Elizabeth Kolbert, author of “The Sixth Extinction: An Unnatural History”, is a staff writer at The New Yorker, who has focused her recent books on climate change and the consequences the Earth and its inhabitants face. “The Sixth Extinction” delivers in providing a simple conceptual overview of the Earth’s five mass extinctions and how these past events may illustrate current
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Dichogama colotha is a species of moth found in Costa Rica, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and southern Texas. A description of this little known species was first published in the Proceedings of the United States National Museum in 1912. D. colotha is a relatively small moth with white, almost iridescent wings that span 28-36mm, and tends to fly from June to October (Dyar
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With flu season at its peak I hear everyone discussing why we should or should not get vaccinated against the virus. With all this talk about vaccines I thought it would be the perfect time to discuss vaccines that will protect your pets. I want to discuss which vaccines you should or should not get your cat and dog vaccinated
Read moreEnclosure accessories which increase natural behaviors in your pets fall under the large umbrella term called enrichment. Enrichment can also be changes in routines, new food items or rearrangement of cage furniture. When you first give an animal a new enrichment device, observing their interaction is essential. After the initial observation, revisions can be made to the enrichment item to
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This winter I went to Belize with 11 classmates and 5 veterinarians, where we spent a week providing care for the animals at The Belize Zoo (TBZ). A small, charming zoo integrated almost seamlessly into the tropical savanna, TBZ is probably better defined as a sanctuary- all of its animals are local species and are “rescues” in one way or
Read moreby Lisa Barrett No Breeding, No Buying At about this time last year, I, along with the rest of the Think Elephants International (TEI) research team, was anxiously awaiting the arrival of a new “family” member. Elephant births are cause for huge excitement at the camp for two reasons. First, female Asian elephants only have four to five calves in
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I can write pages about practically any other topic, but when it comes to writing about myself, I struggle and how ironic is that: I should know myself so well I could literally write a book. I’m still on a magnificent journey toward self-discovery, but I can tell you about my life thus far: I was born and raised in
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The island of Madagascar began to split from continental Africa during the Jurassic period, approximately 135 million years ago! By 70 million years ago, it was completely separated from the continent. This separation has allowed for extensive amounts of adaptive radiation. This is a process in which organisms diversify rapidly into a multitude of new forms that can exploit different environmental
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I have received some interesting reactions when I tell new acquaintances that I study baboons. Recently, someone very enthusiastically asked, “Those are the animals with the HUGE pink butts, right?” They are indeed. And I’m actually quite intrigued by those “pink butts.” A more technical term for this is “exaggerated sexual swellings.” Around the time of ovulation, females of
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“No matter what religious or spiritual beliefs you hold, it’s impossible to deny we have been blessed with a planet that has everything we need to survive and be healthy. It is up to us to care for it and to keep it livable for ourselves and all of the living things that share it with us.” -David Suzuki I
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DANTAisms 