the air cell inside me. The smaller the air cell, the higher my grade.

07. If I am fresh I will float in water.

08. If I am raw I will wobble when you spin me.

09. A large one of me has only about 70 calories. I contain 6 grams of high quality protein. I contain large amounts of vitamins and minerals. If you are concerned about your cholesterol levels, one of me each day is not a bad thing as long as you watch your intake from other sources.

10. White chickens with white earlobes will lay white ones of me. Other colors come from hens with other characteristics.

What Am I?

Newest Tarantula

2013-04-08T03:00:00.000-05:00

Sri Lanka seems to be the place for discovering new species of animals. The latest announcement is that a new species of Tarantula has been found.

Tarantulas are a poisonous breed of spider. They inject poison into their prey which incapacitates the prey so the spider can move in and feed. Occasionally the bite is a defense mechanism but not often.

As far as I know the tarantula is the only spider to have a dance associated with them. The tarantella is a frenetic dance believed to have originated in Italy.

The tarantula bite was considered to cause a hysterical condition called tarantism. That made the people afflicted dance this rhythmic dance to counter the effects of the venom.

There is no recorded death attributed to tarantula venom although infections and side effects have caused people to die. The Tarantella often caused problems because of the exhaustion of the dance.

Even though a tarantula bite will probably not be lethal to you it can be extremely painful. Sometimes the pain and itching will last for several days.

Researchers were doing an arachnid survey in Sri Lanka. A man came to them with a dead tarantula that was different from other spiders he had seen. The researchers thought it was different too.

Without a live specimen the man's spider was of little use. It could be a different species or it could be some sort of mutation. Without live spiders and more of them nothing more than a written description was useful.

Because of the recent civil war in Sri Lanka the group of researchers needed a police inspector to go with them as they looked through the forest for spiders. They found enough spiders to identify them as a potentially new species. As a matter of fact they named it after the officer to thank him for his service.

These spiders are about the size of your face. Their leg span is about 8 inches. They are related to the Goliath bird-eaters, a species of tarantula native to South America.

This new species is very colorful, very fast, and very venomous. They are an arboreal spider which means they live in trees. They prefer old established trees.

Because so many trees are being cut down to make room for humans some of the spiders have moved into buildings as well. Some of these spiders were found living in the old doctors' quarters of a hospital.

The most interesting news from this arachnid survey is that there may be more news to come. The head of the survey says that more new tarantulas may be announced in the near future.

Legend Of the Banshee

2013-04-04T03:00:00.000-05:00

Late at night you hear an unearthly wail. It sounds like a cross between a wolf in pain, an owl, a strong wind, a heartbroken woman, a woman in labor, wild geese, and an abandoned child. It is the mournful cry of the Banshee.

In the very early days of Ireland the Tuatha De Danann were the inhabitants. When invaders made it clear that this race would be destroyed, the Tuatha De Danann went underground. They lived in mounds that are now called Sidhe. Sidhe is pronounced as shee.

Sidhe is also used as a name for fairy. The fairies are said to have come from the Tuatha Da Danann.

Bean is pronounced as Ban. It means woman. So a Banshee is a woman fairy. But she is not just any fairy. She has a specific function. She announces the death of a family member and mourns the death.

There is another fairy that is usually associated with Scotland called the bean-nighe. or bean-sith. Her name means washer woman. She is found washing bloody clothes, armor, and even body parts belonging to the soon-to-be deceased.

Because people are born of woman, the Irish believe that it is only fitting that a woman accompany them to their place in the afterlife. As seen by the name a banshee is always female.

It is thought that the banshee might have originally been a member of the family she cries for. She will have only one family and she is extremely loyal to that family. She has even followed them when they emigrated to other parts of the world.

The banshee might have been a member of the family who died in childbirth. Because of her sorrow she wanders the Earth in constant mourning.

It is also considered that she was once a woman who was paid to mourn at the funeral of an important person. She would caoineadh (keen) long and loud to usher the deceased out of this world. These keeners often bonded with the family and stayed on with them after death.

The eyes of the banshee are deep red. It is from the constant crying and mourning of the dead.

Originally the banshee only wailed for a family of the six families who were considered to be the most prominent Irish clans. Down through the years there has been a lot of intermarrying among the families so you might hear her even if you aren't sure of the family she mourns.

The appearance of the banshee varies depending on the telling. She might be young and lovely, mature and handsome, or old and haggish. Those three descriptions coincide with the three aspects of Mother Nature.

She is dressed in the costume of a young peasant girl of ancient times. There may be a bit of color in her clothing. She may be dressed in white or off white, similar to a shroud. Or she might be dressed in black or gray. Often she has a green dress with a black cape over it.

Her hair is most interesting. The color may be gray, white, black, or red. It is very long and floats around her as if she were floating in water. Apparently it is her one vanity.

