Ancient whale sucked mud for food

 Ancient whale sucked mud for food

Mammalodon probably lived by sucking small animals up from the seafloor

An ancient “dwarf” whale appears to have fed by sucking small animals out of the seafloor mud with its short snout and tongue, experts say.

Researchers say the 25 million-year-old fossil is related to today’s blue whales – the largest animals on Earth.

The ancient animal’s mud slurping may have been a precursor to the filter feeding seen in modern baleen whales.

These whales strain huge quantities of tiny marine animals through specialised “combs” which take the place of teeth.

The research is published in the Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.

The fossilised remains of the primitive baleen whale Mammalodon colliveri were discovered near Torquay, in Victoria, Australia.

This animal still had teeth; it had not yet evolved the baleen plates – used for filter-feeding – which characterise present-day baleen whales.

Although Mammalodon was discovered in 1932 and named in 1939, it has not been widely studied, according to Museum Victoria, which holds specimens of this group.

The study’s author, Dr Erich Fitzgerald from Museum Victoria, said that his study of the fossil led him to the conclusion that Mammalodon was a bottom-feeding mud-sucker.

Splinter group

The idea would support Charles Darwin’s observation about whale evolution in his seminal book On the Origin of Species.

In it, Darwin speculated that some of the earliest baleen whales may have been suction feeders – and that this served as a precursor to the filter feeding of today’s giants of the deep.

Mammalodon had a total body length of about 3m. But it appears to have been a bizarre evolutionary “splinter group” from the evolutionary lineage which later led to the 30m-long blue whale.

It was effectively a dwarf whale; the
research suggests that Mammalodo
may have evolved into a relatively
tiny form from larger ancestors.

Mammalodon belongs to the same family as Janjucetus hunderi, fossils of which were also found in 25 million-year-old Oligocene rocks near Torquay in Victoria. This family appears to be unique to south-east Australia.

“Clearly the seas off southern Australia were a cradle for the evolution of a variety of tiny, weird whales that seem to have lived nowhere else,” said Dr Fitzgerald.

The baleen plates which allow today’s baleen whales to filter their food from water, distinguish this group from the toothed whales – a group which includes beaked whales and dolphins.

Baleen whales are a taxonomical group which includes not only the majestic blue whale, but also the right whales, fin whales and humpbacks, to name but a few.

Animals being used in University of Utah Labs

For more than eight months in 2009, a PETA investigator worked undercover inside the laboratories of the University of Utah (UU) in Salt Lake City and documented miserable conditions for and terrible suffering of the dogs, cats, monkeys, rats, mice, rabbits, frogs, cows, pigs, and sheep confined there.

Our investigator learned that homeless dogs and cats—obtained for a few dollars from area animal shelters through an archaic Utah state “pound-seizure” law, which requires government-funded shelters to turn animals over to laboratories that request them—were used in invasive, painful experiments and killed.

A pregnant cat pulled out of the Davis County animal shelter gave birth to eight kittens the very day she arrived at UU’s laboratories. When the kittens were just 7 days old, a chemical was injected into their brains to cause fluid to build up. After the surgery, the distressed cat—who showed great affection for her kittens before they were taken for the experiment—stopped nursing her babies, and they all died.

In other experiments, a cat named Robert, who was also bought from the Davis County animal shelter, had a hole drilled into his skull and electrodes attached to his brain, and dogs bought from a local shelter had their necks cut open so that medical devices could be implanted inside.

Undercover Investigation Reveals Kitten Deaths and Other Animal Suffering. Learn More.

Mice and rats were given enormous tumors and painful, deadly illnesses. Rats had holes drilled into their skulls for invasive brain experiments. Monkeys were kept constantly thirsty so that they would cooperate in experiments for a sip of water. Sick and injured animals were denied veterinary care and left to languish and die.

