Friday, January 2, 2009

will life find a way?

Just wanted to share these amazingly beautiful flowering rockplants ... Calceolaria Uniflora, growing in the high-altitude harsh environment of Torres Del Paine, Chile ... they look even more amazing when you click the pic to enlarge:
It seems no matter how hard we try to kill off plants and animals (and we humans do seem to excel at this sort of thing), new species are being (re)discovered all the time. Here's a one-minute view of some of the 1,000 New Species Discovered in the Greater Mekong River Region over the last decade ...

... including a spider as big as a dinner plate, a cyanide-laced shocking pink millipede, and the re-discovery of the Laotian Rock Rat, thought to have gone extinct 11 million years ago, being offered for consumption at a local food market. No, these were not sightings of Dick Cheney!

Worldwildlife.org has an extensive website for anyone interested in this subject. One of many of Bush's parting "gifts" is an attempt to gut endangered species protection. How long before we homo saps become endangered species?

7 comments:

D.K. Raed said...

I originally put this up late last night, so naturally I had to get back in there this A.M. and correct a bad link. I just noticed what time it re-posted. 9:11 ... how appropriate ... it is like 911 for many of the world's species.

Cartledge said...

You and you nature pics are being investigated by Disney (Muppets). Fascinating.
We do 000 here, but I still hit 911 :)

D.K. Raed said...

Cart:
To me the flowers look like people with blond pigtails, wearing long-sleeved Tibetan monks robes, and cardinal hats!

I don't know what the "000" you refer to means, unless it is the zero hour, like in bombs away or doomsday ... perhaps you will explain?

Cartledge said...

Sorry DK, 000 is the downubder emergency number

WeezieLou said...

how very neat!

enigma4ever said...

very very cool....you always find the coolest stuff...

Fran said...

Funny, at first glance those pink flowers looked like pink converse gym shoes lined up on a rock!
But when I clicked to expand, WOW! they look like delicately airbrush painted orchids.
I always admire thise alpine beauties that grow in the harshest of conditions.

Hooray for the species that keep on keepin' on despite human stupidity & ignorance.