Beautiful Great Lakes, Manning & Gloucester Regions of NSW
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Seen at Dorset Wildlife Trust Higher Hyde Heath Reserve.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The silver-studded blue (Plebejus argus) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It has bright blue wings rimmed in black with white edges and silver spots on its hindwings, lending it the name of the silver-studded blue. P. argus can be found across Europe and east across the Palearctic, but it is most often studied in the United Kingdom where the species has experienced a severe decline in population due to habitat loss and fragmentation.
P. argus engages in mutualism with ants that contribute to the butterflies' reproductive fitness by providing protection from predation and parasitism from the point of egg laying to their emergence as adults. P. argus adults emerge at the end of June and beginning of July and engage in flight until the beginning of August.
The butterfly is adaptable to different habitats and is found in heathland, mossland, and limestone grassland. Tending towards a sedentary lifestyle and typically flying less than 20 metres (66 ft) a day, P. argus maintains a small radius home range. Their habitats lend themselves well to both foraging and egg laying as the host plants are ubiquitous in all three environments they occupy.
Seen on Higher Hyde Heath Nature Reserve.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The silver-studded blue (Plebejus argus) is a butterfly in the family Lycaenidae. It has bright blue wings rimmed in black with white edges and silver spots on its hindwings, lending it the name of the silver-studded blue. P. argus can be found across Europe and east across the Palearctic, but it is most often studied in the United Kingdom where the species has experienced a severe decline in population due to habitat loss and fragmentation.
P. argus engages in mutualism with ants that contribute to the butterflies' reproductive fitness by providing protection from predation and parasitism from the point of egg laying to their emergence as adults. P. argus adults emerge at the end of June and beginning of July and engage in flight until the beginning of August.
The butterfly is adaptable to different habitats and is found in heathland, mossland, and limestone grassland. Tending towards a sedentary lifestyle and typically flying less than 20 metres (66 ft) a day, P. argus maintains a small radius home range.[6] Their habitats lend themselves well to both foraging and egg laying as the host plants are ubiquitous in all three environments they occupy.
There is nothing more fun then finding new ways to enjoy working out.
What could be more enjoyable then drinking beer and lifting weights?
Now imagine if you could do both at the same time.
Each curl of your arms bringing the rich liquid to your lips as if an instant reward for all your hard work. Introducing Beer Fitness by BackBone.
This set includes the workout bench with three poses the barbell and the dumbbell.
The best part is the beer is included.
So Pick up Beer Fitness by BackBone at Man Cave today!
Also if you need a cute workout outfit look no further then Dirty Princess's Feeling Myself Princess.
Available in twelve color combinations this sexy, sporty number is made for the maitrea, vtech, and hourglass bodies. So next time your in need of some hot sportswear check out Dirty Princess!
For More information on this look and others check out my blog:
A gritstone tor on Eaglestone Flat near Baslow.
An old custom says that before they can marry, the young men of Baslow must show their strength and fitness by climbing the stone.
Yesterday I discovered the sad shape of my fitness by overcommitting to a relentless uphill hike to Lake Serene at the base of Mount Index of the Cascade range. The payoff was big, however.
A gritstone tor approximately 8 metres in height on Eaglestone Flat near Baslow.
An old custom says that before they can marry, the young men of Baslow must show their strength and fitness by climbing the stone.
see that smile? that is because i worked out today. and i am going to listen to my body this time. i am going to get back into this physical fitness by taking my time, not by trying to pound away and injure myself.
today was sort of a comedy of errors kind of day. i made it through, which is the most important part.
today's positive thought...treating my body well.
this is my shot for march 31, 2010
The other species on Seymour Island... the females has a blue eye ring, the chick head is all white, the males have this ridiculous red Goiter to appeal to potential mate- perhaps to display fitness by flying with agility while carrying a sac under your chin. View Large
Credits:
Hair: Darla by Lovey Dovey
Shades: Handmade
Choker: Cermet Collar by random Matter
Top & Shorts: Urban Fitness by VALE KOER
Arm & Leg Bands: Urban Fitness by VALE KOER
Slushy: FREEZEE (Bento) by REIGN
Nails: Moray Nails (Bento) by Eclipse Art Studio
Tattoo: Burnout by ISUKA
Backdrop: Sights Background by MINIMAL
The other species on Seymour Island... the females has a blue eye ring, the chick head is all white, the males have this ridiculous red Goiter to appeal to potential mate- perhaps to display fitness by flying with agility while carrying a sac under your chin.
The equivalent of albinism in animals, erythrism results from the inheritance of two recessive genes for the absence of pigmentation. Normally the katydid colour palette runs the gamut of greens, browns and yellows, colours which keep them camouflaged and aid in their survival. Although it has been hypothesized that pink coloration may increase survival rates amongst red vegetation it is much more likely that the genetic anomaly decreases fitness by increasing the insect's visibility to predators. Therefore it is likely that most individuals with this condition don't survive long and rarely make it to adulthood. Photo from the Santa Marta region, Colombian Caribbean.
Fozzie: “I decided to do some more reading, so here are some more of the books I’ve read:
“Keeping a Rescue Plan in Your Backpack” by Justin Case.
“How to Become Wealthy” by Robyn Banks.
“Staying out of the Limelight” by Ivana Hyde.
“Crunchy Kitchen Cooking” by Chris P. Bacon.
And “Beginners Guide to Physical Fitness” by Ben Totashaype.
The other species on Seymour Island... the females has a blue eye ring, the chick hard is all white, the males have this ridiculous red Goiter to appeal to potential mate- perhaps to display fitness by flying with agility while carrying a sac under your chin.
This hotel was fully renovated in September 2017. Hilton Miami Downtown is within a half-mile of the Port of Miami, Bayside Marketplace, and American Airlines Arena. A rooftop swimming pool and sundeck provide sweeping views of Biscayne Bay.
Guests at the Hilton Miami Downtown can enjoy the Fitness by Precor exercise facility, complimentary use of the business center, and the panoramic views from the rooftop pool. Onsite dining is available.
All guestrooms at Hilton Miami Downtown feature floor-to-ceiling windows with city or bay views, the Hilton Serenity Bed Collection, Crabtree & Evelyn® La Source bath amenities, and clock radio with MP3 connection.
Credit for the data above is given to the following website:
www.expedia.com/Miami-Hotels-Hilton-Miami-Downtown.h2228....
Llegamos temprano en la tarde a un sitio que solo conocía por las fotos de otros, llegamos por una empinada cuesta que nos condujo hasta la cima, el auto se desplazaba lento permitiendo que fuéramos observando la ciudad que se extendía a los pies de esta elevación, la cima se eleva por encima del mar en unos 261 m, por encima del valle que asienta la ciudad en unos 130 m, si asciende por sus escaleras unos 430 escalones.
La brisa de la tarde maravillosa, la humedad impresionante, algunos intrépidos suben las escaleras y llegan a la cima a todo tren, manteniendo su forma física, entrenando quien sabe porque.
Laura y yo nos mantuvimos en silencio, buscando los mejores lugares, esperando por la luz que se escabulle entre las nubes por momentos. La tarde fue pasando, casi anochecía y eramos los únicos que acompañaban eran los de seguridad del lugar, la ciudad abajo bailaba en medio de las celebraciones de un carnaval, una fiesta de verano donde muchos de los lugareños participaban para aliviar el calor de la noche.
Al final del valle estalló una tormenta de relámpagos, las luces de la ciudad guíaban comenzando por esta esta cruz que marcó el inicio, fundación, primeros pasos de la villa que vive y crece por día.
We arrived early in the afternoon to a place known only by the photos of others, got up a steep hill that led us to the top, the car was moving slowly allowing us to be watching the city that lay at the foot of this elevation, top rises above the sea in about 261 m above the valley that the city sits at about 130 m, if your stairs ascend about 430 steps.
The wonderful evening breeze, humidity impressive, some intrepid climb the stairs and reach the top in full swing, maintaining his fitness by training who knows why.
Laura and I kept silent, looking for the best places, waiting for the light sneaking through the clouds at times. The evening went on, almost dusk and we were the only ones who were accompanying security, the city below danced amid the celebrations of a carnival, a summer party where many of the locals involved to relieve the heat of the night .
At the end of the valley erupted a storm of lightning, guided city lights starting this this cross that marked the beginning, foundation, first steps of the town that lives and grows daily.
Cape Baboon
Bärenpavian
Kruger National Park is one of the largest game reserves in Africa. It covers an area of 19,485 km2 (7,523 sq mi) in the provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga in northeastern South Africa, and extends 360 km (220 mi) from north to south and 65 km (40 mi) from east to west. The administrative headquarters are in Skukuza. Areas of the park were first protected by the government of the South African Republic in 1898, and it became South Africa's first national park in 1926.
To the west and south of the Kruger National Park are the two South African provinces of Limpopo and Mpumalanga. In the north is Zimbabwe, and to the east is Mozambique. It is now part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park, a peace park that links Kruger National Park with the Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe, and with the Limpopo National Park in Mozambique.
The park is part of the Kruger to Canyons Biosphere an area designated by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) as an International Man and Biosphere Reserve (the "Biosphere").
The park has nine main gates allowing entrance to the different camps.
(Wikipedia)
The chacma baboon (Papio ursinus), also known as the Cape baboon, is, like all other baboons, from the Old World monkey family. It is one of the largest of all monkeys. Located primarily in southern Africa, the chacma baboon has a wide variety of social behaviors, including a dominance hierarchy, collective foraging, adoption of young by females, and friendship pairings. These behaviors form parts of a complex evolutionary ecology. In general, the species is not threatened, but human population pressure has increased contact between humans and baboons. Hunting, accidents, and trapping kill or remove many baboons from the wild, thereby reducing baboon numbers and disrupting their social structure.
Due to hybridization between different baboon (Papio) populations across Africa, authors have occasionally grouped the entire radiation as a single species, the hamadryas baboon, Papio hamadryas. Arbitrary boundaries were then used to separate the populations into subspecies. Other authors considered the chacma baboon a subspecies of the yellow baboon, Papio cynocephalus, though it is now recognised as a separate species, Papio ursinus. The chacma baboon has two or three subspecies, depending on which classification is followed. Grubb et al. (2003) listed two subspecies,[4] while Groves (2005) in Mammal Species of the World listed three. This article follows Groves (2005) and describes three distinct subspecies. In the Grubb et al. (2003) paper, P. u. raucana was believed to be synonymous with P. u. ursinus.
Papio ursinus ursinus Kerr, 1792 – Cape chacma (found in southern South Africa)
P. ursinus griseipes Pocock, 1911 – Gray-footed chacma (found in northern South Africa to southern Zambia)
P. ursinus raucana Shortridge, 1942 – Ruacana chacma (found from Namibia to southern Angola, but not accepted by all authorities as distinct.
The chacma baboon is perhaps the longest species of monkey, with a male body length of 50–115 cm (20–45 in) and tail length of 45–84 cm (18–33 in). It also one of the heaviest; the male weighs from 21 to 45 kg (46 to 99 lb) with an average of 31.8 kg (70 lb). Baboons are sexually dimorphic, and females are considerably smaller than males. The female chacma weighs from 12 to 25 kg (26 to 55 lb), with an average of 15.4 kg (34 lb). It is similar in size to the olive baboon, averaging slightly higher in mean body mass, and of similar weight to the more compact mandrill, the males of which weigh on average about 1 kg (2.2 lb) more than a chacma baboon, the females weigh 3 kg (6.6 lb) less than the female chacma. While the mandrill is usually crowned the largest of all modern monkeys, going on total length and average (but not maximum) body weight between the sexes, the chacma baboon appears to be the largest extant monkey. The chacma baboon is generally dark brown to gray in color, with a patch of rough hair on the nape of its neck. Unlike the males of northern baboon species (the Guinea, hamadryas, and olive baboons), chacma males do not have a mane. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of this baboon is its long, downward-sloping face. The canine teeth of male chacma baboons have a mean length of 3.86 ± 0.30 cm (1.52 ± 0.12 in) at the time they emigrate from their natal troop. This is the time of greatest tooth length as the teeth tend to wear or be broken thereafter.
The three subspecies are differentiated by size and color. The Cape chacma is a large, heavy, dark-brown, and has black feet. The gray-footed chacma is slightly smaller than the Cape chacma, lighter in color and build, and has gray feet. The Ruacana chacma generally appears to be a smaller, less darkly colored version of the Cape chacma.
The chacma baboon inhabits a wide array of habitats including woodland, savanna, steppes, and subdesert, from the grassy alpine slopes of the Drakensberg to the Kalahari desert. During the night the chacma baboon needs hills, cliffs, or large trees in which to sleep. During the day water availability may limit its range in arid areas. It is found in southern Africa, ranging from South Africa north to Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique. The subspecies are divided across this range. The Cape chacma is found in southern South Africa; the gray-footed chacma, is present from northern South Africa, through the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique (south of the Zambezi), to southwest Zambia; and the Ruacana chacma is found in northern Namibia and southern Angola.
