2) 74 Whales beached in northern New Zealand

Tonight I came across the news that 74 whales had beached themselves in northern New Zealand, the second mass stranding in the area in two months. While this behavior is surprising, scientist don't have a clue of why the whales get stranded. Some possible theories include: herd behavior, fleeing predators, beach formations that confuse the whales echo-location senses, and possible interference from human sonar. A month ago, CNN published the news that 58 whales had died on Karikari Beach when they came ashore overnight. Many died before being discovered and many more were disoriented when put back in the water.

I also read in a past article that New Zealand's Far North region is experiencing heavy rain and wind which could have something to do with the whales disorientation. After our class on tuesday, I can also point out that maybe overall global warming might have something to do with this. I know every organism in the planet is interconnected, by affecting their environment, we affect them directly. It is definitively something to look out for, maybe some changes are going on in the New Zealand's water that is messing with the whales sensors. Other than that, this is a very sad loss and hopefully after seeing this event happen for a second time in two months, there will be rescue teams more efficient to get the whales back in the water before they die.

Link to site: http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/09/22/74-whales-beached-in-northern-new-zealand/?hpt=T2

1) Rare Asian unicorn dies in captivity

I stumbled upon the news of an Asian unicorn that unfortunately died in captivity. The Saola is a rare creature that resembles the antelope in North Africa and hasn't been seen since 1999. This particular species is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species. It was great news to the world when the Lao government announced in August that villagers in the central province of Bolikhamxay had captured an Asian unicorn, despite having two, and not just one horn.

What were the measures taken to ensure that the specieswould survive and why was it taken in captivity in the first place? While I understand that perhaps they wanted to perform some studies of the Saola, understand it's behavior, and try to preserve the species, if it has lived without being seen for 10 years, well then wouldn't it just be better off on its own?

The death of the Saola makes me wonder why, despite taking animals into captivity to "preserve" their species when they are critically endangered, animals still continue to die. Yes, it is true that there are some successful stories where animals are able to breed and raise the number of the species left, I just don't agree with keeping animals in captivity. Zoo's are wonderful opportunities for people to go see the animals, study them, and have a good time overall, but no animal should be locked up in a cage for people's pleasure and entertainment. We destroy their environment, and then we lock them up to preserve their species? After the death of this Saola, hopefully not the last of its species, I hope some measures are taken to ensure that IF animals are to be taken in captivity, it is done so to preserve them, and not just carelessly lock

them up.

Link to site: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39231503/ns/technology_and_s

cience-science/