Extinction of Rhinoceros in Borneo Island Indonesia

Rhino in the jungle of Sumatra

It is called Sumatra rhino, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, had been lived in three places:

- Malaysia peninsula, Malaysia

- Borneo, belong to both Malaysia and Indonesian

- Sumatra, Indonesia bigger Island

Rhino was declared extinct in Malaysia Borneo in 2015, and the last Rhino founded died in Malaysia peninsula in 2016.

People had seen few rhinos in Indonesian Borneo, and estimated no more than 80 rhinos live in Sumatra rain forest.

Why rhinos population depleted and even extinction in some areas? The reasons:

- hunting for pleasure

- poaching for rhino horns

- habitat loss due to palm plantations and other purposes

- forest burning every year for industry purposes.

The rhino horn is believed to have specif values, hence trade illegally. Demand for horns are increasing dramatically since 2007.

A female rhino with her a newborn baby.

Super natural beliefs of rhino horns are:

- good for traditional medicine such as Chinese medicines

- tonic of rhino horns could de-toxify body, especially after drinking alcohol.

- symbol for wealth and success.

Forest burning not only affect on rhino population, but also caused endangered for many animals. They are included:

- Clouded leopard

- Sun bear

- Elephant

- Tiger

- Orangutan

Burning produces carbon dioxide in great number compared to industries producing. This is a man made catastrophe where the smokes spread to neighboring countries such as Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia.

This intentionally forest burning need to be stopped by international community soon.

Is a Thermal Camera Sold in Market?

One of thermal camera sold in market from FLIR

I just know that thermal camera cost is affordable now, may be quite late to aware about the price.

We can find price tags from hundred to about two thousand bucks. I think the reasonable price for amateurs like us is around US$ 127 to US$ 499.

Some important thermal camera brands sold in markets are:

- Flir

- Fluke

- Seek

- Perfect-Prime

- Leupold

- Pulsar Helion

- Firefield Nightfall

Thermal camera discovered breast cancer (credit to Sky News)

In case you do not know, thermal camera is a kind of device to detect temperatures which emit from objects.

The hotter temperature, the brighter colors will be the images, vice versa, the cooler represented darker images.

Brighter colors such as yellow, orange and red, while dark colors are black, dark blue and purples.

The objects include:

- human skins (neck, limbs, backs and underlying issues)

- animals or any living skins

- fires inside walls

- overheating comes from electrical wiring

In daily life, the thermal cameras are crucial tools for fire fighters or any rescue teams to save live from low visible (unseen) locations.

You may read article from Sky News recently that a woman shot by thermal camera while walking in the museum in Edinburg, England.

She compared the image with other woman, then she found “strange bright” color from her left breast. 

After detail diagnosed, she discovered early stage breast cancer which highly probability could be stopped by medical surgery.

Do you know about affordable thermal camera and plan to buy it?

Can Reading Books Every Day Make Live Longer?

Books in a library shelf

We may be read books either some times or every day, but not all of us aware that reading activities have great effect on many things to us.

There are plenty of benefits of reading (books, newspaper, magazine, novel), just for few examples are:

- improve memory

- better health

- improve family relationships (parents and kids)

- better sleep quality

- boosting brain

- improving vocabularies

- lower stress level

- better in empathizing

Reading regularly is similar to do exercises (treadmills, jogging, walking, push ups and riding a bike) or eating quality diets such as fruit and vegetables every day.

A front desk library, just for illustration

Researchers from Yale University observed 3,635 people for certain periods, then divided in 3 groups:

- who does not read books at all

- who reads a book every day

- who read a book for 3 and half hours a week.

After 12 years observation, the researchers found that group of people “who reads a book every day” live longer.

Readers with at least 30 minutes to read a book every day have live two years longer compared to who does not read books at all.

Interesting fact shown that who likes to read everyday mainly come from people with following status:

- female

- higher education (college degree)

- higher income

Do you like to read books or other reading sources? How many hours you read per day?

Can Immortal Jellyfish Defy Death?

Jellyfish trick to avoid death

(credit to science organization, Australia)

Many researches have been done to delay or reverse of human being aging, but we have no clues until now.

Yes, we might “reduce” negatives effect of old such as deterioration of health. Some methods have been successful to:

- improve cognitive ability

- improve physical performance

How about with other multi cellular creatures? Can they defies death?

Scientists know one tiny creature called as immortal jellyfish which is swimming in the ocean can live forever biologically.

Immortal jellyfish (Turritopsis dohrnii) size is so small just about 4.5 mm in length and width. Hence, barely visible. 

The creatures swim in almost in all oceans, both tropical and temperate seas, but they are abundant in tropical regions.

Immortal jellyfish in the ocean (credit to Krissy Howard)

Their life cycle is following (please see at the first Figure):

- Female medusae produce eggs, and males release sperms. Fertilized eggs develop to be Planula larvae.

- Planula attached to hard substance, then develop to Polyp stage

- Polyp produces “buds,” then develop to Ephyra, a small jellyfish

- Medusa is adult stage of jellyfish to reproduce eggs and sperms, then, back to early life cycle.

The question then: How jellyfish live everlasting?

Above life cycle is in the normal state. If medusa faces extreme conditions (starvation or injury), instead of dead, it reverts to be young phase by broken apart as tiny cells.

Then develop to be polyp, and so on. This process to escape death is called as biologically immortal. 

Why Puffin Birds Population are Decreasing?

Lonely Puffin bird

Puffin birds or Atlantic puffin birds (Fratercula arctica) look cute for me, because of their colors, especially multi colors of their bill.

