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Windmills Tilted, Scared Cows Butchered, Lies Skewered on the Lance of Reality ... or something to that effect.


Sunday, March 22, 2015

The Daily Drift

Go ahead Goof Off ...!
 
Carolina Naturally is read in 202 countries around the world daily.   
    
Go on and admit it - You want to ... !
Today is  - International Goof Off Day

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Today in History

1622 Indians attack a group of colonists in the James River area of Virginia, killing 350 residents.
1630 The first legislation prohibiting gambling is enacted in Boston.
1664 Charles II gives large tracks of land from west of the Connecticut River to the east of Delaware Bay in North America to his brother James, the Duke of York.
1719 Frederick William abolishes serfdom on crown property in Prussia.
1765 The Stamp Act is passed, the first direct British tax on the American colonists.
1775 British statesman Edmund Burke makes a speech in the House of Commons, urging the government to adopt a policy of reconciliation with America.
1790 Thomas Jefferson becomes the first U.S. Secretary of State.
1794 Congress passes laws prohibiting slave trade with foreign countries although slavery remains legal in the United States.
1834 Horace Greeley publishes New Yorker, a weekly literary and news magazine and forerunner of Harold Ross' more successful The New Yorker.
1901 Japan proclaims that it is determined to keep Russia from encroaching on Korea.
1904 The first color photograph is published in the London Daily Illustrated Mirror.
1907 Russians troops complete the evacuation of Manchuria in the face of advancing Japanese forces.
1915 A German Zepplin makes a night raid on Paris railway stations.
1919 The first international airline service is inaugurated on a weekly schedule between Paris and Brussels.
1933 President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a bill legalizing the sale and possession of beer and wine.
1935 Persia is renamed Iran.
1946 First U.S. built rocket to leave the Earth's atmosphere reaches a 50-mile height.
1948 The United States announces a land reform plan for Korea.
1954 The London gold market reopens for the first time since 1939.
1968 President Lyndon Johnson names General William Westmoreland as Army Chief of Staff.
1972 The U.S. Senate passes the Equal Rights Amendment. The amendment fails to achieve ratification.
1974 The Viet Cong propose a new truce with the United States and South Vietnam, which includes general elections.
1990 A jury in Anchorage, Alaska, finds Captain Hazelwood not guilty in the Valdez oil spill.

Geneticists Discover That Britons Still Live in Anglo-Saxon Kingdoms

In the early Fifth Century, the Romans left Britain permanently. This left the Britons vulnerable, so the Anglo-Saxon tribes invaded. The somewhat Romanized British peoples fought back, giving birth to the legend of King Arthur. But they were ultimately defeated and much of Great Britain fell under the rule of these Germanic nations.
Then, in 1066, the Normans came and gradually ended Anglo-Saxon independence. It’s been almost a millennium since William the Bastard landed on the beach near Hastings. But according to genetic researchers at Oxford University, many of the British peoples remained in place. They took DNA samples of 2,039 people whose grandparents were born within 80 kilometers of each other. When compared, the researchers found that genetic clusters form around the same general areas of the old Anglo-Saxon and Celtic kingdoms. Sarah Knapton writes for the Daily Telegraph
The most striking genetic split can be seen between people living in Cornwall and Devon, where the division lies exactly along the county border. It means that people living on either side of the River Tamar, which separates the two counties, have different DNA.
Similarly there is a large area in southern and central England with a shared genetic heritage which coincides with the boundaries of Anglo-Saxon England. Likewise, separate genetic groups can be found in areas of North and South Wales corresponding to the ancient kingdoms of Gwynedd and Dyfed.
In the North, specific groups were found in the North East, tallying with the area of Bernicia which was colonised by the Angles from Southern Denmark. And, intriguingly, a small genetic cluster was spotted in the West Riding of Yorkshire, which coincides with the former small kingdom of Elmet, one of the last strongholds of the ancient Britons.
Geneticist Professor Sir Walter Bodmer of Oxford University said: “What it shows is the extraordinary stability of the British population. Britain hasn’t changed much since 600AD.
“When we plotted the genetics on a map we got this fantastic parallel between areas and genetic similarity.
 

