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"20 Most Venomous Snakes in the World"Source: Wikipedia.org | February 5, 2017, 2:00AM EDT
"Rattlesnake round-up" "Western Diamondback Rattlesnake"
"Rattlesnake round-ups, also known as rattlesnake rodeos are annual events common in the rural Midwest and Southern United States, where the primary attractions are captured wild rattlesnakes which are sold, displayed, killed for food or animal products such as snakeskin or released back into the wild. Rattlesnake round-ups originated in the first half of the 20th century for adventure and excitement, as well as to achieve local extirpation of perceived pest species. Typically a round-up will also include trade stalls, food, rides, and other features associated with fairs, as well as information on rattlesnake biology, identification, and safety. Round-ups take place in at least ten states, with largest events in Texas and Oklahoma. The largest rattlesnake round-up in the United States is held in Sweetwater, Texas. Held every year since 1958, the event currently attracts approximately 30,000 visitors per year and in 2006 each annual Round-Up was said to result in the capture of 1% of the state's rattlesnake population. Round-ups have economic and social importance to the communities that hold them. The events often attract thousands of tourists, which can bring hundreds of thousands of dollars of revenue into small towns; the Sweetwater Round-Up's economic impact was estimated to exceed US$5 million in 2006. Snake collectors often make large profits selling snakes at the events. Cash prizes and trophies are often given out to participants in categories like heaviest, longest, or most snakes. These incentives result in all size classes of snakes being targeted equally. Most roundups target the western diamondback rattlesnake though some events target prairie rattlesnakes, timber rattlesnakes or the eastern diamondback rattlesnake. A harvest of several hundred to several thousand kilograms of snakes is typical for many roundups. In Texas, up to 125,000 snakes could have been removed annually from the wild during the 1990s. However, effects of roundups on rattlesnake populations are unclear. Harvest size at roundups is highly variable from year to year but does not show a consistent downward trend, even after decades of annual roundup events in some areas. However, poaching and roundups have been destructive to populations of timber rattlesnakes in the northeastern United States. Some groups are concerned that local populations may be declining rapidly, even if the global population is unaffected. Rattlesnake round-ups became a concern by animal welfare groups and conservationists due to claims of animal cruelty and excessive threat of future endangerment. In response, some Round-Ups impose catch size restrictions or releasing captured snakes back into the wild."
Source: Wikipedia.org | Saturday, March 10, 2018, 9:55AM CDT |
"The moose (North America) or elk (Eurasia), Alces alces, is the largest extant species in the deer family. Moose are distinguished by the palmate antlers of the males; other members of the family have antlers with a twig-like configuration. Moose typically inhabit boreal and mixed deciduous forests of the Northern Hemisphere in temperate to subarctic climates. Moose used to have a much wider range but hunting and other human activities have greatly reduced it. Moose have been reintroduced to some of their former habitats. Currently, most moose are found in Canada, Alaska, New England, Scandinavia, Latvia, Estonia and Russia. Their diet consists of both terrestrial and aquatic vegetation. The most common moose predators are wolves, bears and humans. Unlike most other deer species, moose are solitary animals and do not form herds. Although generally slow-moving and sedentary, moose can become aggressive and move quickly if angered or startled. Their mating season in the autumn can lead to spectacular fights between males competing for a female. The term "moose" is a name of North American origin, and the scientific name Alces alces comes from its Latin name. The animal is known in Britain as the "elk." The moose became extinct in Britain during the Bronze Age, long before the Europeans' discovery of America. The youngest bones were found in Scotland and are roughly 3900 years old. The word "elk" remained in usage because of its existence in continental Europe but, without any living animals around to serve as a reference, the meaning became rather vague to most ancient speakers of English, who used "elk" to refer to "large deer" in general. Dictionaries of the 18th century simply described "elk" as a deer that was "as large as a horse. Confusingly, the word "elk" is used in North America to refer to a different animal, Cervus canadensis, which is also called by the Algonkian indigenous name, "wapiti." The British began colonizing America in the 17th century, and found two common species of deer for which they had no names. The wapiti appeared very similar to the red deer of Europe (which itself was almost extinct in Southern Britain) although it was a lot larger and was not red. The moose was a rather strange looking deer to the colonists, and they often adopted local names for both. In the early days of American colonization, the wapiti was often called a grey moose and the moose was often called a black moose, but early accounts of the animals varied wildly, adding to the confusion."
