You may experience a drop in blood pressure asthma and skin reactions such as hives or eczema. An allergic reaction to food can cause serious illness and in some cases death.
Although there are about 18 different species of Cyclospora currently known four appear to be specific to nonhuman primates.
Risks of infection increases via the common factors consumption of untreated food or water lack of adequate sanitation and the presence of animals in the house.
#For Modern Society, Are Animals'The Ghosts in Our Machine'?('Op-Ed) Marc Bekoff emeritus professor at the University of Colorado Boulder is one of the world's pioneering cognitive ethologists a Guggenheim Fellow and cofounder with Jane Goodall of Ethologists for the Ethical
Treatment of Animals. This essay is adapted from one that appeared in Bekoff's column Animal Emotions in Psychology Today.
He contributed this article to Livescience's Expert Voices: Op-Ed & Insights. In April 2013 The Ghosts in Our Machine premiered at the prestigious Hot Docs International Documentary film Festival
An incredible and forward-looking film follows internationally renowned photographer Joanne Mcarthur over the course of a year as she documents the stories of individual nonhuman animals (animals) who are caught in the web of so-called civilized society in the United states
because society is really waging a war against other animals as we wantonly exploit them in myriad ways.
and why people so easily leave animals behind and alienate ourselves from these amazing individuals as we go through our days in mindless and heartless ways.
Take away the billions of animals who suffer on factory farms those animals who make up the human diet
Take away the billions of animals who are used in research so that people can supposedly live a bit longer and more comfortably.
Also take away all of the animals who are forced to jump through hoops and rings of fire in circuses and who are trained
or broken to perform stupid and unnatural acts solely for people's entertainment. And don't forget those animal beings who are held captive in zoos
and aquaria to satisfy people's curiosity and who gain nothing at all from losing all of their freedoms.
Take away the animals who are shot blown up poisoned and irradiated so that militaries can find more efficient ways to kill other human beings in the wars in
And finally remove the animals whose skin and fur serve humanity's fashion tastes those beings who we choose to wear
because animals are subjects of a life not mere property or objects although they are treated
and norms of a so-called exceptional contemporary culture by introducing individual and named animal beings cows turkeys dolphinsâ chimpanzees
and death are a major part of why our species makes claims of superiority and domination over other animals.
Animal pain and death hurts society as well The Ghosts In Our Machinealsoprovokes people to think about a path forward for our species that does not rely upon the exploitation of other animals
which we expand our compassion footprint to include all other animals. When Animals Suffer the Country Pays a Price (Op-Ed) Nonhuman animal beings are not mere ghosts
and society can't continue to build on the backs of these individuals. They are real beings
if other animals are conscious beings is to ignore an incredible amount of detailed scientific data
I have written since some 500 essays on the field of anthrozoology the study of human-animal relationships
In my new book Why Dogs Hump and Bees Get Depressed (New world Library 2013) I updated many of those essays more than 100 showcasing the fascinating cognitive abilities of other animals as well as their empathy compassion grief humor joy and love.
Dogs hump for a wide variety of reasons (see this essay) and bees get depressed just like people do.
Melissa Bateson of Newcastle University and her colleagues have shown when honeybees are stressedthey display an increased expectation of bad outcomes.
In other words they become pessimists. When similar behavior is observed in vertebrates it's explained as having an emotional basis. The bees also showed altered levels of neurochemicals (dopamine serotonin
and octopamine) that are associated with depression. We also know that humpback whales protect gray whales from orca attacks;
combat dogs and other animals suffer from PTSD; many animals manufacture and use complex tools;
and chickens rats and mice display empathy. Living up to society's own standards We must use the long overdue Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness
and the Universal Declaration on Animal Sentience to protect other animals from intentional and unnecessary harm.
I frankly don't see how anyone who has worked closely with any of a wide array of animals
or who has lived with companion animals could remain uncertain and agnostic about whether they are conscious and feeling individuals.
The only path forward is to use what people know about animal sentience to protect animals so this information must be incorporated into laws
and regulations governing how such beings are used. Unfortunately in the United states this information has not been used on behalf of animals
and billions of individuals continue to suffer and die each year because of this convenient oversight. The reprehensible and unnecessary torment to which we subject billions upon billions of fascinating animals as we conveniently distance ourselves from them is utterly shameful
and not at all flattering to who we humans are. It's also essential that we recognize that we ourselves also deeply suffer the indignities to
which we subject other animals. We often don't realize that we can experience what's called secondary trauma because of our efforts to relieve the incredible trauma to
which we expose other animal beings. This trauma can lead to burnout because of the selfless work in
which many animal advocates partake. Animal pain and death hurts us all. Joanne Mcarthur believes we really are an innately compassionate species
and that when given the opportunity to care the vast majority of people will do something for other animals.