The chacma baboon is omnivorous with a preference for fruits, while also eating insects, seeds, grass, smaller vertebrate animals, and fungi (the desert truffle Kalaharituber pfeilii); at the Cape of Good Hope in particular, it is also known for taking shellfish and other marine invertebrates. It is generally a scavenger when it comes to game meat, and rarely engages in hunting large animals. One incident of a chacma baboon killing a human infant has been reported, but the event is so rare, the locals believed it was due to witchcraft. Normally, chacma baboons will flee at the approach of humans, though this is changing due to the easy availability of food near human dwellings.
The chacma baboon usually lives in social groups, called troops, which are composed of multiple adult males, adult females, and their offspring. Occasionally, however, very small groups form that consist of only a single adult male and several adult females. Chacma troops are characterized by a dominance hierarchy. Female ranking within the troop is inherited through the mother and remains relatively fixed, while male ranking is often in flux, especially when the dominant male is replaced. Chacmas are unusual among baboons in that neither males nor females form strong relationships with members of the same sex. Instead, the strongest social bonds are often between unrelated adult males and females. Infanticide is also common compared to other baboon species, as newly dominant males will often attempt to kill young baboons sired by the previously dominant male. Baboon troops possess a complex group behavior and communicate by means of body attitudes, facial expressions, vocalizations and touch.
The chacma baboon often sleeps in large groups on cliffs or in trees at night to avoid predators. The morning dispersal from the sleeping site is synchronized, with all members leaving at the same time. In most cases, dispersal is initiated by a single individual, and the other members of the group decide whether or not to follow. At least five followers must be recruited for a successful dispersal initiation, and not all initiation attempts are successful. Surprisingly, the initiator's dominance status shows little correlation with successful initiation of departure; more-dominant individuals are no more likely to lead a successful departure than subordinate individuals. One study has shown that while the success rate of dispersal initiation attempts is relatively constant across all sexes, male are more likely to attempt initiation than females, and lactating females are less likely to attempt initiation than females without dependent offspring. A separate study has achieved slightly different results. While dominance hierarchy does not play a significant role in initiating the morning dispersal, social affiliation does. Chacma baboons that play a more central role in the group (as measured by grooming behavior and time spent with other members) are more likely to be followed during the morning dispersal. This study concluded that group members are more likely to follow the behavior of individuals with which they are closely affiliated.
Dominance does play a role in group foraging decisions. A dominant individual (usually the alpha male) leads the group to easily monopolized resources. The group usually follows, even though many subordinate members cannot gain access to that particular resource. As in morning dispersal, the inclination of group members to follow the leader is positively associated with social interactions with that dominant individual.
Collective foraging behavior, with many individuals taking advantage of the same resource at once, has also been observed. However, this behavior can be chiefly attributed to shared dietary needs rather than social affiliation. Pregnant females, who share similar dietary needs, are more likely to synchronize their behavior than fertile females. Foraging synchronization decreases in areas with lower food density.
Adoption behavior has been observed in chacma baboons. Orphaned baboons whose mothers have disappeared or died are often too small to care for themselves. In one study of nine natural orphans and three introduced orphans, all but one orphan were adopted by another member of the group. The individual that was not adopted was 16 months old, four months older than the next oldest orphan, and was old enough to survive on its own. Adoption behavior includes sleeping close to the orphaned infant, grooming and carrying the orphan, and protecting it from harassment by other members of the troop. Both males and females care for infants, and care does not depend on the infant's sex. Additionally, all caregivers are prereproductive, only four or five years of age. The two major theories explaining this behavior are kin selection, in which caregivers take care of potentially related orphans, and parental practice, in which young caregivers increase their own fitness by using an orphan to practice their own parental skills.
Males and female chacma baboons often form relationships referred to as "friendships". These cooperative relationships generally occur between lactating females and adult males. The females are believed to seek out male friendships to gain protection from infanticide. In many baboon species, immigrant alpha males often practice infanticide upon arrival in a new troop. By killing unrelated infants, the new male shortens the time until he can mate with the females of the troop. A female with dependent offspring generally does not become sexually receptive until she weans her offspring at around 12 months of age. However, a mother usually becomes sexually receptive shortly after the death of her offspring.
This protection hypothesis is supported by studies of stress hormones in female baboons during changes in the male hierarchy. When an immigrant male ascends to the top of the male dominance hierarchy, stress hormones in lactating and pregnant females increases, while stress hormones in females not at risk of infanticide stay the same. Additionally, females in friendships with males exhibit a smaller rise in stress hormones than do females without male friends.
The benefits of friendship to males are less clear. A male is more likely to enter into friendships with females with which he has mated, which indicates males might enter into friendships to protect their own offspring and not just to protect that female's future reproductive success. These friendships may play a role in the mating system of chacma baboons. A female will often mate with several males, which increases the number of potential fathers for her offspring and increases the chances she will be able to find at least one friend to protect her infants.
Female chacma baboons have been observed to compete with each other for male friends. This may be the result of one male having a high probability of paternity with multiple females. These competitions are heavily influenced by the female dominance hierarchy, with dominant females displacing subordinate females in friendships with males. Generally, when a more-dominant female attempts to make friends with an individual which is already the friend of a subordinate female, the subordinate female reduces grooming and spatial proximity to that male, potentially leaving her offspring at higher risk of infanticide.
The chacma baboon is widespread and does not rank among threatened animal species. However, in some confined locations, such as South Africa's Southern Cape Peninsula, local populations are dwindling due to habitat loss and predation from other protected species, such as leopards and lions. Some troops have become a suburban menace, overturning trash cans and entering houses in their search for food. These troops can be aggressive and dangerous, and such negative encounters have resulted in hunting by frustrated local residents. This isolated population is thought to face extinction within 10 years.
The chacma is listed under Appendix II of CITES as it occurs in many protected areas across its range. The only area in South Africa where they are monitored is in the Cape Peninsula, where they are protected.
Observations by those working hands-on in South Africa's rehabilitation centers have found this species is damaged by human intervention; troop structures are influenced, and over the years a significant loss in numbers has occurred. Because they live near human habitats, baboons are shot, poisoned, electrocuted, run over, and captured for the pet industry, research laboratories and muthi (medicine).[32] Despite this, assessors working for the IUCN believe there are no major threats that could result in a range-wide decline of the species.
(Wikipedia)
Der Kruger-Nationalpark (deutsch häufig falsch Krüger-Nationalpark) ist das größte Wildschutzgebiet Südafrikas. Er liegt im Nordosten des Landes in der Landschaft des Lowveld auf dem Gebiet der Provinz Limpopo sowie des östlichen Abschnitts von Mpumalanga. Seine Fläche erstreckt sich vom Crocodile-River im Süden bis zum Limpopo, dem Grenzfluss zu Simbabwe, im Norden. Die Nord-Süd-Ausdehnung beträgt etwa 350 km, in Ost-West-Richtung ist der Park durchschnittlich 54 km breit und umfasst eine Fläche von rund 20.000 Quadratkilometern. Damit gehört er zu den größten Nationalparks in Afrika.
Das Schutzgebiet wurde am 26. März 1898 unter dem Präsidenten Paul Kruger als Sabie Game Reserve zum Schutz der Wildnis gegründet. 1926 erhielt das Gebiet den Status Nationalpark und wurde in seinen heutigen Namen umbenannt. Im Park leben 147 Säugetierarten inklusive der „Big Five“, außerdem etwa 507 Vogelarten und 114 Reptilienarten, 49 Fischarten und 34 Amphibienarten.
(Wikipedia)
Der Bärenpavian oder Tschakma (Papio ursinus) ist eine Primatenart aus der Gattung der Paviane innerhalb der Familie der Meerkatzenverwandten (Cercopithecidae). Er lebt im südlichen Afrika.
Mit einer Kopfrumpflänge von bis zu 115 Zentimetern, wozu noch ein bis zu 71 Zentimeter langer Schwanz kommt, und einem Gewicht von 15 bis 31 Kilogramm bilden sie die größte und schwerste Pavianart. Ihr Fell ist an der Oberseite dunkelbraun oder grau gefärbt, die Unterseite ist heller, die Hände und Füße sind meist schwarz. Die langgezogene, unbehaarte Schnauze ist dunkelviolett oder schwarz gefärbt, ebenso die Sitzschwielen. Die Fellfärbung und die Größe sind nach Region variabel, so gibt es eine Population mit grauen Pfoten; besonders kleine Exemplare kommen zum Beispiel in der Kalahari vor.
Die Männchen sind deutlich größer und schwerer als die Weibchen und haben auch längere Eckzähne, im Gegensatz zu den übrigen Pavianarten fehlt ihnen aber die Mähne an den Schultern und am vorderen Rücken.
Bärenpaviane leben im südlichen Afrika, genauer in Angola, Botswana, Mosambik, Namibia, Südafrika und Sambia. Sie bewohnen sowohl Steppen und Savannen als auch offene Waldgebiete, sind jedoch auf das Vorhandensein von Wasser angewiesen.
Wie alle Paviane leben sie in Gruppen, meistens in gemischten Gruppen, in manchen Regionen (zum Beispiel im gebirgigen Südafrika) dominieren jedoch die Einmännchengruppen (siehe Gruppenverhalten der Paviane). Die Bärenpaviane zeigen ein komplexes Gruppenverhalten und kommunizieren mittels Körperhaltungen, Gesichtsausdrücken, Lauten und durch Körperkontakte. Bärenpaviane sind Allesfresser; sie haben eine Vorliebe für Früchte, nehmen jedoch auch Blätter, Insekten, Samen und kleinere Wirbeltiere zu sich.
Die Fortpflanzung kann das ganze Jahr über erfolgen, die Weibchen weisen während der fruchtbaren Phase eine ausgeprägte Regelschwellung auf. Innerhalb der gemischten Gruppen kann sich prinzipiell jedes Männchen mit jedem Weibchen paaren. Das führt zu teilweise erbitterten Auseinandersetzungen unter den Männchen um das Paarungsvorrecht.
Nach einer rund 180-tägigen Tragzeit bringt das Weibchen meist ein einzelnes Jungtier zur Welt, das zunächst schwarz gefärbt ist. Mit rund einem Jahr werden die Jungen entwöhnt, mit drei bis fünf Jahren tritt die Geschlechtsreife ein. Das Höchstalter eines Tieres in menschlicher Obhut betrug 45 Jahre, in freier Wildbahn ist die Lebenserwartung deutlich geringer.
Bärenpaviane sind weit verbreitet und zählen nicht zu den bedrohten Tierarten. Manchmal gelten sie als Plage, da sie Plantagen verwüsten.
In Uitenhage war in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts ein Bärenpavian namens Jack Assistent eines körperbehinderten Streckenwärters.
(Wikipedia)
A large, (approx 20ft tall), gritstone tor on Eaglestone Flat above the village of Baslow. Tradition has it that young men of Baslow wanting to marry had to prove their fitness by climbing it.
The very last photo of the vacation - Cape Baboon
Das allerletzte Foto des Urlaubs - Bärenpavian
Golden Gate Highlands National Park is located in Free State, South Africa, near the Lesotho border. It covers an area of 340 km2 (130 sq mi). The park's most notable features are its golden, ochre, and orange-hued, deeply eroded sandstone cliffs and outcrops, especially the Brandwag rock. Another feature of the area is the numerous caves and shelters displaying San rock paintings. Wildlife featured at the park includes mongooses, eland, zebras, and over 100 bird species. It is the Free State's only national park, and is more famous for the beauty of its landscape than for its wildlife. Numerous paleontology finds have been made in the park, including dinosaur eggs and skeletons.
"Golden Gate" refers to the sandstone cliffs found on either side of the valley at the Golden Gate dam. In 1875, a farmer called J.N.R. van Reenen and his wife stopped here as they travelled to their new farm in Vuurland. He named the location "Golden Gate" when he saw the last rays of the setting sun fall on the cliffs.
In 1963, 47.92 km2 (11,840 acres) were proclaimed as a national park, specifically to preserve the scenic beauty of the area. In 1981, the park was enlarged to 62.41 km2 (15,420 acres), and in 1988, it was enlarged to 116.33 km2 (28,750 acres). In 2004, the park was announced to be joining with the neighbouring QwaQwa National Park. The amalgamation of QwaQwa National Park was completed in 2007, increasing the park's area to 340 km2 (84,000 acres).
The park is 320 km (200 mi) from Johannesburg and is close to the villages of Clarens and Kestell, in the upper regions of the Little Caledon River. The park is situated in the Rooiberge of the eastern Free State, in the foothills of the Maluti Mountains. The Caledon River forms the southern boundary of the park, as well as the border between the Free State and Lesotho. The highest peak in the park (and also in the Free State) is Ribbokkop at 2,829 m (9,281 ft) above sea level.
