Tag Archives: America

California Condor

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California Condor

California condors are birds of the past that have been rebirthed into the present.

  • California condors are a vulture species native to North America’s forest, cliff, savannah and shrub habitats.
  • The scientific name of a California condor is Gymnogyps californianus and it is from the family Cathartidae, the family of New World vultures.
  • The wingspan of a California condor reaches 2.7 to 3 metres (9 to 10 feet) in width, the largest wingspan of any North American bird, and the bird can grow to a length of 1.1 to 1.4 metres (3.5 to 4.5 feet) and generally weighs between 8 to 14 kilograms (18 to 31 pounds), making it also the largest flying bird in North America.
  • The feathers of a California condor are mostly coloured black, with some underwing feathers coloured white, while the neck and head is bare and a pink to red colour.
  • California condors are scavengers in nature, feeding on dead animals like rabbits, livestock, deer, whales and fish, among others.
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California Condor
Image courtesy of George Kathy Klinich/Flickr
  • Due to having little or no sense of smell, California condors depend on their eyesight, or their observation of eagles and other vultures, to lead them to food.
  • Habitat destruction, poisoning from dead animals containing lead bullets, poaching and electrical lines all contributed to the wild extinction of California condors in 1987, although the remaining few birds were captured for captive breeding programs; and the bird has since been reintroduced into the wild from 1992 after an extensive conservation program.
  • Female California condors produce a single blue-white egg every couple of years which is laid in a hole in a tree, or on a cliff or cave floor, however if the first egg is lost, the bird may produce another, and the egg and chick is looked after by both parents.
  • There were only 425 extant California condors in total, in the wild and captivity in late 2014, and the species is listed as critically endangered, although numbers have been increasing due to further conservation efforts and a continuing breeding program.
  • To clean themselves, California condors choose to wash in water, or scrape away dirt by rubbing their head and neck against trees or other objects, and they finish cleaning with extensive feather preening.
Bibliography:
California Condor, 2015, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/birds/california-condor/
California Condor, 2015, San Diego Zoo, http://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/california-condor
California Condor, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/California_condor

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The Game of Life

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The Game of Life

You cannot get such a more realistic game than The Game of Life.

  • The Game of Life is a board game that somewhat replicates the average life of a person, from college through to retirement, by advancing along spaces on the board.
  • ‘The Game of Life’ is also known as ‘LIFE’, and it generally uses cars as game pieces, with small pink or blue pegs to represent people.
  • The Game of Life is based on the original and highly successful version of the game called ‘The Checkered Game of Life’, which was designed by Milton Bradley, an American lithographer, in 1860, after his print run of presidential candidate portraits of Abraham Lincoln failed to sell, due to Lincoln growing a beard after they had been printed.
  • Milton Bradley’s 1860 version of The Game of Life involved the player advancing across a checkered board to gain points, and it was designed with his own morals in mind, which resulted in negative consequences for spaces depicting suicide, gambling, jail, ruin, poverty and the like.
  • The Checkered Game of Life was overhauled and revamped on its 100th anniversary in 1960, and resulted in the modern style version, The Game of Life, designed by Americans Bill Markham and Reuben Klamer for the Milton Bradley Company.

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  • The three-dimensional modern style game board of The Game of Life, first produced in the 1960s, was the first of its kind, and it featured moulded plastic buildings, mountains and bridges.
  • The aim of The Game of Life is to collect the most money by the end of ‘life’, which is generally collected by luckily landing on specific spaces and/or by various choices made throughout the game.
  • The numbered spinner famous in The Game of Life has its origins in the numbered spinning top or teetotum, used to move across the game board in the 1860s version, as dice were considered inappropriate by Milton Bradley, due to their association with gambling, which went against his morals.
  • There have been various updates on The Game of Life over the years, and numerous versions of the game, and while each have their differences, life events that are, or have been depicted in The Game of Life, including marriage, college, having children, suing, insurance and the like.
  • As of 2010, more than 50 million copies of The Game of Life had been sold since 1960, and it had been created in at least 20 different languages.
Bibliography:
Edwards P, Why the Game of Life used to have poverty, suicide, and ruin, 2015, Vox, http://www.vox.com/2015/1/28/7924487/game-of-life-history
The Game of Life, 2015, The Strong, http://www.toyhalloffame.org/toys/game-life
The Game of Life, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Game_of_Life

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Opossum

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Opossum

Don’t confuse an American opossum with an Australian possum – they’re quite different!