I couldn't agree more. As University of California psychologist Dacher Keltner claims we are born to be good.
Society needs to mind other animals and work as a unified community to harness our innate goodness kindness compassion
and empathy to work on behalf of other animals who depend on our goodwill for their very survival.
We need to stop ignoring nature and end the widespread and heartless war on other animals now.
As we do this all animals nonhuman and human will benefit greatly. Clearly our warlike ways haven't worked so let's give peace compassion empathy
And I'm sure other animals will thank us for our efforts. The Ghosts in Our Machine is a very important move in the right direction.
#Forests Recover Quickly After Bark beetles Attack SAN FRANCISCO A forest ravaged by the red hand of death also known as a bark beetle attack recovers quickly with little ecosystem damage scientists said here today (Dec 9) at the annual meeting of the American Geophysical Union.
The potential effects of massive tree die offs in Western forests have been a concern since a sudden uptick in bark beetle attacks in the late 1990s.
A species called the mountain pine beetle is one of the primary culprits leaving large swaths of forest dying of a fungus carried by the tiny insects.
In Wyoming's Medicine Bow National Forest botanist Brent Ewers of the University of Wyoming examined
Even when up to 80 percent of trees were killed by beetles Ewers and his colleagues saw little evidence of these worrisome effects.
Photos of Destructive Invasive Species Even though bark beetles have an enormous visual impact the forest is resilient to the attack Ewers told Livescience.
because beetles don't kill all the trees at once the survivors gobble up extra water and nutrients freed up by the fatalities both studies found.
In four different study sites 40 percent of older trees grew two times faster in the years after bark beetles munched through the forest Rhoades and his colleagues found.
or nitrogen but overall there is very little change after a bark beetle infestation Ewers said. Even though the bark beetle visual impact is really impressive and striking there's many things going on in that forest that makes it resilient to the attack
and so those compensating mechanisms result in little impact in what the ecosystem itself is doing Ewer said.
#Fossils of 4. 4-Million-Year-Old Horse Found Scientists poking around Ethiopia's fossil-rich badlands say they have discovered the first pieces of an extinct species of horse that was about the size of a small zebra
But at the time this grass-eating horse roamed the planet the region would have been covered in grasslands and shrubby woods rich grounds for grazing.
Fossilized traces of the horse which was named Eurygnathohippus woldegabrieli were uncovered in the archaeologically rich sites of Aramis and Gona in Ethiopia's Middle Awash valley.
The extinct horse in this study would have actually been alive at the same time the 4. 4-million-year-oldâ human ancestor Ardipithecus ramidus
Amazing Horse Photos Among the many fossils we found are the two ends of the foreleg bone the canon brilliant white
and well preserved in the red-tinted earth study researcher Scott Simpson of Case Western Reserve's School of medicine said of the horse discovery.
The leg bone bits indicate this horse had longer legs than its ancestors. The shape and size of the leg suggest the beast was a fast runner a skill that may have helped it flee predators like lions sabre-tooth cats Simpson
and colleagues say. The horse's teeth show signs of another departure from more ancient species:
With crowns worn flatter than the teeth found on its ancestors it seems this creature became adapted to a life of grazing.
An analysis of the enamel on the fossilized teeth provided further evidence that it subsisted on grass like today's zebras wildebeests
and white rhinoceroses the scientists say. Grasses are like sandpaper Simpson explained in a statement. They wear the teeth down
The animal belonged to a group of ancient horses called Hipparionines which had toed three hooves
The researchers say this discovery helps fill in a blank spot in the evolution of horses before the animals became even better suited for a life in the grasslands growing taller and developing longer snouts for example.
This horse is one piece of a very complex puzzle that has many many pieces Simpson said in a statement.
#Fun Facts About Cheetahs Cheetahs the fastest land mammals in the world are built for speed.
Their deep chests and enlarged hearts lungs and nostrils help cheetahs take in more oxygen during intense chases.
