vive le beau jeu !
Talk Tennis Guru
*enabling 60's weed mode*
"... already volleys better than most of our current mugs !!!"
The animal appreciation thread
- Thread starter Rusty Shackleford
- Start date
"... already volleys better than most of our current mugs !!!"
Fate Archer
Hall of Fame
No, didn't have these tales in mind.
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Amazing unbelievable.
Now he should try the next level ... making friends with Sewretch.
p.s. I wonder what suresh would say baout this video. Doesn't it flout his beloved theories about evolution and evolutionary whatnots and how all living beings only want sex and food.
Fate Archer
Hall of Fame
It's quite the story. He saved this crocodile when he was shot and really hurt, and developed a bond with him over the years. He spent so much time with him, that even his wife left from what I've read. There's a whole documentary on it.
Not true. Evolution has also produced empathy, which is needed for the survival of the species and the environment. Evolution balances individual and species survival, and environmental protection. Living entities, from micro-organisms to humans, often display behavior which places the interest of others or the environment above their own. The important thing to understand is that empathy is an evolutionary mechanism. Then you will not be disappointed if people don't show it in all circumstances. You will understand when someone who you thought always helped others turned out to be very selfish in some circumstances, or was driven by an ulterior motive. Similarly you will not be astounded when someone you thought was no good did some help to others. You will see it all as part of the bigger picture of evolution.
What about the crocodile's wife?
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
I am not disappointed since I understand that our behaviour is driven by conditioning not free will.
Only your cold behaviour towards Dali upsets me a bit.
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
How do you know the croc didn't play for the home team ?
octobrina10
Talk Tennis Guru
Video:
"This dolphin swam up to a diver to get help — because she had a hook stuck in her flipper"
https://twitter.com/dodo/status/852326999364206592/video/1
"This dolphin swam up to a diver to get help — because she had a hook stuck in her flipper"
https://twitter.com/dodo/status/852326999364206592/video/1
vive le beau jeu !
Talk Tennis Guru
meanwhile, several meters above......Video:
"This dolphin swam up to a diver to get help — because she had a hook stuck in her flipper"
https://twitter.com/dodo/status/852326999364206592/video/1
Mainad
Bionic Poster
She left him too?
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Rafaisdabest
Hall of Fame
*enabling 60's weed mode*
"... already volleys better than most of our current mugs !!!"
I follow The Grumpy Cat on FB, there's so many cute photos up every day...I recommend anyone that doesn't follow this cat to do so
Looks like the animals that are being appreciated are either cute human-selected slaves or some "magnificent" types which humans can relate to.
Here is a magnificent creature produced by evolution:
Also called the "tongue-eating louse," this parasitic crustacean of the family Cymothoidae enters fish through the gills, then attaches itself at the base of the fish's tongue. Once there, it extracts blood through its front claws, causing the tongue to atrophy from lack of blood, then it replaces the fish's tongue by attaching its own body to the muscles at the tongue's stub. They are supposedly not harmful to humans unless picked up alive, in which case they can bite.
Here is a magnificent creature produced by evolution:
Also called the "tongue-eating louse," this parasitic crustacean of the family Cymothoidae enters fish through the gills, then attaches itself at the base of the fish's tongue. Once there, it extracts blood through its front claws, causing the tongue to atrophy from lack of blood, then it replaces the fish's tongue by attaching its own body to the muscles at the tongue's stub. They are supposedly not harmful to humans unless picked up alive, in which case they can bite.
vive le beau jeu !
Talk Tennis Guru
nature never ceases to amaze... such a cute and touching symbiosis !Looks like the animals that are being appreciated are either cute human-selected slaves or some "magnificent" types which humans can relate to.
Here is a magnificent creature produced by evolution:
Also called the "tongue-eating louse," this parasitic crustacean of the family Cymothoidae enters fish through the gills, then attaches itself at the base of the fish's tongue. Once there, it extracts blood through its front claws, causing the tongue to atrophy from lack of blood, then it replaces the fish's tongue by attaching its own body to the muscles at the tongue's stub. They are supposedly not harmful to humans unless picked up alive, in which case they can bite.
PS: is there a 'sureshs version' of this parasite, sticking its claw in the rectum of its host in order to survive by extracting its precious spray ?