Incredible Turquoise Ice

Siberian photographer Alexey Trofimov captured extraordinary scenes of sunshine and ice on Lake Baikal. The turquoise blue ice shimmers like gemstones. Massive Lake Baikal is the oldest and deepest lake on earth, and the ice that appears this way every March draws tourists from all around to see it.
These unique frozen formations are in fact called ice hummocks. The knolls are created in part by pressure that develops gradually and unevenly in the layer of ice that covers Lake Baikal in winter. The physical make-up and temperature of the ice sheet then also become imbalanced, and hence the hummocks form and rise above the frozen surface.
This is Siberia, so the ice will be there until May. See many more pictures of the Baikal ice hummocks at Scribol.

Nude Character Spotted In Kiddie Cartoon Show Causes An Uproar

Cartoons for kids are carefully edited and reviewed to make sure mature content doesn’t make it on the air, but sometimes the censors miss something inappropriate, causing a cartoon crapstorm to kick up on the interwebs.


Recently an episode of Nickelodeon’s Oggy and the Cockroaches aired containing a different kind of easter egg- this image of a topless cartoon character hanging on the wall in the background:
I went ahead and edited the image so as not to incur the wrath of any parental units, so if you want to see the unedited scene containing the nude you'll have to click here or the link below.
The episode was immediately pulled from circulation, and now some smutty Nicktoon animator has some 'splainin' to do!

People in History

Dolores Erikson appeared on the cover of Herb Alpert’s Whipped Cream And Other Delights LP in 1965. 
 Dolores Erikson appeared on the cover of Herb Alpert’s Whipped Cream And Other Delights LP in 1965.

68-Year-Old Woman Runs Across America


Long-distance runner Rosie Swale-Pope is a resident of Great Britain who is on a mission to raise awareness about cancer and to inspire people to live their lives to the fullest. She is currently making her way across America on her own two feet, running and pulling a trailer that serves as her shelter while on the road. The trailer, which she's nicknamed the Icebird, can weigh up to 300 pounds when fully stocked. Swale-Pope was prompted to begin her journey after she lost her husband to cancer. She explained,
“By the time my husband and I realized, it was too late to save him, and after he died in my arms, I felt if I stayed at home just crying and talking, who would listen to me? And I decided to run around the world.”
Swale-Pope has experience with journeys that require physical endurance. The physically fit 68-year-old has run 27 marathons and guesses that she’s run about 50,000 miles in total.

Read more and see additional pictures of this amazing lady here. 

Swiss Avalanche: Burial and Rescue

On January 30, James Mort, Daniel O’Sullivan, Andrew, and Leonard went skiing on a meter of new snow in the Alps on the Swiss/French border. Mort was in front when a avalanche buried him. The whole story is here.
As the snow piled higher and higher, It became darker and darker until I was surrounded by an eerie black silence, broken only by the sound of my slow breathing and racing heartbeat.
"Okay" I thought to myself;
"You’re dead."
I had a shovel and probe in my backpack and I was wearing a transceiver, however, the others were only carrying a shovel and probe. I was convinced that they would not find me in time. Unable to move I focused on slowing my breathing, relaxing and conserving oxygen. I felt bizarrely emotionless and wondered for a moment what death would be like. Then I remembered that I was reaching upwards with my left arm, ski pole still attached. I tried to wiggle my hand and I felt a ‘pop’ as the top 5cm of the pole broke the surface of the snow. Suddenly emotion flooded through me as I realised that Andrew, Dan and Leonard would be able to locate me under the snow if they saw the tip of the pole. However I still forced myself to remain calm as I sat in wait.
O’Sullivan was wearing a GoPro on his helmet and captured the action

