In General..about the Big Cat....

Tigers are the most magnificent of all the cats. It is one of the five 'big cats'. A large male tiger averages about 9 feet (3mt.) in length (from head to the end of the tail).The average height is about 3 feet (1mt.) at the shoulder and it can weighs up to 250kgs.(500-550 lb) A female tiger is slightly smaller, being about a foot shorter and about 25 to 30 kgs. less in weight. The coloring of the tiger's coat ranges from fawn to red, and is overlaid with blackish-brown transverse stripes, providing excellent camouflage in forest regions. Till only about a century back, the tiger was widespread and was found from Turkey to China, but now it faces the danger of extension. It is now found in some parts of India, south-west Asia, Iran, Manchuria, Sumatra, Bali and Java. The total number of tigers living in the wild in these areas is now believed to be much less than 5000.The second part of the eighteenth till the end of the twentieth century witnessed the ever increasing decline of the tiger population. First by the wealthy hunters, who ruthlessly hunted down the tigers for sport and by the natives, out of fear. Later as civilization spread vast areas of forests were cleared to make place for humans and robbing the tigers of their natural habitat, resulting in great decline of the tiger population. As a result of the steady decline of the tiger count, in 1972, the World Wildlife Fund launched a campaign to protect the tiger. Soon countries like India and the Soviet Union banned the hunting and killing of tigers. Even the export of tiger skin and tiger bones and other ports of the tiger were banned. In the west, countries like the United States of America and the United Kingdom among others put an embargo on the import of the tiger skin. The Tiger is a solitary animal. Each tiger has its own territory which the tiger defends very furiously. The tiger marks its territory by spraying their own urine, also claw marks on trees and buses announces the intruders of the tigers territory. The territory is open only at the time of mating and that to for its partner. The urine of the female tiger has a peculiar smell during oestrus, which she sprays on trees and bushes to attract neighboring male tigers. The actual act of coupling generally lasts for 15-30 seconds only, but is repeated several times in a day during oestrus. The gestation time is 105 days and normally about three to four cubs are born in each litter. The infant mortality is very high, only about two on an average survive to adulthood. Generally the tiger leaves soon after the courtship, but many stay back until the birth. The cubs are born blind and weigh about 1.5 kgs. at birth. They have their distinct tiger stripes right from the time of birth. The eyes of the cubs open by the end of the second week and they are weaned at the sixth week. The cub usually stays with their mothers till they are two years old, during this time it learns most of arts of survival. They can however kill for themselves as early as when they are 6-7 months old. A tiger attains full maturity by the time they are three years old. The Tiger usually hunts at night, like most of the cats. Their coat being a superb camouflage makes the tiger stalk their prey from within yards and then make a surprise attack. The tiger, being strong usually fell their prey with one big leap and bite its preys throat or neck. They than drag their kill to a quit and cool place to enjoy the meal. It than hides its kill in a safe place only to return when hungry again. The deer, antelope, rabbits, porcupines, buffalo and monkey are the most common animals a tiger feeds on.

January 13th at 2:36 pm EST from contributors Gary Tuchman, Anderson Cooper, Brian Byrnes, Felicity Cruikshank, Hada Messia, Richard Greene, and Mike

January 13th at 2:36 pm EST from contributors Gary Tuchman, Anderson Cooper, Brian Byrnes, Felicity Cruikshank, Hada Messia, Richard Greene, and Mike Mount.

Although not confirmed, it is estimated that more than 100,000 people are dead and there is a serious shortage of medical supplies because the hospitals have been destroyed. At least 3 million people may have been affected by the earthquake.

The three aid centers operated by Doctors Without Borders are currently not functioning. The doctors are working hard on getting the centers operating again.

Most of Port-au-Prince is destroyed and the population is remaining calm. Basic services, such as water and electricity, are not available in most areas.

The National Penitentiary collapsed and the inmates escaped. There were approximately 3,908 inmates held in the prison.

At least 15 peacekeepers are reported dead. Eleven of them are from the Brazilian army, three are from Jordan and one peacekeeper is from Argentina.

More than 100 employees of the U.N Mission are missing. The five-storey building collapsed. The U.N. headquarters at the Christopher Hotel collapsed and people are still trapped inside.

Aid organizations and governments have deployed response teams. Rescue workers are being hampered by infrastructural damage. Heavy equipment is also needed in order to assist in rescue efforts.



