#i am contributing to its extinction..

[bestanimal]

Round 3 - Lissamphibia - Urodela

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Order: Urodela

Common Name: “salamanders”

Families: 9 - Cryptobranchidae (“giant salamanders”), Hynobiidae (“Asiatic salamanders”), Ambystomatidae (“mole salamanders” and “Pacific giant salamanders”), Amphiumidae (“amphiumas”), Plethodontidae (“lungless salamanders”), Proteidae (“mudpuppies” and “Olm”), Rhyacotritonidae (“torrent salamanders”), Salamandridae (“true salamanders” and “newts”), and Sirenidae (“sirens”).

Anatomy: larval stage with gills, some aquatic species retain the gills as adults; basal tetrapod body form with a cylindrical trunk, four limbs, and a long tail; some aquatic species have reduced or absent hind limbs (image 3); moist smooth, velvety, or “warty” skin which is permeable to water and used in respiration; no claws; no ears or eardrums, but have an opercularis system allowing them to detect airborne sound

Diet: invertebrates and small vertebrates

Habitat/Range: only in the Holarctic and Neotropical regions; 1/3 of the known salamander species are found in North America, with the highest concentration found in the Appalachian Mountains region

Evolved in: Middle Jurassic; the oldest known stem-salamander (part of the clade Caudata) is Triassurus from the Triassic of Kyrgyzstan

Propaganda under the cut:

Salamanders are capable of regenerating lost limbs as well as other damaged parts of their bodies, including vital organs such as their heart, jaw, and parts of the spinal cord.

Due to their popularity in the pet trade, the Axolotl (Ambystoma mexicanum) is perhaps the most famous salamander. They are paedomorphic, maturing without undergoing metamorphosis into a terrestrial adult form, instead remaining fully aquatic with obvious external gills. They resemble larvae of the occasionally paedomorphic Tiger Salamander (Ambystoma tigrinum). Critically endangered in the wild, they originally inhabited a large lake in the Mexican highlands known as Lake Texcoco, along with a number of smaller, interconnected lakes such as Lake Xochimilco and Lake Chalco, and were abundant enough to form a staple in the Aztec diet. These lakes were mostly drained by Spanish colonists after the conquest of the Aztec Empire, leading to the destruction of most of the Axolotl's natural habitat, which is now largely occupied by Mexico City. Due to continued urbanization in Mexico City, which causes water pollution in the remaining waterways, as well as the introduction of invasive species such as tilapia and perch, the Axolotl is nearly extinct. Six adult Axolotls (including a leucistic specimen) were shipped from Mexico City to Paris in 1863, where French scientists began studying them. They were found to be able to regenerate body parts, could be artificially induced to metamorphosize, and were hybridized with Tiger Salamanders. Their success in scientific research has also led to them being prolific in the pet trade, and one restaurant in Japan even sells fried Axolotls as a menu item. Despite their large population in captivity, these Axolotls are inbred and often contain Tiger Salamander genes, and can not contribute to the tiny population of pure wild Axolotls. Lake Texcoco and Lake Chalco no longer exist, so they are native only to the freshwater lake Xochimilco, which remains a remnant of its former self, existing mainly as canals. Only 2 wild Axolotls were spotted in 2013, after months of searching. Currently, the Lake Texcoco Ecological Park is being established to restore natural spaces to Mexico City, and hopefully provide a home for the Axolotl and other Mexican biodiversity.

The similarly critically endangered Anderson's Salamander (Ambystoma andersoni), from Zacapu Lagoon in the Mexican state of Michoacán, is one of the few species of living amphibians to occur in brackish or salt water.

Salamanders of the family Plethontidae have tongues that reach up to 80% of their body length, are attached to their skeleton, and fire ballistically at prey in less than 20 milliseconds.

Slimy Salamanders (Plethodon glutinosis) do not lay their eggs in water, so they stay near them to keep them from drying out, as well as to defend them from predators.

The largest living lissamphibian is the South China Giant Salamander (Andrias sligoi) (image 2), with the largest known individual having been 1.8 m (5.9 ft) long. It is critically endangered due to habitat loss, pollution, and overcollection, and its use in traditional medicine and status as a delicacy has led to it being farmed for meat. It is hoped that this will take the heat off the wild salamanders, though wild salamanders are still often caught to bolster breeding populations in meat farms. It is unknown if any South China Giant Salamanders still exist in the wild, and those on farms are likely hybridized, as Andrias species are often caught indiscriminately and are able to interbreed. Of the known individuals that survive in zoos, all are males, and are nearing the end of their natural lifespans.

The Eastern Newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) is perhaps best known for its striking, land-dwelling juvenile stage which is colloquially called a Red Eft. Eastern Newts have three stages of life: the aquatic larva/tadpole, the terrestrial Red Eft, and the aquatic adult. Having a terrestrial juvenile stage allows young Eastern Newts to disperse to new ponds. They will spend 2-3 years in the Red Eft stage before choosing a pond and transforming into an adult.

The Olm, or Proteus (Proteus anguinus) (see gif above), is an paedomorphic cave-dwelling salamander, and the only exclusively cave-dwelling chordate found in Europe. It is entirely aquatic, eating, sleeping, and breeding underwater, as well as adapted for life underground in complete darkness. The Olm's eyes are undeveloped, leaving it blind, while its other senses, particularly those of smell and hearing, are more acutely developed. They can also sense both electric and magnetic fields. They have unpigmented skin, but will develop color if exposed to weak light for a few hours a day. They can live to be 100 years old, and go for years without food. This slow metabolism allowed one tracked Olm to stay in same spot for over 7 years! In the 1600s, Olms washed up from the underground waters were believed by local people to be the offspring of a cave dragon. The Olm is a symbol of Slovenian natural heritage, and was depicted on the Slovenian tolar coin, as well as being the namesake of the oldest Slovenian popular science magazine, Proteus, first published in 1933.

[cityofmeliora]

notes / thoughts on the Papas' (lack of) involvement in the songwriting process and their connections to the concepts / themes of their albums

thanks for the kind words and thanks for the ask! these were great questions and really enjoyed writing this response. your questions really made me think! (and when i start thinking i always think too hard and take forever to answer– sorry this took so long!)

i'm putting these questions together because i feel they are closely related. this is a topic i've recently been thinking about a lot, actually.

A Ghoul Writer was first mentioned in that 2010 interview with Primo. the Ghoul Writer is Special Ghoul, the Nameless Ghoul character who gave interviews in Eras 2 and 3. in interviews with him, either he himself or the interviewers would usually mention he's the Writer. i'm not linking anything specific here because you can find this happening in pretty much any Era 2 / 3 interview. (though there's one Era 2 Nameless Ghoul interview that refers to the Writer as a separate character.)

the only Papa who wrote his own music was Nihil. the music video for The Future Is A Foreign Land shows that he and his Nameless Ghouls wrote the song together, and he's credited as a writer on Seven Inches Of Satanic Panic. (pic: back of the SIOSP record)

after Nihil, none of the Papas were involved in the songwriting process. everything after Nihil was written by A Ghoul Writer.

