Skull malformations in lions: Keeping up the pressure

An international team of researchers led by scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem and the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) Berlin examined the incidence of skull malformations in lions, a problem known to be responsible for causing neurological diseases and increased mortality. Their results suggest that the occurrence is a consequence of a combination of environmental and genetic factors. These findings were published in the scientific journal PLOS ONE.

The scientists studied the morphology of 575 lion skulls in museum collections in North America, Europe, Asia, and Africa and noted the incidence of malformations with respect to the death place of lions -- died in the wild or in captivity. The researchers compared the results with skulls of tigers, a similar-sized obligatory carnivorous predator. Whereas tiger skulls of captive origin had a similar incidence of malformations as those of wild origin, large differences occurred between lion skulls from both sources.

Lions have been kept in captivity for centuries and, although they reproduce well, high rates of stillbirths as well as substantial morbidity and mortality of neonates and young lions are reported. Many of these cases were attributed to bone malformations of the skull, including the narrowing of the foramen magnum, the opening at the rear of the skull through which the spinal cord connects to the brain and which can cause associated neurological diseases.

Foramen magnum of lion (Panthera leo) skulls; right: skull of a healthy lion, left: malformed skull.

A scientific collaboration between scientists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the IZW Berlin, University of Oxford, the Zoological Center Tel Aviv-Ramat Gan, and the Blue Pearl NYC Veterinary Specialists showed that only 0.4 % of lion skulls from the wild had a narrowing of the foramen magnum whereas the constricted opening of the foramen magnum had a forty-fold higher chance to occur in lion skulls from captivity (15.8 %). Lion skulls from captivity were also wider and had a smaller cranial volume. These findings in lions and their absence in tigers suggest the presence of an interaction of the rearing environment and a heritable predisposition of lions to the pathology. "The morphological changes in many of the lion skulls from captivity suggest that some of these lions possibly died because the hind brain and spinal cord were compressed by abnormal and excessive bone formation in their skulls, resulting in severe neurological abnormalities," says Dr Merav Shamir from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. "It would be interesting to know whether this is a lion-specific phenomenon. Similar investigations in other big cats would be valuable to answer this question," added Dr Nobuyuki Yamaguchi from the University of Oxford.

This anomalous skull morphology has been documented in captive lion skulls dating back as far as the 15^th century, and been the subject of many studies since. "And yet," says Dr Joseph Saragusty from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research, " the cause of these morphological changes is still not known. The ongoing loss of captive lions to the disease highlights the need for further investigation with a view to reducing its occurrence."

Fish rain down on Sri Lanka village

Villagers in west Sri Lanka have said they have been surprised and delighted by an unusual rainfall of small fish.

The edible fish fell during a storm and are believed to have been lifted out of a river during a strong wind.

Villagers in the district of Chilaw said they heard something heavy falling and found scores of fish with a total weight of 50kg (110lbs).

It is not the first such incident in Sri Lanka - in 2012, a case of "prawn rain" was recorded in the south.

Scientists say that "fish rain" usually occurs when swirling whirlwinds over relatively shallow water develops into waterspouts and sucks in almost anything in the water including fish, eels and even frogs.

The marine life can be carried long distances by buffeting clouds even when the waterspout stops spinning.

Villagers say that the "fish rain shower" took place on Monday with the creatures falling on the village green, roads and roofs.

Some of the fish - each three to five inches (5cm-8cm) in length - were still alive and were put in a buckets of water by villagers who ate them later.

This is the third time this has happened in Sri Lanka, but not from the same area.

In addition to the reported "prawn rain" of 2012 in the south, there was yellow and red "meteor rain" the same year - a weather development that is reportedly still being investigated by US and British scientists.

Fish is a valued commodity in Sri Lanka.

Villagers collected the contents of the "fish shower" into buckets and enjoyed an unusual free meal

Nasty parasitic worm, common in wildlife, now infecting U.S. cats

When Cornell University veterinarians found half-foot-long worms living in their feline patients, they had discovered something new: The worms, Dracunculus insignis, had never before been seen in cats

"First Report of Dracunculus Insignis in Two Naturally Infected Cats from the Northeastern USA," published in the February issue of the Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery, document the first proof that this raccoon parasite can infect cats.

The worms can grow to almost a foot long and must emerge from its host to lay eggs that hatch into larvae. It forms a blister-like protrusion in an extremity, such as a leg, from which it slowly emerges over the course of days to deposit its young into the water.

Worms in the Dracunculus genus are well known in human medicine. D. insignis' sister worm, the waterborne Guinea worm, infected millions of humans around the world until eradication efforts beginning in the 1980s removed it from all but four countries -- with only 148 cases reported in 2013. Other Dracunculus worms infect a host of other mammals -- butDranunculus insignis mainly infects raccoons and other wild mammals and, in rare cases, dogs. It does not infect humans.

