Common-crowned Pigeon

By FNZ
Oct 7, 2009

Order: Columbiformes
Family: Columbidae
Genus/Species: Goura cristata

Description

The Common-crowned Pigeon is one of the largest species of pigeon in the world. These lovely blue-grey birds approach the size of a small turkey. The feathers of the back are tinged with purple to create a maroon wash across the upperparts. There is a small white patch on each wing formed by upper wing coverts. There is a terminal lighter blue-grey band on the tail feathers. A narrow band of darker blue feathers runs from the base of the bill through the eye. The eyes are red, the bill black, and the legs a deep maroon. The most noticeable anatomical feature is the elegant erect lacy crest formed by specialized feathers on the top of the head.

Distribution and Habitat

Common-crowned Pigeons are native to the moist lowland forests of eastern New Guinea and several adjacent smaller islands. They are found from sea level up to 600 meters in elevation. Groups of two to ten birds forage on the forest floor and flush into the tree tops when alarmed.

Diet

In the wild they are believed to feed on fallen fruits, seeds, berries, insects, and other invertebrates. The National Zoo feeds its pigeons a diet of papaya, Bird of Paradise pellets, avian maintenance pellets, mealworms, and corn grubs.

Reproduction

Little is known about the breeding behavior of wild crowned pigeons. Captive birds reach sexual maturity in their second year. Nesting birds construct a platform of sticks and twigs in the branches of trees, up to 15 meters off the ground. Both parents incubate the single large white egg for 28 to 30 days. When the chick hatches its eyes are closed and it is nearly featherless.

Common-crowned Pigeons, like all other pigeons and doves, produce a substance known as “crop milk”. Shortly before the chick is due to hatch, the lining of the parent bird’s crop begins to thicken. This lining sloughs off to form a cheesy material which the parents regurgitate to feed the chick until it is three to ten days old. Crop milk is similar in nutritional content to mammalian milk. Even after they have ceased to produce crop milk the parents continue to regurgitate the partially digested contents of their crops to nourish the young. The chick develops slowly and requires constant feeding and brooding for an extended period. Parents continue to feed the young bird even after it has left the nest at approximately one month of age.

Conservation

The Common-crowned Pigeon is listed on Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). Despite this legal protection they remain under heavy pressure from illegal hunting and the demands of the southeast Asian pet trade. Their highly palatable flesh and unfortunate habit of landing on exposed perches to gawk at intruders has not helped them avoid illegal shooting. They are now common only in the wilder and more remote portions of their original range.

The National Zoo is one of 18 institutions participating in the Species Survival Plan (SSP) for the Common-crowned Pigeon. There are currently 31 birds enrolled in the SSP. The National Zoo exhibits one pair of birds in the indoor flight room of the Bird House

Source National Zoo

Editor’s Note: References AZA Species Survival Plan. 1998. Blue-crowned Pigeon 98 Fact Sheet (9/1/98). Available at http://www.aza.org/ConScience/ConScienceSSPFact/ Austin O. 1961. Birds of the World. Golden Press. New York.

We want to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

National Zoo – Ring-tailed Lemur

By FNZ
October 1, 2009

Order: Primates
Family: Lemuridae
Genus and species: Lemur catta

Distribution and Habitat
Ring-tailed lemurs are found in the southwest portion of Madagascar. They live in arid, open areas and forests. Ring-tailed lemurs live in territories that range from 15 to 57 acres (0.06 to 0.2 km²) in size.

Physical Description
The average body mass for adult males is six to seven pounds (3 kg). Females are usually smaller.

Ring-tailed lemur backs are gray to rosy brown, limbs are gray, and their heads and neck are dark gray. They have white bellies. Their faces are white with dark triangular eye patches and a black nose. Their tails are ringed with 13 alternating black and white bands. This famous tail can measure up to two feet (61 cm) in length.

Unlike most other lemurs, ring-tails spend 40 percent of their time on the ground. They move quadrupedally (on all fours) along the forest floor.

Social Structure
Ring-tailed lemurs are found in social groups ranging in size from three to 25 individuals. The groups are composed of both males and females. Females remain in their birth group throughout their lives. Generally males change groups when they reach sexual maturity, at age three. Ring-tail groups range over a considerable area each day in search of food, up to 3.5 miles (6 km). All group members use this common home range. Groups are often aggressive towards other groups at the border of these areas.

Females are dominant in the group, which means they have preferential access to food and choice of whom to mate with. This, like the gibbons, is unusual in the primate world. Males do have a dominance hierarchy, but this does not seem important during mating season because even low-ranking males are able to copulate.

Females have been seen to have closer social bonds with other female relatives in a group than they do with unrelated females.

These social bonds are established and reinforced by grooming. Prosimians groom in a rather unique way, all prosimians have six lower teeth, incisors and canines, that stick straight out from their jaw, forming a toothcomb. This comb is used to groom their fur and the fur of the other members of their social group.

One of the most unusual lemur activities that ring-tailed lemurs participate in is sunbathing. The ring-tailed mob will gather in open areas of the forest and sit in what some call a yoga position facing the sun. They sit with their bellies toward the sun and their arms and legs stretched out to the sides. This position maximizes the exposure of the less densely covered underside to the sun. The temperature in the forest can be cold at night and this is a way to warm up before they forage.