A Banshee can often be seen combing her hair with a silver comb. If you see a comb when you are out do not pick it up, especially if it is silver. That will give the banshee the right to whisk you away then and there.

Remember the cry of the banshee is meant to alert the family to an impending death. She does not kill them. She simply waits for the person to die. She mourns before and after the death. Often she will mix in with the mourners at the funeral. Then she escorts the person to the proper place in the afterlife. If more than one banshee howls a person of great impotance has died.

She is accompanied by a coach-a-bower (coiste-bodhar). It is a huge black coach with a coffin on top. It is drawn by headless horses and driven by a Dullahan (headless rider).

Hve you heard the cry of the banshee? What a tale that would be..

Mysterious African Fairy Circles

2013-04-01T03:00:00.000-05:00

In western Africa it is not unusual to see little circles of bare patches of soil in the landscape. Many of the locals think they are the remains of a night of hearty partying left by fairies.

Everybody knows that fairies like to form a circle to dance the night away. When morning comes the fairies go back to their underground hideaways and wait for the next chance to come out to party.

There are a lot of folks who say there is no such thing as fairies. They spend a lot of time trying to prove that the circles have a natural cause.

It has been said that they are the product of toxins from poisonous plants. Or maybe it is a way for the vegetation in the area to organize itself like found in vegetation patterns in other parts of the world. Could they be caused by ant colonies breeding plant eating ants?

Now comes a new theory. It's termites!

One ecologist identified the various insects living in or near the fairy circles. The heaviest population seemed to be an African termite. As a matter of fact the termites were also found to frequently burrow beneath the circles.

When the ecologist compares the soil in the circles he found that the soil was richer and moister than the surrounding soil. Even after months in the desert area being without rain there the soil in the circles still were "water rich".

The idea is that termites feed on the roots of grass seedlings. Then rain water collects beneath the surface. The water gives the moisture for plants to grow around the edge of the circle.

Termites and other insects eat the plants.Other animals eat the insects. It keeps the cycle of life alive and well in the desert.

Other researchers don't necessarily agree. Just because the termites are there doesn't mean that they are the cause. Maybe they are just taking advantage of a good thing.

Some say that termites are actually rare at the fairy circles. One has even hinted that the studies might have been "helped" along by outside forces.

So what do you think? Fairies? Termites? Something else? I kind of like the idea of fairies, myself.

You Gotta Eat Your Spinach, Baby

2013-03-28T03:00:00.000-05:00

Bluto has kidnapped Olive Oyl again. Popeye pulls out his trusty can of spinach, squeezes it until it opens, and downs the spinach. His muscles pop and swell. He grabs Bluto and beats him a bit, then with one powerful blow Bluto flies into oblivion. Olive Oyl loves Popeye again and all is right with the world.

The Popeye cartoons have made spinach a popular vegetable. In fact, Crystal City, Texas, erected a statue of Popeye in 1937. Spinach is grown in Crystal City. They say that Popeye helped increase the consumption of spinach by 33% during the Depression.

In the 1930's people believed that the power of spinach was its iron content. Spinach is a good source of iron in a vegetable. One cup of cooked spinach has more than 36% of your recommended daily requirement, but the content is not as high as originally thought. The scientist who measured for iron placed the decimal point in the wrong place. He made the iron content 10 times what it actually is.

Spinach has more than 11 times the requirement of Vitamin K and almost 4 times the requirement of Vitamin A. Percentages of other nutrients are: manganese, 84; folate, 65.7; magnesium, 39.1; iron, 35.7; Vitamin C, 2934; Vitamin B2, 24.7; calcium, 24.4; potassium, 23.9, Vitamin B6, 22; tryptophan, 21.8; Vitamin E, 18.7; fiber, 17.2; copper, 15.5; Vitamin B1, 11.3; protein, 10.7; phosphorus, 10; zinc, 9.1; choline, 8.3; omega-3 fats, 7; Vitamin B3, 4.4; selenium, 3.8; and a mere 41 calories. No wonder they call it a power food.

Keep in mind that spinach contains oxalates. These are organic acids that inhibit your body from absorbing some of the nutrients in foods. As always consult your doctor if you might have adverse affects from spinach. Some of the concerns are kidney stones, gout, and gall stones. Do not use spinach to treat a medical condition without checking with your physician first.

Pesticides cling to spinach leaves. It is very difficult to wash off so make sure that you get them clean before using. Growing your own is best because you will not have to use the pesticides.

Persia (now Iran) was where spinach originally came from. Traders took it to India and it
was then taken to China. Eventually it was popularized in Europe. Catherine de'Medici was especially fond of spinach. Now it is found all over the world.