The park is located in the eastern highveld region of South Africa, and experiences a dry, sunny climate from June to August. It has showers, hail, and thunderstorms between October and April. It has thick snowfalls in the winter. The park has a relatively high rainfall of 800 mm (31 in) per year.
The park is an area of rich highveld and montane grassland flora. It has more than 60 grass species and a large variety of bulbs and herbs. Each of these species has its own flowering time, meaning that veld flowers can be seen throughout the summer. The park also has Afromontane forests and high-altitude Austro-Afro alpine grassland, which is scarce in South Africa. The ouhout (Leucosidea sericea), an evergreen species, is the most common tree in the park. Ouhout is a favourite habitat of beetles and 117 species occur on these trees in the park. The Lombardi poplars and weeping willows in the park are introduced species, but are kept because of their cultural and historic connection with the eastern Free State. Other exotic species in the park, for example wattle and bluegum, are systematically eradicated.
Instead of reintroducing one of the "big five" into the park, the sungazer lizard and water mongoose were reintroduced. Twelve species of mice, 10 species of carnivores, and 10 antelope species have been recorded in the park. The grey rhebuck and the mountain reedbuck were present when the park was established.
The geology of the park provides very visual "textbook" examples of Southern Africa's geological history. The sandstone formations in the park form the upper part of the Karoo Supergroup. These formations were deposited during a period of aeolian deposition towards the end of the Triassic Period. At the time of deposition, the climate of the area the park covers was becoming progressively drier until arid desert conditions set in, resulting in a land of dunes and sandy desert, with occasional scattered oases. The deposition of the sandstones ended when lava flowed out over the desert 190 million years ago.
The following sequence of geological formations is visible in the park (starting from the bottom): the Molteno Formation, Elliott Formation, Clarens Formation, and Drakensberg Formation. The yellow-brown Golden Gate and Brandwag cliffs are made up of the Clarens formation. The layers in this formation are 140 to 160 m (460 to 520 ft) thick. The Drakensberg formation comprises the basaltic lava that flowed over the desert. It forms the mountain summits in the park. On Ribbokkop, it is 600 m (2,000 ft) thick. The Elliot Formation is a red mudstone where many dinosaur fossils have been found.
The oldest dinosaur embryos ever discovered were found in the park in 1978. The eggs were from the Triassic Period (220 to 195 million years ago) and had fossilised foetal skeletons of Massospondylus, a prosauropod dinosaur. More examples of these eggs have since been found in the park. Other fossils found in the park include those of advanced cynodontia (canine toothed animals), small thecodontia (animals with teeth set firmly in the jaw), and bird-like and crocodile-like dinosaurs.
Accommodation in the park is available at Glen Reenen and Brandwag Rest camps. Caravan and camp sites with all amenities are available at Glen Reenen camp. The hotel was formerly part of Brandwag camp, but since its recent refurbishment, it is managed separately by SANParks as Golden Gate Hotel. The nearest town to Golden Gate Highlands National Park is Clarens (17 km to the west), but Phuthaditjhaba is also easily reached by a good tar road, driving through the access gate to the east of the park.
This park will be included into the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area, Peace Park.
(Wikipedia)
The chacma baboon (Papio ursinus), also known as the Cape baboon, is, like all other baboons, from the Old World monkey family. It is one of the largest of all monkeys. Located primarily in southern Africa, the chacma baboon has a wide variety of social behaviors, including a dominance hierarchy, collective foraging, adoption of young by females, and friendship pairings. These behaviors form parts of a complex evolutionary ecology. In general, the species is not threatened, but human population pressure has increased contact between humans and baboons. Hunting, accidents, and trapping kill or remove many baboons from the wild, thereby reducing baboon numbers and disrupting their social structure.
Due to hybridization between different baboon (Papio) populations across Africa, authors have occasionally grouped the entire radiation as a single species, the hamadryas baboon, Papio hamadryas. Arbitrary boundaries were then used to separate the populations into subspecies. Other authors considered the chacma baboon a subspecies of the yellow baboon, Papio cynocephalus, though it is now recognised as a separate species, Papio ursinus. The chacma baboon has two or three subspecies, depending on which classification is followed. Grubb et al. (2003) listed two subspecies,[4] while Groves (2005) in Mammal Species of the World listed three. This article follows Groves (2005) and describes three distinct subspecies. In the Grubb et al. (2003) paper, P. u. raucana was believed to be synonymous with P. u. ursinus.
Papio ursinus ursinus Kerr, 1792 – Cape chacma (found in southern South Africa)
P. ursinus griseipes Pocock, 1911 – Gray-footed chacma (found in northern South Africa to southern Zambia)
P. ursinus raucana Shortridge, 1942 – Ruacana chacma (found from Namibia to southern Angola, but not accepted by all authorities as distinct.
The chacma baboon is perhaps the longest species of monkey, with a male body length of 50–115 cm (20–45 in) and tail length of 45–84 cm (18–33 in). It also one of the heaviest; the male weighs from 21 to 45 kg (46 to 99 lb) with an average of 31.8 kg (70 lb). Baboons are sexually dimorphic, and females are considerably smaller than males. The female chacma weighs from 12 to 25 kg (26 to 55 lb), with an average of 15.4 kg (34 lb). It is similar in size to the olive baboon, averaging slightly higher in mean body mass, and of similar weight to the more compact mandrill, the males of which weigh on average about 1 kg (2.2 lb) more than a chacma baboon, the females weigh 3 kg (6.6 lb) less than the female chacma. While the mandrill is usually crowned the largest of all modern monkeys, going on total length and average (but not maximum) body weight between the sexes, the chacma baboon appears to be the largest extant monkey. The chacma baboon is generally dark brown to gray in color, with a patch of rough hair on the nape of its neck. Unlike the males of northern baboon species (the Guinea, hamadryas, and olive baboons), chacma males do not have a mane. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of this baboon is its long, downward-sloping face. The canine teeth of male chacma baboons have a mean length of 3.86 ± 0.30 cm (1.52 ± 0.12 in) at the time they emigrate from their natal troop. This is the time of greatest tooth length as the teeth tend to wear or be broken thereafter.
The three subspecies are differentiated by size and color. The Cape chacma is a large, heavy, dark-brown, and has black feet. The gray-footed chacma is slightly smaller than the Cape chacma, lighter in color and build, and has gray feet. The Ruacana chacma generally appears to be a smaller, less darkly colored version of the Cape chacma.
The chacma baboon inhabits a wide array of habitats including woodland, savanna, steppes, and subdesert, from the grassy alpine slopes of the Drakensberg to the Kalahari desert. During the night the chacma baboon needs hills, cliffs, or large trees in which to sleep. During the day water availability may limit its range in arid areas. It is found in southern Africa, ranging from South Africa north to Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique. The subspecies are divided across this range. The Cape chacma is found in southern South Africa; the gray-footed chacma, is present from northern South Africa, through the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique (south of the Zambezi), to southwest Zambia; and the Ruacana chacma is found in northern Namibia and southern Angola.
The chacma baboon is omnivorous with a preference for fruits, while also eating insects, seeds, grass, smaller vertebrate animals, and fungi (the desert truffle Kalaharituber pfeilii); at the Cape of Good Hope in particular, it is also known for taking shellfish and other marine invertebrates. It is generally a scavenger when it comes to game meat, and rarely engages in hunting large animals. One incident of a chacma baboon killing a human infant has been reported, but the event is so rare, the locals believed it was due to witchcraft. Normally, chacma baboons will flee at the approach of humans, though this is changing due to the easy availability of food near human dwellings.
The chacma baboon usually lives in social groups, called troops, which are composed of multiple adult males, adult females, and their offspring. Occasionally, however, very small groups form that consist of only a single adult male and several adult females. Chacma troops are characterized by a dominance hierarchy. Female ranking within the troop is inherited through the mother and remains relatively fixed, while male ranking is often in flux, especially when the dominant male is replaced. Chacmas are unusual among baboons in that neither males nor females form strong relationships with members of the same sex. Instead, the strongest social bonds are often between unrelated adult males and females. Infanticide is also common compared to other baboon species, as newly dominant males will often attempt to kill young baboons sired by the previously dominant male. Baboon troops possess a complex group behavior and communicate by means of body attitudes, facial expressions, vocalizations and touch.
The chacma baboon often sleeps in large groups on cliffs or in trees at night to avoid predators. The morning dispersal from the sleeping site is synchronized, with all members leaving at the same time. In most cases, dispersal is initiated by a single individual, and the other members of the group decide whether or not to follow. At least five followers must be recruited for a successful dispersal initiation, and not all initiation attempts are successful. Surprisingly, the initiator's dominance status shows little correlation with successful initiation of departure; more-dominant individuals are no more likely to lead a successful departure than subordinate individuals. One study has shown that while the success rate of dispersal initiation attempts is relatively constant across all sexes, male are more likely to attempt initiation than females, and lactating females are less likely to attempt initiation than females without dependent offspring. A separate study has achieved slightly different results. While dominance hierarchy does not play a significant role in initiating the morning dispersal, social affiliation does. Chacma baboons that play a more central role in the group (as measured by grooming behavior and time spent with other members) are more likely to be followed during the morning dispersal. This study concluded that group members are more likely to follow the behavior of individuals with which they are closely affiliated.
Dominance does play a role in group foraging decisions. A dominant individual (usually the alpha male) leads the group to easily monopolized resources. The group usually follows, even though many subordinate members cannot gain access to that particular resource. As in morning dispersal, the inclination of group members to follow the leader is positively associated with social interactions with that dominant individual.
Collective foraging behavior, with many individuals taking advantage of the same resource at once, has also been observed. However, this behavior can be chiefly attributed to shared dietary needs rather than social affiliation. Pregnant females, who share similar dietary needs, are more likely to synchronize their behavior than fertile females. Foraging synchronization decreases in areas with lower food density.
Adoption behavior has been observed in chacma baboons. Orphaned baboons whose mothers have disappeared or died are often too small to care for themselves. In one study of nine natural orphans and three introduced orphans, all but one orphan were adopted by another member of the group. The individual that was not adopted was 16 months old, four months older than the next oldest orphan, and was old enough to survive on its own. Adoption behavior includes sleeping close to the orphaned infant, grooming and carrying the orphan, and protecting it from harassment by other members of the troop. Both males and females care for infants, and care does not depend on the infant's sex. Additionally, all caregivers are prereproductive, only four or five years of age. The two major theories explaining this behavior are kin selection, in which caregivers take care of potentially related orphans, and parental practice, in which young caregivers increase their own fitness by using an orphan to practice their own parental skills.
Males and female chacma baboons often form relationships referred to as "friendships". These cooperative relationships generally occur between lactating females and adult males. The females are believed to seek out male friendships to gain protection from infanticide. In many baboon species, immigrant alpha males often practice infanticide upon arrival in a new troop. By killing unrelated infants, the new male shortens the time until he can mate with the females of the troop. A female with dependent offspring generally does not become sexually receptive until she weans her offspring at around 12 months of age. However, a mother usually becomes sexually receptive shortly after the death of her offspring.
This protection hypothesis is supported by studies of stress hormones in female baboons during changes in the male hierarchy. When an immigrant male ascends to the top of the male dominance hierarchy, stress hormones in lactating and pregnant females increases, while stress hormones in females not at risk of infanticide stay the same. Additionally, females in friendships with males exhibit a smaller rise in stress hormones than do females without male friends.
The benefits of friendship to males are less clear. A male is more likely to enter into friendships with females with which he has mated, which indicates males might enter into friendships to protect their own offspring and not just to protect that female's future reproductive success. These friendships may play a role in the mating system of chacma baboons. A female will often mate with several males, which increases the number of potential fathers for her offspring and increases the chances she will be able to find at least one friend to protect her infants.
Female chacma baboons have been observed to compete with each other for male friends. This may be the result of one male having a high probability of paternity with multiple females. These competitions are heavily influenced by the female dominance hierarchy, with dominant females displacing subordinate females in friendships with males. Generally, when a more-dominant female attempts to make friends with an individual which is already the friend of a subordinate female, the subordinate female reduces grooming and spatial proximity to that male, potentially leaving her offspring at higher risk of infanticide.
The chacma baboon is widespread and does not rank among threatened animal species. However, in some confined locations, such as South Africa's Southern Cape Peninsula, local populations are dwindling due to habitat loss and predation from other protected species, such as leopards and lions. Some troops have become a suburban menace, overturning trash cans and entering houses in their search for food. These troops can be aggressive and dangerous, and such negative encounters have resulted in hunting by frustrated local residents. This isolated population is thought to face extinction within 10 years.
The chacma is listed under Appendix II of CITES as it occurs in many protected areas across its range. The only area in South Africa where they are monitored is in the Cape Peninsula, where they are protected.
