Clipmarks | Animals Clips

In Egypt, Some Women Say That Veils Increase Harassment

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 04:57:46 GMT

clipped by: suckmyclip
clipper's remarks: In accord with her interpretation of Islamic law, which says women should dress modestly, Sayed wore a flowing black robe and black veil. Together, they covered all but her hands and her pale face with its drawn-on, expressive eyebrows. Despite her attire, Sayed said, she daily endures suggestive comments from male customers and fellow vendors.

"I think a woman who wears hijab can be more provocative to them," Sayed said. "The more covered up you are, the more interesting you are to them."

Zuhair Mohammed, a 60-year-old shopper on the same street, said she long ago stopped wearing the traditional Islamic covering, in part for that reason.

"I feel like with the hijab, it makes them wonder, 'What are you hiding underneath?' " Mohammed said.

Clip Source: www.washingtonpost.com

CAIRO -- In a Muslim country where the numbers of women wearing the veil are rising, and so -- by most accounts -- are incidents of groping and catcalls in the streets, the message in ads circulating anonymously in e-mails here in Egypt is clear:

"A veil to protect, or eyes will molest," one warns.

The words sit over two illustrations, one comparing a veiled woman, her hair and neck covered in the manner known to Muslims as hijab, to a wrapped candy, untouched and pure.

The other picture shows an unveiled woman, hair flying wildly and hip jutting, next to a candy that has had its wrapper stripped off -- and is now covered in flies.

"You can't stop them, but you can protect yourself," warns another ad likening men to flies and women to sweets. Bloggers in Egypt have taken to calling such messages the "veil your lollipop" campaign.

"These guys are animals. If they saw a female dog, they would harass it," Hind Sayed, a 20-year-old sidewalk vendor in Cairo's Mohandisseen district, said

Tags: egypt, harrassment

The Incredible Tree-Climbing Goats of Morocco

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 01:02:12 GMT

clipped by: unbelievers

Clip Source: webecoist.com

Before you jump to conclusions: no, these were not created by a bored geek in Photoshop. Amazingly, these uncanny animals are actually real: they climb the Argan trees of Morocco in search of food, which is otherwise sparse in the region. Over time they have become not only able to climb trees but downright adept at the art - the traipse across trees with a sure-footedness that is hard to imagine from a hoofed animal.

The droppings of the goats contain the kernels of the seeds they consume which are, strangely enough, used by locals to press and grind into oil. Even more disturbingly: this oil has a number of uses including culinary (yes, people eat it) and cosmetic (yes, they also smear it on themselves). You might want to skip over the versions of these products sold by local farmers for the somewhat cleaner mass-produced varieties. For a quarter-liter bottle of this goat-digested kernel-oil you can expect to pay from 15 to 50 dollars.

Tags: goat, poop

Unchain your dogs

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 23:38:23 GMT

clipped by: bignosemousie
clipper's remarks: Lots of information at the source. Photos that will break your heart.

Unchain your dog, please.

Clip Source: www.unchainyourdog.org

What is meant by "chaining" or "tethering" dogs?

These terms refer to the practice of fastening a dog to a stationary object or stake, usually in the owner's backyard, as a means of keeping the animal under control. These terms do not refer to the periods when an animal is walked on a leash.

Why is tethering dogs inhumane?

Dogs are naturally social beings who thrive on interaction with human beings and other animals. In the wild, dogs and wolves live, eat, sleep, and hunt with a family of other canines. Dogs are genetically determined to live in a group.

A chained animal is caught in a vicious cycle; frustrated by long periods of boredom and social isolation, he becomes a neurotic shell of his former self—further deterring human interaction and kindness. In the end, the helpless dog can only suffer the frustration of watching the world go by in isolation—a cruel fate for what is by nature a highly social animal.

Tags: animals need love and protection

Cloned Puppies: Sure, They're Cute, But at What Cost?

