Dog or panda? Can you tell the difference?

Baby panda or baby dog? Can you tell?

 

Take a look at the picture above, now ask yourself am I looking at a baby panda or a baby dog? Hopefully upon further investigation you will notice that this is a picture of a dyed chow chow puppy however, patrons of the Italian  Orfei Circus in Bescia completely failed to notice this. As they approached the circus entrance they were met with staff members holding two little bundles of fluff which the public were led to believe were panda cubs and asked if they wanted pictures holding them. It was only when the animal rights group Animal Protection Party (APP) intervened and exposed the hoax did this tale of misconception end. 

 

  A Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca)

 

Other than having runny eyes possibly due to the constant flashing from cameras, the puppies were in good health preventing any cruelty charges from being administered but it was later discovered that they were imported illegally from Hungary on fake passports which means the circus could face charges, not to mention numerous misrepresentation charges from angry paying patrons who had pictures taken with the supposed panda cubs; the circus secretary denied any wrongdoing stating that "it was obvious they were dogs". 

This is by no means a first for the canine world with dying dogs becoming extreamly popular in countries such as China where dogs such as chow chows sport looks such as pandas, lions and tigers; a zoo in China even had a chow chow that looked like a lion in its lion exhibit which did fool some zoo goers! 

 

A dog. Honestly!

All humor aside it is slightly worrying to see that people can be this easily deceived, could this show possibly just how detached we have become from the natural world around us that we can no longer recognize the amazing species that live alongside us from those that are clearly imposters? 

What are your thoughts on the topic? Would you have been fooled? As always please comment in the box below and thanks for reading. 

How bats navigate by using three dimensional aids

Disorientation is something we all experience at one point and is believed to be caused by a temporary malfunctioning of the brain area which controls our internal compass, however new research shows that bats do not suffer from this problem and have a neural navigation system which operates in three dimensions allowing the bat to orient themselves quickly in the dark.
A team of scientists from Weizmann university recorded brain activity of Egyptian fruit bats (Rousettus aegyptiacus) by using micro electrodes implanted onto the brain; alongside video monitoring technology to monitor angles of head rotation which was then corresponded to the data received from the micro electrodes.
This led them to discover that certain neurons (Nerve cells that carry information via electrical impulses to and from the brain) always know which way the bats head was directed, tracking it by using three dimensions by responding to vertical and horizontal orientation. They discovered that there are three neuron cells in particular that were used for this purpose; place and grid cells worked similar to a GPS allowing for tracking position whilst, head direction cells respond when the head is pointed in a specific direction acting like a compass.
We are used to a globular navigation system with latitude and longitude lines but bats navigation techniques differ from this by having a doughnut shaped co-ordinate system, allowing them to differentiate if they are upside down or not and stay orientated even when inverted.

 

Another team of scientists studying bat navigation, made a interesting discovery about Old world fruit bats which were believed to lack echolocation however, it was found that they produce a series of clicks via their wing flaps and may provide a insight into how echolocation first evolved.

To view the original paper click here 

As always feel free to leave a comment in the box below and thanks for reading.

The amazing electrical capabilities of the electric eel

The electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) found within the Amazon river, is capable of producing an electrical charge of up to 600 volts nearly four times greater than the voltage of a UK plug socket; this electrical burst is used to paralyze prey before it is eaten by the eel.
A recent study by Kenneth Catania from Vanderbilt university discovered that the eel also uses varying levels of electrical pulses from high levels which prevent the prey's nervous system from operating paralyzing them, to lower level bursts used to locate prey by stimulating the prey's muscles to move giving away their position.
The experiments were performed in various large aquariums which were fitted with electricity sensors. High speed video systems were used so how the eel attacked its prey; they found that the eel used a series of high voltage bursts to stun the prey for up to 15 milliseconds before a strike occurred and that within 3 milliseconds the fish were paralyzed and unable to escape, only regaining mobility after a short period of time had passed if the eel had not eaten them.
The electricity burst immobilizes the whole body by causing whole body muscle contraction, activating motor neurons which contract (move) the fishes muscles.
It was also discovered that the eel uses a lower voltage of electric bursts to locate prey that may be hiding amongst rocks, emitting occasional millisecond bursts of two or three pulses which, cause muscle twitches within the prey giving away its position to the eel; the eel then uses its more powerful electrical burst to stun the prey and eat it.

Note: Doublet means two bursts of electricity.

Below is some great footage of the electric eel putting its hunting methods to use taken from the study.

Read the original article by clicking here 

Personally I found this article very interesting, it again demonstrates the flexibility of nature to adapt to a variety of techniques for predators to subdue and consume prey, the fact that the electric eel has no means to chase down and retain prey species has allowed nature to develop a amazing method of using electrical pulses to stun and subdue prey, allowing the eel to consume it. Again something that we had to discover and learn to use was already being used within the natural world suggesting, that maybe we should turn to nature more often to provide us with the discoveries we need to continue to survive and thrive.

What do you think about the electric eel? Does it amaze you that this river dwelling creature has managed to harness the power of electricity? Let me know your comments in thought box below and as always thanks for reading :).