Wednesday, November 30, 2011
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
BENEFITS OF HAVING PETS
About 65 percent of American households have pets, and we spend nearly $35 billion dollars a year on these companion animals. (Lucky dogs.) Our pets clearly have us wrapped around their little paws, but what do we get from them in return? There are the obvious answers–companionship, unconditional love, a best friend, some slipper-fetching. But there are also a number of unseen benefits with far-reaching effects: Pets are great for our health.
Pets can help us to heal emotionally, physically, and mentally, but scientists are also discovering that cats and dogs can help fight disease and assist us in coping with chronic conditions. They can have a biochemical impact on their owners’ body chemistry. Numerous medical experts have provided the results of scientific studies that support this biological basis for what we’ve felt intuitively.
Monday, November 28, 2011
Coaxing the Bell to Ring
Deer Park Monastery bell in Escondido, California
With body speech and mind in perfect oneness
I send my heart along with the sound of the bell
May the hearers awaken from forgetfulness
And transcend the path of anxiety and sorrow
- Thich Nhat Hanh translation of Buddhist poem.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Dalai Lama Quotes
The more adept we become at cultivating an altruistic attitude, the happier we will feel and the more comfortable will be the atmosphere around us. But if our emotions fluctuate wildly and we easily give in to hatred and jealousy, even our friends will avoid us. So even for people with no spiritual beliefs, it is important to have a peaceful mind.
Human beings are not intrinsically selfish, which isolates us from others. We are essentially social animals who depend on others to meet our needs. We achieve happiness, prosperity and progress through social interaction. Therefore, having a kind and helpful attitude contributes to our own and others' happiness.
Love, kindness, compassion and tolerance are qualities common to all the great religions, and whether or not we follow any particular religious tradition, the benefits of love and kindness are obvious to anyone.
It is time to develop a big ‘US’, rather than the old ‘us and them’ that lets us to exploit and bully others on a personal level, and on an international level to wage war. The East must see the West as part of ‘US’ and the North must come to feel that the South is part of ‘US’. We should include the entire world in our concern, wishing all humanity well. If we can do that there will be no room for hatred, thinking of others as enemies. And we will achieve this through education, not through prayer.
Spirituality concerns our own motivation, while secular activity implies working in the world. Because motivation pervades all action, it is important that we have a positive motivation. Whatever we are involved in, whether it's politics, education, medicine, law, engineering, science, business or industry, the nature of our motivation determines the character of our work.
Study and practice are both very important, but they must go hand in hand. Faith without knowledge is not sufficient. Faith needs to be supported by reason. However intellectual understanding that is not applied in practice is also of little use. Whatever we learn from study we need to apply sincerely in our daily lives.
Friday, November 25, 2011
China Grieving Dog Guards the Grave Of Its Dead Owner - YouTube
China Grieving Dog Guards the Grave Of Its Dead Owner - YouTube: ""
When his owner died, a heartbroken dog in China refused to leave his side.
The golden, floppy-eared dog disappeared after the death Lao Pan, 68, in the village of Panjiatun in early November.
He was discovered a week later guarding his owner’s grave.
The loyal dog, who was Pan’s only companion, had stood watch for seven days without food or shelter.
Even when a man tried to coax the dog from the grave with a steamed bun, the dog refused to leave, the man told the BBC.
The dog ate the bun before running back to the tomb and staying there, the man said.
Touched by the dog’s loyalty, villagers have taken to bringing the dog food and water. They even have plans to build a kennel at Pan’s graveside so the dog can continue to mourn his beloved owner.
A video of the dog’s story, reported by the BBC, has been viewed more than 600,000 times on YouTube.
'via Blog this'
When his owner died, a heartbroken dog in China refused to leave his side.
The golden, floppy-eared dog disappeared after the death Lao Pan, 68, in the village of Panjiatun in early November.
He was discovered a week later guarding his owner’s grave.
The loyal dog, who was Pan’s only companion, had stood watch for seven days without food or shelter.
Even when a man tried to coax the dog from the grave with a steamed bun, the dog refused to leave, the man told the BBC.
The dog ate the bun before running back to the tomb and staying there, the man said.
Touched by the dog’s loyalty, villagers have taken to bringing the dog food and water. They even have plans to build a kennel at Pan’s graveside so the dog can continue to mourn his beloved owner.