PITCHFORK: On the new album, the songs/lyrics are credited to "A Ghoul Writer." Are you this "Ghoul Writer"? If so, what inspired the words? PAPA EMERITUS: I am not the Ghoul Writer. Pitchfork (April 2013)

Does Papa contribute to the composing process? NAMELESS GHOUL: No, Papa doesn’t contribute to the song-writing. Metal Paths (August 2015)

so the later Papas were interpreters of the music, not writers.

as for the question of whether the Papas embody the sins of society or criticize the sins of society by parodying them, i think it's a bit of both– and i think it depends on which perspective we're looking from.

obviously from a real-world perspective, Ghost as a whole is meant to criticize and parody the issues the music is about, and the personality and characterization of each Papa is closely tied to the themes of his album.

from an in-universe lore perspective, as interpreters of the music, each Papa has his own relationship with the themes of his album. i think the Ghoul Writer writes each album for / about the Papa who's going to perform it. however, this is not necessarily a positive gesture.

here are my notes / thoughts on how each Papa relates to the themes of his album:

(trigger warning for mentions of misogynistic violence / rape / forced pregnancy)

Opus Eponymous and Primo: Primo refuses to comment on his interpretation of Opus Eponymous, but it's pretty clear what he thinks. Primo is a misanthrope who believes humans are “vermin” that have doomed themselves due to their “intellectual decline”. in his eyes, humanity is unworthy of life and will eventually be destroyed. Opus Eponymous has been described as an "orthodox devil-worshipping" album, and it is a very violent album, which is great for Primo because he's an orthodox devil worshiper and he loves violence and murder and wants everyone to die. 'Elizabeth' celebrates an alleged serial killer who is said to have killed hundreds of women / girls. 'Stand By Him' is about a woman being raped by a priest, who then accuses her of witchcraft and has her burned at the stake in order to cover up the assault. and the overall narrative of Opus Eponymous is about a woman being raped and forced to carry + birth the Antichrist, which will eventually kill her. this is something Primo thinks is good and anticipates happening because he believes in the cult very literally and agrees with its message / mission of human extinction. Primo is definitely a villain.

Infestissumam and Secondo: interestingly, there is actually an instance of Papa telling us about his interpretation of this album. in Secondo's own words, "the new album is about the presence of the Devil. The title, Infestissumam, means 'the biggest threat' and refers literally to the arrival of the Antichrist, but what it is also is about is what man has traditionally regarded as diabolical presence– namely female form and swagger." Infestissumam is about how humanity can connect to the presence of the Devil, both physically and spiritually. i think this theme really shows through Secondo. to him, all the things traditionally regarded as sin –especially sexuality– are good things. to him, Satan is the way to freedom and enlightenment. on the flipside, all the things promoted by christianity –holiness and virtue and repression– are stupid and stifling. Secondo is a jerk and he loves to have sex and party and he just doesn't care. Secondo, more than any other Papa, is dedicated to indulging in sin and saying "fuck you" to christianity.

Meliora and Terzo: it's complicated. i don't want to give a detailed explanation right now because i already have a separate post in my drafts about my analysis of Terzo's relationship with the themes of Meliora (it will be long). for now, this is what i'll say: Meliora is about the absence of god, and it's described as futuristic and "pre-apocalyptic." the title "Meliora" means "for the pursuit of better", but it's meant to be ironic. it's about the mistakes people make / the bad things people do in pursuit of better. so as your ask states, it criticizes ambition, greed, and abuse of power. i think Terzo wants to criticize those sins. but i think that he also embodies them, to a certain extent, and i think Meliora is also criticizing him.

Prequelle and Cardinal Copia: we don't really have any canon material that indicates Cardi's personal opinions on the album, but there is certainly a connection between the character and the concept / themes of the album. Prequelle is described as a "positive" album about the plague. it's an album about society falling apart during the apocalypse. it's also an album about celebration and survival in spite of being faced with the inevitability of death. i think Cardi certainly embodies this. Cardi is surrounded by death. Prequelle Era begins with Papas I, II, and III being murdered in order to promote Cardi's success, and it ends with Papa Nihil dying, which allows Cardi to ascend and become Papa IV. in a way, Cardi is both a plague rat and a survivor. it's not his fault they died. he didn't ask for them to be killed, and he was not their killer. but he is the herald and the carrier of the true killer, the actual driving force behind everything (Sister Imperator). through all this, Cardi is having a good time! he's dancing the night away! he's glad everyone standing in his way has dropped dead! he is a rising star and he feels invincible! and he is certain he will survive this.

IMPERA and Papa Emeritus IV: the main themes of IMPERA are "spiritual annihilation", reactionary sentiment, and regression. it's about how people who fear progress are afraid of losing their sense of meaning / purpose and their place in the world, so they turn to misogyny, violence, religious dogma, and fascism. they cling to the idea of having a cause to fight for. i think Cardi is certainly criticizing these issues. he doesn't agree with any of this at all. however, there's still a connection between the narrative of IMPERA and Cardi's character arc in this Era. narratively, IMPERA is a concentrated / condensed version of the apocalyptic narrative that plays out through the first 4 albums. it's about the cyclical nature of the rise and fall of empires. IMPERA Era begins with Cardi ascending to the title of Papa. but after the feeling of triumph wore off, Cardi became very aware of and very fearful of his own inevitable end. he knew that no matter how great his achievements were, he would be forced to step down so his successor could take his place, just like his predecessors had for him. Rite Here Rite Now is about Cardi struggling to make peace with this idea. as a side note: i really like the irony of the fact that Cardi was never actually the leader of his own empire– he was a puppet emperor who got his marching orders from his mother. it connects to IMPERA's theme of political manipulation.

[raptorish]

On Sapience, Longing, and the Lack Thereof

Written by Max on August 12th, 2024.

So I was at Othercon 2024 this past weekend - and like many who attended, I came out the other side with a new piece of my identity to chew over. This essay is me chewing over my thoughts on archaeosapience, as it connects to my velociraptor paleotheriotype, and why I genuinely don’t feel like I fit the label.

One of the panels I attended and thoroughly enjoyed was “Not Humans, Still People: How Inhumanity Interacts with Personhood,” by Goratrix bani Tremere of the Draconic Wizard Workshop and Chaiya Askari-Vykos of the Treehouse System. During the panel, Goratrix and Chaiya argue that personhood is different from humanity, defining personhood as, essentially, sapience - the ability to understand oneself, to make rational choices, to comprehend the world in not only physical ways, but also the abstract and symbolic. All humans are people, but not all people are humans - nonhuman personhood is experienced by many, many alterhumans, and this is an important distinction to keep in mind.

Another panel I adored, presented by Sivaan of Candlekeep, was “Archaeosapience: To Awaken as Ancient in a Modern Age,” in which he discusses the label and the intricacies of his own experience as an archaeosapien. Once again, nonhuman sapience is a key feature here - as Sivaan writes in xyr coining essay, “[t]he “sapience” in archaeosapience exclusively refers to our awareness of our existence as ancient beings,” as opposed to an inherent connection with the species Homo sapiens. Archaeosapience does not require one to be human.

An archaeosapien is defined as “an individual whose alterhuman or nonhuman identity is intrinsically rooted in prehistory, antiquity or mythic accounts of history.” And funnily enough, here lies my personal disconnect with the term, even though I identify as a velociraptor - a prehistoric animal well known to be extinct. To experience archaeosapience requires personhood, requires sapience, an understanding of oneself as an ancient being. And this is one thing that my theriotype utterly lacks.

Now, I’m not saying that I lack sapience. I am a person, one who reads and writes and learns about the world around me. I also identify as human, separate but intertwined with my personhood, and my humanity is as important to me as my animality. Both of these core parts of myself contribute to where I stand today - as a prehistoric animal person who is, somehow, completely at home in modernity.

Throughout this essay, I’m going to refer to my raptor self in the third person - it thinks this, it wants that. I separate myself from my theriotype in this way because I do not feel like I’m myself in a mental shift. My raptorial mind is not a person, but an animal. It is incapable of understanding abstract concepts or philosophical thought, living in the physical world where it gets food, water, rest, shelter, and enrichment. This does not make it any lesser than my sapient mind - it does mean that it has a different way of understanding the world.