Glycoglycerolipids are molecules used in the process of photosynthesis in plants. Lab research has shown that they can help protect the lining of the digestive tract from damage, especially inflammation.

Research shows that of the green leafy vegetables, only spinach showed significant protection against the occurrence of aggressive prostate cancer.

There are at least 13 different flavonoid compunds in spinach. These are antioxidants and anti-cancer agents. Studies show that they slow down cell division in stomach cancer cells. Reduction of skin cancer cells is another benefit. Consumption of spinach coincides with fewer incidents of breast cancer.

Spinach is low in saturated fat and cholesterol.

The fibers, proteins, and body building compounds in spinach are what gave Popeye his big, strong arms.

Oxidative stress is a contributor to several blood vessel related problems. The antioxidants and peptides in spinach help decrease the risk of such problems as atherosclerosis, osteoporosis, and high blood pressure.

Spinach is likely to aid in prevention of eye problems like age related macular degeneration and cataracts.

Folates, also known as folic acid make spinach a good food for pregnant women. It is good for preventing neurological defects in the baby.

Spinach helps prevent the activation of osteoclasts. They are the cells that break down bone. And bacteria in the intestines convert Vitamin K1 into Vitamin K2 which activates a major non-collagen protein in bone. Spinach assists in the strength and density of bones. Added to the calcium and magnesium in spinach to make it an excellent food for healthy bones.

Spinach helps regulate inflammation. Asthma, osteoarthritis, and rheumatoid arthritis are inflammatory conditions.

With it being so full of nutrients, spinach is great for dieters. It is plentiful, inexpensive, and filling. One cup of cooked spinach contains only 41 calories. It can be eaten raw, cooked, or mixed with other foods.

Spinach protects "entry points" into the body. Mucous membranes, respiratory, urinary, and intestinal tracts are also more able to fight infection because white blood cells are stronger.

DNA damage and mutations in colon cells may be prevented. Spinach does protect the colon from the harmful effects of free radicals.

Consumption of green leafy vegetables like spinach may slow age related decline in brain function.

Spinach promotes healthy skin. It helps allow for proper moisture retention in the epidermis. It fights psoriasis, keratinization, acne, and wrinkles.

A protein is spinach directly prevents calcium from forming in tissue. This fights cardiovascular disease and stroke.

The brain and nervous system benefit from spinach. It provides an essential part for the synthesis of sphingolipids. Sphingolipids is a crucial fat that makes up the Myelin sheath around our nerves.

The magnesium in spinach helps prevent diabetes.

Spinach can help ease insomnia.

It can help your hair look smoother and shinier.

Spinach is a mild diuretic and a mild laxative. Regular consumption of spinach can help regulate your elimination system.

It can help eliminate intestinal parasites.

Because it is nutritive, tonifying, mineralizing, calming for the nervous system and also a good coagulant, spinach benefits growth.

Medieval artists extracted the green pigment from spinach to color ink or paint.

Spinach promotes blood coagulation.

Fresh spinach can be eaten in the same ways as you might use lettuce. Salad is a favorite for many people. A leaf or two on your sandwich is good. Shred it and use it in tacos. In southern US people make wilted spinach salad by pouring hot bacon grease on spinach. It is quite good.

Cooked spinach actually enhances some of the benefits of spinach while raw spinach fills other needs. Mix them up for maximum effect.

To cook spinach use a non-aluminum based pan. Steam the leaves with no more than the water left on them after washing. Do not wash spinach until you are ready to use it in order to keep the nutrients from breaking down as quickly. A little salt, butter, and pepper (if you like) is all you need for seasoning. However you can squeeze a bit of lemon juice on it for a variation of flavor.

Spinach is good in soups and stews. Shred it to use in pasta dishes. It adds extra flavor to lasagna. Spinach ravioli is a favorite of mine.

You can even drink spinach. Shredded leaves in hot water make a good tea. Add spinach to vegetable juices and smoothies.

Have you a favorite recipe or use for spinach? If so, please share it with us.It is in the interest of health after all.

Tales From The Everyday Adventurer: Down A Dark Path

2013-03-25T03:00:00.000-05:00

Today we'll visit a tale from one of my earliest adventures. This story is a little bit fiction and a little bit reality. It's always fun to mix both together to make a fun little story. I hope you like it...

As I stepped off the bridge, I knew this place was like another world. Back from where I came, it was a bright and sunny day. Here, it was as if night had fallen. Right then, I missed the sound of the singing birds.

There were birds here, but the sounds that came from these were strange and unpleasant. The green grass was now gone, and I was left with a dark, damp, dirt path. The warmth in the air was gone here, and I could smell the damp earth and the decay of the dead plants.

Ahead of me was an old rotted tree trunk lying across the path to block the way. It was like an eerie omen of things to come, and a warning not to go on. I thought to myself, "I'm the Everyday Adventurer, why should I turn back now?"

