Monday, April 2, 2018

Response #24 A Few Species of Frogs That Vanished May Be on the Rebound

Link to Article

This is a case where there is hope for species, and the power of adaptation in nature. It's a case where the species is threatened but not solely human activity, but rather an aggressive and deadly skin fungus. People aren't sure how the frogs are making it out and coming back, but I am sure it is a good sign for the future, a little bit of good news to help increase our hopeful thoughts for the future.

The fungus itself wasn't becoming less deadly, but rather the frogs were surviving spite of it. It shows that nature does find a way. In this case however, these frogs were very lucky. They were lucky enough to undergo the process in which they developed a resistance to the fungus. It isn't a huge victory to celebrate quite yet, but it is good progress.

I feel this case can be applied to many other things. Of course it is too early to claim the population of frogs are stable, but if there is hope for these frogs, there can be hope for other species as well. Its a sign that biodiversity isn't dead quite yet, and hopefully people can help other creatures of the planet from suffering from their consequences. Maybe. Regardless, nature finds a way. In the short term, it's people who should be worried about things, as unless they explode the whole Earth to it's core, the planet is capable of recovering. After all, it has endured quite a lot. People are just destructive compared to the timespan they have been here.

Regardless, this article was a dose of hope for me.

Response #23 ‘These Eagles Are More Than Just a Symbol’

Link to Article

Eagles have had it quite rough in this country. Along with hunting, facing challenges people do, and also the whole situation with DDT, it's a surprise that there are still Bald Eagles in this country today. It's a relief, but still surprising. It's interesting how people can care so much about the national symbol, as if they have a direct connection to them. It's entirely sentimental, yet so interesting to see.

It's fascinating to see people love bird watching, but then again, birds do have this interesting behavior and aura about them that makes them enjoyable to observe. I enjoy watching animals myself, so I can't fault these people with their interest in the eagles. I wish however, other animals that aren't as well known perhaps, get the same appreciation, as endangered species are often hard to get a public eye on about unless they are cute or a symbol of some sort.

Another animal that I remember that had this symbolism to it was the California grizzly bear. It is extinct, but remains on the Californian flag as a forever reminder that people and their mistakes, as this species of bear was shot down and killed to extinction. It's surprising to me, but I suppose that bears can be a danger or a threat. It's still somewhat saddening to find out the species you see as a symbol everywhere to no longer exist. It's greatly depressing, to some extent.

Response #22 Something is blinding these snakes

Link to Article
As a fan of reptiles, I can't resist a good article about snakes. A strange occurrence is happening to a population of snakes, who have head injuries or are blind in their eyes. It's interesting to see how this happened, and why these snakes are having such a rough time. Despite their blindness, they are very well fed and healthy. It's interesting to see how animals are able to adapt.

Turns out the silver gulls that live near the snakes provide chicks as food year round for the snakes, but also protect their young with their stabbing beaks. It provides an answer to how things came around this way, and also provides context to why things like this happen. I really enjoy learning context to odd scenarios, because it's often essential to figure out key details.

Context is crucial. It's important to have as much knowledge of the situation and around it as possible, in order to come up with a fair judgement of the scenario. Otherwise you are basically a blind man with an elephant, forced to pat around for judgement that lacks it's crucial meat and fact. People often make decisions too quickly, and I think people should always stop and question things, along with finding out as much as possible about the topic and situation at hand before coming up with their own hasty judgements.

Response #21 Why the Snow in Parts of Europe Was Orange

Link to Article

I've always been interested in odd natural phenomenon, and fascinated with strange things that occur naturally in our world. As people try to find answers, it's interesting to see how much people don't know yet, or will do to find out as much as they can. In a way, it's kind of inspiring. The photo that the article starts off with looks very surreal, and almost impossible to believe.

The reason behind the photograph was because of dust kicked up into the air and mixed in with snow, and also filling the atmosphere. It reminds me of my own experiences with dust, as my time in South Korea saw some interesting phenomenon like this. People call it "Yellow Dust", and it's usually dust from China being blown over to Korea so the sky seems very bleak and orange tinted. It's not healthy to be outside during this time, as the dust can be problematic and be bad to be breathed in.

It's interesting to see other parts of the world be effected by these dust spells as well, and have a slightly more different approach to it. Perhaps its a different type or dust, or the approach isn't actually much different, but regardless it is interesting for me to see. It reminds me of the odd things that happen while I was in Korea, and how I didn't really question it much until now. It's eye opening, really.