January 17, 2012

The cool photo of the week is….a white penguin! This unusual white Chinstrap penguin was spotted by a naturalist onboard a ship off Antarctica’s Aitcho Islands. This is a leucistic (pronounced lew-SIS-tic) penguin, which means that it has less than the normal amount of pigment, or coloration, in its skin and feathers.

It is a fairly rare sight, since the penguin’s black and white coloring serves as camouflage. When it is fishing, a penguin’s black back makes it blend in with the dark waters below, protecting it from predators avove. Similarly, its white belly makes it blend in with the sky when viewed by predators from below. That is a common survival mechanism among many animals (think about birds in the sky, or fish with light-colored bellies and darker colors on top). And that is why it is so rare to see a leucistic penguin. Since their coloration does not protect them, fewer survive to breed, resulting in very few among the general population. 

Photo: David Stephens / Lindblad Expeditions

January 11, 2012

Welcome to Writing Wednesday! Every Wednesday you can publish your own creative writing on the Seymour Science blog.

Writing Wednesday has two simple rules: 

1. Give us the best you’ve got in 5 minutes. That’s right - five minutes of creative writing. Think of it as a word extravaganza to warm up your brain for the rest of the day!
2. Tell us your first name, the name of your school, and how old you are.

This is one of the new species they found. It is called a VAMPIRE SQUID, and it lives in Monterey Bay, off the coast of Northern California. Click the "Comments" button below and take five minutes to write about what you see in this photograph. Use descriptive words and strong verbs to describe the animal and the dark waters where it lives. You could use a comparison to help your reader imagine this creature….or appeal to the reader’s emotions to set the scene (how does it make you feel when you look at a Vampire Squid?).

What you write is up to you. Have fun with it!

December 14, 2011

A New Zealand woman arrived home yesterday and found an unexpected visitor - a baby seal, asleep on the sofa!

The fur seal pup was nicknamed "Lucky" because he managed to cross a busy road, push into the house through a cat door, and climb up some stairs to get to the couch in the living room. What a clever little pup! 

The woman called animal control. Wildlife experts came and woke Lucky up from his nap and released him back into the sea. 

I once discovered baby flying squirrels living in my attic, but I’ve never experienced anything as interesting as a seal on the sofa. Wouldn’t that be exciting?! 

Photo: Christopher Clark/Department of Conservation Te Papa Atawhai

December 13, 2011

Today’s Cool Photo of the week is of Avie, a tiny two-toed sloth. She is being raised at the Aviarios Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica, a place for baby sloths who lost their mothers to power lines or road traffic or other accidents. She is an omnivore, and eats both leaves and fruits. 

Sloths spend most of their time in the rainforest canopies of Americas, sleeping up to eighteen hours a day. Perfectly adapted to living in the trees, sloths are also strong and graceful swimmers. The mother bears one infant at a time, and carries it clinging to her belly for up to a year as they move through the trees, learning the ways of the sloth.

December 11, 2011

If your family has either an iPad, Nook Color or Nook Tablet, you can have a free Seymour Simon eBook called FUN FACTS ABOUT PETS!

Last year, Barnes and Noble wanted to create a bonus for people who bought their new Nook Color. They asked Seymour to write an eBook that they could give away free as a gift to all their customers. That was Seymour’s first eBook, and the title is perfect - the facts are really fun! For example, did you know that dogs’ feet sweat? Or that a pot-bellied pig can open the refrigerator?!

Here is a sample page from the book, which also has "Read to Me" narration.

FUN FACTS ABOUT PETS is free not only for the Nook Color and Nook Tablet, but you will also receive it when you download the "Nook Kids for iPad" app. So, if you have any of these devices, be sure to check out this 48-page book. It is a gift to you from Barnes and Noble and Seymour Simon!

November 22, 2011

I’d like to welcome our new readers to "Cool Picture of the Week"! Every Tuesday, we post a particularly striking photograph from the natural world in this space.

Today’s shot was taken on Gretna Green, in Scotland, at a place where photographers go to catch European Starlings swooping through the sky in formations that scientists still cannot explain. How does a flock of thousands of birds fly in such tight formation, all darting, turning, diving at the same moment? No one knows for sure.

I love the term for a big, swooping flock like this. It is called a "murmur of starlings." (if you are British, you probably call it a "murmuration").

The reason this was selected as this week’s photo is because of the shape of the flock. Doesn’t it look like a dolphin, escaping the jaws of a killer whale?! There you have it, the Seymour Science Cool Photo of the Week.

November 21, 2011

Did you ever wonder why kittens are always climbing things? Or digging up your mother’s favorite flowerpot? Or why they love to purr and snuggle?

You can find the answers to all these questions, along with more adorable kitten photos than you can possibly stand, in Seymour Simon’s new eBook, WHY DO KITTENS DO THAT? It was published this week in the iBookstore (for iPad, iPhone and iPod Touch), and it also works on your Nook Color.

If you try it, be sure to let us know what you think!

November 21, 2011

What is that creature in this beautiful photograph? This animal is known as a "glass squid" (scientific name Leachia).  Sunlight filtering down through the ocean water passes right through the glass squid - it is practically invisible in the light. There are both squid and octopus like this, and they can "hide in plain sight" in sunny water.

However, they do not do so well down in the ocean deep, where there is no sunlight. Down in the deep, there are dangerous predator fish whose bodies produce a bright light that they shine directly on the transparent animals, which become visible in the predator’s "headlight."  The ability of these marine animals to produce their own light is called bioluminescence (BY-oh-loom-i-NESS-ens).

Somehow, their prey - the transparent squid and octopus -  need to have a way to camouflage themselves down in the deep. Researchers at Duke University decided to find out how they do it. They captured some of the squid and put them into a dish full of cold ocean water and shone bright lights on them. They were amazed to discover that the squid switched on their camouflage instantly, changing themselves from clear to a spotted, reddish brown. With that coloring, they can hide more easily in their dark, deep-sea environment. The researchers were amazed to see how quickly they make the change. 

If you are interested in seeing video of their experiment, click on the play button (at left) to see more.

November 16, 2011

Update for readers who were interested in our recent story, Rescued Spider Monkeys, about wild animals that are being illegally captured and sold. Nick News just did a half-hour special related to this subject, called DANGEROUS CROSSROADS: In a world where humans keep expanding their habitat, what happens when wild animals inhabit that same space? The special is now available online, so that you can watch it whenever you want to.

Click here to see some excellent reporting on this important topic for animal lovers.

November 8, 2011

The Federal Wildlife Conservation Center outside of Mexico City is the home to many rare and endangered species that have been rescued from illegal smugglers. These spider monkeys are being raised by the center’s specialists after they were found inside an abandoned canvas bag, along with three who didn’t survive.

The black rattlesnake below, seen inside a plastic tube, was also rescued from illegal traffickers. 

According to Mexico’s Federal Wildlife Conservation Department, at least 2,500 different animals are rescued there every year.

If you are interested in wildlife conservation and learning more about what you can do to help stop illegal wildlife trading, the website of The Wildlife Conservation Society is a good place to start. They started in the early 1900’s when they successfully helped the American bison recover on the Western Plains; today, they manage about 500 conservation projects in more than 60 countries. 

As our human population grows, we impact more animal habitats and use more of their resources. By learning more about our impact on nature, we can all help to protect endangered animals.

Photos: Carlos Jasso/Reuters

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