Suddenly, out of the quiet darkness came what sounded like a giant cricket. I stopped to listen, and realized it was just another strange bird high in the trees. After identifying the weird sound, I moved forward and stepped over the fallen tree and began to head down this dark path.

Hey you! Yes you, reading this. If you want to find out what happened next, find this path for yourself. You'll find something on it you've never seen before. It's definitely an interesting experience. But before you go, make a comment about what you've read here. Let me know your thoughts.

Road Trip

2013-03-21T03:00:00.000-05:00

One of my fondest childhood memories is Sunday drives. My parents had a Buick convertible. It was one of those big old cars built like a tank. By that I mean it was solid and had lots of room. That was a good thing because even though not all my siblings had been born yet, we had a sizable family of five children and two adults.

We would rush home from church on Sunday to have a marvelous Sunday dinner. My mother was a wonderful cook, even if she did like pork roast or fried chicken more than I did at the time.

Then after dinner my father would finally say we could go for a ride. If the weather was nice the top of the convertible would come down.

We lived in a very small town. Everybody knew everybody. Our Sunday drives were so much fun that as many of the other kids in town who could get away from their families for a few hours would race to our house after they had Sunday dinner. Daddy took as many of them as he could.

So off we would go. As I look back it seems to me that we must have looked like those old cartoons where the vehicle would be so full that people would be spilling over the edges and sometimes falling off, only to run and be pulled back in. We never dropped a child though.

My father would take a new route every time. We would ride through the country using old rural roads. All along the way my parents would point to things of interest like a squirrel jumping from tree to tree or a cow staring at us while chewing her cud.

Some of the roads were lined with trees and could be so cool on a hot summer day. Some wound through farmlands and we saw all the farm animals and the crops in varying stages of growth. Perhaps we would drive by a small roadside stream that would gurgle along in the ditch. Maybe we would see an especially striking scene, one of those that takes your breath away.

We never got out of the car... packing us back in would have been too difficult. Sometimes we would pull to the side of the road if we saw something that we wanted to look at for a longer while but mostly we just drove.

Those Sunday drives meant so much to all of us. We were together, enjoying each other. We learned about the joy of observing nature, although the occasional skunk smell was not pleasant. We learned to share the joy with our friends.

You would think that a car full of that many children would be noisy and that there would be a lot of horseplay. Not the case. Everyone was looking for the next interesting sight. Scarecrows, weather vanes, buildings, and unusually shaped trees. It was all part of the experience.

I realize that gasoline costs more now than it did then but my father made a lot less money than people do now. A few dollars was a small price to pay for the joy and closeness we had as a family.

This is an activity you can do any time with your family. Winter, spring, summer, and fall all have sights to offer. Tracks in the snow on the road, flowers coming alive by the side of the road, crops growing and ready for harvest, and the colors of the leaves as the trees prepare for winter. You might get lucky and a spot wild animal.

Do you live in the city with no country roads nearby? There are parks and preserves in every city. A car is not necessary. Take a Sunday walk. You can experience the same things. Even a walk around your neighborhood yields sights, sounds, and smells to share with your family.

After enjoying all the things of nature with the children, you will go back home. The children will be both exhilarated and relaxed. Little ones will go to sleep. Older ones will either rest or find something to do elsewhere. Everyone is content and quiet.

Animal Heroes Save Humans

2013-03-18T03:00:00.000-05:00

The temperature in Poland had dropped to 23 degrees. A little 3-year-old girl was lost in the marsh, cold, alone, and scared. Well, she wasn't quite alone. A small dog stayed with her the whole night snuggling up to help keep her warm. The girl suffered from frostbite but without that little dog, she would probably not have survived.

From way back through the centuries there are stories of animals saving and nurturing people. They have rescued and raised lost babies and put themselves in danger to keep humans from being harmed.

Animals are trained to sniff out danger like bombs so people would be safer. They are trained to alert somebody when their owners have a health crisis. Seeing eye dogs are a lifeline for the blind. We've all heard stories about animals in nursing homes and hospitals giving people in those places a new lease on life because they have something to love and love them back. Heroes every one of them. Here are a few more.

A pot bellied pig who was the pet of a young woman was home with the young woman's mother. The mother had a heart attack and was not able to get help. The pig cried for a short time then ran out of the house and managed to unlatch the gate. She went into the street and laid down when a car came. It didn't stop so she jumped up and went back to check on the woman. She repeated this tactic many times until finally somebody stopped and followed her into the house, saving the woman's life.

In Kenya authorities were looking for a 12-year-old girl who had disappeared. She had been kidnapped by several men. They tried to force her to marry one of them. After a week of searching, she was finally found surrounded by 3 lions. They had heard her crying. They chased the men away and kept her safe. When police got there they roared mightily and walked away to let them take the girl home.