The cats that contracted the Dranunculus insignis worms likely ingested the parasites by drinking unfiltered water or by hunting frogs," said Araceli Lucio-Forster, a Cornell veterinary researcher and the paper's lead author.

It takes a year from the time a mammal ingests the worm until the females are ready to migrate to an extremity and start the cycle anew.

While the worms do little direct harm beyond creating shallow ulcers in the skin, secondary infections and painful inflammatory responses may result from the worm's emergence from the host. There are no drugs to treat a D. insignis infection -- the worms must be removed surgically.

"Although rare in cats, this worm may be common in wildlife and the only way to protect animals from it is to keep them from drinking unfiltered water and from hunting -- in other words, keep them indoors," said Lucio-Forster.

TIGER FOUND DEAD

  A tiger was found dead in suspicious circumstance with its limbs missing in the Nllamala Forest in Mabhubhnagar district. Though the big cat reportedly died two days ago, the incident came into light on Thursday when the Shepherds alerted the local officials. It is suspected that the smugglers kills the tiger and cut off its limbs for nails due to the high demands of then\m in the international market. The carcass of the tiger was found at Rushula Cheruvu in the Munnanoor forest range. Rushula Cheruvu is major source of water for the wild animals. That's why the smugglers always keep an eye on this.
              Though the officials also suspected that the tiger was old enough, so it can be possible that the tiger was dead because of its age, and after the death of that big cats, the smugglers came and took away its limbs. The Post-mortem report will ensure the real cause of the death of this tiger.

FIRST NEW RIVER SPECIES SINCE 1918

                      Scientist of Brazil have discovered the first new river dolphin species since the the end of the 1st world war. Named after the Araguaia river where it was found, the species only the fifth known of its in the world. writing on the journal Plos One, the researchers said it separated from the South American river species more than two million years ago. There are believed to be about 1000 of the creature living in the Araguaia river basin.
                       River Dolphins are very rare creatures. According to the IUCN, there are only four known species, and three of them are red listed (Critically Endangered)

INDIA'S DEADLIEST ANIMAL COUNTDOWN (BASED ON HUMAN KILLING PER YEAR)

              In this countdown we start from the least deadliest to the most deadliest animals. This countdown is based on the human deaths per year. So, here we go now-

10. Stray Dog:

                India has a large number of stray dogs in the cities. This Dogs normally do not attack the human, but at the time of mating and fighting season these Stray dogs sometimes become very dangerous and attack the human. Normally the children are attacked by them. Every year, there are 1000 dog biting cases are filed in India, though the death of human by dog biting is not huge in number. approximately 10-20 people are found dead by dog biting, every year. That's why this stray dogs are in number 10 in our countdown list.

Stray Dog

9.  Black Bear:

             In the Himalayan region of India, this black bears are found. They are very much aggressive, they can attack without any reason. This attacks normally occurs in the morning section. The number of human deaths by black bear are approximately 20 human per year in India. But they attack human more often than stray dogs, That's why they are the number 9 in our countdown.

Black Bear

8. Honey Bee:

               Honey bees are found everywhere in India. This honey bees are very much territorial, they attack everything that looks dangerous to them. The death of human per year due to honey bee attack is much greater than the stray dog attack. approximately 40-50 people are died every year due to honey bee attacks. That's why this stray dogs are in number 8 in our countdown list.

Honey Bee

7.  Scorpion:

Black scorpion

              In India, around 86 species of scorpion lived are found out of them 50 are very much deadly for the human. Scorpions are found everywhere in India, The death of human per year due to scorpion bites are much greater than the previous animals. Every year around 80 people are found dead due to scorpion attacks. That's Why, scorpions are our number 7 in this countdown. 

The next animal in this least leaves in water.... and they do not attack human for protection, they attack human for food.

6. Crocodile: 

              In India, crocodiles are well known human attacker. They lived in the Shallow water or lakes. These crocodiles attacks adult human. Crocodiles attack are very common where human and crocodile habitat coincide. They are sneak attackers. Every year  around 100 people died due to human attacks. They are our number 6 animal in this countdown.

Crocodile

Our next is known for it's sneak attacks, it attacks it's prey until they are at most 5 meters near of it.

5. Leopard:

Leopard

              Leopard is one of the big cat that found across everywhere in India. Leopards attacks are very much often in these years as the depleting of the forest causes their habitat loss. and for food they entered nearby human habitat for food. Leopards are found in the nearby village fields, and they often attack solitary human when they get chance. Every year around 150-200 human found dead due to leopard attacks. That's why leopards are our number 5 in the India's Deadliest Animal Countdown based on human killing per year.

             In the past there are a list of man eater leopards who kills people at a high rate. 

            The Panar Leopard kills around 400 human in his live span.

            The Kahani man eater kills around 200 human, and the Rudraprayag man eater kills 125 human.

