Tag: ‘Animal’

Japan incarcerates invading turtles

19 Jul 2006

Recently Japan has seen a dramatic increase in the number of news reports concerning foreign turtles on the loose. Hardly a day passes without a reported capture, leaving one with the impression the country is under full-scale invasion by an army of rogue turtles. The culprits are predominantly common snapping turtles (Chelydra serpentina) and alligator snapping turtles (Macroclemys temminckii), both of which find their way from the Americas to Japan as pets. Authorities are responding aggressively, incarcerating the miscreant terrapins and publishing their mugshots in the media. The photo below shows some of the most recent detainees.

Japan's war on turtles

Left (top to bottom): Common snapping turtle captured in Tsuyama (Okayama prefecture), alligator snapping turtle captured in Ueno Park (Tokyo), alligator snapping turtle captured in Tomigusuku (Okinawa)

Center (top to bottom): Common snapping turtle captured in Kameyama (Mie prefecture), common snapping turtle captured in a kindergarten swimming pool in Kobe, alligator snapping turtle captured 30 meters offshore at Nagasaki Seaside Park

Right (top to bottom): African spurred tortoise (Geochelone sulcata) captured in Nabari (Mie prefecture), common snapping turtle captured in Imizu (Toyama prefecture)

Video of Indonesian coelacanth

27 Jun 2006

A portion of the Indonesian coelacanth video shot several weeks ago has been made public.

The news report states that while more than 200 coelacanth finds have been documented off the coast of southern Africa, only 4 of the Indonesian variety had ever been confirmed before the Aquamarine Fukushima team caught theirs on video last month. According to the group's coelacanth web page, the researchers this time were able to capture a total of 7 coelacanth on video during the period from May 30 to June 5, as follows:

- May 30 (8:00 to 9:00 AM): Successfully videotaped an Indonesian coelacanth off the northern coast of Sulawesi, at a depth of 170 meters in 17 degrees Celsius water. Length of video is 5 to 10 minutes.

- May 31 (approx. 7:30 AM): Videotaped 2 more coelacanth in the same cave where the first coelacanth was videotaped.

- May 31 (approx. 10:00 AM): Videotaped another coelacanth in a different cave located at a depth of 180 meters.

- June 4 (approx. 6:40 PM): Videotaped 3 coelacanth over the span of 2 hours at a depth of 150 meters in the same area.

Beginning July 13, Aquamarine Fukushima will hold a special exhibit dedicated to the mystery of the Indonesian coelacanth, featuring video of the fish shown on a 65-inch plasma screen. The exhibit will run for an unspecified period of time.

[Source: Aquamarine Fukushima coelacanth page]

UPDATE (July 1, 2006): You can see the same coelacanth footage in this news report in English, on YouTube.

Critters get football fever, too

21 Jun 2006

Animals mimicking human behavior are a favorite staple of the Japanese media, and lately, for some reason or other, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of wire photos of animals playing soccer. Perhaps it is a sign that fascination with the sport extends deep into the animal kingdom. Regardless, we are not alone...

Crab playing soccer
Crabs play soccer, too.

Crow playing soccer
Crows play soccer, too.

Ants playing soccer
Ants play soccer, too.

Elepant playing soccer
Elephants play soccer, too.

Orangutan playing soccer
Orangutans play soccer, too.

Sea lion playing soccer
Sea lions play soccer, too.

Guinea pig playing soccer
Guinea pigs play soccer, too.

Blue tang playing soccer
Blue tang play soccer, too.

Sea turtle playing soccer
Sea turtles play soccer, too.

Hopefully, as the Samurai Blue prepare to square off in a do-or-die match against Brazil, they take comfort in knowing they have the full support of our feral friends, too. Gambare Nippon!

Exhibit puts poop on display

06 Jun 2006

Unchi hat"It?s dirty, but everyone is interested in poop. I wanted to give it a try," says Michinori Ueda, director of Himeji City Science Museum, which is hosting an exhibit that delves into the world of excrement. Entitled Za Unchi-ten ("The Poop Exhibit"), the exhibit showcases the dung of 100 animals and provides displays that explore the relationship between feces and health.