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:36:13 GMT

clipped by: Silkweaver
clipper's remarks: Yet defenders of the industry say that it's wrong to apply analogies taken from other species' clones: Despite the difficulties, they insist, cloned dogs tend to be healthy, not least because scientists have spent the last decade figuring out how to do it.

"Clone enough dogs, and occasionally you have offspring that aren't perfect," said Lou Hawthorne, CEO of both BioArts and the late Genetic Savings and Clone. "But it's comparable to what you have through conventional breeding."

Clip Source: www.wired.com

When skin cells from a dead pit bull named Booger gave rise to five healthy-looking puppies with a $50,000 price tag, it marked the formal beginning of a commercial dog-cloning industry.

But for all the attention given to these and other clones, little was paid to the behind-the-scenes science. For every successfully cloned animal thrust into the spotlight, how many failures were quietly ushered out of sight?

"What we're seeing with the clones they present are the ones that look good," said Jaydee Hanson, an animal-cloning analyst at the Center for Food Safety, a Washington, D.C.-based liberal nonprofit.

In March, the U.S. Humane Society and American Anti-Vivisection Society released a report castigating pet cloning for "serious animal suffering and disreputable activities." Critics point to the general tendency of animal embryos to fail before they're born, and for survivors to develop debilitating diseases. And dogs, it's widely agreed, are among the hardest of all animals to clone.

Tags: gnetics, cloning, animals

Creatures of the Deep

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:04:03 GMT

clipped by: dooria
clipper's remarks: t's amazing how complex animals can be, especially creatures of the deep. How can they survive under such pressure or even in extreme temperatures? Some of the creatures are absolutely beautiful and some are right out of a horror movie. Most of what we know about the creatures of the deep have only been discovered within the last few decades. Who knows what else lurks in the mysterious deep of the waters.

Clip Source: www.scienceray.com

Pompeii Worm

Named after the ruined Roman city Pompeii after its destruction from the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, this amazing worm is able to survive temperatures of up to 176 degrees Fahrenheit.

Pacific Bobtail Squid

The squid is a type of cuttlefish (a type of mollusk). Cuttlefish are actually not fish. They belong to the family of squid, octopus, and nautiluses.

Deepsea Lizardfish

They can be found at depths of 1600 to 11,000 feet. They are found in tropical and subtropical seas

The Stoplight Loosejaw

This fish is an elongated compressed fish. The jaws are longer than it's skull. It has a coma-shaped photophore (a circular light-producing organ) under the eye, and one behind the eye.

Deep-Sea Giant Spider

They can grow to be a foot across. They feed on hydroids and bryzoans(coral-like animals), sucking up their contents with huge-like proboscis. They are more abundant in the Antartic than anywhere else in the world.

Tags: deep, sea, creatures

Dolphin Hunt Petition

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:21:28 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Sign it at the link, if you will, please.

Clip Source: community.hsus.org

Tell WAZA: Don't ignore drive fishery cruelty

During dolphin drive fisheries in Taiji, Japan, fishermen herd pods of dolphins into a shallow cove and then brutally kill them with lances and knives. While most are slaughtered for their meat or to be processed into fertilizer, a few are captured and sold into the captive dolphin industry, including swim-with-the-dolphins programs, at a huge profit.

The policy of the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums (WAZA) expresses opposition to cruel methods of taking animals from the wild. WAZA has declared it unacceptable for its members to buy dolphins from drive fisheries; now, it needs to expel organizations that violate this guideline.

Dogs have a sense of right and wrong

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:25:07 GMT

clipped by: hitchhiker08
clipper's remarks: How much is that doggy in the window?!

Clip Source: www.telegraph.co.uk

Dogs have a sense of right and wrong

Dogs have become more intelligent, and even learnt a sense of right and wrong, through spending time with humans, a study shows.

Although still controversial, recent research is beginning to support the view that an owner is perfectly correct when they pat their pet and coo "who's a clever boy then?"

Because of the way owners have selected smarter and more empathic dogs down the generations, these pets now appear to have a limited "theory of mind", the capacity that enables us to understand the desires, motivations and intentions of others, New Scientist reports today.