4. Bengal Tiger:

Bengal tiger

            Bengal tiger is one of the deadliest man-eaters of in India. According to the wildlife researchers, bengal tigers are the only remaining man eaters in this world. though it is proven that only injured and old tigers become man-eaters. The Sundarbans is the place where this killing takes place mainly. Though there are other places where tiger kills human. Every year around 300 people died due to tiger attacks. Bengal tigers are our number 4 in this list.

Our next animal in this countdown is worshiped by the humans.

3. Elephant: 

             Elephants might looks like big and slow moving animal but they are very deadly when they get angry. The wild elephants entered the human habitat for food and destroy everything in there path. In the jungle of the wild elephants, those elephants destroy the homes and food of the humans. and often kills human. Every year 2,000 people are killed due to Elephant attacks.

Wild Elephant

2. Snakes:

            Snakes are considered to be the most deadliest animal on the earth. India is the home of the venomous snakes. The Cobra, The King Cobra, The Krait, Python, Russell Vipers,Saw Scaled Viper, Purple Pit Viper, Common Rat Snake all those deadly venomous snakes are in here. Every year almost 50,000 people found dead due to snake attacks. They are our number 2 in our countdown.

The Krait

            Now it's the time for the number 1 animals which kills more human in India than others. Our number 1 animal of this countdown is..........

1. Mosquito:

             Mosquito is very much common insects of India. But mosquito bites are the cause of the deadliest viral fevers- dengue, malaria and more. Every year almost 200,000 people found death due to mosquito bites. That is why I choose the mosquitoes as the deadliest animal in this Deadliest animal countdown list. 

Mosquito

           Here you see the deadliest animal countdown based on human killing per year. leave your comment please about the countdown... we are eagerly waiting for your replies.

INDIAN MIGRATORY BIRDS.

          Indian subcontinent host a huge number of migratory birds in summer as well as in winter. It is estimated that almost one hundred species fly to India every year. There are a lot of sanctuaries that serve them as their temporary habitat. Usually birds starts migrate in search of food or due to extreme cold winter season. and once they start their migration no one can stop them except extreme bad weather.
          Here are a list of some important migratory birds of India-

BIRDS THAT COME TO INDIA IN SUMMER-

Black crowned night heron

Asian koel

Blue tailed bee eater

• Asian Koel
• Black crowned night heron
• Eurasian golden oriole
• Comb duck
• Blue cheeked bee eater
• Blue tailed bee eater
• Cuckoos

Comb Duck

BIRDS THAT COME TO INDIA IN WINTER

Starling

Common teal

• Siberian Crane
• Greater flamingo
• Ruff
• Black winged stilt
• Common teal
• Common greenshank
• Northern pintail
• Yellow wagtail
• White wagtail
• Northern shoveler
• Rosy palican
• Gadwall
• Starling
• Wood sandpiper
• Spotted Sandpiper
• Eurasian wigeon
• Black tail godwit
• Spotted redshank
• Bluethoart
• Long billed pipit
  

  

  Rosy palican

DAYING ERING WILDLIFE SANCTUARY IS BANS ENTRY WITHIN PREMISES

              Daying ering wildlife sanctuary is situated in Arunachal Pradesh, India. It is now bans entry within premises due to the recent salt lick ambush laid by hunters, killing a bird, and disappearance of of two camera trapping from the sanctuary. There had been restriction of hunting and poaching to some extent in the sanctuary in the past two years.
              This sanctuary is located at Pasighat. This is located on the island- boating through the river Siang is the only way to reach this sanctuary. It's spread over an area of 190 sq km and houses of varieties of animals and birds. It is divided into three ranges- Anchalghat, Sibiamukh and Barghuli. 75% of the Sanctuary is covered with alluvial grassland, 15% are the woods and 10% is covered by water.
              From September-February, a variety of migratory birdslike cranes, wild ducks, storks, water fowls and hornbills migrate here from far off places making it a bird's paradise. A few of the birds come here from Siberia and Mongolia.
              Deer, wild elephant, buffaloes and other small animals are found in this sanctuary. Aquatic birds such as spot-billed pelican, bear's pochards, Indian skimmer, lesser adjutant, lesser whistling teal, black-bellied tern and the darter also make the sanctuary as their home. More than 100 aquatic species such as water monitor lizards, pisces turtle and other reptiles live in the waters of the sanctuary. The Bengal tiger is the special features of this sanctuary. although, it is rarely seen.

             This ban is very much painful for those who love to capture the pictures of the birds.

FUTURE OF THE SIBERIAN TIGER

INTRODUCTION

          Siberian tiger (Panthera tigris altiaca), also known as the Amur tiger is the largest living big cat and also ranked among the biggest felids that ever exists in the world. Amur tiger once found throughout the Russian Far East, north China and the Korean peninsular. By the 1940s, hunting has driven the Amur tiger to the brink of extinction- with no more than 40 individuals remaining in the wild. The subspecies was saved when Russia become the first country to grant the tigers full protection. By 1980s, the population increases around 500. Although poaching increases in these days, the number of the Amur tiger in the wild is now stable (400-500).