Incompetence, indifference, and neglect forced many of the animals to endure severe trauma, prolonged suffering, and agonizingly slow and grisly deaths. These are only a few of the widespread instances of cruelty that PETA’s investigator observed at UU.

Please be a voice for the animals suffering at the University of Utah. Urge the university to stop the experiments on homeless and unwanted animals, who depend on shelters for care and safety, immediately. Also, please call on administrators to release to the public complete records on all the animal-based experiments funded by tax dollars, including grant proposals, experimental protocols, veterinary records, and minutes of oversight committee meetings.

Adapted from: http://www.peta.org/FeatureUtahLabs.asp

Drinking Deer Blood From Freshly Cut Antlers In Langshan

 

 

WARNING: Some of the images below may be graphic.

From NetEase:

Yesterday evening, my friend Ouyang called me and said: tomorrow morning, our deer barn is sawing deer antlers. Bring your wife to Lian Village to drink deer blood. Enthused, I asked if a few of my friends could come. He laughed and said, you think we’re drinking tap water here? I wasn’t thwarted, and said that they only wanted to watch. Rather upset, he said, “If they come, how can you let them see you with blood over your mouth without offering them some? You really think we’re hunting bulls? Just you two.”

This morning, plans changed. Organized by a local website, my wife and some friends went to the countryside to visit veterans from the Second Sino-Japanese War. (Don’t forget that today is the 64th anniversary of victory in the China-Japan war!) Alone, I ventured into a small but famously beautiful village in Langshan–Lian Village. Ouyang Landscaping Ltd. is located here.

[Note: Langshan=崀山 is the name given to the mountain ranges around Shaoyang city, Hunan Province.]

The first thing I saw upon arrival was Mr. Ouyang holding a steel saw in his left hand, and a bottle of Shaoyang Rice Liquor, to mix with deer blood, in his right.

After some small talk, we surreptitiously entered the deer barn. First, he used a long metal rod to shoot a deer with an anesthesia-laced needle. Moments later, the deer collapsed to the ground. A few workers adroitly tied its four legs. Immediately, Ouyang started sawing deftly. The blade slowly sank into the antler, and my heart trembled like metal cutting glass.

When the first antler came off, a guy beside me took it and started drinking from it.

As Ouyang sawed the second antler, he said to me, “You have the second one!”

Weakly, I said, “I’m afraid…I don’t want to drink. Just give me some processed antler blood later.”

“Afraid of what? Antler blood is the antler’s essence. It combines the earth and heaven’s spirits, it is sentient, a treasure among blood. It can nourish your chi and blood, protect your kidneys and sexual health, improve metabolism, promote longevity…most people don’t get a chance!”

“I don’t know how.”

“Raise your head, put your mouth at the cut, and drink. It’s like kissing.”

As we talked, the second antler had already come off. Ouyang handed it to me, I shakily raised the warm antler to my mouth…

A warm, salty liquid flowed into my throat. The taste was weird, I almost threw up.

“Aiya, this is much harder than kissing my wife!” I shouted.

Everyone laughed out loud.

Exiting the barn, we followed Ouyang to a room next door, and watched him process the deer blood with familiarity. When he finished, he found a water bottle and filled it for me, sealing the rest.

The two antlers, one weighed 450g, 720 RMB, the other 394g, 630 RMB, were sold immediately.

While they chatted, curiosity led me back into the deer barn.

That deer previously displayed its antlers with pride and looked arrogantly at me. Now, it’s curled up in a corner. On its head, small bumps where its antlers used to be were callously bandaged with two pieces of white fabric.

Lifeless eyes stared at me in despair.

My heart clenched, I staggered back a few paces, broke eye contact, and fled.

 

 

This was adapted from: http://www.chinasmack.com/stories/drinking-deer-blood-from-freshly-cut-antlers-in-langshan/

My heart really go out to them… It’s really disturbing & torturing to always know of such stuffs.. & not yet able to really do anything to help them, except for me to keep posting all these kinds of articles & feeling very frustrating in the inside..

