Results tagged “asia” on Earth Touch Blog
Macaques at both ends of the tail scale Jun 2 2008
Tags: asia, diet, feed, long-tailed, macaque, mammal, monkey, stump-tailed, tail, thailand, vertebrate
Flickr group: pic of the day – binturong cub May 27 2008
Binturongs (Arctictis binturong), also known as bear cats, are found in southeast Asia. They are nocturnal tree-dwellers and eat mostly fruit.
Wildlife news from around the world
Spiders like what they see in UVB May 20 2008
Spiders that reflect ultraviolet B (UVB) rays are more likely to appear “sexy” to their mates, a recent study reported by Science Daily has shown.
Tags: arachnid, asia, chinese jumping spider, communication, eyes, sex, spider, ultraviolet lightFlickr group: pic of the day – Tailed jay butterfly May 6 2008
The tailed jay butterfly (Graphium agamemnon), also known as the green spotted triangle, tailed green jay or green triangle, is a tropical species of the swallowtail family. It is widely found in Australia, India, Sri Lanka and Southeast Asia.
Tags: asia, australia, butterfly, flickr, india, insect, invertebrate, photograph, photography, southeast asia, sri lanka, tailed jayFlickr group: pic of the day – great white egret May 2 2008
The great white egret, also known simply as the great egret Ardea alba, is the world’s largest egret.
Tags: africa, aggression, america, argentina, asia, australia, bird, brazil, canada, egret, europe, flickr, great egret, great white egret, group, heron, large, namibia, protect, white, youngWildlife news from around the world
Darwin and the jungle fowl gene Apr 14 2008
Evolution theorist Charles Darwin believed the domesticated chicken descended from the red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus) only, but new research shows there’s more to the story.
Tags: asia, bird, chicken, colour, evolution, forest, fowl, genetics, india, jungle, skinFlickr group: pic of the day – Indian grey mongoose Apr 1 2008
The Indian grey mongoose (Herpestes edwardsi) is found in southern India and parts of the Middle East and south-eastern China. These animals, which can grow to about 0.6m (2ft) long, live socially in small family groups.
Tags: asia, china, flickr, india, indian grey mongoose, mammal, middle east, mongoose, photograph, photography, vertebrateWildlife news from around the world
Bat fossil settles it: first flight, then steering Mar 24 2008
The journal Nature reports that a new bat fossil seems to have settled a debate about what came first in bat evolution: flight or echolocation.
Tags: asia, bat, echolocation, flight, fly, fossil, mammal, thailand, wrinkle-lipped bat, wyomingThe week’s most viewed stories Mar 14 2008
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 07 March to Thursday 13 March 2008) were:
Tags: aliwal shoal, asia, bird, fish, food, forest, forest fever-berry, hornbill, mate, moss, nest, popular, shark, south africa, thailand, tiger shark, tree, trunkFears and smears in a bat cave Mar 14 2008
For someone who is afraid of heights, small spaces and the dark, one of the main concerns while filming in caves is avoiding an untimely and regrettable death.
Flickr group: pic of the day – plain tiger caterpillar Mar 13 2008
This plain tiger caterpillar (Danaus chrysippus) will mature into a common plain tiger butterfly, also known as an African monarch. They are widely found in Africa and Asia.
Tags: asia, butterfly, caterpillar, monarchWildlife news from around the world
Gliders of the forest Mar 10 2008
With the help of miniature data-recording backpacks, researchers are learning more about the gliding behaviour of colugos – otherwise known as the flying lemurs of Malaysia.
Tags: asia, colugo, forest, glide, jump, malaysia, mammalDid you know? Differences between Indian and African elephants Mar 5 2008
African elephant
There are many ways that Indian and African elephants are different from one another, even though they are related.
Tags: african elephant, asia, asian elephant, elephant, india, indian elephant, mammal, vertebrateToads, frogs and tadpoles Feb 4 2008
Toads and frogs are both tailless amphibians and begin life in water as tadpoles.
Tags: amphibian, anatomy, asia, blyde canyon, egg, fertilise, frog, khao yai, metamorphosis, mpumalanga, national park, south africa, tadpole, thailand, toadWildlife news from around the world
River dolphin count completed Jan 29 2008
BBC Wildlife magazine reports that the recent completion of a survey of pink (Inia geoffrensis and Inia boliviensis) and grey (Sotalia fluviatilis) river dolphins in South America’s Orinoco and Amazon Basins was “a triumph for freshwater dolphin conservation”.
