Grizzly Brown Bears

Last Sunday, the cover story of Mag, was about Sri Lanka Premier League T20 Cricket Tournament. Have you noticed that all the teams have names of animals -- Ruhunu Rhinos, Kandurata Kites, Uthura Oryxes, Uva Unicorns, Wayamba Wolves, Neganahira Nagas and Basnahira Bears. Interestingly, except for the wolves and the bears, the others have been been featured in Zoolander. This week Zoolander writes on the Bear the mascot and symbol of the Basbnahira Bears.
Brown bears of the Dehiwala Zoo are rather interesting animals to watch. Being large and furry, they should surely have a problem these days with the prevailing heat and the hot and humid weather pattern. Luckily for them there is a small water moat at the zoo, where they can take a dip and cool down. Usually after splashing in water they would lie lazing on the cement floor. But that is not for long; after a few minutes, they would be back to their restless routine moving from corner to corner within the den.
A pair of brown bears brought down as a part of an animal exchange program was earlier kept in a den near the auditorium of the zoological gardens, but of late, they have been moved to a new den. On your next visit to the Dehiwala zoo, you can meet brown bears near the ‘walking-aviary’. Many major zoos like to have at least one brown bear among their resident animals, as they are interesting animals to observe. They are rather big and look majestic but fierce. The sense of fear that is felt on encountering a brown bear heightens the thrill of the experience for many.
In the wild, bears are found in forests and mountains of North America, and in Europe, and Asia. There are many members in the bear family spread across different parts of the world and the brown bear is said to be the most widely distributed bear in the world. There are several recognized sub-species within the brown bear species. In North America, two types are generally recognized, the coastal brown bear and the inland grizzly bears. But there are other sub-species too and generally a well grown bear can weigh between 300 and 680 kilograms. The Grizzlies are notorious, as they have been responsible for human attacks. With their sheer power and strength, the brown bear is the top predator in these jungles.
Adult brown bears are indeed powerful, top-of-the-food chain predators, but they are lazy hunters and much of their diet consists of nuts, berries, fruits, leaves and roots. Bears also eat other animals, from rodents to moose, but the brown bear like other members of its family is categorized as an ‘omnivorous’ animal.

Feast of Salmon  
Brown bears, often called ‘Grizzlies’,  are also famous due to an annual spectacle, in Alaska. TV documentaries such as those featured on the Discovery channel feature these dramatic  gatherings at prime Alaskan fishing spots, when the salmon swim upstream for summer spawning. The Salmons make this upstream journey to breed and the brown bears gather around these rivers waiting for an easy meal. Sometimes the jumping salmon dives straight into the gaping mouth of brown bears waiting in strategic locations.
Bears use different fishing techniques, as observed by zoologists who say there are three steps. They first get familiar with the place and movement of the fish and then approach; the skilful capturing comes next, either by picking direct with the mouth or by using the paws. Sometimes dozens of brown bears line-up in a stretch of river. This spectacle has been described among the 10 most spectacular wildlife experiences in the world by LonelyPlanet - the travel magazine.
This feast of fish is also very important for the survival of brown bears during winter. The salmon they feed on, stores as fat and converts to energy that will sustain them through the long winter. It is said that during a season, a brown bear may eat as much as 40 kilograms of food each day, and will weigh twice as much, before hibernation, as it will in spring.

Hibernation
The regions where brown bears are found usually record very harsh winters and  these animals have to resort to different mechanisms to face the freezing cold, and the brown bears choose to hibernate. During hibernation, the breathing and heart rates slow and they allow their body temperatures to drop, in some cases even below freezing. They stop eating and in many cases stop excreting too. All of these things happen, so the animals can use less energy – and bears in these regions often employ hibernation as the main strategy to face harsh winters.
Researchers have found that the brown bears use particularly dig dens for winter hibernation, often holing up in a suitable hillside. Brown bears have a large hump of muscle on top of their shoulders and long front claws which makes them powerful diggers.
A pregnant female bear or a sow, gives birth during the winter rest and usually delivers a pair of cubs and the cubs nurse on their mothers’ milk until spring – and stay with her for some two and a half years. Because of this protective nurturing, the females only reproduce once every three years, recording a slow breeding rate for brown bears. The bears spend four to six months a year curled deep in sleep in a den. That’s one-third to one-half of their lifetime.
In the wild, brown bears live alone as solitary animals. But the females, like all good mothers, stay with their cubs protecting them from danger. Despite their enormous size, brown bears are fast runners, and have even clocked  speeds of 30 miles per hour (48 kilometers per hour). They can be dangerous to humans, particularly if taken by surprise or if a person gets between a mother bear and her cubs.