One family had a cat they weren't particularly fond of. At 4:45 one morning the cat started loudly crying. The mother of the family went to shut her up. The cat was in the attached garage and the garage was on fire. The woman grabbed the cat and woke her husband and 5 kids. All escaped safely. Needless to say the cat is now a family favorite.

In Canada a 14-year-old boy went out to get wood to heat the house. He noticed his dog acting funny but he had work to do. Suddenly from less than 10 feet away a cougar pounced. The dog jumped directly into the path of the cougar and saved the boy. Luckily a police constable was there in time to kill the cougar saving the dog's life. After extensive surgery the dog is home with his family.

A woman had been extremely mistreated as a child. When she grew up she began taking care of horses. One of them had been abused by people at a boarding stable and attacked by dogs there. Its legs were scarred from the attack. The two formed a bond. The horse saved the woman from many mishaps including avoiding a car accident. One night the woman woke to the sound of the horses. She ran out without dressing properly and discovered the fence had been knocked down. She raced to her horses and found a neighbor's stallion there. The stallion saw her too. It charged towards her. Her horse jumped between them. As all three slowly circled her horse bit, reared, and bumped until the rest of the woman's family came out and out an end to the situation.

A woman was relaxing at home. She was munching on an apple when she began to choke. She couldn't dislodge the piece of apple even when she started beating on her chest. The family dog took his cue and started jumping onto her chest. The piece of apple broke loose and she began to breathe. Then the dog licked her face to make sure she didn't lose consciousness.

At about 2:00 on a cold morning in Montana a kitten jumped onto a sleeping woman's chest and started to tap her on the nose with her paw. She shoved her away and went back to sleep. She did it again. The woman woke up and saw that the kitten was sniffing the air in a strange way. The woman's husband was awakened and they heard a hissing sound. They got out of the house. A main gas line had broken and filled their basement with gas. If the furnace had kicked on the house would have exploded. The kitten won a Purple Paw award.

A volunteer at the Marine Mammal Care Center at Fort McArthur slipped on wet cement and fell into the water tank. Three elephant seal pups immediately started toward him. These pups all weighed at least 150 pounds. A female pup inserted herself between the man and the male pups and successfully chased them away.

A farmer was doing daily chores when he was knocked into a manure pile, breaking his hip. He couldn't move and nobody was close enough to hear his calls for help. His goat stayed close to him for 5 days to keep him warm. She even let him have some of her milk to keep him fed.

At a zoo in Illinois a 3-year-old boy fell 18 feet into the enclosure that housed the gorillas. He hit his head and was unconscious. A mother gorilla with a young one of her own picked him up and cradled him. She carried him to the door of the enclosure and laid him there so rescuers could get him.

Off the coast of Italy a 14-year-old boy fell from his father's boat. The boy couldn't swim and his father didn't realize that he was in the water. A dolphin came swimming up. The boy grabbed on to the dolphin and held on while it swam close enough to the boat to catch the attention of the father who hauled the boy back aboard.

A 15-year-old German Shorthaired dog was out for an afternoon walk with his owner. Normally when they came to a certain point in their path they turned left but that day the dog insisted that they turn right. The owner was surprised because the dog was well trained and would usually follow the lead. So they went right. Just off the trail was an old man lying frozen to the ground. The man thought he was dead but he wasn't. They were able to get get help and the old man was transported to the hospital. Unfortunately he died a few days later but the man feels that his dog made sure that the old man's last days were more comfortable than he would have been on the road.

A stray dog in Kenya found a plastic bag in the forest. Inside the bag was a newborn baby. The dog carried the bag out of the forest, across a road, through barbed wire, and back to a shed where she stayed with her puppies. The owner of the shed found the baby and called authorities. The baby was taken to the hospital where it was doing very well.

A 1-year-old boy was visiting his grandparents in Colorado. He was outside splashing in the bird bath when a rattlesnake slithered up and struck. The grandparents' Chihuahua jumped between and took the snakebites. Both toddler and dog survived.

A fire erupted in a house in Alaska. The two people and their German shepherd got out safely. The dog's owner told him "We have to get help!" The dog took off and found a police car that was lost on the roads as they were trying to get to the fire. They followed the dog who led them directly to the site. Just to make sure they were following him, the dog periodically looked back over his shoulder to make sure they were there.

A young woman broke her neck in a diving accident while she was home alone. Her family's dog came to her rescue. As the woman felt herself losing consciousness the dog dove in the pool and swam up under her shoulder. The dog took her to the shallow end of the pool then helped her get out. The girl's mother came home and called emergency services.

A man in Arkansas answered his doorbell. Two men started beating him and demanded drugs. The man's pet macaw attacked them. The bird squawked, bit a chunk out of one man's arm, and beat at them with it's wings. The thieves ran off and the man and bird were relatively unharmed.