Is this what you really call life…? Where souls are in every living matter, only that they’re in different forms, & hence they get different treatment? Hmmm… Doesn’t really get to me.

Updates on Canada’s Seal Slaughter

Save Seals by Boycotting Canadian Maple Syrup

You can help end Canada’s annual war on seals by boycotting a product that is vital to the country’s economy: maple syrup. Canada produces approximately 85 percent of the world’s maple syrup, with the U.S. as its largest consumer, and by buying this Canadian product, you are supporting Canadian cruelty. By pledging to boycott Canadian maple syrup, you’ll be speaking up for baby seals in Canada, for whom life isn’t so sweet, and telling Canada that you won’t support its product until you can support its practices.

So, here’s the website: https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2209
Go ahead, and sign this petition.

If we can make a difference to the world, why not do it now?

 

Or you can join the peition on Facebook,
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/petitions/84

Help Stop the International Polar Bear Trade

Please take action today — the deadline for comments is Friday, September 11th.

In some countries, collectors can still buy polar bear skin rugs, claws, skulls and other parts of these animals — even as these beloved bears struggle for survival in a warming world.

The U.S. can strengthen protections for polar bears under international law by proposing to restrict trade in polar bear products — a move that could save the lives of hundreds of bears each year. But officials need to hear from you.

Take action now – Urge the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to propose an international ban on the trade of polar bear products.

       Polar bears are already struggling with global warming and other threats. Ending international trade in their parts will help give them a fighting chance.

Please go to this website to reach out to the polar bears, by leaving your messages/comments to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service to propose an international ban on the trade of polar bear products.
& don’t forget to spread this message across as well. (;
One small step is the beginning of a big change.
https://secure.defenders.org/site/Advocacy?pagename=homepage&page=UserAction&id=1541&autologin=true&JServSessionIdr001=e3p8z8v5r1.app26a

You’ll be very much appreciated…
Thank you for spending time on my webblog to know about matters regarding animals occuring widely…
Hope you guys find if useful.

New Undercover Investigation: Chicks Ground Up Alive

The Chicago-based group Mercy for Animals has just released a shocking new undercover investigation, which documents male chicks being ground up alive in an egg industry hatchery. You see, because male chicks don’t lay eggs—which means lost profits for the corporations—the industry doesn’t consider them worth keeping alive.

Of course, I could describe this inexcusable cruelty until I’m blue in the face, but the video says it all:

 

Pretty horrific, right? It’s important to note that this is a routine practice for both regular AND commercial free-range, cage-free, and organic eggs. Think free-range means cruelty-free? Think again.

What do you think: If you wouldn’t grind up chicks alive—is it any more acceptable to pay other people to do it for you?

Credits to PETA2 Daily Blog.

Very disappointed to see all these. Although Hy-line Hatchery was first founded last century, it is dealing with operations internationally now… And they’re doing such a thing… I wonder what would happen if more people start to know of this undercover investigation lying within…

Armani screwed up much?

PETA vs. Armani: The Gloves (and Clothes) Come Off

Recently, members of PETA Asia-Pacific and Animosa stripped down to their daisies and took to their coffins outside the Giorgio Armani store in Taipei.

 

 

In 2007, Armani vowed to stop using fur, but several months later, his collection was full of rabbit fur.

PETA Asia-Pacific wanted to remind the designer that the pelts, ripped from the bodies of rabbits who kick and scream before they are hung upside down and decapitated, are indeed fur—and that fur is dead.

Posted by Karin Bennett

Source from: http://blog.peta.org/archives/2009/08/peta_vs_armani.php

Aid Your Nails With Cruelty-Free Products From Nail-Aid and Anise Cosmetics

If you refuse to buy nail care products made by companies that drip chemicals into rabbits’ eyes in cruel “safety” tests or those made out of animal-derived substances with names only a chemist can pronounce, then you’ll love the Nail-Aid line of innovative nail treatments and the nail colors from Anise Cosmetics as much as we do.