My raptor brain, the instinctual animal side, does not feel like it’s an animal from another era. It doesn’t even know what time is, beyond the regular cycles of day and night. It doesn’t understand common features of modern human society, like computers or elevators or money - not because those things didn’t exist back in prehistoric Asia, 75 million years ago, but because it’s an animal. I could be a gecko from the modern day and still feel the same mentally shifted apathy and confusion about the things I need to live day to day as a human being. The raptor doesn’t know or care about its status as a long-extinct relic, because as far as it’s concerned, it is alive and well, healthy and fed and comfortable in a house with people it knows.

In fact, my raptor brain doesn’t even feel attached to a habitat. Early on in my awakening, as someone who knows where velociraptors used to live in the spacetime continuum, I felt a sort of connection with deserts - I’d look at them and think, that’s like the place my species lived! This was the part of me who’s a person, putting a label to a place that I’ve never been, thinking fondly of it despite never having lived there.

The part of me that’s not a person, that knows nothing but pavement and grass and many-walled shelters keeping out the wind, looks at the desert and bristles with distaste. It doesn’t like the idea of being somewhere it doesn’t know, with sand and scorching sun and no food it knows how to catch. It knows its home territory, a place with cooling wooden floorboards and a comfortable nest of mattress and blankets and a cache of good food that never runs out, and it likes its territory. It doesn’t like the desert or understand the significance of it. It can’t comprehend the idea of wilderness enough to miss it. It doesn’t want to be wild and free, it wants to live in a building with air conditioning and clean freshwater from the sink.

As you can see, my raptor self is perfectly content to be a modern animal. How about my human self, the part of me that can think about my theriotype and know that it’s a prehistoric animal? Do I long for ancient deserts, grieve and yearn for a world I never experienced because I know it might have once been home?

Well… no. I don’t. For better or worse, my humanity feels inexorably linked to modernity, to cities, to technology. I can’t go anywhere or do anything without running into electronics. I use the internet every day of my life to learn, entertain, engage with the world around me. I couldn’t imagine living a life where I didn’t have it. There’s no disconnect from the modern day for me, no longing for the past - only the sense that I’m right where I want to be.

As a person, I’m content with where I am today. As an animal, a raptor can’t yearn for a time it has never lived.

[reasonsforhope]

"[There is] fantastic news for species conservation after new populations of the gorgeous ‘Skywalker’ gibbon, known to science for only 6 years, were recently found living in the politically chaotic nation of Myanmar.

Also called the hoolock gibbon, this dainty vocalist was first described in 2017 living in the extreme south of China on a mountain in Yunnan. Classified as Endangered by the IUCN, the population was estimated to number a paltry 150 individuals, but others were believed to live in Myanmar.

Even before the recent military junta usurped the president and plunged the country into civil war, Myanmar [was a difficult place to conduct field studies, especially extensive or ongoing ones, due to ongoing conflict.]

[Although they are] now in open revolt against the military junta, [the Myanmar states of Shan and Kachin] were nevertheless destinations for an intrepid team of scientists from the Nature Conservation Society Myanmar, Fauna & Flora International–Myanmar Programme, the IUCN’s ape specialist group, and field researchers from universities in England, China, and the US.

Together, they conducted acoustic surveys, collected non-invasive DNA sampling, and took photographs for morphological identification at six sites in Kachin State and three sites in Shan State. With the help of the Myanmar conservationists, the team also interviewed locals dwelling in rural forested areas, small conservation programs, and timber companies about the frequency of sightings and the hunting pressure.

Population estimates of unknown quality and scientific rigor conducted in 2013 suggested there might be 65,000 hoolock gibbons in Myanmar, but the matter became much more complicated after the classification of the Skywalker gibbon as a separate species from the eastern hoolock gibbon—where before they were confused as the same.

“We were able to genetically identify 44 new groups of Skywalker gibbons in Myanmar,” said senior author Tierra Smiley Evans, research faculty at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, and contributing author. “This is a huge resource and success story for Myanmar.���

These gibbons sing to each other at dawn for around 22 minutes, and consume 36 different plant species; choosing fruit first, and flowers later. They seldom sleep in the same tree two nights in a row to avoid predation, and can’t swim so are often confined to territories by river systems.

The team that discovered them in China in 2017 loved Star Wars, and called them tianxing which is Chinese pinyin for “heaven movement;” a nod not only to their favorite sci-fi franchise, but also to China’s ancient history. In the famous Book of Change [aka the I Ching] of the Zhou Dynasty [1046 BCE to 265 BCE], a divination poem refers to gibbons specifically, and uses tianxing as a verb to describe their movements.

The interviews were a source of great data for the scientists. For starters, nearly all individuals in both the Kachin and Shan states could identify a Skywalker gibbon by sight and by playback of its singing, lending the exercise a good degree of reliability...

“Biologists did not believe Skywalker gibbons could live in the small remaining patches in Southern Shan State before we started this project,” Pyae Phyo Aung, executive director of Nature Conservation Society Myanmar, told the UC Davis press.

“I am delighted with our field team members who have done an excellent job, within a short period of time, building community trust for further conservation actions. This area is degraded forest. It is really important for Myanmar and China to consider extending conservation approaches for the Skywalker gibbon to this new geographic area.”

Nearly 32,000 square kilometers, or around 8 million acres of forestland in Eastern Myanmar are suitable gibbon habitat, and while existing forest reserves like Paung Taung and Mae Nei Laung are quite large, they remain unprotected. For this reason, the survey team recommended they remain considered ‘Endangered’ on the IUCN Red List until habitat protections improve."

-via Good News Network, February 21, 2024

[cupcakeshakesnake]

are you serious about believing that cats shouldn't be let outside?

why? like don't get me with that "oh they'll kill animals" well yeah, maybe they will. it's their natural instincts, and allowing them outside promotes a range of natural behaviours. so isn't it cruel to prevent that? and if you believe they shouldn't be allowed to go outside, isn't it cruel to choose to keep them inside instead of just *not having a cat?*

also for that arguement the rspb says " there is no scientific proof that predation by cats in gardens is having any impact on bird populations UK wide." while you may not be from the UK, the UK isn't a place where domestic cats are native either!

I wonder if you are American as so many Americans seem to have this weird opinion - is it very common to believe solely in indoor cats where you live? /gen q. it's very common to have cats that go outdoors here in the UK, and the concept of outdoor cats doesn't exist - if someone mentioned an outdoor cat I'd think of a cat that never went inside, like idk a barn cat. a website I found said 90% of cats in the uk can go outdoors but based on what I'm seeing on your feed and Tumblr it's very different for you?

Yes, I'm serious.

I suppose it's also a natural instinct of coyotes (US), foxes (UK) and hawks to kill cats, so isn't it cruel to prevent that? Cats may have natural instincts but they are not part of nature. They're not part of your local ecosystem, you brought it there. Do you only care about your cat fulfilling its 'natural instincts' and nothing else?

Let's say you have, oh I dunno, the Xenomorph from Alien. Let's say you love it a lot. Are you gonna set it free on the neighborhood because its natural instinct is to kill?

If you believe children shouldn't stick their fingers in the wall socket even if they want to, shouldn't you just not have children?

And yes there is plenty of scientific proof. Cats are not native ANYWHERE. If your cat just stays in a fenced garden or maybe a catio, it's fine, but studies found that cats' kill counts are so high because even 'freeroaming' cats roam less than their wild counterparts (i.e. jungle cats) and thus kill in a more concentrated area. They also kill for fun and not just to eat. Cats have contributed to the extinction of 63 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles in the wild, I'm directly quoting an article here.

Very weird of you to push the American button just because I disagree with you, I am in fact South Korean, and oh believe me outdoor cats are barely a thing here. Cats here are either firmly indoors or stray, save for very rare cases. Most cat owners (and people in general) live in the city and if they let their cats out, a variety of things could happen - such as their cats eating trash and getting sick, being hit by a car, or being killed (or worse, captured and tortured) by ill-meaning people (which has very well happened before).