Observations by those working hands-on in South Africa's rehabilitation centers have found this species is damaged by human intervention; troop structures are influenced, and over the years a significant loss in numbers has occurred. Because they live near human habitats, baboons are shot, poisoned, electrocuted, run over, and captured for the pet industry, research laboratories and muthi (medicine).[32] Despite this, assessors working for the IUCN believe there are no major threats that could result in a range-wide decline of the species.
(Wikipedia)
Der Golden-Gate-Highlands-Nationalpark (englisch Golden Gate Highlands National Park) liegt in Südafrika, im Südosten des Freistaates nahe der Grenze zu Lesotho, und zeichnet sich besonders durch seine malerischen Felslandschaften aus. Orange oder ocker gefärbte Sandsteinfelsen ragen über das bergige Grasland auf. Außerdem gibt es Felsmalereien der San.
Der nördliche Eingang zum Park liegt bei dem Künstlerdorf Clarens.
(Wikipedia)
Der Bärenpavian oder Tschakma (Papio ursinus) ist eine Primatenart aus der Gattung der Paviane innerhalb der Familie der Meerkatzenverwandten (Cercopithecidae). Er lebt im südlichen Afrika.
Mit einer Kopfrumpflänge von bis zu 115 Zentimetern, wozu noch ein bis zu 71 Zentimeter langer Schwanz kommt, und einem Gewicht von 15 bis 31 Kilogramm bilden sie die größte und schwerste Pavianart. Ihr Fell ist an der Oberseite dunkelbraun oder grau gefärbt, die Unterseite ist heller, die Hände und Füße sind meist schwarz. Die langgezogene, unbehaarte Schnauze ist dunkelviolett oder schwarz gefärbt, ebenso die Sitzschwielen. Die Fellfärbung und die Größe sind nach Region variabel, so gibt es eine Population mit grauen Pfoten; besonders kleine Exemplare kommen zum Beispiel in der Kalahari vor.
Die Männchen sind deutlich größer und schwerer als die Weibchen und haben auch längere Eckzähne, im Gegensatz zu den übrigen Pavianarten fehlt ihnen aber die Mähne an den Schultern und am vorderen Rücken.
Bärenpaviane leben im südlichen Afrika, genauer in Angola, Botswana, Mosambik, Namibia, Südafrika und Sambia. Sie bewohnen sowohl Steppen und Savannen als auch offene Waldgebiete, sind jedoch auf das Vorhandensein von Wasser angewiesen.
Wie alle Paviane leben sie in Gruppen, meistens in gemischten Gruppen, in manchen Regionen (zum Beispiel im gebirgigen Südafrika) dominieren jedoch die Einmännchengruppen (siehe Gruppenverhalten der Paviane). Die Bärenpaviane zeigen ein komplexes Gruppenverhalten und kommunizieren mittels Körperhaltungen, Gesichtsausdrücken, Lauten und durch Körperkontakte. Bärenpaviane sind Allesfresser; sie haben eine Vorliebe für Früchte, nehmen jedoch auch Blätter, Insekten, Samen und kleinere Wirbeltiere zu sich.
Die Fortpflanzung kann das ganze Jahr über erfolgen, die Weibchen weisen während der fruchtbaren Phase eine ausgeprägte Regelschwellung auf. Innerhalb der gemischten Gruppen kann sich prinzipiell jedes Männchen mit jedem Weibchen paaren. Das führt zu teilweise erbitterten Auseinandersetzungen unter den Männchen um das Paarungsvorrecht.
Nach einer rund 180-tägigen Tragzeit bringt das Weibchen meist ein einzelnes Jungtier zur Welt, das zunächst schwarz gefärbt ist. Mit rund einem Jahr werden die Jungen entwöhnt, mit drei bis fünf Jahren tritt die Geschlechtsreife ein. Das Höchstalter eines Tieres in menschlicher Obhut betrug 45 Jahre, in freier Wildbahn ist die Lebenserwartung deutlich geringer.
Bärenpaviane sind weit verbreitet und zählen nicht zu den bedrohten Tierarten. Manchmal gelten sie als Plage, da sie Plantagen verwüsten.
In Uitenhage war in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts ein Bärenpavian namens Jack Assistent eines körperbehinderten Streckenwärters.
(Wikipedia)
Another scanned slide from the archives, but where and when I took this shot of Duple bodied Bedford SB3 type WLO 685 is a mystery.
It is possible I was on an enthusiasts trip and that the location is the yard of Cambridgeshire based Kenzie's Coaches of Shepreth. WLO 685 was new to Currie of Bexleyheath in 1959, but although I think we see it still wearing a previous livery, at the time I took this view it was almost certainly with Kenzie’s. Today this fine vehicle can be found working for Spratts Coaches of Wreningham having been lovingly restored to full fitness by Jon & Lyn Moore who operated it under the Sidelines name.
So if anyone can give me an exact date, confirm the location and/or fill in the gaps it will be much appreciated.
Cape Baboons in the Upper Thendele Camp
Bärenpaviane im Upper Thendele Camp
(Wikipedia)
The chacma baboon (Papio ursinus), also known as the Cape baboon, is, like all other baboons, from the Old World monkey family. It is one of the largest of all monkeys. Located primarily in southern Africa, the chacma baboon has a wide variety of social behaviors, including a dominance hierarchy, collective foraging, adoption of young by females, and friendship pairings. These behaviors form parts of a complex evolutionary ecology. In general, the species is not threatened, but human population pressure has increased contact between humans and baboons. Hunting, accidents, and trapping kill or remove many baboons from the wild, thereby reducing baboon numbers and disrupting their social structure.
Due to hybridization between different baboon (Papio) populations across Africa, authors have occasionally grouped the entire radiation as a single species, the hamadryas baboon, Papio hamadryas. Arbitrary boundaries were then used to separate the populations into subspecies. Other authors considered the chacma baboon a subspecies of the yellow baboon, Papio cynocephalus, though it is now recognised as a separate species, Papio ursinus. The chacma baboon has two or three subspecies, depending on which classification is followed. Grubb et al. (2003) listed two subspecies,[4] while Groves (2005) in Mammal Species of the World listed three. This article follows Groves (2005) and describes three distinct subspecies. In the Grubb et al. (2003) paper, P. u. raucana was believed to be synonymous with P. u. ursinus.
Papio ursinus ursinus Kerr, 1792 – Cape chacma (found in southern South Africa)
P. ursinus griseipes Pocock, 1911 – Gray-footed chacma (found in northern South Africa to southern Zambia)
P. ursinus raucana Shortridge, 1942 – Ruacana chacma (found from Namibia to southern Angola, but not accepted by all authorities as distinct.
The chacma baboon is perhaps the longest species of monkey, with a male body length of 50–115 cm (20–45 in) and tail length of 45–84 cm (18–33 in). It also one of the heaviest; the male weighs from 21 to 45 kg (46 to 99 lb) with an average of 31.8 kg (70 lb). Baboons are sexually dimorphic, and females are considerably smaller than males. The female chacma weighs from 12 to 25 kg (26 to 55 lb), with an average of 15.4 kg (34 lb). It is similar in size to the olive baboon, averaging slightly higher in mean body mass, and of similar weight to the more compact mandrill, the males of which weigh on average about 1 kg (2.2 lb) more than a chacma baboon, the females weigh 3 kg (6.6 lb) less than the female chacma. While the mandrill is usually crowned the largest of all modern monkeys, going on total length and average (but not maximum) body weight between the sexes, the chacma baboon appears to be the largest extant monkey. The chacma baboon is generally dark brown to gray in color, with a patch of rough hair on the nape of its neck. Unlike the males of northern baboon species (the Guinea, hamadryas, and olive baboons), chacma males do not have a mane. Perhaps the most distinctive feature of this baboon is its long, downward-sloping face. The canine teeth of male chacma baboons have a mean length of 3.86 ± 0.30 cm (1.52 ± 0.12 in) at the time they emigrate from their natal troop. This is the time of greatest tooth length as the teeth tend to wear or be broken thereafter.
The three subspecies are differentiated by size and color. The Cape chacma is a large, heavy, dark-brown, and has black feet. The gray-footed chacma is slightly smaller than the Cape chacma, lighter in color and build, and has gray feet. The Ruacana chacma generally appears to be a smaller, less darkly colored version of the Cape chacma.
The chacma baboon inhabits a wide array of habitats including woodland, savanna, steppes, and subdesert, from the grassy alpine slopes of the Drakensberg to the Kalahari desert. During the night the chacma baboon needs hills, cliffs, or large trees in which to sleep. During the day water availability may limit its range in arid areas. It is found in southern Africa, ranging from South Africa north to Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique. The subspecies are divided across this range. The Cape chacma is found in southern South Africa; the gray-footed chacma, is present from northern South Africa, through the Okavango Delta in Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique (south of the Zambezi), to southwest Zambia; and the Ruacana chacma is found in northern Namibia and southern Angola.
The chacma baboon is omnivorous with a preference for fruits, while also eating insects, seeds, grass, smaller vertebrate animals, and fungi (the desert truffle Kalaharituber pfeilii); at the Cape of Good Hope in particular, it is also known for taking shellfish and other marine invertebrates. It is generally a scavenger when it comes to game meat, and rarely engages in hunting large animals. One incident of a chacma baboon killing a human infant has been reported, but the event is so rare, the locals believed it was due to witchcraft. Normally, chacma baboons will flee at the approach of humans, though this is changing due to the easy availability of food near human dwellings.
The chacma baboon usually lives in social groups, called troops, which are composed of multiple adult males, adult females, and their offspring. Occasionally, however, very small groups form that consist of only a single adult male and several adult females. Chacma troops are characterized by a dominance hierarchy. Female ranking within the troop is inherited through the mother and remains relatively fixed, while male ranking is often in flux, especially when the dominant male is replaced. Chacmas are unusual among baboons in that neither males nor females form strong relationships with members of the same sex. Instead, the strongest social bonds are often between unrelated adult males and females. Infanticide is also common compared to other baboon species, as newly dominant males will often attempt to kill young baboons sired by the previously dominant male. Baboon troops possess a complex group behavior and communicate by means of body attitudes, facial expressions, vocalizations and touch.
The chacma baboon often sleeps in large groups on cliffs or in trees at night to avoid predators. The morning dispersal from the sleeping site is synchronized, with all members leaving at the same time. In most cases, dispersal is initiated by a single individual, and the other members of the group decide whether or not to follow. At least five followers must be recruited for a successful dispersal initiation, and not all initiation attempts are successful. Surprisingly, the initiator's dominance status shows little correlation with successful initiation of departure; more-dominant individuals are no more likely to lead a successful departure than subordinate individuals. One study has shown that while the success rate of dispersal initiation attempts is relatively constant across all sexes, male are more likely to attempt initiation than females, and lactating females are less likely to attempt initiation than females without dependent offspring. A separate study has achieved slightly different results. While dominance hierarchy does not play a significant role in initiating the morning dispersal, social affiliation does. Chacma baboons that play a more central role in the group (as measured by grooming behavior and time spent with other members) are more likely to be followed during the morning dispersal. This study concluded that group members are more likely to follow the behavior of individuals with which they are closely affiliated.
Dominance does play a role in group foraging decisions. A dominant individual (usually the alpha male) leads the group to easily monopolized resources. The group usually follows, even though many subordinate members cannot gain access to that particular resource. As in morning dispersal, the inclination of group members to follow the leader is positively associated with social interactions with that dominant individual.
Collective foraging behavior, with many individuals taking advantage of the same resource at once, has also been observed. However, this behavior can be chiefly attributed to shared dietary needs rather than social affiliation. Pregnant females, who share similar dietary needs, are more likely to synchronize their behavior than fertile females. Foraging synchronization decreases in areas with lower food density.
Adoption behavior has been observed in chacma baboons. Orphaned baboons whose mothers have disappeared or died are often too small to care for themselves. In one study of nine natural orphans and three introduced orphans, all but one orphan were adopted by another member of the group. The individual that was not adopted was 16 months old, four months older than the next oldest orphan, and was old enough to survive on its own. Adoption behavior includes sleeping close to the orphaned infant, grooming and carrying the orphan, and protecting it from harassment by other members of the troop. Both males and females care for infants, and care does not depend on the infant's sex. Additionally, all caregivers are prereproductive, only four or five years of age. The two major theories explaining this behavior are kin selection, in which caregivers take care of potentially related orphans, and parental practice, in which young caregivers increase their own fitness by using an orphan to practice their own parental skills.
Males and female chacma baboons often form relationships referred to as "friendships". These cooperative relationships generally occur between lactating females and adult males. The females are believed to seek out male friendships to gain protection from infanticide. In many baboon species, immigrant alpha males often practice infanticide upon arrival in a new troop. By killing unrelated infants, the new male shortens the time until he can mate with the females of the troop. A female with dependent offspring generally does not become sexually receptive until she weans her offspring at around 12 months of age. However, a mother usually becomes sexually receptive shortly after the death of her offspring.
