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☆ The first known hybrid between a dog and a fox was discovered in Brazil after being hit by a car
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-16 | by ( Alia Shoaib | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

The first known hybrid between a pampas fox and a domestic dog was discovered in Brazil. Her father was a domestic dog of an unspecified breed. AdvertisementAdvertisementThe dog-fox resembles both a dog and a fox and shares characteristics with both animals, scientists said. Other names suggested for the animal were "graxorra" and "dogxim," which reference the Portuguese names for the pampas fox and female dog. This type of hybridization can threaten wildlife conservation due to risks of introgression and disease transmission by the dog, the study said.

Persons: Flávia Ferrari, Ferrari, Bruna Elenara Organizations: Service, British, The Telegraph, Telegraph, Universidade Federal Locations: Brazil, Wall, Silicon, South America, Universidade, Rio Grande do Sul, North America, Europe, Africa, Universidade Federal, Santa Maria

☆ Drivers slowed by rogue reptiles in Singapore F1 practice
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-15 | by ( Tom Westbrook | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

SINGAPORE, Sept 15 (Reuters) - Big lizards are a familiar sight in equatorial Singapore but they startled Red Bull's double world champion Max Verstappen and other drivers after straying onto the Formula One racetrack during practice on Friday. "It's going to be a brave marshal to go out and pick one of those up," Red Bull team boss Christian Horner told Sky Sports television. Local fauna are not uncommon company, with drivers used to groundhogs and foxes on Canada's Gilles Villeneuve circuit in Montreal. Friday's lizard incursion recalled the 2016 Singapore race when Verstappen was surprised on track by a big one that his engineer dubbed "Godzilla". They are also diurnal, meaning they sleep at night, and will hopefully pose no further difficulty for drivers preparing for Sunday's night race.

Persons: Red, Max Verstappen, Christian Horner, Canada's Gilles Villeneuve, Verstappen, Gianpiero, Max, Horner, Tom Westbrook, Ken Ferris Organizations: Sky Sports, Singapore's, Parks ' Board, Thomson Locations: SINGAPORE, Singapore, Montreal, Malaysia

☆ Nipah: What do we know about virus spreading in India's Kerala?
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

[1/2] Residents fix a sign reading "Nipah containment zone" on a barricade, put up to block a road after the authorities declared the area a containment zone, to prevent the spread of Nipah virus in Ayanchery village in Kozhikode district, Kerala, India, September 13, 2023. Here is what we know about the virus:WHERE DID THE VIRUS COME FROM? The Nipah virus was first identified in 1998 during an outbreak of illness among pig farmers in Malaysia and Singapore. The 1998 outbreak in Malaysia and Singapore killed more than 100 people and infected nearly 300. More than 600 cases of Nipah virus human infections were reported between 1998 to 2015, WHO data shows.

Persons: Stringer, Nipah, Blassy Boben, Clarence Fernandez Organizations: REUTERS, World Health Organization, WHO, Thomson Locations: Kozhikode district, Kerala, India, DELHI, Malaysia, Singapore, Bangladesh

☆ In ‘The Refuge Plays,’ Nicole Ari Parker Comes Home
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-14 | by ( Alexis Soloski | More About Alexis Soloski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Over coffee and omelets, she discussed, with passion and precision, her love for the theater and the secrets that age makeup can reveal. And I’m really upset with God that he did not give me a singing voice. But second semester, I remember calling my dad and telling him that I wanted to transfer to Tisch. I played the maid in “The Little Foxes.” I played all these small subservient roles in the classic plays. We all have those things that are in these beautiful classic plays.

Persons: Parker, ”, Boris Kodjoe, ageless, she’d, I’m, I’ve, Shirley MacLaine, “, Judy Garland, Shakespeare, Juliet, It’s Organizations: SAG, Tisch, N.Y.U Locations: “

☆ Burmese pythons are being spotted farther and farther north in Florida and could reach other states, experts warn. 'It really does feel like an alien invasion,' one scientist said.
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-07 | by ( Jenny Mcgrath | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +10 min

How Burmese pythons got from Asia to FloridaThe first definitive recording of a Burmese python in the Florida Everglades was in 1979. "Then I just developed this mantra over the years of don't underestimate the Burmese python," he said. Pythons have invaded the Florida Everglades and proven a formidable invasive species that may never be fully eradicated. While state-regulated programs have removed over 13,700 snakes from the Florida Everglades, they're usually the ones found near roads and canal levees. The biggest question researchers need to answer is how many Burmese pythons are actually in Florida at the moment.