+ Edit) Let's talk cruelty. What is more cruel, a cat being bored out of its skin, or the cat being flattened by a car, or countless small animals being torn apart and left to die? All of which is preventable with a few extra steps from the cat owner.

In my opinion, having cats (or any other pet) is a lot like raising children. Of course their needs should be paid attention to, but they themselves don't always know the best way to go about fulfilling those needs and it's your responsibility to keep them safe and happy at the same time. You can't let them do whatever they like all the time. AND, you are responsible for what your pets/children do.

[marimayscarlett]

17 years of "Emigrate" 💿🎶

Today, Richard's first Emigrate album with the title "Emigrate" was published 17 years ago on the 31st of August, 2007. Additional release dates were the 29th of January, 2008 for the US and the 2nd of February, 2008 for Australia.

Recordings for the album took place in Germany, the USA and Denmark, mainly at the Studio Engine 55 in Berlin and New York. Singing and guitar were done by Richard, Arnaud Giroux played bass and Henka Johansson played drums, Olsen Involtini contributed additional guitar sounds and Sascha Moser, the former drummer of Orgasm Death Gimmick, took care of Logic and Pro Tools. Same as several Rammstein albums, this album was produced by Jacob Hellner.

Before the album was released, and even before the promotional CDs were manufactured, the band held a vote on their website. Fans were able to choose which song they wanted to hear in its entirety, after the release of Wake Up. The vote was won by Babe. After that a promotional snippet CD was released, which included both songs in full, but both songs were slightly different versions from the ones later released on the album.

When the CD was released, several promotional sheets were included, among them an interview with Richard. Here he answered question as himself as well as his alter ego "Emigrate", both knew each other for a while and could work well together as they had similar styles and were interested in each other's work. A bit of a peculiar concept, but kind of endearing. The sheets are in german, here is an english translation of this interview.

Here you can see the standard edition inlay, the CD design as well as the alternative cover:

In this interview from one day before the release, Richard explains what kind of meaning the name "Emigrate" has for him and how he came up with it:

Interviewer: And behind this term EMIGRATE, what is the emotional meaning behind it? We know that you chose this name because you went to New York, but...?

Richard: I am someone who wants to be extremely independent. So this project is an emotional release for me. You're constantly faced with fears in your life, and I think there was a certain person waiting inside of me who also wanted to lead her own project, wanted to sing - basically just wanted to be the center of attention. To actually do that in the end, or not to do it, to have to do it, to deal with the public and so on, that certainly has something to do with fear. People always talk a lot, but often don't realize their ideas because they're simply afraid they won't be able to hold their own in the end. I'm glad that I did it.

Interview: Was the name EMIGRATE your preferred name from the beginning or did you also have other name ideas?

Richard: I think names come to you at some point. Searching doesn't help much. At some point I found a piece of paper on the street in New York with “EMIGRATE” written on it. Somehow I thought this word basically described my current state, not only physically but also mentally. Emigrating from my home country, emigrating from the band RAMMSTEIN...it all made sense somehow.

Emigrate entered the German album charts on September 14, 2007 at number 8 and in the following weeks it reached positions 28 and 50, remaining in the Top 100 for a total of five weeks. The song "My world" appeared on the Resident Evil: Extinction - Original Motion Picture Soundtrack.

Two songs were released as singles: "New York City" on the 12th of October, 2007, and "Temptation" on the 7th of March, 2008.

Little personal addition, since this is my favourite Emigrate album and one of my favourite albums ever - here are my three favourite songs from it:

Sources: 1 2 3 4

[nocturnal-nexu]

OK y'all, so Mace Windu.

I'm re-watching "The Zilo Beast" and I'm finding myself respecting him more and more.

I feel like Mace gets a bad rap sometimes. I think some people think he was a bit too hard on Anakin, contributing to his fall, and aren't much for his serious disposition.

And while I, too, am not usually drawn to serious characters, his characterization in this episode was a treat to watch.

The Dugs and the Chancellor just straight up want to kill the Zilo, even knowing it's the last of its species, and Mace is here going, "So yall just okay with rendering these creatures extinct? What the heck guys!?"

He stands up for what he believes is morally right, even at the risk of losing a treaty with the Dugs. He believes that killing off an entire species for the "greater good" of signing a treaty and acquiring fuel for their ships is not a fair trade, nor something a Jedi would condone. And he makes known his position on the matter, even when both sides of the treaty agree that it would be in their best interest to kill the beast.

In the end, even if you don't stand by the Jedi council in everything they do, I believe that the Jedi themselves are supposed to value all life in the highest regard. (A view that the war has definitely skewed for some of the younger padawans.)

Basically, Mace stood up for what he believed in, and I respect the heck out of him for it.

[the-fluffiest-trainer]

[A video is attached. It shows a top-down view of the Ultimate Weapon control room in Team Flare's labs, clearly recorded by an internal security camera. It seems someone accessed the footage after the fact and backdated the post in rotomblr, allowing the video to appear here before it is retrieved.]

[Lysandre and the five top scientists of the team – Aliana, Bryony, Celosia, Mable, and Twilight – are all gathered around a curved panel covered in buttons and dials, facing generally away from the camera when looking at the controls. The wall behind them is full of screens showing various diagnostics and readings. Lysandre is wearing a visor like the four human scientists now, as well as a mechanical backpack with three hovering drones connected to it by cables.]

Scientists! Champions of Team Flare's mission! You make me proud.

For years have I worked tirelessly to redeem our broken world – to find the cause of its troubles, and cleanse them away to reveal a brighter future shining through. And whether you have been by my side for ten years or just one, your contributions have been invaluable, and I thank you all. For both the research and the feats of engineering we have achieved together, and also the simple companionship in the face of such filth endured from the world around.

[Lysandre brings out a large brass key and inserts it into a keyhole in the center of the control panel. He turns it, and then the entire room shudders as a deep rumbling, groaning sound is heard for a while. On one of the screens above, there is a view of Geosenge Town outside, in disarray as an enormous structure rises up through the dirt.]

The Ultimate Weapon's flower has finally bloomed above the soil. Don't you find its beauty captivating? As we speak, it hums with the power we drew from the legendary pokemon. Enough to fire twice! Of course once will be enough, but let it not be said that Team Flare does not prepare for the future, for I know too well that even from the best of intentions, greed and war too easily arise again.

Now, scientists... throw your switches, and let the world be purified at last!

[Mable clasps the large switch on the panel in front of her position, and wrenches it downward with an ominous kerchunk. She then turns her back to the controls and stands proudly with hands behind her back, content to gaze with admiration at Lysandre and watch the rest of the team.]

[Aliana meets the other scientist's eyes, and then flips her lever as well. Beside her, Twilight hesitates and glances toward the door, but there is no one there.]

Aliana...?

Yeah? Oh, right, hands. Yeah, no prob, I got it for you.

[Aliana reaches over and flips the switch in front of Twilight as well. Twilight looks toward the door again. Lysandre notices and looks that way as well, but sees nothing.]

[Bryony puts a hand on her switch now, but before she can move it, Celosia speaks up beside her.]

No. No, this is wrong.

[Lysandre turns to face her, scowling. Twilight is visibly relieved as his attention is directed away from her own suspicious actions.]

What was that, Celosia?

I said this is wrong. And I refuse to do it.

The Ultimate Weapon will wipe out more than just the greedy, ungrateful humans who refuse to get along and share and play nice. It will erase the world's ugliness but it will kill so much of the good as well. I am a shiny specialist, dammit! I study the variations, the abnormalities, the beautiful different versions of all the pokemon we know and love. Shinies are so precious, so rare even in this overpopulated world, and if they are caught in the crossfire their numbers will not just be reduced to sustainable levels, they will be eliminated entirely.