As you can see our kinship with animals often reaches beyond the food chain. Animals that we normally think of as something to be feared become allies. Animals that we believe to be dependent on us take care of us instead. I don't advocate running to Africa to make friends with a lion but you never know where help will come from.

Kiss The Blarney Stone To Get The Gift Of Gab

2013-03-14T03:00:00.000-05:00

Do you want to be able to hold your own in any conversation? Would you like to insult a person and have them think you are hilarious? Do you wish you could be devastatingly charming to the opposite sex? If you kiss the Blarney Stone these things and many more could be true.

There is a stone there, that whoever kisses,

Oh! He never misses to grow eloquent:

'Tis he may clamber to a lady's chamber,

Or become a member of Parliament.

Francis Sylvester Mahony, Irish bard of

the early nineteenth century

Blarney Castle is located on the southern coast if Ireland near the city of Cork. It was originally a wooden hunting lodge built in the 10th century. Through the years it was enlarged and rebuilt using stone instead of wood.

The name of the castle comes from Dermot McCarthy, King of Munster and Lord of Blarney. Blarney comes from a Gaelic word that means "the plain".

Today much of the castle is in disrepair but the 85 foot high watch tower is kept up for tourists. It is a crumbling limestone structure. Inside is a chapel, kitchen, banquet hall, and other rooms.

At the top of the keep you can look over the castle grounds. You will see forests, a stream, and a garden called the Rock Close. The Rock Close is believed to have been used by the Druids for worship. Landmarks in the Rock Close include the Fairy Glen and the Wishing Steps. The Witch's Kitchen is a fireplace built beneath the roots of a huge tree. The Druidic Circle is a circle of boulders covered with moss that were believed to be the site of religious sacrifices. But you will not see the Blarney Stone in any of these places.

In 1446 The Blarney Stone was set into the tower of the castle. When it was set it was placed so no man could ever touch it.

In those times English monarchs desired to completely rule Ireland. Queen Elizabeth I sent one of her deputies to Cormac MacDermot MacCarthy, Lord of Blarney. She wanted him to cede the rights of his land to the Queen. Cormac was to appear before the Queen to do so but he intended to ask for the rights to the land that belonged to his family. Unfortunately Cormac was not a good speaker and he worried that he would not be able to successfuly argue fo his land.

On his way Cormac met an old woman. She wanted to know why he looked so unhappy. When he told her he was on his way to plead with the Queen to allow him to retain his land she told him about the stone.

When Blarney Castle was built one stone was put into place by a man who said no one would ever be able to touch it again. She told him that if he could kiss that stone he would receive the gift of eloquence.

Cormac rushed back to his castle. He found the stone that no one could touch and kissed it. Then when he met with the Queen. His speech was so soft and his words so fair that he never had to renounce the rights to his land as long as he lived.

Queen Elizabeth I is credited with calling the gift of gab as Blarney. She grew aggravated with Cormac MacCarthy's double talk when he was arguing for his land. After that time whenever she encountered anyone who was trying to use words in a creative way she would say it was "a load of Blarney".

If you cannot touch the Blarney Stone how can you kiss it to get your gift of blarney? You must go to Blarney Castle, climb 127 steps to the top, and go to far side of the battlements. You will lie on your back and stretch backward and down until you can stretch across to kiss the Blarney Stone.

For safety they have installed rails to hold to keep you from falling to an almost certain death. It is also a good idea to have someone hold tight to you just to have additional safety. If you can kiss the Blarney Stone you too will have the gift of Blarney.

Erin Go Bragh (Ireland Forever)

Beannachti Na Feile Padraig Oraibh ( St Patrick's Day Blessing Upon You)

Slainte (Good Health)

Hula Valley, Israel

2013-03-11T03:00:00.000-05:00

After World War II it was decided by the Allies to restore Israel to the Jews. In 1948 The State of Israel was established.

Israel is a small country with diverse geological areas. In 1948 the Hula Valley consisted of a lake and swamps. Water and melted snow ran off the mountains into the valley carrying eroded soil with the water. Water fed in from the Jordan River and numerous springs.

The climate is a Mediterranean climate. It has hot dry summers and cool rainy winters. Rainfall varies depending on the section of the valley from very little yearly rainfall to about 59 inches per year. In the winter there are occasional strong north-easterly winds storms.

Lake Hula is the oldest known lake recorded in history. It is mentioned in 14th century B.C. letters of Pharoah Amenhotep IV. It was called Samchuna then.

Remains found near the Bnot Yaakov (Daughters of Jacob) bridge show that the Hula Valley has been home to people at least from the Paleolithic period. The first permanent settlement was about 9000 to 10000 years ago.