THREAT FOR THE SIBERIAN TIGER

         The main threats for these tigers today are the habitat loss, very low density of prey and poaching. 

FUTURE OF SIBERIAN TIGER

         The future of these tiger completely depends on the human. If we do not care, then these tiger will extinct in future. At present these Amur tigers are Endangered species according to IUCN 3.1 Red List. 

WHAT TO DO

       To save these creature the best we can do is to do nothing i.e. leave them in the wild, do not interface their life. But all of us know that is impossible today. So we have to do a lot to save them. 

MY THOUGHT TO SAVE AMUR TIGER

       Here is my thoughts to save them. 

1. We use camera traps to watch whole movement of the Amur tigers.

2. Use radio- collars for their exact locations.

3. Capture some of the pregnant tigress and transfer them to a safe location or area where we can monitor them 24 hours. But those tigress must not feel caged.

4. When the tiger cubs are old enough we transfer them to the wild.

5. To deal with the poachers, the government must enforce new laws and strict punishment for the poachers.

PROBLEMS AND HOPE

       Still there is no solution for the habitat loss and the low prey density though we knew the cats are the best in adaptation and evolution. So we hope the life will find its way and these Amur tiger find there way of life and will not extinct in future.

DOMESTIC CATS CAN BE DANGEROUS TO MANKIND?

        Scientists mapped the genomes of the tigers, lions and snow leopards in a conservation project to save the endangered species. The researches get a huge break through while working on this. they found that the tigers shares 96% of its genomes with the domestic cats. this research also shows that how the white lions get its pale coat and how the snow leopards adapted to the snowy mountain ranges. according to the researchers, cats are very much capable of adoption. they can change their habits when the environment calls for it.
         But a big questions arises now- if 96% of the tiger genomes matched with the domestic house cats then is it possible that these house cats may be very dangerous for us? Since they have many genomes  common with the ultimate predator- The Tigers, it may be possible that that some day these cats attack the human, and if it happens in future it may be a huge trouble to mankind as we all know cats are very common.
         So, we should keep a safe distance from them, for the good of both ends.

NEW MEMBERS IN THE SUNDERBANS

          With a spurt in cub sighting in the Sunderbans, officials say actually there could be more tigers in the mangroves than what the latest camera trap study revealed-103. The successive sighting of two cubs, in the forests of Pirkhali under Sajnekhali tourism zone and Arbesi under Basirhat range, have given a new boost to the animal’s critical habitat and conservation efforts in the single largest block of tidal mangrove forest in the world.

        “In the recently-concluded camera trap study, no tiger image was captured in the North 24 Parganas. Last week, a beat officer clicked the snap of a cub with its mother. A big male, which has possibly fathered the cub, was also sighted near the spot. We hope the three will be the newest additions to the figure of 103, the minimum number of tiger in the mangroves.” Said Soumitra Dasgupta- The Sunderbans Tiger Reserve field director. Though a final call could be taken only after comparing their stripe patterns with those of recorded images, he added.

         The good news does not ends with this, there are more good news for the wildlife and the the Royal Bengal Tiger lovers;

         Foresters have also photo-captured another cub, hardly 3-4 months old, with its mother in the forests of Pirkhali I during a routine patrol. “We were all euphoric at that time. The moment the tigress spotted us, she tried to take the cub away from our sight. But the cub was in no mood to hang up on the new-found adventure in its life. He kept staring at our lenses and we had enough scope to take their snaps. Later, the tigress shooed away the cub and again appeared from behind the bushes to have water.” Said a forester, who was present in that spot.

SELLING WHITE RHINOS TO SAVE THEM- IS THAT A SOLUTION?

                   In effort to curb rhino poaching, the South African Govt. is taking a different approach- selling them. Within the last two years the Kruger National Park (KNP) has sold 170 white rhinos to private ranches. This is necessary to improve the conservation of status of white rhinos in the country by establishing rhino populations on the private ranches.
                   KNP has been a target of rhino poaching because of its long international boundaries. It has lost 381 rhinos, the official statistics reveal. Selling the rhinos also generate the income of the KNP. Though no black rhinos have been sold as reported. black rhinos are critically endangered species, of which fewer than 5000 remains in the wild, worldwide.

                    South Africa is the home of rhinos since the beginning. 70% of the rhino population lives here. But illegal poaching stoked by growing demand for the rhino horns has diminished the rhino population in South Africa.
                    But selling the rhinos is a alternative solution, if KNP can not find a good way to stop this poaching then the day is not far when all the rhinos are either sold or killed by the poachers.

TORTOISES ARE GOING TO WALK FASTER???????

