zooillogix | March 27, 2007"This bounty hunter is my kind of scum: fearless and inventive." Cane toad, Bufo marinus
The environmental group, Frogwatch, caught one of the largest specimens of toad ever discovered in Darwin, Australia on Tuesday. The apprehended toad is the size of a football and as heavy as a small sack of potatoes.
Cane toads are a highly poisonous, non-native species in Australia and have been wreaking havoc on the local ecosystem for decades. Frogwatch's "Toad Buster" project launches "raids" on small ponds, blinds the toads with bright lights and nets them by the dozens. From there they are killed…
zooillogix | March 26, 2007Have a diet rich in fiber? Eating bamboo all day, everyday, means pandas most certainly do. Now, researchers at a giant panda reserve in southern China are looking for paper mills to process their panda's fiber rich poo! The center's 40 bamboo-fed pandas produce about 2 tons of "processed material" a day, which could make a fine quality paper. Liao Jun, a researcher at the center, is not worried about squeamish consumers. "People won't find it gross at all," Liao said. "They probably won't even be able to tell it's from panda poop."Eats, poops and leaves.Motivational panda-poop office poster…
zooillogix | March 24, 2007Registered as an official cat breed by the International Cat Association since 1993, toygers will be fully recognized as a purebreed this May, 2007. Toygers display many of the same characteristics as their distant cousins, Bengal tigers, including the trademark black stripes, rusty fur and in some cases even webbed toes!
Fortunately, however, they do not display attributes of their cousins' personalities; (They are known for their playfulness, intelligence and obedience, NOT for latching on to the jugular of their trainers). Breeders consider the toyger a "work in progress" and vow to…
zooillogix | March 23, 2007One of the world's smallest and rarest owls was seen for the first time in the wild. The American Bird Conservancy announced the discovery Thursday by a group of researchers monitoring Peru's northern jungle. The owl, called an "owlet" due to its emasculatingly small size, is so distinct that it has its own genus, "Xenoglaux," meaning "strange owl." According to one of the team members, the population is estimated to be less than 1,000 birds and possibly as few as 250. The bird has bright reddish-orange eyes and is no bigger than a man's fist.You woke me up for this?!, xenoglaux loweryiMore…
zooillogix | March 22, 2007Fisherman hauled the world's largest squid ever caught out of the icy Antarctic waters last month. Since then, it has been kept on ice while scientists ponder how to prepare it for permanent display at the University of New Zealand. Larger than giant squid, colossal squid range from 40-65 feet long. This specimen weighed 1,090 lbs and was 33 feet long. Now the scientists have run into a problem: the frozen squid is so large that by the time the center of the beast defrosts, the outer flesh will have rotted.Colossal squid captured, mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni
The logical solution? Throw the…
zooillogix | March 21, 2007>We're going to need a bigger boat, Lion's Mane Jellyfish. cyanea capillata Photo Credit Paul Johnson
A swarm of large, stinging jellyfish attacked female swimmers in the World Swimming Championships off of St. Kilda Beach in Melbourne, Australia, Tuesday. Winds blew the jellies, most likely of the massive lion's mane variety, into the course area, where they tormented participants throughout the race. Most of the women emerged from the water covered in red rashes from head to toe. Said second-place finisher, Cassandra Patten, "It sounds weird, but it actually broke up the swimming a…
zooillogix | March 19, 2007"Mike, Mike, where's your head? Even without it, you're not dead!" --Schoolyard rhyme from the 1940's inspired by Mike the Headless Chicken.
On a cold night in the fall of 1945, Lloyd Olsen, a farmer from Fruita, Colorado headed out to the shed for the first step in preparing a delicious chicken dinner - chopping the head off of Mike the Chicken. A lifelong farmer, Olsen was a seasoned pro but this time he cut it a little too close. While the chicken most certainly lost his head, a tiny portion of his brain stem was left intact in the base of his neck. To Farmer Olsen's amazement, the…
zooillogix | March 19, 2007Sometimes called an "antbear" in its native Africa, its name actually means "Earth Pig" in Dutch. However, the aardvark is not related to bears, pigs, or the naked mouse featured previously, despite some outward resemblance. Aardvark's are classified in their own order, Tubulidentata, which references the unique tubular structure inside their teeth. Living on a diet of termites and ants, humans hunt antbears because they look so delicious...