This protection hypothesis is supported by studies of stress hormones in female baboons during changes in the male hierarchy. When an immigrant male ascends to the top of the male dominance hierarchy, stress hormones in lactating and pregnant females increases, while stress hormones in females not at risk of infanticide stay the same. Additionally, females in friendships with males exhibit a smaller rise in stress hormones than do females without male friends.
The benefits of friendship to males are less clear. A male is more likely to enter into friendships with females with which he has mated, which indicates males might enter into friendships to protect their own offspring and not just to protect that female's future reproductive success. These friendships may play a role in the mating system of chacma baboons. A female will often mate with several males, which increases the number of potential fathers for her offspring and increases the chances she will be able to find at least one friend to protect her infants.
Female chacma baboons have been observed to compete with each other for male friends. This may be the result of one male having a high probability of paternity with multiple females. These competitions are heavily influenced by the female dominance hierarchy, with dominant females displacing subordinate females in friendships with males. Generally, when a more-dominant female attempts to make friends with an individual which is already the friend of a subordinate female, the subordinate female reduces grooming and spatial proximity to that male, potentially leaving her offspring at higher risk of infanticide.
The chacma baboon is widespread and does not rank among threatened animal species. However, in some confined locations, such as South Africa's Southern Cape Peninsula, local populations are dwindling due to habitat loss and predation from other protected species, such as leopards and lions. Some troops have become a suburban menace, overturning trash cans and entering houses in their search for food. These troops can be aggressive and dangerous, and such negative encounters have resulted in hunting by frustrated local residents. This isolated population is thought to face extinction within 10 years.
The chacma is listed under Appendix II of CITES as it occurs in many protected areas across its range. The only area in South Africa where they are monitored is in the Cape Peninsula, where they are protected.
Observations by those working hands-on in South Africa's rehabilitation centers have found this species is damaged by human intervention; troop structures are influenced, and over the years a significant loss in numbers has occurred. Because they live near human habitats, baboons are shot, poisoned, electrocuted, run over, and captured for the pet industry, research laboratories and muthi (medicine).[32] Despite this, assessors working for the IUCN believe there are no major threats that could result in a range-wide decline of the species.
(Wikipedia)
Der Bärenpavian oder Tschakma (Papio ursinus) ist eine Primatenart aus der Gattung der Paviane innerhalb der Familie der Meerkatzenverwandten (Cercopithecidae). Er lebt im südlichen Afrika.
Mit einer Kopfrumpflänge von bis zu 115 Zentimetern, wozu noch ein bis zu 71 Zentimeter langer Schwanz kommt, und einem Gewicht von 15 bis 31 Kilogramm bilden sie die größte und schwerste Pavianart. Ihr Fell ist an der Oberseite dunkelbraun oder grau gefärbt, die Unterseite ist heller, die Hände und Füße sind meist schwarz. Die langgezogene, unbehaarte Schnauze ist dunkelviolett oder schwarz gefärbt, ebenso die Sitzschwielen. Die Fellfärbung und die Größe sind nach Region variabel, so gibt es eine Population mit grauen Pfoten; besonders kleine Exemplare kommen zum Beispiel in der Kalahari vor.
Die Männchen sind deutlich größer und schwerer als die Weibchen und haben auch längere Eckzähne, im Gegensatz zu den übrigen Pavianarten fehlt ihnen aber die Mähne an den Schultern und am vorderen Rücken.
Bärenpaviane leben im südlichen Afrika, genauer in Angola, Botswana, Mosambik, Namibia, Südafrika und Sambia. Sie bewohnen sowohl Steppen und Savannen als auch offene Waldgebiete, sind jedoch auf das Vorhandensein von Wasser angewiesen.
Wie alle Paviane leben sie in Gruppen, meistens in gemischten Gruppen, in manchen Regionen (zum Beispiel im gebirgigen Südafrika) dominieren jedoch die Einmännchengruppen (siehe Gruppenverhalten der Paviane). Die Bärenpaviane zeigen ein komplexes Gruppenverhalten und kommunizieren mittels Körperhaltungen, Gesichtsausdrücken, Lauten und durch Körperkontakte. Bärenpaviane sind Allesfresser; sie haben eine Vorliebe für Früchte, nehmen jedoch auch Blätter, Insekten, Samen und kleinere Wirbeltiere zu sich.
Die Fortpflanzung kann das ganze Jahr über erfolgen, die Weibchen weisen während der fruchtbaren Phase eine ausgeprägte Regelschwellung auf. Innerhalb der gemischten Gruppen kann sich prinzipiell jedes Männchen mit jedem Weibchen paaren. Das führt zu teilweise erbitterten Auseinandersetzungen unter den Männchen um das Paarungsvorrecht.
Nach einer rund 180-tägigen Tragzeit bringt das Weibchen meist ein einzelnes Jungtier zur Welt, das zunächst schwarz gefärbt ist. Mit rund einem Jahr werden die Jungen entwöhnt, mit drei bis fünf Jahren tritt die Geschlechtsreife ein. Das Höchstalter eines Tieres in menschlicher Obhut betrug 45 Jahre, in freier Wildbahn ist die Lebenserwartung deutlich geringer.
Bärenpaviane sind weit verbreitet und zählen nicht zu den bedrohten Tierarten. Manchmal gelten sie als Plage, da sie Plantagen verwüsten.
In Uitenhage war in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jahrhunderts ein Bärenpavian namens Jack Assistent eines körperbehinderten Streckenwärters.
(Wikipedia)
Originally Zayre, then Ames.
Closed 2019. Space is prepped to be split between Hobby Lobby and Planet Fitness by 2020.
Saymasky FC (Sultanate of Oman). Team Color: Blue and red. Captain: Shaikhan Hamed. Players: Omani. Saymasky Football Team was established in 2006 in the Sultanate of Oman in Muscat. We are a group of family enjoying playing football together. Our vision is to improve our player’s skills and fitness by training, participating in some tournaments and setting up some matches. It is run by honory board and funded by team members whose majority are players. We are proud to join the Phuket International Soccer 7s for the second year! www.Thai7s.com/blog (Photo @Soccer7s)
Место отправки - Ковров - maps.google.com/?q=56.3667,41.3333&z=16 от vaapovtimur оригинал - www.instagram.com/p/-yECIfQ-Iz/
✰ This photo was featured on The Epic Global Showcase here: bit.ly/1VB5Gie ------------- By @stephen_kruse 💗 Check out METTA-MATS.COM to find more of his beautiful work on a yoga mat ✨ #painting #drawing #mechanic #engineering #lotus #geometry #sacredgeometry #yoga #yogaeverydamnday #meditation #vinyasa #ashtanga #kundalini #yogamat #psychedelic #psychedelicart #psychonaut #art #iyengar #jivamukti #fitness by @metta_mats on Instagram.
The equivalent of albinism in animals, erythrism results from the inheritance of two recessive genes for the absence of pigmentation. Normally the katydid colour palette runs the gamut of greens, browns and yellows, colours which keep them camouflaged and aid in their survival. Although it has been hypothesized that pink coloration may increase survival rates amongst red vegetation it is much more likely that the genetic anomaly decreases fitness by increasing the insect's visibility to predators. Therefore it is likely that most individuals with this condition don't survive long and rarely make it to adulthood, which made this discovery all the more noteworthy. Found during a night hike in Vohimana reserve, Madagascar.
Originally Zayre, then Ames.
Closed 2019. Space is prepped to be split between Hobby Lobby and Planet Fitness by 2020.
Cadet Serena Dingman, University of Texas at San Antonio, receives the Reserve Organization Of America Award at the 1st Regiment, Basic Camp graduation, Fort Knox, Ky., July 27, 2022. Cadets earn this award for demonstrating the best reflection of the characteristics of comprehensive Soldier and family fitness by demonstrating resilience and the lifelong pursuit of enhanced performance to cope with adversity, and best perform in stressful situations, and thrive in life. | Photo by Sgt. Ashleigh Maxwell, CST Public Affairs Office
Originally Zayre, then Ames.
Closed 2019. Space is prepped to be split between Hobby Lobby and Planet Fitness by 2020.
The Walt Disney World Resort, informally known as Walt Disney World or simply Disney World, is an entertainment complex in Bay Lake, Florida (mailing address is Lake Buena Vista, Florida), near Orlando, Florida and is the flagship of Disney's worldwide theme park empire. The resort opened on October 1, 1971 and, according to Forbes, is the most visited vacation resort in the world, with an attendance of 52.5 million annually. It is owned and operated by Walt Disney Parks and Resorts, a division of The Walt Disney Company. The property covers 27,258 acres (11,031 ha; 43 sq mi), in which it houses 27 themed resort hotels, four theme parks, two water parks, four golf courses, one camping resort, one residential area and additional recreational and entertainment venues. Magic Kingdom was the first and original theme park to open in the complex followed by Epcot, Disney's Hollywood Studios, and Disney's Animal Kingdom which opened later throughout the 1980s and 1990s.
Designed to supplement Disneyland in Anaheim, California, which had opened in 1955, the complex was developed by Walt Disney in the 1960s, though he died in 1966 before construction on "The Florida Project" began. After extensive lobbying, the Government of Florida created the Reedy Creek Improvement District, a special government district that essentially gave The Walt Disney Company the standard powers and autonomy of an incorporated city. Original plans called for the inclusion of an "Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow", a planned city that would serve as a test bed for new innovations for city living.
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Hilton Grand Vacations Club at Tuscany Village
8122 Arrezzo Way, Orlando, Florida - Central Florida
Inspired by the beauty and ambiance of Tuscany, this distinguished resort in the heart of Orlando provides easy access to the region’s top attractions. Here, a grand piazza opens up to a Clubhouse, lakefront walking path and dazzling swimming pools and water features. Within minutes of Walt Disney World® Resort and adjacent to the Orlando Premium Outlets, Hilton Grand Vacations Club at Tuscany Village treats guests to extraordinary amenities and an ideal setting for fun and relaxation. Enjoy the region’s abundant venues for entertainment, golf, shopping and dining before retreating to the elegant Mediterranean theme of this spectacular Orlando resort.
ACCOMMODATIONS
◾ Cozy studios, and spacious 1, 2 and 3 bedroom suites with screened balconies
◾ Each suite features fully equipped kitchen, washer and dryer
◾ Whirlpool jet tub in suite master bath
◾ Complimentary high-speed, wireless Internet access
◾ FEATURES AVAILABLE:
◾ • Accessible Areas:
◾ o Registration Desk
◾ o Parking Spaces
◾ o Van Accessible Parking
◾ o Swimming Pool
◾ o Business Center
◾ • Accessible Route from Entrance:
◾ o None
◾ • Accessible Guest room has 32” entry or passage doors
◾ • Accessible Transportation
◾ • TTY for guest use
◾ • Assistance listening devices for meetings
◾ • Closed captioning for in-room televisions
◾ FEATURES NOT AVAILABLE:
◾ • Accessible Areas:
◾ o Public Entrance
◾ o Concierge Desk
◾ o Restaurant
◾ o Exercise Facility
◾ • Accessible Route from Entrance:
◾ o Registration area
◾ o Guest room
◾ o Restaurant
◾ o Meeting space|ballroom
◾ o Exercise facilities
◾ o Swimming pool
◾ o Business center
◾ FEATURES NOT APPLICABLE:
◾ • Valet Only
◾ • Spa
RESORT FEATURES
◾ Fresco Market & Deli, Toscana Pool Bar & Grill and Fresh Tuscan Pizza
◾ 2 heated swimming pools, interactive children’s water feature and 3 whirlpool spas
◾ Computer Lounge
◾ Recreation programs for all ages
◾ Hilton Fitness by Precor
◾ FEATURES AVAILABLE: Accessible Areas- Registration Desk, Parking Spaces, Van Accessible Parking, Swimming Pool, Business Center.
◾ Accessible Route from Entrance- None.
◾ Accessible Guest room has 32” entry or passage doors.
◾ Accessible Transportation.
◾ TTY for guest use.
◾ Assistance listening devices for meetings.
◾ FEATURES NOT AVAILABLE: Accessible Areas- Public Entrance, Concierge Desk, Restaurant, Exercise Facility.
◾ Accessible Route from Entrance- Registration area, Guest room, Restaurant, meeting space / ballroom, exercise facilities, swimming pool, business center.
◾ Closed captioning for in room televisions.
◾ FEATURES NOT APPLICABLE: Valet Only, Spa.
ADDITIONAL INFO
Check In: 4 p.m.
Check Out: 10 a.m.
Phone: 407-465-2600
for more:http://www.hiltongrandvacations.com/Resorts.aspx#details/index&resortId=48&backFunctionality=0
www.wearandcheer.com/the-worst-fitness-trends-of-all-time/
A fit figure is always attractive and stylish, but people want easy ways to remaining fit always. While worst fitness trends come and go, the continual supply of infomercials and fitness craze is meant for one reason to slim down your wallet. Here I am going to let you know the worst fitness ...
by Farida Sarwar on Wear and Cheer - Fashion, Lifestyle, Cooking and Celebrities - Visit Now www.wearandcheer.com/the-worst-fitness-trends-of-all-time/
You must like it and share it with your friends.