Source: Wikipedia.org | Monday, February 5, 2018, 11:11AM CDT |
"Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake" "Eastern Diamondback Rattlesnake"
"Crotalus adamanteus is a pit viper species found in the southeastern United States. It is the heaviest though not the longest venomous snake in the Americas and the largest rattlesnake. No subspecies are currently recognized. This is the largest rattlesnake species and is the heaviest known type of venomous snake, with one specimen shot in 1946 measuring 7.8 ft in length and weighing 34 lb. However, other venomous snakes may rival this species in weight, the much longer but more slender king cobra is probably greater in average body mass if not maximum weight and the shorter but even bulkier gaboon viper could but is not verified to exceed the rattlesnake in both mean adult body mass and possibly even maximum body mass. Maximum reported lengths for eastern diamondback rattlesnakes are 8 ft and 8.25 ft. However, the stated maximum sizes have been called into question due to a lack of voucher specimens. Males are larger than females. The color pattern consists of a brownish, brownish-yellow, brownish-gray or olive ground color, overlaid with a series of 24–35 dark brown to black diamonds with slightly lighter centers. Each of these diamond-shaped blotches is outlined with a row of cream or yellowish scales. Posteriorly, the diamond shapes become more like crossbands and are followed by 5–10 bands around the tail. The belly is a yellowish or cream-colored, with diffused, dark mottling along the sides. The head has a dark postocular stripe that extends from behind the eye backwards and downwards to the lip; the back of the stripe touches the angle of the mouth. Anteriorly and posteriorly, the postocular stripe is bordered by distinct white or yellow stripes. This rattlesnake inhabits upland dry pine forest, pine and palmetto flatwoods, sandhills and coastal maritime hammocks, longleaf pine/turkey oak habitats, grass-sedge marshes and swamp forest, cypress swamps, mesic hammocks, sandy mixed woodlands, xeric hammocks, and salt marshes, as well as wet prairies during dry periods. In many areas, they seem to use burrows made by gophers and gopher tortoises during the summer and winter. These snakes frequently shelter by tunneling in gopher and tortoise burrows, emerging in the early morning or afternoon to bask. Like most rattlesnakes, this species is terrestrial and not adept at climbing. However, they have on occasion been reported in bushes and trees, apparently in search of prey. Even large specimens have been spotted as high as 10 m above the ground. They are also known to be excellent swimmers. Specimens have often been spotted crossing stretches of water between barrier islands and the mainland off the Georgia coast, in the Gulf of Mexico and in the Florida Keys, sometimes miles from land. Individual disposition varies, with some allowing close approach while remaining silent, and others starting to rattle at a distance of 20–30 ft. The rattle is well developed and can be heard from relatively far away. When threatened, they raise the anterior half of their bodies off the ground in an S-shaped coil, and can strike to a distance of at least a third of their body length. Many will stand their ground and may strike repeatedly, but if given the opportunity, they will usually retreat while facing the intruder and moving backwards towards shelter, after which they disappear. One popular myth is these snakes must rattle before striking. To the contrary, these snakes are quite capable of striking while remaining completely silent. Hawks, eagles, and other snakes have been known to prey upon young and adolescent specimens. These snakes forage actively or lie in ambush for small mammals, especially rabbits and rice rats. Their diets also include birds. Prey is struck and released, after which the snake follows the scent trail left by the dying prey. Because of their large size, adults have no problem eating prey as large as fully grown cottontail rabbits. As the juveniles are capable of swallowing adult mice, they do not often resort to eating slimmer prey, such as lizards. In fact, eastern cottontails and marsh rabbits form the bulk of their diets in most parts of Florida. Squirrels, rats, and mice are also eaten, along with birds such as towhees and bobwhite quail. Other prey that have been reported include a king rail, a young wild turkey, and a mother woodpecker along with four of her eggs. They also eat large insects. Eastern diamondbacks can live beyond 20 years, but life expectancy in the wild is now typically shorter because of hunting and human expansion. This species has the reputation of being the most dangerous venomous snake in North America. While not usually aggressive, they are large and powerful. Wright and Wright mentioned a mortality rate of 30%, but other studies show a mortality rate of 10-20%. In proportion to its length, it has the longest fangs of any rattlesnake species, with calculations leading one to expect an 8-ft specimen would have fangs with a total length of over 1 in."