A decade ago, most scientists would dismiss the claims of dog owners that their precious pets could experience pain, excitement and other "human emotions" as sentimental claptrap that anthropomorphises the abilities of animals.

"Dogs show some aversion to inequity," she says. "I prefer not to call it a sense of fairness, but others might."

"Domestication seems to have shaped dogs

Tags: dogs, pets, intelligence, animal kingdom, bizarre, canine, iq

It's the smell of the future :)

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 08:58:18 GMT

clipped by: balthazarus
clipper's remarks: "For example, the aroma of virgin olive oil stems from the volatiles synthesized by olives. By modifying the activity of enzymes that generate these substances, it may be possible to alter the flavor of the resulting oils."

Clip Source: www.sciencedaily.com

Strawberry-flavored Banana? Biochemists Manipulate Fruit Flavor Enzymes

Would you like a lemony watermelon? How about a strawberry-flavored banana?

day may be coming when scientists will be able to fine tune enzymes responsible for flavors in fruits and vegetables.

In addition, it could lead to environmentally-friendly pest control.

The enzymes—allene oxide synthase (AOS) and hydroperoxide lyase (HPL)—produce jasmonate (responsible for the unique scent of jasmine flowers) and green leaf volatiles (GLV) respectively. GLVs confer characteristic aromas to fruits and vegetables.

"Each flavor has a different chemical profile," Raman said.

The study dispels the earlier view that these flavor-producing enzymes are only found in plants, Raman said. "We have discovered that they are also present in marine animals, such as sea anemone and corals. However, we do not know what they do in these organisms."

Tags: food chemicals, synthesis

World speed record in such a short span of life?

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 05:30:16 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: quite interesting...

Clip Source: www.nytimes.com

A small, speckled, asparagus-green chameleon of Madagascar, by contrast, holds a world speed record among just about all of the nearly 30,000 different animals equipped with four limbs and a backbone.

Admittedly, it’s not a record many of us would aspire to best. As researchers recently reported in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the entire life span of the Furcifer labordi chameleon — from the moment of conception to development in the egg, hatching, maturation, breeding and right through to its last little lizardly thud to the ground — clocks in at barely a year.

That hypercondensed biography, the scientists said, may well make the chameleon the shortest-lived tetrapod on Earth, a creature chronologically more like a butterfly or a sea squirt than like the other reptiles, frogs, birds and mammals with which it is taxonomically bundled.

By NATALIE ANGIER

Published: August 18, 2008

Hopes fade for abandoned baby whale in Australia

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 05:12:09 GMT

clipped by: mugofcoffee
clipper's remarks: sad...

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Hopes of saving a baby whale abandoned by its mother in a bay north of Sydney faded late on Wednesday as the calf continued to try to suckle from a moored yacht. International experts said it had just days to live.

The humpback whale, nicknamed "Colin" by Australian media, was found at Pittwater after apparently being abandoned by its mother off Australia's east coast.

Whale calf mistakes boat for mum
Play Video

After U.S.-based whale rescue experts said the animal could not be saved without sophisticated equipment, wildlife authorities said the fast-weakening calf would probably have to be put down unless it could be paired with a migrating whale pod.

"I guess it's fair to say that we're getting close to that position at the moment. We're really, really hopeful that there can be some other possible way through," Environment Department spokesman John Dengate told Australian radio.

while it was distressing, it was natural for some animals to abandon their young

Replica of Noah's ark

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:57:28 GMT

clipped by: rvnurse2b
clipper's remarks: interesting

Clip Source: www.worldwidechristian.net

The massive central door in the side of Noah's Ark was thrown open Saturday for the first crowd of curious Pilgrims and townsfolk to behold the wonder.

Of course, it's only a replica of the biblical Ark , built by Dutch Creationist Johan Huibers as a testament to his faith in the literal truth of the Bible.

The ark is 150 cubits long, 30 cubits high and 20 cubits wide. That's two-thirds the length of a football field and as high as a three-story house.