By Peter Watts. Just finished this great book. Somehow, each and every time I read sf, I realise I should have started on this genre much, much early on, instead of reading "classic literature". Sigh. This book was filled with so many mind-blowing ideas and so much new information. ["Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you mad". That line by Aldous Huxley is my favorite. It was also fun to read about the Deinococcus bacteria and the Chinese Room argument. ] Book is under a CC license available here: www.rifters.com/real/Blindsight.htm.
[Edit May, 2022] just stumbled across this amazing short video, I couldn't have imagined it any better! vimeo.com/467342474
Some parts I liked n noted down:
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"This is what fascinates me most in existence: the peculiar necessity of imagining what is, in fact, real."
The new Millennium changed all that. We've surpassed ourselves now, we're exploring terrain beyond the limits of merely human understanding. Sometimes its contours, even in conventional space, are just too intricate for our brains to track; other times its very axes extend into dimensions inconceivable to minds built to fuck and fight on some prehistoric grassland. So many things constrain us, from so many directions. The most altruistic and sustainable philosophies fail before the brute brain-stem imperative of self-interest. Subtle and elegant equations predict the behavior of the quantum world, but none can explain it. After four thousand years we can't even prove that reality exists beyond the mind of the first-person dreamer.
"He never uses the past tense," I murmered.
"Huh? Oh, that." Pag nodded. "They never experience the past tense. It's just another thread to them. They don't remember stuff, they relive it."
If the unknown was hostile, we were probably doomed no matter what we did. The Unknown was technologically advanced—and there were some who claimed that that made them hostile by definition. Technology Implies Belligerence, they said.
What is Human history, if not an ongoing succession of greater technologies grinding lesser ones beneath their boots? But the subject wasn't merely Human history, or the unfair advantage that tools gave to any given side; the oppressed snatch up advanced weaponry as readily as the oppressor, given half a chance. No, the real issue was how those tools got there in the first place. The real issue was what tools are for.
"Thing about game theory is, it assumes rational self-interest among the players. And people just aren't rational."
"The glass ceiling is in you. The glass ceiling is conscience."
"But they don't know about us, not in advance. Dandelion seed doesn't know what it's up against before it sprouts. Maybe nothing. Maybe some spastic weed that goes over like straw in the wind. Or maybe something that kicks its ass halfway to the Magellanic Clouds. It doesn't know, and there's no such thing as a one-size-fits-all survival strategy. Something that aces against one player blows goats against a different one. So the best you can do is mix up your strategies based on the odds. It's a weighted dice roll and it gives you the best mean payoff over the whole game, but you're bound to crap out and choose the wrong strategy at least some of the time. Price of doing business. And that means— that means—that weak players not only can win against stronger ones, but they're statistically bound to in some cases."
"We all come into the story halfway through, we all catch up as best we can, and we're all gonna die before it ends."
"Can you think of any reason why something with such different needs would attack us?"
"That depends," she said, "on whether the fact that we are different is reason enough."
I saw playground battlefields reflected in her topology. I remembered my own, and wondered if there were any other kind.
Then again, that only proved the point. Humans didn't really fight over skin tone or ideology; those were just handy cues for kin-selection purposes. Ultimately it always came down to bloodlines and limited resources.
...she hated him because he hadn't had the good grace to grow unnecessary?
As far as Earth was concerned, everyone on Theseus was an alter.
"Believe it or not, Cyggers, people sometimes choose to ignore even good memories. Like, say, if they enjoyed something they didn't think they should. Or—" she kissed my forehead— "if they don't think they deserve to be happy."
"You're saying the brain's got some kind of existence gauge?"
"Brain's got all kinds of gauges. You can know you're blind even when you're not; you can know you can see, even when you're blind. And yeah, you can know you don't exist even when you do. It's a long list, commissar. Cotard's, Anton's, Damascus Disease. Just for starters."
No matter that the four who'd died had been guilty of multiple counts of rape, torture, and homicide; that's just what people did in wartime. It's what they'd always done. There was nothing polite about war, no honorable code beyond the chain of command and the circling of wagons. Deal with indiscretions if you must; punish the guilty if you have to, for appearance if nothing else. But for God's sake close the doors first. Never give your enemy the satisfaction of seeing discord in the ranks, show them nothing but unity and flinty-eyed resolve. There may be murderers and rapists in our midst, but by God they're our murderers and rapists.
There was more, a whole catalog of finely-tuned dysfunctions that Rorschach had not yet inflicted on us. Somnambulism. Agnosias. Hemineglect. ConSensus served up a freak show to make any mind reel at its own fragility: a woman dying of thirst within easy reach of water, not because she couldn't see the faucet but because she couldn't recognize it. A man for whom the left side of the universe did not exist, who could neither perceive nor conceive of the left side of his body, of a room, of a line of text. A man for whom the very concept of leftness had become literally unthinkable.
Sometimes we could conceive of things and still not see them, although they stood right before us. Skyscrapers appeared out of thin air, the person talking to us changed into someone else during a momentary distraction— and we didn't notice. It wasn't magic. It was barely even misdirection. They called it inattentional blindness, and it had been well-known for a century or more: a tendency for the eye to simply not notice things that evolutionary experience classed as unlikely.
Some of the simpler tics make it through: Sascha's good-natured belligerence, Sarasti's aversion to the past tense. Cunningham lost most of his gender pronouns to an unforeseen glitch during the work on his temporal lobe. But it went beyond that. The whole lot of them threw English and Hindi and Hadzane into every second sentence; no real scientist would allow their thoughts to be hamstrung by the conceptual limitations of a single language. Other times they acted almost as synthesists in their own right, conversing in grunts and gestures that would be meaningless to any baseline. It's not so much that the bleeding edge lacks social skills; it's just that once you get past a certain point, formal speech is too damn slow.
"You don't want me happy," I said pleasantly. "You want me customized."
"Empathy's not so much about imagining how the other guy feels. It's more about imagining how you'd feel in the same place, right?"
"Both of you would've helped me out that day. And maybe he would've got there with good ol'-fashioned empathy while you had to cobble together some kind of improvised flowchart out of surplus parts, but that just makes your accomplishment all the greater..."
"Life isn't either/or. It's a matter of degree."
"What I'm asking is, are they natural? Could they be constructs?"
"Is a termite mound a construct? Beaver dam? Space ship? Of course. Were they built by naturally-evolved organisms, acting naturally? They were. So tell me how anything in the whole deep multiverse can ever be anything but natural?"
"Why should man expect his prayer for mercy to be heard by What is above him when he shows no mercy to what is under him? "
Cunningham explained anyway: "A lot of biology doesn't use genes. Sunflowers look the way they do because of purely physical buckling stress. You get Fibonacci sequences and Golden ratios everywhere in nature, and there's no gene that codes for them; it's all just mechanical interactions. Take a developing embryo—the genes say start growing or stop growing, but the number of digits and vertebrae result from the mechanics of cells bumping against other cells. Those mitotic spindles I mentioned? Absolutely essential for replication in every eukaryotic cell, and they accrete like crystals without any genetic involvement. You'd be surprised how much of life is like that."
"But you still need genes," Bates protested, walking around to join us.
"Genes just establish the starting conditions to enable the process. The structure that proliferates afterwards doesn't need specific instructions. It's classic emergent complexity. We've known about it for over a century." Another drag on the stick. "Or even longer. Darwin cited honeycomb way back in the eighteen hundreds."
"You think you'd be able to fight the strings? You think you'd even feel them? I could apply a transcranial magnet to your head right now and you'd raise your middle finger or wiggle your toes or kick Siri here in the sack and then swear on your sainted mother's grave that you only did it because you wanted to. You'd dance like a puppet and all the time swear you were doing it of your own free will, and that's just me, that's just some borderline OCD with a couple of magnets and an MRI helmet." He waved at the vast unknowable void beyond the bulkhead. Shreds of mangled cigarette floated sideways in front of him. "Do you want to guess what that can do? ..."
"...Brains are survival engines, not truth detectors. If self-deception promotes fitness, the brain lies. Stops noticing— irrelevant things. Truth never matters. Only fitness. By now you don't experience the world as it exists at all. You experience a simulation built from assumptions. Shortcuts. Lies. Whole species is agnosiac by default. Rorschach does nothing to you that you don't already do to yourselves."
Do you want to know what consciousness is for? Do you want to know the only real purpose it serves? Training wheels. You can't see both aspects of the Necker Cube at once, so it lets you focus on one and dismiss the other. That's a pretty half-assed way to parse reality. You're always better off looking at more than one side of anything. Go on, try. Defocus. It's the next logical step.
Oh, but you can't. There's something in the way.
And it's fighting back.
"So sentience has gotta be good for something, then. Because it's expensive, and if it sucks up energy without doing anything useful then evolution's gonna weed it out just like that."
"Maybe it did." He paused long enough to chew food or suck smoke. "Chimpanzees are smarter than Orangutans, did you know that? Higher encephalisation quotient. Yet they can't always recognize themselves in a mirror. Orangs can."
"...wait, you're saying the world's corporate elite are nonsentient?"
Wegner thought it was an executive summary. Penrose heard it in the singing of caged electrons. Nirretranders said it was a fraud; Kazim called it leakage from a parallel universe. Metzinger wouldn't even admit it existed. The AIs claimed to have worked it out, then announced they couldn't explain it to us. Gödel was right after all: no system can fully understand itself.
"We could engineer ourselves back into nonsentience, perhaps. Might improve our odds in the long run." She looked at me, a rueful sort of half-smile at the corner of her mouth. "But I guess that wouldn't be much of a win, would it? What's the difference between being dead, and just not knowing you're alive?"
You rationalize, Keeton. You defend. You reject unpalatable truths, and if you can't reject them outright you trivialize them. Incremental evidence is never enough for you. You hear rumors of Holocaust; you dismiss them. You see evidence of genocide; you insist it can't be so bad. Temperatures rise, glaciers melt—species die—and you blame sunspots and volcanoes. Everyone is like this, but you most of all. You and your Chinese Room. You turn incomprehension into mathematics, you reject the truth without even knowing what it is."
...one of Blindsight's take-home messages is that life is a matter of degree—the distinction between living and non-living systems has always been an iffy one.
While a number of people have pointed out the various costs and drawbacks of sentience, few if any have taken the next step and wondered out loud if the whole damn thing isn't more trouble than it's worth. Of course it is, people assume; otherwise natural selection would have weeded it out long ago. And they're probably right. I hope they are. Blindsight is a thought experiment, a game of Just suppose and What if. Nothing more.
On the other hand, the dodos and the Steller sea cows could have used exactly the same argument to prove their own superiority, a thousand years ago: if we're so unfit, why haven't we gone extinct? Why? Because natural selection takes time, and luck plays a role. The biggest boys on the block at any given time aren't necessarily the fittest, or the most efficient, and the game isn't over. The game is never over; there's no finish line this side of heat death. And so, neither can there be any winners. There are only those who haven't yet lost.
--
The full end notes here: www.rifters.com/real/shorts/PeterWatts_Blindsight_Endnote...
--
Got done with Echopraxia too last month, and some interesting bits here:
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It is almost impossible systematically to constitute a natural moral law. Nature has no principles. She furnishes us with no reason to believe that human life is to be respected. Nature, in her indifference, makes no distinction between good and evil.
-Anatole France
Ultimately, all science is mere correlation. For that matter, in the time before science people turned to religion to understand the physical universe; and while the thought of deities hurling lightning bolts may seem fanciful to modern minds, it was then (as science claims to be now) the best explanation available to limited human understanding.
The fundamental difference between Science and Scripture is not, therefore, that scientific insights are necessarily more realistic than those based upon Faith. The difference is no more and no less than predictive power. Scientific insights have proven to be better predictors than Spiritual ones, at least in worldly matters; they prevail not because they are true, but simply because they work.
“ALL ANIMALS ARE UNDER STRINGENT SELECTION PRESSURE TO BE AS STUPID AS THEY CAN GET AWAY WITH.
-PETE RICHERSON AND ROBERT BOYD
Brüks was an old man, a field man from a day when people could tell what they were looking at by--well, by looking at it. Check the chin shields. Count the fin rays, the hooks on the scolex. Use your eyes, dammit. At least if you screw up you've only got yourself to blame, not some dumb-ass machine that can't tell the difference between cytochrome oxidase and a Shakespearean sonnet.
At least these deaths served a purpose, some constructive end transcending the disease or predation that nature would have inflicted. Life was a struggle to exist at the expense of other life. Biology was a struggle to understand life. And this particular bit of biology, this study of which he was author, principal, and sole investigator--this was a struggle to use biology to help the very populations he was sampling. These deaths were the closest that Darwin's universe would ever come to altruism.