By all that is holy, Lys, you have a shiny on your team! If we cause a population bottleneck today, red gyaradoses could go extinct. Could you watch that happen? Not to mention all the recessive disorders that would crop up afterward from low diversity. No, at the very least we need to put this on hold, develop a way of modulating the infinity energy to affect only humans, then the Ultimate Weapon might do more good than harm.

Are you finished?

No. You are.

[Celosia grabs a pokeball from her purse. She clicks the button and throws it, but before the ball can even open, Lysandre's drones each fire a thin beam of pure white light. One strikes the ball itself, shorting out its mechanisms and throwing it back to spark and fizzle in the corner of the room. Another hits the hand Celosia had used, while the last burns into her knee. She screams as she drops to the floor, and glares up at Lysandre with a look of betrayal.]

Mable, take this traitor and throw her in with the old king. Now, Bryony–

Bryony, if you throw that switch, I'm breaking up with you!

On second thought, take them both.

[Lysandre slips off the mechanized backpack he wears, and hands it to Mable instead. Once she has it on, she gestures at Celosia to get up – requiring help from Bryony just to stand – and marches the two of them out a side door.]

Conflicting egos drive this world... things don't always go the way you want. And that is why firing control, in truth, is not split among these five levers. There is really only one control: to just keep turning the key.

[Lysandre spreads his arms in a gesture of pride and superiority, basking in the moment before his two remaining scientists. Before he can step forward and grasp the key again, though, the main door to the room opens loudly and everyone looks that way.]

Fluttershy? What are you doing in here?

[Video ends.]

[bestanimal]

Round 3 - Reptilia - Gruiformes

(Sources - 1, 2, 3, 4)

Our next order of birds are the Gruiformes, a diverse order with a widespread geographical diversity. “Gruiform” means “crane-like”, even though the majority of gruiformes are rails. Gruiformes contains the families Psophiidae (“trumpeters”), Aramidae (“Limpkin”), Gruidae (“cranes”), Rallidae (“rails”, “coots”, and “crakes”), Heliornithidae (“finfoots”), and Sarothruridae (“flufftails”).

Gruiformes are terrestrial or wading birds with a considerable amount of diversity. The Trumpeters (genus Psophia) (image 1) are rotund birds with long, flexible necks and legs, downward-curving bills, soft plumage, large eyes, and a “hunched” appearance. They are weak fliers but fast runners, and can also swim across rivers. The cranes (Gruidae) (image 3 and gif below) and the Limpkin (Aramus guarauna) are long-necked, long-legged, long-beaked waders, some of which are the world’s tallest flying birds. Their plumage varies by habitat. The Rallidae (image 4) are the most diverse family of Gruiformes. Many are associated with wetland habitats, some being semi-aquatic like waterfowl (such as the coot), and some being more like wading birds or shorebirds. The finfoots (Heliornithidae) resemble rails; they have long necks, slender bodies, broad tails, and sharp, pointed bills. Their legs and feet are brightly coloured and they are capable of walking well and even moving quickly on land. The flufftails (Sarothruridae) (image 2) are small- to medium-sized ground-living birds. Due to the diversity of this order, it is difficult to summarize them further!

Gruiformes evolved in the Paleocene, around 60 million years ago.

(source)

Propaganda under the cut:

Grey-winged Trumpeters (Psophia crepitans) are polyandrous and cooperative breeders. Up to three males mate with the dominant female of the flock, and all members of the flock contribute to raising the young.

One of the handful of non-avian dinosaurs we know the colors of is the Late Jurassic Caihong juji. Thanks to some exquisitely fossilized melanosomes (pigment cells) within the animals feathers, paleontologists were able to determine Caihong’s coloration by comparing it to those of living birds. The sheets of platelet-like melanosomes were solid and lacked air bubbles, and were thus most similar to the iridescent feathers that exist in modern Trumpeters (genus Psophia). It is thanks to trumpeters for preserving this type of melanosome, that we know the appearance of a dinosaur from the Late Jurassic!

The Limpkin (Aramus guarauna) has a beak that is slightly open near the end, giving it a tweezer-like action to remove their main prey, Apple Snails (family Ampullariidae), from their shells. In many individuals the tip of their beak curves slightly to the right, matching the Apple Snails’ shells.

Most species of cranes have been affected by human activities and are at the least classified as threatened, if not critically endangered. The plight of the Whooping Crane (Grus americana) of North America inspired some of the first US legislation to protect endangered species. After being pushed to the brink of extinction due to unregulated hunting and loss of habitat, just 21 wild (and two captive) Whooping Cranes remained by 1941. Thanks to conservation efforts, the total number of cranes in the surviving migratory population, including those in captivity, only slightly exceeds 911 birds as of 2020.

The Sanskrit epic poet Valmiki was inspired to write the first śloka couplet by the pathos of seeing a male Sarus Crane (Antigone antigone) shot while dancing with its mate.

The endangered South Island Takahē (Porphyrio hochstetteri) is a flightless swamphen indigenous to New Zealand. Takahē were hunted extensively by both early European settlers and Māori, and takahē's bones, as well as fossil remains, have been found in middens in the South Island. They were not named and described by Europeans until 1847, and then only from fossil bones. In 1850 a living bird was captured, and three more collected in the 19th century. After another bird was captured in 1898, and no more were to be found, the species was presumed extinct. Fifty years later, however, after a carefully planned search, South Island Takahē were dramatically rediscovered in November 1948 by Geoffrey Orbell in an isolated valley in the South Island's Murchison Mountains. Since then, takahē have been reintroduced to numerous locations across the country. As of 2023, the population is around 500 and is growing by 8% per year.

The Guam Rail (Hypotaenidia owstoni) came perilously close to extinction when Brown Tree Snakes (Boiga irregularis) were introduced to Guam, but some of the last remaining individuals were taken into captivity and have been breeding well. They have since been successfully introduced to the nearby Rota and Cocos islands, as the Brown Tree Snakes have yet to be eradicated in Guam. In 2019, the Guam Rail became the second bird species to be reclassified by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature from Extinct in the Wild, to Critically Endangered.

[gemkun]

anonymous said : Ratio, do you have any thoughts on how the IPC handled the Avgin-Katican extinction event?

      ⸻       the   initial   silence   is   all   —   encompassing   ,   as   if   his   answer   were   written   in   the   absence   of   sound.   quietude   is   not   necessarily   without   weight   ,   for   his   demeanour   and   his   stance   ,   speak   volumes.   though   ,   perhaps   it   is   out   of   respect   ,   for   the   dreadful   event   that   had   occurred.   coordinated   under   meticulous   operations.

  ❝   when   the   ipc   wants   something   swept   under   the   rug   ,   their   enterprise   is   inexorable.   ❞   he   states   it   ,   matter   —   of   —   factly   ,   retaining   that   unyielding   neutrality   of   his.   if   not   for   alabaster   ,   dawn   might   exhibit   defeat   ,   were   he   to   linger   on   the   workings   any   longer.   ❝   scarce   and   limited   are   the   resources   surrounding   this   travesty.   even   the   intelligentsia   guild   ,   with   its   abundance   of   resources   and   papers   ,   has   a   conveniently   lacking   amount   of   information   regarding   the   avgin   —   katican   extinction   event.   ❞

  he   recalls   ,   those   moments   when   he   had   sought   reports   out   of   personal   interest   —   to   fulfil   that   insatiable   urge   of   contributing   to   his   wealth   of   knowledge.   how   disappointing   to   have   been   met   with   clearly   biased   and   tampered   accounts   ,   illustrating   blatantly   ,   calculated   approaches.   with   a   flagrant   dearth   that   outlined   a   single   perspective.

  but   the   ipc   are   skilled   in   holding   tongues   ,   including   his.   for   now.