They are found mainly in the colder areas such as:

- Iceland

- North West Europe

- Arctic fringes

- Eastern North America

- across Atlantic Ocean.

Unfortunately, Puffin birds population are decreasing in the last 15 years due to many factors.

Iceland has the most Puffin bird population in the world, experienced lost of million birds.

Birds were estimated to decrease, from 7 million of 15 years ago to 5 million only in the present time in Iceland alone.

The main causes are climate changes. Some experts said that over fishing is also lead to decreasing of Puffin birds population. 

Hunting of puffin birds in Iceland

(credit to Josh Haner, The New York Times).

Fishes and crustaceans are source of foods for Puffin birds, but the birds prefer fish than crustacean. The fish includes:

- sand eels

- herring

- hake

- capelin

Some of these small fishes are caught by commercial fishing, contributed to depletion of fish population, hence effect on bird’s food supply.

In case of Iceland that hunting is one of main causes to birds number. The Iceland and Faroe island people consume puffin birds.

As traditional cuisine, what Icelanders and Faroe islanders do with puffin birds:

- eat fresh heart of birds

- grill the bird

- smoke the meat

- consume bird’s eggs

However, declining of Puffin birds is every where, thus “the International Union for Conservation of Nature” had listed the birds as vulnerable (threaten to endanger in near future).

Have you seen Puffin birds? Where?

Do You Know these by Catching Fish Species?

Pollock fillet (credit to Gimli Fish Market)

We knew the most favorite seafood eaten by American, unfortunately those fishes are not sustainable (I am please if you had read my previous post: Why Consuming Trash Fish could Help Environmental Protection?).

In addition to tuna, salmon and shrimps, the most eaten seafood are following:

- Cod

- Atlantic halibut

- Winter skate

- Bluefin tuna.

Unfortunately, the last tree (Atlantic halibut, Winter skate and Bluefin tuna) are enlisted as threatening, and even endangering fish species.

Consumer like us, and seafood restaurants should consider to consume friendly environmentally species.

Delicious dogfish (credit to Pedro Barbosa)

There are plenty of by catching fish species, and they are sustainable, delicious with reasonable price.

Here by catching fish sold in the market:

- Scup, called as silver bass too.

- Dog fish, some countries called it as rock salmon

- Sea robin

- Acadian red fish

- Ground fish

Scup fish (credit to Flatiron)

Ground fish is fish that live on the bottom of sea. Some species getting popular in the US market.

Several species of ground fishes are:

- Pollock

- Flounders (gray, summer, winter and yellow tail flounders)

- Haddock, getting highly demand and expensive

- Red fish

I love Pollock, flounders and red fish. I grilled or bake Pollock and flounders. For read fish, I used a traditional recipe.

For seafood lovers, let us expand our species choices rather than unsustainable, threatened and endangered species only.

Why 3 billion Birds Have Lost in North America?

Colorful bird, painted bunting for illustration

Scary facts showed that billion birds lost in North America during last 50 years. The number around 3 billion birds.

Of 529 species, 19 bird species lost around 50 million for each species, as reported by Cornell university recently.

Examples of species lost are following:

- red-winged blackbird

- dark-eyed junco

- sparrows

- European starling

- warblers,

- blackbirds

- finches.

- meadowlarks

- horned larks

- red-winged blackbirds

- thrushes

- swallows

Carolina chickadee as illustration

The question then, Why 3 billion Birds Have Lost in North America? The answer is combination factors, but mostly relate to:

- decreasing of bird habitats

- using of pesticides that killed insects as food sources for birds

- eaten by predators such as wild cats

- accident like glass collisions

- climate changes

Habitat is great important for birds, not only to live, but also to find food, rest and raise the chicks.

Loss of habitats mainly due to agricultural expansion, and might also because of property and industry development, especially in sub urban areas.

Now, my wonder about reduction of bird population in my backyard is getting answer. 6 years ago, I saw a quite lot of birds.

In the last few years or this year around, especially during spring season, I just see couple of hummingbirds, and I did not see any woodpeckers at all.

How about you? Do you aware that less birds in your backyard or any where else? 

The oldest human Ancestor is Discovered

The face of the oldest man (credit to Daily Mail)

Many mainstream medias reported about the finding of the oldest human ancestor from Ethiopia, Africa recently.

We already knew that the 3.2 million years old Lucy was believed to be our oldest ancestor. The scientific name of Lucy is Australopithecus afarensis.

Lucy is different with ape (ancient ape) in terms of:

- start to walk on two legs

- brain

- body size

- strong jaws

The similarity that Lucy’s face is look like apes, and previously live on the trees. Even though Lucy able to walk then, but they still use their hands to hang on the trees.

Skull of the oldest human ancestor

Now, scientists found the oldest human ancestor. 3.8 million years old, Australopithecus anamensis who is older than previous discovered, Lucy.

With new finding, scientists have two hypotheses:

1. Australopithecus anamensis was Lucy’s parents. Then, Lucy had evolved to be an ancestor of Australopithecus hominins. This evolutionary line led to Homo sapiens, modern human, our selves.

2. Australopithecus anamensis had directed evolutionary line to the ancestor of Australopithecus hominins, then Homo sapiens, modern man. Lucy was not involve in this evolution process.

To find out which one is true, scientists needed to assemble reliable data of specimen from:

- different time periods

- different geographical locations

- different evolutionary trajectory.

Hope, we could settle doubt soon and understand more of our ancestors, include the way they evolved to become modern human.