It won’t be long before the media declares the black rhino extinct. Due to a high price of the animal’s horn, (a whopping Rs. 43 lakhs per kilogram) it is being driven to extinction by poachers. So much so that there are only 5,000 of them left. The rhino horn is a lucrative business opportunity for the poachers who sell the horn in China, Vietnam and South Korea, where its powder is used for its supposed medicinal properties.
Frogs heading uphill to escape climate change: Any idea how many eons it takes to become an avian from an amphibian?
Yossi Yovel and colleagues at the University of Tel Aviv have discovered that the shrill cries of bats, which so often pass into ultrasonic, are filled with a lot of information.
Stories travel fast. Love stories travel faster. In the last couple of decades, Valentine’s Day, celebrated on February 14, has become a global festival. What is the green angle to it?
As usual, I woke up in the morning thinking about what I would do that day. It wasn't a special day, my routine was all planned-up like other days. It was a holiday, I didn’t have to go to school. I was determined to do something new, see something different. I was thinking about going with my family to watch a movie or something like that. I don’t watch movies often but my exams had just ended the day before. Many ideas came to my mind, but that day I don’t know why...
“Jhuru . . . jaldi neeche aao,” Amma shouts.
Jhuru is atop a hill with his friend Bagha the leopard sprawled next to him.
“Bagha, why do they always call me when I am with you?”
“Well, they don’t want us to be together,” says Bagha licking his paws.
“Or are they scared?” Jhuru asks. He gets up and shouts, “Amma, aataa” and proceeded to sprawl again next to Bagha.
Junk lovers, welcome a new addition to the group—the bees. Pollen is the only natural source of protein for bees, but every day it is becoming starchier—thanks to the increasing carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is sapping the nutritional quality of pollen. Bees need adequate proteins to feed their larvae and maintain their immune systems; some bees store pollen to tide through winters.
The 'buzzy' bees are best at their pollination jobs but they are all set to face serious competition from other insects. According to a new study, insects like flies, wasps, butterflies, moths, ants, thrips and beetles are also effective pollinators of certain crops of global importance. These insects have an added advantage too—they are resistant and less sensitive to environmental changes, scientists say.
Have you ever tried trekking through treacherous terrian and tried to take short cuts to reduce the time and effort it takes to reach your destination? It turns out army ants are really good at mapping out the most efficient route for themselves.
