animals

Koshik, An Elephant that can Speak Korean

Koshik, an Asian elephant is to believe that he can reproduce human speech. And the words are Korean in nature. Apparently, the researchers from an Austrian University seemed to have validated the news.

Koshik can apparently match both pitch and timbre patterns, he also imitates human formants as well as the voice pitch of his trainers accurately.

Biologically, elephants have a trunk instead of lips. While their large larynx are capable of producing a very low-pitched sounds, this particular elephant’s speech exactly copies the pitch and other characteristics of his human trainers' voices.

The other reason for Koshik’s such development could be the fact that he was the only elephant living at the Everland Zoo in South Korea for about five years, while humans were his only social contacts.

World Rarest Whale Species found in Pacific Ocean

The world's rarest whale species - the spade-toothed beaked whale was spotted for the first time by scientists of New Zealand in the Pacific Ocean.

The Spade-toothed beaked whales were first discovered in 1872 when bone fragments of rarest whale species were found on a remote Pacific island.

Till date the rarest species had remained entirely hidden from human view. This is the first time that the species was ever seen as a complete specimen.

The discovered species was found on 31 December 2010 in a form of a female whale (5.3 metres) and male calf (3.5 metres) which were stranded and later died on Opape Beach in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.

It was after their death that they were measured, photographed and tissue samples were taken by the Department of Conservation. A DNA typing was done on them and with further investigation a report on 6 November 2012 was published in the journal Current Biology.

PLASMODIUM VIVAX IN 1996 SEQUENCING OF THE ENTIRE GENOME WAS COMPLETED

Vulture population rises in India

As per a recent report by the Bombay Natural History Society (BHNS) rapid decline in the number of critically endangered Indian vultures has stopped. India’s vulture population has risen for the first time in last 20 years, after a sharp decline in their numbers by more than 99%. Vulture numbers decreased in India from 4 crore in the early ’80s to less than 1 lakh in 2011.

Why Vulture numbers were fast declining in India?

• Diclofenac, a painkilling drug administered to cattle, is the main cause of mass extinction of vultures.
• Vultures, which have a digestive system robust enough to even digest disease-causing pathogens found in rotting meat of dead,do not have a critical enzyme that breaks down diclofenacand die of renal failure after eating carcasses of cattle administered the drug.
• Vultures feeding on cattle either die from acute kidney failure within a few days or lose their ability to reproduce.

‘Diclofenac’ is a painkilling drug administered to cattle.

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has put vultures on its list of ‘critically endangered’ species.

The three most common species of vultures and there approx. numbers in the India are:

1. Long-billed vulture (Gyps indicus), also known as the Indian vulture (44,000)
2. White-backed vulture (Gyps africanus) (11,000)
3. Slender-billed vulture (Gyps tenuirostris) (1,000)

SNAKE------ONLY KING COBRA BUILDS NEST


The Kathiawari is a breed of horse from India, originating in the Kathiawar peninsula. Closely related to the Marwari horse,very few Kathiawaris left in existence. Originally used as war horses and cavalry mounts, they are currently used as mounted police horses and for the sport of tent pegging. The breed registry and annual shows are organized by the Kathiawari Horse Breeders' Association. 








in herbivorus animals caecum helps in digestion of starch through bacteria


which is not a fish------cutltle fish ( mollusca)  rest all are fishes----dog fish,gold fish,zebra fish


zebra fish is genetically modified  in golfish to be sold in india and srilanka



WILDLIFE PROTECTION ACT PROTECTS ALL VERTEBRATES



New Spider species named after David Attenborough
 A new species of spider was named after the British naturalist and famous TV Broadcaster Sir David
Attenborough. The species prethopalpus attenboroughi is found only on Horn island in the Torres Strait in
Queensland, Australia.
 The other name of Prethopalpus is goblin spider.

 Earlier a fossil of a fish Materpiscis attenboroughi that existed 380 million years ago was named after Sir David.



ARTIC TERN---------LONGEST MIGRATORY BIRD SPECIES MIGRATES FROM ARTIC TO ANTARTIC EVERY


PROVENTRICULUS IS SMALL THICK WALLED SAC FOUND IN---IT IS A SLIGHT DILATION OF OESOPHAGUS OF PIGEON.

The endangered birds, Great Indian Bustard and Lesser Florican have got a dedicated land for breeding in the Shonkaliya Region of Ajmer District, Rajasthan. The villagers of Ajmer District have agreed to conserve 30 hectares of land for the breeding activity of these endangered birds.

Population of the Great Indian Bustard (the state bird of Rajasthan) is reportedly not sizeable with six males, present in the area. The Great Indian Bustard needs to lure at least three to four females in number for making of the family. Nests of the Great Indian Bustard have been noticed in the crop fields of the area.

The Lesser Floricans are available in a large number as compared to the Great Indian Bustards’ in the region. Nest of lesser Floricans have also seen around the crop lands of the area. Floricans make a visit to this north-western region of the country during their breeding season of advancing monsoons.

This move of conservation of the Lesser Floricans and the Great Indian Bustard is an initiative to use MNREGA, the job guarantee scheme of the central government as a conservative tool. At the time of Manju Rajpal, the former collector of Ajmer district, the villagers of Shonkaliya agreed to earmark a dedicated zone in 30 hectare of land for breeding of the birds from their total of 100 hectares. From 1st May to 30th September entry of cattle as well as people will be restricted in the protected land.

Origin of the Singing Mice discovered
Scientists discovered the origin of singing mice that use songs to communicate. The discovery can help identify genes
that affect language in humans.
The singing mice are brown fur rodents, found in the tropical cloud forests in the mountains of Costa Rica.
These mice produce rapid-fire string of high pitched chirps called “Trills”, which are used mostly by males to attract
mates.
They are different from birds as the mice generally stick to a song made up of only a single note.
The research is examining the genetic components and expression of gene FOXP2 which as per scientists influences
song expression.













Rodent species that doesn’t chew discovered in Indonesia
A species of rat that doesn’t chew was discovered in Indonesia. Out of 2200 known species of rodents, this is the only
one which lacks molars and instead has bicuspid upper incisors. These Rats species were found in the mountainous
rainforest of southern Sulawesi Island on Mount Latimojong and 100 km northwest on Mount Gandangdewata in
Indonesia. They survive on earthworms.










parasite

more than 300 young Ugandans who have died as a
result of the a mysterous disease called Nodding Head Syndrome that is afflicting more and
more children across northern Uganda and in pockets of South Sudan.
Nodding Head Syndrome The disease is called nodding syndrome, or nodding head
disease, because those who have it nod their heads and sometimes go into
epileptic-like fits. Researchers are focusing on the connection between nodding
syndrome and the parasite that causes river blindness. Onchocerciasis, or river
blindness,has been around for a long time, but nodding syndrome is somewhat
new

Spider

A new species of spider was named after the British naturalist and famous TV

Broadcaster Sir David Attenborough. The species prethopalpus

attenboroughi is found only on Horn island in the Torres Strait in

Queensland, Australia.

The other name of Prethopalpus is goblin spider.

Earlier a fossil of a fish Materpiscis attenboroughi that existed 380 million

years ago was named after Sir David

Genetically Modified Silkworms can Spin Stronger Silk than Spiders

Scientists in America claimed to have genetically modified silkworms to spin the much stronger silk that spiders produce.  Their work could lead to new material for medicine and engineering. Their eventual aim is to produce silk from worms that has the toughness of spider silk.  

In weight-for-weight terms, spider silk is stronger than steel. The scientists have been trying to reproduce such silk for decades.