Coyotes are very resilient and adaptive to man's intrusion into what was once their environment.

They have adapted so well that they now live in cities as well as the countryside throughout America. They are very elusive and nocturnal and many times people do not even know that they live among them.

However adaptive they are sometimes they can find themselves in desperate situations where they are at the mercy of someone to help them. Such was the case recently where a coyote became entangled in a barb wire fence with no way of freeing itself.

Luckily for the coyote, a man comes along and sees him stuck and bleeding in the fence. With a pair of wire cutters the man begins to cut each strand of wire until finally the coyote is free and runs off.

Although the coyote had been cut on the fence, once free he seemed just fine. Off he ran to live another day thanks to a man who stopped and took the time to help him.

Note: Coyotes are smaller than wolves and are sometimes called prairie wolves or brush wolves. They communicate with a distinctive call, which at night often develops into a raucous canine chorus.

Tree-hugging is one thing, but these bears have taken it to a whole 'nother level.

In this rather amusing footage captured in the forests of Alberta, Canada, we get an inside look at how some apex predators behave when they think no one is watching. What starts out innocently enough as one bear relieving itself of an itch against a tree, soon turns into an all-out back-scratching party as others arrive to join in on the action.

Despite their reputation as territorial hot-heads, bears in the wild actually possess a complex social structure that can make them seem downright charming. Meeting around a prized scratching post for some much-needed itch relief offers the animals an opportunity to familiarize themselves, easing tension while forming important kinship bonds. Plus, who doesn't love a good scratch?

Sometimes, bears will even help each other out with those hard-to-reach places.

According to the Alberta Parks service, in addition to capturing video of bears bumping and grinding, these camera traps are helping to assess the health and distribution of wildlife in the area with minimal impact on the animals themselves. And while there's plenty to be gleaned from such footage on that front, it's also just nice to know that bears are having a good time.
Source

Recently a British diver and biologist, Justin Hart, caught some wonderful photos of a baby sperm whale soaring 30ft across the waves as he was working on a whale documentary.

The euphoric newborn slammed its body onto the water with joy after becoming separated from its family group in the chilly waters in the sea four miles off the island of Pico in the middle of the Atlantic.

The newborn sperm whale calf jumped excitedly out of the water and hurled its 12 ft. long body onto the sea to tell its mother it had found her again. As when a small child knows the panic of losing sight of its mother in the supermarket, so apparently do baby whales.

Hart, who took the pictures, explained that young whales communicate with older ones in the ocean by creating a slamming sound which travels through the water to the ears of the adults deep below. In doing that, the baby whale is telling its relatives where it is so they can regroup.

Hart went on to say that, "Sperm whales, of all the whales and dolphins, are the species that dive the deepest and for the longest time. The calves have to follow what's going on below them from the surface as best they can - probably listening to the echo location clicks of the adults. The newborn whale had become separated from its family group when they swam deeper to hunt squid."

In this case, the newborn whale had become separated from its family group when they swam deeper to hunt squid. By signaling his family with body slamming on the waves, the whale family could regroup and the calf could suckle if it needed to.


Hart added that the sperm whales dive deep to hunt squid in what is called the mesopelagic zone, around 600 metres under. "This is a problem for the calves as they do not have the capacity to follow their mothers there when they leave the surface to forage. The calves do not have to follow their mother too closely as sperm whales have a system of surrogacy whereby the calf can take milk from any milk-producing female in its social group."

Sperm whales live in nearly all the world's oceans in pods of about 15 to 20 animals and they practise communal childcare. When the baby is fully grown adult it will weigh up to 45 tons and be nearly 60ft long.

The moon masks always appear as a pair, each differentiated by the phase of the moon on top of the mask.

The features of a moon mask are often carved in such a way that the face appears flatter than is typical of other masks, reduced in prominence to suggest a face in the moon. The moon is responsible for controlling the tides. This moon mask shows the halo constructed from wood and is painted red.

Dance and Regalia:

When the moon masks are shown during a potlatch, they enter the Big House separately. Once they discover each other they try to get the other to leave, as each believes they are the better phase of the moon.