2 Day Old Baby Aardvark
6 Week Old Baby Aardvark
Mom and Pup, orycteropus afer
zooillogix | March 18, 2007Next time your boo is blowing up your celly, would you rather hear the latest Lil' Bow-Wow joint or the soothing call of the endangered Chiricahua Leopard Frog? Rare Earth Ringtones lets you download over 40 endangered species ringtones for free.
rana chiricahuensis
zooillogix | March 17, 2007So maybe that is a bit inaccurate but this glow in the dark mouse is real and was created to aid in cancer research. It's called a florescent nude transgenic mouse. We're embarrassed for him.
Nude transgenic mouse in normal light
Nude transgenic mouse under black light at a Phish show.
We can't make this stuff up.
zooillogix | March 16, 2007In honor of St. Paddy's Day, a tribute to being green.
Northland Green Gecko, naultinus grayii
Green Lynx Spider, peucetia viridansGreen Hermit Hummingbird, phaethornis guy (we think)
Green Grasshopper, campylacantha olivacea
zooillogix | March 16, 2007You probably know octopuses can change their color and appearance but this footage is unbelievable. Before you harass me, it is "octopuses" and not "octopi."Disclaimer - actual adorable octopuses featured above may not berepresentative of much less adorable octopuses in video. Sepiadarium austrinum
zooillogix | March 15, 2007A new species of clouded leopard was identified today in the jungles of Borneo. In fact, over 400 new species of animals have been discovered in the rain forests of Borneo since 1994.
Most of the species shown below were found through the World Wildlife Fund's (WWF) spectacular Heart of Borneo Initiative.
Bornean Clouded Leopard, neofelis diardi
Catfish with suction cups on its belly and protruding teeth
Lizard - new species of skink
(By far our favorite), Unidentified "Mystery Mammel"
zooillogix | March 13, 2007For the last 50 years, zoo animals around the world have been tricked into painting. In many cases, the "art" has fetched big bucks: up to $25,000 for Chimp and Orangutan work. It's time for a comprehensive art show to compare styles:
Maggie, Sea Lion, Pittsburgh Zoo
Congo, Chimpanzee, London (1950's)
"Make Me Fly" by Seng Wong, Indian Elephant, Bali, Indonesia
Nonja, Orangutan, Schoenbrunn Zoo, Vienna, Austria
Lomako, Bonobo, Milwaukee County Zoo, Milwaukee WI, USA
Anonymous Great Ape, Mefou Forest Reserve, Camaroon
zooillogix | March 13, 2007
Ever consider purchasing a baby sloth? I know you have. I'm not sure where to get one (and I am sure it's illegal to have in the U.S.), but after seeing the classic Baby Sloth Video, I'm feeling obligated to obtain one.
Swaddled in my love
if you had any doubt left...
zooillogix | March 13, 2007For years, environmentalists have been worried about the overfishing of white marlin. However, studies have shown white marlin populations to be low, but not perilously so. A recent petition to put the white marlin on the endangered species list was even turned down. It turns out that a significant portion of the "population" of white marlin is not white marlin at all, but a newly identified species called a roundscale spearfish, which bears a stunningly close resemblance to their whiter, more marliny brethren.
These elderly gentlemen might not be so smiley if they knew that they were…
zooillogix | March 12, 2007A few days ago we brought you the astonishingly ugly baby cockatiel. On the other, tastier side of the spectrum, we have this hardboiled ostrich egg and a massive deviled ostrich egg. Again, brought to you by our friends in New Mexico.
photo courtesy of Pat Deering
photo courtesy of Tom Deering
zooillogix | March 12, 2007I was lucky enough to find myself in Atlanta this weekend and made a trip to the one year old Georgia Aquarium. The animals and exhibits were spectacular. The Georgia Aquarium is one of only four in the world with whale sharks and the only one outside of Asia.
The aquarium has the distinct advantage of being brand new, some of the enclosures seemed a bit small and it lacked the ubiquitous dolphin Vaudeville show, but it blows all other aquariums I have been to out of the water.Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) - Pictures don't do these guys justice. There were three of them, each 15-25 feet.…
zooillogix | March 10, 2007One of over 500 new creatures discovered in 2006 in the Deep Sea Census, the Yeti Crab is among the most unusual. With "furry arms" it is distinct from almost all other crustaceans and would make a great stuffed animal.
kiwa hirsuta
zooillogix | March 9, 2007A family friend recently found some cockatiel eggs in their pair's cage. One hatched and this little alien emerged. All photos courtesy of Tom Deering.
90 minute old baby cockatiel
4 day old baby cockatiel
2 week old baby space alien