Communication
As true with all lemurs, olfactory (smell-oriented) communication is important for ring-tails. Ring-tailed lemurs have scent glands on their wrists and chests that they use to mark their foraging routes. Males even have a horny spur on each wrist gland that they use to pierce tree branches before scent-marking them.

• Tail flick: Secretions from the wrist glands are rubbed on the tail and flicked at an opponent.

Ring-tailed lemurs communicate visually in a number of ways as well. When ring-tail troops travel throughout their home range, they keep their tails raised in the air, like flags, to keep group members together. They also communicate using facial expressions. Some examples:

• Staring open-mouth face: The eyes are opened wide, the mouth is open with the teeth covered by the lips. This occurs when mobbing a predator or serves to communicate an inhibited threat.
• Staring bared-teeth scream face: The eyes are opened wide, the mouth is open with the corners drawn back so that the teeth and gums are revealed. This display occurs with terror flight.
• Silent bared-teeth face: The eyes are staring at the stimulus, the eye brows are either relaxed or up, and the corners of the mouth are drawn back allowing the teeth to show. This is used to communicate submission or a friendly approach.
• Bared-teeth gecker face: Similar to silent bared-teeth face only with a rapid noise attached to it. This display occurs during subordinate flee-approach conflicts and also when an infant is bothered.
• Pout face: The eyes are opened wide and the lips are pushed forward such that the mouth resembles an “O” shape. This occurs with contact calls and also occurs with begging.
• Hoot face: The lips are pushed forward to resemble something called a “trumpet-mouth.” This display occurs with long-distance calls (e.g. territorial calls).

Ring-tailed lemurs are one of the most vocal primates. They have several different alarm calls to alert members of their group to potential danger. Common calls include:

• Infant contact: soft purr
• Cohesion: cat’s meow. Used when the group is widely dispersed.
• Territorial: howl. Can be heard for over a half a mile (1 km).
• Alarm: Starts as a grunt then becomes a bark.
• Repulsion: series of staccato grunt sounds. It occurs between two individuals.

Reproduction and Development
Females usually produce their first offspring at age three, and annually thereafter. This can happen as early as 18 months in captivity.

In the wild, mating is extremely seasonal beginning in mid-April with infants being born in August and September. Gestation lasts four and a half months. Generally ring-tailed lemurs give birth to one offspring, but twins can be a frequent sight if food is plentiful.

Initially, infants cling to their mother’s belly, but after about two weeks, they can be seen riding jockey style, on their mother’s back. Infants begin sampling solid food after about a week and will become increasingly independent after about a month. They return to mom to nurse or sleep until they are weaned at about five or six months of age. All adult females participate in raising the offspring of the group.

Life Span
Ring-tails can live 20 to 25 years.

Diet in the Wild
The main diet of ring-tails consists of leaves, flowers, and insects. They can also eat fruit, herbs, and small vertebrates.

Zoo Diet
Once a day, they are fed a mixture of fruits and vegetables and leaf-eater biscuits.

Health Care
Each animal has a yearly physical, including a dental checkup. Fecals are checked for parasites every January and June.

The National Zoo’s Ring-tailed Lemurs
The Zoo is not actively breeding lemurs. These animals have well represented genes and the SSP does not need them as part of the breeding population. The Zoo currently houses eight ring-tails, two males and six females. They arrived from the Duke Primate Research Center in September 2001.

Conservation
Ring-tailed lemurs are endangered. The gallery forests of Madagascar that these lemurs prefer are rapidly being converted to farmland, overgrazed by livestock, and harvested for charcoal production. They are also hunted for food in certain areas of their range and are frequently kept as pets. Fortunately, ring-tails are found in several protected areas in southern Madagascar, but the level of protection varies widely in these areas, offering only some populations protection from hunting and habitat loss.

Ring-tailed lemurs breed very well in captivity, and more than 1,000 can be found at about 140 zoos around the world.

Source National Zoo

Editor’s Note: We want to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

No Need to Fear the Big, Bad Wolf

By KNG
Sept. 30, 2009

In the story of the three little pigs, the one who built his house of straw did not fare well; the big, bad wolf huffed and puffed and blew his house down.

But builder Michael Furbish, who made his own home from bales of straw and an elementary school of the same material, says in reality, straw houses are not only sturdy but also good for the environment.

Straw—the stalks of plants like wheat, oats, and barley—is considered a waste material and is commonly used for farm animal bedding.  But more and more people are discovering that straw baled into rectangular blocks is an excellent, inexpensive building material.

“Our mental picture is that a straw bale is light,” says Furbish. “But each bale weighs about 40 pounds (18 kilograms). We stack them like bricks and then spray plaster—mud, essentially—on the inside walls to coat them one and a half to two inches [3.8 to 5.1 centimeters] thick. Then we put stucco on the outside. So a straw building is really like a fortress, and it is not going to rot as long as water is kept out of the bales.”

There are two ways to make a straw-bale structure. You can build load-bearing walls with them, which means the walls support the roof. Or you can build a post-and-beam wooden frame that supports the roof and fill in the walls with straw bales.

