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Twitch launches a dedicated home for its animal livestreams
As part of Animal Week, Twitch has launched a new category called Animals, Aquariums and Zoos that groups animal livestreams all in one place.
German animal shelter is posting profiles of adoptable pets on Tinder
An animal shelter in Germany is posting profiles of its adoptable animals on Tinder in hopes that lonely singles will 'swipe right' on a new pet.
How to livestream the majesty of nature from your couch
Just because you're sheltering in place during Earth Day doesn't mean you can't remotely tour the best zoos, aquariums, and nature preserves on the planet.
Google AI tool helps conservationists (and the public) track wildlife
Google is quickly putting its wildlife-spotting AI to good use. The internet giant has launched a Wildlife Insights tool that helps conservationists track wildlife by not only parsing their photos, but sharing them in a searchable public website. The AI automatically tosses out photos that are highly unlikely to include animals and tries to label the animals it does spot, dramatically speeding up a laborious task. That, in turn, helps researchers track animal populations as they're affected by climate change and direct human intrusion.
'Uber Pet' will let drivers know your furry friend is coming too
Uber is testing a new ride option called Uber Pet, through which you can give drivers a heads up that you're bringing your pet along. Starting November 16th, riders in Austin, Denver, Nashville, Minneapolis-St. Paul, Philadelphia, Phoenix and Tampa Bay will see the option in the Uber app.
'Planet Zoo’ is the modern ‘Zoo Tycoon’ we’ve been waiting for
If the explosive popularity of the The Sims over the years has taught us anything, it's that people love playing god. Players have been given control of everything from theme parks to hospitals, and now aspiring site planners can add a zoo to their CV, too.
PSVR goes on safari with 'Virry VR' nature documentary
Slowly but surely, PlayStation is releasing more non-gaming offerings for the PSVR headset. Next up is Virry VR, an app that wants to put you within arm's reach of Kenyan wildlife. Among other things, you'll see rhinos bathing and lions eating according to the European PlayStation Blog. The entirety of the video was filmed at Lewa Downs, a UNESCO heritage site home to elephants, Grevy's zebras, hyenas and leopards.
ICYMI: Reptile robots in the wild
Today on In Case You Missed It: BBC One's nature show, "Spy in the Wild," partnered with a robotics division in order to design and produce two remote-controlled robot reptiles. Using bio-informed robotics, the team closely reproduced the creature's movements in the robots, which were constructed with motors, aluminum, carbon fiber and latex waterproof suits. The robo-reptiles -- a crocodile model and a monitor lizard version -- will be used to study real life animals up-and-close.
MIT engineers make beaver-inspired wetsuit to keep surfers warmer
Large oceangoing creatures, like whales and seals, keep warm with thick layers of blubber. But smaller mammals like beavers and otters have a different method of insulation: Their dense fur, which traps warm air bubbles to separate their body from cold waters. MIT engineers have devised a wetsuit featuring a similar hairy layer made of rubber to insulate divers and surfers.
ICYMI: Animals can communicate better than we'd realized
try{document.getElementById("aol-cms-player-1").style.display="none";}catch(e){}Today on In Case You Missed It: We are adding horses to the list of animals who can communicate via some form of symbolic language, now that researchers taught a group of horses how to understand three symbols related to whether they wanted a blanket covering on or not. With that, horses, primates, dolphins and birds can all communicate with us -- and suddenly old masterpieces like Mister Ed and The Birds have a whole new significance.
Tech doesn't work with children and animals
It's a tale as old as time: Kids and animals don't mix with tech. Whether it's little Billy turning your new flatscreen on and off until it burns out or Rover chewing through another pair of fancy headphones, you'd think we'd know better by now that letting pretty much anything that isn't capable of voting near technology is a bad idea. But as you're about to find out, sometimes it just can't be helped.
Scent-dispensing chips help researchers snap wild wolverines
Wildlife experts in the US have a cunning technique to track "high-elevation" animals such as wolverines, lynx and gray wolves. Small survey stations known as "camera traps" use tempting scents to lure them in, before snapping a quick shot that can be used for research. The problem? The scent runs out after a few weeks, forcing conservationists at places like Woodland Park Zoo and Idaho Fish and Game to trek out and replace them manually. Microsoft researcher Mike Sinclair has been working with Dr. Robert Long, a senior conservation fellow at Woodland Park Zoo, and Joel Sauder, a wildlife biologist for Idaho Fish and Game, on a solution. The trio have developed an ultra-low power control processor, powered by lithium batteries, that's programmed to dispense just three millilitres of liquid scent through a tiny peristaltic pump each day. Just enough to lure the animals, but more importantly, the hardware can last six to nine months without any maintenance.
App-controlled habitat grows just about anything in your home
You can already get smart gardening gear and smart aquariums, but wouldn't it be nice if you could get one box that handles just about anything you'd care to grow in or around your home? Jared Wolfe thinks so. His crowdfunded, internet-connected Biopod can nurture many kinds of plants and animals in its automatically controlled habitat. All you have to do is pick the kind of environment you want through a mobile app, and the Biopod can do the rest -- it regulates factors like the humidity, light, temperature and even artificial rainfall. While it won't feed your pets, a built-in camera lets you keep track of what your creatures are doing while you're away.
Researchers draft the first comprehensive tree of life
It's very poetic to talk about a tree of life, where every species can trace its roots, but actually illustrating this tree is no mean feat when Earth has been home to at least 2.3 million known species. However, scientists have finally given it a shot. They've published the first draft of a comprehensive tree of life that shows every major evolutionary branch, ranging from the very first organisms to complex beings like humans. This isn't a complete tree, of course (it's doubtful that we'll ever know all the species that ever existed), but it beats the patchwork from before.