Physicians in the Most Isolated Place on Earth

One doctor overwintering in Antarctica is responsible for the health of around 150 people, 2800 miles away from the nearest hospital, with no transportation available for months at a time. Combine that with the danger of freezing, and you have a rather stressful job. You may spend months treating sports injuries, respiratory illness, summer insomnia, and the rare case of frostbite, but there is always the possibility of a major emergency -and the patient could even be the doctor.
It’s a hypochondriac’s worst nightmare: alone in the Antarctic, with the lone physician too ill to care for anyone else. Modern screenings have reduced that possibility, but the area has been home to a series of legendary crises.
Some countries require their doctors undergo an appendectomy to ward off the potential for appendicitis. If that seems excessive, consider the case of Leonid Rogozov, a Russian physician who diagnosed himself with a swollen appendix during a 1961 expedition. Trapped in the Austral winter with no flights in or out—the harsh weather can prevent aircraft from functioning properly—he deputized a few researchers to be his surgical assistants and cut out his own organ using only local anesthesia. He recovered in just two weeks.
In 1999, Jerri Nielsen discovered a lump in her breast. She performed a biopsy using only an ice cube to numb the area; upon discovering a cancerous growth, she had drugs air-dropped to her until she was able fly out for treatment.
Mental_floss talked to Dr. Dale Mole and Dr. Sean Roden about their stints as physicians at the bottom of the earth. Their experiences will give you new respect for those who volunteer for such duty. 

Robert Reich: Why Americans are screwed and Europeans are not

The U.S. economy is picking up steam but most Americans aren't feeling it. By contrast, most European economies are still in bad shape, but most Europeans are doing relatively well.What's behind this? Two big facts.
First, American corporations exert far more political influence in the United States than their counterparts exert in their own countries.
In fact, most Americans have no influence at all. That's the conclusion of Professors Martin Gilens of Princeton and Benjamin Page of Northwestern University, who analyzed 1,799 policy issues - and found that "the preferences of the average American appear to have only a miniscule, near-zero, statistically non-significant impact upon public policy."
Instead, American lawmakers respond to the demands of wealthy individuals (typically corporate executives and Wall Street moguls) and of big corporations - those with the most lobbying prowess and deepest pockets to bankroll campaigns.
The second fact is most big American corporations have no particular allegiance to America. They don't want Americans to have better wages. Their only allegiance and responsibility to their shareholders - which often requires lower wages  to fuel larger profits and higher share prices.
When GM went public again in 2010, it boasted of making 43 percent of its cars in place where labor is less than $15 an hour, while in North America it could now pay "lower-tiered" wages and benefits for new employees.
American corporations shift their profits around the world wherever they pay the lowest taxes. Some are even morphing into foreign corporations.
As an Apple executive told The New York Times, "We don't have an obligation to solve America's problems."
I'm not blaming American corporations. They're in business to make profits and maximize their share prices, not to serve America.
But because of these two basic facts - their dominance on American politics, and their interest in share prices instead of the wellbeing of Americans - it's folly to count on them to create good American jobs or improve American competitiveness, or represent the interests of the United States in global commerce.
By contrast, big corporations headquartered in other rich nations are more responsible for the wellbeing of the people who live in those nations.
That's because labor unions there are typically stronger than they are here - able to exert pressure both at the company level and nationally.
VW's labor unions, for example, have a voice in governing the company, as they do in other big German corporations. Not long ago, VW even welcomed the UAW to its auto plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee. (Tennessee's own politicians nixed it.)
Governments in other rich nations often devise laws through tri-partite bargains involving big corporations and organized labor. This process further binds their corporations to their nations.
Meanwhile, American corporations distribute a smaller share of their earnings to their workers than do European or Canadian-based corporations.
And top U.S. corporate executives make far more money than their counterparts in other wealthy countries.
The typical American worker puts in more hours than Canadians and Europeans, and gets little or no paid vacation or paid family leave. In Europe, the norm is five weeks paid vacation per year and more than three months paid family leave.
And because of the overwhelming clout of American firms on U.S. politics, Americans don't get nearly as good a deal from their governments as do Canadians and Europeans.
Governments there impose higher taxes on the wealthy and redistribute more of it to middle and lower income households. Most of their citizens receive essentially free health care and more generous unemployment benefits than do Americans.
So it shouldn't be surprising that even though U.S. economy is doing better, most Americans are not.
The U.S. middle class is no longer the world's richest. After considering taxes and transfer payments, middle-class incomes in Canada and much of Western Europe are higher than in U.S. The poor in Western Europe earn more than do poor Americans.
Finally, when at global negotiating tables - such as the secretive process devising the "Trans Pacific Partnership" trade deal - American corporations don't represent the interests of Americans. They represent the interests of their executives and shareholders, who are not only wealthier than most Americans but also reside all over the world.
Which is why the pending Partnership protects the intellectual property of American corporations - but not American workers' health, safety, or wages, and not the environment.
The Obama administration is casting the Partnership as way to contain Chinese influence in the Pacific region. The agents of America's interests in the area are assumed to be American corporations.
But that assumption is incorrect. American corporations aren't set up to represent America's interests in the Pacific region or anywhere else.
What's the answer to this basic conundrum? Either we lessen the dominance of big American corporations over American politics. Or we increase their allegiance and responsibility to America.
It has to be one or the other. Americans can't thrive within a political system run largely by big American corporations - organized to boost their share prices but not boost America.

