Wild Earth Integration

image via National Geographic

I came across this little guy (called a lilac-breasted roller!) while researching a new book – I just had to share it with you.

Creatures like this always get me to thinking about fantasy. I think one of the main reasons people love fantasy books so much is because of the possibility they represent. Magic, myth and legend are all deeply embedded in us and I think we’re drawn to the potential found in certain stories.

Of course, you’ll never catch me saying anything bad about reading, period.

But sometimes I think we forget just how magical, how fantastical the natural world can be; look at this bird!

Enjoy a little extra magic and color today – Happy Friday!

Okay, I’m the first to admit it’s been awhile since the last post. My bad.

But, the good news is I have a good reason.  (more on that later)

Today I wanted to share with you one of the coolest creature tricks I’ve ever seen. Spoiler, I can’t identify it exactly – but looks to me like some sort of American screech owl. Any takers?

To get the full effect, watch the video here – trust me!

What’s going on?

When up against a barn owl (which is only a little bigger than himself), our owl transformer puffs up. You know, using the ‘scare-them-off-I’m-too-big-for-food’ tactic.

But when he’s up against a much bigger owl, he opts for another strategy: camouflage. By stretching its whole body into a branch shape, he succeeds not only in freaking the bejeezus out of us but hopefully gets ignored by the bigger owl.

Not a bad trick!

I personally think he looks an awful lot like a vampire owl when he does that, but that’s a story for another day…

It’s high time I introduced you to someone. Or rather, many someones.

Water bears, aka ‘Tardigrades’ or moss piglets, look like unfortunate gummi bears that have sprouted another two sets of legs. Before you worry about encountering one in the wild, fear not – they’re tiny.

Very tiny.

They are also adorable as hell.

Don’t let their cuteness trick you though. Water bears are built to last. When they were first discovered in 1773, I’m pretty sure scientists thought they were a microscopic practical joke. Think you can take the heat? Water bears can withstand 151 degrees celsius. That’s hotter than boiling water. They just sit there and lounge in it, practically egging you on in their little Speedos.*

They also put Superman to shame, with an ability to take 1000 times the lethal dose of radiation for a human. Oh, and did I mention they can handle 6000 atmospheres of pressure?

They’ve even been to space, joyriding outside of space station windows. Might as well have sent them to Aruba for all they cared.

As if this wasn’t enough to make you feel like a total un-invincible failure – they can even go ten years without a drink.

How, you ask, can these little goobers no bigger than 0.5mm survive such incredibly daring feats?

They can resurrect themselves.

Yes, you read that right. Sure, things get rough for them. But when they do, instead of whining about it, they shut down their bodies and hunker down. By ‘shut down’ I mean they stop every single process that their body normally does – including reproduction, growth and metabolism. During this period, which can last for years, the moss piggies are essentially dead.

Then, when things start looking up, they wake up, dust themselves off and carry on their merry way. Not bad for nearly invisible.

Because they can withstand such incredible (often sadistic!) scientific torture with a grin on their little faces, they have earned the classification ‘polyextremophiles’.

Something to think about the next time you’re having a rough day.

*Tardigrades don’t wear Speedos.

Happy weekending!

It’s Friday the 13th!

There are a lot of superstitious people out there. Although I do prescribe to the ‘don’t walk under ladders’ and smash mirrors rule (because that’s just a bad idea on a good day), that’s more out of self preservation than a sense of dreaded superstition.

Most superstitions arose centuries ago, when people lived closer to the land and observed nature’s cycles a little more carefully. Because of this, a lot of them revolve around nature and animals. (Giving some unwilling participants a bad reputation to boot!)

So, in honor of Friday the 13th, I give you the  top 5 nature superstitions:

5 – Knock on wood. Even I do this without thinking of it. If you’re worried about something awful happening, you can ‘touch wood’ to ward off bad luck or evil consequences. Although this one’s debated, most scholars belief that ‘touch wood’ arose back when people believed trees contained spirits and magical powers which could help you if asked. For the record, I definitely think trees have magical powers.

