Yahoo! Picks - bringing you the best of the Web since 1995

add to my yahoo! View RSS Feed 

 

by Molly McCall
Wed, July 11, 2007, 3:00 am PDT

Page through the hundreds of photos in this remarkable Flickr pool, and you start to get the feeling that many of the Earth's smallest beasties just want to get a good look at their human neighbors. Image after image reveals insect, mammal, reptile, and bird in an inquisitive position, griping some person's index finger and gazing intently at the enormous creature that has hoisted it upwards. Big-eyed hamsters, bigger-eyed moths, and five (count 'em, five) red eyed tree frogs all appear to say, "Just let me take you in!" In some cases, though, the wee ones are too new or too busy to peek at their many-fingered photographer. And, of course, not everyone likes being handled in such a manner. We wouldn't want to meet this guy in a dark alley. Many of the insect portraits are worth special notice for their amazing Technicolor dream coats. These moths, ladybugs, and worms come dressed to the nines.
by Molly McCall
Fri, June 08, 2007, 3:00 am PDT

For all the advances we've made in science and technology, we have yet to truly comprehend the mental workings of the average housecat. For anyone who has lived with a feline, the mystery of a cat's mind is an all-too-familiar quandary. This site does not venture any answers to that dilemma. But it does attempt to record what one cat—the illustrious Mr. Lee—does and where he goes when left to his own devices. Mr. Lee's human companion, a clever man who lives in Germany, rigged a small digital camera to take a photo at regular intervals. He affixed the device to his cat's collar and let Mr. Lee do his thing. What came back is an amusing, sometimes fascinating peek into Mr. Lee's daily activities. The introduction and technical background provide a rundown of how the camera was altered to take the pictures and withstand its mission. We particularly liked the description of "big moment no. 1":

"Big moment no. 1: attach the collar with the camera to the cat. The reaction was not very happy but finally accepted. Reality check passed :-)"

Filed under: Animals, Cats

by Molly McCall
Thu, May 10, 2007, 3:00 am PDT

On Earth today, 1.8 million plants, animals, creepy-crawlies, and other living matter have been named by humans. That's a lot, but "many millions more" remain at large and, according to this site, "countless are going extinct before we even glimpse them." Yesterday, a consortium of scientists and institutions announced the Encyclopedia of Life, or "EOL," a breathtaking new project to catalog every species of organism on the planet and make that information available to anyone who wants it. Inspired by the vision of scientist and writer E.O. Wilson, this collaborative web project eclipses any similar endeavor. "Key components" of the site aren't expected to be available until 2008. But you can browse the in-depth FAQ, glimpse what entries will look like (say hello to one of our favorites, "the yeti crab"), and register for updates. Welcome to the world, EOL.
by Jill Robinson
Wed, April 04, 2007, 3:00 am PDT

Otters are the class clowns of Mother Nature's homeroom. For every serious animal who's just tryin' to get by with a decent grade, there's a sleek auburn hoaxster tasting his toes, napping through the lecture, stealing a classmate's notebook, or just being so darn photogenic. But, like in school, we could never be mad at the goofballs. We just wanted to be more like them—and followed our idols around until they got mad at us. Even then, we still secretly watched: what they ate at the cafeteria, what sports they played, and their never-ending pranks. Here's your chance to study the jokers, and see if you don't wind up thinking they're so otterly cute.

Filed under: Animals, Cute Cute Cute

by Molly McCall
Mon, February 26, 2007, 3:00 am PST

In some ways, Tyson is your average, loveable lug of a dog. He plays tug-of-war, chases thrown objects, and fetches them back. He barks and romps about and pants with a big, pink marvel of a tongue. But there's one way that this 6-year-old bulldog proves he's not your average canine. Tyson skateboards. Down sidewalks, through parking lots, across parks, Tyson cuts it up. You may have seen a video of him flying across the pavement on YouTube last year. Now, Tyson has his very own, very stylish web site—and it's nothing but a joy to roll through it. Read his bio, peruse his FAQ, coo over his photos, and then enjoy the video gallery for four jaw dropping clips of this four-legged wonder whooshing by. We only wish there were more shorts to watch (Tyson's owner, take note!).

Filed under: Animals, Videos, Dogs, Skateboarding


Copyright © 2007 Yahoo! Inc. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy - Terms of Service - Copyright/IP Policy