#zoo accessibility project

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

I’ve got some accessibility questions around zoo maps! Specifically, I’m interested in how people are impacted by the lack of paper maps / digitization of maps, especially when the ones in other languages than English are only online.

Please chime in in the replies and tell me about accessibility impacts you’ve experienced (or know someone who has experience) with:

No paper map policies

Online-only maps

QR codes to access maps

Maps available in an app only

Policies that instruct visitors to print their own maps ahead of time at home

Being told to photograph big signs with maps on them throughout the zoo in lieu of using an online map

Non-English maps being available online only

Policies that guests should use an app / Google translate to access map information / signage

I’ve got my own thoughts, but I know my perspective is limited to my personal experience. If these policies impact you in any way - not just due to disability - please tell me how. TIA!

[dandelionsresilience]

Good News - July 8-14

Like these weekly compilations? Tip me at $Kaybarr1735! And if you tip me and give me a way to contact you, at the end of the month I'll send you a link to all of the articles I found but didn't use each week!

1. Zoo welcomes birth of four endangered horse foals

“[The Marwell Zoo in GB] said it was "delighted" to welcome the arrivals to the endangered Przewalski’s horse herd. All four are female and said to be "doing well" after two were born in May and two in June. […] “These horses, that were previously listed extinct in the wild, are an example of how zoo breeding programmes can help restore threatened species around the world.” […] All the Przewalski’s horses alive today are descended from just 12 individuals. Current estimates suggest there are 178 mature individuals living in the wild.”

2. Restoring woodlands and planting trees for sustainability success

“In 2023, [the Marwell Zoo] planted 9,000 new trees […] both within the zoo and on our surrounding land. […] Marwell tries to encourage natural feeding behaviour and nutrition by including leafy material [in animals’ feed] as much as possible. […] Planting more trees and enhancing management of our existing woodlands, prepares the way to further self-sufficiency in browse production in the future. Plus, it creates new habitats for wildlife in our woodland areas.”

3. Inclusive Playgrounds Allow Children Of All Abilities To Play

“With ramps allowing children in wheelchairs to ascend the central play structure, as well as numerous other swings and apparatus usable for children of all abilities, the 16,000-square-foot P.K.’s Place is St. Paul’s first fully inclusive playground. […] To be universally accessible, a play area must have at least 70% of its play features fully accessible, far more than required by the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). […] Play areas should allow parents and grandparents with disabilities to participate as well.”

4. Combination treatment can increase human insulin-producing cells in vivo

“[Diabetes-model mice] were treated with the combination therapy [of a plant product called harmine and “a widely used class of type 2 diabetes therapy”] and their diabetes was rapidly reversed. Strikingly, human beta cell numbers increased by 700 percent over three months with this drug combination. "This is the first time scientists have developed a drug treatment that is proven to increase adult human beta cell numbers in vivo. This research brings hope for the use of future regenerative therapies to potentially treat the hundreds of millions of people with diabetes," said Dr. Garcia-Ocaña, the paper's corresponding author.”

5. Decades of Dedication: Australia’s Largest Ongoing Urban Restoration Project

“[Friends of Lake Claremont] has transformed the area into a thriving ecosystem, re-establishing native habitats and fostering biodiversity. This year, 800 native seedlings (100 trees, 350 shrubs and 350 ground covers) have been planted on the northwestern buffer of Lake Claremont. Volunteers replaced a large Port Jackson fig (Ficus rubiginosa) affected by [beetle] infestation with native plants to enhance the local wildlife habitat, thereby benefiting insects, frogs, birds and brown bandicoots. […] Overall, the project contributes to the area’s function as a regional ecological corridor, linking inland bushlands, the Swan River and the Indian Ocean.”

6. Important habitat for fish in Heart of the Fraser now conserved

“British Columbia’s iconic salmon now have more protected spawning habitat in the lower Fraser River, thanks to the Nature Conservancy of Canada’s (NCC’s) conservation acquisition of Carey Island. […] Carey Island and its gravel channels offer calm and crucial spawning and rearing habitat for the river’s fish and aquatic species. […] The Pelólxw Tribe […is also] actively working to restore the resilience of aquatic habitat within this stretch of the Lower Fraser. NCC is exploring opportunities to collaborate with the Pelólxw Tribe in support of their vision for stewardship of the area, which prioritizes both ecological and cultural values.”

7. Prime editing efficiently corrects cystic fibrosis mutation in human lung cells

“[R]esearchers have developed a gene-editing approach that efficiently corrects the most common mutation that causes cystic fibrosis, found in 85 percent of patients. With further development, it could pave the way for treatments that are administered only once and have fewer side effects. The new method precisely and durably corrects the mutation in human lung cells, restoring cell function to levels similar to that of Trikafta [the standard treatment since 2019].”

8. Montana’s High Court Considers a Constitutional Right to a Stable Climate

“At issue was the appeal of a decision last year, when a Montana judge blocked a state law that prohibited agencies from considering climate impacts when deciding whether to approve fossil fuel projects such as new power plants, pipelines or mining. The ruling, by District Judge Kathy Seeley, was prompted by a lawsuit filed by 16 youths who argued that the law violated Montana’s constitutional right to a “clean and healthful environment.” It was the first ruling in the United States to effectively establish constitutional rights to a stable climate[….]”

9. The US is about to get its first solar-covered canal

“The first canal-based solar project in the U.S. is nearing completion on tribal lands south of Phoenix, Arizona. […] The long, narrow solar array design would snake along the line of the canal and tap into the local electrical distribution grid every 1,000 feet, or every one megawatt. […] “Canal solar allows for greater power production per land size, cleaner water, less power transmission losses, and significant reduction in evaporation[….]” Covering the entire 8,000 miles of canals and waterways managed by the Bureau of Reclamation with solar panels could generate over 25 gigawatts of renewable energy and reduce water evaporation by tens of billions of gallons[….]”

10. Camera traps offer glimpse of first beaver born in Northumberland for 400 years

“"It’s such a relief that they have bred successfully and to see a new fluffy kit swimming with the family[….]” In just one year [since releasing the beavers], there has been a noticeable increase in resident trout, says the National Trust, along with more regular visits from kingfishers and grey herons. There are more insects at the site, too, thanks to the organic matter that builds up behind the dams, which in turn provides food for Daubenton’s bats. […] Beavers also play an important role in creating habitats that are more resilient to the effects of climate change[….]”

July 1-7 news here | (all credit for images and written material can be found at the source linked; I don’t claim credit for anything but curating.)

[afeelgoodblog]

The Best News of Last Week - May 15, 2023

🧲 - Magnetic Marvels: Researchers Flip the Switch on Depression

1. New Zealand Government announces prescriptions charges will be free.

The $5 prescription fee at pharmacies will be scrapped in July. This is set to save about 3 million people a year money, and in particular 770,000 people aged over 65. It will make most prescriptions in New Zealand free.

