Global Warming in Asia

For the past years, the climate has been changing. Initially some people considered the cold climate to fall in the holiday season, something that has been apparent from past years. The warm climate on the other hand would usually set in the summer where people would troop to the beaches and go surfing or swimming.

However, the change in climate has been mind-boggling. A lot has to be connected with the polluting air which has been known to affect the ozone layers leading to a global warming shift. While people have resorted to various practices to attend to such issues, it is obvious that the efforts have not been enough.

The effects can be seen in the rising case of illnesses and weird weathers during known seasons. Natural disasters such as storms, earthquakes and tsunamis have been coming one after another. Could it be the wrath of nature perhaps? Whatever the case may be, one thing is for sure, a lot of changes in the natural course of living are sure to be waiting in the wings.

Fossil Treasure Trove In Australia

We have an unquenchable thirst for knowledge about everything. This includes a desire to solve the many mysteries of the past and reweave some of the lost tapestries of history. So a find like the caves in the southern Nullarbor plains of Australia is treasure indeed.

The caves contained fossils, complete skeletons of animals that are no longer found today. Most of these creatures are found to be from the middle pleistocene era. The bones have been dated to confirm that these are from creatures living 800,000 to 200,000 years ago. Some of these species did not make it past the ice-age.

With the use of the fossils, 8 new species of kangaroo have been completely identified. Two of the species are of tree dwelling kangaroos, kangaroos that adapted to living in the branches of trees. There were also fossils of various species wallaby, various species of large lizards among them one of the King’s skink (a large lizard), mulgara and a pair of parrots.

China’s River Dolphins Extinct

Most people love dolphins. There is something about that seeming big grin that they have and how playful they are that sparks our interest. They are amazing creatures with their sonar and intelligence.

Most of the time dolphins are found in the sea. There are a few however whose natural habitat is fresh water. They aren’t that common. Unfortunately, most of us may never get a chance to see them since the Yangtze River dolphin or baiji are now considered functionally extinct.

The baiji are also called the goddess of the Yangtze by some. There used to thousands of the dolphins swimming in the Yangtze in the 1950’s. By the mid 80’s their numbers were down to the hundreds. Now the expedition to help protect them couldn’t find even one.

It is a great loss for the world. The baiji was an ancient species. There is fossilized evidence showing that the baiji have been in existence for 20 million years. Thanks to pollution, over fishing and the damage to their habitat, they are now gone.

Baby Plesiosaur Fossil Found in the Antarctic

Millions of years ago, dinosaurs roamed the earth and another piece of evidence of this has been found one of the islands in the antarctic. This baby plesiosaur is about five feet long and is almost completely intact, much to the delight of its finders.

The expedition was led by James E. Martin, curator of vertebrate paleontology at the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology’s Museum of Geology where the bones will be put on display. Other members of the expedition included Judd Case of Eastern Washington University and Marcelo Reguero from Argentina’s Museo de la Plata.

The best known image of a plesiosaur for most people is Nessie or the Loch Ness monster as it is often called. Though this skeleton is a mere five feet, an adult would measure about 32 feet long. It wasn’t easy to transport the fossil. It was finally flown by helicopter to its new home.

Since the bones were found in volcanic ash, the scientists speculate that the plesiosaur may have been caught in an eruption. It could have been killed by the blast or by the lava or ash from the explosion.

The Stowaway Cats

Twice this week, the stories of stowaway cats have hit the headlines, both of which made it through perilous voyages at sea inside shipping containers, which they snuck in unsuspecting.

First in line was one-year-old tabby Emily, whose curiosity got the better of her when she hid in a box of paper that made its way from Appleton in the United States all the way to France.

Upon arrival, workers found her, thinner but healthy, and used the telephone number i.d. on her collar to contact her owners. The lucky tabby was then flown home Business Class (see picture above), courtesy of a generous airline who heard the news.

In story number two, a fluffy white cat with rock musician David Bowie’s eyes (one green, one blue) jumped out of a large goods container in Lancashire, after what was a death-defying 17-day sea voyage from Afula, Northern Israel to Great Britain.

The cat, named Ziggy, was starving and dehydrated when he was found and put under the care of the animal charity RSPCA (Royal Society of Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), who are hoping to trace his owners in Israel and return him home.