                                                  Though it looks to be impossible, but it's true- tortoises are going to walk fast in the Twycross zoo.
                                                  This zoo is training its giant tortoises to walk faster. Staff members at  the Twycross, are feeding treats to Speedy(70), Tom(40), Shelly(30) so that they can exceed their speed of less than one mile per hour as they cross a new larger pen, the daily express reported. " we use a target and the tortoises' favorite foods. We hold the target a few centimeters in front of them and when they touch it with their nose we say 'good' and feed them. we the move the target further away and repeat the process," Kris Hern- a zookeeper, said this.
                                                If this examination is successful then it is a big proof of the Darwin's  struggle for existence and the theory of his evolution.

BUMPY-FACED REPTILE RULED THE WORLD BEFORE THE DINOSAURS

                                                     During the Permian era, there was only one super-continent called Pangea existed on the earth. Animal and plant life dispersed broadly across this land. Now by a new theory published in the Journal of vertebrate paleontology supports the idea that there was an isolated desert in the middle off the Pangea with its own fauna. Roaming in this desert in what is now northern Niger was a very distinctive creature known as Pareiasaur. They were very large herbivorous reptile and they were very common in that desert  during the middle and late Permian era [about 266-252 million years ago.]
                                                 The main author of this theory, Linda Tsuji said, "Imagine a cow-sized plant-eating reptile with a knobby skull and bony armor down its back."

                                                 Newly discovered fossils belong to the aptly genus Bunostegos which means knobby[skull] roof. Fleshing out of the details, the archaeologist have candidly explain that the face of the Pareiasaur appears as if it has been made by a kindergarten, who went wild when he was using the brush. Most of the Pareiasaurs had a bony knobs on their skulls but Bunostegos spotted the largest, most bulbous one's ever discovered. In life, these were probably skin-covered horns like those on the heads of the modern giraffes. Although at the first blush these features seem to suggest that Bunostegos was an evolutionary advance Pareiasaur, it also had many primitive characteristic. Tsuji's analysis showed that Bunostegos was actually more closely related to older and more primitive Pareiasaurs which leads us to to conclusions: 

1. its knobby noggin was the result of convergent evolution 
2. that is genealogical lineage had been isolated for millions of years 

                                         The archaeologists had explained that Bunostegos were not live alone in the desert, some fossils of another creature creatures were found there, named Gorgonopsian- a mammal like carnivore. 

                                          Some scientist believed that the modern day turtles are the direct descendants of Pareiasaurs. During the phase of this discovery, the knob lizard was studied and was found to be a primitive lizard. It had separated from the original ones millions of years ago. It was obliterated from the surface of the earth, roughly 248 million years ago.

SAVE POLAR BEAR PROJECT

                                  We know there are around 25,000 polar bears alive in the world and if we try our best, then we can only save them till the existence ice on the Arctic. As we all know that the genetic changes in the polar bears are mainly because of the very cold temperature in the Arctic region. so as long the ice are there, polar bears can exist.

                                  But now a days scientists think that the excessive hunting of the polar bears and for the increase of the human habitat, these bears lost their own privacy and habitat. Which can be a very important cause of the extinction of the polar bears in the near future(long before the melting of the ice in the Arctic region). So the scientists are taking may new theories and concepts to stop this.

                                Here I'm giving my own concept/ theory to save those polar bears.

                                Polar bears are found in these regions-  Arctic region, Greenland, Russia, Canada, Alaska, Svalbard.

                               To make an theory about the conservation of the polar bears, we have to figure out the factors related to the polar bears. the factors are-

             1. The environmental changes- As the time goes the thickness of the ice layers are getting less to lesser.

             2. Hunting- People hunt them to reduce the unwanted attacks from them, and also for the oil and the skin.

            3. Food crisis- People not only kill the polar bears but also kill other small/large animals for there needs. this makes a huge impact on the Arctic life food chain. and since polar bears are in the top of this chain, so it effects them the most.

   

       MY PROJECT - 

REQUIRED AREA AND PRIMARY NEEDS FOR THAT AREA-

mother bear playing with it's cub

                    We have to choose a quite big place, about 1000 sq km. Obviously it'll be a polar area, and must have the same climate just like where they used to live. it helps them to live freely. Now we have to make sure that the place is completely secure from the poachers and the common people. Now we need to arrange the preys for them,  seal is the primary diet for the polar bears. so it's necessary that the chosen place must be a place where seals used to come. and also we can try for many kind of fishes. now we fit 24 hours running automatic cameras. so we can watch the family's every move.