Read more at Suite101: Haiti Earthquake, January 12th 2010: Magnitude 7.0 Quake Struck 10 Miles South of Port-Au-Prince http://earthquakes.suite101.com/article.cfm/haiti_earthquake_january_12th_2010#ixzz18AtG7Vhg

Six-year-old Tiger found dead in Corbett Park ( TOI )

Dehradun, Jan 12 (PTI) Jim Corbett National Park has lost its second tiger this month with the carcass of a feline found in the reserve.

The carcass of the six-year-old tiger was found last night.

Park Director Ranjan Mishra today said the tiger died a natural death.

"There was no involvement of poachers as all the organs of the tiger were found intact," he said.

Earlier, a tigress was found dead in the park on January four.

Discovery of Methane Reveals Mars Is Not a Dead Planet

WASHINGTON -- A team of NASA and university scientists has achieved the first definitive detection of methane in the atmosphere of Mars. This discovery indicates the planet is either biologically or geologically active.

The team found methane in the Martian atmosphere by carefully observing the planet throughout several Mars years with NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility and the W.M. Keck telescope, both at Mauna Kea, Hawaii. The team used spectrometers on the telescopes to spread the light into its component colors, as a prism separates white light into a rainbow. The team detected three spectral features called absorption lines that together are a definitive signature of methane.

"Methane is quickly destroyed in the Martian atmosphere in a variety of ways, so our discovery of substantial plumes of methane in the northern hemisphere of Mars in 2003 indicates some ongoing process is releasing the gas," said Michael Mumma of NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md. "At northern mid-summer, methane is released at a rate comparable to that of the massive hydrocarbon seep at Coal Oil Point in Santa Barbara, Calif." Mumma is lead author of a paper describing this research that will appear in Science Express on Thursday.

Methane, four atoms of hydrogen bound to a carbon atom, is the main component of natural gas on Earth. Astrobiologists are interested in these data because organisms release much of Earth's methane as they digest nutrients. However, other purely geological processes, like oxidation of iron, also release methane.

"Right now, we do not have enough information to tell whether biology or geology -- or both -- is producing the methane on Mars," Mumma said. "But it does tell us the planet is still alive, at least in a geologic sense. It is as if Mars is challenging us, saying, 'hey, find out what this means.' "

If microscopic Martian life is producing the methane, it likely resides far below the surface where it is warm enough for liquid water to exist. Liquid water is necessary for all known forms of life, as are energy sources and a supply of carbon.

"On Earth, microorganisms thrive about 1.2 to 1.9 miles beneath the Witwatersrand basin of South Africa, where natural radioactivity splits water molecules into molecular hydrogen and oxygen," Mumma said. "The organisms use the hydrogen for energy. It might be possible for similar organisms to survive for billions of years below the permafrost layer on Mars, where water is liquid, radiation supplies energy, and carbon dioxide provides carbon. Gases, like methane, accumulated in such underground zones might be released into the atmosphere if pores or fissures open during the warm seasons, connecting the deep zones to the atmosphere at crater walls or canyons."

It is possible a geologic process produced the Martian methane, either now or eons ago. On Earth, the conversion of iron oxide into the serpentine group of minerals creates methane, and on Mars this process could proceed using water, carbon dioxide and the planet's internal heat. Although there is no evidence of active volcanism on Mars today, ancient methane trapped in ice cages called clathrates might be released now.

"We observed and mapped multiple plumes of methane on Mars, one of which released about 19,000 metric tons of methane," said co-author Geronimo Villanueva of the Catholic University of America in Washington. "The plumes were emitted during the warmer seasons, spring and summer, perhaps because ice blocking cracks and fissures vaporized, allowing methane to seep into the Martian air."

According to the team, the plumes were seen over areas that show evidence of ancient ground ice or flowing water. Plumes appeared over the Martian northern hemisphere regions such as east of Arabia Terra, the Nili Fossae region, and the south-east quadrant of Syrtis Major, an ancient volcano about 745 miles across.

One method to test whether life produced this methane is by measuring isotope ratios. Isotopes of an element have slightly different chemical properties, and life prefers to use the lighter isotopes. A chemical called deuterium is a heavier version of hydrogen. Methane and water released on Mars should show distinctive ratios for isotopes of hydrogen and carbon if life was responsible for methane production. It will take future missions, like NASA's Mars Science Laboratory, to discover the origin of the Martian methane.

The research was funded by the Planetary Astronomy Program at NASA Headquarters in Washington and the Astrobiology Institute at NASA's Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif. The University of Hawaii manages NASA's Infrared Telescope Facility.

WHY SHOULD WE SAVE TIGER?

Saving the tiger means saving mankind..