Fishy facts Jan 29 2008
The world’s smallest fish is the Paedocypris progenetica, which belongs to the carp family. It is the smallest vertebrate, being 7.9mm (0.3in) long. The species was discovered in the acidic waters of forest swamps in Sumatra, Indonesia.
Tags: acidic water, asia, carp, disease, ichthyologist, indonesia, infection, mucus, parasite, pup, skin, sumatra, vertebrae, whale sharkWhat’s coming in 2008 Jan 4 2008
In 2007, Earth-Touch users were treated to wildlife video and story packages from four continents – Africa, North America, South America and Asia – and a great variety of habitats.
Wildlife news from around the world
Whale missing link found Jan 3 2008
A fossil found in a mountainous region of India may be the ancestor of whales, dolphins and porpoises.
It was known that these marine mammals had a land-based ancestor, but this link in the fossil record was missing.
Tags: asia, fossil, india, kashmir, whaleMammals of the world Dec 24 2007
There are more than 4 500 different species of mammals, from the largest, the blue whale, to the smallest, the pygmy shrew.
Wildlife news from around the world
Technology to help pandas Dec 19 2007
Researchers are hoping that advanced technology will soon reveal more about the elusive and highly endangered giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), native to China.
ScienceDaily reports that Vanessa Hull, a Michigan State University PhD student, is in the snowy mountains of China’s Sichuan province – the heart of panda habitat – working to capture, collar and track up to four wild pandas using advanced global positioning systems (GPS).
Tags: asia, china, panda, technologyDid you know? Roaches are not that bad Nov 30 2007
Everyone loves to hate cockroaches they are usually considered filthy and are known to cause asthma in children.
But these insects contribute to the earth’s biodiversity; and as omnivores they clean the environment and help in recycling organic litter that would otherwise accumulate.
Tags: amphibian, asia, asthma, bird, cockroach, environmentally friendly, invertebrate, lizard, pest, thailand, thung salaeng luang national parkWildlife news from around the world
Captured gorillas to return home tomorrow Nov 29 2007
A group of four western lowland gorillas (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) which made international headlines in 2002 when they were smuggled into the Taiping Zoo in Malaysia will return home to Cameroon tomorrow.
On discovery of the illegal shipment, the Malaysian government, through its Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (Cites) management authority, confiscated the animals and transferred them to the Pretoria Zoo, South Africa, where they have been housed for safekeeping since 2004.
Tags: africa, asia, cameroon, conservation, gorilla, limbe wildlife sanctuary, malaysia, pretoria zoo, south africa, taiping zooDid you know? Pit vipers Nov 29 2007
Pit vipers, as their name suggests, have a heat-sensitive pit on either side of their head. These pits are extremely sensitive to changes in temperature, being covered with a temperature sensitive membrane.
These organs can help the pit viper sense the presence of warm-blooded animals, which is ultimately useful at night when these reptiles most often hunt for small animals such as frogs and lizards. They often form ‘S’-shapes with their body, enabling them to strike at any time.
Tags: asia, frog, hunt, lizard, membrane, pit viper, reptile, snake, thailand, thung salaeng luang national park, viper, warm-bloodedDid You Know? Tokay geckos Nov 27 2007
The best way to track down the nocturnal tokay gecko (Gekko gecko) is to listen out for its loud, distinctive “to-kay” call after sunset.
Native to parts of Asia and the Indo-Australian Archipelago, this species also makes a variety of other calls which sound like “gah”, “eck” and, sometimes, a small dog’s bark.
Tags: asia, colour, gecko, lizard, noise, reptile, thailand, throat, thung salaeng luang national park, tokay gecko, tongueDid You Know? How bats hunt at night Nov 26 2007
Wrinkle-lipped bats (Chaerephon plicata) are found in caves from sea level to about 200m (656ft) and require forested habitats. These bats have been listed as low risk on the IUCN Red List of threatened species in 2007.
The week’s most viewed stories Nov 16 2007
The most popular stories on Earth-Touch in the past week (from Friday 09 November to Thursday 15 November 2007) were:
Number 1
Predators and prey share bat caveIt’s the circle of life: cockroaches feed on bat guano, spiders feed on cockroaches and snakes feed on bats.
Wildlife news from around the world
India to recruit ex-army personnel to protect tigers Nov 6 2007
The Indian government will step up the protection of tigers in the country by employing retired army personnel to guard sanctuaries where they live, the BBC, AFP and others have reported.
The government announced the move after a census conducted by the Wildlife Institute of India found there were fewer than 1500 of the iconic animals left in the country – less than half of the 3642 estimated after the last major survey, conducted in 2002.