They decide to settle the often-heated argument by dancing and the audience decides which one is the better moon. The winner continues to dance while the loser sulks away, gesturing angrily as he goes. Although the dance is quite humorous it is a high-ranking privilege.

Mask's Story:

The mask was surrendered in 1922 by Sam Charlie of the Mamalilikala. It was sent to the Canadian Museum of Civilization and was returned to the Kwagiulth Museum and Cultural Centre in 1979. In 1995 it was transferred to U'mista Cultural Centre.
Source

The Nez Perce Tribe is mourning the loss of Elmer Crow, Jr., 69, who drowned while saving his 7-year-old grandson the evening of July 26.

 "I am still in such shock and grief, but am so proud of my father's final act of heroism that I just have to share it with the world," wrote son Jeremy Crow on the Elmer Crow Memorial Facebook page. "….His final act of lifting my nephew above the water for those last few moments was what saved his grandson's life but cost him his own."

On the fateful night, two cousins, Crow's grandsons, were swimming in the Buffalo Eddy of the Snake River—an eddy or reverse current, created when the water flows past the river's sharp bends. Buffalo Eddy in the Nez Perce National Historic Park is notable for the densely grouped clusters of petroglyphs and pictographs on the stone sides.

According to witnesses, the children were playing in the popular swimming area when they were sucked underwater by the wake of a jet boat. That's when Crow jumped in, the Lewiston Tribune reports. The older child managed to swim to shore, and Crow rescued the younger one.

"My dad, submerged by this time, managed to get his grandson's feet on his shoulders and stabilize him by reaching up to hold his waist," wrote Jeremy Crow on the Facebook memorial page. "Just as his grandson started dipping below the surface, a boat reached them and pulled him in, but by that time, my dad had already perished in the river."



The rescue team reportedly returned to retrieve Crow but "efforts to revive him were unsuccessful," the Tribune reports.

A memorial service followed by a Nez Perce drum ceremony is scheduled for Thursday, August 1 at 5 p.m. PDT in Lapwai, Idaho. The funeral service will start on August 2 at 9 a.m. at the Pi-Nee-Waus in Lapwai, followed by burial at the Jonah Hayes Cemetery in Sweetwater.
SOURCE

Elmer Crow Nez Perce Tribe from Voices for America's Wildlife on Vimeo.

The return of wolves to Yellowstone National Park may be leading to an improvement in the diet of grizzly bears, a study suggests.

When wolves were eradicated from Yellowstone in the early 20th Century, the elk population boomed, devastating berry-shrubs relied upon by bears.

Details are published in the Journal of Animal Ecology.

A team from Oregon and Washington links the reintroduction of predatory wolves with a fall in over-browsing by elk.

There is a consequent recovery in the availability of late-summer berries, the favoured pre-hibernation food of the grizzly bear.

The study indicates that the number of berries measured in bear droppings has doubled as elk numbers have decreased, following the wolves' return in the 1990s.


The complex interactions of the Yellowstone ecosystem were revealed in data measured before and after the reintroduction of wolves.

The BBC visits Wyoming and Montana to hear whether humans and wolves can co-exist

David Mattson, a US Geological Survey (USGS) wildlife biologist, commented previously on Yellowstone: "It's a complex system and grizzly bears are a kind of consummate connector of all of the species in that system."

The study shows that berry shrubs have increased since elk populations declined, and as shrubs recover from over-browsing the fruit consumption of bears has increased.


William Ripple, lead author, commented: "Wild fruit is typically an important part of grizzly bear diet, especially in late summer when they are trying to gain weight as rapidly as possible before winter hibernation".

"Elk browsing reducing berry production is well known in Europe as well," said Atle Mysterud, an ecologist from the University of Oslo.

"The study shows that new patches of berries have formed after the wolves were reintroduced. It is clear that berry production is very important for bears."

But the reduction in elk may not be all good news. Yellowstone's northern elk population hit 19,000 in 1988, but last winter the herd was estimated to number just 3,900 animals.


Elk calves are an important food source for grizzly bears in the spring and Arthur Middleton of Yale University suggests that the decline in elk may pose a threat to the grizzly bear rather than a benefit, since their other spring food source, cutthroat trout, is also in decline.