A video of the dog’s story, reported by the BBC, has been viewed more than 600,000 times on YouTube.
'via Blog this'
Tuesday, November 22, 2011
Taxidermy: The Art of Stuffed Animals
The many forms and functions of taxidermy straddle the divides between art, science, and trophy
MELISSA C. WONG
In spite of the thousands of words ... recorded in our ponderous dictionaries, there are some that seem still to be needed, among them one to define the modern taxidermist ... whose work can only be considered as art because it certainly is not nature.” So wrote Frederic Lucas in 1927.
Lucas, who was a natural historian, a taxidermist, and the Director of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, struggled to assign artistic implication to taxidermy, a term which etymologically means ‘moving skin.’ The attempt to situate taxidermy in the realm of creativity is complicated by the conflicting roles involved in its creation and appreciation. The artistic nature of taxidermic preparation depends on the intent of an object’s creator. Moreover, a taxidermied object itself can be understood alternatively as art, trophy, or research specimen based on the context in which it has been placed.
The category of scientific taxidermy includes specimens made for both public displays and research collections. For the latter, preparation differs slightly; skins are often simply flattened, and there is no attempt to recreate the appearance of a living animal. Research collections also preserve the skeleton and a tissue sample, from which DNA can be extracted.
On the other hand, Hopi Hoekstra says, specimens prepared for public display offer opportunities for artistic expression. Created for museums, homes, and competitions, these objects require an armature to be built precisely following the measurements taken from the original animal.
According to Hoekstra, however, seemingly aesthetic components of taxidermy may in fact serve a scientific function. Apart from making a specimen look lifelike, taxidermists responsible for public museum displays also seek to emphasize an aspect of the animal’s biology. Therefore, carnivores bare their teeth not so they seem menacing, but rather because teeth are a distinguishing feature of this group of mammals.
For those who know little about taxidermy, however, the significance of a given object may lie outside that object itself. While the artistic value of a taxidermied specimen depends on its ultimate function, the meaning a viewer derives from a piece is influenced by its surroundings.
Ultimately, the myriad priorities of taxidermists and their creations complicate how the form itself may be seen as art. However, this very ambiguity illustrates the extent to which the mindset and surroundings of a viewer influence the effect of a given object. For taxidermy, the relationship between a specimen’s intrinsic artistic qualities and its advertised purpose determine how it is perceived on an individual basis.
MELISSA C. WONGIn spite of the thousands of words ... recorded in our ponderous dictionaries, there are some that seem still to be needed, among them one to define the modern taxidermist ... whose work can only be considered as art because it certainly is not nature.” So wrote Frederic Lucas in 1927.
Lucas, who was a natural historian, a taxidermist, and the Director of the American Museum of Natural History in New York, struggled to assign artistic implication to taxidermy, a term which etymologically means ‘moving skin.’ The attempt to situate taxidermy in the realm of creativity is complicated by the conflicting roles involved in its creation and appreciation. The artistic nature of taxidermic preparation depends on the intent of an object’s creator. Moreover, a taxidermied object itself can be understood alternatively as art, trophy, or research specimen based on the context in which it has been placed.
In an age of nature documentaries and zoos, museums still provide academics and members of the public alike with the opportunity to come face-to-face with animals they would otherwise never encounter.
The category of scientific taxidermy includes specimens made for both public displays and research collections. For the latter, preparation differs slightly; skins are often simply flattened, and there is no attempt to recreate the appearance of a living animal. Research collections also preserve the skeleton and a tissue sample, from which DNA can be extracted.
On the other hand, Hopi Hoekstra says, specimens prepared for public display offer opportunities for artistic expression. Created for museums, homes, and competitions, these objects require an armature to be built precisely following the measurements taken from the original animal.
According to Hoekstra, however, seemingly aesthetic components of taxidermy may in fact serve a scientific function. Apart from making a specimen look lifelike, taxidermists responsible for public museum displays also seek to emphasize an aspect of the animal’s biology. Therefore, carnivores bare their teeth not so they seem menacing, but rather because teeth are a distinguishing feature of this group of mammals.
