A Great Pink Sea Snail Minus its Home?!

The pink slug

The Great Pink Sea Snail

The recent discovery of these giant pink slugs in Australia made me think of the Great Pink Sea Snail in Dr. Dolittle, but the slugs are much slimier and less friendly-looking since they don't have the shell. The shell definitely makes a gastropod look more inviting! But we continue to hope a Great Pink Sea Snail may someday emerge from its watery abode.

The Brief, Wondrous Emergence of the Cicadas

 

This is an absolutely stunning video created by Samuel Orr (motionkicker on Vimeo) funded by the Kickstarter Project, which is also responsible for the Librii library project. This HD video beautifully captures the dramatic emergence, brief surface life, and final submergence of the Cicadas.

Presenting Priya the Petite Pachyderm

What a sweet, engaging little baby elephant! She stays close to Mom though, as she's only a month old. From the St. Louis Zoo's Youtube channel:

"Baby Asian elephant "Priya" debuts at Saint Louis Zoo

The Saint Louis Zoo's Asian elephant calf, Priya (pronounced "Pree-yah"), is meeting her St. Louis family for the first time! Born April 26, 2013, the calf made her public debut with mother Ellie and sister Maliha on May 22, 2013. For more info, visit http://www.stlzoo.org."

The Harp Sponge and a Tiny Little Frog (Way Tiny!)

 

A strange new species of carnivorous sponges was discovered last year and has been added to the top ten newly identified species of 2012. The Harp Sponge simply looks unearthly and was discovered living at a depth of about two miles under water off the California coast. There are some other interesting species on the top ten list as well, among them a glow-in-the-dark cockroach, but nothing looks quite as unreal as the Harp Sponge. The cutest new discovery, though, is a frog which is considered the smallest known vertebrate in the world - Paedophryne amauensis. The LA Times has a nice gallery of the top ten list of newly identified species of 2012.

Photograph of a paratype of Paedophryne amanuensis (LSUMZ 95004) on U.S. dime (diameter 17.91 mm)
Rittmeyer EN, Allison A, Gründler MC, Thompson DK, Austin CC - Wikimedia Commons, 2012

 

International World Turtle Day

Western pond turtle - Wikimedia Commons public domain

This day is sponsored by the American Tortoise Rescue to help people celebrate and protect turtles everywhere. Turtles are disappearing, especially the larger ones and we need to help keep them safe. The American Tortoise Rescue (ATR) website has helpful advice on what we can all do to achieve this end. They're among the oldest animals in the world and probably the best thing we can do is to leave them alone and allow them to live peacefully - slow and steady!

It's Be Kind to Animals Week!

Image assembled by theLibraryLander

The American Humane Association sponsors Be Kind to Animals Week from May 5 - 11. Of course, this is just a week long campaign, but it's intended to encourage kindness toward all innocent and defenseless creatures all the time. So, let's all keep this thought in our hearts every day!

 

Hurt no living thing:
Ladybird, nor butterfly,
Nor moth with dusty wing,
Nor cricket chirping cheerily,
Nor grasshopper so light of leap,
Nor dancing gnat, nor beetle fat,
Nor harmless worms that creep.

 

~ Christina Rossetti

The Library Zoo

What's a library without its own zoo?  Photos by theLibraryLander

Animal Bridges

Wildlife overpass Trans-Canada Highway in the Banff National Park, Canada - photo by Qyd, Wikimedia Commons

I recently read about a study conducted by Clemson University students which produced some distressing results highlighting the dark side of some humans. The students conducted the study in order to help turtles which are killed crossing roads. I won't go into the details of the study, which can be reviewed here, but it did lead me to some good things that people are doing to help wildlife cross roads safely. Many jurisdictions around the world are building animal bridges which are contrived to resemble woodlands so that wildlife can safely and fearlessly use them. Some remarkable images of these bridges have been posted on the Twisted Sifter blog, and additional images can be viewed via a Google image search on wildlife bridges. So, a sad commentary on the dark side of human nature in turn revealed the good side that also resides in all of us. Thank God.