  ❝   what   i   have   gathered   ,   well   ,   regrettably   ,   i   am   not   authorised   to   comment   on   the   specifics   of   the   carnage   ,   however   ,   it   is   no   mystery   that   it   was   managed   poorly.   unfortunately   ,   reading   the   fine   print   of   the   sigonian   sovereignty   was   never   in   the   cards   for   the   avgins.   ❞   as   broadcasts   and   journalistic   endeavours   had   undertaken   ,   this   was   apparent.   thus   ,   an   announcement   without   consequence.   ❝   i   will   say   in   hindsight   ,   an   operation   led   by   someone   as   contemptuous   as   oswaldo   schneider   ,   was   expected   to   produce   this   tragic   outcome.   he   possesses   great   notoriety   ,   among   even   the   genius’   ,   for   his   turbulence   and   volatility.   ❞

[obscurefossils]

Welcome to Obscure Fossil Animals!

Hi! This blog is dedicated to posting about the much lesser-known extinct animals from eras long gone that I think deserve as much love as the creatures everybody knows about.

Due to the nature of these animals, publicly available fossils and research may be pretty hard to dig up (or even access at all!), and I am also in college, so posts may be a bit slow sometimes. I’m trying my best!! If you ever think you would be able to contribute access to research or something like that, feel free to let me know :)

I have a long, long list of animals that I choose from to make posts about. This is most often through a spinner wheel for random selection, but sometimes not. Just expect lots of variety! All posts are tagged with the animals' taxonomy (genus, family, order, etc) to make searching easier.

Feel free to drop into the ask box to suggest some of your favorite obscure fossil creatures (or just to talk) and I'll add them to my list :) (this does not mean your request will be fulfilled next).

This blog is run solely by @raingerr <3

All drawings on this blog are free to use with proper credit.

Submission details and guidelines under the cut !

Want to submit an animal? Here’s how to make sure it’s “obscure”!

- What does its Wikipedia page look like? I’ve found that most obscure animals have very sparse wiki pages, if they have one at all.

- When was the last time you heard someone mention this creature, both inside and outside scientific/paleontology spheres?

- Does it have any depictions in popular media? Genera like Tyrannosaurus are everywhere in movies, TV, video games, etc. Typically, media producers like to use creatures that are popular and “cool” to general audiences, so obscure animals are pretty unlikely to be found in media! As a side note, expect a good amount of non-avian dinosaurs to not fall under the category of "obscure". Nowadays, even most newly-described dinosaurs get a good amount of attention!

- Has anybody drawn skeletals or paleoart? Unsurprisingly, most obscure animals I come across have little to no artwork done of them outside of occasionally their original publication.

Not all of these criteria have to be met, or even any of them at all! These are just some things I consider before adding an animal to my list to make sure they aren’t well-known. So if you’re considering requesting a creature, keep these in mind!

[mysteryofvampires]

My thoughts about theoretical Aleo children (for this definitely is a (minor) thing in the books themselves) [! All just my headcanons/theories!]

So we know that initially, the academy was founded to save the vampires from extinction and to restore their former strength.

We also know that they are endangered due to humans, their technology, and new ways of life. The heirs are brought together so that they can learn each clan’s powers and basically become super vampires with every possible advantage there is in the new, dangerous world. They are supposed to sustain their clans and bring them back to their former glory with the powers they learned over the years.

However, it’s also said that the clan wars and the isolation of the individual clans contributed to this precarious situation too. They decimated each other in the wars and the clans are getting older and older for there aren’t a lot of children, due to the century long? incest and isolation.

The situation is so bad that Tammo, a nine year old boy, is the youngest living vampire out there. It’s so bad that female vampires turn little children into vampires, because they can’t have one naturally due to the fact that all this incest has made them barren.

Thus the academy is for learning clan powers, but it’s also about mixing blood, making vampires fertile and consequently making the clans younger and stronger again.

Even though that thought isn’t that present in the heirs' thoughts in the beginning, which is normal, because they are young teens or even just children over the years the realisation hits.

The first time Alisa realises it in its full extent, what the academy is there for is in fourth year, during one of the dance lessons in which she realises that Mervyn may have a thing for Rowena .

Which makes sense. Of course, you think of such things when you’re almost an adult, and you and many people around you are falling seriously in love and getting into relationships.

And the idea behind it works. Not for everybody, but for many heirs. We have three relationships between heirs from two clans (Rowena/Mervyn, Chiara/Sören and Alisa/Franz Leopold) and a few other vampires in relationships with humans/shadows (Clarissa/Luciano, Latona/Malcolm and Nicoletta/Tammo).

Their mindset definitely changed. Even though they’re not all in couples the most of them are at least friends in some way (except Marie Louise and Karl Phillip, but who cares about them anyway?) They have overcome their prejudices and hatred and formed relationships of any kind over the borders of their clans.

I think all couples actually have potential for staying together for a long time or even forever. I could totally see them living in a relationship similar to marriage, even though that wasn’t really a thing for vampires before the academy. In my opinion, the couples are really well paired of, so that I see potential for a change in vampire relationships.

This includes Alisa and Franz Leopold. For me, their relationship shows a lot of potential for something long-lasting and will last maybe as long as they live. Their relationship was developed throughout so many years. They went through so much and learned how to form and sustain their relationship through their mistakes. They have enough similarities while also differing from each other. It's almost 100% sure to me that this relationship will last.

And now to my point: While I can see the other couples (minus Tammo/Nicoletta and maybe even Clarissa/Luciano[not sure if this relationship actually lasts at all btw]) actually breaking more traditions and actually becoming and being good parents, who actually start to also raise their kids on their own, I think that Alisa and Franz Leopold would not want to be parents and furthermore wouldn’t be good parents either. Hear me out why!

I am pretty sure parenthood is something neither of them really want.

Alisa lives for adventures and has to do something all of the time. She loves travelling and discovering new things and gets uneasy when she is stuck at home for too long. So, settling down with a child? It's not really something I can see her doing. And travelling around with the child? Also, rather, no.

Franz Leopold is less clear and more based on vibes to be fully honest. He is not as restless and adventurous as Alisa, but he still likes to achieve new skills, perfect the ones he already has, and loves challenges with which he can prove himself. So, living a settled life for at least eighteen years? Unlikely. He would also know that this lifestyle is not suited for Alisa at all and would never force her into it.

Thus, I like to think that they definitely experimented with what was available for contraception at that time, to prevent a pregnancy.

Did very little research on the topic, and if that really works as they want it to, is up to interpretation. I prefer to think that it works just for the sake of what I imagine them to want.

They love more modern times when birth control is actually effective!

However, going out from the thought that it doesn't work and assuming that they actually become parents at some point, due to the fact that the books make it seem like a couple consisting of members of different clans is in fact very fertile, I say that they would not do something new like Chiara and Sören for example, but that they would stick to the old custom of giving their child to the clan leader to raise, because of the reasons I mentioned earlier.

That would be Dame Elina. The child would most likely be born in Hamburg, and I can't see Alisa agreeing to give her child to the Dracas at all.

I don't think that they would never interact with their child, like it was custom before the academy, though.

Especially Franz Leopold would still make sure that they learn mind reading and fencing and dancing because they're still half Dracas.

Alisa would teach them things aswell and even though they aren't the main "parents," they would be called Mother and Father by their child.

The child could grow up with one or more cousins, the other vampire children, the Vamalia clan, and his parents as a less present and less important instance without being unknowing about who they are.

Personally, I think that is what's best for all of them. The child, Alisa and Franz Leopold and the Vamalia clan.