For those who know little about taxidermy, however, the significance of a given object may lie outside that object itself. While the artistic value of a taxidermied specimen depends on its ultimate function, the meaning a viewer derives from a piece is influenced by its surroundings.
Ultimately, the myriad priorities of taxidermists and their creations complicate how the form itself may be seen as art. However, this very ambiguity illustrates the extent to which the mindset and surroundings of a viewer influence the effect of a given object. For taxidermy, the relationship between a specimen’s intrinsic artistic qualities and its advertised purpose determine how it is perceived on an individual basis.
By DENISE J. XU, CRIMSON STAFF WRITER
Published: Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Published: Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Monday, November 21, 2011
Sunday, November 20, 2011
Blogger Philosophy
My Philosophy of Blogging
There are two ways of spreading light: to be the candle or to be the mirror that reflects it.
- Edith Wharton
Ms. Wharton sums up how I think of blogs. My desire is to reflect the articles and pictures that inspire me when surfing the Web by posting them on my blogs. Blogs create a scrapbook of events to review later inspiring me for a second time. This is a great pleasure and an educational activity providing me with learning missed when I was in school. The Web has demonstrated its great value in generating and spreading new ideas. Tunisia, Egypt, Libya, Occupy Wall Street and other revolutions have gained momentum on the Web.
If you have a favorite cause like animal rights, you can play a part in education the world by posting to your blog. The possibilities are limited only by your imagination.
"To read means to borrow; to create out of one's reading is paying off one's debts."
- Charles Lillard
Communicating my worldview, as seen from my backwater home town situated on an island in the Pacific, is my way of staying engaged with current events. Multiple Sclerosis has reduced my physical energy and keeps me close to home so I need to adapt and find new ways of relating to the world at large.
HENRI CARTIER-BRESSON (French, 1908-2004)
Barge Family, Bougival, 1956
Gelatin silver, printed later
14 x 9-1/2 inches (35.6 x 24.1 cm)
Recto: signed in ink
Estimate: $4,000 - $6,000.
http://fineart.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=5077&lotNo=74022&short=5077
*74022
Heritage Vintage & Contemporary Photography Auctions
ELLIOTT ERWITT (American, b. 1928)
New York City (Dog Legs), 1974
Gelatin silver, printed later
8-1/4 x 12-1/4 inches (21.0 x 31.1 cm)
Recto: signed in ink
PROVENANCE:
Fahey/Klein Gallery, Los Angeles (label verso). Estimate: $3,000 - $5,000.
http://fineart.ha.com/c/item.zx?saleNo=5077&lotNo=74143&short=5077
*74143#Photo
Saturday, November 19, 2011
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
World Of Primates - Talapoin Monkey Exhibit » Audubon Zoo Gallery
World Of Primates - Talapoin Monkey Exhibit » Audubon Zoo Gallery: "
World Of Primates - Talapoin Monkey Exhibit
"
Source:
http://www.zoochat.com/314/world-primates-talapoin-monkey-exhibit-182727/
World Of Primates - Talapoin Monkey Exhibit
"
Source:
http://www.zoochat.com/314/world-primates-talapoin-monkey-exhibit-182727/
Talapoin Monkey (Miopithecus talapoin) Old World Monkey
source: http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3162/2891404192_38a461d130_o.jpg
Talapoin monkeys are the two species of Old World monkeys classified in genus Miopithecus. Talapoin Monkeys live in central Africa and their range extends from Cameroon and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to Angola. It has been customary to recognize only a single species in the genus Miopithecus talapoin the Angolan Talapoin, however, the population in Cameroon (south of the River Sanaga), Rio Muni and Gabon can be distinguished as a separate species, Miopithecus ogouensis the Gabon Talapoin.
Talapoin Monkeys are the smallest Old World monkeys and almost certainly evolved from a larger-bodied ancestor by dwarfing. Their fur is coarsely banded yellow-and-black dorsally and white or greyish white ventrally. Their head is round and short-snouted with a hairless face. Their nose is black and the skin bordering the face is also black. In males, the scrotum is coloured pink medially and blue laterally.
There is mild sexual dimorphism in body size. Average head and body length is 16 inches (40 centimetres) and average tail length is 21 inches (52.5 centimetres). Talapoins weigh 3lb 1oz (1380 grams) for males and 21b 10oz (1120 grams) for females.
