unusual animal news

[quettalee]

admin said:

check this out

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marysgurl said:

See, that's what I'm talking about...can't we just all get along?

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[quettalee]

admin said:

Claim: The food colorants cochineal and carmine are made from ground beetles.

Status: True.

Example: [Collected via e-mail, 2001]

There is a book out very recently that claims the red color of strawberry milkshakes comes from a tropical beetle ground up for its red coloring.



Origins: Next
time you're browsing the supermarket in search of the makings of that night's dinner, pause a moment to read the ingredients labels of your favorite red-colored ingestibles and cosmetics. Chances are, you'll discover a notation for cochineal, carmine, or carminic acid, pigments whose origins might surprise and possibly disgust you.

Cochineal and its close cousin carmine (also known as carminic acid) are derived from the crushed carcasses of a particular South and Central American beetle. These popular colorants, which today are used to impart a deep red shade to fruit juices, gelatins, candies, shampoos, and more, come from the female Dactylopius coccus, a beetle that inhabits a type of cactus known as Opuntia.

Dactylopius coccus was the source of a red dye used by Aztecs and Mexican Indians for centuries before the arrival of the Spaniards. Those indigenous peoples would collect cochineal insects, briefly immerse them in hot water to kill the beasties and dissolve the females' waxy coating, and then dry them in the sun. The desiccated insects would then be ground to a fine powder.

The Spaniards immediately grasped the potential of the pigment, so these dried insects became one of the first products to be exported from the New World to the Old. Europeans took to the beautiful, bright scarlet colour immediately both for its vibrant hue and for its extraordinary colorfast properties, ensuring that boatloads of cochineal insects would make the trans-Atlantic trek.

Today cochineal has been surpassed as a dye for cloth by a number of synthetic pigments, but is still widely used as a coloring agent for a number of foodstuffs, beverages, and cosmetics (because many of those synthetic dyes proved dangerous to humans when taken internally or allowed to leach into the body through the skin). It takes about 70,000 insects to make one pound of cochineal.

While cochineal is used in a wide variety of foods, it is not found in kosher products because Jewish dietary laws prohibit the inclusion of insects or their parts in food. The "ewww!" factor nothwithstanding, cochineal is a safe food colorant aside from a few rare cases of allergic reaction.

Another red dye used in foods, FD&C Red Dye #40 (alternatively known as Red #40), is often mistakenly assumed to be a euphemism for cochineal or carmine. It's not — it's bug-free and is actually derived from coal.

Our distaste at the thought of ingesting bugs is based on cultural factors rather than the properties or flavors of the insects themselves. Western society eschews (rather than chews) bugs, hence the widespread "Ewww!" reaction to the news that some of our favorite foods contain extract of beetle.

Barbara "mop topped" Mikkelson

Additional information:

Cochineal and Carmine (FDA)

Color Additives (FDA)



The URL for this page is www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/bugjuice.htm
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Urban Legends Reference Pages © 1995-2003
by Barbara and David P. Mikkelson
This material may not be reproduced without permission

[marysgurl]

N.Y.-Bound Puppies Used As Drug Couriers
Feb 2, 06:55 AM EST
By TOM HAYS - Associated Press Writer


NEW YORK (AP) -- Colombian smugglers turned puppies into drug mules by surgically implanting them with packets of liquid heroin, authorities said.

Investigators believe the ring used the dogs, as well as people who swallowed the drugs, to conceal millions of dollars of heroin on commercial flights into New York for distribution on the East Coast.

Ten puppies, including Labrador retrievers, were rescued during a 2005 raid on a farm in Colombia, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said Wednesday, while announcing more than 30 arrests.

A veterinarian had stitched a total of 3 kilograms of heroin into the bellies of six pups. Three died from infections after the drugs were removed.

The surviving dogs "are still alive and well, we're told," said John P. Gilbride, head of the DEA's New York office.

Colombian police said they adopted three dogs, one of which was being trained to sniff for drugs.

[marysgurl]

Scientists Discover Dozens of New Species
Feb 6, 10:18 PM EST
By ROBIN McDOWELL - Associated Press Writer

JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) -- A team of scientists exploring an isolated jungle in one of Indonesia's most remote provinces said they discovered dozens of new species of frogs, butterflies and plants - as well as large mammals hunted to near extinction elsewhere.