Persons: Donnie Darko, Donnie, Ian Bartoszek, Bartoszek, Melissa Miller, Miller, doesn't, would've, he's, Joe Raedle, They've Organizations: Service, Conservancy, States Geological Survey, University of Florida, The Conservancy Locations: Florida, Wall, Silicon, Southwest Florida, States, Asia, Thailand, Myanmar, Vietnam, The, Okeechobee, Pacific, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Canada, sawgrass

☆ Opinion | Praise Song for the Ruined Flower
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( Margaret Renkl | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The orange pumpkins themselves have seen better days, but still I offer my heart to what’s left of the pumpkins carved out by squirrels. I offer my whole heart to the thick, pulpy flesh that fattens the chipmunks before their time of hunger. I stand at my window and watch a fly blunder into their artwork, and I watch the spider dart to the fly. Come April, I will stand at this window and watch her gathering spider silk to weave her miniature nest of thistledown and lichen and moss. My heart lifts at the pinprick holes in the passionflower vines and the pinprick holes in the parsley, but I wait and wait for the pinprick holes in the milkweed leaves.

Persons: what’s, honeyvine Organizations: Central Locations: Central America, Tennessee

CNN —Hurricane Hilary is expected to slam into Southern California on Sunday as a rare tropical storm, unleashing floods, fierce winds and heavy downpours as residents evacuate, parks and beaches close and first responders brace for water rescues. Although Hilary is forecast to move north from Baja California into Southern California Sunday afternoon, its impacts will be felt earlier. First responders have also pre-positioned to respond quickly and perform water rescues from flooded areas, state officials said. There are “more than 7,500 boots on the ground” already deployed to help protect from the impact of Hurricane Hilary, according to the release from Newsom’s office. “There will be power outages across Southern California,” Ward said.

Persons: Hilary, it’ll, Gavin Newsom, “, ” Newsom, Cabo San Quintin –, Hilary “, we’ve, ”, Nancy Ward, Angelus Oaks, Brian Ferguson, Hurricane, ” Ward, – Organizations: CNN, National Hurricane Center, . California Gov, Cabo San Quintin, Southern California Sunday, California Governor’s, Emergency Services, National Oceanic, Atmospheric Administration, Residents, Home, Saturday, Visitors, Los, Los Angeles County Sheriff’s, National Weather Service, Silverado, Electricity, Southern California Edison, US Navy, Major League Baseball, Foxes, Hollywood Locations: Southern California, San Diego, California, Mexico, Punta Abreojos, Cabo, Baja California, California , Nevada, Arizona, Los Angeles, San Bernardino County, Oak Glen, Forest Falls, Northeast, Catalina, California’s, City of Avalon, Los Angeles County, Colorado, , California, Orange County, Orange, Angeles County

☆ I quit my real estate job in Indiana and moved to Florida to hunt pythons. Here's what my typical day looks like now.
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-23 | by ( Crystal Raypole | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

Amy Siewe participated in the 2019 Florida Python Challenge and it inspired her to change her life. After my first python hunt in Florida in 2019, I knew I'd found my calling. Why I hunt pythonsMy fascination with snakes started when I was very young. People don't always understand why I hunt pythons when I love snakes. I'm all signed up and ready for the annual Florida Python Challenge, too.

Persons: Amy Siewe, I'd, I'm, Hurricane Andrew, they'll, It's, who've, I've, there's Organizations: Service, Hurricane, . People, American Veterinary Association Locations: Florida, Indiana, Wall, Silicon, Naples , Florida, Southeast Asia

☆ Incredible US national park campgrounds you can’t drive to
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( Joe Yogerst | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +9 min

Even though most national park campgrounds are easily accessible by motorized vehicles, some of the coolest digs are in places that you can’t drive to. Below are eight incredible national park campgrounds that you can’t drive to. Bright Angel Campground (Grand Canyon National Park)The Bright Angel campground is located next to a creek at the end of the South Kaibab Trail in Grand Canyon National Park. Washington Creek (Isle Royale National Park)Washington Creek, part of Michigan's Isle Royale National Park, has 10 camp sites. Sea Camp Beach (Cumberland Island National Seashore)The Cumberland Island National Seashore sits off the coast of Georgia.

