National Geographic Wild Worlds Weirdest Freaks Of Nature

A national geographic documentary on the life of extraordinary species and the way the live and hunt other animals, very thrilling and educational.

The Starlings Amazing Air Ballet

This astonishing sequence was filmed by wild life cameraman and travel journalist Dylan Winter who is currently sailing around the UK in an 18 foot boat. 

You can follow his journey and see more of his work at: Keep Turning Left

Whales Give Dolphins A Lift

Many species interact in the wild, most often as predator and prey. But recent encounters between humpback whales and bottlenose dolphins reveal a playful side to interspecies interaction. 

In two different locations in Hawaii, scientists watched as dolphins "rode" the heads of whales: the whales lifted the dolphins up and out of the water, and then the dolphins slid back down. 

The two species seemed to cooperate in the activity, and neither displayed signs of aggression or distress. 

Whales and dolphins in Hawaiian waters often interact, but playful social activity such as this is extremely rare between species. 

The latest Bio Bulletin from the Museum's Science Bulletins program presents the first recorded examples of this type of behavior. Visitors to AMNH may view the video in the Hall of Biodiversity until February 9, 2012. 

Science Bulletins is a production of the National Center for Science Literacy, Education, and Technology (NCSLET), part of the Department of Education at the American Museum of Natural History. 

Find out more about Science Bulletins athttp://www.amnh.org/sciencebulletins/.

Necessity Is The Mother Of Evolution

Post by "CavalierZee"

If my tongue was as long as the tube-lipped nectar bat, it would be over 9 feet long. It’s only 5 cm long, but has a 9 cm tongue! This uniquely-outfitted creature was only discovered in 2005, and its feeding captured here for the first time by National Geographic cameramen.

By the way, did you know that bats constitute the second largest order of mammals after rodents?! More than 1,200 separate species have been identified.

The tube-lipped nectar bat and its favorite flower food source, C. nigricans, are an amazing example of coevolution. Here’s how it likely worked:

If you’re a flowering plant, your whole goal is to get pollinated. So a nectar-producing flower wants to make its nectar hard enough to reach that a pollinator (like the bat) has to really try to get at their snack, maximizing the potential for rubbing up against the flower and getting a good dusting of pollen. But the flower can’t make it so difficult to reach that the bat goes elsewhere for food. So evolutionary pressure says you might make your nectar tube as long as the bat can reach.

If you’re a bat, your goal is to eat. That means that in addition to learning how to hover like a bird (which is a big deal in itself), you need to possess a tongue that’s long enough to reach down and get your food. Pollen? You don’t eat pollen. You don’t care about pollen. But you just happen to get some on your head while slurping up dinner, and maybe you drop it in the next flower you visit. Evolutionary pressure says that you will be driven to have a long enough tongue in order to reach down into the flower as well as a head that fits inside the flower opening.

That’s exactly what we see here!! Two species triggering change in the other species based on selective pressures. And it’s stunning to behold.

The Elephant Whisperer

Posted by "CavalierZee"

For 12 hours, two herds of wild South African elephants slowly made their way through the Zululand bush until they reached the house of late author Lawrence Anthony, the conservationist who saved their lives.

The formerly violent, rogue elephants, destined to be shot a few years ago as pests, were rescued and rehabilitated by Anthony, who had grown up in the bush and was known as the “Elephant Whisperer.”

For two days the herds loitered at Anthony’s rural compound on the vast Thula Thula game reserve in the South African KwaZulu – to say good-bye to the man they loved. But how did they know he had died?

Known for his unique ability to calm traumatized elephants, Anthony had become a legend. He is the author of three books, Babylon Ark, detailing his efforts to rescue the animals at Baghdad Zoo during the Iraqi war, the forthcoming The Last Rhinos, and his bestselling The Elephant Whisperer.

There are two elephant herds at Thula Thula. According to his son Dylan, both arrived at the Anthony family compound shortly after Anthony’s death.“They had not visited the house for a year and a half and it must have taken them about 12 hours to make the journey,” Dylan is quoted in various local news accounts.

“The first herd arrived on Sunday and the second herd, a day later. They all hung around for about two days before making their way back into the bush.

”Elephants have long been known to mourn their dead. In India, baby elephants often are raised with a boy who will be their lifelong “mahout.”"

The pair develop legendary bonds – and it is not uncommon for one to waste away without a will to live after the death of the other.
Via: Delight Makers