4 – Avoid peacock feathers. I hadn’t heard of this one until recently. The legend says that the eye of the feather was seen as ‘the evil eye’. The evil eye is capable of making people sick and many went to great lengths to avoid it. Some talismans still exist to ward it off, but let’s just say if you go chasing a peacock for its tail feather you just might get more than you bargain for.

3 – Rabbit’s feet. When I was younger, I remember rabbit’s feet being a really big thing. People had them on key chains, dyed in tacky colors. These are said to bring good luck, as long as they came from the left hind foot. Because some cultures believed witches were able to shapeshift into rabbits, the rabbit’s foot idea might have originated as ‘cut from a shapeshifted witch’. Lovely…

2 – Black cats. This one’s a toss up. Some cultures believe if you see a black cat crossing your path, you might as well call it a day, because it’s bound to get a lot worse. Other cultures see black cats as good omens or signs of great things to come. In some areas, we can look again to witches for giving the black cat a bad rap. But in Egypt, these guys were seen as ‘kingly creatures’, who were given their own burial and coffin after they died. I personally think all cats are bad luck, but only for my sinuses.

1 – Eclipses. No, I’m not talking about the latest vamp movie. Eclipses have been known as terrible omens for centuries, associated with the death of kings or problems for the commoners. It’s easy to understand why it was terrifying – watching the sun or moon get engulfed in darkness in a time when we didn’t have the benefit of NASA would be quite an experience Today, with eclipses known ahead of time, we’ve grown a lot less fearful of bad luck. Not that I want to go messing with the Sun Gods or anything…

So, are you superstitious?

Or maybe just, a little stitious?

Here’s a song that’s guaranteed to give you good luck all day! Keep it wild!

So unless you’ve been living under a rock these days, you know about global warming.

The big culprits in global warming are greenhouses gases – stuff like carbon dioxide, methane, ozone and water vapor. These gases bog up in the atmosphere, essentially making a shell around the world that re-reflects light back onto us. You know, sort of like a greenhouse.

As you also know, a big part of fixing the planet up revolves around dealing with all these greenhouses gases. Little did we know that other critters are playing their part too. Some are even pooping their help.

Check this out – a group of scientists have been studying sperm whale poo. Don’t blame them, we all have our vices.

Sperm whales eat deep in the ocean, but return to the surface to … do their business. When they poop, they shower their diarrhea-like poo all over the floating phytoplankton. These are aquatic plants that take up carbon as they grow. The good guys.

Because the whale poo is so nutrient and iron-rich, the phytoplankton get a natural fertilizer. They flourish and grow, reducing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. By a lot.

It’s been estimated that sperm whales contribute 40 tons of iron to the light receiving zone of the ocean. Because this is where the plants are, they help draw down nearly half a million tons of carbon. This means that whales and other large marine animals are some of the most environmentally beneficial creatures on the planet.

Now the bad news. Whale populations are down – way down – from their historical numbers, somewhere between 1-10 percent of their original population. The fewer whales we have, the more global warming is going to be a problem.

Just another shining reminder that the Earth has mechanisms we’re only beginning to understand. If we thought less about our sushi plates and more about the big picture, maybe we’d start getting the hint?

Also, this makes me wonder — if poo is useful, can we really call it waste?

I love it when humans are confronted with something that forces us to step back and evaluate just what we think we know.

I particularly love it when we realize “Oh…… how about that?” and marvel at how we missed something.

Allow me to explain.

About a week ago, an article was published in Biology Letters, outlining a new species of monitor lizard living in the forests of the northern Philippines. Well, it’s new to us at least.

Now get this – we’re not talking about a tree frog the size of your thumbnail, or a deep sea fish that can make himself invisible – this lizard is two metres long and is a relative of the infamous Komodo dragon. In other words, it’s a big oops and scientists are kind of scratching their heads wondering “This is insane – how did we miss this?”

To top it off, instead of eating meat like we would expect this komodo-esque beast to do, it turns out that he much prefers a nice fruit salad. This monitor lizard is a frugivore.

