Donnerstag, 26. Juli 2012

Eine besondere Beziehung...

Dass Eisbären einen besondere Beziehung zu Mülltonnen haben, ist hinlänglich bekannt. Hier zur Abwechslung einmal die umgekehrte Variante, 6401 Mülltonnen (eigentlich muss das n jetzt hier weg, aber das sieht auch komisch aus, also lass ich's) mit einer besonderen Beziehung zu Eisbären...-

That polar bears have a special relationship to rubbish bins is in the meantime sort of common knowledge. Here for a change now it's about the other way round, rubbish bins, in fact 6401 to be precise, with a special relationship to polar bears...Just have a look!


Übrigens ging es hier auch um einen Weltrekord, für dieses weltweit größte Mosaikbild, das am 18.September 2010 in Berlin entstand, waren neben den 6401 bunten Mülltonnen auch noch 150 Helfer im Einsatz, gut gemacht!-

It was also about a world record - 150 helpers created with these bins in Berlin the world's largest mosaic image... 

And yes, this is one of so many posts which was supposed to be posted already ages ago...:)

Source:

Kind of cake...Meet the pedalo bears Nellie and Loki!

Animal Keeper Nicola McCleery covers a pedalo in jam and grapes 

And the fun begins...

Being shown the ropes (or pedals)

Loki enjoys a light snack aboard his very own boat 

Nellie struggles to get aboard 

""Smarter than the average bear these two can bear-ly believe their luck.
European brown bear Nellie and her seven-month-old cub Loki found an exciting edition left in their enclosure at Blair Drummond Safari Park, near Stirling.

They were given a pedalo smeared with their favourite jam and grapes to keep them entertained.

But once the food was polished off pair made the most of their new toy, splashing around on-board, in an apparent attempt to learn to sail.

The bears were given the pedalo to help stimulate them and keep them active at their home in

Keeper Nicola McCleery daubed jam on the vessel and hid grapes inside

We are always thinking up different types of enrichment we can give them. It makes feeding a bit more of a challenge and gives them mental stimulation and physical stimulation.

The bears' keepers have previously put food in a shaker, chopped it into tiny pieces to make it harder to find, and given them piles of wood shavings scented with essential oils.

But their favourite treat is elephant dung.

Ms McCleery said: "They love it for some reason. They roll around in it and absolutely stink for the rest of the day."

Nellie came to the park nearly two years ago and gave birth to Loki in January, named after the Norse god of mischief because he displayed naughty characteristics.

"It was quite suited to him, he is always in some kind of trouble," Ms McCleery said."
All photos by Andrew Milligan/PA Wire  

Grönland taut....The Melting of Greenland's Ice Shield

Das Bild links zeigt die Situation am 8. Juli: Etwa 40 Prozent des Oberflächeneises auf Grönland ist angetaut (rötlich). Nur vier Tage später ein völlig anderes Bild: Satellitenaufnahmen vom 12. Juli zeigen: Nun sind 97 Prozent der Oberfläche angetaut; die Farbe "rot" bedeutet, hier kam es gewiss zu einem Schmelzprozess, "rosa" aller Wahrscheinlichkeit nach.

Fast die gesamte Oberfläche des grönländischen Eisschilds ist Mitte Juli zumindest angetaut. Das teilte die US-Weltraumagentur NASA mit. Das Ausmaß sei größer als in allen zurückliegenden Jahren, in denen dieser Prozess mit Satelliten beobachtet werde. Die NASA richtet ihren Blick seit mehr als 30 Jahren auf diese Vorgänge.

Die Daten stammen von drei verschiedenen Satelliten. Sie wurden den Angaben zufolge von Fachleuten der NASA und von Universitätsexperten ausgewertet. In einem durchschnittlichen Sommer schmelze das Eis Grönlands natürlicherweise etwa auf der Hälfte der Oberfläche an, heißt es bei der NASA. Es geht aber größtenteils nicht verloren: In großer Höhe gefriert der Hauptanteil des Wasser schnell wieder und nahe der Küste wird ein Teil des Wassers von Eisbarrieren zurückgehalten, sodass nur wenig in den Ozean abfließt.

