American Alligator

American Alligator

Thursday, December 11, 2014

Bats

by Hunter Byrd

Bats are some of the most unique and fascinating creatures on the planet.  They are the only mammals alive today that can truly fly.  When their toes are curled is when they are actually relaxed, which  explains how they are capable of sleeping upside down.  Of all mammal species, bat species make up nearly a fourth of them.  Along with dolphins, they use echolocation to hunt their prey.  Their poo or guano is the most valuable fertilizer in the world and bats help pollinate various different species of fruit trees that you and I call food.  If you don't like mosquitoes, then you definitely want bats around your home.  A bat like the one pictured below can eat up to 1,000 mosquitoes in an hour and can live around 40 years.  That's a lot of mosquitoes!

Photo from Google Images

For many people, bats symbolize fear and disease.  The old legend of Dracula turning into a bat doesn't really help their image.  This is based from the fact that vampire bats actually do drink blood from their hosts.  More often than not, these hosts are livestock, but every once in a while a person gets bit while they are sleeping.  There are three species of vampire bats whose sole diet is the blood of other animals. These bats don't actually suck the blood from their hosts, rather they have evolved teeth that puncture the flesh just enough for the animal to start bleeding and then they lick it up.  When feeding on cattle, the animals' skin is so thick that they don't even notice and will sleep through the whole experience. 

Vampire bat
Photo from Google Images


Unlike other bats, vampire bats are extremely unique in that they will share their food, but not in a way you would think.  Vampire bats must consume around one ounce of blood per feeding and must feed at least once every two days or it will die.  To stay alive, vampire bats will share blood that they have already consumed with other members of their colony who weren't so successful that night.  That's right, they regurgitate it for the other bats to eat and survive.  Mmmm, yummy!

Unfortunately, like frogs, bats are in serious trouble and suffering from a fungus that is spreading across their ranges here in North America.  This is the white-nose syndrome Pseudogymnoascus destructans, a disease or fungus that infects mostly hibernating bats.  Infected bats typically show a white coating on their noses, but may also have it on their wings and ears.  This disease is critical as it kills nearly 100 percent of all infected animals.  This makes it very important that people don't unintentionally bring WNS from one colony to another while exploring bat habitats, such as caves.  

Little brown bat with WNS
Photo from Google Images


There are many things you can do to help support bats and their conservation.  The first thing is to not destroy their homes or alter their food supplies.  If there are not any places for them to find a home in your area, then it's possible to make a home for them.  Bat boxes (similar to a bird house) can house a small colony of bats to keep in your area.  Furthermore, do some research and learn more about what makes these little guys special and helpful.  They are not by any means as scary as Batman believed them to be.  

Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Permaculture

by Hunter Byrd

Permaculture can be described as agriculture produced through ecological design and resource sustainability and management.

Lately, I've been trying to dig more into this unique method of gardening and crop production and the lifestyle that follows.  This field is typically geared towards environmental and naturalists looking to provide for themselves, their families, and sometimes even their communities food and natural materials without leaving an ecological footprint.  

Permaculture has become a "thing" more so in European countries than most other places, but can also be applied in the tropics.  In fact, I believe this method of agriculture would benefit developing nations significantly greater than monocultural practices, such as palm oil plantations.  It allows communities to work together to produce the goods they need in order to sustain themselves.  While one family focuses on producing one crop, another family can grow another for the community and so on.  

Photo from Google Images

Though most individuals who practice permaculture grow primarily fruits and vegetables, poultry; swine; and other livestock can also be utilized.  Fish can also be grown in local ponds to produce a source of protein.  

My concern with permaculture is that I believe it can promote endangered species conservation while benefiting humanity.  I'm sure this has been discussed before and even applied, but how effective is it or could it be across a range of different species?  We know it can benefit pollinators such as bees and bats, but what about mega-fauna, particularly apex predators?   

Photo from Google Image

Photo from Google Image

Deep down, I believe that within this field there is a lot more that we can learn from and apply in order to make a greater impact in our world, one step at a time.  

Something about Asia


by Hunter Byrd

Growing up, the Asian continent has always fascinated me.  Everything from Chinese architecture to Japanese gardens to Indonesian jungles, Asia has much to offer for adventurers of all persona.  I've had friends go to China, others Korea, Japan, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, and Malaysia and all have come back with amazing stories.  I went to the Philippines for a couple of months and absolutely fell in love with the country.   




There is something about the people and the cultures that are truly remarkable and mysterious in their own ways.  When I arrived in the Philippines, I thought Mother Nature was going to kill me.  I had allergy and asthma attacks, bug bites, stomach sickness, infections (at one point my feet were the size of a hobbit's and I couldn't walk), and nearly drowned in the Philippine Sea when our boat stopped working and a typhoon was coming in from the south. My second trip there, Typhoon Haiyan hit right after I made it to my destination further north on the island of Luzon.  Despite the implications, I love that country!  The people are so humble and genuine and the landscapes are simply breathtaking.  It has given me a new outlook on life and shown me I have so much to be thankful for.  




Recently, I read another blog post talking about the benefits of living in Asia compared to the States.  The post provided some information that I found to be true, but not quite all of it.  For instance, rent is cheaper there than it is here.  Here in Arkansas, I pay $250 dollars a month to rent a three bedroom house instead of $1000 for a two bedroom apartment.  Granted, my landlords are my roommate's parents so that helps.  I very highly doubt you'll find anything that inexpensive on the east coast, but in Asia I'm sure it's possible.  Nonetheless, it has encouraged me to try and branch out to make a living in another country, something I have been wanting to do for awhile.  Fortunately, most of the living conditions in Asia are fairly less expensive than places such as the U.S. and Canada.  In South Korea, English teachers' housing are typically subsidized and they are paid handsome salaries.  Plus I've never met anyone who has complained about living there and actually been encouraged to go myself.  Personally, I would prefer to go somewhere with sunny beaches and rain forest.  Here's why.




Southeast Asia is considered to be the most endangered of the biological hot spots on Earth.  The biodiversity in this region is tremendous!  Much of the life in those rain forests is endemic to a particular area, meaning it can be found nowhere else in the world. Further north, the climate goes from subtropical to temperate, much like we have here in the States.  The towering peaks of Asia's unprecedented mountain ranges illustrate the landscape's beauty seen today as it was thousands of years ago.  I imagine these enchanted mountains paralleled with ancient architecture as a doorway into a peaceful and more disciplined and cultured world thought to have long since passed.


Angkor Wat in Cambodia
Photos from Google Image