Shoot food at your pets with the Petzi Treat Cam
A cat usually doesn't love you the way a dog does. But my cats love me. No really. They greet me at the door meowing and carrying on. Well, one of them does. The other one greets me a few minutes later when it's feeding time and then when she needs a warm lap for one of her constant naps. Okay, one cat loves me; the other one uses me for food and warmth. Regardless of their feelings, the $170 Petzi Treat Cam is my opportunity to say hi to my cats while at work or traveling with the added bonus of rewarding them with food for at least acknowledging my virtual presence. If only they found it as exciting as I do.
Rhino horn cameras promise to catch poachers in the act
Anti-poaching teams can only do so much to protect rhinos. Their immediate presence can deter rogue hunters, but a lot of the slaughter happens before these teams even know that something's wrong. That's where non-profit group Protect's RAPID (Real-Time Anti-Poaching Intelligence Device) should come in handy. The system uses a blend of heart rate sensors, GPS tags and cameras drilled into one of the rhinos' horns (don't worry, it's painless) to warn conservationists when a rhino is under threat. If a rhino's heart starts racing or suddenly goes still, observers get an alert that lets them turn on the camera to see if something's wrong. Ideally, this will prevent poachers from even firing a shot -- they know that they'll likely be caught within minutes if they chase or kill a tagged animal.
Scientists turn to crowdfunding to safeguard black rhino DNA
Crowdfunding isn't just useful for getting clever inventions off the ground... it could also save an endangered species from fading into oblivion. Scientists have successfully funded a project that will sequence the genome of the black rhino, only 5,055 of which live in the wild. The public-backed effort will improve our understanding of how these iconic animals work, and should lead to synthetic horns that discourage poachers. It could even lead to resurrecting black rhino subspecies that are already extinct. It'll be a while before you see the results, but they'll be available to the public -- that small amount of backer money could do a world of good. [Image credit: AP Photo/Sayyid Azim]
Rambo the octopus snags photography job at New Zealand aquarium
There's an unusual photographer working for Auckland's Sea Land Aquarium. His name is Rambo, and we doubt he personally manages the $2 per shot he earns taking pictures of tourists. That's because Rambo is an octopus -- a very smart one who learned how to press the shutter after three tries. "That's faster than a dog," said Mark Vette, his trainer. "Actually it's faster than a human in some instances." Rambo uses a Sony TX30 compact camera encased in transparent armor that's attached right outside his tank, clicking the red shutter extender whenever guests pose against the backdrop in front of his display. Sure, this is partly a Sony media stunt (all proceeds go to Sea Life's conservation programs, at least), but how often can you say you got your picture taken by an cephalopod? Unfortunately, we're not familiar with New Zealand's laws, so we can't say if Rambo owns the rights to the pictures he takes.
Derby the dog got 3D-printed paw prosthethics, now watch him run
Derby was born with deformations in both of his front legs, making movement and any kind of speed difficult, if not impossible. Now, he can run. The husky mix was fitted out with two prosthetics, custom-made on 3D sculpting software to fit his forearms. With some help from 3D Systems and several iterations later, and the curved prosthetics you see above became the final build. "The great thing about using 3D technology in Derby's case, is having these images on file on a computer, and being able to print them. [It] is a lot quicker than having to hand sculpt every single mold and rebuild these braces five to ten times," explained Kevin Atkins, 3D Systems' Freeform Product Manager. The team settled on these curved designs because there was the fear that more pointed iterations (like running blades seen on humans) would get caught in softer ground.
Obtrusive ads, lackluster design limit Bear Hunt's potential
Bear Hunt is a simple time killer in which you're given a slingshot to target bears nearby in the forest. As they walk by or potentially attack, pull the sling back to hit them with a boulder. The game features a few modes like classic and time race, plus online multiplayer. The goal is to reach each level's target score and best it in the next level. It also has a few other tricks up its sleeve too like a secret rocket launcher. Bear Hunt is completely free and available for iPhone and iPad. I don't like to start off on a bad note, but in this case it's completely warranted. Just about everything with this game's design is cringeworthy. The animations and graphics are amateur, navigation is inconsistent and the number of pop-up ads is just shameful. It's even more frustrating tapping the "X" and accidentally tapping the ad and getting yanked out of the app. This seriously hinders the usability of the game and deserves attention. Moving along after that brief rant, let's get to the meat of Bear Hunt. Starting off in single player mode, you have Classic mode, Time Race and Practice to choose from. Classic starts out with just walking bears, but eventually the attack setting unlocks where they get a bit more aggressive. Regardless, you get one minute and 30 seconds to reach the target score. Achieve this by using your slingshot on the bears. The farther away the bear, the more points you score for hitting it. Hit the same bear up to three times to completely destroy it and gain points each time. In Time Race, the target score becomes not a matter of if you get there, but rather a matter of when. A stopwatch begins when you press Play and you have to race to reach your target score and beat the record each level in seconds and minutes. At any point a bunny might appear out of the ground for a few seconds. If you successfully take a shot at the bunny, your slingshot turns into a rocket launcher which automatically targets and destroys all bears within your field of vision for the next few shots or so, granting you the chance to quickly rack up points. Multiplayer mode uses a third-party service to set up matches between Facebook friends or other online players, but it doesn't always work and it's ultimately pretty forgettable. Bear Hunt doesn't have any in-app purchases, but wow for once do I absolutely wish there was. I can't make it through a single round without up to three ads appearing all at once. Even just a US$0.99 upgrade to get rid of the ads that haunt me once and for all would suffice. Fun to play in practice, but Bear Hunt lacks solid design and stability. I can't possibly overstate how annoying those ads are, too. You might get some enjoyment out of it if you need to kill a few minutes of time, but you won't miss out on much by passing up on this download. Bear Hunt is free for iOS in the App Store.
