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POPSBisexual Species: Unorthodox Sex in the Animal Kingdom Nevertheless, the study of homosexual activity in diverse species may elucidate the evolutionary origins of such behavior. Researchers are now revealing, for example, that animals may engage in same-sex couplings to diffuse social tensions, to better protect their young or to maintain fecundity when opposite-sex partners are unavailable—or simply because it is fun. These observations suggest to some that bisexuality is a natural state among animals, perhaps Homo sapiens included, despite the sexual-orientation boundaries most people take for granted. “ the categories of gay and straight are socially constructed,” Anderson says.
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POPSInsanely Cute Otters Listen to all the aaaawww'ing. *LOL* Cute little critters, these otters. Watch what happens at the end, when they lose their grip on each other. So cute!
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POPSTiger Pictures Siberian tigers are among the world's most endangered species. They are estimated to number less than 500 in the wild. In about 100 years only a dozen white tigers have been seen in the wild in India. Other Photos at the website include: A 26-day-old endangered Sumatran tiger cub cuddles up to a 5-month-old female orangutan One of Australia's only two 'tigons,' a man-made hybrid created by crossing a male tiger with a lioness, licks its lips at the National Zoo. Bearing the stripes of a tiger and the physique of a lioness, tigons are usually infertile. An Indian Bengal Tiger (Panthera tigris) walks in a pool at a zoo
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POPSFear Factor: How Herd Mentality Drives Us
"Whether it's the fear of being the odd person out, whether it's the fear of uncertainty or the fear of losing your shirt in the market, the fear starts to compel you to do something, because a million years ago, that fear meant you probably had to run or fight," Berns said. But reactions that saved our ancestors from saber-toothed tigers don't make as much sense on the floor of the Stock Exchange. Financial historian Jeff Madrick says that's how we got into trouble in the first place - by developing the notion that the stock is highly rational. "That encouraged this herd behavior," he said. "People would say, 'The stock market is right. Let's get in here.' That was the mythology that fed the herd behavior." So the group think that helped build the bubble is now leading the charge to pop it. "I think there's probably a panic now," Madrick said. Berns agreed: "You could call it panic; I would." But the Bronx Zoo's Pat Thomas says, "It's definitely a survival mechanism."
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POPSCute Birdie Pics "...I know, I know, we don't have enough cute damn birds on the site. I keep hearing about that and the lack of piglets. Do you know how hard it is to find a suitable cute piglet for this site? Do you people know I have a full time job?"
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POPSDublin Zoo: Nature's Way is Best Way I was reminded of this while visiting last week. I'm a member and had been informed of this in our newsletter. In the brand new extensive Zoo area, two new caves have been born. I love visiting my relatives with my grandchild.
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POPSDo animals understand death? Do humans? "One example is famadihana - the turning of the bones - a traditional ritual carried out by the Malagasy people of Madagascar. Every seven years, the dead relatives are exhumed from the family tomb, re-wrapped, and danced around the tomb."
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POPSExtinct thylacine genome brought to life Known as the Tasmanian Tiger, it was one of the few marsupial predators that were in Australia before the arrival of the west. The other is the Tasmanian Devil, which survives, but is threatened by a disease that causes ulcers.
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