(... and then replacing the genitals of its host, maybe ?)
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
If you step out of your agenda for a moment and actually glance through the thread, you will notice that in many cases the poasts were about animals helping other animals.
So it's just your bias that picked out the cute ones (at least I give that to you, that you admit you found some cute). That itself shows there is some hope for you. All hope is not lost.
C
Chadillac
Guest
donquijote
G.O.A.T.
Fate Archer
Hall of Fame
Same reserve of the Mapogos.
--
Somehow stumbled upon a blog with a number of pictures of species of caterpillars that mimic snakes. Thought this was fascinating and looked into it a bit. Here are some pics:
The last two reminded me of a good old friend: "Caterpie I choose you!"
Caterpie, Ash's first caught pokemon.
I haven't seen many of the "real life pokemon" videos or types of content, but I'm pretty aware of some of the inspiration. For our resident evolutionists (
), the mechanism is called Batesian Mimicry, this must be a particular form of it. It's said:"The imitating species is called the mimic, while the imitated species (protected by its toxicity or foul taste) is known as the model. The predatory species mediating indirect interactions between the mimic and the model is variously known as the [signal] receiver, dupe or operator. By parasitizing the honest warning signal of the model, the Batesian mimic gains an advantage, without having to go to the expense of arming itself. The model, on the other hand, is disadvantaged, along with the dupe. If impostors appear in high numbers, positive experiences with the mimic may result in the model being treated as harmless. At higher frequency there is also a stronger selective advantage for the predator to distinguish mimic from model. For this reason, mimics are usually less numerous than models, an instance of frequency dependent selection."
What I find as fascinating as all this is that regardless of outcome, nature tends to balance itself out.
But what I also didn't know, and found very interesting, is that in the case of the Swallowtail Caterpillar which Pokemon's Caterpie is based on, their defensive organ conveniently already looks like a snake's tongue.
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Fate Archer
Hall of Fame
"A leopard flying through the air in Masai Mara National Reserve, Kenya."
donquijote
G.O.A.T.
Looks like the animals that are being appreciated are either cute human-selected slaves or some "magnificent" types which humans can relate to.
Here is a magnificent creature produced by evolution:
Also called the "tongue-eating louse," this parasitic crustacean of the family Cymothoidae enters fish through the gills, then attaches itself at the base of the fish's tongue. Once there, it extracts blood through its front claws, causing the tongue to atrophy from lack of blood, then it replaces the fish's tongue by attaching its own body to the muscles at the tongue's stub. They are supposedly not harmful to humans unless picked up alive, in which case they can bite.
So you like a free-rider just for the sake of being different. This guy below sometimes stay hungry for weeks and still can hunt in that condition and runs faster than any creature in the world. Even the domestic cats are excellent hunters. Also yes we relate to human slaves as you call them because we live with them and there are much more material available to post about them naturally.
Fate Archer
Hall of Fame
Cheetahs are miraculous animals indeed. Evolutionarily, biomechanically, almost in every conceivable angle you look at it.
Even how their long tail is integrated into their being and how it acts to minimize and counter a number of significant physical forces being applied at the speed they operate. They evolved to be faster than anything, but just being able to outrun things doesn't mean they can control their speed, or be able to do sharp turns to be able to contest and chase their prey.
Here it starts well aligned with the rest of the spine during sprint but as they get closer, they flick it clockwise and counter-clockwise to match the change in direction of the chased prey.
Closer to the real speed as it happens:
All that process of evolution has a cost though. Like it's said on the video, they can't contest other big cats (lions, leopards) and even other predators (hyenas, wild dogs). They have to eat their catch fast, without barely having time to rest.
Indeed, all they can do is run, and be faster than anything. The epitome of speed... but also control of its mastery.
And their pleistoscene forms and ancestors must have been quite a sight to watch as well.
Even how their long tail is integrated into their being and how it acts to minimize and counter a number of significant physical forces being applied at the speed they operate. They evolved to be faster than anything, but just being able to outrun things doesn't mean they can control their speed, or be able to do sharp turns to be able to contest and chase their prey.
Here it starts well aligned with the rest of the spine during sprint but as they get closer, they flick it clockwise and counter-clockwise to match the change in direction of the chased prey.