Persons: we’re, CNN —, you’ve, doesn’t, Ashley Cooper, John Muir, you’re, Jim West, Weaver, Michael Shi, Joe Yogerst, ” Organizations: CNN, Key West, Yankee, Island Packers, Yosemite Valley, Nature, Washington Creek, Recreation, Washington State, Co, Cumberland, Getty Locations: Florida, Fort Jefferson, Santa Cruz, California, Ventura Harbor, Yosemite, Little Yosemite Valley, Vernal, Nevada, Maui, Palikū, Washington, Michigan's Isle, Lake Superior, Windigo, Isle, Grand Portage , Minnesota, Houghton , Michigan, Chelan, Lake Chelan, Weaver, Beach, Georgia, Stafford Plantation, Parks

☆ In wake of disasters, Chile animal shelter offers hope to wildlife
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-13 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The shelter, first opened two decades ago, has seen a host of new residents this year following a string of recent wildfires, droughts and heavy rains. Among the animals housed at the Refugio Animal Cascada, which translates to Waterfall Animal Refuge, are foxes, falcons, owls and pumas. "We welcome (the wildlife) in order to rehabilitate them and release them," wildlife shelter director Kendra Ivelic said. Others, however, cannot be released because of the severity of their injuries, she added, such as a hawk who lost an eye. This week, the shelter is opening a new Environmental Education and Exhibition Center, which will house native animals that cannot be released and have been affected by fires or other environmental disasters.

Persons: Kendra, Cascada, Read, Maisa Rojas, Kendra Ivelic, Isabel Woodford, Sandra Maler Organizations: Refugio Animal, puma, Exhibition, Environmental Education Center, Chilean Environment, Environmental Education, Exhibition Center, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Refugio, SANTIAGO, Chile's, Santiago

☆ Tottori Sand Dunes: Japan’s disappearing desert
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-15 | by ( Claire Hannum | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +10 min

But these are the Tottori Sand Dunes, wedged along the coast of Japan’s sparsely populated San’in region, the country’s very own slice of desert. A dwindling treasureThe Tottori dunes are located on the western coast of Honshu, Japan’s largest and most populous island. The Tottori Sand Dunes are just 12% of the size that they were 100 years ago. “The environmental conditions of the Tottori Sand Dunes are different from those of arid lands because of its humid climate,” Nagamatsu says. “But Tottori University is promoting arid land research using the ‘sand’ conditions of the Tottori Sand Dunes and experimental facilities.”Down the road from the research center, tourists are experiencing an otherworldly adventure in the sand.

Persons: you’d, They’ve, Takeo Arishima, ”, Dai Nagamatsu, Akira Miyawaki, — Buddhika, Nagamatsu, shiba, sandboarders, Anya Jarilla, “, it’s, amulapo, Kengo Kuma Organizations: Japan CNN, Sand Museum, Tottori University’s Faculty of Agriculture, Local, Brazilian Amazon ., Research Center, ” Staff, Associates Locations: Tottori Prefecture, Japan, Tottori, Honshu, Japan’s, Osaka, Hiroshima, Chūgoku, Sendai, Tottori University’s, Tottori City, Brazilian, Paragliders, Tottori Sand, Tokyo, ”

☆ Having more pythons in Florida is actually increasing the rat population because they're killing the other predators, scientists warn
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-08 | by ( Jessica Orwig | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

It may be good news for the cotton rats, but it could spell serious danger for humans. But one thing they don't seem to have a taste for is cotton rats. So much so, scientists warn that cotton rats "now dominate the community" in parts of the Florida Everglades where pythons are prevalent, wildlife ecologist Robert McCleery told LiveScience. They found that death rates for cotton rats were about the same in both regions. Let's say a mosquito bites an infected cotton rat and then later feasts on your blood — you could become infected.

Persons: —, Robert McCleery, LiveScience, McCleery, Rhona Wise, It's Organizations: Service, Getty, Geological Survey Locations: Florida, Fort Lauderdale , Florida, they're, Asia

[1/5] A lion is seen inside an enclosure at NAMA Zoo in Gaza June 1, 2023. REUTERS/Mohammed SalemGAZA, June 6 (Reuters) - Large paintings of a bear, an elephant and a giraffe decorate the outer walls of NAMA Zoo in Gaza City, but none of these wild creatures is represented live among those caged inside. There were once six zoos in Gaza, a narrow coastal enclave which has been closed off behind security walls since 2007. The original animals at the zoo were smuggled through tunnels from Egypt over a decade ago. Gaza lacks the medical facilities to treat animals like lions and tigers.