Either way, the walls are there to stay. And they provide great insulation, helping keep straw homes in cold climates cozy in winter and those built in hot places like the desert cool in summer.

Straw is considered a “green” (good for the environment) building material because it is a renewable resource: A whole new crop can be grown and harvested every year, easily “renewing” the supMediaply.

Also, planting and harvesting straw uses relatively little energy. “Most other building materials require a lot of energy use in production and manufacturing at a factory,” explains Furbish.  “With straw-bale construction, you are getting a building product without using much energy at all.”

Furbish used about 900 straw bales for his family’s two-story, three-bedroom house. His company provided straw-bale walls for the Friends Community School of College Park in Maryland. That project used about 4,000 bales.

When asked if there are any drawbacks to living in a straw house, like mice nibbling on the walls, Furbish points out that the straw is completely covered with plaster and stucco. Besides, he has a couple of cats on mouse patrol, just in case.

“It would be hard to find a wall system that will outperform straw,” he says. Looks like the big bad wolf is just out of luck.

Source: Kids National Geographic

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think. dan@youngchronicle.com

Killer Whale (Orca)

By American Cetacean Society
September 23, 2009

CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Cetacea
SUBORDER: Odontoceti
FAMILY: Delphinidae
GENUS: Orcinus
SPECIES: Orca

The orca, or killer whale, with its striking black and white coloring, is one of the best known of all the cetaceans. It has been extensively studied in the wild and is often the main attraction at many sea parks and aquaria. An odontocete, or toothed whale, the orca is known for being a carnivorous, fast and skillful hunter, with a complex social structure and a cosmopolitan distribution (orcas are found in all the oceans of the world). Sometimes called “the wolf of the sea”, the orca can be a fierce hunter with well-organized hunting techniques, although there are no documented cases of killer whales attacking a human in the wild.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:

The orca is a stout, streamlined animal. It has a round head that is tapered, with an indistinct beak and straight mouthline.

COLOR:

The orca has a striking color pattern made up of well-defined areas of shiny black and cream or white. The dorsal (top) part of its body is black, with a pale white to gray “saddle” behind the dorsal fin. It has an oval, white eyepatch behind and above each eye. The chin, throat, central length of the ventral (underside) area, and undersides of the tail flukes are white. Each whale can be individually identified by its markings and by the shape of its saddle patch and dorsal fin.

FINS AND FLUKE:

Another distinctive feature of the orca is its dorsal fin, which can reach 6 feet (1.8 m) high in males and is shaped like an isosceles triangle. The immature male and the female dorsal fins are also large, reaching 3 feet (.91 m) high, but are falcate (curved). The dorsal fin often has identifying nicks, cuts, scars and indentations. The paddle-shaped pectoral flippers are broad, rounded, and can reach a length of nearly 6 feet (1.8 m) and a width of 3 feet (.91 m).

Length and Weight:

Males can grow as large as 32 feet (9.6 m) long and weigh 8 to 9 tons. Females can reach 23 feet (8.2 m) in length and weigh up to 4 tons.

Feeding:

The mouth of the orca is large and well adapted for hunting. It has 46 to 50 conical shaped teeth that point slightly backwards and inwards. The upper and lower teeth interlock, which aids in gripping large prey and tearing it into smaller pieces for easier swallowing. Depending on the population and geographic area, the diet of orcas varies. Food preference and availability may have led to the distinct population types, such as resident, transients, and offshores that have been observed/identified in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States and other areas around the world. Generally speaking, transients will feed on a variety of animals including: sea lions, elephant seals, harbor seals, porpoises, squid, sharks, fish, penguins, smaller whales, such as belugas and narwhals and even large baleen whales, such as gray whales. Resident whales tend to feed primarily on fish species such as salmon or herring. The diet of offshores is still being studied by scientists.

Mating and Breeding:

Little is known about the orca’s breeding habits. Newborn calves have been observed throughout the year suggesting that that mating can occur at any time with no particular breeding season. In the wild, orcas become sexually mature between the ages of 10 and 18 years of age and are thought to be actively reproducing by the time the male reaches about 20 feet (5.1 m) in length and the female reaches about 16 feet (4.1 m). Based on long-term field studies, females are believed to be reproductively active into their early 40’s. The maximum age for males is unknown. Captive females can bear a calf every two years, but a more typical period between calves in the wild is 3 to 5 years. The gestation period is estimated to be between 13 to 17 months. At birth, a calf is generally about 6-7 feet long (1.8-2.1 m) and weighs around 400 pounds. However, calf size and weight does vary slightly between populations/regions.

Distribution and Migration:

The orca is found in all the oceans of the world, though they are more abundant in cooler waters. Unlike some other species of whales, which follow a regular migration route each year, the orca seems to travel according to the availability of food. They are one of the few species of whales that move freely from hemisphere to hemisphere.

Natural History:

Orcas generally live in pods (groups) consisting of several females, calves, one or more males, and/or juveniles. Some pods consist of a mother and her offspring who stay with her for life. This type of matrilineal family structure has been observed in the U.S. Pacific Northwest where resident pods have been documented as stable, consistent matriarchal family groups with several generations traveling together. Transient pods appear to be more fluid; individuals come and go, groups often contain unrelated females with offspring, offspring do not stay with their mother and pods may form solely as a temporary foraging pack. The social structure of other populations, including offshore orcas, is being studied to document whether certain family groups always stay together or return to each other after periods of time. Mothers are very protective of their calves, and orcas are known to protect and care for sick and injured companions.