Hula Valley was a main stopping point on the trade route that connected Damascus with Egypt and the Mediterranean coast. The Israelites eventually controlled the valley until Assyrian armies drove them away. Other settlers were from Hellenistic, Roman, Byzantine and early Arab periods. So people have been pretty much continuously living there forever.

Traditional crops were rice, cotton, sugar cane, sorghum, and maize. Water buffalo were brought in to supply milk and to help with the heavy work. Wild animals, birds, and insects abounded. Wild boars, panthers, otters, leopards, gazelles, bears, hyenas, wolves, jackals, and foxes were some of the animals made for good hunting.

Bedouins lived there in the 19th century. They made handicrafts from the dry reeds around the marsh. But people were dying from malaria.

A traveler from Scotland drew the first modern maps of Hula Valley. He also made notes that included his opinion that the entire area of swamps and lake could be drained in one year with a proper drainage ditch. This was in the 1860's.

In the late 1800's the Ghawarna tried to drain the swamps by digging drainage canals and enlarging the outlet of the lake. Then the Turkish administration of the area planned to drain the swamps so. they would have more land for agriculture. There were several failures and the right to drain the area was sold to Syrian merchants who eventually sold those rights to the British Palestine Development Company in 1934. In 1936 World War II caused political and economic problems.

Then the State of Israel was established. The Hula draining project was undertaken. It was felt that they would be adding land suitable for farming as well as getting rid of the mosquitoes that caused malaria. They could use the peat as fertilizer and in manufacturing.

The Jewish National Fund was the agency responsible for land development. They began the draining project in 1951. It was finished in 1958. Tourists were restricted because it was such a large undertaking and it seemed everyone wanted to watch.

At the same time scientists and naturalists were concerned that the project was upsetting the ecological balance. So a small area of papyrus swampland was left untouched. It became Israel's first nature preserve called Hula Valley Park.

Cities and farms prospered in Hula Valley but much of the plant and animal life indigenous to the area was gone.The peat soil was too dry. Microbes decomposed the vegetation. It caused underground fires. Dangerous caverns were formed in the peat. Peat soil turned into dry black dust that was blown in windstorms to damage crops. Field mice multiplied and did serious damage to crops. Farmers began to leave because they were not getting good crop yield. Maybe something needed to be done.

Mother Nature stepped in. In the early 1990's heavy rains flooded a portion of the Hula Valley. The Israel government decided a compromise was in order. They left that part of the valley flooded and continued to develop the rest.

They now have a beautiful nature preserve. Animal life and plant life are flourishing. It has become a haven for tourists, especially birders.

The return of common cranes is one of the benefits. Common cranes coming from Asia and Europe make a layover in Hula Valley on their way to Africa. More than 300 species of birds to be seen at various times. White pelicans, ducks, waders, passerines, pallid harriers, long-legged buzzards, greater spotted eagles, and eastern imperial eagles are just a few that can be spotted. Black-winged kites are a big attraction.

Also returning are jungle cats, golden jackals, and wolves. Water buffalo graze to preserve the meadows. The Israel painted frog was considered extinct since 1996. It has reappeared in Hula Valley.

Plants are growing again. Rare aquatic plants like yellow flag, the white water-lily, and paper reed are some to look for.

There have been problems. For instance the common cranes took to eating crops, especially peanuts. To solve the problem park officials used tractors and wagons to set out corn and other feed to keep the birds in the park. Humans and Mother Nature working together has been successful for the most part.

Hula Valley Park has hiking trails, a cable car, biking trails and bikes for rent, golf carts, and tours with wagons pulled by the same tractors used to feed the birds. There are observation sites set up everywhere even on the floating bridge that crosses the swamp. You will find telescopes to observe. There are museums, audio tours to help you know what to look for on your own.

It must be a great place to visit. Since they have almost gotten rid of malaria, I have put it on my "bucket list". Will it be on yours?

Why Are Chimpanzees Stronger Than Humans?

2013-03-07T03:00:00.000-06:00

Why are chimpanzees stronger than us? That's an interesting question. Most of us already know that we are much weaker than our closest relatives. But why? We don't seem to be much different in size. We are even usually quite a bit taller than chimps. And they certainly don't look like your average muscle man. Yet they are still far stronger than us.

I guess it all comes down to differences in our evolution. Let's talk about some of those differences. Chimpanzees are about twice as strong as humans when it comes to lifting weight. That's just in their arms. But even their legs are stronger. Bonobos, which are a very close relative of chimps, can jump about one third higher than humans. They have the same leg strength as a human who is about twice as heavy as one of them.

One of the main reasons chimps are stronger than humans is that they don't have nearly as much fine control over their muscles as we do. We can do precise things like write our names or operate complex machinery. This takes more choice of smaller amounts of muscle fibers at a time. For this precise control we sacrifice that greater strength that chimps have over us.

