April 2008 | Page 10

Wow, today is a low energy day. I think I need a day off.

I’ve been slaving seven days a week and that is not serving me well. There are things I can outsource but many that I cannot…anyway, bear that in mind as I ramble.

First, let me just say that the interview with Karen Pryor went well.

Now, when I conduct classes on the phone things usually go well but when it matters–just what imp creates trouble?

The imp appears and causes trouble regularly and I changed from two services (including a fee based service) because that was just unacceptable.

Now I tested the new service and it seemed fine but when it really mattered I couldn’t get into the phone line until after I emailed support.

Then Karen Pryor could not access the line via the speaker passcode.

Finally, we got going and things looked fine–and then there was no recording!

Yikes!

Anyway, I was able to mute listeners (to avoid background static and noise) and have Karen Pryor chat from that line.

Whew!

AND thank goodness for technological wonders because last night I was able to retrieve the recording.

Great, but more work for me since now I’ll be working on an article.

Those subscribers who were able to make the call got the inside scoop on the Karen Pryor Academy.

For those who missed it, I will have it available to the animal career secrets students shortly.

Animal News: White & Black Striped Animals

In other news, did you hear about the injured zebra who the cops named Evidence? Poor critter.

There are specific ways to transport animals safely and I don’t know what the story is behind this yet but an animal sanctuary is taking care of the young zebra.

Now that I am on the topic of white and black striped animals…I’ve talked about inbreeding and the problems with captive tigers and other issues surrounding them before and periodically mention the white tiger issue.

However, Big Cat Rescue is now tackling the myth concerning endangered white tigers. I first read about the white tigers back in the 1970s.

Today you can read the white tiger history here. In the USA the craze began at the National Zoo after they were given Mohini, an inbred white tiger, as a gift and that seems to be the beginning of white tiger fever.

Somewhere I have a picture of her snarling at the camera from her early days.

Many groups promote these creatures as “endangered” and “rare” instead of the spoke in the wheel of a marketing scheme.

Siegfried & Roy furthered the conservation myth regarding white tigers and perpetuated the illusion that exotic animals make good pets (until Roy took a hit).

The truth is that wild animals don’t make good pets and here is my position on wild animal pets and exotic animal pets.

There are ways to save the tiger but saving the white tiger is not one of those.

Blog Posted April 11, 2008 at 9:52 am

“Barbie” Frog Making the News

Photo courtesy of David Bickford, National University of Singapore.

This morning the news is full of the announcement about the discovery of a lunglesss frog, Barbourula kalimantanensis affectionately nicknamed, “Barbie.”

Found in Borneo, news sources report that it is the first such frog found–however scientists first saw and collected one about 30 years ago. They did not dissect and study the animal and so did not report on the unique respiratory feature.

So how does it breathe?

Through the skin–it respirates the same way that salamanders and a limbless amphibian species of caecilian (Atretochoana eiselti) do.

David P. Bickford, one of the scientists credited with the discovery, is an evolutionary biologist with broad interests in evolutionary ecology and conservation.

Bickford has given a few talks about his research at the Raffles Museum of Biodiversity Research. He also leads the Evolutionary Ecology and Conservation Lab.

The amphibians are slightly more than two inches long, slippery and can swim surprisingly fast for short bursts. Moreover, they are very difficult to find. “We had a team of 11 people looking for these frogs and it took us almost two weeks before we found any,” Dr Bickford recalled.

Snorkelling in the rivers where the frogs live, the researchers were forced to stop after 45 minutes as the water was too cold.

“Nobody knew about the lunglessness before we accidentally discovered it doing routine dissections,” said Dr Bickford in an interview with National Geographic News.

Their findings will also be featured in Current Biology (May 2008).

You can read more from the initial release at the National University of Singapore (NUS) website.

The frog lives in cold water which has higher oxygen content than warm water and it is believed that the animal has a low metabolic rate–which means it needs less oxygen. It is also is flat (compared to other frogs) which increases the surface area of the skin and assists in a more efficient intake of oxygen.

The absence of lungs also means less buoyancy for the frog and would help prevent it from being easily swept away by the fast-flowing waters where it lives.

It takes time for discoveries to hit the mainstream and the frog was actually found in August of 2007. Laboratory studies were done and the detailed findings of David Bickford, Djoko Iskandar, and Anggraini Barlian will be published next month.

If you want an inside glimpse visit The Biodiversity Crew @ NUS blog for the story and “poster boy” photos of Bickford and a few others on site and in the lab.

You can read more now about “Barbie” the frog here or the lungless frog here.

Blog Posted April 10, 2008 at 6:31 am