Clouded Leopard Cubs Survive the Odds

Despite the murderous tendencies of the species while in captivity, two newborn clouded leopard cubs were found alive and well at the National Zoo.

The cubs were taken immediately from their mother before she could do them harm. Zoos have found that when a female becomes pregnant, she often kills her young accidentally or intentionally.

Below are several pictures of the cubs and their parents. The cubs eyes are not yet open. See here for a full gallery of pictures.







The mother, Jao Chu:



The father, Hannibal. The mother and father reached puberty together, increasing the likelihood that the male would not kill the female:

Crabs may feel and remember pain

New research suggests that crabs not only suffer pain but that they retain a memory of it. The scientific study applied mild electric shocks to hermit crabs to determine if they could 'feel' pain.

Hermit crabs have no shell of their own so inhabit other structures, usually empty mollusc shells.

In the research, wires were attached to shells to deliver the small shocks to the abdomen of some of the crabs within the shells. The only crabs to get out of their shells were those which had received shocks, indicating that the experience is unpleasant for them.

The research suggests that this response is not just a reflex, but that central neuronal processing takes place.

Hermit crabs are known to prefer some species of shells to others and it was found that that they were more likely to come out of the shells they least preferred.

The main aim of the experiment was to deliver a shock just under the threshold that causes crabs to move out of the shell, to see what happened when a new shell was then offered.

Crabs that had been shocked but had remained in their shell appeared to remember the experience of the shock because they quickly moved towards the new shell, investigated it briefly and were more likely to change to the new shell compared to those that had not been shocked.

Original article here.

InvisiShrimp

Coin-Size Frog Found

The smallest known frog species in the world has been discovered in the second largest mountain range. Scientists searching the Andes mountains' upper Cosnipata Valley in southern Peru, near Cusco, spotted the coin-size creature in the leaf litter of a cloud forest at around 10,000 feet. Females grow to 0.49 inches at most. Males make it to only 0.44 inches.





Original article here.

Time-Lapse Videos of Nature at Work

From this list of "Time Lapse Videos of Nature at Work" come the following:

Painted Lady butterflies develop and emerge:



Corn roots and leaves growing:



Psilocybe cubensis mushrooms growing:



Rotting apple:

Pink Elephant Caught on Camera

A pink baby elephant has been caught on camera in Botswana in the the Okavango Delta.

Experts believe it is probably an albino, which is an extremely rare phenomenon in African elephants. They are unsure of its chances of long-term survival - the blazing African sunlight may cause blindness and skin problems for the calf.

While albinism is thought to be fairly common in Asian elephants, it is much less common in the larger African species.

However, there might be a ray of hope for the pink calf as it already seemed to be learning to adapt to its condition. He can seek refuge under the large trees and cake himself in a thick mud, which will protect him from the sun. Already the two-to-three-month-old calf seems to be walking in the shade of its mother, which suggests it is aware of its susceptibility to the harsh African sun.

Original article here.

Microscopic Images from Inside the Human Body

Below are a few samples from this neat gallery of microsopic images from inside the human body.

Almost all of the images were captured using a scanning electron microscope (SEM), a type of electron microscope that uses a beam of high-energy electrons to scan surfaces of images. The electron beam of the SEM interacts with atoms near or at the surface of the sample to be viewed, resulting in a very high-resolution, 3D-image. Magnification levels range from x 25 (about the same as a hand lens) to about x 250,000. Incredible details of 1 to 5 nm in size can be detected.

To read more about the images and see additional examples, click here.

Split end of human hair:



Hair cell in the ear:



Tongue with taste bud:



Lung cancer cells:



Villi of small intestine:



Colored image of a 6 day old human embryo implanting:



See the rest, along with additional info here.

360 degree Coral Reef Panorama

Click on the picture below to take you to a neat 360 degree panorama of a coral reef in New Caledonia. Once the web site is loaded, you can control your view by clicking and dragging your mouse in any direction:

Giant Stingray

The pictures below show a live, 14-foot-long giant freshwater stingray caught in the Bang Pakong River in Chachoengsao, Thailand, in March 2008.

There are accounts of freshwater stingrays growing as large as 1,000 pounds, which could make them the largest freshwater fish in the world.

The giant river rays are extremely difficult to catch, as they bury themselves in mud when hooked. They routinely break fishers' lines and bend finger-size hooks straight to escape capture.

The ray's deadly barb can easily puncture skin and bone.

Original article here.

Diabolical Fish

Below are a few examples from this collection of the 10 Most Diabolical Fish on Earth.

A dragonfish:



A tigerfish:



A viperfish:



A fangtooth:



A snakehead:



An anglerfish:

The world's only pink Bottlenose dolphin (discovered in an inland lake in Louisiana) has become such an attraction that conservationists have warned tourists to leave it alone.

The dolphin, which is actually an albino with reddish eyes, first surfaced in Lake Calcasieu, an inland saltwater estuary, north of the Gulf of Mexico.

A close relation of dolphins, the Amazon River Botos, called pink dolphins, live in South America in the Amazon.

Original article here.