Free access to medicines is also hoped to ease pressure on the over-burdened health system by helping people get medicines sooner.

2. Platypuses return to Sydney's Royal National Park after disappearing for decades

Platypuses have been relocated to the Royal National Park in Sydney, after they disappeared from the park's waterways about 50 years ago. A joint project by the University of New South Wales, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service and the World Wildlife Fund has reintroduced five females to the Hacking River, with a group of males to follow next week.

3. 74-year-old musician Otis Taylor gets Denver high school diploma decades after being expelled for hair

A musician who was expelled from a Denver high school over 50 years ago received his diploma. Otis Taylor was kicked out of Manual High School in 1966 because of his hair. This was decades before laws ending racial hair discrimination. Denver Public Schools wanted to right a wrong.

4. Researchers treat depression by reversing brain signals traveling the wrong way (with magnets)

A new study led by Stanford Medicine researchers is the first to reveal how magnetic stimulation treats severe depression: by correcting the abnormal flow of brain signals. Powerful magnetic pulses applied to the scalp to stimulate the brain can bring fast relief to many severely depressed patients for whom standard treatments have failed.

The FDA-cleared treatment, known as Stanford neuromodulation therapy, incorporates advanced imaging technologies to guide stimulation with high-dose patterns of magnetic pulses that can modify brain activity related to major depression. Compared with traditional TMS, which requires daily sessions over several weeks or months, SNT works on an accelerated timeline of 10 sessions each day for just five days.

5. Electricity generation through solar, wind and water exceeded total demand in mainland Spain on Tuesday, a pattern that will be repeated more and more in the future

The Spanish power grid on Tuesday tasted an appetizer of the renewable energy banquet that is expected to flourish in the coming years. For nine hours, between 10 a.m. and 7 p.m., the generation of green electricity was more than enough to cover 100% of Spanish peninsular demand, a milestone that had already been reached on previous occasions, but not for such a prolonged period.

6. RI Senate passes bill making lunch free at all public schools

Free lunch for all public school students in Rhode Island is one step closer to becoming a reality.

Tuesday night the Rhode Island Senate overwhelmingly passed a bill by a vote of 31-4 that would do just that. If the companion bill in the House were to pass, that takes effect July 1. The bill would make breakfast and lunch free for all public school students in the state, regardless of their household income.

7. Critically endangered red wolf pups born at North Carolina Zoo

The North Carolina Zoo in Asheboro celebrated the arrival of “not one but TWO litters” of the world’s most endangered wolf – the red wolf – in late April and early May.

A total of nine pups were born – three to parents Marsh and Roan, and six to Denali and May – the zoo announced on May 9.

----

That's it for this week :)

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[feverdreamjohnny]

The Epitaph of Anything Goes

I decided that this morning I would talk about The Museum of Anything Goes and the subject of lost media.

For the uninitiated, The Museum of Anything Goes is an obscure "game" released in 1995 by Wayzata Technologies, a company that is so far under the radar that I was unable to find any useful information about it outside of TMoAG.

All I could uncover is that they published a few multimedia projects (which are essentially lost now) alongside some asset discs (clipart, SFX, etc.). That's it.

The brains behind Wayzata are even more difficult to locate these days: there are only two main names credited inside of TMoAG - Michael Markowski and Maxwell S. Robertson.

The game alleges that Michael and Maxwell are well known in the art world, but any additional information about the duo is scarce beyond the confines of the museum. Attempting to search for either name online turns up plenty of rabbit holes - but none of them have anything to do with the Michael and Maxwell responsible for TMoAG.

This is particularly fascinating because it essentially means that TMoAG is the only accessible record of their lives. Before we dig any deeper into that statement, let me step back and actually address what this game is.

The Museum of Anything Goes is, by definition, a virtual art museum. Functionally it's a prerendered point-and-click adventure game where you can explore a bunch of multimedia exhibits that give the surface-level impression of a children's edutainment game, but once you start exploring further it reveals a side that firmly plants the game's feet into a haze of substance abuse and surreal humor.

Many exhibits are essentially just toying around with the astonishing new powers of CD-ROM. Everything has to make noise. Everything has to spin and flitter around. There's an air of genuine excitement for the medium, and I can't help but find it extremely charming.

The game also functions as a scrapbook, filled to the brim with photos of random trips to the zoo and snow-mobile rides with friends. At one point we even get insight into something as specific as Michael's one-year job as a tutor at a Chicago middle school, where he talks about how it opened his eyes to how poorly funded and mismanaged the school system is.

It's simultaneously quaint and chilling to see so much personal history packed into a world doomed to obscurity. As I explore the deeper parts of the museum, I contemplate if the creators are still alive today. It's a bit morbid, but imagine that - you create a single obscure game with your friend and it's all the world can see. TMoAG is currently the only surviving piece that gives any insight into who these two men were.

While many exhibits are lighthearted or nonsensical, there are occasional moments where the game dips into the eerie.

One exhibit has the player kill a man by dropping him from the sky, and after burying him you open the coffin to a video of a rotting pig carcass being put into an incinerator.

Other exhibits just feature simple 3D renders shifting around a dark screen while haunting groans play in the background.

While I would never refer to the game as "scary," its darker moments combined with the occasional mature subject matter definitely begs the question: Who is this game for?

You have to remember that this game came out long before the concept of "alt-games" had become codified in the digital space. Sure, unconventional digital art had been around before the advent of 256 colors, but TMoAG was being sold on disk as a game! It came out 2 years after DOOM hit shelves!

The trend of using the PC for entertainment was certainly on the upswing around that time, but It's not like TMoAG had a massive audience to find a niche in. With its mature themes it certainly wasn't suited for the kids market either, so who was it for?

At the end of the day, it's a moot question. We already know the target audience for The Museum of Anything Goes: Nobody. It doesn't have an audience because by its nature, TMoAG wasn't being made FOR someone, it was being made BY someone. It's a raw, unfiltered form of personal expression.

I think games like these are pivotal, because they question why people assume a game has to exist for the sake of being a consumable product. TMoAG certainly has the shape of a product: it features an intro cutscene, it has a tutorial, it features intuitive UX, it even has a map! These are all features that are solely integrated to provide comfort to an end-user. But once you actually wander around the museum for a bit, you realize how bizarrely its packaging fits its contents.

I think TMoAG is criminally underrated. It's not because its core content contains some earth-shaking truth, it's because the game defied all odds and cheated death.

How many thousands of other personal projects were deemed a little "too exotic" to be archived? How much history was lost these past 40 years as the digital space evolved and ate its old skin?

God knows how many other TMoAGs we'll never learn about because they weren't lucky enough to be preserved.

The Museum of Anything Goes isn't just some nonsensical art piece, it's a grave marker for so much lost media. Its existence is a reminder that some people's lives were fossilized, then macerated into nothing because a construction company built a skyscraper over them. The only evidence we have of those other games existing is this little fossil that somehow slipped out from under the skyscraper unscathed.