  • Opossums are a family of over 100 species of marsupials that are native to a variety of habitats in North and South America, and they typically live not far from a water source and often dwell in trees.
  • The scientific and family name of an opossum is Didelphidae, from the order Didelphimorphia, and the animal is distributed among four sub-families, and is sometimes known as a ‘possum’, though it is not closely related and should not be confused with possums that live in Australia and surrounding areas.
  • Generally opossums grow to be 61 to 91 centimetres (24 to 36 inches) in length, which includes their long tail, and weigh 0.5 to 6 kilograms (1.1 to 13 pounds).
  • Opossums have fur that ranges from black, grey and brown in colour, and they usually have a white face and a pink snout.
  • The diet of opossums can consist of insects, fruit, nuts, frogs, birds, mice, grasses and snakes, as well as garbage waste.
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Opossum
Image courtesy of Dawn Huczek/Flickr
  • Female opossums can produce 5 to 15 young at one time, although often some won’t survive, and they crawl to and grow in the pouch of the mother when newborn, and at around three months, they can ride on their mother’s back.
  • Opossums have the ability to shut down into an unconscious state and play dead as a technique to evade predators, and this state of being can last as long as four hours or as little as 40 minutes.
  • Opossums can generally resist the toxins of pit viper snakes such as cottonmouths and rattlesnakes, however, they typically have a short lifespan of approximately two years, and up to four.
  • Urban locations are increasingly seeing more opossums, as greater populations move into the area due to habitat removal, while some species are listed as near threatened, vulnerable or critically endangered.
  • Some communities in America eat opossum meat, and historically it was a popular food, while others hunt the animal for its fur.
Bibliography:
Opossums, 2015, Living With Wildlife, http://wdfw.wa.gov/living/opossums.html
Opossum, 2015, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/opossum/
Opossum, 2015, National Geographic, http://animals.nationalgeographic.com.au/animals/mammals/opossum/
Opossum, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opossum

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Pied Tamarin

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Pied Tamarin

Pied tamarins… cute or ugly?

  • Pied tamarins, also known as ‘pied bare-faced tamarins’ and ‘Brazilian bare-faced tamarins’, are primates of small size, native to the Brazilian rainforests of South America.
  • The scientific name of a pied tamarin is Saguinus bicolor, and it is from the family Callitrichidae, a family of New World monkeys that consists of tamarins and marmosets.
  • The height of pied tamarins ranges from 18 to 30 centimetres (7 to 12 inches), not including their long tail, and they generally weigh between 220 to 900 grams (0.5 to 2 pounds).
  • Fruit, nectar, frogs, eggs, lizards, spiders, insects and flowers make up the primary diet of pied tamarins.
  • Pied tamarins live in troops of three to fifteen and are protective of their territory, and they rest in trees at night, and forage for food in the daytime.
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Pied Tamarin
Image courtesy of Josh More/Flickr
  • The fur of the upper body of a pied tamarin is generally white in colour, although its face is black and has no fur, while the lower body is generally a combination of black, red, tan and brown fur.
  • Pied tamarins have been listed as an endangered species, threatened primarily by habitat loss, and as such, they only occupy a small area in Brazil.
  • Each year, the dominant female in a troop of pied tamarins usually gives birth to twins, rather than a single baby, both of which are cared for by members in the group, including other females, males and more mature siblings.
  • Pied tamarins generally have a lifespan of eight to fifteen years, and their predators include hawks, feral cats and snakes.
  • Noises such as whistles and chirps are used by pied tamarins to communicate between each other, as well as to scare off threats.
Bibliography:
Pied Tamarin, 2001, Lincoln Park Zoo, http://www.lpzoo.org/animals/factsheet/pied-tamarin
Pied Tamarin, 2015, A-Z Animals, http://a-z-animals.com/animals/pied-tamarin/
Pied Tamarin, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pied_tamarin

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Kaieteur Falls

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Kaieteur Falls

Kaieteur Falls is beautiful isolated in the rainforests of South America.

