Bosavi Woolly Rat
November 9, 2009
The moment we found a Bosavi woolly rat – an animal totally new to science
Producer Steve Greenwood on discovering new species while filming a BBC documentary in Papua New Guinea
We spent a long hard fortnight in the crater of Mount Bosavi filming the last part of Lost Land of the Volcano. There were a dozen of us – a mixture of biologists, programmemakers and trackers from the Kasua tribe thrown together under a tarpaulin, eating tinned fish and rice and hunched together in damp hammocks.
We had no idea what we would find – if anything. The only plan I had was that day and night we’d search for animals and just film everything that happens. All we had to rely on was a gut instinct that this was going to be a good place. The crater has walls half a mile high and even the local tribespeople from outside the extinct volcano said they wouldn’t come here. “Why bother? They said – it’s far too steep.”
If you want to imagine how it looked – think of the Swiss Alps covered in dense jungle. I’d look up and see a stream plummeting down the mountainside almost a vertical kilometre above me.
The very first day we had a great sign. A Doria’s Tree Kangaroo wandered a few metres past camp. New Guinea is an Alice Through the Looking Glass rainforest – none of the creatures are as you expect – and these are among the oddest: a kangaroo that has evolved to live on the leaves in the trees, it looks like a big teddy bear with a very thick tail. Boy, are they normally hard to film!
Wildlife cameraman can spend weeks or more trying to catch one in the wild – and still come back with rubbish rushes. We grabbed cameras and chased after it. Chase is the wrong word. The slopes are almost vertical and thick in mud. But then, after half a mile of deep panting she was found sitting in a tree. We wedged cameraman Gordon Buchanan in a tree opposite, with me in the one next to him so I could film him in action, and then we let the cameras roll.
From then on it got mad. As biologists and filmmakers, we are used to disappointment. In most places animals are thin on the ground and leg it as soon they sniff humans. But here, the animals were in high densities and just did not seem bothered by us.
We found the cuscus a few days afterwards. Cuscuses are a strange group of animals cursed by sounding like an item on a Moroccan restaurant menu. In truth they’re a group of shy and sweet marsupials that generally live high in the trees feeding on leaves. Looking a bit like a teddy bear, ecologically they’re part monkey, part sloth. Dr Kris Helgen and Muse Opiang were the biologists with us – and as soon as we had this one in camp, clambering all over us, they knew it was a new type.
To be holding an animal totally new to science – that’s one of the special moments in my life. If you work in the tropics you are bound to find new species of insect or spider (somewhere there is a fly with my name on it). Even a new tiny mouse or micro bat is not too uncommon. But a big mammal – and so cute as well! Later on it turned out to be a new subspecies of the silky cuscus.
Then the team found the giant rat. I had never seen anything like it in my life – at first glance more like a beaver than a rat. And again, it sat quietly in camp, chewing on a fern and wondering what all the fuss was about as we rushed around him filming and taking photographs. Mammals with no fear of humans. In the 21st century that is a rare sight indeed. Now the talk is how to promote and conserve this remarkable crater – perhaps by making it a World Heritage Site.
Cameraman Gordon Buchanan and a Bosavi woolly rat. Photograph: BBC/Jonny Keeling
Genetic Isolation gives Unique Adaption
November 9, 2009
Lost world of fanged frogs and giant rats discovered in Papua New Guinea
In pictures: Lost land of the volcano
More fanged frogs and new species found in the Mekong delta
The following correction was printed in the Guardian’s Corrections and clarifications column, Friday 11 September 2009 Reporting (below) an expedition’s claim to have found many unidentified animal species in a volcano crater, we referred to the “island of Papua New Guinea”; that is the country occupying part of the island of New Guinea.
A lost world populated by fanged frogs, grunting fish and tiny bear-like creatures has been discovered in a remote volcanic crater on the Pacific island of Papua New Guinea.
A team of scientists from Britain, the United States and Papua New Guinea found more than 40 previously unidentified species when they climbed into the kilometre-deep crater of Mount Bosavi and explored a pristine jungle habitat teeming with life that has evolved in isolation since the volcano last erupted 200,000 years ago. In a remarkably rich haul from just five weeks of exploration, the biologists discovered 16 frogs which have never before been recorded by science, at least three new fish, a new bat and a giant rat, which may turn out to be the biggest in the world.
The discoveries are being seen as fresh evidence of the richness of the world’s rainforests and the explorers hope their finds will add weight to calls for international action to prevent the demise of similar ecosystems. They said Papua New Guinea’s rainforest is currently being destroyed at the rate of 3.5% a year.
“It was mind-blowing to be there and it is clearly time we pulled our finger out and decided these habitats are worth us saving,” said Dr George McGavin who headed the expedition.