Persons: Mohammed Salem, Mahmoud Al, Sultan, Fouad Saleh, Nidal Almughrabi, Bernadette Baum Organizations: REUTERS, Thomson Locations: Gaza, Mohammed Salem GAZA, NAMA Zoo, Gaza City, Israel, Egypt, Jordan, South Africa

☆ The Joys of Summer in My Backyard - The New York Times
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-29 | by ( Margaret Renkl | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

A lovely native grape has sprung up beside the pokeweed plants at the end of the privacy fence between our driveway and the driveway next door. Our late neighbor installed the fence decades ago, and it isn’t much of a fence anymore. Only a few yards long, falling to ruin, it nevertheless sets a banquet every summer for wildlife. Perhaps my favorite volunteers this year are the pumpkin vines planted last fall by the thumbless hands of squirrels. All because we did nothing but let the wild world run wild in this half-acre patch of suburbia.

☆ Everton survive as Leicester and Leeds are relegated on dramatic final day
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-28 | by ( Martyn Herman | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

The Merseyside club's 69-year stay in the top flight was in peril at halftime as they were drawing 0-0 and 2016 champions Leicester were ahead against West Ham United. That combination of results meant Everton were in the relegation zone but Abdoulaye Doucoure's stunning 57th minute right-foot strike from outside the area earned Everton the victory they required. The final whistle prompted a pitch invasion with smoke from blue flares drifting across the old stadium that will host top-flight football again after another Everton escape. Everton ended in 17th place on 36 points after 38 games, with Leicester in 18th on 34 and Leeds on 31. EVERTON RELIEFThe celebrations at Everton were more of relief than pride as the famous old club once again found itself battling not for silverware but to avoid relegation.

☆ Leicester City: From Premier League champion to Championship? 2016 title winner is on the brink of relegation
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-27 | by ( Matias Grez | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +6 min

CNN —Leicester City’s Premier League triumph in 2015/16 remains one of the greatest achievements in the history of sport. With just one game left of the season, Leicester is in 18th place – the third and final relegation spot – on 31 points, two points adrift of Everton in 17th and safety. Former manager Brendan Rogers, who had been at the club since 2019, was sacked in April as Leicester made a last-ditch attempt to salvage its Premier League status by hiring Dean Smith. Of the teams facing relegation, Leicester certainly looks best placed to make an immediate return to the Premier League with some talented players and a potentially massive transfer budget from the sale of its stars. While Allardyce is known for his expertise in saving teams from relegation, his style of football could not be more different to Bielsa’s.

☆ A critically endangered rat-sized marsupial that looks like a mini kangaroo is returning to parts of Australia for the first time in a century
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Hannah Getahun | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Brush-tailed bettongs are thriving in Southern Australia after being reintroduced in 2021. These cute, kangaroo-looking marsupials have been critically endangered for decades. Scientists say it could be the first successful reintroduction of the species in Australia. According to the results of their monitoring of 85 bettongs, 40% of them were newborns, according to the release. A woylie also known as a brush-tailed bettong (Bettongia penicillata) is an extremely rare, small marsupial and is endemic to Australia.

☆ Animal health body urges bird flu vaccination to avoid pandemic
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-21 | by ( Sybille De La Hamaide | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

The severity of the current outbreak of avian influenza, commonly called bird flu, and the economic and personal damage it has caused, has led governments to reconsider vaccinating poultry. A WOAH survey showed only 25% of its member states would accept imports of products from poultry vaccinated against HPAI. The European Union's 27 member states agreed last year to implement a bird flu vaccine strategy. The risk to humans from bird flu remains low but countries must prepare for any change in the status quo, the World Health Organization has said. Eloit said vaccination should focus on free-range poultry, mainly ducks, since bird flu is transmitted by infected migrating wild birds.

☆ Opinion | My Daughter Was So Alive. How Can She Now Be Gone?
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( Sarah Wildman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

Seeing old friends recently I joked, dry-eyed, about the wonder and terror of the first seven days of Jewish mourning — the shiva — being like a sort of cocktail party in hell. The night before, at a lovely restaurant, apropos of nothing at all, I started weeping into my food and ran to escape the table. I could see myself there, some 40 months earlier, talking to her teacher about the strange pain keeping my daughter from class. In the early days, her hurt was so raw we could just barely keep hold of her in its tumult. Hana worried that she was so angry with God that God would be angry with her.