"Aber in diesem Jahr hat das Anschmelzen an der Oberfläche einen dramatischen Sprung gemacht", heißt es. Den Satellitendaten zufolge taute das Eis innerhalb weniger Tage um den 12. Juli herum auf etwa 97 Prozent der Fläche an. Son Nghiem vom Jet Propulsion Laboratory der NASA im kalifornischen Pasadena hatte Radardaten des "Oceansat-2"-Satelliten der kooperierenden indischen Raumfahrtagentur ISRO ausgewertet. "Das war so außergewöhnlich, dass ich das Ergebnis zuerst infrage gestellt habe: War das real oder ein Datenfehler?"

Die Ergebnisse wurden mit Messgeräten an Bord weiterer Satelliten überprüft, dabei bestätigten sich die hohen Temperaturen über der Eisfläche. Das extrem starke Schmelzen könnte seine Ursache in einer ungewöhnlich warmen Luftschicht haben, die NASA spricht gar von einer Hitzeglocke. Seit Mai gab es mehrere davon, jede stärker als die vorherige. Die zuletzt beobachtete baute sich am 8. Juli auf, am 16. Juli begann sie sich aufzulösen.

Ob es Einflüsse auf die Eisverluste Grönlands gibt, ist unklar

Anders Levermann, Professor am Potsdam-Institut für Klimafolgenforschung (Pik), sagte der Nachrichtenagentur dpa: "Dass wir solche Extremereignisse unter globaler Erwärmung sehen, ist nicht verblüffend und sogar zu erwarten." Erst kürzlich hatten die Pik-Forscher festgestellt, dass die Erderwärmung den Eismassen Grönlands wahrscheinlich stärker zusetzt als bislang angenommen.

Ob die aktuellen Ereignisse auch Einfluss auf das Volumen des Eisverlusts in Grönland haben werden, ist noch unklar. Levermann erklärt: "Im Moment können wir die Folgen noch nicht abschätzen. So wissen wir nicht, was so eine extreme Schmelzperiode bedeutet, außer dass in diesem Moment mehr Wasser verloren geht und der Wasserspiegel ansteigt."

Here the NASA text about the phenomenon

Extent of surface melt over Greenland’s ice sheet on July 8 (left) and July 12 (right). Measurements from three satellites showed that on July 8, about 40 percent of the ice sheet had undergone thawing at or near the surface. In just a few days, the melting had dramatically accelerated and an estimated 97 percent of the ice sheet surface had thawed by July 12. In the image, the areas classified as “probable melt” (light pink) correspond to those sites where at least one satellite detected surface melting. The areas classified as “melt” (dark pink) correspond to sites where two or three satellites detected surface melting. The satellites are measuring different physical properties at different scales and are passing over Greenland at different times. As a whole, they provide a picture of an extreme melt event about which scientists are very confident. Credit: Nicolo E. DiGirolamo, SSAI/NASA GSFC, and Jesse Allen, NASA Earth Observatory

For several days this month, Greenland's surface ice cover melted over a larger area than at any time in more than 30 years of satellite observations. Nearly the entire ice cover of Greenland, from its thin, low-lying coastal edges to its two-mile-thick center, experienced some degree of melting at its surface, according to measurements from three independent satellites analyzed by NASA and university scientists.

On average in the summer, about half of the surface of Greenland's ice sheet naturally melts. At high elevations, most of that melt water quickly refreezes in place. Near the coast, some of the melt water is retained by the ice sheet and the rest is lost to the ocean. But this year the extent of ice melting at or near the surface jumped dramatically. According to satellite data, an estimated 97 percent of the ice sheet surface thawed at some point in mid-July.

