Luke Wilson

Scientists In South Africa Have Discovered The World’s Oldest Active Termite Mounds, Over 34 Kyrs Old, Along The Buffels River In Namaqualand. These Mounds, Called “Heuweltjies,” House Southern Harvester Termites (Microhodotermes Viator). Their Foraging Promotes Carbon Sequestration By Forming Calcium Carbonate, Locking Carbon Deep In The Soil.

Earth’s Oceans Are Becoming Greener, Especially Near The Equator, Likely Due To Human-Induced Climate Change. Scientists Studied 20+ Yrs Of Nasa Data, Revealing Changes In Plankton Popu. These Shifts Signal Broader Ecosystem Changes. The Jan 2024 Satellite Mission, Pace, Will Further Investigate Ocean Colors & Ecological Implications.

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Lake Mead, The Largest Reservoir In The US, Due To Extreme Drought, Is Said To Have Dipped To Its Lowest Level Ever, ~1,071.56ft Above Sea Level, On The 10th Of June, 2021. The Lake, Created By The Hoover Dam, Is Said To Be A Source Of Major Water Supply For More Than 20 Million People, Including Those Living In Los Vegas And Los Angeles.

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Aridity And Record Heat, Worsened By Climate Change, May Cause Water Levels In California’s Second Largest Reservoir, Lake Oroville, To Fall So Low To Projected ~640 Ft, This Summer, Causing The Edward Hyatt Power Plant, Which Can Power 800,000 Homes When Operating At Full Capacity, To Shut Down For The First Time Since Opening In 1967.

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Scientists May Have Discovered, In The Sorata Massif Rainforests, In Northern Madagascar, The World’s Smallest Reptile, A 13.5 mm Long Male Chameleon Species Called Brookesia Nana (BN). But The Female BN, At 19.2 mm Long, Is Larger Than The World’s Smallest 16 mm Long Female Gecko, A Reptile Of The Sphaerodactylus Ariasae Species.

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A Newly Discovered Orchid, Deep In The Forest Of Madagascar, Has Been Called The Ugliest Orchid In The World. The Orchid, Named Gastrodia Agnicellus, Relies On Its Fungus For Food Through Out Its Life, As It Does Not Have Any Cell For Photosynthesis. The Endangered Orchid, Though Rotten Looking, Is Said To Have “Fresh, Citrusy Smell.”

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The World’s Most Expensive Sheep Was Sold In Scotland For The Price Of Over $490,000. The Pricey Animal, Named “Double Diamond,” Is A Texel Sheep–A Highly Sought-After Sheep In The Uk Because Of Their Lean And Very High-Quality Meat. Average Sheep In the UK Sells For $133. Texel Is Named After The Island Of Texel In The Netherlands.

An Apple Tree, Thought To Be The Oldest In The Pacific Northwest, Has Died At The Age Of 194 Years This June Of 2020. The Tree, Planted In 1826 In Vancouver, Washington, Is Said To Be The Matriarch Of The Region’s Apple Industry. And Its Apples, Which Are Green And Bitter Tasting, Are Said To Be Great For Baking.

Old Apple Tree in…

Researchers Have Discovered That The Pinkest Flamingos, Both Male And Female, Are More Aggressive Than Their Paler Rivals And Tend To Push Them Around When Fighting Over Food. And The Birds Tend To Fight More When Food Is Available In A More Confined Area Such As A Bowl. Their Pink Color Comes From Carotenoids In Their Food.

Pinker…

Researchers Are Blaming The Long-Lasting Marine Heat Wave, Called “The Blob,” For The Largest Mass Die-Offs Of Seabirds, Known As Murres, In The Pacific Northwest. About 1 Million Birds Have Been Said To Have Washed Ashore From California to Alaska In 2015 And 2016 Due To The Heat Wave Effect On The Marine Ecosystem Food Supply. Hmm!

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A Study Of 70,000 Birds From 52 North American Migratory Bird Specimen Is Indicating That The Body Size Of Birds Shrank By ~2.6% While Their Wingspan Length Grew ~1.3% During A 38-Year Period (1978 to 2016), As A Result Of Global Warming. Scientists Are Of The Opinion That These Changes May Be Adaptive To Maintain The Birds’ Lifestyle.

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Every 5 Years, In December, The Largest Animal Sacrifice Is Carried Out In Nepal, During Gadhimai Festival, To Appease Goddess Gadhimai. The Animals Decapitated With Blunt Metal Swords Range From Buffalos, Goats, Chickens, Pigs, Rats, And Pigeons. The Number Of Animals Killed, In 2014, Is ~30,000 Due To Efforts Of Animal Rights Groups.

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Birds Are Disappearing From North America, And It Is Not Because They Are Migrating Elsewhere. A Recent Report Is Indicating That The Bird Population In The US And Canada Has Declined By 3 billion, Or 29% In The Last 50 Years. And This Is Due To Many Factors, Including Important Ones Like Habitat Loss And Wider Use Of Pesticides.

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It’s Known That Matter Exist In 3 States: Solid, Liquid And Gaseous. But Now, Scientists Seem To Have Discovered A New State, By Applying Extreme Pressure And Temperature To Potassium Element, Where Matter Exists As Both Liquid And Solid. Over 6 Elements, Under The Right Condition, Are Thought Capable Of Existing In This State.

Sci…

Damn, The 5 Yr Old Pigeon, Named Armando, Has Been Sold For A Commanding Price Of $1.4 Million. Armando Is Said To Be The World’s Best Distance Racer Of All Time. Pigeon Racing Is Common In Places Like China. Armando Is At The Retirement Age For A Race Pigeon, But He Could Still Father Potential Champion Pigeons.

One Of The Biggest Structures And Apparently The World\’s Most Extensive Bioengineering Effort By A Single Insect Species, To Safely Gain Access To Leaves From Forest Floor, Has Been Discovered In Northeastern Brazil. The Structure Are Termite Mounds, Said To Cover Area The Size Of Great Britain And About 4000 Years Old.

It Is Common For Someone To Be Born To Parents From Different Nationalities. The Same Seem To Be Applicable To Birds . Yes, A Bird That Is Said To Be A Hybrid From 3 Bird Species Was Discovered In Pennsylvania. The Species Are The Golden-Winged Warblers, Blue-Winged Warblers, And Chestnut-sided Warblers.

https://www.huffingtonp…

The Largest Bird To Have Ever Lived, According To Scientists, Was The Flightless, Nocturnal, And Probably Blind “Elephant Bird,” Which Is Said To Be Native To What Is Now The Island Of Madagascar. The Bird Is Said To Have Gone Extinct Between 500 And 1,000 Years Ago Due To Habitat Loss And Potential Human Meddling.

Giant f…

Scientists Have Created A Material Whose Cellular Structure Is Similar To Wood, But It Is Said To Be Lighter And Strong Than Wood. Some Folks Are Already Calling The Material Artifical Wood. Additional Perks Is That The Material Could Be Modified To Be Magnetic, And Also Resistant To Fire And Corrosion. Cool!

Scientists Create Water-…

Of Course, Any Animal Species Would Go Extinct If Their Habitat Is Destroyed. The Case Of The Birds, Which Evolved From The Dinosaurs, Going Extinct Shouldn’t Be Any Different If Their Forests Were Destroyed By The Asteroid Impact 65 Mya. The Modern Birds (~11,000 Species) Then Evolved From Specialized Ground-Dwelling Species Post-Impact.

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