Even though so much has been lost, TMoAG survives as an epitaph.

[blueiscoool]

Former Nazi Bunker Turned Into Luxury Hotel in Germany

At 58 meters tall - just a little taller than the Leaning Tower of Pisa, but with considerably more heft - the St. Pauli bunker in Hamburg, Germany, has dominated the city skyline for just over 80 years.

Built using forced labor during Adolf Hitler’s Nazi regime, it’s a relic of the darkest period in Germany’s history - but this concrete hulk has had a surprising rebirth.

The relaunched Hamburg Bunker is now packed with two restaurants, a five-story Hard Rock Hotel and a newly built pyramid-like rooftop bar and garden from which greenery flows abundantly over the concrete facade.

The REVERB by Hard Rock is a fitting addition to a city with an impressive musical history – this is, after all, where The Beatles began their career at the start of the 1960s.

The Karoviertel neighborhood in which the fortress-like bunker sits is a cool enclave filled with stylish coffee shops and vintage stores, plus the Knust nightclub in a repurposed abattoir.

The amenities

Rooms in the 134-key REVERB range from 180 euros for a classic room, with amenities including a 55-inch flat screen TV and Alexa in-room assistant, to 269 euros for a suite with sweeping citywide views.

The hotel also has the kind of modern details you’d expect in any self-respecting hip hotel, such as self check-in, smart technology and co-working spaces.

You don’t have to be a hotel guest to enjoy the bunker’s amenities, however. On the ground level, there’s the Constant Grind coffee shop and bar, and a Rock Shop for those seeking Hard Rock merch.

Bar-restaurant Karo & Paul, by German TV chef Frank Rosin, opened as a bar in April 2024 and occupies the first three levels of the building. The restaurant area is still coming soon.

The restaurant La Sala – Spanish for living room - is open for business on the fifth floor, offering lofty views and an international menu.

Finally at the top is the Green Beanie roof garden, with bar and walkway looping round the building, which can be accessed by the public for free.

The challenge

The Hamburg bunker was one of eight flak towers – above-ground anti-aircraft bunkers which doubled as air raid shelters - which Germany built after British air raids on Berlin in 1940.

The history the Hamburg Bunker wears is heavy, but a 76,000-tonne concrete behemoth with walls 2.5 meters thick can’t be easily demolished or ignored.

The only flak tower to have been completely destroyed is one at Berlin’s zoo, as the others are in heavily populated areas where the explosives involved would be too great a risk, AFP reports.

“The idea of raising the height of the building with greenery was to add something peaceful and positive to this massive block left over from the Nazi dictatorship,” Anita Engels, from the Hilldegarden neighborhood association which supported the project, told AFP.

The association has helped with this new chapter in the Hamburg flak tower’s history by collecting testimonies from people who lived in the wartime bunker as well as records of the hundreds of forced laborers who built it.

An exhibition on the first floor now tells the full story of the building’s history.

By Maureen O'Hare.

[hunieday]

Yamato, Sougo, Momo 2024 Shuffle talk RabbiTV Episode 1

Episode 1 - Episode 2 - Episode 3

Please note that I am not a professional translator and I'm only doing this to share the side materials to those who cannot access them, if you notice any mistakes please let me know nicely. Enjoy!

*Doors opens*

Momo: Good morning~! You two are already here! You’re early~!

Nikaido Yamato: Good morning, Momo-san. We just got here a little bit ago.

Osaka Sougo: Good morning, Momo-san.

Osaka Sougo: It’s an honor for me to be able to join you on this "Monthly World Travel" special series. I know I greeted you at the raffle drawing, but I would like to thank you again!

Momo: No no, I'm the one who’s super happy to travel with you to Australia! I may be a bit clumsy, but I’m looking forward to working with you.

Nikaido Yamato: No no no no. I’m still inexperienced, so I would appreciate your guidance and support, Momo-san...

Momo: Ahaha! Everyone's being so humble!!

Momo: It’s gonna be just the three of us on this trip, so you can be more relaxed!

Osaka Sougo: I’m sorry for being so formal... Even Tamaki-kun tells me I’m too stiff a lot of times.

Momo: Oh, then how about you try talking more like Tamaki? Maybe you’ll sound a bit more casual!

Nikaido Yamato: Sou’s gonna call you “Momorin”?

Momo: Yup! Give it a try!

Osaka Sougo: Mo, mo... Momo... Mo...

Osaka Sougo: I’m sorry! I really still can’t do it after all...

Momo: Ahaha! You’re so cute! Thanks for trying your best to call me by that name!

Momo: Well, looks like this project’s gonna be quite relaxed so let’s take it easy. Yuki said there would be photo shoots and missions, but also plenty of free time!

Osaka Sougo: You’re right. I’ll try to take it more easy!

Nikaido Yamato: Looks like the weather will be nice too, so I’m looking forward to it.

Momo: It’s winter over there, isn’t it? I was considering going to the ocean for a swim but that might be impossible.

Nikaido Yamato: That’s true. It’s warm enough to wear short sleeves during the day though.

Osaka Sougo: Melbourne has many tourist attractions such as the Royal Botanic Gardens and zoos, so there should be plenty more to enjoy aside from the beach.

Momo: Aren’t you two a little too well-informed? Did you already do your research!?

Osaka Sougo: Yes, I was so excited that I ended up researching a lot of things.

Nikaido Yamato: He ordered all sorts of books. From travel magazines to Australian history.

Osaka Sougo: I thought I would appreciate the trip more if I understood its historical background... Yamato-san, you were also studying common English conversation phrases at the dorm so you could use them during the trip, right?

Nikaido Yamato: Just a little bit. I can speak English pretty well, but if you don’t use it you’ll forget it.

Momo: Having two capable little juniors is so reassuring!

Momo: I usually push myself real hard, but Momo-chan can probably just take it easy and enjoy himself this time!?

Nikaido Yamato: Re:vale works a lot overseas, right?... Must be hard to work together with that guy.

Momo: Ahaha! I’m used to it by now!

Momo: I always think about Yuki whenever I’m planning a trip and ask myself if he would enjoy it.

Momo: Thanks to that, I fully prepare everything from in-flight entertainment to what drinks to order at the hotel!

Nikaido Yamato: Oh, sounds good~ I’d like to try some of the local Australian beers.

Osaka Sougo: It seems like they tend to have a lower alcohol content and are easy to drink.

Momo: Sounds good! Let’s clear the missions and enjoy some delicious drinks together as a reward!

Momo: Wow, so this is Brighton Beach! Those colorful warehouses are so cute!

Osaka Sougo: Everyone’s taking pictures here and there.

Nikaido Yamato: Should we take a pic too?

Osaka Sougo & Momo: Yaaay!

*Camera shutter*

Momo: Yup! All of us have nice smiles!

Osaka Sougo: This will be a great memory of our trip!