Not only is tiger a beautiful animal but it is also the indicator of the forest's health. Saving the tiger means we save the forest since tiger cannot live in places where trees have vanished and in turn secure food and water for all.

If we make sure tigers live, we have to make sure that deer, antelope and all other animals that the tiger eats (its prey base) live. To make sure that these herbivores live, we must make sure that all the trees, grass and other plants that these prey animals need for food are protected. In this way, the whole forest gets saved! Saving the tiger means saving its entire forest kingdom with all the other animals in it.

Also forests catch and help store rainwater and protect soils. In this way we protect our rivers and recharge groundwater sources. Areas with less trees lead to floods, killing people and destroying homes. It takes away the precious soil, leaving behind a wasteland. The soil jams up our lakes and dams, reducing their ability to store water. By destroying the tiger's home, we not only harm tigers, but also ourselves.

The tiger thus becomes the symbol for the protection of all species on our earth since it is at the top of the foodchain. This is why we sometimes call the tiger, an apex predator, an indicator of our ecosystem's health

Countdown to Extinction

In the 1970's we came dangerously close to losing forever one of the world most magnificent creatures. Poaching, deforestation, and human expansion brought all species of tiger to the brink of extinction. Indeed, over the past century, 3 of the 8 sub-species that existed became extinct; the Caspian, Javan and Balinese tigers. Today, we are by no means out of the woods. All remaining sub-species of tiger are endangered, making the tiger species as a whole nearly extinct.
Figure 2 shows how the range of tigers has changed over the past 100 years. Once ranging all throughout India, southeast Asia, central Asia, and eastern China, only small pockets of natural habitat remain(3).

The tiger population dropped over the past 100 years by a factor of 25 - from an estimated 100,000 in 1900 to only 4000 in the 1970's. A concerted effort by wildlife protection groups in the 1970's halted their rapid demise and the global population of tigers in the wild has grown modestly to around 6000 at the turn of the century(1). Poaching continues to this day, however. When a Russian poacher can make as much from a single tiger kill as he would normally earn in 6 years, it will take more than words to halt this tragedy(2).

Ten Facts About Coral From Polyps to Zooxanthellae

If you've ever visited an aquarium or gone snorkeling when on holiday, you're probably familiar with a wide variety of corals. You may even know that corals play a fundamental role in defining the structure of marine reefs, the most complex and diverse ecosystems in our planet's oceans. But what many don't realize is that these creatures, which resemble a cross between colorful rocks and various bits of seaweed, are in fact an animals. And amazing animals at that.

In this article, I'd like to explore ten things we should all know about coral, what makes them animals and what makes them so unique.

1. Corals belong to the Phylum Cnidaria. Other animals that belong to the Phylum Cnidaria include jellyfish, hydrae, and sea anemones. Cnidaria are invertebrates (they do not have a backbone) and all have specialized cells called nematocysts that help them capture prey and defend themselves. Cnidaria exhibit radial symmetry.

2. Corals belong to the Class Anthozoa (a subgroup of the Phylum Cnidaria). Members of this group of animals have flower-like structures called polyps. They have a simple body plan in which food passes in and out of a gastrovascular cavity (stomach-like sac) through a single opening.

3. Corals typically form colonies consisting of many individuals. Coral colonies grow from a single founder individual that divides repeatedly. A coral colony consists of a base that attaches coral to a reef, an upper surface that is exposed to light and hundreds of polyps.

4. The term 'coral' refers to a number of different of animals. These include hard corals, sea fans, sea feathers, sea pens, sea pansies, organ pipe coral, black coral, soft corals, fan corals whip corals.

5. Hard corals have a white skeleton that is made of limestone (calcium carbonate). Hard corals are reef builders and are responsible for the creation of the structure of a coral reef.

6. Soft corals lack the stiff limestone skeleton that hard corals possess. Instead, they have little limestone crystals (referred to as sclerites) embedded in their jelly-like tissues.

7. Many corals have zooxanthellae within their tissues. Zooxanthellae are algae that form a symbiotic relationship with the coral by producing organic compounds that the coral polyps use. This food source enables the corals to grow faster than they would without the zooxanthellae.

8. Corals inhabit a wide range of habitats and regions. Some solitary hard coral species are found in temperate and even polar waters and occur as far as 6000 meters below the surface of the water.

9. Corals are rare in the fossil record. They first appeared in the Cambrian period (570mya). Reef-building corals appeared during the middle of the Triassic period (251mya - 200mya).

10. Sea fan corals grow at right angles to the current of the water. This enables them to efficiently filter plankton from the passing water.