Sparked by the increase in live capture for aquaria and public concern, scientists have been studying resident pods along the northern Pacific coast of the United States and Canada since 1970. By 1973, photographs were being used to identify individuals based on differences in saddle color pattern, dorsal fin shapes and other identifying marks and scars. Identified orcas have all been numbered and careful records are kept of their re-sightings. Recordings of the sounds made by these orcas have revealed that each pod has its own “dialect.” Each pod has some sounds in common with other pods, and other sounds that are unique to its own pod. Through these scientific studies, much has been learned about population, travel patterns, reproduction, behavior and social habits of orcas.

Status:

Although orcas are widely distributed, total world population is still unknown. They have no natural enemies and have not been hunted as much as other whales. Recent studies suggest that a significant threat to orcas, and other marine mammals, may come from man-made chemicals. Yet, toxins are not the only threats facing orcas. Many fish populations around the world are decreasing. This may be having a direct effect on the populations of fish-eating resident whales. Loss of fish may also cause a decline in seals and sea lions, often the primary prey of transient orcas.

Acknowledgements:

• Thank you to Elizabeth Petras of NMFS for her assistance revising this fact sheet.
• Illustrations courtesy Uko Gorter, copyright© 2003, 2004, 2006 all rights reserved.
• Orca vocalizations while feeding courtesy Joe Olson – location Dyes Inlet, Puget Sound, Washington, using a Cetacean Research™ hydrophone, copyright © 1997.

Source  American Cetacean Society

Editor’s Note: We want to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Welcome to Lenny’s Club House

By Lenny
September 23, 2009

Welcome to Lenny’s Clubhouse! He loves to read everything you send in, and he likes to share them too. So, share your stories, jokes, recipes, ideas, tips, art… you name it, this is the place to share it! Email us your submissions today!

Here is this week’s Story:

“My favorite thing about having a food allergy is that I get to bake lots of safe goodies in the kitchen with my mom and brother.”

~ Madison, age 4, allergic to tree nuts

Source: Food Allergy

Editor’s Note: We would like to here your stories and what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

The Bottlenose Dolphin

By American Cetacean Society
September 18, 2009

CLASS: Mammalia
ORDER: Cetacea
SUBORDER: Odontoceti
FAMILY: Delphinidae
GENUS: Tursiops
SPECIES: Truncatus

The bottlenose dolphin is perhaps one of the most well known cetaceans, because of its widespread use in marine parks and research facilities. The bottlenos dolphin may be best known as “Flipper” (as seen in the television series). This is the dolphin most frequently seen along the shores of the United States. This species is very flexible in its behavior.

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION:

This is a relatively robust dolphin with a usually short and stubby beak – hence the name “bottlenose“. The bottlenose dolphin (like the beluga) has more flexibility in its neck than other oceanic dolphins, because 5 of the 7 neck vertebrae are not fused together as in the other oceanic dolphins. There are 18-26 pairs of sharp, conical teeth in each side of its jaw.

COLOR:

The color of the bottlenose dolphin varies considerably, but generally this dolphin is light gray to slate gray on the upper part of the body shading to lighter sides and pale, pinkish gray on the belly.

FINS AND FLUKE:

The dorsal fin is high and falcate (curved) and located near the middle of the back. The flukes are broad and curved with a deep median notch. The flippers are of moderate length and pointed.

Length and Weight:

Adult length is from 8-12 feet (2.5-3.8 m). These dolphins may weigh as much as 1,430 pounds (650 kg) off Great Britain, though most are much smaller in other parts of the world. Males are significantly larger than females.

Feeding:

Feeding behaviors are diverse, primarily involving individual prey capture, but sometimes involving coordinated efforts to catch food, feeding in association with human fishing, and chasing fish into mudbanks. An adult bottlenose dolphin may consume 15-30 pounds (8-15 kg) of food each day. Bottlenose dolphins eat a wide variety of food, including primarily fishes, and sometimes squid, and crustaceans.

Mating and Breeding:

Males reach sexual maturity at about 10 years. Females reach sexual maturity at about 5-10 years. The gestation period is 12 months. Calving can take place year-round with peaks in some areas during spring and fall. Calves nurse for over a year (12-18 months), and stay with their mothers for 3-6 years learning how to catch fish and other important tasks.

Distribution and Migration:

Bottlenose dolphins are found worldwide in temperate and tropical waters, absent only from 45 degrees poleward in either hemisphere. They are frequently seen in harbors, bays, lagoons, estuaries, and river mouths. There appear to be two ecotypes: a coastal form and an offshore form. Population density appears to be higher nearshore. Biochemical studies now are providing more information about the relationship within and between the ecotypes. In some areas, dolphins have limited home ranges; in others, they are migratory. A second species Tursiops aduncus, inhabits the Indian Ocean.

