Category: Animals

Animals Frogs Science

These new species of miniature frogs clearly have the best names

sudshr47 March 29, 2019

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These newly-described miniature frogs are the smallest of their kind in the world, and they also have very appropriate names.

The genus of frogs has been dubbed Mini, and it contains three species: Mini mum, Mini scule, and Mini ature. Pretty clever. The trio has been described in a new study by evolutionary biologist Mark Scherz and a team of scientists.

Two other new species, Rhombophryne proportionalis and Anodonthyla eximia, measuring 11–12 millimetres (around 0.45 inches), were also described in the study.

As noted by Scherz on his blog, two species of Mini are within the top 50 smallest frogs in the world, while the Mini scule — which only gets as large as 10.8 millimetres (0.43 inches) — is within the top 20 smallest frogs. Read more…

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Animals April The Giraffe Culture Youtube

April the giraffe brings a new baby and a bit of joy into this heartless world

sudshr47 March 16, 2019

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Having tasted the viral birth highs of 2017, it was only a matter of time before April the giraffe came back to YouTube for another sweet hit of the good stuff. 

That’s right, everyone’s favorite cam star is back at it again. According to the Animal Adventure Park in Harpursville, New York, April gave birth to a healthy male calf at 12:43 p.m. ET on March 16. 

A Facebook post announcing the birth neglected to mention that we are all born into suffering. 

“Approximately 11:00 am, Jordan entered the barn to check April, who laid with her back end just out of camera view on both camera angles,” reads the post. “Upon Jordan’s entry to the barn, April stood up and revealed that she had in fact been in labor and the calf’s hooves and first 8-10” of leg were emerging!” Read more…

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Animals Berlin Zoo Culture Polar Bear Cub Polar Bears

Berlin zoo’s new polar bear is the adorable ray of light we need

sudshr47 March 16, 2019

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As we struggle our way through the cold mud towards spring amidst a barrage of awful news, it’s good to know that we can still find respite in the most reliable of places: adorable zoo animals.

This latest example comes in the debut of a new polar bear cub at Berlin’s Tierpark Zoo. The three-month old cub is the offspring of mother Tonja and was born on December 1, 2018, but she just made her public debut on Friday.

AND JUST LOOK AT HER!

Kleiner #Eisbär on Tour: Eisbärin Tonja unternahm heute zusammen mit ihrem #Nachwuchs den ersten großen Ausflug auf die Außenanlage. Es wurde neugierig alles erkundet, viel geschwommen und liebevoll gekuschelt! Ab Samstag können Besucher die Beiden im #TierparkBerlin sehenpic.twitter.com/fEmMcvEHQE

— Zoo Tierpark Berlin (@zooberlin) March 15, 2019 Read more…

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Animals Celebrities Chrissy Teigen Culture Hamster

Chrissy Teigen gets a hamster, takes all of Twitter along for the ride

sudshr47 March 11, 2019

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Chrissy Teigen just got a hamster, and like any new pet owner, she has a lot of questions about her furry companion.

Like if it’s normal for the little critter to furiously gnaw at her cage? And the age old question of to touch or not to touch?

Teigen started her hamster thread by introducing the little buddy as Peanut Butter, adding that her husband, John Legend, was not as thrilled about the new addition to the family. 

Luna and I bought a hamster today. Her name is peanut butter. John is not thrilled, which makes me love her more.

— christine teigen (@chrissyteigen) March 11, 2019 Read more…

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Animals Science Selfie Zoo

The jaguar who attacked a woman taking a selfie won’t be put down

sudshr47 March 10, 2019

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Good news everyone: The jaguar who attacked a woman taking a selfie will live. 

The woman reportedly crossed over a barrier near the jaguar enclosure at the Wildlife World Zoo in Arizona on Saturday to take a photo with the cats when one reached out and slashed her arm. Paramedics took her to a nearby hospital to treat the non life-threatening injuries, according to a statement from the zoo. 

“Please understand why barriers are put in place,” the zoo tweeted. “Sending prayers to the family tonight.”

Please understand why barriers are put in place. Sending prayers to the family tonightpic.twitter.com/2MPb8bXhwR

— Wildlife World Zoo, Aquarium & Safari Park (@ZooWildlife) March 10, 2019 Read more…

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Animals Culture Dogs Science

This adorable experiment created a real-life Dug the Dog from ‘Up’

sudshr47 March 6, 2019

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We all remember Dug the Dog, the adorably goofy pup from Pixar’s Up who was able to communicate his thoughts and feelings thanks to some nifty technology. 

Well, now we’re one step closer to such technology being real, thanks to some students at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. The team explains in the above video how they built the interface, which reads the neural responses of Alma, an adorable golden retriever. They’re then translated and deliver a pre-recorded vocal response. 

How accurate is the device? That’s debatable, to say the least. There’s a mountain of research and debate about how dogs “think” that’s yet to be settled. Still, it’s a neat — and extremely cute — experiment. Read more…

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