Researchers have not yet determined whether this extensive melt event will affect the overall volume of ice loss this summer and contribute to sea level rise.

"The Greenland ice sheet is a vast area with a varied history of change. This event, combined with other natural but uncommon phenomena, such as the large calving event last week on Petermann Glacier, are part of a complex story," said Tom Wagner, NASA's cryosphere program manager in Washington. "Satellite observations are helping us understand how events like these may relate to one another as well as to the broader climate system."

Son Nghiem of NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif., was analyzing radar data from the Indian Space Research Organisation's (ISRO) Oceansat-2 satellite last week when he noticed that most of Greenland appeared to have undergone surface melting on July 12. Nghiem said, "This was so extraordinary that at first I questioned the result: was this real or was it due to a data error?"

Nghiem consulted with Dorothy Hall at NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. Hall studies the surface temperature of Greenland using the Moderate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra and Aqua satellites. She confirmed that MODIS showed unusually high temperatures and that melt was extensive over the ice sheet surface.

Thomas Mote, a climatologist at the University of Georgia, Athens, Ga; and Marco Tedesco of City University of New York also confirmed the melt seen by Oceansat-2 and MODIS with passive-microwave satellite data from the Special Sensor Microwave Imager/Sounder on a U.S. Air Force meteorological satellite.

The melting spread quickly. Melt maps derived from the three satellites showed that on July 8, about 40 percent of the ice sheet's surface had melted. By July 12, 97 percent had melted.

This extreme melt event coincided with an unusually strong ridge of warm air, or a heat dome, over Greenland. The ridge was one of a series that has dominated Greenland's weather since the end of May. "Each successive ridge has been stronger than the previous one," said Mote. This latest heat dome started to move over Greenland on July 8, and then parked itself over the ice sheet about three days later. By July 16, it had begun to dissipate.

Even the area around Summit Station in central Greenland, which at 2 miles above sea level is near the highest point of the ice sheet, showed signs of melting. Such pronounced melting at Summit and across the ice sheet has not occurred since 1889, according to ice cores analyzed by Kaitlin Keegan at Dartmouth College in Hanover, N.H. A National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration weather station at Summit confirmed air temperatures hovered above or within a degree of freezing for several hours July 11-12.

"Ice cores from Summit show that melting events of this type occur about once every 150 years on average. With the last one happening in 1889, this event is right on time," says Lora Koenig, a Goddard glaciologist and a member of the research team analyzing the satellite data. "But if we continue to observe melting events like this in upcoming years, it will be worrisome."

Nghiem's finding while analyzing Oceansat-2 data was the kind of benefit that NASA and ISRO had hoped to stimulate when they signed an agreement in March 2012 to cooperate on Oceansat-2 by sharing data.
Maria-José Viñas
NASA's Earth Science News Team
Goddard Space Flight Center, Greenbelt, Md.
Source: 
- Grönland taut an/ tagesschau 25.07.2012
...
Touristen filmen irres Naturschauspiel: Einstürzender Gletscher verursacht Mini-Tsunami - weiter lesen auf FOCUS Online: http://www.focus.de/panorama/welt/touristen-filmen-irres-naturschauspiel-einstuerzender-gletscher-verursacht-mini-tsunami_aid_784561.html
...
Touristen filmen irres Naturschauspiel: Einstürzender Gletscher verursacht Mini-Tsunami - weiter lesen auf FOCUS Online: http://www.focus.de/panorama/welt/touristen-filmen-irres-naturschauspiel-einstuerzender-gletscher-verursacht-mini-tsunami_aid_784561.html

Mittwoch, 25. Juli 2012

Let the Games begin!....Venus and Pentu just having fun!

Photo: Zoo Ranua

Die Olympischen Spiele nahen und wie man sieht, sind auch finnische Eisbären voll im Fieber, Venus und Pentu aus Ranua hatten ganz offensichtlich viel Spaß...-

With the Olympics just two days away, here some great pics of Venus and Pentu from Zoo Ranua in Finland, obviously enjoying their special enrichment program due to the upcoming event..