Talapoin Monkeys are both diurnal and predominantly arboreal, although they may occasionally descend to the ground while foraging. Talapoin Monkeys are good swimmers and commonly sleep on branches overhanging rivers so that they can dive to escape from predators.
Talapoin Monkeys live in large groups of 60 to 100 animals. They congregate at night in trees close to the water, dividing into smaller sub-groups during the day in order to spread out to find food. Groups are composed of several fully mature males, numerous females and their offspring. Unlike the closely related Guenons, Talapoin Monkeys do not have any territorial behaviours. Talapoin Monkeys like to play and this mostly takes place between juveniles, however, adults also engage in play. Talapoin Monkeys have two types of play - wrestling which includes grabbing and grappling and sometimes includes playface and running which includes fast chasing of one individual by another. Male Talapoins tend to engage in social play more often than female Talapoins.
Talapoin Monkeys verbal repertoire is rather smaller although when an individual attacks, it will look at it and give 'pant chirps' to other individuals that it is not attacking and they respond by joining in on the attack. As in all primates, communication in this species is likely to be complex. Both vocalizations and visual signals (such as body posture and facial expressions) are used by primates to communicate with con-specifics. In addition, tactile communication may play some role in maintaining social bonds, as in the form of grooming. Some primates use chemical communication, especially in reproductive contexts.
Talapoin Monkeys are omnivores, their diet consisting mainly of fruits, seeds, aquatic plants, insects, shellfish, bird eggs and small vertebrates.
The highest recorded age of a Talapoin Monkey in captivity is 28 years, while the life expectancy in the wild is not well-known, however, is likely to be lower than that seen in captivity. A female Talapoin Monkeys 160 day gestation period (typically from November to March) results in the birth of a single young. Offspring are considerably large and well developed (newborns weigh over 200 grams and are about a quarter of the weight of the mother) and develop rapidly. Within 6 weeks they eat solid food and are independent at 3 months of age.
Predators of Talapoin Monkey include leopards, golden cats, genets, raptors, large snakes, and Nile monitors. Talapoin Monkeys may help to disperse seeds of the fruits they eat and control insect populations. They also act as important prey animals for medium to large predators. Talapoin Monkeys are not currently regarded as threatened. They are occasionally hunted as a source of bush meat, although their small body size makes this relatively unprofitable.
Source:
http://www.monkeyland.co.za/index.php?comp=article&op=view&id=373
Talapoin Monkey (Miopithecus talapoin)
Talapoins are a species of Old world Monkeys which live in central Africa. On average, they can grow up to 45cm long and weigh up to 1.3kg. they prefer to live in mangroves near water or rainforests and are rarely seen in open fields. they are good swimmers and often find food in the water. They mainly eat aquatic plants, fruit, seeds, insects, shellfish and bird eggs. they live in groups of up to 100 individuals and the groups usually consist of several mature males and females, along with their offspring. They have few vocal calls and they are not territorial animals.
Sub-species:
Angolan Talapoin, Gabon Talapoin
The talapoin monkey has a multimale-multifemale social system. The large groups divide into subgroups which are all males, females and offspring, and juvenile males and females. The subgroups stay together and the whole group moves in the same direction, but the subgroups tend to take separate routes (Rowell, 1973). Individuals tend to only associate closely for most of the time with 1 to 3 other individuals in the group and avoid the rest of the group members (Wolfheim, 1977a). Except for breeding season, there is little interaction between males and females (Rowell and Dixon, 1975), and even in the breeding season males may avoid females who are not maximally swollen during estrus because the female may attack the male (Wolfheim, 1977a). During the breeding season, it was found in the wild that receptive females will break away from the female and offspring group and join groups with adult males (Rowell and Dixon, 1975). This mixed-sex group would forage and travel high in the canopy, while the group of non-receptive females and offspring would forage and move lower in the forest (Rowell and Dixon, 1975). In captivity it was found that only the highest ranking males would receive a majority of the copulations, but in the wild most of the adult males in the group copulated (Rowell and Dixon, 1975). In captivity it was found that the highest ranking male will behaviorally suppress the ability of lower ranking males from reproducing (Abbott et al., 1986). The end result is that the highest ranking male receives most of the copulations (Abbott et al., 1986). Also in captivity the highest ranking females inhibit the sexual behavior of subordinate females both behaviorally and endocrinologically (Abbott et al., 1986). Subordinate females were also found to attack males that showed any sexual interest in them (Abbott et al., 1986). It should be noted that dominance hierarchies were only found to occur in captivity and were not found in the wild. Adult females are more social than adult males, spending long periods sitting and grooming with other females (Wolfheim, 1977b).