Nikaido Yamato: How nice would it be if we completed the mission by spending time on the beach.

Momo: Things would be boring if it ends this quickly! Let’s enjoy the mission too~!

Accompanying Staff: Thank you everyone for traveling this far!

Accompanying Staff: Here’s the card with your mission written on it. Please take a look at the hint and the exploration map as well!

Osaka Sougo: Thank you. Um, for starters, the mission is... “Let’s meet a mermaid!”

Nikaido Yamato: And the hint is, “Under the water.”

Momo: A mermaid... under the water... Maybe we can swim to an underwater palace from this beach!?

Nikaido Yamato: That’s more like Urashima Taro than a mermaid, isn’t it? (1)

Momo: Haha! Nice one, Yamato!

Osaka Sougo: Hmm, I can’t make anything out of the hint being under the water.

Osaka Sougo: Shall we start by looking for clues around here?

Momo: Ah! Then it’s time for this!

Momo: Tadah! I brought soap bubbles from Japan!

Osaka Sougo: Momo-san, you went through the trouble of preparing this for us...!

Momo: I thought it would be fun to do this at the beach! Aren’t these containers so colorful and cute?

Momo: I’ve got four colors for each member, ones in Yamato’s and Sougo’s colors, as well as Yuki’s and mine!

Nikaido Yamato: You even brought one in Yuki-san’s color.

Momo: They were sold in packs of two and I felt bad leaving Yuki back home, so I brought his.

Momo: Here, the green one for Yamato and purple for Sougo!

Osaka Sougo: Thank you very much.

Nikaido Yamato: Wow, I remember blowing into the hole at the tip of the stick as a kid, how nostalgic.

Osaka Sougo: It’s been so long since I did something like this. It’s kind of exciting.

Momo: Alright! Let’s make some big soap bubbles!

Osaka Sougo & Nikaido Yamato: Yeah!

End of Episode 1.

Urashima Taro: A fairy-tale of a fisherman who, after visiting the underwater Palace of the Dragon King, returns centuries later​.

[the-crimson]

Ok I have thoughtsssss on the Dapper lore we just got.

I 100% believe the feds are coercing Dapper to mass produce these op health swap/regen potions for them - for a number of reasons.

First off, we need to go back to the convo Dapper had with Bad a week? Ago about keeping secrets. This was before Dapper started acting really weird and secretive. During that conversation, Dapper - to me - felt scared. At the time I assumed it was because they were afraid Bad would be upset at them for keeping secrets but now I think it was because Dapper was terrified of the secret he was keeping, that the Feds have commanded them to figure out a way of mass producing this Soul Vulture potion. It was only after Bad assured Dapper that he trusts them that Dapper started going all in on this mystery. She had gotten permission/reassurance from her dad that he believes in her and trusts her to do the right thing.

Now why would the federation ask an egg to do their dirty work? Easy. The eggs are so much more vulnerable that the players. The federation most likely created them so they probably have actual leverage or sway of some kind over the eggs but also think about what Dapper has to lose? Pomme, Ramon, Richas, all of their siblings in addition to threats to imprison or hurt Bad and Baghera. There is so much leverage the Feds have over Dapper it’d be easy to black mail him into compliance. Additionally, no one would expect the eggs to turn like this. The eggs are incredibly loyal and most hate the federation as much as their parents. It would be easy to get the egg to work for the feds without tipping off any of the islanders.

Even more damningly, Dapper is the most knowledgeable person on the island when it comes to mobs and has extensive knowledge of create machines. Dapper is the perfect person to learn how to mass produce the Soul Vulture’s corrupted form that produces the hearts necessary to make the potion in addition to building a create machine to mass produce the potion itself. Dapper has the perfect combination of knowledge that makes them the only person for this job.

On top of all of that, Dapper has Soul Vultures in the lab (thank you Minecraft subtitles XD). Soul Vultures are only found in the nether. We know the Feds have access to spawn eggs for nether mobs thanks to the mob Dapper asked for in the Zoo project and the only other way would be going into the nether yourself which we know thanks to Forever’s portal is incredibly dangerous and chaotic. I highly doubt Dapper was making solo trips into the nether this whole time trying to find the Soul Vulture without Bad finding out. It’s much more likely to me that the federation gave Dapper spawn eggs - or even the mobs themselves- so that Dapper could breed them and experiment on them.

Then on top of all of this, Dapper has been blatantly lying to Bad’s face because what else can she do? Dapper knows they aren’t fooling Bad but what are they supposed to do? They are being black mailed and can’t tell anyone without the feds threatening to take away everyone Dapper loves. Of course the only thing they can do is lie knowing Bad will see right through it and hope that Bad won’t interfere (or will and help Dapper get out of this) I thought the bald face lying was so odd but Dapper being black mailed makes everything make sense because at that point, lying was all Dapper could do even if there was no way anyone would believe them.

But there you have it. That’s all the evidence I can think of off the top of my head just from memory. Hopefully we’ll get a stream tomorrow but until then, I cry T-T

(I can’t remember if the Soul Vulture was the second spawn egg the feds gave Dapper/Bad for the zoo but if that is the case, then the feds gave Dapper the egg knowing what it could be used for and the black mail scheme unfolds the same)

[catreginae]

okay i really really want to start reading your vampire wars thing because first of all, im OBSESSED with the concept, and second, it just seems cool as hell, but i’ve been unable to read recently so i haven’t had a chance to get to it. ITS ON MY LIST THO 🙌🙌🙌

BUT I STILL WANNA KNOW ABOUT HIM HE SEEMS SO COOL. I don’t wanna ask annoying questions cos I feel like most of the one’s I have are things you’ve probably already answered haha, BUT TELL ME ABOUT UR SPECIAL GUY. Is there anything in particular you just really really wanna talk about? Any little details you’re really proud of that you want people to notice? Can he turn into a particularly fluffy little bat? If so would bat Wars appreciate head pats? Is there a specific vampire lore that inspired this?

-crazylittlejester

Sorry this took so long! This is the first ask I got after asking for them but it's the last I got to!

I think people realized these things but I’m going to talk about them anyway!

Warriors has bad self-esteem. He’s super protective of the others. He has the ability to regenerate, so it’s hard to hurt him in a way that actually matters. He can pretty much bounce back from anything. Anyway, all three of these aspects of Warriors feed into each other. He doesn’t care about what happens to him because he can regenerate. The pain is worth it if the others are safe. He thinks keeping the others safe by taking the really bad hits is how he’s earning his keep in the group because he has a hard time accepting that they actually like him for who he is. The others are working on it!

This boy is a pacer. When he’s restless and antsy, or hopped up on blood, he just starts pacing. He cannot help it.

Warriors is actually the sleepiest in the chain and beats even Sky. I headcanon Sky with sleep apnea (because of projection) but Warriors ends up sleeping the most because being half-vampire is actually really hard on his body. I like it imagine that sleep is the glue that keeps his Hylian half and vampire half together to make one mostly functional person. This is why he can pretty much fall asleep immediately if he’s injured but also had some blood.

