Topic: NATURE - on January 10, 2007 at 2:15:00 PM CET
Bushy-browed penguin swims 1,240 miles, finds mates
A rare "Groucho Marx" penguin found worn out and exhausted on an Australian beach after a 1,240-mile (2,000 km) swim has been rescued by Sydney zookeepers, but after getting his strength back will have to earn his keep by comforting two lonely females of his vulnerable species.
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Topic: NATURE - on January 9, 2007 at 10:28:00 AM CET
Ukrainian drunk escapes dolphin gang drowning attempt
RZSL Ukrainian emergencty workers saved a drunken swimmer in the Black Sea from an attack by a pod of killer dolphins who were trying to drown him.
The man was reportedly "heavily under the influence of alcohol" at the time. He had braved the near-freezing dolphin-infested waters in the belief they would be good for his health. That's his story and he's sticking to it.
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Topic: NATURE - on December 30, 2006 at 11:11:00 AM CET
Arctic ice shelf collapse poses risk: expert
An ancient ice shelf the size of 11,000 football fields that broke off Ellesmere Island could be dangerous when it starts to drift in the spring, a scientist says.
The collapse of the ice island's northern coast represents the largest breakup of its kind in the Canadian Arctic in 30 years, the head of a new global ice lab at the University of Ottawa said on Thursday.
Ancient ice shelf breaks free from Canadian Arctic
Melting arctic ice pushes polar bear population closer to the edge
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Topic: NATURE - on December 27, 2006 at 12:15:00 PM CET
Woman felled by dolphin attack
A woman aboard a small pleasure cruiser was seriously injured yesterday by a dolphin which leapt into the craft off the coast of New Zealand.
The 27-year-old was watching the mammals near Slipper Island in the North Island's eastern Bay of Plenty when the attack was made. The dolphin smashed through the boat's windscreen and fell on top of the woman before flipping overboard again to swim away unharmed.
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Topic: NATURE - on December 26, 2006 at 10:49:00 AM CET
Amazing Human Fish - Olm
The Olm or Proteus, Proteus anguinus, is an amphibian animal, endemic to karst areas of the Dinaric Alps.
Olms can go for years without feeding as their extremely slow metabolisms allow them to remain dormant for extremely long periods of time. In one reported case, an olm was placed in a jar in a refrigerator for more than a decade. It was reportedly still alive when finally removed, though with severe damage to its internal organs, including the reabsorption of its own digestive tract for sustenance.
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Topic: NATURE - on December 22, 2006 at 2:36:00 PM CET
Giant squid caught on video by Japanese scientists
Its mass of reddish tentacles flailing, a giant squid fought a losing battle to evade capture in a video unveiled by Japanese scientists on Friday.
Images of the squid -- a relatively small female about 3.5 meters (11 ft 6 in) long and weighing 50 kg (110 lb) -- were the ultimate prize for zoologists at the National Science Museum, who have been pursuing one of the ocean's most mysterious creatures for years.
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Topic: NATURE - on December 21, 2006 at 10:11:00 AM CET
Climate Change vs Mother Nature: Scientists reveal that bears have stopped hibernating
Bears have stopped hibernating in the mountains of northern Spain, scientists revealed yesterday, in what may be one of the strongest signals yet of how much climate change is affecting the natural world.
In a December in which bumblebees, butterflies and even swallows have been on the wing in Britain, European brown bears have been lumbering through the forests of Spain's Cantabrian mountains, when normally they would already be in their long, annual sleep.
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Topic: NATURE - on December 21, 2006 at 10:03:00 AM CET
'Virgin births' for giant lizards
The largest lizards in the world are capable of "virgin births".
Scientists report of two cases where female Komodo dragons have produced offspring without male contact.
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Topic: NATURE - on December 20, 2006 at 2:56:00 PM CET
Two-headed reptile fossil found
Scientists have found what is thought to be the first example of a two-headed reptile in the fossil record.
The abnormal animal, belonging to a group of aquatic reptiles, was unearthed in northeastern China and dates to the time of the dinosaurs.
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Topic: NATURE - on December 16, 2006 at 3:21:00 PM CET
Coolest fish ever is the hottest - fish that skips through lava!
Scientists have witnessed the extreme lifestyle of tonguefish that like to skip across pools of molten sulphur.
The animals - a type of flatfish - were filmed on three expeditions to undersea volcanoes in the western Pacific.
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Topic: NATURE - on December 16, 2006 at 1:36:00 PM CET
Global Warming Poses Threat to Ski Resorts in the Alps
How balmy has it been in the Alps these last few months? At the bottom of the Hahnenkamm, the famously treacherous downhill course in this Austrian ski resort, the slope peters out into a grassy field. And it’s just 10 days before Christmas.
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Topic: NATURE - on December 15, 2006 at 11:00:00 AM CET
Mouse-like creature saves New Zealand and rewrites history
Fossil bones of a little creature that died between 16 million and 19 million years ago have a number of fascinating implications, reports Roger Highfield
The remains of a small, long headed mammal that scurried around 16 million years ago have been uncovered in New Zealand, prompting a major rewrite of evolution textbooks.
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