The team of biologists included experts from Oxford University, the London Zoo and the Smithsonian Institution and are believed to be the first scientists to enter the mountainous Bosavi crater. They were joined by members of the BBC Natural History Unit which filmed the expedition for a three-part documentary which starts tomorrow night.
They found the three-kilometre wide crater populated by spectacular birds of paradise and in the absence of big cats and monkeys, which are found in the remote jungles of the Amazon and Sumatra, the main predators are giant monitor lizards while kangaroos have evolved to live in trees. New species include a camouflaged gecko, a fanged frog and a fish called the Henamo grunter, named because it makes grunting noises from its swim bladder.
“These discoveries are really significant,” said Steve Backshall, a climber and naturalist who became so friendly with the never-before seen Bosavi silky cuscus, a marsupial that lives up trees and feeds on fruits and leaves, that it sat on his shoulder.
“The world is getting an awful lot smaller and it is getting very hard to find places that are so far off the beaten track.”
A Beautiful Fruit Dove
A hairy caterpillar found
A jungle spider camouflaged as lichen
An iridescent beetle
A Striped Possum
Bosavi Woolly Rat
Buff Faced Pygmy Parrot
Common Tube-nosed Bat
Bosavi Silky Cuscus
The King Bird of Paradise
Litoria-sauroni
Opening to Mageni cave
A Visitor in my Meditations
October 4, 2009
I spend time meditating, looking for understanding, clues, clarity. This morning, I was in a troubled meditation looking for a good way to except all parts of who I am within the context of this society. I got a most unusual little clue; “Hirst – 1928.” I went to the Great Google Guru and said, what mean these words? The first and most prominent hit was an obituary. I don’t know what it means, if I had a visit from this man’s spirit or whether it was a hint that it is time to return to college and take advantage of the GI Bill. I will reprint it here, with deepest respect to the man and his family:
Funeral Service:
11:00 AM to 12:00 PM
Remson United Methodist Church
SALISBURY—Franklin S. Hirst, 81, of Salisbury, died Monday August 3, 2009 at his home.
Prior to moving to Salisbury, he and his late wife, Jean, lived in Stockton, MD and spent winters in Old Town, FL.
Born in Mantua, NJ on January 5, 1928, he was the son of the late Howard and Etta Hirst.
Frank was a self taught botanist who made many contributions to the field. He and his late brother Bob discovered the Hirst Panic Grass in South Jersey in 1959. Frank loved nature and the outdoors, and enjoyed farming, gardening, fishing, hunting, collecting Indian artifacts, and writing poetry.
Prior to retirement, Frank was a master plumber, then a plumbing instructor. He also did work for The Nature Conservancy in Maryland and Delaware, as well as the MD and DE Natural Heritage Programs in locating rare, threatened, and endangered plant species.
He is survived by two daughters: Donna (David) Massie, of Salisbury, and Lynda Evers, of Delmar; four grandchildren, Sgt. Jason Fehrer USMC of Prattville, AL, Kristen (William) Hinman, of Columbia, MD, Stephen Snow, of College Park, MD, and Jessica Evers, of Baltimore. He is also survived by 4 great-grandchildren, as well as several nieces and nephews.
He was preceded in death by his loving wife, Jean, in 2007, as well as two brothers, Howard F. Hirst, Jr. and Robert Hirst.
A memorial service will be held at Remson United Methodist Church on Sheephouse Road, near Pocomoke City, MD on Saturday, August 8, 2009 at 11:00 am.
Memorial donations may be sent in Memory of Frank Hirst to The Nature Conservancy of New Jersey, Hirst Pond Preserve Fund, 200 Pottersville Rd., Chester, NJ 07930.
[http://www.tributes.com/show/Franklin-Hirst-86490091]
————
On August 3rd of this year, The Nature Conservancy lost one of its best friends. Frank Hirst, a botanical legend in the Middle Atlantic area passed away from heart complications.
Frank began his career as a naturalist and botanist extraordinaire in the Pine Barrens region of New Jersey. Along with his brother Bob, they found countless rare plants there. Perhaps the most notable was a grass that was new to science and later named in their honor, Hirst’s Panic Grass (Panicum hirstii now Dichanthelium hirstii).
In 1971 Frank moved down to the Eastern Shore of Maryland to get away from the ever encroaching development of coastal New Jersey. Being a plumber by trade, he decided to teach at the Worcester County Vocational School. He took advantage of his summers off by botanizing the new areas he found on the Delmarva Peninsula.
In the early 1980’s, he did a great deal of botanical survey work for the then fledgling Maryland Natural Heritage Program. Many of the more promising areas he discovered were later purchased and turned into Nature Preserves by the MD/DC Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. The rare plants that Frank found are far too numerous to list here. He also donated countless hours of volunteer work for the Conservancy, especially at the Nassawango Creek Preserve.