A polar bear cub at Ranua Zoo in Lapland has been captivated by a Finnish flag and a set of tyres painted to look like Olympic rings. The cub’s curiosity doesn’t stem from a love of sports -- for Pentu it's all about having fun.
Photo: Zoo Ranua

"The polar bears at the Ranua zoo have caught a fever -- Olympic fever. Zoo keepers have ensured that the bears have not been left out of the Olympic excitement in Finland.

The ursine mammals are observing the event in their own way – with a set of used tyres painted in the colours of the Olympic rings. While the tyres are a reminder of the upcoming games, they also double as a handy set of toys for the junior member of the family.

“The idea for the Olympic rings came from the pup itself. Pentu (the cub) has doubled the number visitors we get daily in July. Normally we have one thousand visitors a day, but now we have a few thousand,” explained zookeeper Pertti Saarijärvi.

The novelty of the rings caught the fancy of the young cub immediately, and according to Saarijärvi, the young bear even puts them around his neck.

Photo: Zoo Ranua
Pentu was equally fascinated by the replica of a Finnish flag, often carrying it on his head as he prowls along the enclosure and occasionally chewing on the fabric.

“Pentu really represents Finland here in Ranua. He has received a great deal of international visibility and is therefore a representative of Finland,” Saarijärvi declared."
 
Pentu and the Finnish flag
Photo: Zoo Ranua

Pentu ist der Sohn von Venus (7) und Manasse (22) und das erste Eisbärjungtier, das in Finnland in einem Zoo geboren wurde und die kritischen ersten Tage überlebt hat.Bereits 2009 und 2010 hatte Venus Jungtiere zur Welt gebracht, die aber nicht überlebten.-

Pentu is the son of Venus (7) and Manasse (22) and the first polar bear cub born in a Finnish zoo and having survived the critical first days. In 2009 and 2010, Venus had already given birth to cubs but they did not survive.

Here Pentu as tiny little cub
Photo: Zoo Ranua

Pentu wurde am 18.November 2011 geboren, zusammen mit noch einem weiteren Jungtier, das jedoch nicht überlebte. Mehr über Pentu und seine Eltern Venus und Manasse kann man bei Ulli J finden, zusammen mit Videos und Fotos.-

Pentu was born on 18 November 2011. His twin did not survive. More about Pentu, Venus and Manasse you can find here, including photos and videos.


Source:

Related:

Samstag, 21. Juli 2012

Floodings

Russia floods...These two were lucky...

Ich erwähnte bereits kurz die Überschwemmungen in Minnesota, bei denen 144 Tiere im Lake Superior Zoo ums Leben kamen und die dazu führten, dass Eisbärin Berlin nach einem kurzen abenteuerlichen Auftritt in Freiheit, nachdem auch ihr Gehege überschwemmt wurde, in den Como Zoo umziehen musste. Es war nicht der einzige Zwischenfall dieser Art, wer die Nachrichten der letzten Wochen und Tage verfolgt hat, weiß, dass auch der Auckland Zoo mit Überschwemmungen zu kämpfen hatte. Am gravierendsten waren sicherlich die Regenfälle in der Assam Region von Indien, bei denen mehr als 100 Menschen ums Leben kamen sowie 538 Tiere im Kaziranga National Park.  Welche Folgen die Wassermassen in Russland und Japan auch für die Tierwelt hatte, wird wohl erst zu seinem wesentlich späteren Zeitpunkt erfahrbar sein.-

I mentioned already briefly the floods in Minnesota which left 14 animals dead in Minnesota's zoo in Duluth about two weeks ago, causing polar bear Berlin to move to Como Zoo after the staff was able to dart her after her adventurous escape of her inundated enclosure.It was not the only event of this kind, the Auckland Zoo too had to fight inundation.Watching the news from southern Russia and now Japan, it becomes obvious that once again floods will cause more disaster to humans and animals this season. The most disastrous news have come so far from northern India where rain has caused severe damage and death among humans and animals.