Brown Bear Facts

l The tips of the hair on a brown bear look grayish or grizzly.
l Brown bears prefer forested mountains, meadows, or river valleys.
l Brown bears are around seven feet tall.
l Male bears may weigh up to 700 pounds.
l Female bears may weigh up to 350 pounds.
l Brown bears eat mostly grass, roots, and berries. They also eat fish, insects, and ground
squirrels, or larger mammals if they can catch them.
l Bears are commonly silent, but can communicate with grunts, roars, or squeals.
l Hibernation is a way of adapting to short food supplies in winter.
l During the fall, brown bears eat practically around the clock, stocking up for the
next four to seven months. They can eat around 90 pounds of food per day.
l Bears dig their own den or sometimes hibernate in natural caves.
l One to five cubs are born during hibernation. The mother bears nurse the cubs
during winter. The cubs live off the mother’s milk for the first year of life.
l Nearly 50 percent of all brown bear cubs die before they are one year old.

Source: http://www.kodiak.org/hibernation.html / http://www.nationalgeographic.com/kids/


Published on LakbimaNews 27.05.2012 

Marine biodiversity takes centre stage - One Ocean,Many Worlds

22nd May is dedicated to Biological Diversity and is celebrated worldwide as International Biodiversity Day. This year it is themed on ‘MARINE BIODIVERSITY’ and emphasizes the importance of the diverse forms of life in the oceans. ZooLander dedicates his column to marine biodiversity, paying tribute to an important segment of the ecological system.

The ocean is home to the blue whale, the largest animal ever to have lived on earth, and to billions upon billions of the tiniest: there are more microorganisms in the sea, than there are stars in the universe. Oceans cover 71 percent of the surface area of the globe, and constitute over 90 percent of the habitable space on the planet, making it one of the most important habitats of the world.
From sandy shores to the darkest depths of the sea, the ocean and coasts support a rich diversity of life. People have lived near and fished from the ocean for thousands of years and even today, an estimated 41 percent of the world’s population lives within 100 km of the coast, and fisheries provide over 15 percent of the dietary intake of animal protein as per statistics of the Convention of Biological Diversity (CBD) which selected “Marine Life” as the theme for the International Day on Biological Diversity.

How much life in the Ocean..?
From 2000 to 2010, in an unprecedented international collaboration, scientists around the world, set out to try and determine how much life there is in the sea. Dubbed the ‘Census of Marine Life’, the effort involved 2,700 scientists from over 80 nations, who participated in 540 expeditions. They studied surface seawater and probed the deepest, darkest depths of the ocean, sailed tropical seas and explored ice-strewn oceans in the Arctic and Antarctic.
By the time the census ended, it had added 1,200 species to the known roster of life in the sea; scientists are still working their way through another 5,000 specimens to determine whether they are also newly-discovered species. The estimate of the number of known marine species - the species that have been identified and the ones that have been documented but await classification, has increased as a direct result of the census, now making it around 250,000. (This total does not include some microbial life forms such as marine viruses.) In its final report, the census team suggested it could be at least a million. Some think the figure could be twice as high. So these figures alone highlight the importance of marine life which thrives in the oceans.
Marine life are found in the coastal areas, the continental shelf, the open ocean, the deep ocean and can be in some of the different ecosystems within the ocean world itself, making it one ocean, many worlds.