If they were the greatest influence in the child's life, they could easily become slightly toxic parents in my opinion.

The both of them are perfectionistic as fuck and I think the expectations on themselves could be easily projected onto their child, putting a lot of pressure onto them in the end.

Franz Leopold grew up in an environment, a clan that honours perfection over anything else, and even though he has distanced himself a lot from the Dracas, that part still sticks with him.

Alisa is also perfectionistic and also has expectations towards others. In the books she often asks herself why Tammo isn't the way she was his age. He is a good student but he won't put as much effort into it as her. And that is not really something she likes. This leads me to believe that she tends to project her expectations towards herself on others a lot.

Not even speaking of their lifestyle that wouldn't be possible as "real" parents.

The child would never have a firm environment or calm parents because they either travel around and have a certain amount of happiness or they settle down which makes especially Alisa uneasy.

I know that this all sounds weird from our perspective, especially when you don't know the books.

But that's part of Ulrike Schweikert's vampires. They don't like to take responsibility. They normally don't form long-term relationships and don't raise their children. They actually just father/conceive/birth, and after that, it's not their problem anymore it's the leader's/clan's responsibility from then on.

The books deal with these old customs and traditions being broken and Aleo is a part of it.

However, in my opinion, they aren't the type to break all of them together. The other couples are much more likely to do that.

[museaumofnaturalhistory]

Lovely is one of Between 4,000 - 6,000 Snow Leopards on the Planet.

Could AI Text Alerts Help Save Snow Leopards From Extinction? - by Azadeh Moshiri, Usman Zahid & Kamil Dayan Khan | BBC News | 21st/04/2025

Despite laws protecting them, between 221 - 450 snow leopards are killed each year, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) says, which has contributed to a 20% decline in the global population over the past 2 decades.

More than 1/2 the deaths were in retaliation for the loss of livestock.

Now, scientists estimate that just 4,000 to 6,000 snow leopards are left in the wild - with roughly 300 of these in Pakistan, the third-largest population in the world.

To try & reverse the worrying trends, the WWF - with the help of the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) - has developed cameras powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

Their aim is to detect a snow leopard's presence and warn villagers via text message to move their livestock to safety.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Snow leopards cannot growl. So when we step towards one of these fierce predators, she's purring.

"Lovely," as she's called, was orphaned and rescued 12 years ago in Pakistan-administered Gilgit-Baltistan.

After years of relying on staff to feed her, she does not know how to hunt in the wild - and cannot be set free.

"If we release her, she would just go attack a farmer's sheep and get killed," Lovely's caretaker, Tehzeeb Hussain, tells us.

Despite laws protecting them, between 221 to 450 snow leopards are killed each year, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) says, which has contributed to a 20% decline in the global population over the past two decades.

More than half of these deaths were in retaliation for the loss of livestock.

Now, scientists estimate that just 4,000 to 6,000 snow leopards are left in the wild - with roughly 300 of these in Pakistan, the third-largest population in the world.

To try and reverse these worrying trends, the WWF - with the help of Pakistan's Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) - has developed cameras powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

Their aim is to detect a snow leopard's presence and warn villagers via text message to move their livestock to safety.

The Cameras Operate Using Lithium Batteries & Solar Panels

Tall, with a solar panel mounted on top, the cameras are positioned high among barren and rugged mountains at nearly 3,000m (9,843ft).

"Snow leopard territory," says Asif Iqbal, a conservationist from WWF Pakistan. He walks us a few more steps and points to tracks on the ground: "These are pretty new."

Asif hopes this means the camera has recorded more evidence that the AI software - which allows it to differentiate between humans, other animals and snow leopards - is working.

Trial & Error

The WWF is currently testing 10 cameras, deployed across three villages in Gilgit-Baltistan. It has taken three years to train the AI model to detect these categories with impressive - if not perfect - accuracy.

Once we're back down the mountain, Asif pulls up his computer and shows me a dashboard. There I am, in a series of GIFs. It correctly detects I'm a human. But as we scroll down the list, I come up again, and this time I'm listed as both a human and an animal. I'm wearing a thick white fleece, so I forgive the programme.

Then, Asif shows me the money shot. It's a snow leopard, recorded a few nights prior, in night-vision. He pulls up another one from the week before. It's a snow leopard raising its tail against a nearby rock. "It's a mother leopard, looks like she's marking her territory," Asif says.

The Cameras Have Been Developed to Detect a Snow Leopard's Presence & Warn Villagers to Move Livestock to Safety.

Setting up the cameras in rocky, high-altitude areas took a lot of trial and error. The WWF went through several types of batteries until it found one that could withstand the harsh winters. A specific paint was chosen to avoid reflecting light as animals pass by.

If the cellular service fails in the mountains, the device continues recording and capturing data locally. But the team has had to accept there are some problems they simply cannot solve.

While the camera lens is protected by a metallic box, they've had to replace solar panels damaged by landslides.

Doubt in the community

It is not just the technology that has caused problems. Getting the local community's buy-in has also been a challenge. At first, some were suspicious and doubted whether the project could help them or the snow leopards.

"We noticed some of the wires had been cut," Asif says. "People had thrown blankets over the cameras."

The team also had to be mindful of the local culture and the emphasis on women's privacy. Cameras had to be moved because women were walking by too often.

Some villages still have yet to sign consent and privacy forms, which means the technology cannot be rolled out in their area just yet. The WWF wants a binding promise that local farmers will not give poachers access to the footage.

Sitara lost all 6 of her sheep in January. She says she took them to graze on land above her home but a snow leopard attacked them.

"It was three to four years of hard work raising those animals, and it all ended in one day," she says.

The loss of her livelihood left her bedridden for several days. When asked if she is hopeful the AI cameras could help in the future, she replies: "My phone barely gets any service during the day, how can a text help?"

At a gathering of village elders, leaders of the Khyber village explain how attitudes have changed over the years, and that a growing proportion of their village understands the importance of snow leopards and their impact on the ecosystem.

According to the WWF, snow leopards hunt ibex and blue sheep, which stops these animals from overgrazing and helps to preserve grasslands so villagers can feed their livestock.

But not all are convinced. One local farmer questions the benefits of the animals.

"We used to have 40 to 50 sheep, now we've only got four or five, and the reason is the threat from snow leopards and from ibex eating the grass," he says.

Climate change also has a part to play in why some feel threatened by snow leopards. Scientists say warming temperatures have led villagers to move crops & livestock to higher areas in the mountains, encroaching on snow leopards habitat, making livestock more of a target.

Whether the villagers are convinced by the conservation message or not, the WWF tells us legal penalties have served as a strong deterrent in recent years. 3 men were jailed in 2020 after killing a snow leopard in Hoper valley, about a 2-hour drive from Khyber. One of them had posted photos of himself with the dead animal on social media.

While those involved in the camera project are hopeful their AI devices can have an impact, they know they cannot be the sole solution.

In September, they are going to start trialling smells, sounds and lights at the camera sites to try to deter snow leopards from moving onto nearby villages, putting themselves and livestock in jeopardy.

Their work tracking these "ghosts of the mountains" is not over yet.