Im Kaziranga National Park starben bei dem Hochwasser im Juni 538 Tiere, darunter 13 Nashörner. 

"Altogether 538 animals, including 13 rhinos, of the Kaziranga National Park, have been killed in the devastating Assam floods and the death toll is mounting with the KNP authorities of this World Heritage Site recovering more floating carcasses everyday.

The floods have also damaged roads and other infrastructure in the park, which is famous for the one-horned rhino. Even amidst the floods, two rhinos were killed by poachers. The floods have claimed 100 human lives, while 16 others died due to landslip in the State. Of these, 56 are children. Of the 31 lives lost in Barpeta district, 21 were children.

KNP Director Sanjib Kumar Bora told The Hindu that till Thursday afternoon carcasses of 463 hog deer, 13 rhinos, 16 Sambar, 10 swamp deer, 28 wild boars, 5 porcupines, one wild buffalo and two hog badgers had been recovered.

He said the death toll was likely to increase as more carcasses were recovered with the water level receding. About 20 of these hog deer were fatally hit by vehicles as the animals crossed National Highway 37, which passes through the park, to reach higher ground on the southern part.

So far, 126 hog deer have been rescued and 94 of these released in the wild after treatment at the Centre for Wildlife Rehabilitation and Conservation (CWRC), located in the park. Two rhino calves and two elephant caves rescued from floodwaters are being treated at the centre. CWRC volunteers rescued four barking deer, three of which have been released in the wild after treatment.

The park director said locals and NGOs also helped in the rescuing the marooned animals and taking them to the CWRC.

Mr. Bora said floodwaters disrupted motorable communication, what with damage to roads, bridges and approaches to bridges.

“The tourism season this time might be delayed as huge funds and time would be required to reconstruct and repair the infrastructure.” Frontline staff manning 16 of the total 152 anti-poaching camps had to be shifted due to flooding, while four old camps had been fully damaged.

“The actual damage is still being assessed,” he said.

The flood waters entered the park area on June 26 and by midnight on June 28, the flow peaked submerging 80 per cent of its area, and only the natural and artificial highlands inside were spared. The migration of herds of hog deer and elephants and some rhinos had been noticed by the park authorities since June 22.

Consequently, prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the Cr.PC were promulgated along NH 37 and time cards introduced restricting speed limit to 40 km/hour to protect the migrating animals. Now “the water level has receded in most parts but some areas are still submerged,” said Mr. Bora."

 Elephant at Kaziranga National Park


Die Geschichte des Kaziranga National Park in den Golaghat und Nagaon Bezirken des Bundesstaates Assam, Indien, lassen sich bis zu Beginn des 20. Jahrhunderts im Jahr 1904 zurückverfolgen.Es ist jetzt Weltkulturerbe und beherbergt zwei Drittel der weltweit Großen Einhorn- Nashörner, Tiger und viele andere bedrohte Tierarten.


Schwere Verluste durch Hochwasser gab es mehr als einmal. So z.B. die Überschwemmungen von 1973, bei denen mehrere Tiere getötet wurden. Im Jahr 1988 tauchte eine verheerende Flut den Park zu 70% unter Wasser und tötete 38 Nashörner, darunter 23 Kälber, 1050 Hirsche, 69 Wildschweine, drei Baby-Elefanten, zwei Tiger, und zahlreiche kleinere Spezies.Im Jahr 1996 kamen 44 Nashörner durch Überschwemmungen ums Leben. Im Jahr 1998 wurde aufgrund außergewöhnlich starker Regenfälle der Brahmaputra River überflutet und Teile des Parks standen 6 Meter unter Wasser. Mehr als ein Quadratkilometer großes Gebiet wurde weggespült; schätzungsweise 652 Tiere, darunter 42 Nashörner, gingen verloren. Während dieser Zeit stellte WWF-Indien materielle Unterstützung zur Verfügung und die indischen Armee baute für die Tierwelt zehn Inseln auf höher gelegenem Grund.-

The history of Kaziranga National Park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India, can be traced back to the beginning of the twentieth century, in 1904. It now is a World Heritage Site and hosts two-thirds of the world's Great One-horned Rhinoceroses, tigers, and many other endangered animals.

