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83 Comments
- Katsushiro, on 10/12/2007, -0/+4Gah... I come here, check out the thread, and it's just one moron after another going: "Now that we've found them they'll be hunted down and shot!", "Why did they have to go find this place, now they'll build a hotel on it!", "Stupid scientists, don't they know these things hsould be left alone!", "HUman virus! HUman virus!"..
Listen up, folks. If this place had been discovered by poachers, or real estate developers, or even just a local government, rather than by scientists, do you think we'd even be hearing about it?! Yes, there are people out there who would love to bulldoze every last green acre on Earth and put up condos, but scientists are *not* those people. And, often, the best and only way to protect places like this is for scientists and researchers to discover them first and the publicize the hell out of them, put up pictures in National Geographic, let everyone know about these wonderful and rare new species.. because that way, the public will be on their side, and they won't allow the government or private enterprise to destroy these places so easily. Without the kind of publicity that this kind of discovery generates, many more rare and endangered species would die out every day.
Don't get me wrong, I'm not a psycho treehugger either. I'm not saying we preserve this place just to preserve it. But I am glad that it was found, and that it was found by scientists and researchers rather than poachers and real estate developers. That way, there's more chance of the world's knowledge being increased, and, who knows, maybe one of those new species of frogs or plants or birds holds the cure for cancer, or AIDS, or the common cold. The chance to find cures for diseases, and to increase our knowledge, trumps any 'right to remain undiscovered' that you might think these places have. So stop whining, and be glad that we were lucky enough, this time, that these species were discovered by the good guys, not left undiscovered for someone to secretly destroy. - Roger, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2I feel sorry for that kangaroo.
- mgreenwald, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2The bower birds are really special. You can't quite see it in that photo but the male builds this amazing lure for the female its about three feet in diameter around a tree like a may pole. The twig structure looks something like a torus and he runs around in it excitedly while the female watches from somewhere else secretly. So he does this without knowing even if the female is watching. There's another species that will gather all of one type of something that matches, like little green leaves or berries and arrange them in special patterns on the ground floor of the forest.
- PacoDG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+2More/different pics here:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4688000.stm (Has video on this page)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/shared/spl/hi/pop_ups/06/sci_nat_papua0s_0lost_world0_/html/1.stm
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11114156/ (has the anteater porcupine whatever it was, I forget already)
Id cry dupe, http://www.digg.com/science/Scientists_hail_discovery_of_hundreds_of_new_species_in_remote_New_Guinea .. but since this is such a cool ass story ill just digg them both. - jiub, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Now that we found it how long until we destroy it?
- davdav, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Catch em catch em gotta catch em all
- hayden.evans, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1That Kangaroo is SICK! that would be a kick-ass pet, but we should leave them in magical tree kangaroo land or wherever they came from.
- PacoDG, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1A pic of the Long-Beacked Echidna. "It and another echidna didn't hesitate when scientists picked them up off the ground for close examination" http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11215623/displaymode/1107/s/2/framenumber/3/var1/btn_2
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1This area is in an area called Papua as I've read. No new species of mammals were discovered. The golden-mantled tree kangaroo was previously discovered but considered extremely rare and supposedly in abundance in this "Lost World". All the new species of frogs are very encouraging though, as they always seem to indicate the health of an ecosystem.
- tuna1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1What a beautiful discovery.
Too bad people it will turn into a beach resort and have all the animals sold out to be hunted by millionaires. - Kitsune818, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I'll all for letting careful, respectful researchers in to study and gather as much information as possible, and take lots of pretty pictures for me to look at. Then, the public gets to learn about the species in a non-destructive manner.. and if no one has found these animals before, I'm assuming that they are in a location that is not easy to get to or not frequently visited, and are therefore provided some protection..I think there will be only a handful of eco-tourists wanting to go see these things, and I think the large portion of those will be people with some sort of background and interest in preserving these sorts of species (audubon types, etc.). If there is no economic demand for some resource there, like, a sudden fad for marsupial fur boxer-briefs, then they should be safe. Lets just hope the area is free of expendable fossil fuels or nearby cattle ranchers, those are much larger concerns.
- oric, on 08/08/2008, -0/+1The real Indonesia in pics: http://www.fotegrafik.com/gallery/indonesia
- mgreenwald, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1Here is two links on bower birds. The first link is the best because the Wikipedia article is really lacking.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/bowerbirds/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bower_bird - battlecat, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2Wow, those bastards tied the feet of that poor tree kangaroo... sometimes I just hate humans..