The fluffy bat thing is a plan but hasn’t happened yet. It’s not a vampire thing in this AU (it is a nod to it at least?) nor is it his shadow crystal form. It’s wizzrobe bullshittery that he actually saw some use in so he begged Lana for some way to have regular access to a bat form. It’s probably some sort of jewellery. I wrote a very small snippet about Four throwing a tiny bat Warriors into the air to help him figure out lift. Of course, he’s a vampire bat because they can run on the ground and I think that’s pretty neat. Go look up a zoo feeding them blood, they just run on the ground and take little sippies out of a bowl.

And finally, the inspiration for this AU is a movie from the 80s called The Lost Boys. It inspired his appearance a little bit (he’s got the same yellow and red eyes). Lore wise, some of the abilities made it over but I used a lot of different inspirations for this AU and of course, I had to try to remix it fit Zelda too. The Lost Boys is the first inspiration though because I was in that rabbit hole when I wrote the first chapter.

[the-phantom-author]

Wilbur Soot | Dadbur

Dadbur, dadbur, dadbur

These took like four days, and keeps getting deleted so there's more but I can't bring myself to rewrite them. Enjoy.

@starsyoubreaklikesugardust

As stated before, Wilbur could not hack being there during the actual birth, he is very supportive of you having whoever in there with you. You can bet that he is all in his head full of worry until he see the both of you. When he does he is in tears, like his two favorite girls are right there, healthy and okay.

He wants his daughter to be sleeping in your room for as long as possible, the crib is on his side of the bed, easy access for him when she wakes up in the middle of night. He does this because A) he’s worried something will happen in the middle of the night, and wants to be able to get to her as fast as possible and B) He wants to do everything for her as he can, the first couple of months are hard, both because a newborn is a lot and you’re still healing and trying to feel like a normal human person again.

He wants to keep his baby bubble as long as possible, he’s just in love with the sight of you and your baby, his baby, and he has this selfish desire to preserve that sight and feeling for himself (“No Tommy you can not come over-”). The moment that you suggest letting some people over he’s inviting everyone he knows. He loves to show off his little family, to anyone really, still doesn't love posting about it online (Wil and his weird sense of privacy).

GIrl scout dad (does the uk have girl scouts???). The most competitive person with it as well, he’s Planting trees? Science Projects? He’s doing it all.

He loves telling people stories about his daughter, If he’s waiting in line at the store, meeting a fan, or in an interview. He really can not help himself in interviews. “Yeah, with the new album we actually had my kid be the first person to listen to them, she loves them all.”Sometimes its just talking about arts and crafts that they’ve done recently.

He adores doing her hair, he’s really bad at it, but he loves that quality time. It becomes the main reason why he becomes a morning person. Once she starts going to school she goes to you to do it, but only after Wil has tried.

I also feel like she never left her “why” phase. Like you can overhear conversations that are just “What’s that” “A coffe maker” “What do?” “It makes Coffee” How” and it would just go on until either wil or you can’t explain it anymore.

Family trips, to science museums, petting zoos, aquariums, butterfly houses, and libraries.He really tries to make any outing memorable for his girls, because you both deserve the best.

When he leaves to go on tours, she always gives him her favorite stuffed animal, and tells him to take care of it. And he does, he’ll take out to any resturant or cafe or venue he’s in and takes pictures of it so you can show your daughter. He also picks up one stuffed animal every tour he’s on for her, and a bunch of small trinkets one from every city.

She likes her dad carrying her because he is 6 '5 and she likes to feel tall. She also expresses her desire to be tall by climbing on everything, couches, fridges, counters, tables, trees, honestly if you can name it she’ll get on top of it.

Wilbur likes to dance with her, no matter how old she is, he wants to dance with her. When she’s a baby, he likes swaying with her. When she’s up to his kneecaps he has her stand on his feet and does a poorly executed ballroom type dance. She gets enrolled in a dance class when she’s young and it’s one of his favorite activities to do with her.

She also likes to collect things with the both of you. Flowers mainly, she’ll always have someone press/preserve them. When she gets older she likes to send them to people with letters. She also likes to collect postcards and will demand that you go to the post office in every city you’re in.

He gets super into dress up, always gets proper outfits (Chefs uniforms, Princess dress, fFeather boas). He even gets his daughter to put makeup on him, this always comes with him making sure that she knows that she does not and will not ever need makeup and how it's only being used because it’s fun and pretty. He will always compliment the final look and make you get a picture of it.

He always hates when she has to go to the doctor's office with her. He gets really nervous, and is constantly sending you text messages about how it’s going and what the doctor is saying. Heaven forbid she gets sick while he’s on tour, he is constantly face time with you and he does make an effort to give her a shout out at every show. “This show tonight is for my daughter, who is unfortunately riddled with a really bad case of an achy tummy.”

There are several “official” recording of every song he has helped make, where in reality its just him holding her close to a mic as she babbles in babyish something that sorta sounds like the lyrics.

Wilbur can’t really cook, we know this, we know that he has bad taste buds, which means that he is no help in the kitchen. This being said he will absolutely hold his daughter on his hip, narating whatever it is that you are doing.

I am a firm believer that he grows a garden with his little family. Sunflowers, azaleas, whatever his two girls want. He’d be out there desperately trying to teach her how to plant flowers and grow a proper garden.

[why-animals-do-the-thing]

California zoo accessibility data dump

I just recently got back from a short (and fully covid-cautious) zoo road trip in Oregon and California, and wanted to share my notes re: accessibility at the facilities I visited. I'll get this all integrated into the spreadsheet, too.

Wildlife Safari - Winston, Oregon

This is a large drive-thru safari park with a free walk-about area attached that contains some small exhibits. Guests stay inside their cars the entire drive-thru, although there's at least one place to stop and sit in a gazebo to rest and use the bathroom (porta-potty only). You can pull over to watch animals for longer, and go through multiple times if you missed anything. It's a long drive-thru and there isn't really a good way to truncate the experience if you've got some kind of emergency. The roads are not flat, but they're well maintained and not bumpy.

The walkabout area is very small and contains bathrooms, food options, and other guest services. The paths are mostly concrete and well tended, although you do have to cross the steam train tracks to get to lion/some of the lemur viewing. I believe the Australia walkabout area was also unpaved. There's lots of parking in a big, flat, paved lot.