"This is an interesting paper and it is important that we understand the consequences of wolf recovery", Dr Middleton added.

"But wolf re-introduction is not the only change that has occurred in recent years in Yellowstone. Bears eat elk and bear numbers have increased three or four times during this period.

Bears eat about three times as many elk calves as wolves do and it may be that reduction in elk numbers and the increase in berry eating is feature of the increase in bear numbers.

"Unfortunately, as wildlife ecologists working in a vast landscape such as the greater Yellowstone ecosystem it is very difficult to unravel the complexity of the patterns."

The latest results demonstrate that acknowledging the many inter-relationships between species and environments in these systems is key to understanding that complexity.
Source

Today, July 29th, is International Tiger Day, also known as Global Tiger Day. It is an annual celebration to raise awareness for tiger conservation, held annually every July 29th. 

It was created in 2010 at the Saint Petersburg, Russia Tiger Summit. The goal of the day is to promote a global system for protecting the natural habitats of tigers and to raise public awareness and support for tiger conservation issues.

Why is it necessary to protect the tigers?

Tigers are native to much of Asia, from some of the coldest regions to the steamy rainforests of the Indonesian Islands. They are the top predator in every ecosystem they inhabit.

Until the 20th Century there were nine tiger subspecies that probably numbered over 100,000 animals. They included the giant 660-pound, or 300 kilo, Siberian (Pantera tigris altaica) and Caspian (Pantera tigris virgata; now extinct) tigers as well as the relatively small—and now also extinct—200-pound (90 kilo) Balinese tiger.

Depending on whether there are any remaining South China tigers—nobody has seen one in years—there are either 5 or 6 tiger subspecies remaining in existence; all are endangered. All tiger subspecies put together currently amount to around 3,200 endangered tigers remaining in the wild. See A Range Map Of All The Endangered Tiger Species See Our Latest Update On The Endangered Tiger’s Status

The main reasons tigers are endangered—in most cases cases, critically endangered—are illegal hunting for their pelts, meat and body parts (used in folk medicines) as well as habitat loss that results from logging and other forms of forest destruction.


Fewer than 500 endangered Siberian, or Amur, tigers remain in the wild, all of of them in a small area of coastal Far-Eastern Russia. Although the population has appeared stable until recently, these tigers are threatened by poaching, habitat loss due to logging, road-building and development, as well as by the problem of inbreeding that has resulted from the fact that, before conservation measures were implemented in the 1930′s, the entire population had collapsed to around 40 individuals.

The Bengal tiger (Pantera tigris tigris) is the most numerous of the endangered tiger subspecies, with probably fewer than 2,000 remaining at large in India, Nepal, Bangladesh and Bhutan.

There are fewer than 500 each of the endangered Malayan tiger (Pantera tigris jacksoni), native to the Malay Peninsula, and the endangered Sumatran tiger (Pantera tigris sumatrae) which is found only on the Indonesian Island of Sumatra.


The Indochinese tiger (Pantera tigris corbetti) of Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Thailand and Myanmar (Burma) probably numbers fewer than 500.

No critically endangered South China tiger (Pantera tigris amoyensis) has been sighted for a number of years, and the species may be extinct.

Along with the Balinese tiger, formerly found on the Indonesian Island of Bali and known to be extinct since the 1930′s, the Javan tiger (Pantera tigris sondaica), another Indonesia Island species, was also hunted to extinction, with the last one spotted in 1979.

The Caspian tiger—a huge, cold-climate species similar to the Siberian tiger, which once roamed the vast mountains of western Asia—has been extinct since the 1950′s.

Populations of all endangered tiger species continue to decline.  
Source - All about Wildlife.

Location: Seal Island, Maine best viewing hours: 24/7 (with infrared lighting) time zone: Eastern Time

Atlantic Puffins spend most of their time at sea — coming to land each spring to breed in colonies on northern seacoasts and rocky islands, like Seal Island in Maine, home to the puffins visible on our live cam. These colorful pigeon-sized birds lay one egg in their burrow homes, with the male and female sharing incubation duties for approximately 39-43 days. After the chick hatches both parents feed it fish for approximately 45 days. After that the “puffling” is large enough to fledge (leave the nest.)