WORK-

               Here the real work comes. we have to collect a polar bear family consisting of the mother and her children. then we examine them, to see if they are all healthy enough to adopt. Now if they are enough healthy, then we take them, otherwise we collect another family. Now the chosen family will be shifted to our chosen area. now we will watch them every hour and see if they have facing any problem. Here not only we can just watch them and give safety to them, but also we can do some research work about them, work like, we can observe them every single minutes to know more about them and find the difference and the common factors between them and the other bears. this might help us to know about the evolution of the polar bear which is still a mystery. Now we observed that family till the cubs are ready to leave the family, when  those cubs leave the family, we take them and send them to there real place. 

polar bear family

WHAT HELP WE GET FROM THIS- 

• we can do more research works about the polar bears.
• we can observed more clearly that how the polar bears teach their cubs.
• we can ensure increase of two or three or four new adult polar bears in the planet.
• we can control and able to stop the poachers from poaching.
• after doing this for the 1st time, we can continue this process and that time we may do it in a large scale. this surely helps us to increase the number of polar bears.

    If you like my concept or have any problem or new thought, please share.

WHITE TIGER MYSTERY SOLVED BY SCIENTISTS

           The milky coats of the white Bengal tigers are caused by a single change in a know pigment gene, a new study has found. for long time the cause of this coats of the white tigers are mystery. now, scientists have discovered that their spectacular white coats are produced by a single change in a known pigment gene. " The white tiger represents part of the natural genetic diversity of the tiger that is worth conserving." said Shu-Jin Luo of the China's Peking University.

The Life Of The Polar Bear Cubs

THE LIFE OF THE POLAR BEAR CUBS

                                                  Polar bear baby cubs usually born in December or in early January in their den. Usually they born in pairs; though it is seen that there are three cubs or one cub, but it is almost rare that there are four cubs. A traditional area of these dens is called Bogan Valley. These dens are find just below the Ridge of Retzuis mountain, which is in Svalbard.

                                        We know that polar bears are the one of the largest and deadliest carnivore of the bear family. But it is very funny that cubs of the polar bears are very much opposite. They are very much dependent and helpless. It is seen that male cubs are bigger than the female cubs.

INFORMATION ABOUT THOSE DENS-
                                        When the ice floes break up in the fall, ending the possibility of hunting, each of the pregnant females digs a suitable dens. Each of these dens has one or two narrow entrance tunnel which leads their main chambers. Each den has one to three chambers. These dens usually are in the snowdrifts, but they may also be made underground in permafrost[1] if it is not sufficiently cold enough yet for snow. Normally these dens are situated on the land which is a few kilometers away from the seacoasts. Those who do not have den on the land, they have their den on the sea ice.

BIRTH OF THE CUBS-
                                        Within the middle of November, the female polar bears entered their den and closed the entrance tunnel of the den. There she enters a dormant state similar to hibernation[2]. This hibernation-like state does not consist of continuous sleeping; but in this time the heart rate of the polar bear slows down from 46 to 27 beats per minute. the body temperature of the polar bears do not decrease in this time. In this meantime female polar bears give birth to their children.

LIFE AT THE DEN-
                                                  New-born baby cubs are of around 12 inches long and of the weight around 450-690 g. New-born cubs are born in the den with no sense. They are deaf for the first 24 hours, they are blind for the first one week. Their smelling and walking ability do not develop for several weeks. After two months they will have grown a thick and protective fur. Their teeth emerged and they have the ability to walk but not in the outside, only inside the den. This den is for protection and it also provides a means of conservation of mother's heat. Mother polar bear never left their cubs alone in this time.

LIFE OUTSIDE THE DEN(EARLY STAGE)-
                                         When the weight of the cubs are around 23-35 pound, which takes almost 90 days after birth, mother polar bear breaks open those entrance tunnel and get out of the den. Cubs also get out with the mother. Though it is too early for them to leave the den completely. The cubs and their mother used to roam near the den for almost two weeks after they came out of the den, sometimes it takes more than two weeks. In this meantime, the cubs used to be familiar with the world outside den and they also develop their walking muscle in this time. Though they are starting to wander outside the den, they remain in the den around 85% of the time during this early stage of life. In this stage of life they never sleep outside the den.

LIFE OUTSIDE THE DEN(LATER STAGE)-
                                        When the cubs walking muscles are ready enough to walk in the snow without falling, mother polar bear first take them to the sea, and introduce them to the sea. If the sea is far from the den,or the family trapped into deep ice fall or open water, sometimes mother bear carry their cubs on their backs. Till the age of 18 months the cubs need intensive cares from their mother. After they crossed their age of 18 months, though they do not need intensive cares from their mother, they cannot live their life alone. Till the age of 30 months, they used to live with their mother. after that they started their new life, without their mother. After leaving the mother polar bear sibling use to live together for sometimes and hunt and share food. After some more time they used to live alone.

DIET-

                                In the early stage of life when the cubs live inside the den they just drink mother's rich-fat milk; this milk has a taste of the cord liver and the smell of the seal and fish. The milk of the polar bear is richer than the milk of the whale and contains more protein than the milk of the seal. When the polar bear cubs are starting to go to the sea coasts with their mother, they first introduced to the solid food. In this time the cubs' diet is mother's rich milk and seal blubbers. After the age of 15-18 months the cubs are gone completely carnivore.