Sacramento Zoo - Sacramento, CA

This is a very cute, small inner-city facility - a good option if you don't want to try to walk a huge zoo in one day. There's lots of shade from all the plants and a good amount of benches throughout, including picnic tables with shade canopies. The paths are almost entirely flat and paved, with the exception of a boardwalk ramp up to the giraffe feeding and okapi viewing platforms. The cafe has gluten-free and vegetarian listings (maybe vegan?) on their menu. No straws are provided for animal safety, but if you need one, they can give you a reusable curly-straw from the slushies (kinda long and awkward for a normal cup) as an accommodation. They've got both water fountains and water bottle filling stations. Being build in a larger city park and recreation complex, there isn't a dedicated parking lot just for the zoo: the closest is across the street, shared with another attraction, and is kinda small. I've never had issues finding parking when I've gone, but sometimes it does involve a bunch of walking to get to the zoo entrance - if you have mobility or stamina limitations, probably best to get dropped off at the entrance and wait (there are benches).

San Francisco Zoo - San Francisco, CA

The SF Zoo is huge. There's lots of green / garden / swamp space that doesn't have habitats in it, but it means exhibits can be pretty far away, so plan your route accordingly. (Going out to the grizzly bears is the longest loop). Depending on the time of day, there's not always a ton of shade for guests either. There's a decent amount of benches, and quite a few are in decent proximity to animal viewing. After a somewhat long but not steep hill right at the entrance, the paths are all paved and fairly flat. There's a hill going down into/up from the Australia area / kids playground, but it's the only one I really noticed. There's a long elevated boardwalk through the lemur habitats that connects to the top of the new Madagascar construction - if you can't do stairs, as of Spring 2024, that's the only way to get up there to look down on the mandrills or see the top of the fossa habitat. (It's still under construction, so there might be an elevator in the building in the future). Back by the grizzlies, there's an old indoor rainforest building - while there's buttons to automatically open the door going in, I didn't find any on the first inside door going out. It makes sense they don't want both doors to open at once since it's a bird airlock, but not having independent ones on each door meant the day I used an ECV I got stuck in there until a nice staff member noticed.

All three times I've ever been to SF most of the little food kiosks haven't been open, and the vending machines for drinks have been hit and miss - so bring your own, or stock up at the cafe if you need to have supplies with you - but there are water fountains and water bottle filling stations around the zoo. There are interpretive audio boxes through the zoo in English and Spanish, used with a key you get at the entrance(?), but I heard a lot of complaints in passing about some of them not working. There's lots of parking at the zoo in a flat paved lot, and there's a specific dropoff area on one side for rideshares/mobility needs.

Oakland Zoo - Oakland, CA

To be clear up front - Oakland was the hardest facility to visit on this whole trip, with regards to mobility. We went twice, and I used an ECV (electric scooter) one and walked the other. Neither option was easy and both were exhausting. Oakland is a super hilly facility - you basically have to drive up a major hill to get to the zoo. The bottom half of the lower zoo can only be reached by going down pretty steep paths. The hills are also not graded to be "flat", so if you're in a wheelchair or ECV, you're going to have to lean to compensate for the tilt and balance the chair... while controlling it going down a steep hill. It's exhausting and kinda scary. (I don't even let other people carry my camera because $$, but I had to ask for help so I could focus on driving the ECV on those hills). There's also a lot of areas of the pathways that are not in the best repair, or patterned with pressed-in images, and multiple places actually have brass bugs embedded in the pavement so that they stick out above the surface. Lots of tripping hazards and/or things to rattle your teeth out rolling over. A couple places in the upper zoo (the California wilds area) the paths switch from paved to sand and back again, for drainage, maybe? On the upside, there's a lot of benches everywhere, including directly across from prime viewing areas.

Getting up to the upper zoo requires using a gondola - there's no walking option. You can actually take wheelchairs and ECVs on these, but you have to be ready to advocate for yourself. Normally, they don't stop the carriages completely, and expect people to walk on while they're still moving slowly. You can ask them to slow them down for you (I did, because knee issues plus torque is bad), or stop it completely if you need the time/help. When I took an ECV on, they had me disembark and get in one carriage, and they loaded it into the subsequent ones. This is fine because I can walk and stand on concrete for a while without it, but I'm not sure how that practice would work for people who need their mobility aids the whole time. They were very nice about managing the stopping and the loading and didn't make it feel like an imposition, too. If they stop the carriages completely at any point, there will be a loud buzzer/alarm when the ride starts back up. If you're close, it's pretty loud and startling. As they leave the track at the bottom the gondolas tip and dip a little, which can be scary if you're not expecting it - I think it's just the transition of the car from the loading bay onto the track itself. The rest of the ride is very smooth. The track is pretty high up and gives a great view of the bay and the surrounding cities, but face uphill if you don't do well with heights. Once at the upper zoo, the path from bald eagles through jaguar is mostly a boardwalk, but it's not too bumpy.

Oakland's parking is hard if you're not there early in the day, IMO. The overflow parking gets pretty far from the entrance, and starts to go up the hill towards the upper zoo. If the lot looks busy, drop anyone with mobility/stamina issues off at the entrance before parking. Unlike many other zoos I've visited, Oakland's ECVS have added sunshades, which is really nice (and which I should have used).

Monterey Zoo - Salinas, CA

This is a fairly small facility with most habitats on one level, but some big cats and bears are up a pretty big hill. The walkways are paved and flat, and there's an ADA-graded boardwalk ramp that takes you to the top of the hill. The pipes used for the handrails on both the stairs and the ramp get very hot in the sun, however. There's a boardwalk up to the rhino overlook. They indicate that their bathrooms are accessible, but the ones in the main building didn't have bars for transferring - I didn't check the ones up on the hill. At one point in the day speakers along the path started playing really loud pop music (drowned out the birds) and it was very overwhelming. There's lots of handicapped parking spots across from the front entrance, but if you don't have a tag, the rest of the spots are up a bit of a hill and a small walk from the entrance. They do have a note, though, that they can help if you need accessible parking and don't see any, so you could probably call/have someone to go in and ask for an accommodation.

Sequoia Park Zoo - Eureka, CA

This is another nice small facility, very doable for a half-day trip. The paths are paved and flat, and there's benches available. There's a lot of shade, although it can depend on the time of day, and places to fill a water-bottle. The sky-walk through the redwoods is accessible, but might be a little difficult depending on mobility limitations - its' a very sturdy boardwalk through the canopy of the tall trees. (I had more thoughts on this from my last visit, I'll dig out those notes). If you can do even part of it, it's worth it, and there's places to turn around. Because it's in a residential area of the town there's not a huge dedicated parking lot, but lots of street parking and a decent lot directly across the street. I've never had difficulty finding parking, and you can drop people off at the entrance easily.

[local-hellhound-steals-spaghetti]

I really appreciate when zoos actively stand up for themselves and their animals.

It's so bizarre how people like Helene O'Barry call themselves authorities on cetacean welfare and then say that orca habitats aren't "like the ocean."

Have you seen the ocean before? It's a desert when it comes to life. There's little pockets of life but you have to travel miles before you find them. The orcas that stick close to coast lines use rubbing beaches occasionally but those behaviours are pretty specific to ecotype and are learned. I'd argue that captive orcas use slide outs in very similar ways, plus having added advantage of getting an outside view.