Natural History:

Based on a number of studies of nearshore populations, bottlenose dolphins seem to live in relatively open societies. Mother and calf bonds and some other associations may be strong, but individuals may be seen from day-to-day with a variety of different associates. Group size is often less than 20 nearshore; offshore groups of several hundred have been seen. Much of what we know of the general biology of dolphins comes from studies of bottlenose dolphins, both in captivity and in the wild.

Status:

The bottlenose dolphin is protected in U.S. waters by the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Bottlenose dolphins are still generally plentiful in numbers, but are near depletion in some areas. Both incidental and direct exploitation of bottlenose dolphins are known to occur, generally at low to moderate levels. The largest direct kills have traditionally been in the Black Sea, where Russian and Turkish hunters apparently have reduced local populations. Bottlenose dolphins are accidentally caught in a variety of fishing gear, including gillnets, purse seiners used to catch tuna, and shrimp trawls. These dolphins also are occasional victims of harpoon and drive fisheries. Live captures of bottlenose dolphins for captivity have had effects on some local dolphin populations in the Gulf of Mexico and southeastern United States, but no commercial live captures have occurred in the U.S. since the 1980’s. Bottlenose dolphins are vulnerable to pollution, habitat alteration, boat collisions, human feeding of and swimming with wild animals, and human disturbance (such as boating). Several die-offs of bottlenose dolphins have occurred. Retrospective analysis of tissues of dolphins that died in 1987-1988 during a large die-off (approximately 800-1,000 dolphins) on the Atlantic U.S. coast indicates that mortality may have been caused by a morbillivirus. This virus has been linked to dies-offs of Gulf of Mexico bottlenose dolphins as well. Dolphins with disease symptoms appeared to have elevated levels of PCB’s, leading researchers to conclude that pollutants may be playing a role in these events. Preliminary evidence from other studies show links between contaminant residues in tissues and impaired immune system function.

Bibliography:

• Wells, R.S. and M.D. Scott. 2002. Bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus and T. aduncus). Pp. 122-128 In: W.F. Perrin, B. Wusig, and J.G.M. Thewissen, eds., Encyclopedia of Marine Mammals. Academic Press, San Diego, CA.
• Reynolds, J.E. III, R.S. Wells, and S.D. Eide. 2000. The Bottlenose Dolphin: Biology and Conservation. University Press of Florida. 289 pp.
• Connor, R.C., R.S. Wells, J. Mann, and A.J. Read. 2000. The bottlenose dolphin, Tursiops spp: Social Relationships in a fission-fusion society. Pp 91-126 In: J. Mann, R.C. Connor, P.L. Tyack, and H. Whitehead, eds., Cetacean Societies: Field Studies of Dolphins and Whales. University of Chicago Press. 433 pp.
• Wells, R.S. and M.D. Scott. 1999. Bottlenose dolphin Tursiops truncatus (Montagu, 1821). Pp 137-182 In: S.H. Ridgway and R. Harrison (eds.), Handbook of Marine Mammals, Vol. 6, the Second Book of Dolphins and Porpoises. Academic Press. San Diego, CA. 486 pp.

Acknowledgements:

• We greatly appreciate the knowledge and assistance of Randall S. Wells, Conservation Biologist, Chicago Zoological Society and Dagmar Fertl, Biologist, Minerals Management Service, U.S. Department of Interior.
• Illustrations courtesy Uko Gorter, copyright© 2006, 2006 all rights reserved.

Source  American Cetacean Society

Editor’s Note: We want to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Girl Scouts Announce Preparedness Patch

By Girl Scouts/PIO
Sept. 15, 2009

Last week, The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and Girl Scouts of the USA CEO Kathy Cloninger unveiled a Girl Scout preparedness patch—designed to engage Girl Scouts and their families in personal preparedness for all emergencies—and announced a new affiliation between DHS Citizen Corps and the Girl Scouts to advance community preparedness nationwide.

“Girl Scouts are thrilled to be partnering with the Department of Homeland Security to encourage girls to learn what to do in case of emergency,” said Kathy Cloninger. “Citizen Corps is a terrific program—one that provides an opportunity for our girls to lead the way in ensuring that their families and their communities are prepared for emergencies.”

Kathy Cloninger, CEO of Girl Scouts of the USA, moved the crowd of Girl Scouts, first responders, and representatives from the Department of Homeland Security with her testament to the leadership Girl Scouts bring to any situation. It is with courage, confidence, and character that Girl Scouts are prepared to lead anywhere, anytime”

“This new preparedness patch will increase citizen preparedness and enhance our country’s readiness for disasters,” said Secretary Napolitano. “As a former Girl Scout, I know the ‘Be Prepared’ motto well—and I look forward to working with the Girl Scouts to spread the preparedness message to all of our nation’s citizens.”

Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano, a proud Girl Scout alumna and lifetime member, credited Girl Scouts as providing her first lessons on preparedness and leadership. She encouraged girls to join and stay in Girl Scouting to learn the skills necessary for courageous leadership.

The preparedness patch program, developed by the Girl Scout Council of the Nation’s Capital and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), provides critical emergency preparedness information and activities for all levels of Girl Scouts. The steps and activities required to receive the patch include identifying and preparing for potential emergencies; learning about local alerts and warning systems; and engaging in community service.