Nonretractable claws help them gain traction when running on soft ground and their tails help them balance as they make sharp high-speed turns
while chasing their prey. Full-grown cheetahs are about 4 feet (1. 2 m) long not including a 30-inch (76-centimeter) tail.
They weigh about 75 to 145 pounds (34 to 66 kilograms) and are 2 to 3 feet (0. 6 to 0. 9 m) tall at the shoulder.
Cheetahs'golden coats are embellished with many small black spots which helps them blend in with their grassy habitat.
Cheetahs prey on warthogs gazelles antelopes rabbits porcupines and even ostriches and they catch their prey by chasing it down.
These chases cost the cheetah an enormous amount of energy and they're usually all over in less than a minute.
Once a cheetah catches its prey it holds it with a strangling bite to the neck.
The cheetah is usually panting heavily due to the intense chase and its body temperature can reach 105 degrees F (41 degrees C). After about 20 minutes the cheetah's breathing
and temperature return to normal and by then its prey has suffocated. Lions and leopards can attack a cheetah
and steal its kill so cheetahs try to avoid them by hunting in the middle of the day.
Cheetahs usually eat their prey right away since they're not strong enough to hide it
or fend off other predators. Female cheetahs are solitary but males live in small permanent groups called coalitions
which are made usually up of brothers. Both males and females hunt alone. Usually only one male in a coalition mates with any particular female Cheetahs can breed at any time of year
but they tend to mate in the dry season. Baby cheetahs are born about three months later at the start of the wet season.
There are usually three to five cubs in a litter and each newborn cheetah cub weighs only 5 to 10 ounces (142 to 284 grams).
The mother cheetah hides her cubs until they're five or six weeks old; after that the cubs follow their mom and share her kills.
They wean when they're around three months old and live with their mother for about 18 months.
The female cubs then head off on their own while the males remain together for life in a coalition.
Cheetahs live to be about 12 years old in the wild and as long as 17 years in zoos.
 Most cheetahs live in southwestern and eastern Africa but the Asiatic cheetah (A. jubatusvenaticus) is found only in Iran.
Cheetahs roam grasslands savannas and semiarid prairies any area with open land and plenty of prey is good cheetah habitat.
The Wild Cats of Kruger National park Vulnerable to Critically Endangered Overall the species is vulnerable
but two subspecies (A. jubatusvenaticus and A. jubatushecki) are endangered both critically. Fewer than 100 Asiatic cheetahs and 250 Northwest African cheetahs remain.
There are about 7500 adult cheetahs living in the wild. Scientists think the species has declined by about 30 percent over the last three generations or about 18 years.
Their biggest threats are habitat loss and hunting by humans either for trade or to protect livestock.
Cheetahs are nearly twice as fast as racehorses: The fastest racehorse runs 43 mph (69 kph)
but cheetahs can run up to 70 mph (113 kph). A cheetah's feet don't touch the ground for more than half of the time it's running.
Look Quick: Gallery of the Fastest Beasts On land Cheetahs can turn in midair while sprinting after their prey.
King cheetahs have lengthwise stripes and are very rare. Their distinct markings are due to a recessive gene.
The name cheetah in English is derived from the Hindi word chita which means spotted one.
Emperors and other royalty hunted gazelles with trained cheetahs in the 16th century. Cheetahs are very vocal.
They make a unique bird-like sound called a chirrup when they're excited or calling their cubs.
They can't roar like lions or tigers but they do growl hiss snarl moan bleat and purr.
They get the moisture they need from the bodies of their prey so cheetahs rarely need to drink water.
Cheetahs are the only cats with black tear marks on their faces. Scientists think these might act as sun protection like football players painting black marks under their eyes.
Vision Quiz: What Can Animals See? Other resources s
#Fun Facts About Giraffes Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetartiodactyla Family: Giraffidae Genus:
Giraffa Species: Giraffa camelopardalis Subspecies: G. camelopardalisperalta (West african Giraffe Nigerien Giraffe) G. camelopardalisrothschildi (Ugandan Giraffe Rothschild's Giraffe) G. camelopardalisreticulate (Reticulated Giraffe) G. camelopardalis camelopardalis (Nubian
Giraffe) G. camelopardalis tippelskirchi (Masai Giraffe) G. camelopardalis angolensis (Angolan Giraffe) G. camelopardalis giraffa There's still confusion among experts about how many giraffe species
and subspecies really exist. Basic giraffe facts: Giraffes are the tallest animals in the world.