Display cases containing an array of droppings of various shapes and sizes provide visitors a unique viewing experience. The droppings were obtained from the local zoo and aquarium, from animals ranging from elephants and ostriches to hippos and snails. Each sample, which has been freeze-dried and hardened with resin to eliminate the smell, is accompanied by photos and information about its "producer."

Other attractions include the fossilized dung (coprolite) of plant-eating dinosaurs, information about the Hebeloma radicosum mushroom and other fungi that grow from dung heaps, and dung beetle specimens. The exhibit also features an display explaining what happens to food inside our bodies after we eat it.

Visitors to the exhibit have had a variety of responses. ?The beetle poop was cute,? said one visitor.

On his occasional strolls through the exhibit, Ueda explains to visitors how the color similarity between bird and reptile feces indicates their close relationship to each other. Ueda notes that only the lion droppings still smell, even though they were freeze-dried and hardened along with the other samples.

"The exhibit should make people think about how nature works in cycles," says Ueda, "and it should cause visitors to think about why different foods and animals produce different feces."

The exhibit will be held until June 18 (the museum is closed on Mondays). Admission is free. There is no word on what sort of souvenirs will be available in the gift shop.

[Source: Asahi Shimbun]

Animatronic panda suit for rent

01 Jun 2006

Here's some welcome news for anyone not jiving with the whole 2006 "cool biz" fashion campaign that was officially launched today...

Multimedia production company Buildup Co., Ltd. has announced plans to begin renting high-quality animatronic suits in June. First up for rent will be the company?s panda suit.

Animatronic panda suit
(The panda suit appeared on NHK's "Tensai Terebi-kun MAX")

The realistic-looking panda suit consists of two layers -- an inner layer of padding to reproduce the panda?s muscles and an outer layer featuring a coat of high-quality fur. The eyes, ears and mouth are equipped with a total of 14 remote control servo motors, allowing the panda to make facial expressions ranging from pleasant smiles to angry grimaces. To add to the realism, the designers eliminated the peepholes for the person inside. Instead, the performer sees by means of video goggles connected to a CCD camera system.

Although Buildup generally loans its suits to production companies, the panda suit is available for rent to individuals as well. With the rental service scheduled to begin today (June 1), the company has yet to announce the rental price. Only one panda suit is available at the moment, but Buildup is looking into expanding its lineup with suits modeled after other animals.

You can see a short video of the panda frolicking on the side of a road on Buildup's panda suit webpage.

[Source: IT Media]

“Living fossil” coelacanth captured on video

31 May 2006

=========================
*** Watch the VIDEO ***
=========================

On May 30, a Japanese research team videotaped a one-meter long coelacanth in its natural habitat in the waters off the coast of Indonesia's Sulawesi island. According to the announcement by Aquamarine Fukushima -- a marine science museum located in Fukushima prefecture -- this is the first video of a coelacanth in its Indonesian habitat since a German team videotaped one in 1999.

Coelacanth

Researchers at Aquamarine have been studying the coelacanth since the facility opened in 2000, and a research team has been stationed in Indonesia since last year. Researchers used a camera mounted on a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) to shoot a 10-minute video of the coelacanth. The video reportedly shows the fish lurking in a rocky cave located about 500 meters off the coast of Buol in northern Sulawesi, at a depth of about 170 meters. The museum has not indicated when the video will be shown to the public.

"The camera light caused the fish's eyes to glow green. It was there. Its body was dark blue," the research team reported to museum director Yoshitaka Abe on the telephone.

"Congratulations. Well done," Abe told the researchers. "This is a big first step in our research."

UPDATE (June 2, 2006): This translation was referenced by Loren Coleman on Cryptomundo, where you can find a lot of interesting background info about the coelacanth. He also discusses the potential significance of the reported "dark blue" color of the one caught on this video (Latimeria menadoensis, the Indonesian species, is supposed to be brown).

The German team that first filmed the coelacanth in Indonesia in 1999 was led by one Hans Fricke (See: http://www.dinofish.com/jago.html). I could not find his video of the Indonesian coelacanth online, but I came across these fantastic videos he shot of the African species (Latimeria chalumnae). In one of them, a coelacanth displays its trademark "handstand" posture.