The talapoin monkey has a tendency to recruit other group members when attacking an individual (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). When an individual attacks it will look at and give pant chirps to other individuals that it is not attacking and they respond by joining in on the attack (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). Females, both adults and juveniles, tend to mob attack males, and males will be able to defend themselves against one or two females but are too many for a male to defend himself against (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). It was found in captivity that when many females gang up to attack a male they can harass him so much that the male could die (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). Individuals when attacked or threatened may attack a third individual, usually of a lower rank, as a show of redirected aggression (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). This redirected aggression may be passed down the hierarchical line so as to include all members of the group (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). Males will join coalitions with females that have initiated aggression against higher ranking males (Yodyingyuad et al., 1982). Higher ranking males will reciprocate aggression from females, but low-ranking males will not reciprocate aggression from females (Yodyingyuad et al., 1982).
Play in the talapoin monkey mostly takes place between juveniles, but adults also engage in play (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). This species has two types of play, wrestling which includes grabbing, grappling, and batting and sometimes includes playface and running which includes fast chasing of one individual by another (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). Running can be a solitary activity or could include groups of talapoin monkeys (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). Both sexes of juveniles in engage in play (Wolfheim and Rowell, 1972). Males tend to engage in social play more often than females (Wolfheim, 1977b). Wrestling is done more often by males than females, and males tend to wrestle more with other males than with females (Wolfheim, 1977b). Males also engage in batting more than females (Wolfheim, 1977b).
Last Updated: June 4, 2007.
[Talapoin Monkey] [Morphology] [Range] [Ecology] [Locomotion] [Social Behavior] [Vocal Communication] [Olfactory Communication] [Visual Communication] [Tactile Communication] [Reproduction] [References] [The Primata] [Primate Evolution] [Primate Taxonomy] [Primate Conservation] [Primate Fact Sheets] [Primate Definitions] [Primate Store] [Miopithecus Links]
Bronx Zoo Lemur ( from Madagascar )
The Bronx Zoo is one of the great zoos I have been lucky enough to have visited. The zoo had a colony of Talapoin monkeys, a breed that was also represented at the old Stanley Park Zoo in Vancouver, B.C. where I lived for many years. My pet monkey was a Talapoin monkey who are very, very rare. He showed up in a pet shop in Calgary, Alberta. How? I have no idea but I was completely charmed by the little humanoid that little monkey appeared to be...
Source: http://dracofish.deviantart.com/#/d27qxjf
Lemur King by ~Dracofish
Photography / Animals, Plants & Nature / Wild Animals ©2009-2011 ~Dracofish
Ring Tailed Lemur, Bronx Zoo, Bronx NY
Source: http://dracofish.deviantart.com/#/d27qxjf
Lemur King by ~Dracofish
Photography / Animals, Plants & Nature / Wild Animals ©2009-2011 ~Dracofish
Ring Tailed Lemur, Bronx Zoo, Bronx NY
Saturday, November 12, 2011
Many varieties of pets.
WORLD
Cricket Fighting
In China, crickets are pitted against each other on street corners as their owners watch and place bets on the matches.
RELATED
Article: Chirps and Cheers: China’s Crickets Clash
Multimedia: In China, Cricket Fighting Undergoes a Revival
Produced by Joshua Frank
November 5, 2011
Chirps and Cheers: China’s Crickets Clash
By ANDREW JACOBS
BEIJING — Big Red Belly, his thick limbs nourished by a strict liver-tofu-ginger diet, should have been a contender. Instead, as his trainer watched in dismay, the young fighter nervously circled his more menacing adversary and then skittered to a corner of the ring, prompting jeers from a half-dozen spectators.
“Worthless,” his patron, Chang Hongwei, a retired mechanical engineer, growled as he yanked Big Red Belly from the arena and unceremoniously ended his brief fighting career. “Next!”