A third point is also worth mentioning. Although biologists haven’t encountered this species before, it’s well known to the indigenous Agta and Ilongot people of the region.

I can’t help but enjoy watching this unfold, because like I mentioned above, it forces us to realize we don’t have it all figured out. This lizard throws a bit of a curve ball at us, and I think it’s good for us to be thrown curve balls. It teaches humility, no?

So, what can we learn from this lizard? Apart from its eating habits and genetic composition, this lizard serves as a nice reminder of a few things:

1/ Maybe this planet has secrets (biological or otherwise) that we aren’t aware of yet. Admitting that we don’t know what we don’t know will open us to those possibilities faster than assuming we do.

2/Even big things (animals, effects, concepts) can go unseen if we’re not really opening our eyes.

3/ When in doubt, ask the locals. They probably know a lot more than you think.

Keep it wild!

It’s that time of year! Spring is coming, cartoon lambs are showing up everywhere and chocolate is taking over the stores. Must be Easter!

To celebrate this year, I thought I’d take a look at the big man himself. What exactly do we know about the Easter Bunny? Or, as I like to call him, Commander BunBun.

Here’s your Wild 5: Easter Bunny Edition!

1 – The Easter Bunny wasn’t a rabbit at all. What?! I hear you saying? We’ve been bamboozled! Nope, the Easter Bunny was originally a European hare. His legend dates back to the early 1500s too, so this hare is probably getting up in his years. Nowadays, we have the newfangled Easter Bunny who is all white with big, doting eyes. The original BunBun was probably something of a badass.

2- Although his legend started in Germany, in the US and Canada, we’ve come to know the Easter Bunny as a cottontail rabbit. He has his own song “Here Comes Peter Cottontail” (you know the one). Whether he is related to the Beatrix Potter ‘Peter’, I have no clue!

3- The Easter Bunny is nocturnal, just like other European hares and cottontail rabbits. Of course, this is what allows him to get the job done and deliver millions of chocolates and colored eggs to kids all over the place. He’d be rather conspicuous hopping around in the middle of the day, no? To help him get around at night, hares and rabbits both have large eyes. All the better to see you with, my dear…

4- The Easter Bunny and his cousins of the family Leporidae are all prolific breeders. But despite what all those commercials tell you, they don’t lay eggs. But they do reproduce at an alarming rate, with bunny moms able to get pregnant again before giving birth to the first litter. I know, wrap your head around that one.

5- The European hare Easter Bunny would probably win in a competition against the Cottontail Rabbit Easter Bunny. Despite being extraordinarily cute, the hare has two advantages. Firstly, hares can run around and take care of themselves within minutes of being born. Rabbits on the other hand are defenseless, hairless and blind. The hare also has a longer set of hind legs, that are capable of taking him 50 miles/hr. So, the cottontail might be cuter, but when it comes to maneuvering around with thousands of eggs, I’d give the hare an edge on the competition.

Have a wild Easter!

Sometimes, you can see patterns in nature when you look at the bigger picture. Stepping back, widening your view and taking stock from afar can elucidate a lot of nature’s secrets.

Then, there are times when looking very, very closely can help open your eyes.

This is one of those times.

I hope you enjoy this video, all about the nature, numbers and grace.

Keep it wild!

It’s getting sunnier. And staying sunnier. Even as I write this, my normal winter backdrop of frosty dark morning is now replaced with a beam of sunlight in a bright blue sky.

Spring is sooo coming.

I’ve had a lot of people ask how Gerry, my resident squirrel neighbor, is doing. As you can see, Gerry has taken to napping on our back porch. This is, of course, after gorging himself on birdseed which he faithfully receives everyday.

What better way to enjoy the last of winter than with one last seasonal catnap? Sorry, squirrel nap.

I highly recommend them.

Keep it wild!

I can’t take credit for this photo – my better half was out there braving the flurry to get it.

This bad boy was originally chasing down a sparrow, but gave up and decided instead to just look regal. (I wish I could look that regal just by sitting and turning my head.)

Another good reason to keep lookin’ up, no?

Keep it wild, world!