Robber fly - Nature photographer Thomas Shahan specializes in amazing portraits of tiny insects. It isn't easy. Shahan says that this Robber Fly (Holcocephala fusca), for instance, is "skittish" and doesn't like its picture taken.

Nature by Numbers (Video)

"The Greater Akashic System" – July 15, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) (Subjects: Lightworkers, Intent, To meet God, Past lives, Universe/Galaxy, Earth, Pleiadians, Souls Reincarnate, Invention: Measure Quantum state in 3D, Recalibrates, Multi-Dimensional/Divine, Akashic System to change to new system, Before religion changed the system, DNA, Old system react to Karma, New system react to intent now for next life, Animals (around humans) reincarnate again, This Animal want to come back to the same human, Akashic Inheritance, Reincarnate as Family, Other Planets, Global Unity … etc.)

Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle
American zoologist played by Sigourney Weaver in the film Gorillas in the Mist would have been 82 on Thursday (16 January 2014)

Thursday, November 14, 2013

Endangered 'Asian Unicorn' sighted in Vietnam

Google – AFP, Catherine Barton (AFP), 13 November 2013

This handout picture taken in 1996 and received from WWF on November 13, 2013
 shows a female saola at Lak Xao, in the Lao province of Bolikhamxay (WWF/AFP/File,
William Robichaud)

Hanoi — The critically endangered twin-horned saola has been sighted in Vietnam for the first time in over a decade, raising hopes of recovery for the mysterious animal, conservationists said Wednesday.

Known as the "Asian Unicorn" for its extreme elusiveness, the antelope-like creature was spotted in September using a camera trap set by WWF and the communist country's government in Vietnam's central Annamite mountains.

"When our team first looked at the photos we couldn't believe our eyes. Saola are the holy grail for South East Asian conservationists so there was a lot of excitement," said Van Ngoc Thinh, WWF Vietnam?s country director.

"This is a breathtaking discovery and renews hope for the recovery of the species," he said in a statement.

Handout picture taken in 1996 and received from
 WWF on November 13, 2013 shows a female
 saola at Lak Xao in the Lao province of 
Bolikhamxay (WWF/AFP/File, William
Robichaud)
Saola, which were only discovered in 1992, have two parallel horns with sharp ends that can reach 50 centimetres in length (20 inches).

One of the secretive creatures was seen in August 2010 -- the first sighting in a decade -- but it died a few days after it was captured by villagers in Laos, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.

It was the first time a wild saola had been spotted since one was captured on camera in 1999 in Laos.

Dang Dinh Nguyen, Deputy Head of Quang Nam Forest Protection Department, said the last sighting of a saola in Vietnam was in 1998.

He said the latest appearance of the animal was "an historic moment" and showed that conservation efforts in the critical saola habitat were effective.

Southeast Asia is a global biodiversity hotspot -- 126 species were newly recorded last year in the Greater Mekong region, which consists of Thailand, Cambodia, Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan.

Last year Vietnam was the site of discoveries such as the Beelzebub tube-nosed bat, the yin-yang frog and new species of fish with a penis on its head.

Phallostethus cuulong became the newest member of the Phallostethidae family -- small fish found in Southeast Asian waters that are distinguished primarily by the positioning of the male sexual organ.

Male phallostethids have a copulatory organ, termed the priapium, under the throat for holding or clasping onto females and fertilising their eggs internally, according to conservationists.

In January this year, an Australian researcher discovered a new species of flying frog near the country's southern Ho Chi Minh City and named it after her mother.

Helen's Flying Frog was first discovered by Jodi Rowley, an amphibian expert from Sydney's Australian Museum, in 2009 during a field trip to the forests fringing the city.

But Vietnam is struggling to preserve its wildlife and in 2012 WWF said the country one of the worst offenders in failing to tackle trade in endangered species -- an accusation which the country denies.

In 2011, conservationists said a critically endangered species of rhinoceros had been poached to extinction in Vietnam.

The country's last Javan rhino was found dead in April 2010 with a gunshot wound to its leg and its horn hacked off.

Conservationists believe there could be only a few dozen saola surviving in the wild, with best-case estimates ranging to several hundred.

In the area where the saola was sighted, the WWF runs a law enforcement programme which recruits forest guards from the local community to prevent illegal hunting.

Since 2011, the forest guards have removed 30,000 snares and destroyed more than 600 illegal hunters' camps.

"Confirmation of the presence of the saola in this area is a testament to the dedicated and tireless efforts of these forest guards," said Thinh.

When it was found two decades ago the saola was "the first large mammal new to science in more than 50 years and one of the most spectacular species discoveries of the 20th century," WWF said.

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