Coprolite-delight - Talking Into The Void - Tumblr Blog
do not stop talking about Palestine!
there are Shut It Down For Palestine actions planned for Friday, look for one in your area if you can. they're not all registered on the Shut It Down website, so check social media as well as their list.
christophe oliver
What to boycott NOW to help stop Israel’s unfolding genocide of Palestinians in Gaza
Reminder that boycotting DOES work, there is historic proof! Don't let anyone discourage you otherwise!
The BDS movement uses the historically successful method of targeted boycotts inspired by the South African anti-apartheid movement, the US Civil Rights movement, the Indian anti-colonial struggle, among others worldwide.
We must strategically focus on a relatively smaller number of carefully selected companies and products for maximum impact. Companies that play a clear and direct role in Israel’s crimes and where there is real potential for winning, as was the case with, among others, G4S, Veolia, Orange, Ben & Jerry’s and Pillsbury. Compelling such huge, complicit companies, through strategic and context-sensitive boycott and divestment campaigns, to end their complicity in Israeli apartheid and war crimes against Palestinians sends a very powerful message to hundreds of other complicit companies that “your time will come, so get out before it’s too late!”
selling a few of these babies on etsy 🕺
(https://chrochetti.etsy.com)
Chromatophores are pigment-containing reflective cells found in squids, octopuses, and cuttlefish. By contracting muscles in the skin, the animal distorts the cell and pushes the pigment to the surface, making the chromatophore larger and more vibrant. Many cephalopods are capable of rapid colour changes and displays.
Animals can use this colourful tactic for camouflage, threat displays, and social interaction. Chromatophores can continue to be active after death for a long time.
(source)
guys i just found out about this site that does a daily guessing game, it’s phylogenetic wordle- so fun!!!
Nautilus expedition live streams (+ their commentary) 2020 / 2021 / 2022
Gorje, Slovenia by Bor R
It makes me sad to see how common the hate for zoos is in leftist circles. To me, zoos are so symbolic of the determination and optimism in leftist thought that I often use these facilities as an example to keep me going. So when I hear fellow leftists wanting to abolish zoos it makes breaks my spirit a bit. Especially considering how necessary zoos are in the fight against the current environmental crisis.
I am the first to admit that no zoo is perfect. I have worked at a world class, accredited, non-profit zoo and it was FAR from perfect. The institution treated me and the other workers like shit. Burnout, lean staffing, and poor adherence to safety protocols resulted in poorer animal welfare outcomes for the animals. And this is a world class facility. There are many facilities out there that shouldn't exist at all that are hardly better than the menageries of feudal kings.
BUT
Zoos are vital if we want our ecosystems to survive the current mass extinction event.
No other type of institution on earth has saved as many species as zoos. From tiny snails to 1-ton bison, entire species have been returned to the wild thanks to their preservation in zoos.
There are approximately 40 animal species listed as Extinct in the Wild by the IUCN, most of which ONLY exist in zoos and aquariums. Many of these animals are only able to be taken care of because of the decades of animal husbandry science and institutional knowledge built up by our zoos and aquaria by working with other species.
There are many extinctions I cry for, but the ones that hurt the most are the ones happening in front of our eyes. The Javan rhino is all but gone. It's estimated that there would need to be about 100 rhinos for the species to survive genetically intact. There are now less than that, and none in human care. All it would take is a single tsunami or volcanic eruption and the entire population could be wiped out.
But if there were some in human care, if we had acted sooner and established a breeding population based on the centuries of knowledge we have of caring for their closest relative, the Indian rhino, we could have saved them.
So, when I see leftists talking about how all zoos are inherently destructive, I ask you to think ahead. To when polar bears, chimpanzees, or elephants go extinct in their natural homes, don't you want a place where we can save them? Where experienced animal care professionals can foster a population in human care so that one day these creatures can return to their homes? A global system of world class facilities dedicated to the survival of wildlife? So even more creatures don't end up like the Javan rhino; a species we could've saved if we'd had the will and the space to do so? If there had more zoos instead of less?
I'm not asking you to love zoos, I'm just asking that you recognize the practical necessity of their existence in the modern age. We won't survive the coming crises without other species. And they won't survive without us.
“the sea doesn’t care about you!!” ok well just because the ocean is unspeakably powerful and can’t stop the rhythm she’s held for uncountable eons just for one person doesn’t mean she can’t love you. loving and changing are two different things. we wouldn’t have life without the ocean…. and yeah, if you don’t respect her and treat her cavalierly, you’ll perish. but how can anyone say the sea doesn’t mourn when she holds so much life and beautiful secrets in her belly? why are we putting atheism on the ocean that loves us?
Giant Devil’s Flower Mantis (Idolomantis diabolica), family Empusidae, found in Eastern Africa
photograph by Igor Siwanowic
So punk
Crows and Magpies Are Building Nests with Anti-Bird Spikes
i know a lot of people dont like bugs but they are animals. theyre just as essential as the rabbits and foxes and deer and bears. they all play an important role keeping the ecosystem in order. they pollinate and hunt and get hunted. theyre a part of a balance. their purpose on earth isnt just to be an inconvenience to you personally. bugs dont care about you. i asked them about it and they said they never even heard of you
After everyone freaked out over AO3 being down, I hope folks have come to the realization that *authors* are the ones keeping y’all so entertained that the idea of not having your favorite fic to read on demand sent you into a frenzy.
So, y’know, maybe drop a comment on your favorite fic to let the author know you appreciate them and their work 🙂
DOLPHIN MOMS DO ‘BABY TALK’ WITH THEIR CALVES
Baby talk or Motherese/ Parentese is a speech pattern nearly universal across cultures and languages in human caregivers interacting with children. It is characterized by a higher than usual pitch, exaggerated intonation, repetition, calling attention to objects and use of slow stretchy speeches. What we know about baby talking in other nonhuman species is sparse. Now, researchers have found evidence for baby talk in bottlenose dolphin, a species that shows parallels to humans in their long-term mother–offspring bonds and lifelong vocal learning.
Researchers analyzed audios from made wild bottlenose dolphins in waters near Sarasota Bay, Florida, United States, and found that females produced signature whistles with significantly higher maximum frequencies and wider frequency ranges when they were recorded with their own dependent calves.
This finding provide an example of convergent evolution of motherese in nonhuman mammals, and may help us understand how motherese can facilitate vocal learning and bonding in nonhumans as well as humans.
Photo by Carli Brush Stoll
Reference: Sayigh et al., 2023. Bottlenose dolphin mothers modify signature whistles in the presence of their own calves. PNAS