  • Kaieteur Falls is a waterfall located in the Essequibo area in Guyana, located in northern South America, and it is part of the Kaieteur National Park.
  • Kaieteur Falls has a drop of 226 metres (741 feet) in height, and a width up to 113 metres (370 feet).
  • In early 1870, geologist and explorer Charles Brown of Britain, was the first European to see Kaieteur Falls, and he discovered the feature while surveying the area.
  • Kaieteur Falls is not easily accessible, as it is located in a remote part of the Guyana rainforest, and as such, visitors are required to travel in a plane to the nearby airstrip and walk into the area.
  • The name ‘Kaieteur Falls’ comes from term ‘Kaieteur ‘ meaning ‘old-man’ in the local tribal language, which is said to have originated from the legend of an old man venturing over the falls in a purposeful or forced manner.
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Kaieteur Falls
Image courtesy of Soren Riise/Flickr
  • The cliff of Kaieteur Falls is said to be made of conglomerate rock and sandstone, and it is part of the Guiana Highlands, which is part of the Guiana Shield.
  • Kaieteur Falls is fed by Potaro River, which eventually runs into the Essequibo River, that flows into the Atlantic Ocean.
  • The water of Kaieteur Falls is a muddy or coffee brown colour, and the water flows into the large gorge situated below.
  • Due to the inaccessible nature of Kaieteur Falls, it has remained an unspoilt environment, and while efforts have been made to have the site listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, as of 2015, it had been unsuccessful.
  • Roughly 651 cubic metres (23,000 cubic feet) of water rush over the edge of Kaieteur Falls each second, and the sheer volume of water, combined with the waterfall’s height and width, makes it one of the largest falls on earth.
Bibliography:
Kaieteur Falls, 2015, BeautifulWorld, http://www.beautifulworld.com/south-america/guyana/kaieteur-falls
Kaieteur Falls, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaieteur_Falls
Kaieteur Falls, n.d, World of Waterfalls, http://www.world-of-waterfalls.com/latin-america-kaieteur-falls.html

 

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Hollywood Sign

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Hollywood Sign

What’s more filmtastic than the Hollywood Sign?

  • The Hollywood Sign is a famous sign located on the southern section of Mount Lee, which can be found in Los Angeles’ Hollywood Hills, in the state of California in the United States.
  • The Hollywood Sign was designed and constructed to advertise a newly organised housing region for a term of 18 months, from 1923, ordered by Harry Chandler, Los Angeles Times newspaper publisher and real estate developer, however the sign was left standing after this period and became iconic in the area.
  • The letters of the Hollywood Sign spell a capitalised ‘HOLLYWOOD’ in what is technically a horizontal line, although placement appears uneven due to an optical illusion when not viewed straight-on.
  • The ‘Hollywood Sign’ has also been known as the ‘Hollywoodland Sign’ in its history, due to the original letters of the sign reading ‘HOLLYWOODLAND’, which was the term used for the advertised land development; and the ‘LAND’ was removed in 1949 so Hollywood in general would be promoted.
  • Originally, 4000 light bulbs highlighted the Hollywood[land] Sign, which displayed each syllable individually before presenting the entire word; and the whole sign at the time cost 21,000 USD (equal to roughly 300,000 USD in 2014).
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The Hollywood Sign
Image courtesy of minnemom/Flickr
  • The Hollywood Sign benefited from various maintenance and restoration programs, however it was not until much deterioration had occurred that it was totally rebuilt in 1978, instigated by American Hugh Hefner, which involved replacing each of the original wooden letters with steel at a cost of around $27,700 USD each, and the costs were covered by donations from nine donors (mostly individuals) – one for each letter.
  • The Hollywood Sign spreads 107 metres (350 feet) in length and reaches 14 metres (45 feet) in height; and while it was being replaced in 1978, the mountain was without a sign for a period of three months.
  • The Hollywood Sign cannot be directly reached by the public through normal means as it is against the law to do so, and instead it is able to be viewed at a number of designated areas.
  • Occasionally parts or all of the Hollywood Sign have been covered to display a different word or phrase, although this is generally not approved of, and throughout its history, most of the alterations were done illegally.
  • Due to heavy vandalism and other intentional damages or changes, authorities have initiated much security around the Hollywood Sign, including guards, an in-built security system and barricades.
Bibliography:
The Hollywood Sign, 2015, Hollywood, http://hollywoodsign.org/
Hollywood Sign, 2015, Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hollywood_Sign

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