Skeptical of Wingnuts

Drunk-driving awareness course leader convicted of drunk-driving

A drunk-driving awareness course leader who was three times over the drunk-driving limit one morning has been banned from driving for 26 months. But Alison Baker, who ran courses for Devon County Council, was allowed to go on one of the drink-drive awareness course she used to run - which would see her reduce her ban by a quarter. Baker, now 60, had twice driven to her local filling station to buy bottles of wine within a couple of hours of one morning last May. The garage cashier was concerned she was not in a fit state to drive on the second visit and tipped off police. Officers turned up at her home in Pinhoe near Exeter, Devon, and when she eventually answered the door she was so drunk she had to grip walls and furniture to stand up. Baker had denied drunk-driving but was convicted after a trial last month - she blamed the high reading on post driving consumption and said she had downed one and a half bottles of wine in around ten minutes before the police came to her home.
But the district judge rejected her account and she was convicted. Prosecutor Sonia Croft said Baker was a trainer on drink drive awareness courses and said she should not be allowed her to go on such a course. She told Exeter magistrates court that Baker would know the ins and outs of the course and would gain nothing from it. But defense lawyer Vanessa Francis said the Crown's case to prevent her client from paying to go such a course was "spiteful and unnecessarily punitive".
She said this was Baker's first drunk-driving offense and it would be unfair to refuse a first time offender the opportunity to go on the course where each individual has to talk about the offense they have committed. District Judge Stephen Nicholls agreed and offered her a place on a course. He banned her from driving for 26 months but that could be reduced by 26 weeks if she passes the course by August 2016. She was also given an 18 month community order and told to pay a total of £430 in costs.

Daughter says huge pile of rubble dumped on mother's grave is disrespectful

A family were left "heartbroken" when they visited a relative's grave on Mother's Day and found a huge pile of rubble on top of it. Loretta Perminas, 54, took her two children and three of her grandchildren to see her mother Jadvyga's resting place at Carlton Cemetery in Nottingham on Sunday. She had left items, including an angel ornament and flowers, next to a name plaque but found them all tossed to the side.
Gedling Borough Council has apologized to the family for the distress caused, but said that when it is digging new graves workers sometimes have to put soil on the adjacent plot for a short time. Ms Perminas, of Carlton, said: "It's just heartbreaking. We didn't even have anywhere to put the flowers. To cover up someone's grave with a pile of rubble is so disrespectful – I couldn't believe it." Jadvyga died in January last year, aged 89. The family have been saving up for a headstone but had placed a memorial plaque, vases and a Holy Mary ornament, which had been blessed by the Pope in Rome, on the grave.
Grandmother-of-five Ms Perminas visited the grave last Wednesday to leave flowers and the angel ornament. When she returned with her family, she found another grave had been dug about six inches away, with soil and rocks dumped on her mother's resting place. Gedling Borough Council, which runs the cemetery, has apologized. Peter Barnes, portfolio holder for the environment, said: "We are really sorry for any distress experienced by the Perminas family.