- PottsyNZ, on 10/12/2007, -1/+2It was tied probably be because it had been hunted. I read the article on how they found that tree kangaroo, the natives had been hunting them for years (at a very susitainable rate). They basically just got the hunters to show them where they are. The researcher almost got a photograph sooner had eaten a kangaroo while taking it back to camp lol. So they had to go out looking for another.
Discovered means, found by white people and written about :) - Boohickey11, on 10/12/2007, -0/+1I hope the "marsupials are not mammals" was a joke.
- deathguppie, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0They found dozens of new frogs. I wonder if they licked em..
- Kitsune818, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0@texpundit:
These are quantum species. They're existence is indeterminate until we observe it.
Seriously, though, I'm fairly certain that 99% of the people who used the term new species are aware that they did not spontaneously generate at the exact moment they were first observed.. (But, then, philosophicly speaking, we also can't prove they did not.) - subversive1, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0How long till the kangaroo becomes a video game character?
- Killerah, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Those animals are so much cooler looking than the ones we have in normal parts of the world.
- Frebis, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I love how the animal is tied up, Im sure they bee it into submission soon after the photos
- acidic, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I want to go there, and frolic with the animals. Absolutely oblivious to the dangers.(like humans)
- Sell, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0The golden-mantled tree kangaroo isn't a new find, I've had one as a pet since childhood and it always ate my homework.
- gimmeBeer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Papua New Guinea not Indonesia.
- jokersson, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0What an amazing discovery, especially in this day and age.. a good thing to take our minds off the horrid wars and violence.
- stonebear, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0A very exciting discovery, but tree kangaroos are marsupials, not mammals. Surprising for NG to make such a mistake.
- coolwasabi, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Delicious!
- Kitsune818, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I think they tied up the kangaroo as a protective measure.. they are not only incredibly strong and fast but have very very sharp claws.. I'm willing to bet that particular animal was tranquilized and the bit of rope was just in case it woke up before they had a chance to clear the area.
- dukeinlondon, on 10/12/2007, -1/+1Now that it's discovered, it's really lost. I feel sad that they found it. Scientist should now that some things need to be kept quiet. Poachers are on their way as we speak to get the first crack at all these novelties.
- avatarpalin, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0At last,, another continent that has Kangaroo's to carry there books.
- inactive, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Amazing!
- ezkiel, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0wow. i have to go there somehow.
- giveaphuk, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0well it is actually papua new guinea.. indonesia invaded it (in a shifty manner) in 1969, & if u do some research u will find them (the people) a strikingly different race to the indonesians..
- endgames, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"A very exciting discovery, but tree kangaroos are marsupials, not mammals. Surprising for NG to make such a mistake."
Just for the record Marsupials are Mammals.
http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/mammal/marsupial/marsupial.html - sushiguy, on 03/19/2008, -0/+0Awesome.. I love Indonesia
http://shop.lastfood.com - warmonger48, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Very very cool.
- ejustice, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Frogs are not reptiles, they are amphibians. Marsupials are mammals, just like primates are mammals. Didn't you guys go to high school?
- nkeliher, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0That tree kangaroo is wicked cool - kudos to all involved in the discovery.
- kickarse, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0So cool
- Mushroonaut, on 07/11/2008, -0/+0I was waiting for this!
- Sharm, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I read there have been sightings of large bat-like birds on the island which they claimed to be pteranodons.
Let's see if the scientist can find these as well! - burke, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0"but tree kangaroos are marsupials, not mammal"
Hahahahahahahahaha -- And a gorilla is a primate, not a mammal.
Some people (I guess) tend not to think marsupials are mammals, but that is the broader category they fall under. - antdude, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0We need video clips. I wonder if there were any ants over there.
- PlaidPhantom, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Wow. That golden-breasted whateverit'scalled is...wow.
- a1programmer, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This is all a hoax!!! They're walking into a place that has never seen humans and handling these animals like they are pets... They're genetically altered animals that they've created, and now they're trying to make us think they're new found species!! Joking of course. :)
- sastivoke, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0I wonder if they're going to run into KING KONG...
- mahadewa, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Just to clarify, the Island of Papua is divided by two; the East side belongs to Papua New Guinea, and the West side is part of Indonesia. The official name for that West side is 'Irian Jaya', and it's one of our Province.
- Diggg, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0This location is in West Papua...NOT Indonesia.
- endgames, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0Well said Katsushiro.
- manoftheisland, on 10/12/2007, -0/+0WE KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE EARTH!!!!! My girlfriend use to live in PNG (Paupa New Guinea) she always said there were animals there that no one had ever seen before. looks like she was right
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