[literaturereviewhelp]

My objective is to stay updated on emerging issues in my scope of practice. The changing health situations and complexities made me pursue a course from the National Institute of Health Stroke in 2004. The motive was to gain competence in how identifying the possibility of stroke in postoperative orthopedic patients. The course enabled me to understand the neurologic patterns that may indicate the danger of stroke in orthopedic patients. Currently, I am pursuing a certificate course in Advanced Cardiac Arrest Support to boost my service to severe orthopedic cases that require information on cardiac arrest. I intend to advance in the leadership ladder. I have successfully served in several leadership positions in various institutions. I served as a charge nurse on a medical unit from 1983 to 1995. The position entailed supervising other nurses, offering support to them, and also caring for patients. The position helped advance my leadership skills. I was promoted to Unit Supervisor in 1996 after satisfactory service in the Charge Nurse position. I have served as the unit supervisor from 1996 to date. The position entails supervising a nursing unit in the orthopedics department. I ensure the wellness of the unit nurses as well as ensure that patients receive quality care from the nurses. My education and experience prove my commitment to excellence. I can fit into any nursing leadership role. I hope the information will be useful in deciding on hiring me for a leadership role. I am looking forward to hearing from you.   OR Conservation focusing on Animal Extinction     In the contemporary discussions about nature and conservation, debates concerning conservation issues haveassumed an important part, and such issues include logging in National Forests, livestock grazing on public lands, finding water supplies for growing cities, and drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge etc. There have been several conservation movements in the contemporary world which, according to Samuel P. Hays, have contributed to the political drama of the twentieth century and the events of the movement, cast in the framework of a moral struggle between the virtuous 'people' and the evil 'interests', expresses the crusading quality of the conservation movement. People engaged in the fight for conservation, in a worthy and patriotic cause, most often try to sully their reputation by opposition, and the dramatic fervor of such opposition has constituted a major liability. It is also important to recognize that conservation neither arose from a broad popular outcry nor centered its fire on the private corporations which have often supported conservation policies. "Conservation, above all, was a scientific movement, and its role in history arises from the implications of science and technology in modern society. Conservation leaders sprang from such fields as hydrology, forestry, agrostology, geology, and anthropology It is from the vantage point of view of applied science, rather than of democratic protest, that one must understand the historic role of the conservation movement." (Hays, 1999, p 2). Therefore, conservation issues have historically offered topics of debates and one of the ongoing political controversies in the United States since 1977 has been the debate concerning oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR). It was heatedly debated in the political and conservation arena whether the United States Congress should allow drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and the Senate approved drilling in the ANWR in Alaska in 2005, by a 51-49 vote.   Read the full article

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Hu Jiaqi: The 11th Open Letter to Leaders of Mankind

This article is reprinted from the following link: http://savinghuman.hujiaqi.com/articles/16/6906.html

To:

    Leaders of all countries, the Secretary-General of the United Nations, world-top scientists and scholars, renowned entrepreneurs and prominent media figures.

Distinguished leaders,

Looking back on the year of 2024, I am acutely aware that we stand once again at a historic crossroads. Technological advancements have brought immense promise, along with equally profound crises. As the founder of Save Human Action Organization (SHAO), I am writing to you once again with a deep sense of anxiety and responsibility. At present, we are not only grappling with the threats posed by technological progress but also confronting a crisis that imperils the very existence of humankind.

Since the Industrial Revolution, science and technology has been advancing at an unprecedented pace. Particularly in the past few decades, our lives have been transformed in astonishing ways—from the Information Revolution to leaps in biotechnology and to the rapid rise of artificial intelligence (AI). Our wisdom and power have grown immensely, yet it is this very power that raises concerns, as it is accelerating our species’ demise.

Standing at the pinnacle of today’s technological achievements and looking back, we find that countless scientists and sages have warned us: “Science and technology is a double-edged sword.” It can bring tremendous benefits but also harbors potential for colossal destruction. This warning has become increasingly precise and tangible today. Breakthroughs in various cutting-edge tech fields are pushing us towards unknown boundaries, especially AI, whose rapid development cannot be ignored due to its inherent risks.

In 2024, the Nobel Prize in Physics was awarded to two scientists who made outstanding contributions in the field of AI, and half of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry also went to two scientists for their work in AI. This award represents the highest accolade of scientific achievement, with AI being one of the most revolutionary technologies of our time. However, alongside transformation, AI brings unforeseen dangers—uncontrolled AI could pose a direct threat to our species’ existence.

Here, I would like to highlight a specific example: Geoffrey Hinton, the scientist who was awarded the 2024 Nobel Prize in Physics for his remarkable contributions in the field of artificial intelligence, had warned about the dangers of uncontrolled AI. He explicitly stated that the development of AI poses unpredictable risks, which could potentially accelerate the process of human extinction within the coming decades. Hinton’s warnings are alarming. He estimated that the probability of AI leading to human extinction within the next 30 years could be as high as 10% to 20%. Despite these warnings from a distinguished scientist, society has not become truly vigilant. Instead, the prize has served as an impetus for the further advancement of AI.

This reflects an extreme irrationality in today’s society. The Nobel Prizes, symbolizing the highest honor in global science, should serve as a cautious guide for scientific progress. Yet, while AI laureates themselves issue warnings about “runaway” technology, society continues to pursue extreme tech breakthroughs, seemingly oblivious to the potential for disaster. This phenomenon epitomizes the greatest challenge humanity faces today: when greed and short-term interests override rationality and long-term survival considerations, we set ourselves on a path towards self-destruction.

Having engaged in this research since 1979, and it has been 46 years to date. Through my book "Saving Humanity" published 18 years ago in 2007, I have long warned that unchecked technological advancement may lead to human extinction within centuries or even this century. In this book, I called for strict limitations on technology development, advocating for a defined framework to prevent human extinction. Following its publication, I wrote to world leaders for the first time, urging them to prioritize this issue.

In 2018, I established Save Human Action Organization (SHAO) in the United States to promote the resolution of this global issue. Yet, despite numerous warnings from scientists and scholars, global discussions on technology regulation still remain superficial. The unrestrained technological development has become a significant hazard, with scientists raising concerns that go largely unheeded.

As the founder of Save Human Action Organization (SHAO), I am writing to you once again today—leaders who can influence the future of humanity. I urge you to seriously consider this question: has the rapid development of science and technology already surpassed what our civilization can bear? Is it a bridge leading to a glorious future or a fuse leading to self-annihilation?

Herein, I reiterate my urgent appeal: in the face of this impending calamity, we must undertake decisive action.

It is imperative to underscore that the challenges posed by technology cannot be addressed by any single nation or region alone. The threats engendered by technological advancements are global in nature, necessitating worldwide coordination and cooperation. A prerequisite for such efforts is the acknowledgment that the development of science and technology must be subjected to stringent limitations and governed by a unified global regulatory mechanism.

In my book “Saving Humanity”, I have proposed a solution: humanity must move towards a great unification, establishing a globally unified government. This entity would serve as the foundation for exercising comprehensive control over technological development, strictly regulating both the pace and direction of technological progress. This proposal is not an abstract ideal but represents the sole viable pathway to avert human extinction.

Esteemed leaders, there is no more time for indecision. While current technological breakthroughs may promise boundless profits and short-term benefits, they are also inexorably accelerating our path toward extinction. The issue of human survival is no longer a question for some future era; it is a pressing reality. We must act now as a global community to prevent the catastrophe that could result from uncontrolled technological advancement.

To avoid extinction, we must first recognize the critical link between technological development and human survival, ensuring that technology does not overstep human ethical and existential boundaries. Secondly, a global regulatory framework must be established to guarantee stringent review and constraints of each technology. Ultimately, we must encourage the unification of all nations and create a globally unified government to ensure that technology management is not interfered by regional and political interests.

Humanity stands at this crossroads, where the path forward will be determined by our choices. There is only one chance to prevent extinction; without taking immediate and decisive measures, missing the chance could lead to irreversible loss. As global leaders, you are entrusted with the responsibility to change humanity’s fate. It is time to awaken and act, forging a path that does not lead to our own annihilation.

Let us embark on a collaborative endeavor to establish a more secure and accountable framework for the advancement of science and technology, safeguarding our shared future.

Founder of Save Human Action Organization (SHAO)

Hu Jiaqi

January 1, 2025

This article is reprinted from the following link: