Current Event 6

Gain For Gorillas 

http://www.timeforkids.com/news/gain-gorillas/59721

November 14 2012

By: Cameron Keady

Summary: Mountain gorillas live in groups of about 30 with their leader. The total population of mountain gorillas is finally starting to rise with the help of humans. In 2000 the population of mountain gorillas was only 320! Their population became so low because of illegal hunting, habitat loss and disease. Since then their population is slowly rising with the help of many organizations.They live in only two countries in Central Africa. In the last two years the population of this specie has risen from 786 to 880.  Nearly half of all of the population of mountain gorillas live in national parks in order to get more protection and care. “Mountain gorillas are the only great ape experiencing a population increase,” said David Greer, WWF’s African Great Ape Program Manager. “This is largely due to intensive conservation efforts and successful community engagement.”

Thoughts: I think that this article talk about an event that is very good to our society because people have started taking action to help the population of mountain gorillas rise. I think that people are starting to understand how important animals really are to our planet, and how important it is to help them survive. From this article I learned facts about mountain gorillas and their life and how people are trying to help their population to rise. 

Current Event 5

A Never Before Seen Whale

http://www.timeforkids.com/news/never-seen-whale/59326

Author of Article: Veronique Greenwood

12 November 2012

Summary: In December 2010 scientists found two Gray's beaked whales who washed up at a place in New Zealand called Opape Beach. A few months later after the scientists examined the animals, they realized that they weren't the Gray's beaked whales, but that they were two spade-toothed beaked whales, the most mysterious whales in the world! This is because they were never actually seen by humans, but we know about them from bone fragments and fossils that have washed up in the last 140 years! The only evidence for their existence which we had before this discovery was a lower jaw and two skulls. A mammal scientist named Anton van Helden was told all this and Anton van Helden and his team started working right away: they found out that the female whale was 17 feet long while the young male whale was 11.5 feet long. They also examined the colors and bones of the whales and saw why they can be so easily confused with other beaked whales. The scientists were fascinated because before this no one could even try to imagine what these whales looked like from the fossils. This discovery made scientists more interesting into beaked whales and this is only a small step in their study because nobody saw this specie of whales alive!

Thoughts: I found this article really interesting because scientists have finally found out what this whale specie really looks like and they have a chance to study this animal carefully while before they had only two fossils. This is related to science because the article explained how it was found out which species it really was and how the scientists carefully examined the whales. What I found surprising about this is that scientists knew about this species of whales only from fossils without ever seeing it! This article also shows us how little we really know about our environment and it shows the bio diversity of the species on our planet!

Current Event 4

The Competition For Title Of 'World's Smallest Dog' Heats Up!

http://www.dogonews.com/2012/11/9/the-competition-for-title-of-worlds-smallest-dog-heats-up
November 9 2012
Article written by: Meera Dolasia

 Many owners of small dogs want their dog to win the title of "The World's Smallest Dog" for the  Guinness World Records but this is not easy. The first dog to apply for this title was a female Dashchund mix dog named Beyonce. She was born in March 2012 and is not expected to grow over 1.5 pounds but she couldn't win the title until she has fully grown or turned one years old. The next dog is a Puerto Rican Chihuahua named Milly. She was only  3 inches long when she was 3 months old! 

In July 2012 news came from Jacorin, Poland about a tiny dog named Meysi. She weighed only 1.58 pounds when she was born and her owner had to feed her with a syringe every half and hour, both day and night! The current smallest dog found is a 6 year old Chihuahua who is 4 inches tall and about 1.5 pounds!

I found this article very interesting because it explained how the tiny dogs and their owners can get into the Guinness World Records book and how owners are fighting for them to be the ones to get into it! Before reading this article, I didn't know that dogs could be so tiny and that their owners have to feed them so often with tiny objects.