Closer to the real speed as it happens:
All that process of evolution has a cost though. Like it's said on the video, they can't contest other big cats (lions, leopards) and even other predators (hyenas, wild dogs). They have to eat their catch fast, without barely having time to rest.
Indeed, all they can do is run, and be faster than anything. The epitome of speed... but also control of its mastery.
And their pleistoscene forms and ancestors must have been quite a sight to watch as well.
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Fate Archer
Hall of Fame
The species as a whole is currently under the "Vulnerable" classification on the Conservation Status which is one step before being "Endangered". Some populations or subspecies may be as far as "Critically Endangered", particularly in some of the North West African countries.
They tend to have low genetic diversity in their populations (seems to have been the case for thousand of years already), so if an epidemy or dangerous disease were to spread, they could be highly susceptible to it. In some environments their infants have very high mortality, one of the main reasons due to competition with lions on open terrains, such as the Serengeti.
They tend to have low genetic diversity in their populations (seems to have been the case for thousand of years already), so if an epidemy or dangerous disease were to spread, they could be highly susceptible to it. In some environments their infants have very high mortality, one of the main reasons due to competition with lions on open terrains, such as the Serengeti.
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vive le beau jeu !
Talk Tennis Guru
2
2HBH-DTL
Guest
This is a good one. If that doesn't make someone's heart smile I don't know what will!
fireandwind
Hall of Fame
Video:
"This dolphin swam up to a diver to get help — because she had a hook stuck in her flipper"
https://twitter.com/dodo/status/852326999364206592/video/1
That is human kindness, very touching. How intelligent the dolphins are..
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Haha ! But he rarely quotes. He often replies without quoting.
C
Chadillac
Guest
Not sure if its the little guy from my other panda one, could have grown
2
2HBH-DTL
Guest
This thread so full of cuteness it make me cry like little kid whose ice cream scoop fall off the cone
I showed my wife this picture and it just melted her heart lol. Her words not mine. But it is cute.
CivicLx
Hall of Fame
C
Chadillac
Guest
Baby Hippo
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Hippos can be quite dangerous, or so I've heard.Baby Hippo
But yeah, baby animals are always cute no matter how they look later.
C
Chadillac
Guest
That one was born at 29lbs. Avg is 55-110. It seems to be doing great
4 foot wide bite, 1 foot teeth and jaws that can do 2000lbs of pressure. They can cut a croc in half with one bite.
TnsGuru
Professional
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/weird-news/bird-saves-friend-kiss-life-7445907 Bird resuscitates his friend after bird hits the glass window.
helennnnnn
Professional
Video I took in Australia Zoo a few years ago
Incognito
Legend
"Africa’s extraordinary and charismatic wildlife is clearly under siege from the wrecking ball of Chinese demand. Heading the list of critically damaged species are elephants. As the world’s largest consumer, Chinese hunger for ivory is stimulating transnational organised crime, trashing ecosystems, flooding areas with weapons, perverting legal systems and causing mounting tension in elephant-range communities."
https://africageographic.com/blog/chinas-taste-wildlife-feeds-killing-frenzy/
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Not really surprising. If they can skin dogs alive, why not kill elephants. Disgusting behavior! One of the oldest existing civilizations yet more backward than the mullahs in Iran
https://africageographic.com/blog/chinas-taste-wildlife-feeds-killing-frenzy/
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Not really surprising. If they can skin dogs alive, why not kill elephants. Disgusting behavior! One of the oldest existing civilizations yet more backward than the mullahs in Iran
fireandwind
Hall of Fame
"Africa’s extraordinary and charismatic wildlife is clearly under siege from the wrecking ball of Chinese demand. Heading the list of critically damaged species are elephants. As the world’s largest consumer, Chinese hunger for ivory is stimulating transnational organised crime, trashing ecosystems, flooding areas with weapons, perverting legal systems and causing mounting tension in elephant-range communities."
https://africageographic.com/blog/chinas-taste-wildlife-feeds-killing-frenzy/
---------------
Not really surprising. If they can skin dogs alive, why not kill elephants. Disgusting behavior! One of the oldest existing civilizations yet more backward than the mullahs in Iran
Ivory has been a image of wealth and social status, especially Chinese people.