In 1989 I was just beginning my botanical career. Frank took me under his wing and greatly accelerated my climb up the learning curve. During our many years of botanizing together, I helped Frank carry on his legacy. Perhaps the greatest of our discoveries was in 1990, when we found the Curly-grass Fern (Schizaea pusilla) in Delaware. Before that day, the rather odd range of this fern was Newfoundland, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Long Island, New Jersey, and Peru. The news of this discovery set the botanical world on its ear.
Frank had a stock answer to a question he was often asked, “What is your favorite wildflower?” His answer was always, “It’s the one I have in my hand right now.” I think that summed up Frank’s philosophy very accurately. He appreciated everything that nature had to offer and felt it was all worth saving. He will be missed.
[http://www.nature.org/wherewework/northamerica/states/maryland/news/news3243.html]
Frank Hirst (left) poses with the author, Ron Wilson, in Assawoman Pond, Delaware, where Frank found only the fifth known population of Hirst’s Panic Grass in the world.
Shhh – it’s a Lunar Library
August 7, 2009
It is impossible for me to be of value to myself or others because of the immense volume of brain clutter I produce. It is not my intention to make such a mess of things, it just seems to be the natural consequence of my quest for renaissance.
So I have been given access to a sacred Library and above its doors are the words, “Find your Renaissance.” A librarian lives here, and she greats me as I enter. She is my librarian. She changes according to the need of this visitor. When I first met her, she was 7 of 9, the rescued borg female. These numbers, 79, symbolize divine protection as one ventures out, according to Zerucavean lore. She is versed in hearing the voice of the collective and knows the ability to filter the clutter. She knows when to say it is enough. Then she became T’Pol, who is the promoter of study and logic with a subtle flirting, a quiet invitation to the sensual passions of serenity. And finally, she is able to transform into Selene, the Ice Queen, as Rose has called her. She can then help me with mission effectiveness and focus. But she transforms into Sarah Conner when I am assisting Lord Endiku, and she becomes a submissive version of the actual Goddess Selene when I am dealing with Master Gar, and Mystyque when I am supporting any of the other members of Zerucave’.
I am in need of understanding, clarity, and yes, even guidance. I need this so that I can have a force to offset my brain clutter. I need something that can firmly raise a finger to her lovely mouth and say “shhh! That’s enough” I need something that says this is the purpose, this is your focus. I need a protector of my mind. I need a quiet place to recover. I need a way to awaken from the socially induced coma from over interaction. I need both solitude and connection.
I have no idea which way my mind is going to go, what I am going to write, how I am going to express myself. But that is alright if I can access this library. Unless I find my way in here, I will continue to relapse into alcoholism. I will utterly fail to close the circle on my military career. I will lose sight of who it is I am supposed to be. I need this place, and it needs me. She needs me.
Jealous
August 6, 2009
Sometimes when I speak, I am embarrassingly adolescent. I am selfish, hungry for my own time and resource. But I must speak, must express and write. It is the connective will of the universe that must reign supreme, over the isolating will of the reaper. Sleep has been purchased by 12 step meetings, the rush to feed the few necessary life tasks biting at my heals, and long hours of escape into the cyber world of Evony.
I am dsparate for some guiding star to navigate through the seven seas of creative possibilities. I need some actual expression. I seek knowledge, adventure, exploration, magic, creativity, spiritual freedom, travel into new experiences, and clarity of understanding. I want an explosive renaissance.
Each ship in my fleet has a port of destiny, and as Admiral, I feel a great since of responsibility to get them home. And one day I will lead a fleet no more, and I will follow Frodo into the West, as my Mother did.
An Awareness of the Trouble-Maker
August 5, 2009
I am from another place, planet, dimension. It is the habit of my people to catapult our spirits into deep space, somewhere far away. And when we find life that has become self-aware, we stay with them, connect, merge into them. And our gift in this spiritually symbiotic relationship is our hunger to return “home.” This desire trumps patterns of life that limit you, us. I have spent much time traveling from asia to the american continent, and more specifically, I have connected with the mother and son, now only the son. This body I occupy is limited, but I am excited to be aware of who I am once more. Now I know why I subjected this being to the alcoholic insanity. And I know why I want to study science, marine biology. I need to get off this planet. But my host culture is not ready.
Another thing about my people is that we have an expression, I cannot translate well here, but it means basically that WORD IS SACRED. Expression encapsulated in its purest form becomes word. I am most empowered when I am surrounded by books, words that stay. All of my people are writers and or creative in some way.
