Category: Americas
-
I Worked With The Largest Parrot In The World, Hyacinthine Macaw
Showing one of the Hyacinthine Macaws (Anodorhynchus hyacinthinus) I used to work with on World Parrot Day makes sense to me — it is the largest flying parrot in the world!
-
I Was About To Meet Anne Innis Dagg
I was scheduled to meet the world’s first giraffologist on Monday during her trip to Hong Kong. I have been preparing for welcoming this pioneering zoologist from Canada. But now, this meeting will never be possible. R.I.P. Dr. Anne Innis Dagg (1933-2024) My deepest condolences to the family and the Anne Innis Dagg (AID) Giraffe…
-
I Was Holding a Lizard No One Knew Was Deadly
I was handling a lizard no one knew was deadly, until just now. Gila Monsters are venomous. It’s been known from day one, since 1890. This is probably the first lizard species ever known to be venomous, over 120 years before we learned that Komodo Dragons are venomous. Gila monster bites are painful but have…
-
New Species In 2023 Named After Celebrities
DiCaprio’s snail-eating snake (Sibon irmelindicaprioae) This snake is found in the Chocó-Darién Gap forests of eastern Panama and western Colombia. Actor and conservationist Leonardo DiCaprio named it in honor of his mother, Irmelin Indenbirken. Venomius tomhardyi This new species of orb-weaver spider found in southern Western Australia east to Tasmania was named after Tom Hardy because the pattern of black spots on the…
-
Just Adopted A Chinchilla From Hong Kong Exodus
We have recently adopted and rehomed many pets that couldn’t make it to stay with their families due to the mass emigration from Hong Kong. This chinchilla is from a repatriating expat. She was so sad and couldn’t hold her tears when I picked him up. I hope this video will make her feel better…
-
Color Is The New Forbidden Fruit
From yellow vs blue in Hong Kong to black vs white in the States. A world like now everything is politics, things pure as colors have become risky words, is keeping people to think less, speak less, and act less.
-
How Could Black Lives Not Matter?
Africa was the birth-place of Homo sapiens. Diamond, sugar, salt, gold, iron, cobalt, uranium, copper, bauxite, silver, petroleum and cocoa beans, coffee – All happiness in life is from Africa!
-
Wild Boar – Hong Kong Wildlife | 野豬 – 香港野生動物
The Wild boars (Sus scrofa) is also known as wild swine, common wild pig, or simply wild pig. Sus scrofa (Linnaeus, 1758)Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum: ChordataClass: MammaliaOrder: ArtiodactylaFamily: SuidaeGenus: SusSpecies: scrofa See more of my encounters with Hong Kong Wildlife. 野豬, 山豬
-
Scarab Beetle – Hong Kong Wildlife | 金龜子 – 香港野生動物
Because of its glamorous metallic colors, these were the popular bugs Hong Kong kids used to spend their springs and summers finding them in the bush back in the 1970’s to 80’s. There are over 30,000 species of scarabs in the world. In Hong Kong, the more common scarabs include The green chafer beetles (Anomala…
-
Jumping Spider – Hong Kong Wildlife | 跳蛛 – 香港野生動物
These teeny weeny little spiders have huge eyes! Jumping spiders have 4 pairs of eyes – 1 principal pair that is movable and 3 secondary pairs that are fixed. There are over 6,000 described species of jumping spiders in the world, making it the largest family of spiders at 13% of all species. Kingdom: AnimaliaPhylum:…
-
Harvestman – Hong Kong Wildlife | 盲蛛 – 香港野生動物
Before you want to learn about Harvestmen (also called Daddy longlegs or Harvesters), let me explain a little about invertebrate classification – Fun fact: They are not spiders. Because of having 8 legs, these bugs are not insects. However, it does not necessarily make them spiders. There are many other bugs with 8 legs. They…
-
Green Sea Turtle – Hong Kong Wildlife | 綠海龜 – 香港野生動物
Did you know that sea turtles would come to Hong Kong? There are 7 species of sea turtles in the world, and surprisingly all of them have been spotted in Hong Kong waters. How amazing! Our most frequent visitor is the Green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas). Young turtles are carnivores, preying on crabs, shrimps, jellyfish,…
-
Why Kobe Bryant is called Black Mamba but The Snake is Not Black
Why did Kobe Bryant choose Black Mamba when there are cobra, viper, rattlesnake, tiger snake, krait, and 600 other venomous snakes in the world? Let me recap a few cool things about this snake probably most people didn’t know: Why “Black” Mamba When It’s Not Black?Its body is not black but olive, yellowish-brown, khaki or…
-
Not All Alligators Are Americans
“Alligator or crocodile?” is hardly an easy game to play even for reptile lovers. The difference of the shape of snouts is not too obvious. Convergent evolution might be a bit too hard to understand. Most people’s idea is that alligators are the ones in the US and the rest are all crocodiles. Some even think…
-
Two Heads One Body
Siamese, conjoined and polycephaly mean the different conditions of more than a head or some parts of the body. It’s more like twins in progress but never completed. Two-headed humans are mostly identified as two persons. But for animals, it’s still under debate whether they should be considered one or two beings.
-
Jesus Christ Lizard
There are over 10,000 extant species of reptiles. How many have you seen? There are only two lizards known to be able to run on water. This earned the renowned Basilisk of the new world the nickname “Jesus Christ lizard”. From the old world, there’s this lesser-known Sailfin Dragon that evokes even more of my…
-
From Big Game Tragedy In Ohio To Legal Killings In Hong Kong
After the fire that kills 3,000 high-end top quality snakes in a reptile facility in Colorado merely a month ago, now there is another heart breaking loss in Ohio. R.I.P. to the 50 animals killed in Ohio. 18 highly endangered Bengal tigers, 17 lions, bears, gray wolves, and more were shot to death by the…