"Carlton Cemetery is a working cemetery, which means that graves are being dug out and prepared for new burials all the time. In this case, a grave was being prepared adjacent to the grave of the Perminas family and, as a result, earth was placed on the adjacent grave, pending the new burial. Given the close proximity between graves, this practice is often unavoidable but we always remove any earth that is left on adjacent graves as quickly as possible. We also ensure that any family items that are removed as part of the preparation for a new grave are carefully returned to where they came from."

Egyptian woman forced to dress as man to earn a living honored by government as ideal mother

An Egyptian woman who has disguised herself as a man for 43 years in order to make a living for her daughter after the death of her husband was honored on Tuesday by the government as the “ideal mother” of Luxor governorate. The Social Solidarity Directorate of Luxor said it was awarding the “woman breadwinner” award to Sisa Abu Daooh for her years of hard work providing for her daughter and her grandchildren.
64-year-old Abu Daooh lost her husband while she was pregnant and after giving birth, she found herself without an income. Her situation was complicated by a local culture opposed to women in the work place, which forced her to dress as a man and work outside the home to support her baby daughter Houda. She worked making bricks and polishing shoes in the street among other jobs. Eventually, she married off her daughter to a man who later fell ill and couldn’t work.
So, being a resourceful woman, Abu Daooh kept up her work as the breadwinner of her family. She donned a local “jilbab” - a loose, full-length robe with wide sleeves – as well as a white turban, or sometimes a men’s hat known as a “Taqiyah” and black masculine shoes. “I preferred working in hard labor like lifting bricks and cement bags and cleaning shoes to begging in the streets in order to earn a living for myself and for my daughter and her children,” she said.

“So as to protect myself from men and the harshness of their looks and being targeted by them due to traditions, I decided to be a man … and dressed in their clothes and worked alongside them in other villages where no one knows me.” She added that she worked in an array of jobs, from “polishing shoes, to construction to agriculture.” At the moment, Abu Daooh says she is polishing shoes, which earns her a “decent income.” She gave thanks to those who had helped her along the way. “Thanks to everyone who has helped me. I hope to see Egypt in a better situation.”

Father in trouble for taking his eight-year-old daughter to school while tied to his motorcycle

Police in India have charged a man who took his eight-year-old daughter to school while tied with ropes to his motorcycle. 40-year-old Bhagwat Singh was arrested after local newspapers in Uttar Pradesh state published photos taken by passers-by. He has now been freed on bail.
Onlookers accuse Singh of cruelty - he says his daughter had an exam and was reluctant to go to school. It took place in a village in the district of Mathura on Friday. The incident comes at a time when the prime minister has launched a huge campaign to educate girls in India.
Singh, a father of two sons and three daughters, works as a security guard at a private school. Police say he tried to persuade the girl, his youngest child, to go to school, particularly since she had a test to write. The child was promised sweets and gifts, but when she refused to relent, her angry father tied her to the back of his bike with ropes and took her to school.
Singh has been charged with breach of peace, Mathura superintendent of police Shailesh Pandey said. Singh spent a day in the cells but still believes he did the right thing. "My daughter will not die if I take her to school. But she will surely die if she does not study," he said.