[Sources: Jiji, Chunichi Shimbun]

Martian silkworms eyed as protein source

24 May 2006

BBQ-flavored silkwormsJapanese scientists researching the prospects of long-term human settlements on Mars are dreaming up ways to address the challenges of Martian agriculture. At a recent meeting of the Japan Geoscience Union held in Chiba, Professor Masamichi Yamashita (58) of the Japan Aeropsace Exploration Agency (JAXA) unveiled a unique space agriculture concept that would liven up the rather mundane task of cultivating rice in greenhouse domes. In his concept, settlers would plant mulberry trees and breed silkworms, the pupae of which would be consumed as a source of animal protein.

"Japan has the unique advantage of calling into play its excellent silk cultivation technology and long-established culinary culture," says Yamashita, who has been studying the subject since January 2005. As part of his research, Professor Yamashita has met with about 70 experts in fields ranging from medicine to agriculture to food science. "Space agriculture research is about the pursuit of near-complete recycling inside domes, something that can also be applied to safe organic agriculture on Earth," he says.

With trips to Mars taking 18 months each way, settlers will not be able to rely on frequent supply shipments from Earth. A self-sufficient supply of oxygen and food will be essential to the succes of any lengthy stay on Mars. The thin Martian atmosphere and a sunlight intensity half that on Earth pose additional agricultural challenges, and the unwillingness to taint the search for extraterrestrial life with microorganism-laden human and animal waste demands a rigorous recycling program.

Yamashita's concept involves the construction of transparent resin domes where rice, beans, potatoes, and mulberries are grown in soil consisting of a mixture of Martian sand and compost material. The plants would generate oxygen inside the domes, and the mulberry leaves would serve as food for the silkworms. The settlers could then either eat the silkworm pupae directly or use them as food for fish and poultry they raise.

"When cooked, silkworm pupae taste like shrimp or crab meat," says Professor Yamashita. "People all over Japan ate them during the food shortages after World War II, and you can still buy canned pupae in Nagano prefecture."

[Source: Nishinippon Shimbun]

Tourists bask in blue glow of firefly squid

13 Apr 2006

Toyama Bay is the habitat of the world-famous glowing firefly squid, which surface in large numbers every spring in a phenomenon that has been designated a special natural monument. Peak firefly squid season means big catches for fishermen and brisk business for sightseeing boats that provide close-up views of the magical action.

Firefly squid catch

Early in the morning, after 3 AM, sightseeing boats depart the Namerikawa fishing port (Namerikawa is also home to the world's only museum dedicated to the firefly squid) in Toyama prefecture, making a short journey to fixed nets located about 1 to 2 km offshore. As the fishermen haul in their nets, the light emitted by the firefly squid causes the sea surface to glow a cobalt blue, evoking squeals of delight from the tourists.

Firefly squid

Toyama Bay's firefly squid fishing season opened on March 1 and is expected to continue until the end of June. Sightseeing boats are scheduled to run until May 7.

[Source: Yomiuri Shimbun, Asahi Shimbun]

Rare goblin shark caught at mouth of Tokyo Bay

23 Mar 2006

A goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni), considered a living fossil by scientists, was caught by a trawler off the coast of Miura, Japan. The 1.3-meter, 4-kg fish is a rare bottom-dwelling species of shark. Catching the shark in the relatively shallow waters around the mouth of Tokyo Bay is considered highly unusual.

Goblin shark

One defining characteristic of the goblin shark is its elongated snout. The goblin shark's teeth closely resemble those of a known fossil species of shark, earning it the nickname of "living fossil."

Katsumi Suzuki, 42, a fisherman working at Kami-Miyata Port in Miura City, says he caught the shark while net-fishing for monkfish in 350-meter deep water. Yokohama City Aquarium and Yokohama Hakkeijima Sea Paradise Aqua Museum official Takayuki Shishikura, 42, says, "This shark demonstrates the abundance of sea life in the waters around Tokyo Bay."

[Source: Yomiuri Shimbun]