So we know that there are obvious differences in the way our muscles work. Our nervous systems also exert greater control over our muscles than do that of a chimp's. It has been shown that according to weight chimps have much less grey matter in their spinal chords than humans. Spinal grey matter contains a large amount of nerve cells that connect to muscle fibers and regulate muscle movement. That's the process that enables that finer control of our muscles.

Since chimps don't have as much of that grey matter, when they use their muscles it's like an all or nothing process. They usually use much more strength than they need because of their lack of control.

Humans are also thought to have a built in safety system that helps prevent damage to our muscles. This safety system prevents us from exerting our muscles as greatly as a chimp would. Chimpanzees probably have their own safety system, but it most likely works differently than ours. They have greater bursts of strength, but we have greater stamina. It probably all works out equally for what each of us are intended to do, but it also shows our differences.

That's why chimpanzees seem so much stronger than us.

Wisdom, The Oldest Known Wild Bird, Hatches Egg

2013-03-04T03:00:00.000-06:00

Wisdom is a Laysan albatross. She was first banded in 1956. At that time she was just another nesting bird who were being studied by scientists because of the birds that were flying into US Navy airplanes.

Tens of thousands albatrosses were banded for this study. Researchers wanted to study the habits of the birds to see how they could prevent the collisions with planes and prevent damage to humans and equipment.

Large birds live longer than small ones, as a rule. An albatross is a large bird. The Guinness Book Of Animal Records lists a Siberian white crane at an unconfirmed age of 82 years. Captive birds live longer. Parrots are known to live into their 80's.

Laysan albatrosses live at sea most of the year. They return to Midway Atoll in colder months only to nest. They start nesting at about 5 years of age. So when Wisdom was banded she had to be at least 5 years old. That means she is at least 62 years old now.

When an albatross is nesting they defend the nest. That means they are easy to find and get to. They are not tame by any means but if you know what you're doing, they are not hard to catch long enough for banding.

Living in the wild is not easy for any animal. Natural problems cause injury and death. There are also the problems attributed to man. Albatrosses have choked to death on plastic waste floating in the ocean. They get caught in nets of fishermen. Some of the buildings on Midway Atoll still have lead paint and that poisons the albatross. So living to be 62 is an accomplishment.

In 2002 the scientist that originally banded Wisdom returned to Midway Atoll to check bands on the birds. He collected numbers and went back to match them. That was when he realized one of the birds was Wisdom. Researchers decided to watch her more closely.

It is estimated that Wisdom has flown between 2 and 3 million miles in the years from 1956 now. That equals between 4 and 6 trips to the moon and back.

Even more astonishing is the fact that Wisdom recently hatched a perfectly healthy chick. At the age of at least 62. It's her 6th chick in a row. It's estimated that she has hatched 35 little albatrosses in her life.

Electric Honey

2013-02-28T03:00:00.000-06:00

Spring will soon be here. That means that soon the flowers will bloom in all their glorious colors and fragrances. We are drawn to flowers because they are so beautiful and aromatic. So are bees.

Bees are attracted to flowers for a multitude of reasons. The bright colors are designed to draw bees to flowers. So are shapes of both the flower and the petals. The flowers smell good to make bees notice them.

Other factors that bring bees to flowers are patterns in the ultraviolet spectrum, shapes of petals, texture of petals, and petal temperature. All of these stimuli make the bees remember certain flowers. Then the hunt for flowers is more efficient.

Flowers attract bees for a purpose. Bees help to pollinate the flowers which assists in the making of new flowers. In turn the the flowers provide nectar that is used to make honey.

As the busy little worker bees are buzzing about they build up a static electrical charge. When they land on the flowers the positively charged bees pick up negatively charged pollen. Then they move on to another flower and deposit pollen. They carry the nectar they have collected back to the hive to make food for the queen and her young. We reap the benefits because we get honey from this process.

The presence of the static electricity made scientists wonder... what if the flowers also have an electrical attractant. To test this theory researchers set up a garden of of fake flowers. The flowers were simple. A stem holding a small dish. Dishes were filled with either sugar water or quinine which is bitter to bees.

When the bees started to fly around the false flower garden they flew randomly and seemed to land on the quinine dishes and sweet dishes equally. Then a small electrical charge was added to the sweet flowers. The bees chose the charged flowers. When the electrical charge was removed the bees went back to random foraging.

Real plants were then measured for electrical charges. It turns out that when a bee gets close enough the negative charge of the plant increases. The plant stays charged as long as the bee is there and for about a minute and a half after it leaves. That keeps other bees from landing on a flower that another bee is using.

So honey is not really electric. It is the electrical attraction of the flowers to the bees that provides the ingredients to make honey.