Nature, though. Nature always welcomed him. She passed no judgments, didn't care about right or wrong, guilt or innocence. She only cared about what worked and what didn't. She welcomed everyone with the same egalitarian indifference. You just had to play by her rules, and expect no mercy if things didn't go your way.
"Transcendence is out of reach. For our brains, anyway."
Lianna shrugged. "Change your brain."
"Then it's not your brain anymore. It's something else. You're something else."
"That's kinda the point. Transcendence is transformation."
He shook his head, unconvinced. "Sounds more like suicide to me."
Even in sleep, Dan Brüks didn’t take anything on faith.
"I COULD BE BOUNDED IN A NUTSHELL, AND COUNT MYSELF A KING OF INFINITE SPACE—WERE IT NOT THAT I HAVE BAD DREAMS." -W.S
A trip to the sun. A chance to glimpse the traces of an alien intelligence—whatever alien meant in a world where members of his own species stitched themselves together into colony minds, or summoned their own worst nightmares back from the Pleistocene to run the stock market. The face of the unknown. What scientist would choose to sleep through that?
A tapeworm may not be as smart as its host but that doesn’t stop it from scamming shelter and nourishment and a place to breed. Good parasites are invisible; the best are indispensable. Gut bacteria, chloroplasts, mitochondria: all parasites, once. All invisible in the shadow of vaster beings. Now their hosts can’t live without them.
All those gut feelings, right or wrong, that had kept the breed alive on the Pleistocene savannah—and they were wrong, so much of the time. False negatives, false positives, the moral algebra of fat men pushed in front of onrushing trolleys. The strident emotional belief that children made you happy, even when all the data pointed to misery. The high-amplitude fear of sharks and dark-skinned snipers who would never kill you; indifference to all the toxins and pesticides that could. The mind was so rotten with misrepresentation that in some cases it literally had to be damaged before it could make a truly rational decision—and should some brain-lesioned mother abandon her baby in a burning house in order to save two strangers from the same fire, the rest of the world would be more likely to call her a monster than laud the rationality of her lifeboat ethics. Hell, rationality itself—the exalted Human ability to reason—hadn’t evolved in the pursuit of truth but simply to win arguments, to gain control: to bend others, by means logical or sophistic, to your will. Truth had never been a priority. If believing a lie kept the genes proliferating, the system would believe that lie with all its heart.
“Dan, you gotta let go of this whole self thing. Identity changes by the second, you turn into someone else every time a new thought rewires your brain. You’re already a different person than you were ten minutes ago.”
THE INTUITIVE MIND IS A SACRED GIFT AND THE RATIONAL MIND IS A FAITHFUL SERVANT. WE HAVE CREATED A SOCIETY THAT HONORS THE SERVANT AND HAS FORGOTTEN THE GIFT.
—ALBERT EINSTEIN
fifty thousand years ago there were these three guys spread out across the plain, and they each heard something rustling in the grass. The first one thought it was a tiger, and he ran like hell, and it was a tiger but the guy got away. The second one thought the rustling was a tiger, and he ran like hell, but it was only the wind and his friends all laughed at him for being such a chickenshit. But the third guy, he thought it was only the wind, so he shrugged it off and a tiger had him for dinner. And the same thing happened a million times across ten thousand generations—and after a while everyone was seeing tigers in the grass even when there weren’t any tigers, because even chickenshits have more kids than corpses do. And from those humble beginnings we learned to see faces in the clouds and portents in the stars, to see agency in randomness, because natural selection favors the paranoid. Even here in the twenty-first century you can make people more honest just by scribbling a pair of eyes on the wall with a Sharpie. Even now, we are wired to believe that unseen things are watching us.
“Do you measure Earth’s gravity every time you step outside? Do you reinvent quantum circuits from scratch whenever you boot up, just in case the other guys missed something?” She gave him a moment to answer. “Science depends on faith,” she continued, when he didn’t. “Faith that the rules haven’t changed, faith that the other guys got the measurements right. All science ever did was measure a teensy sliver of the universe and assume that everything else behaved the same way. But the whole exercise falls apart if the universe doesn’t follow consistent laws. How do you test if that’s true?”
Digital physics had reigned supreme since before he’d been born, and its dictums were as incontrovertible as they were absurd. Numbers didn’t just describe reality; numbers were reality, discrete step functions smoothing up across the Planck length into an illusion of substance. Roaches still quibbled over details, doubtless long since resolved by precocious children who never bothered to write home: was the universe a hologram or a simulation? Was its boundary a program or merely an interface—and if the latter, what sat on the other side, watching it run?
All I know is, he sounded just like every hapless Yahweh junkie who ever looked around at all the horror and injustice in the world and mumbled some shit about how It’s not the place of the clay to question the potter.
“Isn’t that the way, though? Isn’t that how it’s always been? Just obey the guys in the funny hats and if it’s a win it’s all praise be to Allah but if your ass gets kicked it’s your fault. You read scripture the wrong way. You weren’t worthy. You didn’t have enough faith.”
ANY SUFFICIENTLY ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY IS INDISTINGUISHABLE FROM NATURE.
—STELLA ROSSITER
TO TRAVEL HOPEFULLY IS A BETTER THING THAN TO ARRIVE.
—ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
The premise of Ezequiel Morsella’s PRISM model is that consciousness originally evolved for the delightfully mundane purpose of mediating conflicting motor commands to the skeletal muscles. (I have to point out that exactly the same sort of conflict—the impulse to withdraw one’s hand from a painful stimulus, versus the knowledge that you’ll die if you act on that impulse—was exactly how the Bene Gesserit assessed whether Paul Atriedes qualified as “Human” during their gom jabbar test in Frank Herbert’s Dune.)
Most people seem to think that organisms develop adaptive traits in response to environmental change. This is bullshit. The environment changes and those who already happen to have newly- adaptive traits don’t get wiped out. A deteriorating Daniel Brüks muses on an especially neat case in point, the curious fact that the building blocks of advanced neural architecture already exist in single-celled animals lacking even the most rudimentary nervous systems.
You are a hive mind, always have been: a single coherent consciousness spread across two cerebral hemispheres, each of which—when isolated—can run its own stand-alone, conscious entity with its own thoughts, aesthetics, even religious beliefs.75 The reverse also happens. A hemisphere forced to run solo when its partner is anaesthetised (preparatory to surgery, for instance) will manifest a different personality than the brain as a whole—but when those two hemispheres reconnect, that solo identity gets swallowed up by whatever dual-core persona runs on the whole organ. [Reminded me of Neuromancer and Wintermute!]
Although free will (rather, its lack) is one of Echopraxia’s central themes (the neurological condition of echopraxia is to autonomy as blindsight is to consciousness), I don’t have much to say about it because the arguments seem so clear-cut as to be almost uninteresting. Neurons do not fire spontaneously, only in response to external stimuli; therefore brains cannot act spontaneously, only in response to external stimuli. No need to wade through all those studies that show the brain acting before the conscious mind “decides” to. Forget the revisionist interpretations that downgrade the definition from free will to will that’s merely unpredictable enough to confuse predators. It’s simpler than that: the switch cannot flip itself. QED.
We climbed this hill. Each step up we could see farther, so of course we kept going. Now we’re at the top. Science has been at the top for a few centuries now. And we look out across the plain and we see this other tribe dancing around above the clouds, even higher than we are. Maybe it’s a mirage, maybe it’s a trick. Or maybe they just climbed a higher peak we can’t see because the clouds are blocking the view. So we head off to find out—but every step takes us downhill. No matter what direction we head, we can’t move off our peak without losing our vantage point. So we climb back up again. We’re trapped on a local maximum.
But what if there is a higher peak out there, way across the plain? The only way to get there is bite the bullet, come down off our foothill and trudge along the riverbed until we finally start going uphill again. And it’s only then you realize: Hey, this mountain reaches way higher than that foothill we were on before, and we can see so much better from up here.
But you can’t get there unless you leave behind all the tools that made you so successful in the first place. You have to take that first step downhill.
—Dr. Lianna Lutterodt, “Faith and the Fitness Landscape” In Conversation, 2091
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Cadet Cecil Sampson, Central Washington University, receives the Reserve Organization Of America Award at the 2nd Regiment, Advanced Camp graduation, Fort Knox, Ky., July 4, 2022. Cadets earn this award for demonstrating the best reflection of the characteristics of comprehensive Soldier and family fitness by demonstrating resilience and the lifelong pursuit of enhanced performance to cope with adversity, and best perform in stressful situations, and thrive in life. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Kaden D. Pitt)
The equivalent of albinism in animals, erythrism results from the inheritance of two recessive genes for the absence of pigmentation. Normally the katydid colour palette runs the gamut of greens, browns and yellows, colours which keep them camouflaged and aid in their survival. Although it has been hypothesized that pink coloration may increase survival rates amongst red vegetation it is much more likely that the genetic anomaly decreases fitness by increasing the insect's visibility to predators. Therefore it is likely that most individuals with this condition don't survive long and rarely make it to adulthood, which made this discovery all the more noteworthy. Found during a night hike in Vohimana reserve, Madagascar.
University Will Hold First Fitness School
Queensland University Physical Education Department will hold its first Vacation School from August 16 to 20.
The Physical Education Director (Mr. Ivor C. Burge) said yesterday, "the aim of the school is to help community fitness by providing trained teachers."
Applicants must be interested in teaching physical education in schools or clubs and 18 years of age or over.
There will be three practical and one theory periods a day.
Men will have a choice of cricket, Rugby, basketball, tennis, volleyball, or square dancing.
For women: Rhythmic exercises and posture training, American women's basketball, volleyball, or square dancing.
Description source:
The Courier-Mail, 8 April 1954
View the original image at the Queensland State Archives:
The equivalent of albinism in animals, erythrism results from the inheritance of two recessive genes for the absence of pigmentation. Normally the katydid colour palette runs the gamut of greens, browns and yellows, colours which keep them camouflaged and aid in their survival. Although it has been hypothesized that pink coloration may increase survival rates amongst red vegetation it is much more likely that the genetic anomaly decreases fitness by increasing the insect's visibility to predators. Therefore it is likely that most individuals with this condition don't survive long and rarely make it to adulthood, which made this discovery all the more noteworthy. Found during a night hike in Vohimana reserve, Madagascar.
Cadet Olivia Garner, Indiana University, receives the Reserve Organization Of America Award at the 1st Regiment, Advanced Camp graduation, Fort Knox, Ky., June 29, 2022. Cadets earn this award for demonstrating the best reflection of the characteristics of comprehensive Soldier and family fitness by demonstrating resilience and the lifelong pursuit of enhanced performance to cope with adversity, and best perform in stressful situations, and thrive in life. | Photo by Erinn Finley, CST Public Affairs Office
woman sun salutation yoga surya namaskar pose stretching workout posture fitness by a caucasian woman full length woman on studio white background
1. Self HDR (#1/365), 2. Spice Eyes (#2/365), 3. Work Day (#3/365), 4. To the Moon (#4/365), 5. Jack in the Box (#5/365), 6. Reflections (#6/365), 7. Road Trip (#7/365), 8. New Suit (#8/365), 9. Delicious! (#9/365), 10. Cyclops (#10/365), 11. Two Left Feet (#11/365), 12. Day of the Donut (#12/365), 13. Window to the Soul (#13/365), 14. Springtime is for Reading (#14/365), 15. Not Everything is Black & White (#15/365), 16. Slumber Land (#16/365), 17. Monkey Trio (#17/365), 18. Happy Earth Day (#18/365), 19. Crossed Eyes (#19/365), 20. Ugly Couch Surfing (#20/365), 21. The Watch (#21/365), 22. Tribeca Film Festival (#22/365), 23. Mr. Stabby (#23/365), 24. Yellow Shoes! (#24/365), 25. Prefectionism (#25/365), 26. Sick as a Dog (#26/365), 27. Desperate Times (#27/365), 28. Wii-eel (#28/365), 29. The Chemists Son (#29/365), 30. Slice 'n' Dice (#30/365), 31. Wine Tasting (#31/365), 32. What's for dinner? (#32/365), 33. Staredown (#33/365), 34. Rockstar Training (#34/365), 35. Heads Up (#35/365), 36. On Safari (#36/365),37. Annuals Today (#37/365), 38. Restricted Access (#38/365), 39. I Need a Clone (#39/365), 40. Shrouded (#40/365), 41. Airport Clothes (#41/365), 42. Long Night (#42/365), 43. Where's the iPod? (#43/365), 44. Sleep is peace (#44/365), 45. Final Visions of an Ant (#45/365), 46. Knifed in the back? (#46/365), 47. Driving Home (#47/365), 48. Fitness by Video Game? (#48/365), 49. Phooning (#49/365), 50. Jasmin's Memorial Celebration (#50/365), 51. Happy Birthday Me! (#51/365), 52. Palmistry (#52/365), 53. No Time (#53/365), 54. Fashionista (#54/365), 55. Aloha! (#55/365), 56. Sweetest Things (#56/365), 57. Narrowing the Window (#57/365), 58. Determined (#58/365), 59. The Tree (#59/365), 60. Belated Birthday (#60/365), 61. Bokeh Whore (#61/365), 62. Super Drunk (#62/365), 63. Fauxto Booth (#63/365), 64. Walk on by (#64/365), 65. Spy vs. Spy (#65/365), 66. Split the Soul (#66/365), 67. Rocket Man (#67/365), 68. The Son of Man (#68/365), 69. Fire Light (#69/365), 70. Happy Hour (#70/365), 71. Balloon Animals (#71/365), 72. I Am My Father's Son (#72/365)
Cycling Helps Fight Pollution, Shed Pounds and Improve Your Heart HealthEver since you ate shit three years ago in the middle of the intersection crosswalk, you’ve been hesitant to jump back on your bike. Instead it sits in the corner of the garage or your back porch repenting its sins. How dare that two-wheeler make you look like an idiot in front of proud, judgmental drivers?! Payback is a bitch. But, your bike is not the enemy. Your coordination, on the other hand, is. Actually, riding a bike is proven to help improve your mental state, motor skills, balance and coordination….as long as you stick with it. As far as shedding those lb’s, steady cycling can burn an upwards of 300 calories per hour.
