28 January 2018

The Animal That Wouldn't Die


You know that person, the one you don’t really like and you try to make your feelings as obvious as possible without being rude, yet they still come back to annoy you? Well, the hydra is the equivalent when it comes to death. Although it should have got the message that it will die, it doesn’t pay any attention. This animated short produced by Robert Krulwich and Adam Cole tells the story of this amazing animal.

29 December 2012

The Silver Fox

The Ark in Space today has a feature on the Silver Fox.  A rare creature, many assume this to be a sub-species of the red fox but in fact they are one and the same – good old Vulpes vulpes, the most widely spread of the carnivora on the planet.  Yet this color variation occurs due to melanism and the silver foxes live quite happily side by side with the red one.  Pop over to the Ark in Space to see more wonderful pictures.

 Image Credit Minette Layne

30 October 2012

Frankenstorm Deposits Franken-Creature on Washington DC

It may have turned the city in to a ghost town but Hurricane Sandy seems to be depositing a whole new set of inhabitants on to Washington DC. Flickr photographer Photo Phiend discovered this rather slimy looking specimen (should be at home with the Washington politicos then) on the sidewalk.

He says ‘I'm guessing this is a tadpole or some such, but it could be the advance wave of the attack of the Frankenfish, taking advantage of Frankenstorm to stage their little Franken-uprising. Hard to see here, but there do appear to be teeth in that mouth.’

Shudder. Well, anyone out there know what it is? It looks to our resident crypto-zoologist like a squid of some sort. Any suggestions?

Not to worry you, but extra brownie points for those of you who recognize the film from which the following quote was taken: Look, you fools, you're in danger! Can't you see?! They're after you! They're after all of us! Our wives, our children, everyone! THEY'RE HERE, ALREADY! YOU'RE NEXT!

14 November 2011

Rotifers – Boil Them, Freeze Them: Just Add Water and They Live!


Rotifers are tiny animals that survive against all the odds. They are also known for not having had sex for 80 million years.  They are all female and reproduce asexually by parthenogenesis.  That may be weird enough – but not without other examples in the animal kingdom. At first I thought this was some elaborate practical joke but it is quite true (but then I had not heard about them or if I had, then I had forgotten!).

What is amazing about rotifers is their seemingly impossible ability to survive all sorts of extremes. In this video , Dr Alan Tunnacliffe, award-winning Cambridge University researcher at the Institute of Biotechnology, tests their super-powers by draining 90% of the water in their microscopic bodies, heats them to boiling point and freezes them in liquid nitrogen.

Still they thrive! Well discover how these extraordinary animals are able to survive under conditions deadly to most life and what this teaches us about how life might travel through space and potentially how it could have arrived on Earth. Dr  Tunnacliffe’s team are poised to revolutionize medicine by bringing the tough tricks of the Rotifers to human cells and medicines.

11 June 2011

Synchronized Swimming in the Animal Kingdom

Over at the Ark in Space there is a feature on synchronized swimming in the animal kingdom. As well as the usual suspects, such as ducks, you may be surprised about which animals partake of this sport!

10 September 2010

Better Sweaters Make Beautiful Beasts

It isn’t a prequisite of art that it must make one smile, but certainly artist Elaine Bradford must have one on her face when she comes up with her ideas. One could almost go a step further and argue that there may have been just a little bit of playfulness involved too.  Art and playfulness can make good bedfellows (for a number of reasons) and that is certainly the case here.

Bradford’s artistic world is imaginary – and is inhabited with its own wildlife.  Yet in this world perhaps the weather is known for its sudden inclemency.  Her animals are the customers of a bespoke clothes maker who painstakingly crochets sweaters and other garments for them.

And as with any imaginary worlds there are more worlds within.  The horn of this antelope is extended - and he proudly wears his imagination as well as his crocheted apparel on the outside.  A closer look reveals that his benevolent gaze is directed towards the protected home of a family of pandas.

Bradford is mostly known for this work and the absurdity of the idea led her to create a Museum of Unnatural History where the animals could be displayed.

There is some irony, not to mention satire here.  Anyone who has visited a museum or a stately home replete with its collection of long dead animals, taxidermied and mounted can probably recall the stale taste of dust and the sombre and silent reverence that accompanies such displays.  Perhaps these animals should never have had their lives cut short to adorn the buildings of man.

Yet their lives were destroyed so why not return to these shells a certain joie de vivre?  It isn’t so much reanimation as rehabilitation.

Yet despite this new lease of life (or perhaps because of it?) the animals have managed to escape from their installation at least once and found themselves at one with nature again.  Even though their own form might not be accurately described as natural.

All of this must have taken a great deal of time – not to mention yarn.   Based in Houston, Texas perhaps Bradford’s largest piece is her elephant in a sweater (below) which has echoes for me of Babar (although that is probably my imagination).  She is a MFA (California Institute of the Arts) and her work has been exhibited in many venues around the US.

Image Credit Flickr User esbradford
Kuriositas would like to thank the artist, Elaine Bradford, for her kind permission to reproduce the above images.  Please visit her Flickr photostream and her website where you will find many more examples of her work.