Life-size models of giraffes, elephants, lions, crocodiles, zebras, bison and other animals greet visitors as they arrive in the main hold.

There is enough space near the keel for a 50-seat film theater where kids can watch a video that tells the story of Noah and his ark.

''If You Need Help, Ask God. If You Don't, Thank God''...

Tags: ark, god, christianity, world, religion, history, ancient

'MetaModel Manager' could save threatened species

Thu, 21 Aug 2008 02:41:28 GMT

clipped by: A53GG4

Clip Source: blogs.usatoday.com

'MetaModel Manager' could save threatened species

A new computer model predicts the fate of endangered species, says the Chicago Zoological Society (CZS).

The model, which took two years to create, is the work of Robert Lacy, Ph.D., a population geneticist and conservation biologist at CZS since 1985, and a team of colleagues. It's called MetaModel Manager.

The program lets researchers understand how a variety of forces interact potentially to lead to the extinction of certain threatened species. Researchers input a variety of environmental, demographic, and genetic data -- such as climate change, emerging diseases, habitat changes, and human social factors -- which the program analyzes to predict and estimate species extinctions. The program studies across species that interact, not just individual groups. It also recommends ways to avoid such die-offs.

Dr. Lacy said the model changes the way scientists traditionally work.

Tags: animals

therapy dogs

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:21:42 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane

Clip Source: www.parkrecord.com

Help this little bow wow raise the woof for kids

Therapy dog uses love to help those in need

Click photo to enlarge

Koda is a therapy dog.

Koda is known for her friendly demeanor as she and gallery owner David Schultz greet customers at West Light Images, a photography shop that specializes in depictions of wildlife.

What Koda is less known for is her charitable work outside the shop.

For the past five years, Koda and Schultz have worked with developmentally challenged kids at high schools and libraries in Heber City, Park City and Salt Lake City as a certified therapy dog of Intermountain Therapy Animals. The 7-year-old Koda sits with kids as they read or rests patiently as they pet her soft fur.

It's all in a day's work for Koda, whose owner recently launched a Web site to help raise money for Intermountain Therapy Animals, a nonprofit. Since the site opened its digital doors on Saturday, two good Samaritans have donated a total of $150 to the cause. Schultz lists his goal as $5,000.

Bann visitor returns to the sea

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:18:58 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane
clipper's remarks: such graceful animals

Clip Source: www.colerainetimes.co.uk

The porpoise that was present in the River Bann last week. PIC Joe Breen

HAVE a look at these exclusive images of the porpoise that was present in the River Bann last week.

The porpoise, nicknamed 'Squirt' took up residence in the River Bann last Thursday, and children from near and far looked on in awe.

The teenage porpoise was first reported in the River last Thursday and remained under the footbridge until Saturday afternoon.

Gary explained that reports first came in about the porpoise on Thursday: "The Northern Ireland Environment Agency and Jim Allen, from the Irish Whale and Dolphin Group began monitoring the animal from Thursday.

" I've been monitoring cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) for ten years, and I've never been able to get as close to a porpoise, people don't realise how privileged there were last week."

do animals feel greif?

Wed, 20 Aug 2008 21:12:25 GMT

clipped by: silvanaraihane
clipper's remarks: according to my dog, they do! you should see the way she reacts if I leave her for more then my working day!

Clip Source: www.guardian.co.uk

Do animals feel grief?

Photographs of Gana, an 11-year-old gorilla in Munster Zoo, holding the lifeless body of her three-month-old infant, are doing the rounds of the world's media. The pictures have prompted headlines such as "Heartbreaking" and "A Mother's Grief". Gana certainly looks inconsolable at the loss of her child. But is she? Are we too quick to project human feelings onto animals, particularly our closest ape relatives?

But, as anyone who has been watching Richard Dawkins' Channel 4 series The Genius of Darwin will recall, evolution favours any species with strong enough parental instincts to see their young through infancy. Animals invest time, energy and genetic material into their young, just as we do, and they naturally want them to survive. Is it too much of a stretch to imagine that they would also feel loss when their young die?