Males can grow up to 18 feet (5. 5 meters) tall females can reach 14 feet (4. 3 m) tall
and their babies called calves are born around 6 feet (1. 8 m) tall. Calves can grow up to an inch a day.
Like a human fingerprint each giraffe's coat is unique. Some subspecies have patterns that look like oak leaves
while others have shaped square patterns that make the giraffe look like it's covered by a net.
Their coat colors vary from white to light tan to nearly black depending on what they eat
and where they live. Some experts think that the patterns are for camouflage. In the wild giraffes will sleep only about 20 minutes a day
and usually not more than five minutes at a time as they need to stay alert to watch for predators.
All giraffes have covered two hair horns called ossicones. Male giraffes use their horns to playfully fight with one another.
They also spar by swinging their heads at one another and entwining their necks which is called necking.
Images: Animals'Dazzling Headgear Like camels giraffes can go for a long time without drinking water because their diet especially acacia leaves their favorite food contains a lot of water.
When they do get thirsty they have to bend down awkwardly to drink which makes them easy targets for predators.
To help protect themselves giraffes usually go to watering holes together and take turns watching for predators. Giraffes are herbivores
and they eat leaves buds and branches from mimosa and acacia trees. Their height helps them reach food well above where other animals can reach.
A giraffe may eat more than 75 pounds (34 kilograms) of food each day. Because they get just a few leaves in every bite they spend most of their day eating Acacia trees have long thorns that deter most animals but not giraffes.
Their 18-inch (46-centimeter) tongues can reach around the thorns and their thick sticky saliva coats any thorns they might swallow.
The dark blue-gray color of a giraffe's tongue helps protect it from sunburn while the giraffe is reaching for tree leaves.
Giraffes are ruminants like cows and their stomachs have four compartments that digest the leaves they eat.
After a giraffe swallows a mouthful of leaves once a ball of already-chewed leaves
or cud will make its way back up the throat for more grinding. Giraffes can breed anytime throughout the year.
A male will sort of flirt with a female in heat sometimes feeding beside her and tangling necks with her.
Females give birth to a single calf about 14 months after they mate. When a giraffe calf is born it drops to the ground head first from about 6 feet (1. 8 meters) high.
The fall surprises the calf and makes it take a big breath but doesn't really hurt it.
The calf can walk after about an hour and it can run with its mom just 10 hours after it's born.
After they're a few weeks old calves join a group of young giraffes called a crã che.
Giraffes can live up to 25 years in the wild and longer in captivity. Where giraffes live:
Giraffes used to live throughout arid and dry-savanna zones of Sub-saharan africa wherever there were trees.
Now their range has shrunk due to habitat loss. Most giraffes live in wooded savannas open woodlands and riparian forests in east Africa and the northern parts of southern Africa where they're protected by national parks. West african Giraffes only survive in the wild and the only known population lives in southwestern Niger.
The only remaining wild population of Ugandan Giraffes is in Murchison Falls National park Uganda. They've also been reintroduced to six sites in Kenya and one other site in Uganda.
Conservation status: Least Concern to Endangered Overall the species is of least concern but the subspecies listed above the West african Giraffe
and the Ugandan Giraffe are endangered both. Giraffes are widespread throughout Africa and their population totals more than 100000.
Experts believe their numbers are shrinking due to habitat loss and poaching so the species may soon be listed as threatened.
The West african Giraffe is endangered. There are currently fewer than 200 individuals in this subspecies though experts think they're on the rise thanks to conservation programs.
The Ugandan Giraffe is endangered also. There are fewer than 2500 individuals in this subspecies and experts are worried that this number is shrinking.
Odd facts: Giraffes look a little like a cross between a camel and a leopard:
They have a small hump on their back and a spotted coat. People used to call the giraffe a camel-leopard
and that's how the giraffe got its species name camelopardalis. A giraffe's foot is 12 inches (30 centimeters) across about the size of a dinner plate.
A giraffe's neck is 6 feet (1. 8 m) long and weighs about 600 pounds (272 kg).
A giraffe's back legs look shorter than its front legs but they're really about the same length 6 feet (1. 8 m). A giraffe's heart is 2 feet (0. 6 meters) long
and weighs about 25 pounds (11 kg). For a long time people thought giraffes were mute but they actually communicate by emitting moans
or low notes that humans can't hear. They can also whistle hiss moo and roar.