Florida teacher given five-day suspension for calling Muslim student a ‘Rag Head Taliban’

A French teacher at Cypress Bay High School in Weston, Florida, has been suspended for five days without pay, and will have to undergo a diversity training program, for calling a Muslim student a “Rag Head Taliban’’ when the 14-year-old walked into class wearing a hoodie last month. The punishment didn’t please the student’s father. Youssef Wardani wanted the teacher, Maria Valdes, fired or suspended for a year without pay for what he calls racist comments.
On Tuesday, Wardani addressed the Broward School Board, who voted unanimously to discipline the teacher, who has been teaching in Broward Schools for 11 years. “My son is Deyab-Houssein Wardani, [and] he’s not a rag head Taliban,” Wardani told the school board members. Wardani said his son, who is of Lebanese and Moroccan descent, was bullied by his teacher, and accused the school board of not acting swiftly enough. He referred to Valdes’ suspension as a “five-day vacation.”
“I promise you for the rest of my life, until my dying breath, I’m going to make sure no child goes through what my Deyab-Houssein had to go through,” he said after the meeting. According to the administrative complaint, Valdes stated, “Ah no! The Taliban is here,” when Deyab-Houssein would walk into the classroom at the school. She’d also call on him by saying, “Okay the Taliban, what is the answer?” and “Let’s ask the Taliban.”

The teacher continued to refer to Deyab-Houssein as “the Taliban,” and “terrorista,” which means terrorist in Spanish, until Wardani complained to the school administration. Deyab-Houssein said other students laughed when she made her remark. He said he didn’t know the teacher was referring to him by the name of a terrorist organization until he asked his parents what the Taliban is, following the first incident. After learning what the name meant, his response was: “This is definitely not funny.”

Man charged with burglary after taking back 'unappreciated' Christmas gift from neighbors

A man from Burnsville, Minnesota, has been charged with burglary after police say he broke into his neighbors' home to take back a Christmas gift because “they did not appreciate it.” Burnsville officers were called to a home after a woman said her neighbor, 54-year-old Alfred Joseph Guercio, had forced his way into her home.
The woman told police Guercio went to their home around Christmas and gave them a knife set, which they placed on top of their refrigerator. On March 11, she said Guercio rang their doorbell, and he got into an argument with her about the knife set. He said he was upset that she didn’t appreciate the knife set and wanted it back.
The woman told Guercio to stay there and that she would get him the knives, but she said Guercio forced his foot in the door and wouldn’t let her shut it. She said Guercio pushed his way into the house and got the knives. Guercio then left in a car. Police say they later spotted his car and stopped him.
Guercio told police he gave the knife set to the woman and her husband and was upset that she wasn’t using them “in the way they had agreed for her to use them,” according to the criminal complaint. He said he went inside the house because he felt like she wasn’t going to get the knives.

Man arrested after being found with his head in a hole in the ground

A Florida man was arrested after being found with his head in a hole. Louis Pisapia, 44, was jailed on disorderly intoxication and resist officer without violence charges after the Feb. 28 incident in Stuart, an arrest affidavit states.
A Martin County sheriff’s investigator went to a home in Stuart at about 3am after a “man down/sick person” report. A deputy saw Pisapia “on his knees with his head and face in a hole in the front yard.”
“It would appear that Louis created the hole with his hands, due to the fact that his hands and body were covered in dirt,” the affidavit states. A deputy asked whether he needed help getting up.
“(Expletive) you, I don’t have to get up,” Pisapia, who reportedly smelled of alcohol, is quoted as yelling. Pisapia kept yelling obscenities and was arrested. The affidavit doesn’t state why Pisapia, of Stuart, had his head in the hole.

Pregnant Woman Answers Craigslist Ad For Baby Clothes, Bogus Seller Cuts Child From Her Womb

Image via KTLA5
As the victim arrived at hospital, so did her attacker, claiming to have miscarried the baby.