Source: Girls Scouts

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

National Zoo – Bald Eagle

By FNZ
Sept. 12, 2009

Order: Falconiformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus/Species: Haliaeetus leucocephalus

The bald eagle’s scientific name (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) means “white-headed sea-eagle.”
Eagle

Description

The adult bald eagle is a striking dark brownish black bird with a white head and tail. Juvenile birds are a mottled brown with white blotches. They do not obtain the full distinctive plumage of the adults until they are four or five years old. Bills, legs, and feet are a deep yellow.

Size

Second in size only to California condors (Gymnogyps californianus) and about the same size as golden eagles (Aquila chrysaetos), bald eagles dwarf most other North American raptors. Their wingspans range from six and a half to seven and a half feet, while body length varies from about three to three and a half feet. Bald eagles weigh from six to eight pounds. Females are larger than males and have a slightly longer wingspan.

Life Span

Bald eagles have lived up to 48 years in zoos, although their life span in the wild is likely far shorter.

Distribution and Habitat

Bald eagles occur from Baja California and Florida north to Newfoundland and Alaska. Within this area, they are nearly always found near water, along rivers, lakes, or the sea coast and coastal marshes, reservoirs, and large lakes. They also pass over mountains and plains during migration. The northern and interior populations may migrate to open water in the winter months.

Bald eagles breed in much of Alaska (where they are most common), Canada, the Pacific Northwest, along the East Coast, the Mississippi River, and the Gulf Coast, around the Great Lakes, and in other areas with sufficient water and wildlife. The birds winter along the coasts and across much of the U.S. Some reach northwestern Mexico.

Near Washington, D.C., bald eagles have increased around the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries. They nest at several sites around the Capital Beltway, and have been seen flapping over the National Zoo.

Although unique to North America, the bald eagle’s closest relatives live in other parts of the world. These include the African fish-eagle (Haliaeetus vocifer) of sub-Saharan Africa and the white-tailed sea-eagle (Haliaeetus albicilla) of Eurasia.

Diet

Bald eagles are predators. They have several adaptations that fit them for that role. They have excellent eyesight and the frontal setting of their eyes gives them excellent binocular vision as well as peripheral vision.

The eagle has a strong, hooked beak with which it tears food, but it uses its powerful, taloned feet to capture prey. Bald eagles prefer fish, which they often capture by swooping down and snatching them from the water’s surface. Another successful technique is to wade in the shallow water catching fish with the bill. They also take birds, especially waterfowl, and occasional mammals.

In addition to eating other animals such as ducks, muskrats, and sometimes turtles, they eat carrion willingly, and are notorious for robbing osprey of their catches. Eagles will wait on a favorite perch for an osprey to return to its nest with a fish in its talons for its own young, then harasses the smaller raptor until it is forced to drop its prey for the eagle to retrieve.

National Zoo Diet

The Zoo’s bald eagles eat dead rats and chicks sprinkled with a vitamin and mineral supplement.

Behavior

Bald eagles spend hours perched in trees overlooking water, their keen eyes alert for feeding opportunities. When not fishing, they sometimes steal food from ospreys, pursue injured or healthy waterfowl, or settle in for a meal of roadkill or fish chopped up in turbines at dams (including Maryland’s Conowingo Dam).

Reproduction

Southern bald eagles remain on or near their breeding territory throughout the year and probably mate for life. More northern birds may migrate long distances over the winter months and it is unknown whether pairs remain together during migration. Initiation of courtship depends on the latitude. Southern birds may begin courtship and nesting activity in the late fall or early winter, while it is more common for northern birds to court and nest in the early spring. Copulation occurs on branches or other secure perches and is preceded by tail pumping and wing flapping displays by the male.

Eagles construct their nests near water in tall trees or on cliffs using large sticks. The nest is lined with twigs, grasses and other soft materials. Each year, a pair works together to build a large stick nest high in a tree or on a cliff.

Sometimes a pair reuses the same nest for years (such as a pair that nests at Great Falls, Maryland). In Florida, bald eagles nest almost year round; they begin nesting from March to May in other areas. Since these nests are used year after year, they may become very large.

Bald eagles lay two, occasionally three, eggs that are incubated by both parents, in turns for 34 to 36 days. Often only one chick survives, but if food is plentiful they may rear two or occasionally three. Young birds fledge after 12 weeks and remain with the parents for another month.

Conservation

When the bald eagle was adopted as our national symbol in 1782, there were between 25,000 and 75,000 birds nesting in the lower 48 states. Illegal shooting, habitat destruction, lead poisoning, and the catastrophic effects of DDT contamination in their prey base reduced eagle numbers to a mere 417 pairs by 1963. Legal protection began with the Bald Eagle Protection Act of 1940 and continued with the Endangered Species Preservation Act of 1966 and the 1978 listing under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. The single-most important regulation affecting bald eagle recovery may have been the banning of DDT for most uses in the United States in 1972.

In 1995 the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service down-listed bald eagles from endangered to threatened in most of the United States. They were never listed in Alaska, and had been already been listed as threatened in Michigan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Oregon, and Washington. In the 17 years since they were declared endangered in most of the country, bald eagles have undergone a strong increase in numbers and an expansion in range. Private organizations, state, and federal agencies counted 4,450 occupied nesting territories, a ten-fold increase from the 1963 low.