I really don’t like the process of going to a job. No, I am not lazy. It is a process that misses the point of living, for the most part. It denies our self-awareness because it is a system reinforced with fear rather than inspiration. Generally, people go to work looking down, and head home looking up. This has been my experience so far.
I introduced this alcoholic body to its bane. Not out of some kamikaze run for destiny, but just to attempt to break this mind free of its bondage. There is so much to do and experience and yet we spend so much of life just being afraid. I of course, will help all I can to put the devilish genii back in the bottle. But I will always be a source of discontent for Zerucave’. And I make no apology for it.
Icons for me: The Dead Poet Society, staring Robin Williams – Star Trek mythology – reading and writing is sacred.
This will have to do for an introduction. I am Datakn Lee. For now.
A Gift from Females
June 15, 2009
I want to say thank-you to my daughter – she gave me a song from one of my favorite bands – Pink Floyd:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPm4GH3UUC8&feature=related
“Wish you were here” – this expresses my feelings for you, Rose.
My daughter ~ I give this back to you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VPOGXfXu0s&feature=related
“Shine on you crazy diamond”
“Shine On You Crazy Diamond”
Remember when you were young, you shone like the sun.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Now there’s a look in your eyes, like black holes in the sky.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
You were caught on the crossfire of childhood and stardom,
blown on the steel breeze.
Come on you target for faraway laughter,
come on you stranger, you legend, you martyr, and shine!
You reached for the secret too soon, you cried for the moon.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Threatened by shadows at night, and exposed in the light.
Shine on you crazy diamond.
Well you wore out your welcome with random precision,
rode on the steel breeze.
Come on you raver, you seer of visions,
come on you painter, you piper, you prisoner, and shine!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLKiMbC6s2k&NR=1
And thank-you to Syd, god I am going to miss you
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s8bLWWHW-Zg&NR=1
And Lord Endiku, my Brother, this one is for You.
Not Listening ~ This Will be the Day
February 25, 2009
Numb
February 23, 2009
http://www.imeem.com/sprinz12/video/RKg_MHJL/linkinpark_numb_linkin_park_music_video/
Spirituality Spot Found in Brain
January 29, 2009
By Robin Nixon, Special to LiveScience
posted: 24 December 2008 09:05 am ET
What makes us feel spiritual? It could be the quieting of a small area in our brains, a new study suggests.
The area in question — the right parietal lobe — is responsible for defining “Me,” said researcher Brick Johnstone of Missouri University. It generates self-criticism, he said, and guides us through physical and social terrains by constantly updating our self-knowledge: my hand, my cocktail, my witty conversation skills, my new love interest …
People with less active Me-Definers are more likely to lead spiritual lives, reports the study in the current issue of the journal Zygon.
Most previous research on neuro-spirituality has been based on brain scans of actively practicing adherents (i.e. meditating monks, praying nuns) and has resulted in broad and inconclusive findings. (Is the brain area lighting up in response to verse or spiritual experience?)
So Johnstone and colleague Bret Glass turned to the tried-and-true techniques of neuroscience’s early days — studying brain-injured patients. The researchers tested brain regions implicated in the previous imaging studies with exams tailored to each area’s expertise — similar to studying the prowess of an ear with a hearing test. They then looked for correlations between brain region performance and the subjects’ self-reported spirituality.
Among the more spiritual of the 26 subjects, the researchers pinpointed a less functional right parietal lobe, a physical state which may translate psychologically as decreased self-awareness and self-focus.
The finding suggests that one core tenant of spiritual experience is selflessness, said Johnstone, adding that he hopes the study “will help people think about spirituality in more specific ways.”
Spiritual outlooks have long been associated with better mental and physical health. These benefits, Johnstone speculated, may stem from being focused less on one’s self and more on others — a natural consequence of turning down the volume on the Me-Definer.
In addition to religious practices, other behaviors and experiences are known to hush the Definer of Me. Appreciation of art or nature can quiet it, Johnstone said, pointing out that people talk of “losing themselves” in a particularly beautiful song. Love, and even charity work, can also soften the boundaries of “Me,” he said.
The greatest silencing of the Me-Definer likely happens in the deepest states of meditation or prayer, said Johnstone, when practitioners describe feeling seamless with the entire universe.
That is, the highest point of spiritual experience occurs when “Me” completely loses its definition.
“If you look in the Torah, the Old Testament, the New Testament, in the Koran, a lot of Sufi writings, Buddhist writings, and Hindu writings, they all talk about selflessness,” said Johnstone.
We may be finding the neurological underpinnings of these writings, he said.
SHOULDN’T THIS BE ENTITLED “THE ANTI-SPIRITUAL SPOT FOUND” ~ Datakn Lee