Around The World, People Say The United States Is Most Dangerous To World Peace

Wingnut Mental Illness

Unbelievably Cute Mammal With Teddy Bear Face Rediscovered

More than 20 years after its discovery, the rare Ili pika was spotted in the mountains of northwestern China.
Picture of a Chinese mammal, IIi pika 
You could call it one of the world's longest games of hide and seek.
For more than 20 years, the Ili pika (Ochotona iliensis), a type of tiny, mountain-dwelling mammal with a teddy bear face, had eluded scientists in the Tianshan Mountains of northwestern China.
People have seen the furry critter only a handful of times since it was discovered by accident in 1983. In fact, people have spotted only 29 live individuals, and little is known about the animal's ecology and behavior.
Then, in summer 2014, researchers rediscovered the pika.
Weidong Li, the species' original discoverer and a scientist at the Xinjiang Institute for Ecology and Geography, had gathered a group of volunteers in the Tianshan Mountains for some pika searching. At noon one day, as they were setting up camera traps, the team spotted their prize.
A curious pika emerged from a gap in the cliff face, and Li snapped a few photos (including the one above).
"They found it hiding behind a rock, and they realized they had found the pika. They were very excited," said Tatsuya Shin, a naturalist in China who works with the pika's discoverers.
Mountain High
In 1983, the Chinese government sent Li to the mountainous Xinjiang Province to study natural resources and infectious diseases. As Li explored a valley by Jilimalale Mountain, he saw a small, gray head sticking out from a crack in the rock. As he edged closer, Li got a look at its whole body.
The animal was about 4 inches (20 centimeters) long, with large ears and several small brown spots in its gray fur.
Li wasn't familiar with the species, nor were nearby Kazakh herdsmen. Li caught a specimen and sent it to a scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, who said he believed the pika was a new species.
Although Li couldn't find any more pikas on a second trip to the area in December 1983, a third trip in 1985 was more successful, and the additional specimens allowed academy researchers to confirm that the Ili pika was new to science.
Tiny and in Trouble
Like other species of pika found in North America, the Ili pika lives at high elevations—between 9,200 and 13,450 feet (2,800 to 4,100 meters)—and subsists mainly on grasses, herbs, and other mountain plants.
Like other high-dwelling creatures, the pika is sensitive to changes in its environment. A 1990s estimate put its population at about 2,000 individuals, and it's believed to be decreasing in number, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Grazing pressure from livestock and air pollution have likely contributed to the decline in the Ili pika, which IUCN lists as vulnerable to extinction. China considers the species endangered.
Even so, there are no concerted efforts under way to help the Ili pika. Li said he hopes to change that, and use the rediscovery of the animal to create conservation areas for the species.
How could anyone turn down a face like that?

Raccoon Cautiously Grabs Snack Offered to Him

A frightened raccoon in a hollow tree trunk slowly and cautiously reaches with both paws to grab the little treat offered to him.

'Carolina Butcher'

A tall, upright beast with slicing teeth was North America's top predator before the reign of dinosaurs.

The Bizarre Past of Horses

The family tree of horses just took an unexpected turn, as researchers have found horses are related to the strangest animals ever discovered.

On The Brink Of Extinction And The Ramifications Are Huge

Salamander Get Its Own Road

Kitchener, Ontario helps Jefferson salamanders make their annual spring crossing of a road to ponds on the other side.

Orangutans' Fake Voices

Orangutans can impersonate larger, scarier animals by altering their calls with their hands.

How a Hummingbird Hovers in Strong Wind

A hummingbird can hover in place in a strong wind, remaining stationary even when the wind speed constantly varies as much as 15%. In contrast, the typical aerial drone can stay steady only when the wind speed varies up to 7%.
Researchers at Harvard and RMIT University in Melbourne wanted to understand why in order to improve drone design. So they placed hummingbirds in a wind tunnel. They found that hummingbirds, which beat their wings 40 times a second, can vary the angle and position of their wings and tails to a wide degree and implement these changes within a single wingbeat. You can read more about this study at the New York Times (warning: auto-start video).

Animal Pictures