Countless members of the Gryllus bimaculatus clan, also known as field crickets, have faced off in the capital’s narrow alleys this fall in a uniquely Chinese blood sport whose provenance extends back more than 1,000 years. Nurtured by Tang Dynasty emperors and later popularized by commoners outside the palace gates, cricket fighting was banned as a bourgeois predilection during the decade-long Cultural Revolution, which ended in 1976.
But like many once-suppressed traditions, among them Confucianism, mah-jongg and pigeon raising, cricket fighting is undergoing a revival here, spurred on by a younger generation — well, mostly young men — eager to embrace genuinely Chinese pastimes.
Cricket-fighting associations have sprung up across the country, as have more than 20 Web sites devoted to the minutiae of raising critters whose daily needs can rival those of an Arabian steed. Last year, more than 400 million renminbi, or about $63 million, were spent on cricket sales and upkeep, according to the Ningyang Cricket Research Institute in Shandong Province. Shanghai now has more than a dozen cricket markets, and several cities, including Beijing, stage public bouts where the Lilliputian action is blown up and projected on to giant screens. (A related activity, competitive cricket singing, draws the affections of those inclined to more pacific pursuits.)
“As living standards go up and people have more time and money to spend, they want hobbies rich in history and meaning,” said Wang Suping, the owner of Autumn Delights, a shop packed with all manner of cricket accouterment — from elaborately carved cricket houses that sell for hundreds of dollars to hand-painted ceramic bowls fit for a tiny king.
One Beijing taxi driver compared his passion for cricket duels to a Spaniard’s love of bullfighting. “The main difference is that cricket fighting is much less dangerous,” he said. (Insect-rights advocates take note: Combat seldom causes injuries, save for the occasional severed antennae, and losers are generally tossed onto the sidewalk and allowed to roam free until a November frost, or a pedestrian’s foot, puts an end to their chirping.)
There is, though, a nefarious side to the cricket craze: illegal back-room matches that draw legions of gamblers. In late September, the police in Jiangsu Province raided one such parlor, arresting 79 people and seizing 100 prized fighters. According to the police, cricket owners would bet 10,000 renminbi, or nearly $1,600, on each bout. Wagers by spectators exceeded 100,000 renminbi.
Liu Yunjiang, 60, a self-described cricket connoisseur who stages exhibition matches for tourists in Beijing, said the spread of gambling on cricket fights has raised the stakes for the casual cricket buyer. “A really formidable fighter can be worth more than a horse,” he said. “And they eat better than you and I do.”
Most aficionados, however, insist that the sport is a wholesome diversion that fosters camaraderie and friendly competition among devotees.
Even as interest grows among the computer-game generation, cricket fighting remains the domain of older men who grew up without toys or television.
“It reminds us of our childhoods, when everyone was poor and you could fetch crickets in the fields just outside the city walls,” said Chen Huihua, 72, a retired schoolteacher. “The fields are now covered with tall buildings, but crickets still bring us great joy.”
Men like Mr. Chen also take pride in China’s long affair with the insects, which legend suggests were first domesticated by imperial concubines who kept trilling crickets at their bedside to stave off loneliness.
Crickets, both the fighting and singing ilk, are a staple of Chinese poetry, painting and storytelling. A few tales stand out, like the Ming Dynasty emperor who required subjects to include crickets as part of their annual tax burden.
Even if digital scales are now used to sort fighters into weight classes separated by one-hundredth of a gram, cricket trainers still follow many of the rules and recommendations laid out in a 13th century how-to guide written by Jia Sidao, the Southern Song prime minister whose obsession with crickets supposedly led to the dissolution of the empire.
There is an elaborate system for feeding, judging matches and categorizing fight styles — “Creep like a tiger, fight like a snake,” describes one particularly effective move. The trained eye can supposedly differentiate 260 different grades and skin tones.
Although championship brawls take place after the fall equinox in late September, cricket season begins in earnest during summer, when farmers take a break from tending crops to thrash their way through corn fields after dark in the search for would-be gladiators.