The planet will thank you, too. According to www.greenyour.com/transportation/commuting/commute/tips/w..., 27-percent of total vehicle miles traveled by Americans are to and from work, which amounts to 734 billion miles each year. In cities like our stomping grounds of Los Angeles, 60-percent of the commutes are less than five miles. If every one of us in this five-mile radius left our cars at home just one day a week and cycled to work, we’d save nearly 5 million tons of carbon emissions each yearthe equivalent of taking 1 million cars off the road. It’s time to feel the wind in your hair, sister.Let’s cut to the chase, what are some of the other benefits of surfing the streets on your handy spokes? A bike acts as a supportive platform. While all forms of exercise are good, cycling is particularly good because the bicycle acts as a supportive platform, reducing the risk of impact injuries like shin splints. Regular cycling can also alleviate chronic pain like back aches, premenstrual tension and menstrual cramps. It’s not a daunting form of exercise. Granted you’re not aspiring to be the next female Lance Armstrong, cycling can be a non-intimidating form of exercise. Did you know that every four out of five people who begin a workout routine quit within the first month? Grab onto a routine workout that you will look forward to. A half-hour here and 20 minutes there makes a stifling difference. Fight heart disease. Riding a bike not only helps to improve muscular fitnessprimarily your quads, ass, calf muscles and cardiovascular systembut cycling atleast 20 miles per week greatly reduces your risk of coronary heart disease by half. Studies have also shown that cycling works to increase your cardiovascular fitness by up to 7-percent. Ladies, remember that heart disease is the number one killer of women. Keep that heart healthy. Riding makes you younger. According to the National Forum for Coronary Heart Disease Prevention, regular cyclists enjoy a fitness level equivalent to being 10 years younger. Boost your energy. Cycling increases your energy levels, which helps to burn fat while you’re exercising and calories post-workout. Get rid of stress. When you have the picturesque views of nature or the city skyline at your feet, and the exhilaration of the bike underneath you, riding releases endorphins into the bloodstream helping to create a feeling of pure happiness. Now before you jump on your beach cruiser and head for the hills, familiarize yourself with some Bike 101.. Just like any piece of machinery, there are some road rules. Lastly, consider how serious you really are. If you’re looking for a more urban form of two-wheel transportation to get you to-and-fro work, the grocery store and the community garden, check out Mother Nature Network’s rundown of the “12 Coolest Urban Bicycles to Replace Your Car.” If you’re serious about using cycling to get into shape, check out our tips. You can also visit www.greenyour.com for bicycling and walkability checklists. Your bike has sat in “Time Out” long enough. -Carly
Cadet Julio Alvarado, Inter American University of Puerto Rico, Metropolitan, receives the Reserves Officer Association Award July 25 at the 5th Regiment Advanced Camp graduation. Cadets earn this award for best reflecting the characteristics of Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness by demonstrating resilience and the lifelong pursuit of enhanced performance to cope with adversity, and best performed in stressful situations, and thrive in life. Fort Knox, Ky. Photo by: Jakob Coombes
woman sun salutation yoga surya namaskar pose stretching workout posture fitness by a caucasian woman full length woman on studio white background
Cadet Richard Weikle, Virginia Polytechnic Institute & State University, receives the Reserve Organization of America Award at the 8th Regiment, Advanced Camp graduation, Fort Knox, Ky., August 3, 2022. This award is presented to the Cadet who demonstrates the best reflection of the characteristics of Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness by demonstrating resilience and the lifelong pursuit of enhanced performance to cope with adversity, and best perform in stressful situations, and thrive in life. | Photo by Sgt. Yesenia Barajas, CST Public Affairs Office
By: CPT Héctor L. Prieto
215th MP DET
Unit Public Affairs Representative
Afghanistan- The journey of the troops mobilizing from Puerto Rico to Afghanistan in support of the War against Terrorism is usually an interesting one, filled with a lot of training, hard work, adventure and pride. The 215th Military Police Law and Order Detachment (MP DET), one of the three Military Police units in the US Army Reserve- Puerto Rico, is one of the most recent units mobilized to Southwest Asia.
As the 215th MP DET troops progressed through the Armed Forces Generation (ARFORGEN) model, the Army’s core process for generating a supply of forces , they had the opportunity of serving and training in different places around the world to include Alaska, Germany, Afghanistan, Cuba, Honduras, Dominican Republic and most recently in Italy.
The preparation for the trip to Italy was very important as it served as the last training step before mobilizing to Afghanistan. As the 215th MP DET soldiers prepared to their mission in Italy, they trained rigorously to improve their physical fitness by implementing an aggressive Physical Training (PT) plan and utilizing bits and pieces from every possible fitness program available from Insanity to Army Physical Readiness Test (APRT), to Power 90 Extreme exercise system (P90X). The Puerto Rican troops also successfully conducted a 25 mile rucksack-march challenge at home station.
The soldiers’ preparation also included language training. While receiving an intense two weeks of instruction, the troops achieved the proficiency level of the average 3 month language student. The course consisted of language, grammar, history, geography, culture, reading and writing in Pashto, Afghanistan’s official language.
Another portion of their road to war training were the Battlefield Forensics, which is like a Crime Scene Investigation (CSI) block of instruction for soldiers, including scene analysis, photography, latent fingerprint lifting, photographing and evidence recovery.
Once all this training was completed, the soldiers traveled to Vicenza, Italy, where for 21 days they applied their skills, while providing security in different areas of the Caserma Ederle Base.
The job performed by the 215th MP DET troops was recognized by the leaders at the US Army post in Italy. Sgts. Juan Rosa, Julio Rodriguez and Jessica Guzman received an excellence coin for their outstanding efforts and commitment during the mission.
In addition to the mission conducted and in order to achieve balance, the troops were also allowed the opportunity to enjoy a few rest and recuperation (R&R) activities in their days off, which allowed them to learn from the history and culture of Italy, while maintaining their physical readiness as well.
Thanks to their service to our nation, our Boricua troops had the once in lifetime opportunity to visit, Florence, Pisa, Maranello, Verona, Bologna and Venice. The 215th soldiers also had the opportunity to enjoy trips in the gondolas of Venice, to drive a Ferrari at the Maranello Ferrari Museum, to personally see the statue of David sculpted by Michaelangelo in the 1500’s, to visit the Castles of Romeo and Juliet in Montechio Maggiore, and the balcony of Juliet at Verona, among many other historically important attractions.
To stay in physical shape, members of the unit rented bikes at the Vicenza’s Outdoor Recreation Office and conducted frequent trips as modified physical training. A memorable trip was the 37-mile Longare to Vicenza to Montechio Maggiore bike trip, which tested the endurance of the troops. The soldiers also took shorter 11-15 mile bike trips to Lake DiFimon near Longare and enjoyed the country scenery, while exercising.
To continue with this exercise-fun mix, the 215th soldiers took their enthusiasm to the mountains of Italy, conducting a hiking trip to the Strada delle Gallerie at Mount Pasubio, a historical region that was used as a route during World War I. Besides the immense historical value of this hiking trip, it also challenged the soldiers to hike to an altitude of more than 6,200 feet through trails literally above the clouds.
The 215th could not get enough of Italy and also took their motivation to the water in a 25 kilometer, three hour long white water rafting trip. The water was a chilling 43 degrees Fahrenheit, but the soldiers continued to row and steer their rafts through rapids, rocks and drops from start to finish and enjoyed every minute of it.
At the end, The 215th MP DET mission in Italy proved to be a highly valuable experience, not only preparing our troops for their deployment to Afghanistan, but also allowing them to enjoy different cultures and expand their historical knowledge.
In the next article, we will describe how the 215th troops traveled to the Regional Training Center (RTC) in Fort McCoy, WI, and their travel to the Mobilization Station, prior to finally depart to Afghanistan. This story will continue…
Cadet Alexandra Orellana, University of Houston, receives the Reserve Organization of America Award at the 3rd Regiment, Advanced Camp graduation, Fort Knox, Ky., July 9, 2022. This award is presented to the Cadet who demonstrates the best reflection of the characteristics of Comprehensive Soldier and Family Fitness by demonstrating resilience and the lifelong pursuit of enhanced performance to cope with adversity, and best perform in stressful
situations, and thrive in life.| Photo by Sgt. Ashleigh Maxwell, CST Public Affairs Office
Cycling Helps Fight Pollution, Shed Pounds and Improve Your Heart HealthEver since you ate shit three years ago in the middle of the intersection crosswalk, you’ve been hesitant to jump back on your bike. Instead it sits in the corner of the garage or your back porch repenting its sins. How dare that two-wheeler make you look like an idiot in front of proud, judgmental drivers?! Payback is a bitch. But, your bike is not the enemy. Your coordination, on the other hand, is. Actually, riding a bike is proven to help improve your mental state, motor skills, balance and coordination….as long as you stick with it. As far as shedding those lb’s, steady cycling can burn an upwards of 300 calories per hour.
The planet will thank you, too. According to www.greenyour.com/transportation/commuting/commute/tips/w..., 27-percent of total vehicle miles traveled by Americans are to and from work, which amounts to 734 billion miles each year. In cities like our stomping grounds of Los Angeles, 60-percent of the commutes are less than five miles. If every one of us in this five-mile radius left our cars at home just one day a week and cycled to work, we’d save nearly 5 million tons of carbon emissions each yearthe equivalent of taking 1 million cars off the road. It’s time to feel the wind in your hair, sister.Let’s cut to the chase, what are some of the other benefits of surfing the streets on your handy spokes? A bike acts as a supportive platform. While all forms of exercise are good, cycling is particularly good because the bicycle acts as a supportive platform, reducing the risk of impact injuries like shin splints. Regular cycling can also alleviate chronic pain like back aches, premenstrual tension and menstrual cramps. It’s not a daunting form of exercise. Granted you’re not aspiring to be the next female Lance Armstrong, cycling can be a non-intimidating form of exercise. Did you know that every four out of five people who begin a workout routine quit within the first month? Grab onto a routine workout that you will look forward to. A half-hour here and 20 minutes there makes a stifling difference. Fight heart disease. Riding a bike not only helps to improve muscular fitnessprimarily your quads, ass, calf muscles and cardiovascular systembut cycling atleast 20 miles per week greatly reduces your risk of coronary heart disease by half. Studies have also shown that cycling works to increase your cardiovascular fitness by up to 7-percent. Ladies, remember that heart disease is the number one killer of women. Keep that heart healthy. Riding makes you younger. According to the National Forum for Coronary Heart Disease Prevention, regular cyclists enjoy a fitness level equivalent to being 10 years younger. Boost your energy. Cycling increases your energy levels, which helps to burn fat while you’re exercising and calories post-workout. Get rid of stress. When you have the picturesque views of nature or the city skyline at your feet, and the exhilaration of the bike underneath you, riding releases endorphins into the bloodstream helping to create a feeling of pure happiness. Now before you jump on your beach cruiser and head for the hills, familiarize yourself with some Bike 101.. Just like any piece of machinery, there are some road rules. Lastly, consider how serious you really are. If you’re looking for a more urban form of two-wheel transportation to get you to-and-fro work, the grocery store and the community garden, check out Mother Nature Network’s rundown of the “12 Coolest Urban Bicycles to Replace Your Car.” If you’re serious about using cycling to get into shape, check out our tips. You can also visit www.greenyour.com for bicycling and walkability checklists. Your bike has sat in “Time Out” long enough. -Carly