Animals & Pets 01 (May 08 - Jun 14)

[winston]

It's Fun to Know: Drown-Resistant Zombie Spiders

A team of scientists at France's University of Rennes accidentally discovered several species of spiders that can "return from the dead" after drowning.

The three species of wolf spider, two of which live in flood-prone salt marshes, were part of an experiment to see how long they could survive underwater. They were kept in water for more than a day, until they stopped moving, showed no signs of life, and had apparently died.

The researchers thought the experiment was over. But the spiders, left out to dry before a final weighing, regained consciousness after a few hours. Apparently, they are able to go into a self-induced coma that allows them to survive for extended periods of time without air.

The researchers are now investigating other spiders and insects that are found in watery habitats.

(Source: National Geographic)

[iam802]

My kid shares with me this...

What is the fastest running land insect?

Hidden Content:

The fastest insects on land are certain large tropical cockroaches of the family Dictyoptera. In an experiment carried out at the University of California at Berkeley, USA, in 1991, a Periplaneta americana registered a record speed of 3.36 m.p.h., or 50 body lengths per second.

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Fastest_running_insect

[kennynah]

i dont see all these kittens anymore except of perhaps 2 of them...

and these 2 have become rather familiar with me...greeting me with their meows and always inviting me to caress them..with my slippers of cos...these strays can be very dirty....

one of them, simply like to lie down in front of me to nap, while i smoked... but notice how these animals can grow so big in a couple of months...

[helios]

Ken ge,

that's you in the leopard slippers ?



maybe they recognise the slippers instead

[kennynah]

actually... i must apologize...that picture showing the feet...those aren't mine..

i am actually a woman....sorry, i have given the impression that i am a man all these time...

[winston]

Anti-piracy pup sniffs out 35,000 illegal DVDs

AFP - Thursday, June 4KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) - - A DVD-sniffing anti-piracy dog named Paddy has uncovered a huge cache of 35,000 discs in Malaysian warehouses, many destined for export to Singapore, industry officials said on Wednesday.

The black Labrador helped enforcement officials who carried out raids last week in southern Johor state which neighbours Singapore, the Motion Picture Association (MPA) said in a statement.

Paddy was given to Malaysia by the MPA to help close down piracy syndicates who churn out vast quantities of illegal DVDs. The dog is specially trained to detect chemicals in the discs.

"Paddy led enforcement officers on a successful weekend operation to shut down the supply lines of pirated movie DVDs in the Malaysian state of Johor," the MPA said in a statement.

"Post-raid investigations revealed that two of the targets were actively involved in exporting pirated DVDs to Singapore," it added.

The raids carried out by officials from the MPA and Malaysia's trade and consumer affairs ministry shut down six warehouses storing pirated products, it said.

The MPA said just-released titles such as "Terminator Salvation", "Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian", "Angels and Demons" and "Star Trek" were among the movies seized.

"This is a clear signal to the pirates that we will not waver in our efforts to shut them down," said Mohamad Roslan Mahayudin, director-general of enforcement with the Malaysian ministry.

"We are glad to hear that Paddys skills are being put to good use against the large, organised network of pirates involved in exporting illegal pirated DVDs to Singapore," said Mike Ellis, the MPA's Asia-Pacific managing director.

The MPA said its member companies lost 6.1 billion dollars to worldwide piracy in 2005. Of that lost revenue, about 1.2 billion dollars came from piracy in the Asian region.

[winston]

It's Fun to Know: The Komodo Dragon

For years, scientists had the wrong idea about the komodo dragon, the world's largest reptile (averaging 10 feet long), native to Indonesia. They were convinced that it was fast-acting bacteria in the lizard's mouth that helped kill its victims (along with its crushing jaws). But recent work by an Australian researcher has shown that a toxic venom is to blame.

The poison causes stomach cramps and hypothermia. Even worse, it can prevent blood from clotting and cause a drop in blood pressure. Combined with blood loss (from the bites), that's deadly.

(Source: Agence France-Presse)

[greenhoney]

sounds like a lethal bite to me.

[winston]

It’s Fun to Know: Whale Milk By ETR

Newborn whales (calves) feast on their mothers’ milk after they’re born, just like every mammal does. But there’s no low-fat milk in the ocean. Whale milk, which is 50 percent fat, has 10 times the fat content of human milk. The high fat content allows young whales to attain growth spurts of 200 pounds per day.

(Source: Mental Floss)

[millionairemind]

Aug 13, 2009
'Lucky' tattooed fish

BEIJING - PET shops in a city in southwest China are offering fish tattooed with patterns and lucky characters intended to bring their owners good fortune and happiness.

The Qingshiqiao pet market in Chengdu sells a variety of ornamental 'fortune fish' decorated with flowers, rainbows and characters, the Huaxi Metropolis Daily reported on Thursday.

Tropical parrot fish are usually used for tattooing, often with the Chinese characters meaning 'May your business boom,' the regional newspaper said on its website.

A dealer said lasers were used to tattoo the fish. An ordinary parrot fish sells for just 10 yuan (S$2.16) while a tattooed one goes for at least 25 yuan.

A set of four fish tattooed with the characters for 'Good Fortune,' "Luck,' 'Long Life,' and 'Happiness' can cost 120 yuan, the paper said.

Tattooed fish first appeared on the market in 2005 but only became popular in the past year or two.

While some shoppers interviewed by the paper said the idea of tattooed fish was novel, others thought it was cruel.

Fisheries expert Zhang Zhicheng said no one had studied how the tattoos would affect the fish.

'To use a laser to tattoo will surely affect the fish. It's like tattooing a human being's body, it breaks the physiological balance of the fish and damages the skin's protective surface,' Zhang was quoted as saying.

Pets have become more popular in China in recent years with the country's increasing prosperity. -- AFP