The Longest Journey   - Bar-tailed Godwit -

The Bar-tailed Godwit is a dove size bird, measures about 40cm (16in) long from bill to tail. They are not big birds, but they make the longest journey for migration among birds. From Alaska to New Zealand their flight distance reaches about 11000km (6835mi). It takes 8 to 9days for them to complete each trip. They stay in the coast of New Zealand during the winter. Then they back to Alaska for breeding in summer. Also some flocks migrate to Africa, East Asia and Australia and stay there in winter.

Migration is the tough task and birds need to prepare before its departure. Bar-tailed Godwits store some fat, about 60% of their weight, in their body to make long non-stopover flight. They also read wind when to depart and use it to reduce their energy consuming during their trip. They must know exact route to their destination too. Magnetic field of the Earth is one guideline, but it is not perfect because it is sometimes interrupted by clouds and fogs. In addition that they use sun to know their position. Unlike us they are able to detect different pattern of sun light that changing throughout the day. Probably they also remember stars and geographical features such as cost lines and mountains.

Small body with twig like legs but amazing capability inside.

Grim not Grin, future of TV Chimp

Chimpanzees have remarkable intelligence. They can make tools and use them to obtain food. They are also capable of learning symbols and using them to communicate with humans. Chimps sometimes behave like humans. But they have own society system and it is never like humans’.

It is critical for Young chimps to have maternal care to survive and stay with other members of their community. Usually mother chimps provide their infants with food, warmth, and protection for at least one year. Mother chimps finally allow their young to do things independently when their young reach two years of age.

Unfortunately for most of young chimps in TV and other entertainment that is not the case. Although infant chimps still need care and protection of their mother, they are torn away from their mother. Then they are trained for “acting” as yet having deep psychological problem. Most of young chimps are mistreated and their grin like face is actually expressing fear. Even young chimps in good care will be too strong and difficult to handle when they are around age 8. It is impossible for them to get along with other chimps neither, because they did not learn how. Their final destinations are roadside zoos or insufficient facilities. They spend rest their life behind bar.

Chimpanzees can live up to 60 years.

Wonder of Spindle Cells

Both humans and other great apes have spindle cells that are found in their brains and work for processing emotions and balancing social interaction. Recently spindle cells are also discovered in the brain of the other large animals such as humpback whales, killer whales, sperm whales and both African and Asian elephants. No wonder why those animals have complex communication skills and social structures.

Since spindle cells make it possible for humans to react fast and perceive intricate emotional condition simultaneously, humans can feel love and understand another person’s feelings. Although humpback whales and African elephants probably evolved spindle cells differently from humans, it is fair to say that they can feel love and other’s suffering as well. For instance orphaned elephants whose mothers were killed by poachers have mental health problem such as sleep disorder, nightmare and hyper aggression. They need help of dedicated human care takers because they lost affection of their mother or relatives and need to forget horrible event that keep coming back to their memory. Then they can recover from those conditions. This means that they can feel love of their care takers.