I agree, more autonomous habitat design would be great. But it'll still never look like a chimp habitat or a lot of terrestrial zoo animal habitats. It'll be things like turning on and off sprayers or having surfaces to rub on that are safe for them to be with unsupervised. (pebble beaches in a tank could quickly become a disaster if one orca learns to eat the pebbles). Or schools of fish introduced into the habitat like SeaWorld is doing.

The ocean is very much a coming and going of different stimuli and challenges - tides, currents and finding food. But wild orcas that are well fed and thriving will focus the rest of their energy into social interaction and play.

Gating whales/dolphins into different pools with different social companions is enrichment, whether you agree that it's enough or not. You can also maximise social enrichment by giving whales the choice of who they want one to one time with or having all the gates for free social time (if it's safe to do so)

Yes, it's artificial but it is still enrichment. And social enrichment is a lot more valuable to whales and dolphins than some pretty rocks. Most of the time, rockwork is for guests. The dolphins I worked with in ocean lagoons often had environmental scrapes because they cut themselves on a rock or some coral because they were playing and got too close.

So we need to consider what elements of a habitat is enriching and what actually means something to our animals. Just because they're housed in sea pens, does not mean that they immediately get all their enrichment needs met.

In cases of dolphins I worked with in sea pens, there were still major welfare issues that were not fixed by ~being in the ocean~ or ~having a big area to swim~. They were caused by poor social management, a non-existent enrichment program, a stagnant training program and a general vibe of "this is how we always do it." They had coral, they had schools of fish, sea turtles, tides and currents ect. But I still saw some of the worst dolphin welfare cases I had ever seen there. And, in some cases, it was made even worse by free access to sharp rocks and coral.

There's no quick fix, there's no "perfect" solution to housing cetaceans. It's about assessing the individual needs of the dolphins/whales and meeting those needs. And habitat is only one piece of a very complex and constantly moving puzzle.

[isleofdarkness]

What were different kids project focuses?

Rose's research paper was on wasp conservation and her "what I want to be" went on about her desire to become a wasp expert and work in conservation.

Ace's research paper was on why wolfdogs and foxes are unethical pets. It wants to own a zoo for abandoned exotic pets and wants to breed certain dog breeds (it is particularly angry about French bulldogs and great danes) to be healthier.

Hadie's research paper was on how the Underworld works with and without xer dad. Their paper was about how, when they grew up, they wanted to help their dad with the Underworld. They have so many good ideas and they would be willing to take over the socializing part for their father because he cannot stand crowds and Olympus in general.

Mal's research paper was on the claw of Chernobyl. She knows so much about the claw. She went and found it and took selfies of herself sitting in it with the radiation alarm flipping out. She wants to open a series of hospitals for kids with severe issues- emotionally disturbed, RAD, homicidal, etc- a bit like a home for disturbed kids. Only she will actually try to help the kids rather than lock them away from public view. She's gonna hire nurses for the staff and will treat the patients like people. She hopes to get more research done towards rehabilitation of these patients, or at least ways to give them a higher quality of life. She saw Children of Darkness and lost her entire mind.

Mischa's paper was about his beloved siblings, about how he raised them and fought with everything he had to keep them alive. He wants to open a charity to help people out of sex work. On the Isle, almost all sex workers are there because it's either that or starve. So he wants to set up a shelter where they can stay. It would have doctor services and a bunch of programs to help people learn a skill so they won't have to go back into sex work, as well as helping them on their way to independence. There would be an open door policy, too. If someone who previously stayed found themselves in the "sell yourself or starve" situation again, they're always welcome back. He doesn't want anyone to be forced to go through what he went through.

Ivy' paper was on Diego, Veronica, and Carlos, and how proud she was of all of them. She wants to set up rehabs focused on children and teens, because most rehabs are geared towards adults. That's not good for the kids who desperately need help and she's going to do something to fix it.

Evie's report was on Ash, on how loving that little girl taught her to love herself as she was. She wants to own a fashion line that trains and employs the impoverished and people who struggle to get a job. She's also going to hire diverse models because everyone deserves to see someone like them on a magazine, and she already has several accessible lines drawn out (such as the magnet closures that make it easier for Riah to dress.) No one should be forced to wear something they hate just because they can't wear anything else. Self-expression is for everyone.

Jay's paper was about his cousin Jade, who he loves like a sister, and the aunt and uncle who were far better parents than his father. His goal is to do major league tourney so that no one he loves will ever have to worry about money. His main worry was he wanted Ruby to have the medical care he may need, and doctors are expensive. But he'll find a way to pay for it.

Claudine's paper was about a sister she refused to name but clearly loved to pieces, and how much she owed her sister, how much she wanted to see her again. She and Rick Ratcliffe plan to make a charity for religious abuse survivors to help them live a good life after their trauma. RA trauma can be so insidious but so few talk about it, so they're gonna do something about it.

Gil wrote about his sisters, some brothers, and his siblings who are not really either one. His plan is to work with LeFou and continue helping disabled children. There's not really much else he can do. Oh, and he wants gender-affirming surgery and for his siblings (most of them) to be safe and happy.

Carlos wrote about Diego, Ivy, and Veronica, about how much he owed them and how they refused to let him pay for any of it. Ivy and Diego are the reason he made it past age two. He doesn't care what he does when he's grown, as long as he's with them.

I'll reblog with some others during intermission

[neojayink]

Sketch Dump + Splatoon Neo Artist Updates

I’m nearly finished the complete plot of sneo hero story. Currently planning on how all my ideas will coincide with each other.

Hero: “Cross Contamination” - A sub plot that introduces Toxic Octolings and shows the failures of a scientist attempting to create genetically modified Octolings. Much like sanitized Octolings, the toxic octos have been contaminated and now show off zombie-like behaviors.

“Hero Team Up” - A pair of heroes on their night shift protecting the city. The left hero is physically exhausted from the mission. Neon Octolings shown carrying the new “Dauber Glove” weapons.

“Part time environmentalist” - Sketches for a story in which the main character works at a water plant facility. Currently scrapped idea as it introduced a convoluted storyline. Reworked into the Hero Night Shifts. (Protecting the Microbiome) “Water jug ink hammer” and “stream shot” seen as weapons. May be explored in the future.

“Tree Octoling Trio” - First concept for the Tree Octoling in the story. The hero will arrive to a zoo-like Forrest enclosure in search of a hidden treasure. The tree Octoling is protecting it, and has never seen an outsider before. Their natural instinct to protect their turf kicks in and a battle starts. Tree octopuses do not exist, but this one has been created in irony of that fact. They represent a successful genetic modification experiment by the scientist.

“Hype Mode” - A new mechanic that lets the player trade their heart for stat boosts. More details coming in the sneo mechanics updates.