Along the Coast
Coastal areas, often among the most dynamic and productive of environments, are in many ways the definition of living on the edge. Waves crashing against rocky cliffs or rolling onto sandy shores, form estuaries that exhale the last breath of river systems, the frenetic riverine pace yielding to a sprawling mixture of fresh and saltwater.
In the warm estuarine waters of the tropics, hot and humid mangrove forests are a hybrid of terrestrial and marine life: above the water, they host insects, birds, monkeys, alligators and large mammals like deer and even tigers; beneath the water’s surface, fish swim among mangroves thick roots, which are covered with filter feeders like oysters, mussels, and anemones, while the muddy banks are inhabited by amphibians and crabs.

Continental Shelf
The area fringing coastal landmasses is known as the continental shelf; during ice ages, when sea levels were lower, the shelf was the boundary of the continents but now extends offshore underwater by an average of 80 km. Continental shelf waters are relatively shallow, generally between 100 and 200 metres deep; because their shallowness means they are bathed in sunlight in their upper layers and because their relative proximity to shore provides them with ongoing sources of nutrients from land, they are some of the most productive waters in the ocean. Coral reefs, sea grasses and kelp forests are all in continental shelf waters, as are the vast majority of the world’s fisheries.

The Open Ocean
Peering over the sides of a ship steaming over its surface, it might appear that the open ocean is one big, boundary-free expanse of water – its wildlife swimming back and forth, from surface to depths, without constraint. But marine life researchers found that, although many areas of the open ocean may look equal, to marine animals there are clear differences. The researchers found, for example, that white sharks congregate in an area off Hawaii that scientists dubbed the “white shark cafe‚”, and that several species of turtles, seabirds, seals, whales and sharks all congregate at ‘hotspots’ as in the California Current.
The top 100 meters of the ocean is the zone within which most of the life with which we are instantly familiar -- fish, turtles, and marine mammals, as well as the microscopic plant and animal plankton that forms such an important part of the marine food web – exist. Much deeper where sunlight struggles to penetrate, its another story.  Six hundred meters deep, sunlight in the ocean is as bright as starlight on the surface; at 693 meters it is approximately ten-billionth its surface brightness; and by 1,000 meters, the sea is completely dark. And yet, even here, there is life.

The Deep
In the absence of sunlight, many deep sea fish create lights of their own, in the form of bioluminescent symbiotic bacteria that dangle as lures or shine a path ahead like headlights. Marine invertebrates burrow through the silt of the seabed itself. Seamounts, underwater mountains that climb 1,000 meters or more from the ocean floor, often have complex surfaces of terraces, pinnacles, ridges, crevices and craters, and their presence diverts and alters the currents that swirl about them; the net effect is to create a variety of living conditions, providing habitat for rich and diverse communities. There are believed to be in excess of 100,000 seamounts of 1,000 meters or higher, although only a fraction have been studied.

Human Impact and Hope
However, although humanity has frequently benefited from the bounty of the ocean and the wildlife it contains, ocean and marine wildlife has not always benefited from the attentions of humanity. Some species are already extinct, due to unregulated human activities; others, notably the great whales, have been hunted to fractions of their original populations. Commercial over exploitation of the world’s fish stocks is so severe that it has been estimated that up to 13 percent of global fisheries have ‘collapsed.’ Between 30 and 35 % of the global extent of critical marine habitats such as seagrasses, mangroves and coral reefs are estimated to have been destroyed. The burning of fossil fuels is causing the ocean to become warmer and more acidic, with consequences we are only beginning to grasp.
But there is hope. Around the world, species and populations are recovering with effort and intervention from communities and governments; large areas are being established as protected areas, and the Convention on Biological Diversity has established a series of specific targets that require stakeholders at all levels to work together to protect the biodiversity that lives in the ocean, for its own sake and for the benefit it brings to people worldwide.
Fish may be one of your favourite food items. But be mindful that they too are marine life and if we allowed the world’s oceans to be polluted and over exploited,  marine species, we will not get fish for our consumption. Let’s all be mindful of Marine Biodiversity and commit ourselves to take special heed to protect this precious resource. on this International Biodiversity Day!

Past themes celebrated on International Biodiversity Day

Marine Biodiversity is the theme for this year’s International Day for Biological Diversity (IDB). Designation of IDB 2012 on the theme of marine ecosystems provides parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) and everyone interested in marine life, the opportunity to raise awareness of the issue and increase practical action. The themes of the past Biodiversity Days are listed below...

2012 - Marine Biodiversity
2011 - Forest Biodiversity
2010 - Biodiversity, Development and Poverty Alleviation
2009 - Invasive Alien Species
2008 - Biodiversity and Agriculture
2007 - Biodiversity and Climate Change
2006 - Protect Biodiversity in Dry lands
2005 - Biodiversity: Life Insurance for our Changing World
2004 - Biodiversity: Food, Water and Health for All
2003 - Biodiversity and Sustainable Development
2002 - Dedicated to forest biodiversity

Published on LakbimaNews on 20.05.2012 

Sacred yet venomous - The mighty Cobras of legend

This is the season of Vesak where Buddhists celebrate the Buddha’s Birth, Enlightenment and passing away. No sooner Gautma became Buddha the Thathagatha spent 7 weeks paying tribute to the elements, which facilitated the journey – and provided  shelter during meditation. During the 6th week, heavy rains had prevailed but a cobra known as Muchalinda had shielded the Buddha with his large hood giving protection to the Thathagatha from the inclement rain. ZooLander this week ventures to explore the life of cobras...!

The Vesak season is celebrated with lots of lanterns and pandals. The Sath Sathiya depicts how the Buddha spent 7 weeks immediately after becoming a Thathagatha,  and is the subject of many of these pandals. The first week after enlightenment was spent under a Bo tree experiencing the freedom and peace of becoming a Buddha. On the second week, Buddha continued to gaze at the Bo tree in gratitude to the tree that had given shelter during  the struggle to attain enlightenment. Of the rest of the seven weeks, the sixth week is perhaps the most interesting for those who like to read about animals.
On the sixth week of meditation it had begun to rain heavily  threatening to disturb the Buddha’s meritorious attempt, when a huge cobra known as the Muchalinda Nagaraja (cobra king) came out from  its den and coiled its  body seven times around the Buddha to keep the Thathagatha warm. Also  the cobra protected the Buddha by shielding the Blessed One from the rain with its hood, is what legend says. Some Buddhist legends also go on to mention that after seven days, the rain stopped and the snake changed into a young man who paid his respects to the Buddha.
Whether this is fact or fiction, it is interesting that the cobra has been mentioned in a very close encounter with the Buddha. What makes it significant is that the Cobra,  known as a venomous snake, had not harmed the Buddha who also did not deny the close encounter with a cobra. Snakes are also considered disgusting as they appear slithery, whereas, in fact they are  dry  animals with scales – and perhaps this example of being able to protect the Buddha is a unique testimony to this feature.
Cobras or nagas are considered sacred by Buddhists and Hindus alike. Some legends even mention of cobras that can take the human body shape. In Hindu and Buddhist mythology It is said that nagas are a race of semi-divine serpent creatures. Female nagas are called nagis or naginis. Usually depicted as human above the waist and snake below the waist, nagas can also change shape to appear fully human, or snake. Nagas and nagis are known for their strength, supernatural wisdom, and good looks. When nagis take the human form, they can marry  mortal men, and some Indian dynasties claim descent from them. Some also believes the cobras mentioned in these legends are a tribe known as ‘Naga People’ who worships snakes.

Other snakes mentioned in Buddhism  
In Buddhism, there are many  references to snakes. In one instance the Buddha is said to have drawn a parallel between money and a snake, likening a money to a snake. The story goes,  some thieves having stolen valuables and cash from the house of a rich man had come to a field and divided the loot, from which a packet of money had dropped, and been left behind unnoticed. The Buddha had passed by, in the companying of Venerable Ananda, and on seeing the money packet, had called on Venerable Ananda to look at the very poisonous snake – and the  story continues, with the Buddha likening money to a venomous snake.
There are other instances too, where snakes are mentioned in Buddhist legends and related Jathaka stories. The cobra is undoubtedly the most famous and sacred snake of them all.

Real cobras
Whatever legend says, there are real cobras in Sri Lanka. They are one of the 7 most lethally venomous snakes and if not treated, their bites will prove to be fatal. Cobras are widely distributed in Sri Lanka and the species found here are scientifically classified as Naja Naja or Indian Cobra. On the rear of the snake’s hood are two circular patterns connected by a curved line, evoking the image of spectacles, hence our cobra is also known as the spectacled cobra. Hindus believe these markings are the footmarks of Lord Krishna that danced on hundred and ten hooded snake’s head, known as Kaliya. Naja Naja is distributed across the Indian Subcontinent.
An average cobra is about 1.9 meters (6 feet) in length and there are the rare ones that can be as long as 2.4 meters (nearly 8 feet). Cobras can expand their neck ribs to form a widened hood and our cobra too has this ability like the Muchalinda cobra king. A hood is indeed the most distinctive and impressive characteristic of the Indian cobra. It is formed by raising the anterior portion of the body and spreading some of the ribs in its neck region when it is threatened. The spectacle pattern on the hood varies greatly, as does the overall colour of the snake. The female lays 20 to 30 eggs at a time and will guard them until they are hatched.

Cobras in the zoos Snake Show
If you live in the outskirts of Colombo or in a remote area, there is a chance that you could have an encounter with a cobra. They carry a neuro-toxin venom and stings can be quite lethal if not treated. But luckily there is anti-venom snake serum available in most of the hospitals in Sri Lanka.
However, you can visit the Dehiwala Zoo to observe cobras in safety. There are a couple of cobras in the zoo’s reptilian section. A few of them are taken out during the Snake Show that is held daily at 2pm at the old elephant arenas. The show is conducted by either Nihal Senarath - the Education officer of National Zoological gardens or a curator of the reptilian area.
The Snake Show also helps to clarify some of the myths associated with cobras. Some believe that they grow wings on maturity and fly to the Himalaya region. “But the cobra is just a reptile and how can he get wings to fly,” questions Nihal Senarath during the show from a captivated audience.

Mythology busters
Snake charmers too are famous for making cobras ‘dance’ by playing their flutes. But snakes do not have ears, so there is no possibility of them responding to the sound of music. But if you look carefully, the snake charmer shakes his knee –– and the cobra too moves its head synchronizing with that movement, which explains the snake show conductors replicating the same scenario making the cobra  dance sometimes without using a flute.
It is also said that the cobras when provoked, will keep it in mind and when they get the chance, attack. But it seems this too is a myth. The cobra can perhaps live closer to the victim’s place, so there is a higher chance of getting bitten if a person is not careful. Perhaps it is a different cobra that attacks on a different occasion, but people link the two episodes and associate one cobra with both incidents ...
The cobra is a really interesting creature that evokes both fear and sanctity in the human mind. On your next visit to the zoo, observe them closely. The snake show is also an opportunity for you to get to see these creatures at closer quarters; go on  be there at 2.00pm at the old Elephant Arena located near the elephant shed.

Published on LakbimaNews on 13.05.2012 

The March for survival in the Animal Kingdom - Penguin May Day

Last Tuesday, thousands marched through some Colombo streets to mark May Day. Such ‘marches’ are the stuff of the animal kingdom too;ironically they are more disciplined but also happen in April/May. ZooLander reports this week of the March of the Penguins..!

In the animal Kingdom too, there is an annual march, which occurs   across probably one of the most challenging environments on earth. Instead of the scorching sun or pouring tropical rain, these marchers have to be ready to negotiate walking on freezing ice baring the sub-zero temperature of Antarctica - the polar region that records the lowest temperatures on earth. The participants of this particular march are also not offered biriyani or any alcohol to keep them motivated, but their annual participation is compulsory for the very survival of their whole colony. They are also not divided into different camps carrying different coloured flags --- to the naked eye its just plain black and white pillars moving across a snow-white  Antarctica ...
They are not humans; this is the march of the emperor penguins, and their march is not just a mere 2 or 3 kilometres that make up the May Day march  of political activists, but stretches to about 60 - 100 kilometres in length. The aim of their march is not a mere  politicaly motivated reason such as showcasing power, but is a serious effort in completing the annual breeding cycle of the emperor penguins.  They have to march this distance because of the nature of the Antarctica land mass, which shrinks and expand during summer and winter seasons of the polar region. Under the ice shield, it is an ocean and during the summer - though it is still below zero Celsius temperature, the ice shield can go thin and break off. These emperor penguins use a particular spot that has solid ice year round as their breeding ground to avoid losing a land mass that is vital for the survival of their young. At the beginning of the Antarctica summer, the breeding ground is only few kilometres away, from the ocean where penguins feed. However, by the end of summer, the breeding ground is over 100 kilometres away from the nearest open water and in order to reach it, all the penguins of breeding age must travel this distance.

May Day Rally in the Antarctica
Humans rally in large numbers on May Day, and after a short march stop to listen to their leaders; these Penguins too rally on their pre-designated breeding grounds after the tiring march. Even though there is no ‘police’ or a particular leader to discipline them, they all flock together at freezing cold temperatures.
Antarctica is the coldest continent on Earth and is considered  a cold desert. Temperature in the Antarctica can reach -89 C making it one of the hardest places to survive in. The march of the penguins has provided these creatures an opportunity to survive in the harsh Antarctic environment. ...or if you consider the flip side, only those who marched would be able to survive the harsh Antarctic subzero climate. (Ah, much like  Government supported May Day rallies where those who do not March in support of their campaign may not get benefits?).
Since the discovery of the Antarctica, it has puzzled explorers how the penguins breed in these harsh conditions. Penguins usually lay eggs on the ground, but in the Antarctica, there is no actual land with soil; the whole continent is covered by ice. It had taken decades for zoologists to resolve this puzzle of penguin breeding. Earlier it was believed that the Emperor penguins were some kind of evolutionary “missing link”, something that scientists thought could be proven by observing the growth of the ‘embryo’ at various stages. Later, they were taken by surprise, on seeing the large colonies and their gatherings and  the long march these penguins make annually to reach the breeding grounds.
Emperor penguins breed almost exclusively on sea ice and so are perhaps the only species of bird that never sets foot on land. Now zoologists have discovered around 40 large nesting sites of the emperor penguins. The first breeding colony wasn’t discovered until 1902, when Lt. Reginald Skelton on Scott’s 1901-04 Discovery Expedition, did  some 130 years after the birds had first been sighted, on Captain Cook’s second voyage. New colonies were still being discovered as late as 2009 as per internet sources.

Spectacular scene
Some of these sites say that there are more than half a million birds making it a spectacular scene to watch. But another reason to flock closer together is that each other’s warmth keeps everybody warm -- and loss of energy is at a minimum.
‘Numbe Amma Muhude Giya, Malu aran enna giya’ :
Emperor Penguins begin their breeding cycle when the other Antarctic penguins have finished theirs, at the end of April / May. Eggs are laid in May and June, are the smallest in size relative to body size of any bird, being around 0.4kg (1.1 lb) and just under 1.5% of the mass of an adult bird.
As soon as the mother penguin lays her single egg, she transfers it to the feet of the waiting male with minimum exposure to the elements, as the intense cold will kill the developing embryo. If it stays on ice for more than a few minutes, the purpose of the whole march would be lost. From this point onwards, the males take charge of the egg. No nest is built and the egg is incubated on the feet of the parents. A special fold of abdominal skin known as ‘brood patches’  covers the egg to keep it warm.
There is a famous lullaby sung to console  human babies Numbe amma kira ta giya, kiri erawa enna giya (your mother has gone for milk and will come back with milk). Perhaps this is what penguin fathers are murmuring in the freezing cold as they  take care of the eggs, with a different version such as -Numbe Amma Muhude Giya, Malu aran enna giya (your mother has gone to sea and will be back with fish), as the mother penguins then set off back to sea for fishing and do not return until July.

published on LakbimaNews  06.05.2012