HUNTING-

                                      Before the age of eight months they are not able to learn hunting. After eight months when they are use to go outside with their mother, they use to learn the way of hunting. Generally they first learn to hunt seals. They develop their hunting skills by watching their mother, hunting seals. But they need a lot of time to perfectly execute this technique. 

THREATS-

                                    The only threat for an adult polar bear is the human. Human hunts polar bears for their body parts. We will discuss about this in my later posts. Though human is not the threats for the polar bear cubs, they have many other threats. Their first threat is starvation.Since they are completely dependent on their  mother, So, before their birth, if mother polar bears cannot find enough food for them, then that winter becomes the last winter of the mother and the cubs. Their next threat is being hunted by other animals.    In the beginning of the life, when they live their 85% time of life in the den, sometimes mother polar bears go outside the den for collecting food, in this time, some other carnivore take the cubs with them for their diet. And their final threat is the adult male polar bear. It is seen that male polar bears sometimes kill the cubs. Though I do not find any confirm information about this killing, but I think the males kills the cubs to be in a relation with the mother polar bears. As far the female polar bears are with their child they are not ready for breeding. So males kill the cubs to be in a relation with the female.

WORDS-

permafrost[1] = soil at or below the the freezing point of the water for two or more years

hibernation[2] = to pass the winter in a dormant state

THE EVOLUTION OF POLAR BEAR

                                              In present days, Polar bears (Ursus maritimus) are generally found in the Denmark (Greenland), Norway (Svalbard), Russia, United States (Alaska) and Canada. Previously many papers are published about the evolution of the polar bears. Many of them said that polar bears were evolved from the brown bears; the polar bears were separated from the brown bears about 150,000 years ago. There is another theory that polar bears were evolved from the grizzly bears, and they were separated from the grizzly bears about 600,000 years ago. My paper is not about those ideas; rather it is a new concept of the evolution of the polar bears.

BASIC CONCEPT OF MY THEOREM

                                                 My concept of the theorem is that the polar bear was evolved from the cave bears ((Ursus spelaeus). Cave bears lived in the earth about 5.3 million years ago to 11,000 years ago. Now they are extinct. I shall give some points to establish my concept.

HABITAT

                                        The cave bear's range stretched across Europe; from Spain and Great Britain in the west, Italy, parts of Germany, Poland, the Balkans, Romania and parts of Russia, including the Caucasus; and northern Iran. The largest numbers of cave bear remains have been found in Austria, Switzerland, southern Germany, northern Italy, northern Spain, Croatia, Hungary, and Romania. The huge number of bones found in southern, central and Eastern Europe has led some scientists to think Europe may have once had literally herds of cave bears.

                                             Therefore we conclude that, after every generation the number of cave bears were increasing in a high rate or may be in a very high rate. So clearly the next generations need more places for their habitat and diet. So they migrate- Some of them migrate to the northern sides, then at 2.58 million years ago the ice age happened and ice sheets were established in Northern Europe, Antarctica and Greenland. After this they stayed in those icy cold areas.

BODY, SKELETON & PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

                                               Here I’m giving some points for establishing my theory.                                        

The average weight for males(cave bears) was 400-500 kilograms or 880-1102 pounds, and for females (cave bears) was 225-250 kilograms or 496-551 pounds where the weight for males(polar bears) is 350-500 kilograms or 700-1500 pounds, and for females (polar bears) is 150-250 kilograms or 330-550 pounds. The most important point to be noted that, in the cases of both bears we can see the weight ratio of the males and females is 2:1.

If we compare the skeletons of the cave bears and polar bears, then we can find that skeletons are very similar.

The cave bears had a very broad domed skull with a steep forehead. Now if we study the skulls of the polar bears we can see they also have a very broad domed skull with a steep forehead.

      

ADOPTATION OF POLAR BEARS

                                        We know that polar bears have a great adaptation history.  Here are they-

SMALL AND ROUNDED EARS- Polar bears have small and rounded ears which help them to prevent the cold water from entering the bear’s ears and freezing their eardrums. This also helps conserve body warmth in sub-zero temperature.

LONG STIFF HAIR BETWEEN PADS OF THE BEAR’S FEET- It protects their feet from the cold and provides traction on the ice. It helps them to swim in the cold icy water and also helps them from slipping on the slippery ice. Their hair usually shakes free any water on ice formed after swimming.

HOLLOW FUR- It traps air inside, thus making the bear buoyant in water. The layer of air provides insulation between their warm bodies and the cold Arctic air & water. Insulation provided is lost when fur is covered with oil.