Puffins are excellent swimmers, using their wings to essentially ‘fly’ underwater while using their feet as rudders. They eat a variety of small fish including herring, hake, capelin and sand lance. Puffins do not come to land outside of the breeding season, flying, swimming or riding the ocean surface throughout the year regardless of weather. The Atlantic Puffin is the only species of puffin found on the Atlantic coast. The three other species of puffin are found only in the Pacific.(Source)

Puffins make nests in holes among the rocks or they dig a deep burrow in the soil. The female lays just one egg in the nest. Both parents take turns to sit on the egg until it hatches, and both catch fish and feed it to the chick for about six weeks. After this time the chick leaves the burrow and starts to swim and dive to find its own food.

Puffins breed after they are about 5 years old.

In winter, and after breeding, puffins migrate (fly) south to warmer places. (Source)



Live streaming video by Ustream

New York City’s largest annual pow wow will wrap up with its final day of festivities on Sunday at the Queens County Farm Museum in Floral Park.

The inter-tribal pow wow is in its 35th year and brings together over 40 Native American tribes for dance competitions. The event also features Native American crafts, food, art, and jewelry.

The event is New York City’s oldest and largest and is held on apple orchard and farm grounds. Some of the highlights of the dances include a hoop dance, Tlacopan Aztec Dancers and the Sunset Lighting of the Bonfire.

More information is available by calling 718.347.FARM or at queensfarm.org.
Source

35th Annual THUNDERBIRD AMERICAN INDIAN MID-SUMMER POW WOW

July 26 – 28, 2013

New York City 's oldest and largest pow wow will feature three days of intertribal Native American dance competitions to which the public is invited. Over 40 Indian nations are represented at this spectacular event held in the apple orchard on the farm grounds. A large selection of quality Native American art, crafts, jewelry and foods are available.


ADMISSION:

ADULTS: $10.00 (all weekend pass $15.00)

CHILDREN: $5.00 (age 12 and under) (all weekend pass $7.00)

Free with Farm Membership

A dog left trapped for 77 hours in a collapsed building after severe earthquakes hit much of north-west China has been pulled from the rubble alive by rescue workers.

The canine was stuck in the debris of the house in quake-hit Lalu Village, Hetuo Township, Dingxi, in northwest China's Gansu Province, for more than three days.

But the dog managed to survive by drinking rainwater before he was eventually found by rescue workers scouring the region for survivors on Thursday.

It is believed 95 people died when earthquakes struck much of north-western China on Monday while more than 800 people needed hospital treatment.

Rain then sparked further landslides last night - killing at least nine people and burying another eight.

The worst landslide buried 13 people in Nanyu village and nine bodies have been recovered, the official Xinhua News Agency said.


Rescue efforts are under way in the neighbouring village of Yongguang, where four people were buried and are listed as missing, the report said.

The area along the Yellow River has rolling hills of loose soil blown south from the Gobi desert. Thunderstorms have loosened the terraced hillsides that were made unstable by the quake.


About 123,000 people were affected by the quake, with 31,600 moved to temporary shelters, the provincial earthquake administration said on its website. Almost 2,000 homes were destroyed and about 22,500 damaged, it said.

Urban areas where buildings are more solid were spared major damage, unlike the traditional mud and brick homes in the countryside.

The government's earthquake monitoring centre said the quake was magnitude 6.6, while the US Geological Survey said it was 5.9.
Source

Pope Francis has delighted a crowd in Rio de Janeiro by donning a colorful Indian headdress handed to him by a member of a Brazilian tribe.

It came after the pontiff spoke Saturday at Rio's Municipal Theater to an audience mostly made up of Brazil's political, business and cultural elite.

After the talk, he was greeted by well-wishers on stage, including a few Indians.

A bare-chested man named Ubirai Matos from the Pataxo tribe met the pope while wearing a reed skirt, ornate red-bead necklace and large nose and ear piercings.


Matos took off his feather headdress and handed it to the pontiff.

Francis promptly placed it on his own head and flashed the crowd a smile.
Source

Pope Francis wears an indigenous headdress given to him by Ubirai Matos from the Pataxo tribe, fourth from left, after the pontiff spoke at Rio's Municipal Theater to an audience mostly made up of Brazil's political, business and cultural elite in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

A black bear wandered into a Colorado bar recently, sniffed around and left without the human patrons even noticing, video shows.

The bruin, estimated at about 350 pounds and about 6 feet tall when standing on its hind legs, entered a back door of Lonigans Saloon Nightclub and Grill about 9:15 p.m. July 18 and nosed around for a time before exiting the way he came in, the Estes Park Trail-Gazette reported earlier this week.

The bear's visit would have gone unreported if not for a man walking by outside who saw it and security camera footage that captured it for posterity.

Passerby Daniel Lyell said he spotted the bear going from garbage bin to garbage bin in the parking lot.

"I wanted a photo, and before I knew it, he was headed into Lonigans," Lyell said. "I went in after him and tried to alert the patrons by yelling 'bear' but no one noticed. I called for the bear when he was just about to enter the middle bar area. He hesitated and then listened to me the second time. He turned around and went out the door behind me."

"Nobody even knew it was there," Lonigans owner David Callahan told the newspaper. "I just missed seeing it. I was cleaning up and had just taken out the trash."


Callahan said his bartender also just missed running into the bear after she had gone to the rear of the saloon.

The owner said it's the second time a bear has come into his establishment, the last time four or five years ago, the newspaper said.

"I almost bopped him on the nose," Callahan said in recalling the first incident, adding it is probably time to make some changes to that door.
Source

This curious fox showed his true cunning when he decided to turn the tables on a stunned photographer.

After spotting Michaela Walch's unattended camera, the creature crept up to experience life on the other side of the lens.

Ms Walch, had heard foxes were common at the campsite in the north-west of Canada, and so decided to put some food out in a bid to entice the animals and create a picture perfect moment.

The schoolteacher fed the foxes for several days and happily took a few pictures before accidentally leaving her camera equipment unattended only to glance up and discover one snap happy creature poised behind it.

Shocked, Ms Walch, from Innsbruck in Austria, quickly grabbed a spare camera to capture the hilarious moment.

She said: 'At first I put a few leftovers around my van so that the foxes would come close to me and I could get a better view.


'After a short time I could see five foxes. I was impressed by them because they were all so different.

'They were very suspicious at first but over a couple of days I still managed to get a few nice pictures.

'One fox seemed instantly interested in my camera equipment but I couldn't believe it when one day I looked up and saw her trying to be a photographer.

'She even tried to press the shutter and I couldn't help but laugh. It was very impressive to see though.

'Foxes are often mistaken for odious animals but they are actually gorgeous creatures and very clever too.'
Source

Siouxlanders may be familiar with the sights and sounds of a Winnebago Pow Wow, but do we understand what they're all about? At the 147th annual Homecoming Pow Wow it's all about celebration and appreciation.

The feathers, the bells, the dancing, they're the basic staples of any pow wow. But why exactly do tribes have pow wows, anyway?

It all goes back to 1867 when the tribe's last war chief, Chief Little Priest and 75 warriors returned home from service with the U–S military.

"A lot of them, they see the trials and tribulations and the travesties of the war," says master of ceremonies Chris Grezik. "They might be hurt mentally, physically, spiritually."

The warriors needed a way to heal from their physical and emotional wounds, so they danced.

"Back then, this was a way to heal themselves psychologically so that they can feel good. The wounds that they had acquired physically, they would paint them, and come out into the circle. And they would heal," said Grezik.


Nowadays, it's not just warriors who get to dance. It's everyone. Whether to honor veterans or to enjoy themselves, native and non–native people are invited to join in the circle.

"I like to dance for happiness, good health, and wellness," says head male dancer Craig Cleveland Jr. "I dance for those who can't dance and I dance for my elders."

The tribe is looking forward to many pow wows to come, all to honor those that have served. "As you can see, a lot of our young people are out there, and that's all because of the sacrifices that our veterans have made for us," said Grezik.
Source

News, Weather and Sports for Sioux City, IA: KCAU-TV.com

Observing the behaviors of wolves in the pack is very interesting, and even more so during birthing season.

When the wolf pups are born, all the members of the pack are very active in taking care of the babies because they are the new generation, the future of the pack!

Have you ever seen the tenderness that a female wolf gives to her babies?

I have had the opportunity to spend time with the wolves of the Mackenzie, at the end of June. There was one wolf pup then at the age of 5 weeks, a tiny and fragile baby.

The mother wolf gives much love and tenderness, with many cuddles throughout the day, whether she sleeps on her back or on her side. When the pup is young, the contact between them is very important, soothing and protective.

The role of the mother and that of the other wolves is essential for the young who learn many things continuously. The pups are attentive to all the lessons which are shown to them.

With all this love the wolf pup can grow to become a beautiful adult wolf, and in turn he will continue the lessons and love to ensure the continuity of his species.
Written by Veronique Renaud (Photographer,artist) http://www.veroniquerenaud.com/ 

No title - slideshow

location: Grasslands National Park, Val Marie, SK, Canada best viewing hours: 5am - 8pm time zone: Central Time

Bison are the largest indigenous land mammal on the North American continent. Considered a keystone species, these wooly herbivores helped shaped the ecology of the Great Plains today. At least 80% of Canada's native prairie has been lost, yet at Grasslands National Park there is a flourishing herd of plains bison that freely roam their native prairie.

Two web cams have been installed in the West Block of Grasslands National Park near the watering hole and Ecotour Black Tailed Prairie Dog Colony. These cameras will provide insight into the daily life of the plains bison, the black-tailed prairie dogs and other predatory animals. A prescribed burn was completed in April to help with the greening process of the prairie grasses to attract bison to the watering hole area.

Grasslands National Park is home to a unique blend of prairie-adapted common and endangered species from the Pronghorn Antelope, Sage Grouse, Burrowing Owl, and Ferruginous Hawk to the Prairie Rattlesnake and Greater Short-horned Lizard. Grasslands and the area immediately around the park are the only places in Canada where Black-tailed Prairie Dogs and Black-footed Ferrets exist in their native habitat.

Parks Canada works to ensure Canada’s historic and natural heritage is protected and, through a network of 44 national parks, 167 national historic sites, and four national marine conservation areas, invites Canadians and people around the world to engage in personal moments of inspiring discovery at our treasured natural and historic places.
Source

On a scalding hot beach in the country of Colombia in South America, two tourists came upon a dying puppy.

The tiny puppy was very undersized, completely dehydrated and obviously starving. Her bones were showing, she was covered in sand and she desperately needed help. The two tourists made the immediate decision to try and save her.

They named her Mrs. Bojangles and began taking care of her. They brought her along on the trips they were taking, all the time feeding her and giving her plenty of water.

To make sure she wasn't hosting any parasites or had any other life-threatening issues, they took her to a local vet to get her checked out. The puppy absolutely loved being close to her new human friends.

Slowly, the puppy became much happier and healthier with all the food, water and love she was receiving. Mrs. Bojangles really started to improve. Her coat looked better, her eyes were bright and she just had a much better demeanor about her.

Mrs. Bojangle's story also has a happy ending to it. The tourists were able to find the puppy a new family in the city of Bogota. She is now a happy and healthy young adult, all thanks to two people who took the time to stop and help a desperate little puppy.

In 2009, along the waters off Jeju Island in South Korea, a ten-year-old female dolphin was mistakenly captured in a fishing net. But instead being released back into the wild as law requires, she was sold to a local aquarium and given the name Sampal, bound to a life a world apart from the one she had known.

Over the next four years, the wild dolphin was housed in a small pool, forced perform tricks as part of a dolphin show -- treatment many believe is inhumane.

Yet as word spread of Sampal's plight and the injustice of her captivity, folks across the country began to call for the dolphin to be set loose back into the wild. Animal rights advocates, biologists, and even Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon added their voices to the once-wild dolphin's cause, spurring the Korean High Court to finally deliver orders that Sampal be returned to the open ocean.

But before her keepers had the chance to set her free as was planned for later this summer, Sampal managed to find her own way home.

While undergoing rehabilitation in a netted sea pen to ready her once again for life in the wild, Sampal apparently decided she'd waited long enough. Months before her planned release, the dolphin somehow managed to swim through a narrow tear in the pen's netting to freedom in the vast ocean beyond -- ending her four year ordeal in captivity.