Severe losses to the number of wildlife occurred during floods, events worth mention include the floods of 1973 in which several animals were killed. In 1988 a devastating flood ravaged the park in which 70% of the park was submerged under water killing 38 rhinoceros, including 23 calves, 1,050 deer, 69 wild boar, three baby elephants, two tigers, and numerous smaller species. In 1996 44 rhinoceros were killed by floods. In 1998 due to exceptionally heavy rainfall the Brahmaputra River flooded and parts of the park were under 6 metres of water. More than a square kilometre area of the floodplain was washed away; an estimated 652 animals, including 42 rhinoceroses, were lost. During that time WWF-India provided material assistance and the Indian Army constructed ten islands on high ground for wildlife.

Sources & related:
- History of Kaziranga National Park on wikipedia (engl.)
- Investigators:Escape at Duluth Zoo/my fox 9 20.07.2012

Donnerstag, 5. Juli 2012

Picture of the Day....Piggy back riding polar bear style

 Photo credit: Kevin Schafer / Barcroft USA

A mother polar bear gives her cub a ride as she swims in the Arctic Ocean in Svalbard, Norway, on July 4, 2012.

Man könnte meinen...One might think....


...dass ich auf der faulen Haut liege, so lange, wie ich mich hier nicht mehr gemeldet habe, und es ist wahr...-

...that I am lying on my heels as it has been ages since my last posting. And it's true...-


...dass eine Geschichte um die andere vorbei gezogen ist, ohne hier zu landen.Kein Muttertag...-
 ...that one story after the other was written without us.No Mother's Day...


Kein Kindertag...-
No Children's Day.

Lars, father of Knut & Anori was moved to Rostock in May

Und auch der Vatertag wurde verschwitzt, genauso wie Umzüge.
And we missed also Father's Day, not to mention all the transfers which happened in the meantime.

 Photo: Como Zoo
Der dramatischste Umzug war sicherlich der von Berlin nach den Überschwemmungen im Lake Superior Zoo von Duluth in Minnesota...-

The most dramatic one was certainly the transfer of Berlin from Lake Superior Zoo in Duluth after the floodings in Minnesota two weeks ago ...


source

Wir verpassten Geburten...-
We missed birth events...
More about Aurora's artificial insemination here (dt./engl.)

Genauso wie kontrovers diskutierte medizinische Eingriffe mit dem Ziel Geburten zu schaffen wie am 1.Mai in Rochester...-
And much discussed scientific events in order to create births as happened in May in Rochester...

source & more

Noch nicht einmal Vicks medienträchtiger Steinwurf tauchte hier auf...
Not even Vicks' legendary stone's throw was shown here...
 

Und auch nicht Pauls orakelnde Nachfahren beim diesjährigen EURO-Ereignis...-
And nothing about Paul's successors connected to the recent EURO competition.


source

Den letzten Vollmond haben wir ebenfalls verpasst...-
We also missed last full moon...

source

Genauso wie den 4.Juli...-
Which also goes for the 4th of July

source

Wie auch immer, es sieht sehr danach aus, dass wir einfach schwer beschäftigt sind...
However, it looks as if we are just too busy to keep up...

Please note:
The local Internet resources are said to be upgraded which means that temporarily there is no connectivity at all which is now said to take another month. So no promises but all my apologies beside the fact that I actually have been busy too and been more active in my Rodrigues blog during the last months.