Source: Wikipedia.org | Saturday, March 10, 2018, 10:18AM CDT |
"The proboscis monkey is a large species, being one of the largest monkey species native to Asia. Only the Tibetan macaque and a few of the gray langurscan rival its size. Sexual dimorphism is pronounced in the species. Males have a head-body length of 26.0 to 30.0 inches and typically weigh 35 to 50 lbs with a maximum known weight of 66 lbs. Females measure 21.0 to 24.4 inches in head-and-body length and weigh 7 to 15 to 26 lbs with a maximum known mass of 33 lbs. Further adding to the dimorphism is the large nose or proboscis of the male, which can exceed 3.9 inches in length and hangs lower than the mouth. Nevertheless, the nose of the female is still fairly large for a primate. The proboscis monkey has a long coat; the fur on the back is bright orange, reddish brown, yellowish brown or brick-red. The underfur is light-grey, yellowish, or greyish to light-orange. The face is orange-pink. The male has a red penis with a black scrotum. Both sexes have bulging stomachs that give the monkeys what resembles a pot belly. Many of the monkeys' toes are webbed. The proboscis monkey is endemic to the island of Borneo and can be found on all three nations that divide the island: Brunei, Indonesia, and Malaysia. It is most common in coastal areas and along rivers. This species is restricted to lowland habitats that may experience tides. It favors dipterocarp, mangrove andriverine forests. It can also be found in swamp forests, stunted swamp forests, rubber forests, rubber plantations, limestone hill forests, nypa swamps, nibongswamps, and tall swamp forests, tropical heath forests and steep cliffs."
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"The Secret Behind Birds' Brainy Feats Revealed"
"The next time someone calls you a "bird brain," you may want to plant a big, fat kiss on their overgrown primate noggin. Inch for inch, birds cram more neurons into their pea-size brains than primates do, new research suggests. "For a long time, having a 'bird brain' was considered to be a bad thing: Now, it turns out that it should be a compliment," Suzana Herculano-Houzel, a neuroscientist at Vanderbilt University in Tennessee, said in a statement. That may explain how the feathery fliers are able to ace so many intelligence tests, the authors speculated."
"Brain size matters" "Early on, the scientific mantra when it came to animal intelligence was that size matters: The bigger the brain, the brainier the species. However, that notion had some gargantuan flaws, as elephants and whales have much bigger brains than humans, yet few scientists believed those animals were smarter than humans. Others attempted to explain animal intelligence in terms of the ratio of brain to body size. But this measure didn't track perfectly with animal intelligence, either, as studies have demonstrated. The most glaring exceptions are birds, such as crows and parrots, which have relatively large heads for their bodies, but very small heads overall. Numerous studies have shown that some birds can use tools, recognize themselves in the mirror, and anticipate and plan. One particularly cerebral parrot, an African grey parrot named Alex, was even able to grasp the concept of zero. Therefore, birds presented a mystery. Most birds have tiny heads compared to most primates. So how, then, do they accomplish all of these brainy feats? Researchers initially thought that bird brains must be wired differently, thereby allowing for greater cognition. But a 2013 study in the journal Frontiers in Computational Neuroscience showed that the in pigeon brains were very similar to those found in primate brains." "Packed with cells" "To figure out the conundrum, Herculano-Houzel and her colleagues dissected the brains of more than two dozen bird species. Then, they analyzed the bird brains using a technique called isotropic fractionation —essentially mixing the brain tissue into a solution and grinding it up into a more uniform mixture, so that the individual nuclei, or regions of the cells that contain DNA, could be easily counted. When the researchers compared the number of neurons in those brains with those of mammals, they found that, pound for pound, birds packed way more neurons into their brains than mammals did. What's more, most of these neurons resided in a part of the brain called the pallium, a region roughly equivalent to the cerebral cortex in mammals, which is the seat of many higher-thinking processes, the researchers reported May 6 in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The findings are fascinating to scientists because previously, neuroscientists believed there was a strict relationship between neuron size and brain size. That's because, as more neurons grow, they must form more connections over large distances, meaning the neurons themselves must be bigger to hold all of those connections. However, the new study showed that the bird brain works around this size constraint by keeping most neurons small and linked up with nearby neighbors, while only a few neurons are allowed to grow to a larger size in order to facilitate long-distance connections. "In designing brains, nature has two parameters it can play with: the size and number of neurons, and the distribution of neurons across different brain centers," Herculano-Houzel said. "In birds, we find that nature has used both of them." As a follow-up, the researchers hope to explore how bird brains evolved and whether they also have similar energy requirements to those of primate brains, the researchers said." Source: In the News presented by ClassicShoppes.us | Saturday, June 18, 2016, 2:30PM | Original article, courtesy of Livescience. |
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