Edit: this mechanic will be reworked into what we will call “flow state”

“Lock Jaws” - Splatoon Neo’s second official special. Will be seen after the “Supersize: Streamshot Deluxe” is shown off. The user summons a ghostly koinobori (carp/koi fish streamer ‘kite’.) The lock jaws which is made of holo ink swims through the air and surfaces to latch onto its target. Holo ink allows inklings to cast 3D projections of ink. It’s seen in many specials, but in this case, holo ink casts into a koi fish. Once locked, the enemy player will lose access to its special, sub weapon, and given negative effects such as dizziness and dillution. (Dillution makes you take more damage and deal less damage when affected)

“Turf Board” - New weapon class of surfboard + hoverboard weapons. It will be a usable method of transportation in battles. Comes with its own ink tank to let you “hover” from its fountain mechanism. Ink saver main will be your friend with this wpn as the hover mode will burn through ink. I haven’t finished the mechanics and balancing but I could see this letting you hover for at least 5 seconds. As a turfing weapon it can shoot out two streams of ink. The win animation will definitely look like how people dance with sign advertisements. Vehicles will show up in the “raceway” stage as obstacles you can drive around with ink like the turf board.

And finally,

“Neon Lotus” - Album cover concept 1. The twins have their final designs pretty much complete and they have a few songs in the works already. Their album vibe is inspired by old school sonic graphics. Surprisingly it’s harder for me to create songs for the twins vs ultramarine. It’s about 4 to 6 in difference. I’m definitely a perfectionist to neon lotus but I’m sure they’ll come out great. Over time I’ll be sharing more audio clips for both bands songs.

(This post sat in my drafts for months 😅just now checking drafts)

[du-buk]

Hi, I really love 8:11 and wanted to thank you for this project! I want to ask what kind of games (computer) would the characters play?

Sorry, but computer games don’t exist in 8:11’s world. Video games aren’t really created, let alone being popular.

Amalia and Accardi might be the first ones to play any computer games, but most likely it would be games like Zoo Tycoon, Pac Man, or Snake. Amalia would probably really like Barbie games and Fnaf if she was given access to it, lol.

[john-frog]

Some lore on my (supposed to be) main worldbuilding/spec evo project Batrachiterra.

In the not-so-distant future, humans have technologically advanced quite a bit, principally in terms of space travel. Humans can terraform Earth-sized planets and moons at their will, using their new homes to live, mine metals, farm animals, plants, and study certain substances, components, fauna, diseases, and even weapons in a controlled ambient environment. Such an environment is the planet Frog world. Frog World, frog's world, Frog world, many names are used to refer to the planet Heqet, in a close solar system where humans settled in to study frogs. But why study frogs? The enterprise that did this process of terraformation, called Batrachotechnologies, began the project in order to study, breed, and preserve frog species that became endangered on Earth. They aimed not only to preserve frogs but also study their poison, the batrachotoxin, in order to make vaccines, medicines and antidotes against diseases and poisons respectively. They brought to the planet the following frog species: The genus Dendrobates commonly known as poison dart frogs, the Cane toad Rhinella marina, Giant leaf frog Phyllomedusa bicolor, the Common toad Bufo bufo, and the Colorado river toad Incilius alvarius.

The terraformation was done trough some decades, the process started when the first spacial stations settled in the solar system. The atmosphere of the planet was very similar to Earth's one, but it still needed to be changed, massive machines called 437H3-R were sent to produce gases such as oxygen in high quantities. Later on, more machines were sent, now the L1L1-P0D's, who bred phyto-plankton such as algae, an important component in order to stay with the oxygen levels alright. But L1L1-P0D's also bred Zoo-plankton needed to keep the numbers of algae in check. Then it was time for "greater" life get in, drones nicknamed 533D-3R launched spores of mosses, lichens, ferns and fungi in the continents, "pioneer species" who helped to break down nutrients from rocks, a necessary thing in order to get trees in the planet later on. But in the seas life seeded was more diverse, aquatic plants and animals were seeded to kind of establish the ecosystems of the oceans. Why "kind of"? Detritivores and primary consumers were added, but, for unknown reasons, no fish species was added, so, the ecosystems were kind of incomplete.

Then the last part of the seeding process started, once the pioneer species did their job the long term species came in. Trees, vines, grasses and bromeliads were seeded, and following them invertebrates too, such as pollinators and their predators.

The terraformation thus proceeded, and humans and frogs could now settle in to start research and breeding respectively.

However, the plans to peacefully research the poisons were suddenly changed, the enterprise was purchased by an ex-military who aimed to use the research to make bio-weapons and sell them to violent organizations suchs as mafias and terrorists, the GCL: Galactic Council of Life, discovered the plans of the new owner and proceeded to interrupt the enterprise, locking their access to the solar system, evacuating the planet and leaving the new inhabitants of the planet to their own luck, in order to adapt, evolve, and thrive, on the planet of frogs.

~~~

Batrachiterra will follow the path of evolution in this terraformed world and see what wonders will emerge in the natural history of the planet Heqet after the new residents establish themselves in a competition-free ecosystem and adapt to fill its various empty niches.

[pixoplanet]

🦕 Hooray! It's the 4th of July, America's Independence Day!

🦕 Diplodocus Dinosaur Skeleton in a Berlin Museum

On this day in 1899, Paleontologist Arthur Coggeshall discovered the fossil skeleton of a Diplodocus carnegie near Sheep Creek, Wyoming. This dinosaur, nick-named "Dippy," holds significant paleontological importance:

Dippy is one of the most complete and well-preserved dinosaur skeletons ever found, providing paleontologists with an unparalleled opportunity to study the anatomy and structure of Diplodocus and contributing to a more comprehensive understanding of sauropod morphology and evolution.

The discovery and subsequent display of Diplodocus carnegie in various museums around the world has captivated the public imagination and has played a crucial role in popularizing dinosaurs and paleontology among the general public. The specimen was first exhibited at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh and later replicated and sent to other institutions, including the Natural History Museum in London.

🦕 Diplodocus Dinosaur Family Display at Veszprém Zoo

The detailed study of Dippy has led to numerous scientific papers and research projects. Insights gained from Dippy have helped clarify aspects of sauropod biology, such as their posture, locomotion, and feeding behavior. The discovery has also informed debates on dinosaur physiology, including discussions on how such large animals supported their massive bodies.

Dippy has also served as a valuable educational tool, helping to teach generations of students and museum visitors about the Mesozoic era, the diversity of dinosaur species, and the process of scientific discovery. The creation and accessibility of Dippy replicas has made it easier for educators to engage the public with tangible examples of paleontological research.

Arthur Coggeshall's Diplodocus carnegie specimen is a keystone discovery in the field of paleontology due to its exceptional completeness, its role in popularizing dinosaurs, its contributions to scientific research, and its enduring educational impact. ☮️ Peace… Jamiese

🦖 The 4th of July is a nice day to spend outdoors.

https://www.pixoplanet.com/post/4th-of-july