Sampal's handlers were initially concerned that the dolphin might not have fully reacquired the skills she would need to survive in the wild, but their worries were soon quelled. According to Korean media, researchers from Cetacean Research Center were able to track Sampal 60 miles from where she had been held, swimming free among 50 other dolphins believed to be members of her original pod.


Although research into dolphin behavior continues to suggest that these aquatic mammals possess a mental capacity not so far outmatched by our own, it doesn't take an advanced degree to recognize a more fundamental, and perhaps more important commonality -- a simple desire to be free.
Source

Ric O'Barry and Korean Dolphin Rehab and Release from Dolphin Project on Vimeo.

For many decades, scientists believed dogs could only see in monochrome and that they used brightness levels - whether something looked lighter or darker next to another object - to identify outlines of items and to use brightness levels to see the outlines of items.

But now Russian scientists have not only proved that dogs do have a limited color range, but that they also use this color spectrum to distinguish between objects and to select certain items.

Originally scientist Jay Neitz from the University of Washington, carried out experiments last year on dogs to test this theory. Neitz knew that the human eye has three 'cones' that can detect color and can identify red, blue, green and yellow wavelengths created by light entering the eye. He discovered that dogs only have two cones which means they can distinguish blue and yellow, but not red and green. This is the same spectrum seen in humans when they have colorblindness.

Then a team of researchers from the Laboratory of Sensory Processing at the Russian Academy of Sciences tested the sight of eight dogs of varying sizes and breeds. They wanted to expand on the work of Neitz from the University of Washington last year.

The Russian scientists therefore printed four pieces of paper in different colors; dark yellow, dark blue, light yellow and light blue. They used the dark and light hues to test the theory that dogs use brightness levels to distinguish between items.

In the first test, researchers took a dark yellow and light blue sheet of paper, as well as a dark blue and light yellow combination and put them in front of food bowls placed inside locked boxes. Then they unlocked one of the boxes and put the dark yellow piece of paper in front of the box containing a piece of raw meat in each trial. Each test involved the dogs being allowed to try to open one box before being taken away.


Only three trials were needed for the dogs to learn which color paper was put in front of the box containing the raw meat. Once the dogs could identify that a piece of dark yellow paper meant meat was nearby, the scientists wanted to check whether the animals were choosing this paper because of its brightness or its color.

To test this they put the dark blue paper in front of one box and light yellow in front of another. If the dogs chose the dark blue paper, the scientists could rule that the animals were making choices based on brightness. The dogs had been trained that dark yellow paper was always put in front of bowls containing meat. But even when light yellow paper was used, the dogs still found the meat meaning they used color rather than brightness when making their decisions.

Each dog chose the light yellow paper which meant that they were making choices based on color more than 70 per cent of the time. Six out of the eight dogs made the color choice between 90 and 100 per cent of the time.

The Russian researchers concluded that: 'We show that for eight previously untrained dogs color proved to be more informative than brightness when choosing between visual stimuli differing both in brightness and chromaticity. Although brightness could have been used by the dogs in our experiments, it was not. Our results demonstrate that under natural photopic lighting conditions color information may be predominant even for animals that possess only two spectral types of cone photo-receptors.'

Oh no you don't! As these incredible pictures show, this bald eagle was never going to let a sea lion get at him or his dinner.

As it swoops in on a fish in Juneau, Alaska, the bird got far more than he bargained for but showed he was quick enough to get away unscathed.

Snapped by photographer Bradley Oliver, who lives in San Francisco, California, the dramatic events were captured thanks to his keen eye for a photo.

Mr Oliver a 41-year-old bank clerk, was on a family holiday when he took the amazing shots.

He said: 'It made our whole holiday to see this - it was such a sight.

'Me, my wife Christina and my daughter Makenzie were out on a nature expedition and were actually watching whales - humpback and orca killer whales.


'Sea lions like to play with fish before they eat it and my wife spotted the sea lion coming.

'From out of nowhere, the eagle swooped down all in the space of ten seconds and that's when all the action happened.

'I've been doing photography for four years and I've got a long way to go but I joked it's almost worth stopping now as it doesn't get any better than that.'
Source