THICK LAYER OF FAT (BLUBBER) UNDER SKIN- It is up to 11 cm thick. It insulates bear from Arctic cold. Though it make some problems also. It causes the overheating. To prevent in warm days or after some physical works. If they are over heated, they release the heat from the body through areas where fur is absent or where blood vessels are close to the skin. Examples- muzzle, nose, ear, foot, pads, inner thighs, shoulders.

SKIN UNDER THE FUR IS BLACK- This is to ensure that the polar bear has a better heat retention rate.

                                        So we arrived to the vital question, that how this huge evolution happened within a very short time of period (respect to the evolution history).

                                        Here it’s my theory about that evolution- The population of the cave bears getting larger and larger, now from the theory of Charles Darwin we conclude that, over population creates the insufficiency of food and habitat: resulting in struggle for existence. So the relatively weak group/groups of cave bears have to migrate to other places for food and habitat. In this migration, one or more than one group migrate to the northern side of the Europe, the Antarctica and Greenland. They started their journey of life there. Then about 2.58 million years ago the ice age happened, and the whole Antarctica, Greenland and the northern Europe completely covered with ice. Permanently great ice sheet established there. Clearly that was not a favourable condition for living.  Now, as the time passed, their population getting higher again and they faced the problem of insufficient food and habitat. The climate is already against them. So these occurs,

Over population + natural destruction à struggle for existence

Struggle for existence+ confinementà  balance of nature

Balance of nature + change in conditionà struggle for existence

Struggle for existence+ beneficial variationà natural selection

Natural selection+ time à speciation

Explanation:

                                   As the time passed the population of those group of cave bears were getting larger and larger, and in the other hand ice covered the whole lands. Clearly the nature was against them. So, over population and natural destruction causes struggle for existence.

                                 This struggle for existence and their confinement in the in Northern Europe, Antarctica and Greenland causes a balance of nature. As the ice sheets completely disjoint the Northern Europe, Antarctica and Greenland from the world, so a completely new and separated eco-system created there and this was balanced.

                                 In this new eco-system some changes happened in the physical condition of the cave bears. These changes in physical conditions and natural conditions of cave bears cause changes in the organic conditions of the cave bears. So after some generation there exist cave bears whose physical and organic conditions are not the same. So in the new eco-system there exist cave bears with different variations. In the way of life it causes another struggle for existence.

                                  This struggle for existence was about the existence of the better mutating cave bears. So in this fight of existence the beneficial variation wins. That is, those cave bears whose variation were favourable in those conditions were selected by the nature

                                  The chosen variation of the nature only survives there and others were extinct. Thus as the time goes that chosen variation created a new species. The species called polar bear.

DIET –

                                   The morphological features of the cave bear chewing apparatus, including loss of premolars, have long been suggested to indicate their diets displayed a higher degree of herbivore than the Eurasian brown bear. Indeed a solely vegetarian diet has been inferred on the basis of tooth morphology. Results obtained on the stable isotopes of cave bear bones also point to a largely vegetarian diet in having low levels of nitrogen-15 and carbon-13, which are accumulated at a faster rate by carnivores as opposed to herbivores. However, some evidence points toward the occasional inclusion of animal protein in cave bear diets. For example, toothmarks on cave bear remains in areas where cave bears are the only recorded potential carnivores suggests occasional cannibalistic scavenging. So we conclude that the cave bears were omnivorous, or at least they were not completely vegetarian. Therefore when it is necessary, they can be carnivore.

                               Now we all know, polar bears are completely carnivorous.

       Now here is my concept about the evolution of cave bears into polar bears-

                                      After the glacial period, they total northern Europe, Greenland and Antarctica completely covered with ice sheet. So the temperature went too low, and all the plants died. So the only thing for diet remains, were animal proteins. Since cave bears were omnivorous, they had no problem for taking animal protein for diet.

WHY POLAR BEARS ARE NOT EVALUATED FROM GRIZZLY OR BROWN BEARS-

                                       According to my theory, polar bears came to earth about 1.5 to 1 million years ago. And they came from the cave bears. Whereas grizzly bears are very junior to them. The brown bears came to the earth almost at the same time of the time of the polar bears. Now we know at the ice age period the arctic sea was completely frozen. Now I believe, at that time some troops of the brown bears migrate there, and they entered the territory of the polar bears. There those two different types of bears met to each other. And after breeding they started a new species, its grizzly bears.

                                      Now from the concept of heredity of Mendel, we know that the characteristic of the paternal and maternal genes take part in the time of breeding. Now grizzly bear were the half-breed of the polar bear and brown bear. Hence in the DNA of grizzly bear some characteristic of brown bear and some characteristic of polar bear dominant there.

                                      Scientists find that the mitochondrial DNA of polar bear is very much similar to the mitochondrial DNA of grizzly bear, so they consider the fact that polar bears evolved from grizzly bear. Though I believe, grizzly bears are evolved from the polar bears.

                             Hence polar bears are evolved from the cave bears.