Though the recovery has been spectacular, bald eagles remain threatened by illegal shooting and loss of habitat due to wetland drainage and human occupation of waterfront areas. Lead poisoning from shot ingested when feeding on carrion was a major problem prior to the phasing out of lead shot for waterfowl hunting in 1991. Large quantities of lead remain in the environment. Over the winter of 1994-95, 29 bald eagles died in Arkansas and nine died in Wisconsin from an unknown toxic agent. In the past 15 years the National Wildlife Health Research Center has diagnosed more than 100 cases of poisoning in bald eagles. Many of these cases are believed to be intentional poisonings through illegal use of pesticides and other restricted chemicals such as strychnine. DDT breakdown residues remain in the environment and continue to cause reproductive problems for eagles in many parts of the country.

Zoo Eagles

The Zoo houses two bald eagles in the Bald Eagle Refuge exhibit in Valley Trail, arriving from Tennessee in 2003. The flightless eagles living in this exhibit were discovered injured in the wild. The female was recovered in Alaska and the male was rescued in Pennsylvania.

A Few Bald Eagle Neighbors

osprey

(Pandion haliaetus): Ospreys are more agile hunters than eagles, hovering then diving for fish, while the larger eagles pick fish out of the water just as they reach the surface. Eagles sometimes snatch ospreys’ fish in mid-air acts of piracy.

mink

(Mustelavison): This nocturnal, wandering mustelid (member of a group including mink, weasels, and ferrets) hunts muskrats, fish, and other wildlife along many waterways frequented by bald eagles.

snapping turtle

(Chelydraserpentina): This large, mud-colored turtle lurks in freshwater wetlands, ambushing fish, ducklings, and other small animals. It also eats aquatic plants.

By saving bald eagle habitat, we protect these and many other animals.

References:

Final Rule to Reclassify the Bald Eagle From Endangered to Threatened in All of the Lower 48 States. Federal Register 1995 (Volume 60, Number 133, pp 36000-36010)

Johnsgard, P. A. 1990. Hawks, Eagles, & Falcons of North America. Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington.

Newton, I. 1990. Birds of Prey. Facts on File, New York.

Snyder, H. and N. Syder. 1991. Birds of Prey: Natural History and Conservation of North American Raptors. Voyageur Press, Hong Kong.

Source National Zoo,American Eagle Foundation

Editor’s Note: We want to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

Hubble Opens New Eyes on the Universe

By NASA/PIO
Sept. 9, 2009

NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope is back in business, ready to uncover new worlds, peer ever deeper into space, and even map the invisible backbone of the universe.

The first snapshots from the refurbished Hubble showcase the 19-year-old telescope’s new vision. Topping the list of exciting new views are colorful multi-wavelength pictures of far- flung galaxies, a densely packed star cluster, an eerie “pillar of creation,” and a “butterfly” nebula. Click For larger image and more info

With the release of these images, astronomers have declared Hubble a fully rejuvenated observatory. Sen. Barbara A. Mikulski, D-Md., unveiled the images at NASA Headquarters in Washington, D.C., on Sept. 9, 2009.

With its new imaging camera, Hubble can view galaxies, star clusters, and other objects across a wide swath of the electromagnetic spectrum, from ultraviolet to near-infrared light. A new spectrograph slices across billions of light-years to map the filamentary structure of the universe and trace the distribution of elements that are fundamental to life.

The telescope’s new instruments also are more sensitive to light and can observe in ways that are significantly more efficient and require less observing time than previous generations of Hubble instruments.

NASA astronauts installed the new instruments during the space shuttle servicing mission in May 2009. Besides adding the instruments, the astronauts also completed a dizzying list of other chores that included performing unprecedented repairs on two other science instruments. Click For larger image and more info

Now that Hubble has reopened for business, it will tackle a whole range of observations. Looking closer to Earth, such observations will include taking a census of the population of Kuiper Belt objects residing at the fringe of our solar system, witnessing the birth of planets around other stars, and probing the composition and structure of the atmospheres of other worlds.

Peering much farther away, astronomers have ambitious plans to use Hubble to make the deepest-ever portrait of the universe in near-infrared light.  The resulting picture may reveal never-before-seen infant galaxies that existed when the universe was less than 500 million years old. Hubble also is now significantly more well-equipped to probe and further characterize the behavior of dark energy, a mysterious and little-understood repulsive force that is pushing the universe apart at an ever-faster rate.Click For larger image and more info

Related Links:

Gallery of all images
&Read the NASA press release

Source: NASA

Editor’s Note: We would like to know what you think? dan@goldcoastchronicle.com

National Zoo – Giant Panda

By FNZ
Sept. 3, 2009

Giant pandas live in a few mountain ranges in central China, in Sichuan, Shaanxi, and Gansu provinces. They once lived in lowland areas, but farming, forest clearing, and other development now restrict giant pandas to the mountains.

Habitat

Giant pandas live in broadleaf and coniferous forests with a dense understory of bamboo, at elevations between 5,000 and 10,000 feet. Torrential rains or dense mist throughout the year characterizes these forests, often shrouded in heavy clouds.