According to the international survey by National Geographic Society; In the United States and the Philippines, concerns about the plight of elephants are offset by the perception that governments ultimately will make sure the animals don’t become extinct. By contrast, Vietnamese believe that the elephant population is declining so rapidly that they had better buy as much ivory as possible before the supply disappears. Yet, 91% of Vietnamese agree to support a government ban on all selling, trading, importing or exporting in their country while only 79% of Chinese agree on that matter.
And, most likely Ivory buyers are Chinese. According to New York Times reporter Jeffrey Gettleman, as much of 70 percent of the illegal ivory heads to China, where a pound can fetch as much as $1,000. "The demand for ivory has surged to the point that the tusks of a single adult elephant can be worth more than 10 times the average annual income in many African countries.
Last year, he writes, "broke the record for the amount of illegal ivory seized worldwide, at 38.8 tons" (equaling the tusks from more than 4,000 dead elephants).
Fate Archer
Hall of Fame
They don't respect even human life, imagine animals. Might have always been like that even before Mao, but I think it became even more pronounced ever since he came to power."Africa’s extraordinary and charismatic wildlife is clearly under siege from the wrecking ball of Chinese demand. Heading the list of critically damaged species are elephants. As the world’s largest consumer, Chinese hunger for ivory is stimulating transnational organised crime, trashing ecosystems, flooding areas with weapons, perverting legal systems and causing mounting tension in elephant-range communities."
https://africageographic.com/blog/chinas-taste-wildlife-feeds-killing-frenzy/
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Not really surprising. If they can skin dogs alive, why not kill elephants. Disgusting behavior! One of the oldest existing civilizations yet more backward than the mullahs in Iran
All a subproduct of the current process of "investment" happening there in Africa from China.
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
For a long time (centuries), China had a lot of Buddhism, so I presume they weren't always like this. Communism destroyed most of that, and it is possible that the lack of respect for human life has only come in with this.
CivicLx
Hall of Fame
Is that the mom next to the baby? She looks so good for having just given birthBaby Hippo
Don't be taken in by religious missionary propaganda. China is a diverse country and it is not surprising that a few rich people want ivory, just like some wealthy Americans were caught shooting endangered animals in Africa recently. A lot of anti-Chinese propaganda in the West is because uneducated people cannot compete with China in manufacturing jobs yet want to lead lavish lifestyles, and China does not allow religious missionaries to bribe and subvert the culture inside its country by exploiting pockets of poverty. India woke up rather late in this regard. China is also a good example of how democracy is not essential for economic growth, which seems to distress many Westerners, who conveniently forget how successful they were by ruling undemocraticlally in their colonies or how well the US South did because of slavery.
Sentinel
Bionic Poster
Convenient of you to be sitting comfortably in PF Chang in SD living the good life, while some kids slave away in a sweatshop on the other side of the planet, without basic human rights, to make your life comfortable.
Anyway, my remark was not about the ivory, but exactly what i quoted.
If you had any idea about the spread of Buddhism in Tibet and China, (which i am sure you do), it was not about some large missionary groups with hordes of money going into a country buying off the poor. It was often just one person, and often that one person had travelled himself to India to study Buddhism and returned. Even kings converted to Buddhism in various nations.
C
Chadillac
Guest
Convenient of you to be sitting comfortably in PF Chang in SD living the good life, while some kids slave away in a sweatshop on the other side of the planet, without basic human rights, to make your life comfortable.
Anyway, my remark was not about the ivory, but exactly what i quoted.
If you had any idea about the spread of Buddhism in Tibet and China, (which i am sure you do), it was not about some large missionary groups with hordes of money going into a country buying off the poor. It was often just one person, and often that one person had travelled himself to India to study Buddhism and returned. Even kings converted to Buddhism in various nations.
Sentinel once walked into a pizza parlor and said, "can you make me one with everything"
Only partially true. Buddhism from India was often spread by delegations funded by Indian kings.
And within India, Buddhism was often forced on the people by the kings through official edict and declaring it to be the state religion or providing incentives.
You probably don't know but once upon a time, there was a clash between Hinduism and Buddhism. Buddhism lost out in India but triumphed abroad.