 

For her commitment to using only vegan ingredients free of harmful chemicals and to never testing products on animals, PETA is proud to honor Nail-Aid’s and Anise Cosmetics’ founder and president, Tam Tran, with our Trail-Blazer Award.

Nail-Aid’s and Anise Cosmetics’ products have never been made with toxic chemicals, such as formaldehyde, toluene, and dibutyl phthalate—substances that you wouldn’t want on your hands any more than animals want them smeared on their skin or dripped into their eyes. And the companies would never allow their products to cause harm—Anise and Nail-Aid, and all their suppliers, adhere to a strict policy of no animal testing and no animal-derived ingredients. The companies are also dedicated to promoting women’s rights and helping out the environment by using renewable energy sources and planting trees to neutralize carbon dioxide production. Anise and Nail-Aid are the only nail care companies that are 100 percent carbon neutral.

 

More information here; http://www.caringconsumer.com/company-anise.asp

 

I’m actually quite surprised that nail polishs & related stuffs abuses animals. ._. Dang, why do the commodities always have to put animals to the labs?

Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus

I’m sorry for not updating for such a long period ):

Here’s one! (;

In 2009, PETA went undercover at “the saddest show on Earth”—Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus—and captured Ringling workers on video as they beat and whipped elephants dozens of times in venues across the country.

The 11 elephants used in the show—most of whom were captured in the wilds of Asia as early as 1957 and some of whom have spent more than 40 years with the circus—suffer month after month at the hands of Ringling and its crew. PETA documented workers as they struck elephants and tigers on the head, face, ears, trunk, legs, and other parts of their bodies with bullhooks and other abusive handling tools. The unit’s animal superintendant and head elephant trainer were among those who used bullhooks—sharp, fireplace pokerlike devices—to hook and yank elephants by their sensitive skin, as can be seen in our undercover video.

The abuse extended from Birmingham, Alabama, to Providence, Rhode Island―Ringling’s venues changed, but the beatings did not.

One of the animals Ringing hauls across the country and forces to perform is Tonka, a 25-year-old elephant whom Ringling has used since 1989. From a very young age, she has known only beatings with bullhooks and whips and confinement to cramped spaces, with shackles around her legs.

During our investigation, Tonka was repeatedly captured on video engaging in “stereotypic” behaviors, recognized as a sign of severe psychological distress—including swaying from side to side while simultaneously bobbing her head and swinging her right foot. Despite her condition, Tonka was forced to perform for crowds night after night.

PETA’s undercover footage of this suffering is only the latest chapter in Ringling’s long history of abusing animals. PETA has obtained other videos of Ringling workers as they beat animals, and former Ringling employees have even spoken out against the circus’s cruel practices. A verdict is expected as early as summer 2009 in a lawsuit filed against Ringling, alleging that the circus’s use of steel-barbed bullhooks, electric prods, and shackles on the elephants it forces to perform violates federal law.

PETA has filed a formal complaint with the USDA, but officials also need to hear from you. Write to Secretary of Agriculture Thomas J. Vilsack and demand that the agency seize the elephants whom Ringling hauls around the country in filthy boxcars and forces to perform under the constant threat of punishment. If officials act now, Tonka and her peers might be spared future beatings. These elephants should be sent to a sanctuary, where they would be able to roam across hundreds of acres of natural habitat, play in ponds, and socialize with their longtime friends—all of which elephants are deprived of in circuses.

And please remember, if you attend a Ringling circus―or any circuses that use animals―you are supporting this suffering. Please, stay away from circuses that use animals.

Adapted from; https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=2359

Seriously, I’ve known & seen enough of all these sorta stuffs…
And I’m really speechless.

Talking animals xD

Just a video to make your day! ((((((((((((;
Real cute! Check it out!