Physical description

The giant panda, a black-and-white bear, has a body typical of bears. It has black fur on ears, eye patches, muzzle, legs, and shoulders. The rest of the animal’s coat is white. Although scientists do not know why these unusual bears are black and white, some speculate that the bold coloring provides effective camouflage into their shade-dappled snowy and rocky surroundings. The panda’s thick, wooly coat keeps it warm in the cool forests of its habitat. Giant pandas have large molar teeth and strong jaw muscles for crushing tough bamboo. Many people find these chunky, lumbering animals to be cute, but giant pandas can be as dangerous as any other bear.

Size

About the size of an American black bear, giant pandas stand between two and three feet tall at the shoulder (on all four legs), and reach four to six feet long. Males are larger than females, weighing up to 250 pounds in the wild. Females rarely reach 220 pounds.

Status

The giant panda is listed as endangered in the World Conservation Union’s (IUCN’s) Red List of Threatened Animals. There are about 1,600 left in the wild. More than 160 pandas live in zoos and breeding centers around the world, mostly in China.

Life span

Scientists aren’t sure how long giant pandas live in the wild, but they are sure it’s shorter than lifespans in zoos. Chinese scientists have reported zoo pandas as old as 35. The National Zoo’s Hsing-Hsing died at age 28 in 1999.

 

Diet

A wild giant panda’s diet is almost exclusively (99 percent) bamboo. The balance consists of other grasses and occasional small rodents or musk deer fawns. In zoos, giant pandas eat bamboo, sugar cane, rice gruel, a special high-fiber biscuit, carrots, apples, and sweet potatoes.

 

Social structure

Adult giant pandas are generally solitary, but they do communicate periodically through scent marks, calls, and occasional meetings. Offspring stay with their mothers from one and a half to three years.

The giant panda has lived in bamboo forests for several million years. It is a highly specialized animal, with unique adaptations.

Feeding adaptations

Millions of Zoo visitors enjoy watching giant pandas eat. A panda usually eats while sitting upright, in a pose that resembles how humans sit on the floor. This posture leaves the front paws free to grasp bamboo stems with the help of a “pseudo thumb,” formed by an elongated and enlarged wrist bone covered with a fleshy pad of skin. The panda also uses its powerful jaws and strong teeth to crush the tough, fibrous bamboo into bits.

A giant panda’s digestive system is more similar to that of a carnivore than an herbivore, and so much of what is eaten is passed as waste. To make up for the inefficient digestion, a panda needs to consume a comparatively large amount of food—from 20 to 40 pounds of bamboo each day—to get all its nutrients. To obtain this much food means that a panda must spend 10 to 16 hours a day foraging and eating. The rest of its time is spent mostly sleeping and resting.

 

Water

Wild giant pandas get much of the water they need from bamboo, a grass whose contents are about half water. (New bamboo shoots are about 90 percent water.) But giant pandas need more water than what bamboo alone can provide. So almost every day wild pandas also drink fresh water from rivers and streams that are fed by melting snowfall in high mountain peaks. The temperate forests of central China where giant pandas live receive about 30 to 40 inches of rain and snow a year. Charleston, West Virginia—a city with a similar temperate climate—receives about the same amount of rain and snow: an average of 42.5 inches a year.

 

Reproduction

Giant pandas reach breeding maturity between four and eight years of age. They may be reproductive until about age 20. Female pandas ovulate only once a year, in the spring. A short period of two to three days around ovulation is the only time she is able to conceive. Calls and scents draw males and females to each other.

 

Female giant pandas give birth between 95 and 160 days after mating. Although females may give birth to two young, usually only one survives. Giant panda cubs may stay with their mothers for up to three years before striking out on their own. This means a wild female, at best, can produce young only every other year; in her lifetime, she may successfully raise only five to eight cubs. The giant pandas’ naturally slow breeding rate prevents a population from recovering quickly from illegal hunting, habitat loss, and other human-related causes of mortality.

Development

 

At birth, the cub is helpless, and it takes considerable effort on the mother’s part to raise it. A newborn cub weighs three to five ounces and is about thesize of a stick of butter. Pink, hairless, and blind, the cub is 1/900th the size of its mother. Except for a marsupial (such as the kangaroo or opossum), a giant panda baby is the smallest mammal newborn relative to its mother’s size.

Cubs do not open their eyes until they are six to eight weeks of age and are not mobile until three months. A cub may nurse for eight to nine months. A cub is nutritionally weaned at one year, but not socially weaned for up to two years. more about panda cub develoment

 

Lifestyle

A wild panda spends much of its day resting, feeding, and seeking food. Unlike other bears from temperate climates, giant pandas do not hibernate. Until recently, scientists thought giant pandas spent most of their lives alone, with males and females meeting only during the breeding season. Recent studies paint a different picture, in which small groups of pandas share a large territory and sometimes meet outside the breeding season. Much remains to be learned about the secret lives of these elusive animals, and every new discovery helps scientists in their battle to save this species.

Order: Carnivora
Family: Ursidae
Genus and species: Ailuropoda melanoleuca

 

Source: National Zoo

Editor’s Note: We want to know what you think? dan@youngchronicle.com

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