Earth Touch Blog

Wildlife news from around the world

Squid eyes under the knife Jun 11 2008

What has eyes the size of dinner plates, fearsome suckers that cling to its prey, razor-sharp hooks to shred its victims and two beaks to crush the remains?  It’s the colossal squid (Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni) – an elusive “killing machine” from the dark depths of Antarctic seas.

Photography

Flickr group: pic of the day – rockhopper penguin May 29 2008

Rockhopper penguins (Eudyptes chrysocome) are native to Argentina, Australia, South Africa, Chile, the Falkland Islands, Uruguay and New Zealand. There are also vagrant populations in Antarctica and Brazil.

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

Crows display near-ape intelligence Aug 27 2007

New Caledonian crows have shown a reasoning ability that is akin to human and ape intelligence, a study by the University of Auckland has revealed.

The BBC reports on a study of these crows’ intelligence, in which seven of these crows were tested to see how they would access food when it was placed out of reach. They were given two tools – a short stick and a long stick – hidden in a box. Six of the seven chose the easiest route to the food on their first attempt, using the short stick to retrieve the long stick and using that in turn to take the food.