Experts agree on one thing: the best specimens come from a few counties in northeastern Shandong Province, where the soil and climate seem to produce a particularly fiery breed. “The loudest chirpers are usually the fiercest,” said Chen Chuanfang, 47, a corn farmer from Ningjing County who estimates he makes an extra 10,000 renminbi a year from cricket fighting.
While some die-hards trek out to Shandong, most buyers scour Beijing’s main insect market in the south of the capital, where peasants display their specimens in ceramic jars capped by metal lids.
Serious trainers often purchase 200 or more males, at roughly 10 renminbi, or $1.60, a pop, with the hope of finding a handful of decent brawlers. Promising candidates might be given names like Yellow Flying Tiger or Big Purple Teeth.
It is then that the rigorous work of cultivating a warrior begins. Each cricket must be kept in its own clay pot on a bed of sand-and-clay mortar, and diets can include ground shrimp, red beans and goat liver. The truly spoiled might enjoy the occasional herbal bath, and a maggot or two just before the big fight.
To stoke its territorial instincts, trainers use a strand of boiled hay or a mouse whisker to cajole the cricket. “If you’re serious about breeding winners, you never smoke or drink near your crickets,” said Mr. Liu, the Beijing master. “A bit of chili pepper will make them especially ferocious.”
Then there is the matter of conjugal visits. Before fight night, a succession of females will be dropped into the jar, which experts say amps up the male’s fighting spirit.
Weeding out the meek and the spineless takes place through marathon qualifying sessions, during which contenders are weighed and then dropped into two sides of a clear plastic ring. Once the divider is lifted, the owner of each will use the so-called tease stick to rile up the insect. It often takes less than a minute to determine whether a prospect is worth its mettle.
A good fighter will give off a shrill chirp, open its mandibles wide and attack its opponent with moxie. After two or three quick tussles, the loser will usually make itself known by backing off. The victor will be swept into a wire net and dumped back into its pot to fight another day.
As a crowd hovered over a ring at the cricket market, Zhang Zheng, 33, who works in finance, offered his own theory on why grown men become so smitten with insects.
“It’s in our nature to be aggressive, but fighting is illegal,” he said. “So we project our emotions onto crickets and when they win, we feel proud but then perhaps we become a little less aggressive.”
Li Bibo and Mia Li contributed research.
Friday, November 11, 2011
Primates leapt to social living
Primates leapt to social living | Digg Science:
Scientists may be a step closer to understanding the origins of human social behavior.
An analysis of over 200 primate species by a University of Oxford team suggests that our ancestors gave up their solitary existence when they shifted from being nocturnal creatures to those that are active during the day.
It is likely communal living was adopted to protect against day time predators, the researchers say.
The results are published in Nature.
From work on social insects and birds, some biologists have suggested that social groups begin to form when young do not leave their natal ground, but instead hang around and help raise their siblings.
Now, the latest evidence from primates suggests that this might not have been the case for our ancestors.
Leaping to sociality
By looking at whether closely related species share similar social structures, the Oxford team of evolutionary biologists shows that a common history is important in shaping the way animals behave in a group.
The team pinpointed the shift from non-social to social living to about 52 million years ago; a switch that appears to have happened in one step, and coincided with a move into daylight.
It did coincide with a change in family dynamics or female bonding, which emerged much later at about 16 million years ago.
"If you are a small animal active at night then your best strategy to avoid predation is to be difficult to detect," explained Oxford's Suzanne Shultz, who led the study.
"Once you switch to being active during the day, that strategy isn't very effective, so an alternative strategy to reduce the risk of being eaten is to live in social groups," she told BBC News.
Dr Shultz thinks that the move to day-time living in ancient primates allowed animals to find food more quickly, communicate better, and travel faster through the forest.
Old World gelada baboons form complex multi-level societies
The link between sociality and a switch to daytime living might have been missed until now, she suspects, because biologists interested in this question have tended to work with Old World monkeys, like baboons, which are characterised by female bonded groups, which are not characteristic of many primate species.
Flexibly social
Human societies likely descended from similar large, loosely aggregated creatures, Dr Shultz explained, but the key difference, she pointed out, is that our closest cousins' societies do not vary within a species, while humans' do.
"In human societies we have polygyny... we have monogamy, and in some places we have females leaving the group they were born in, and in others males leave," she said.
Why this difference exist is still unclear.