The team also found wildlife that were remarkably unafraid of humans during their rapid assessment survey of the Foja Mountains, which has more than two million acres of old growth tropical forest, Bruce Beehler, a co-leader of the monthlong trip, said in announcing the discoveries on Tuesday.

Two Long-Beaked Echidnas, a primitive egg-laying mammal, simply allowed scientists to pick them up and bring them back to their camp to be studied, he said.

Their findings, however, will have to be published and then reviewed by peers before being officially classified as new species, a process that could take six months to several years.

"There was not a single trail, no sign of civilization, no sign of even local communities ever having been there," said Beehler, adding that two headmen from the Kwerba and Papasena tribes, the customary landowners of the Foja Mountains, accompanied the expedition.

The scientists said they discovered 20 frog species - including a tiny microhylid frog less than a half-inch long - four new butterfly species, and at least five new types of palms.

Because of the rich diversity in the forest, the group rarely had to stray more than a few miles from their base camp.

One of the most remarkable discoveries was the Golden-mantled Tree Kangaroo, an arboreal jungle-dweller new for Indonesia and previously thought to have been hunted to near extinction, and a new honeyeater bird, which has a bright orange face-patch with a pendant wattle under each eye, Beehler said.

One of the reasons for the rain forest's isolation, he said, was that only a few hundred people live in the region and game in the mountain's foothills was so abundant that they had no reason to venture into the jungle's interior.

There did not appear to be any immediate conservation threat to the area, which has the status of a wildlife sanctuary, he said.

"No logging permits are given to this area, there is no transport system - not a single road," Beehler said.

"But clearly with time everything is a threat. In the next few decades there will be strong demands, especially if you think of the timber needs of nearby countries like China and Japan. They will be very hungry for logs."

[quettalee]

here r some pics to go with your story my baby!!

NEW SPECIES

[marysgurl]

Don't forget some Valentine's Love for our four-legged & feathered friends today!!

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[quettalee]

awww...

[quettalee]

Fossil Overturns Ideas of Jurassic Mammals
By RANDOLPH E. SCHMID, AP Science Writer
57 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The discovery of a furry, beaver-like animal that lived at the time of dinosaurs has overturned more than a century of scientific thinking about Jurassic mammals.

The find shows that the ecological role of mammals in the time of dinosaurs was far greater than previously thought, said Zhe-Xi Luo, curator of vertebrate paleontology at Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh.

The animal is the earliest swimming mammal to have been found and was the most primitive mammal to be preserved with fur, which is important to helping keep a constant body temperature, Luo said in a telephone interview.

For over a century, the stereotype of mammals living in that era has been of tiny, shrew-like creatures scurrying about in the underbrush trying to avoid the giant creatures that dominated the planet, Luo commented.

Now, a research team that included Luo has found that 164 million years ago, the newly discovered mammal with a flat, scaly tail like a beaver, vertebra like an otter and teeth like a seal was swimming in lakes and eating fish.

The team, led by Qiang Ji of the Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences in Beijing, discovered the remains in the Inner Mongolia region of China. They report their findings in Friday's issue of the journal Science.

Matthew Carrano, curator of dinosaurs at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History, called the find "a big deal."

An important factor is how specialized the creature was, said Carrano, who was not part of the research group.

"It gives a hint that early mammals were not just these shadowy creatures at the time of dinosaurs" but were having their own evolution. There have been hints of such animals in the past but nothing equal to the remains found by Luo and colleagues, he said.

Thomas Martin of the Research Institute Senckenberg in Frankfurt, Germany, said the discovery pushes back the mammal conquest of the waters by more than 100 million years.

"This exciting fossil is a further jigsaw puzzle piece in a series of recent discoveries," commented Martin, who was not part of Luo's team.

It's the first evidence that some ancient mammals were semi-aquatic, indicating a greater diversification than previously thought, the researchers said.

Modern semi-aquatic mammals such as beavers and otters and aquatic mammals like whales did not appear until between 55 million years ago and 25 million years ago, according to the researchers.

The new animal is not related to modern beavers or otters but has features similar to them. Thus the researchers named it Castorocauda lutrasimilis. Castoro from the Latin for beaver, cauda for tail, lutra for river otter and similis meaning similar.

The researchers found imprints of the fur, both guard hairs and short, dense under fur that would have kept water from the skin.