Tags: asia, bengal tiger, hunt, india, threatened, wildlife institute of indiaEarth-Touch serves first footage from Asia Nov 5 2007
Rhesus macaques (Macaca mulatta) have the widest distribution of any primate after humans, and are found across Asia, in India, Afghanistan, Thailand, China, Pakistan, Bhutan, Burma, Nepal, Bangladesh, Thailand, Laos, and Vietnam.
These highly intelligent Asian monkeys are found in many different climates and habitats and feed on seeds, fruits, herbs, roots and insects. In the wild, they live in troops of 12 to 20 animals usually consisting of females and babies, as the males leave the troop when they reach adulthood.
Wildlife news from around the world
Ocean expedition makes new finds Oct 25 2007
Researchers have found what may be dozens of new species in their expedition to Southeast Asia’’s Celebes Sea, AP reports.
he Celebes Sea, between Malaysia and the Philippines, has some of the world’s deepest sea basins, the lowest point being about 5 000m (16 500ft) below sea level. Because the basins are so isolated and cold they are among the most richly diverse marine areas.
According to researcher Larry Madin of the Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, this area has kept some species isolated for millions of years.
Tags: asia, boxfish, celebes sea, jellyfish, malaysia, philippines, sea cucumber, woods hole oceanographic institution, wormWildlife news from around the world
New type of fruit bat foundas Oct 3 2007
A new species of flying fox has been discovered on the island of Mindoro in the Philippines, National Geographic News and Reuters India have reported.
Wildlife news from around the world
Eleven new species discovered Oct 1 2007
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) has announced the discovery of 11 new species exclusive to Vietnam. They include a snake, two butterflies and five orchid varieties discovered in the Green Corridor, a lowland wet evergreen forest region in the Thua Thien Hue province.
Wildlife news from around the world
Small godwit makes longest-recorded non-stop flight Sep 12 2007
RECORD HOLDER: A bar-tailed godwit, which is capable of flying from Alaska to New Zealand without stopping. Image: Courtesy Tim Bowman, US Fish and Wildlife Service.
A bar-tailed godwit has set a bird flight record by making the longest recorded migratory flight in the world, from its breeding ground in Alaska to its summertime home in New Zealand in 10 days, the BBC News has reported.
Wildlife news from around the world
‘Extinct’ Yangtze River dolphin reportedly sighted Sep 3 2007
A captive baiji. This animal has subsequently died. Image: Courtesy Wikipedia
A Yangtze River dolphin, or baiji as they are known in Chinese, widely regarded to be extinct, was spotted and recorded on video by a businessman in Tongling City in east China’s Anhui Province, it has been reported by ChinaDaily.com, the Daily Telegraph and ScienceDaily among many other news sources. The dolphin was positively identified by Prof Wang Ding, a Chinese expert on baiji.
Tags: asia, baiji, china, discovery, dolphin, east chinas anhui province, extinct, threatened, world wildlife fund, yangtze river, yangtze river dolphinWildlife news from around the world
Artificially inseminated blackbuck gives birth to fawn Aug 30 2007
Male blackbuck Photo: Courtesy Wikipedia
A rare blackbuck, the fastest of the Indian antelopes, gave birth to a fawn in Hyderabad, India, last week, after being artificially inseminated.
Tags: antelope, asia, blackbuck, buck, hyderabad, india, world conservation unionWildlife news from around the world
Researchers attempt to save ‘living fossil’ in China Aug 29 2007
One of the world’s largest species of freshwater fish, the Chinese sturgeon, has survived since the time of the dinosaurs, but with only perhaps 1000 left in the wild, is now facing extinction.
National Geographic News reports that scientists at the Yangtze River Fisheries Research Institute in Jingzhou, China, are trying to avert that by breeding the massive sturgeon, which can grow to 4m (13ft) in length and weigh 450kg (1,000lb), in captivity, and then releasing them into the Yangtze River, where they have traditionally spawned.
Tags: asia, china, chinese sturgeon, dinosaur, fossil, jinhzhou, size, threatened, yangtze river fisheries research instituteWildlife news from around the world
East Timor declares first national park Aug 22 2007
The South-East Asian country of East Timor, which became independent of Indonesia in 2002, has declared its first national park, the Associated Press has reported, in a story run by The Star of Malaysia.
The Nino Konis Santana National Park is home to endangered birds such as the yellow-crested cockatoo (Cacatua sulphurea), and the green pigeon (Treron psittaceus), and a rich diversity of coral and reef fish, among other species.
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