Research Blog : animals

Endangered species: where to find current information

googler@evpl — Wed, 06 Oct 2010 22:44:00 GMT

We've always found it difficult to collect print items that have current lists of endangered species. Thanks to the internet, we no longer have to.

For species that reside in the United States, the definitive source is the US Fish and Wildlife Service (the agency that enforces the Endangered Species Act). To access its list, which also includes threatened species, click on the "endangered species" list at the top of the front page. This list can be searched by location and species name.

For international coverage of threatened species, the most comprehensive list is from the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources, who maintain a "red list" of threatened species, both plant and animal. The list currently includes information on about 45,000 species, which means some searching is necessary -- there's no A-Z of everything here. You'll probably do a keyword search (such as birds, or hawks), and then on the left, you can narrow by a number of options. Each option will open to list more, which you see by clicking on the plus signs.

The most important option in the left-hand menu is "assessment," because that's where designations of "vulnerable," "endangered," "critically endangered," etc. are listed. You can choose more than one category. The numbers after each category in the plus-sign menus are the number of species that option entails. (As an example, perhaps a depressing one, there are 562 species of birds that are either endangered or critically endangered.)

Another website, Earth's Endangered Creatures, is more user-friendly and makes an excellent effort to be current and accurate, but is not as official, and only lists animals.

For a smaller selection of endangered species, instead of a comprehensive list, you might be able to use the World Wildlife Fund's focus on "flagship species," which they define as the most iconic of the threatened animals.

The Library is adding new books and videos to the collection on endangered and threatened species on an ongoing basis, of course, but none that make a claim to being exhaustive. So websites like these perform an invaluable service.

Firefighting Rhinos?

wag.mado@evpl — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 20:11:00 GMT

OK, so it’s not your typical reference question. If it was, I wouldn’t be blogging about it. But, inquiring minds want to know, and they often ask the EVPL Reference department.

The question was – Do rhinos really go around stamping out fires? The person asking the question had just watched the 1984 movie, The Gods Must Be Crazy, where it was mentioned that if a rhino sees a fire, he always stamps it out.

Well, others have had the same question after watching the movie, so the answer was not hard to find. Apparently it is a legend. The legend began in Malaysia, India and Burma. In Malay, the rhinoceros has a special name, badak api, in which badak means rhinoceros and api means fire. However, there is no evidence in recent history that proves this phenomenon. It could be because rhino sightings are very rare in Southeast Asia due to poaching of these endangered animals. In any case, the rhinoceros that are still alive spend their time in the deep forest and high mountains, and are rarely seen.

Of course, that doesn’t mean that the legend is not alive and well in today’s modern world. If you search online, there are several fire protection products and businesses which use the “Rhino” name. There is also a 1999 Simpson’s episode that depicts a rhino “instinctively” trying to stamp out an SUV that has burst into flames. Humm…… I wonder if we got calls following that episode?

Bird Jammin'

wag.mado@evpl — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 20:08:00 GMT

The Reference Department at Central Library often gets questions regarding animal behavior. One recent question was "Can a giraffe lick its ear with its tongue?" On any given day, we have to be prepared for those perplexing questions that need to be answered. One of you out there may be wondering if animals can dance. Well, read on and see for yourself.

According to a new study from the Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla California, humans are not the only ones who have a sense of rhythm. Some birds, dolphins, elephants and seals might be able to move to a beat and actually dance. One of the subjects studied by scientist Aniruddh Patel and his colleagues was a cockatoo named Snowball. Snowball actually lives in Indiana at Bird Lovers Only Rescue. He appears to prefer rock music - especially The Backstreet Boys. You may have seen Snowball on YouTube. He not only moves his head, but his feet and other body parts to the beat of music.

In another study at Harvard University, researcher Adena Schachner and colleagues studied thousands of dancing animals on YouTube and concluded that several species of parrots and elephants have the ability to perform synchronized movements in accordance with various musical beats.

Snowball was one of the favorites in both studies. And after viewing his videos, you will know why.

Out of these studies came a theory that the ability to dance is related to a propensity for mimicking sounds vocally - that somehow the two are interconnected. What about elephants? Well, they have been known to mimic sounds in their environment also.

So, there's your answer - although additional studies are needed to prove the above theory.

Oh, and by the way - the answer to the giraffe question is yes. The length of a giraffe tongue is about 18-20 inches!

Read more about animal behavior by checking out these books. Or, contact us today with one of your own questions.

Dog organizations brace themselves for "Beverly Hills Chihuahua"

googler@evpl — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:54:00 GMT

One of the consequences of 101 Dalmatians was a dramatic rise in the number of people who wanted to buy or adopt Dalmatians. Animal organizations are expecting a similar effect from a movie opening this weekend, Beverly Hills Chihuahua.

The Best Friends Network ("a coalition of kindness to animals caught in the pet trade") wants to spread the message about the negative impact of "impulse buying" of dogs, particularly from pet shops, and promoting what they consider the most humane way to adopt a Chihuahua -- going through a shelter or rescue organization.

The PetFinder website is an excellent way to find adoptable dogs, and allows you to use your zip code to find animals available in your area by gender, age, and size.