Weighing in at between 1.1 and 1.7 pounds, about the size of a small female platypus, Castorocauda is also the largest known Jurassic early mammal.

The research was funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation, National Natural Science Foundation of China, Ministry of Science and Technology of China, Chinese Ministry of Land Resources, National Geographic Society and Carnegie Museum.

Science: www.sciencemag.org

[Quettalee]

R.I. to Order Cat Owners to Spay, Neuter
May 24, 11:56 PM EDT
By M.L. JOHNSON - Associated Press Writer

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) -- Rhode Island could become the first state to require cat owners to spay or neuter their pets under legislation passed Wednesday by the General Assembly.

The measure would require pets older than 6 months to be spayed or neutered unless owners pay $100 for a breeder's license or special permit. Violators would be fined $75 a month.

The Senate previously passed the bill, and with House approval, it now goes to Gov. Don Carcieri. The governor was reviewing the legislation, spokesman Jeff Neal said.

Democratic Rep. Charlene Lima, the legislation's main sponsor in the House, said she hopes Rhode Island will lead the nation in instituting a spaying requirement.

Supporters say the bill could save thousands of cats from being killed each year and ease crowding in animal shelters.

But some animal rights advocates worry the bill could prompt cat owners to abandon their pets rather than risk a fine or pay several hundred dollars for the birth control procedures.

The bill has a provision for low-income pet owners to receive subsidies for low-cost spay and neuter surgery. It also exempts farmers.

East Providence, Pawtucket and Warwick already have similar municipal ordinances.

[Quettalee]

TODAY IS NATIONAL BIRD DAY—ARE YOUR FEATHERED FRIENDS SAFE?

January 5 marks the fifth annual National Bird Day, a time to appreciate the birds in our own backyard and reflect on how we treat native avians of other countries. And if you have companion birds in your home, it’s a great time to think about how to ensure that your feathered friends remain happy and healthy. To help raise awareness about responsible bird caretaking, we’re offering the following poison prevention tips to keep your companion avian in the “sing” of things:

* Birds are highly sensitive to inhalant fumes, so please avoid exposing yours to fumes from self-cleaning ovens and overheated cookware, automobile exhaust, tobacco smoke, glues and paints, insecticidal fumigants, perfume and hair spray.

* Keep all prescription and over-the-counter drugs out of beak's reach, preferably in closed cabinets. Pain killers, cold medicines, anticancer drugs, vitamins and diet pills are all examples of human medications that can be lethal to birds, even in small amounts.

* Never allow your bird access to areas in which cleaning agents are being used or stored. Should your pet ingest them, he could suffer from a range of symptoms, depending on the substance, from mild stomach upset to severe burns of the tongue, mouth and crop.

* Foods and beverages that could be dangerous to birds include:
- avocados
- chocolate in any form
- coffee & tea
- moldy or spoiled foods
- onions & garlic
- tomato leaves and stems
- yeast dough

Actually it breaks my heart to see birds in cages. How awlful it must be to have wings and be grounded your entire life.

[Quettalee]

US: Cat predicts deaths of nursing home residents
Oscar the cat seems to have an uncanny knack for predicting when nursing home patients are going to die, by curling up next to them during their final hours. His accuracy, observed in 25 cases, has led the staff to call family members once he has chosen someone. It usually means they have less than four hours to live. "He doesn't make too many mistakes. He seems to understand when patients are about to die," said Dr. David Dosa in an interview. He describes the phenomenon in a poignant essay in Thursday's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine. "Many family members take some solace from it. They appreciate the companionship that the cat provides for their dying loved one," said Dosa, a geriatrician and assistant professor of medicine at Brown University. The 2-year-old feline was adopted as a kitten and grew up in a dementia unit at the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center. The facility treats people with Alzheimer's, Parkinson's disease and other illnesses. After about six months, the staff noticed Oscar would make his own rounds, just like the doctors and nurses. He would sniff and observe patients, then sit beside people who would end up dying in a few hours. Dosa said Oscar seems to take his work seriously and is generally aloof. "This is not a cat that's friendly to people," he said.


Cool.

[Joxcee]

I don't know if it's the same cat, but I'd heard of a cat that did this several years ago. When a body is dying, it probably gives off a certain odor that the cat picks up on. Just as some dogs can predict when a seizure is coming on, or certain types of cancer in people.