☆ Bats carry killer viruses. Scientists suggest ways to cope.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-19 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

“I have to think on a landscape scale.”Research in Australia also is deepening scientists’ understanding of bats. Flying foxes travel long distances in search of food, dispensing seeds and pollinating trees along the way. As deforestation destroyed habitats and further disrupted the food supply, the bats have increasingly formed year-round roosts near people, they noticed. Native gums flowering around Gympie lured the flying foxes away from horse paddocks and more urban areas. In fact, the most dangerous areas for spillover aren’t rare, pristine habitats absent of humans, scientists say.

☆ How a deadly bat virus found new ways to infect people
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-17 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +16 min

Scientists found bats with Nipah virus roosting near Sabith’s home. A search of the neighborhood led to a colony, near their house, of flying foxes, a common fruit bat. NETTING NIPAH: Researchers in Bangladesh use nets to catch bats and collect samples to find the Nipah virus in the wild. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir HossainWhether Sabith ate contaminated fruit or somehow came into direct contact with a bat, the virus entered his cells. REUTERS/Mohammad Ponir HossainA year later, Chua’s team found the same strain of Nipah virus in flying foxes.

☆ How to know if your leadership style is more like Elon Musk or Steve Jobs — and what each of their strengths and weaknesses are
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-30 | by ( Christopher Myers | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

Isaiah Berlin, a prominent 20th-century philosopher and historian, popularized the foxes and hedgehogs metaphor in his 1953 essay "The Hedgehog and the Fox." By understanding this metaphor, modern business leaders can harness the strengths of both foxes and hedgehogs to navigate an increasingly complex and rapidly changing world. Leadership lessons from history: Xerxes and ThemistoclesExamining historical figures through the lens of the foxes and hedgehogs metaphor can provide valuable insights into the strengths and weaknesses of different leadership styles. Modern business titans: Steve Jobs and Elon MuskIn the world of technology and entrepreneurship, Steve Jobs and Elon Musk represent the quintessential hedgehog and fox, respectively. Isaiah Berlin's foxes and hedgehogs metaphor provides modern business leaders with a valuable framework for understanding and implementing effective leadership styles.

☆ Saadiyat: The 'island of happiness' just off Abu Dhabi
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Chris Dwyer | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Jon Arnold Images Ltd/Alamy Stock PhotoWhile Abu Dhabi itself is home to bombastic contemporary architecture, Saadiyat – an easy 20-minute drive from downtown and Abu Dhabi International Airport – is a natural wonderland, edged by small sand dunes. Elevated boardwalks protect them from beachgoers – part of a conservation project led by Jumeirah at Saadiyat Island Resort and its inhouse marine biologist. Department of Culture and Tourism Abu DhabiOpen year-round, Saadiyat Beach Golf Club is home to a Gary Player signature 18-hole golf course. Luc Castel/Getty ImagesInaugurated in 2017, The Louvre Abu Dhabi is France’s largest cultural project abroad. Louvre Abu Dhabi isn’t the only highbrow place on Saadiyat – behind the dunes there are two world-class educational institutions, too.

☆ Your Hair Is Going Gray. This Glitch May Explain Why.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Kate Golembiewski | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But gray hairs are one of the most obvious clues that the body isn’t working like it used to. Our hair turns gray when melanin-producing stem cells stop functioning properly. “This is a really big step toward understanding why we gray,” said Mayumi Ito, an author of the study and a dermatology professor at New York University’s Grossman School of Medicine. Unlike embryonic stem cells, which develop into all sorts of different organs, adult stem cells have a more set path. The melanocyte stem cells in our hair follicles are responsible for producing and maintaining the pigment in our hair.

☆ Hate Crowded Cruises? 6 Small-Ship Getaways to Book Instead
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-23 | by ( Eleanor Mcgrath | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

CUTTING EDGE On its route to the North Pole, Ponant’s Le Commandant Charcot, a hybrid-electric polar exploration vessel, glides slowly through the ice so passengers can view arctic foxes, whales and walruses. Popular megaships with over 6,000 passengers—and extras like an ice-skating rink, IMAX, crazy waterslides and Broadway-scale theaters—welcome the budget-conscious. “Smaller expeditions are up 43% over 2019,” reported Misty Belles, vice president of global public relations for Virtuoso, a network of 20,000 travel advisers. Sleek vessels now break through Arctic ice floes to access the North Pole, and river cruises let the curious visit multiple towns without enduring turbulent seas. Here, a few examples of what small ship cruises can offer.

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