Besides humans giraffes'only predators are lions and crocodiles. Giraffes can defend themselves with a deadly kick
when they need to. Many male giraffes check whether a female's in heat by nudging her to make her pee.
They can usually tell by smell but some males will even taste the urine to see
if she's ready to mate. Giraffes have the same number of vertebrae in their necks as we do seven.
Each one can be over 10 inches (25.4 cm) long. Giraffes run by moving their front and back legs on one side forward together.
Their funny gait makes them pretty fast: The record running speed of a giraffe is 34.7 mph (56 kph.
Other resources: IUCN Red List: Giraffe Smithsonian National Zoo Fact Sheet: Giraffe PBS Nature Critter Guide:
Giraffe San diego Zoo: Giraffes National geographic Giraffe Fact r
#Fun Facts About Hippos Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Mammalia Order: Cetartiodactyla Family: Hippopotamidae Genus:
Hippopotamus Species: Hippopotamus amphibius Basic hippopotamus facts: Hippos are the third largest land mammal species On earth after elephants and white rhinos.
Weighing in at around 7900 pounds (3600 kilograms) adult hippos measure about 15 feet (4. 6 meters) long and 5 feet (1. 5 m) tall.
Video: Hippo Weighed on Giant Scale Their skin color varies from brown to grayish purple and they're almost completely hairless.
To protect their bare skin hippos produce a special kind of sweat that's red and acts as sunscreen insect repellent and antibiotic salve all in one.
This hulk of an animal wallows by day and grazes by night. During the day they rest play and sometimes fight in lakes rivers and swamps.
They get down to business at night grazing on land for hours at a time. They're usually sluggish out of the water
though they can run at speeds up to 30 mph (48 kph) but underwater they gracefully gallop
and walk along river and lake bottoms. Hippos are adapted well to their amphibious lifestyle. They have wide snouts
and thick lips that help them graze on tough African grasses. Their eyes ears and nostrils are located on top of their heads
and they close up when the hippo goes underwater. A hippo's entire diet consists of several species of grass
and they eat up to 88 pounds (40 kg) of it each night. That's about half as much as other hoofed mammals eat
when you take their body sizes into account but a hippo's sedentary lifestyle doesn t require much energy
so it can get by on less food. Hippos usually gather in groups of about 15 called bloats pods
or sieges with a territorial bull that's in charge of the group During the dry season though bigger groups will gather around watering holes.
This is actually when most of their breeding takes place and many baby hippos will be born about eight months later during the rainy season.
Mothers give birth to a single baby hippo or calf either on land or in shallow water.
A newborn hippo is relatively small around 55 to 120 pounds (25 to 54 kg)
and it needs its mom's protection from lions crocodiles and adult male hippos which sometimes attack calves in the water.
Hippos usually live to be about 45 years old in the wild. Where hippos live:
Hippos used to live throughout much of Africa but now they're mostly confined to protected areas in Sub-saharan africa.
They can be found near rivers lakes and swamps from Guinea in western Africa to Ethiopia on the eastern side of the continent and down to South africa.
Conservation status: Vulnerable Over the past 10 years there's been a seven  to 20 percent decline in the hippo population.
Their main threats are illegal poaching for their meat and canine teeth which are made of ivory and the loss of freshwater habitats throughout Africa.
Experts think there are between 125000 and 148000 hippos remaining in the wild. Odd facts about hippos:
A hippo's hide alone can weigh half a ton. A recent DNA study found that hippos are closely related to dolphins and whales.
Hippopotamus comes from a Greek word meaning water or river horse. Hippos have a complex form of communication that relies on grunts
and bellows and some experts think they may even use echolocation. Hippos have an amphibious call that can travel through air
and water and they have good hearing both above and below water. A hippo's call can reach 115 decibels about as loud as being near the speakers at a rock concert.
Their ivory canine teeth grow continuously and reach 20 inches (51 centimeters) in length. Hippos have adapted to be good swimmers.
Membranes between their toes turn their feet into flippers and fat beneath their skin helps them float in rivers and lakes.
Adult hippos can hold their breath and stay underwater for up to six minutes. Sleeping hippos float up to the surface to breathe.
Hippos can go three weeks without eating and they can store two days'worth of grass in their stomachs.
 Other resources: IUCN Red List: Hippopotamus Smithsonian National Zoo Fact Sheet: Hippopotamus San diego Zoo:
Hippopotamus Animal Planet Hippo Facts African Wildlife Foundation Fact Sheet:
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