The link between sociality and a switch to daytime living might have been missed until now, she suspects, because biologists interested in this question have tended to work with Old World monkeys, like baboons, which are characterised by female bonded groups, which are not characteristic of many primate species.
Flexibly social
Human societies likely descended from similar large, loosely aggregated creatures, Dr Shultz explained, but the key difference, she pointed out, is that our closest cousins' societies do not vary within a species, while humans' do.
"In human societies we have polygyny... we have monogamy, and in some places we have females leaving the group they were born in, and in others males leave," she said.
Why this difference exist is still unclear.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Cruelty is no way to treat a Monkey.
Religion and worship
Hanuman, a prominent divine entity in Hinduism, is a monkey-like humanoid. He may bestow longevity.
In Buddhism, the monkey is an early incarnation of Buddha but may also represent trickery and ugliness.
Hanuman, a prominent divine entity in Hinduism, is a monkey-like humanoid. He may bestow longevity.
In Buddhism, the monkey is an early incarnation of Buddha but may also represent trickery and ugliness.
The Chinese Buddhist "mind monkey" metaphor refers to the unsettled, restless state of human mind.
Monkey is also one of the Three Senseless Creatures, symbolizing greed, with the tiger representing anger and the deer lovesickness.
The Mizaru or three wise monkeys are revered in Japanese folklore.
The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped nature. They placed emphasis on animals and often depicted monkeys in their art.
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys usually have tails. Tailless monkeys may be called "apes", incorrectly according to modern usage; thus the tailless Barbary macaque is called the "Barbary ape".
The Mizaru or three wise monkeys are revered in Japanese folklore.
The Moche people of ancient Peru worshipped nature. They placed emphasis on animals and often depicted monkeys in their art.
Squirrel Monkey
Sam, a rhesus macaque, was flown to a height of 55 miles (89 km) by NASA in 1959.
Simian statue at a Buddhist shrine in Tokyo, Japan.
A Crab-eating Macaque, an old world species of monkey native to Southeast Asia
A monkey is a primate, either an Old World monkey or a New World monkey. There are about 260 known living species of monkey. Many are arboreal, although there are species that live primarily on the ground, such as baboons. Monkeys are generally considered to be intelligent. Unlike apes, monkeys usually have tails. Tailless monkeys may be called "apes", incorrectly according to modern usage; thus the tailless Barbary macaque is called the "Barbary ape".
Chimpanzees in the United States need to be protected.
Extend Endangered Species Protections to Captive Chimpanzees
in the United States
By Elaine Murphy on Thu, 11/10/2011
On a global scale, conservation efforts for these endangered animals have included sanctuaries and rehabilitation programs for orphans, initiatives to help reintroduce chimpanzees to the wild, and restrictions on the import and export of chimpanzees. By not extending endangered species protections to captive chimpanzees in the United States, the FWS is taking a step backward from international efforts to restore the global chimpanzee population, which some estimate could be extinct in as little as ten years from now.
By Elaine Murphy on Thu, 11/10/2011
Actress Kristin Bauer, has drafted a petition on Change.org advocating for the rights of endangered and captive chimpanzees in the United States. With support of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, the petition letter is addressed to the United States Fish and Wildlife Service encouraging them to protect captive chimpanzees.
There are 1,300 chimpanzees living in U.S. research laboratories, and these animals are used multiple times for experiments, meaning that some chimpanzees can spend nearly their entire lives in a lab and endure decades of experimentation.
Chimpanzees are used for their genetic similarity to humans, and experiments performed on them have included those relating to hepatitis and HIV vaccines. Research chimpanzees are bought from zoos and circuses or caught from the wild.
On a global scale, conservation efforts for these endangered animals have included sanctuaries and rehabilitation programs for orphans, initiatives to help reintroduce chimpanzees to the wild, and restrictions on the import and export of chimpanzees. By not extending endangered species protections to captive chimpanzees in the United States, the FWS is taking a step backward from international efforts to restore the global chimpanzee population, which some estimate could be extinct in as little as ten years from now.
Source:
Extend Endangered Species Protections to Captive Chimpanzees in the United States | GreenAnswers:
Photo credit: flickr.com/photos/davelau/767256229
Photo credit: flickr.com/photos/davelau/767256229
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