Photos of New Species from New Guinea

[Minimalist]

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news ... world.html

[Leona Conner]

Thanks for the link. I saw pictures on one of the news shows this morning but they weren't near as good. I thought the kangaroo looked more like a ring-tailed lemur than a member of the kangaroo family. But then zoology isn't my thing.

[Rokcet Scientist]

[...] amazing what happens when humans aren't interfering with a habitat.[...]

Sure, as long as you don't forget that that is an entirely unrealistic situation. Humans are part of nature too.

[Minimalist]

We do seem to muck it up a bit, though.

[Frank Harrist]

Is this archaeology?

[Minimalist]

What's the matter? Don't you like animals?

[Frank Harrist]

I love animals. I have a dog, but she don't know shit about archaeology. It was an interesting article when I read it yesterday on AOL news, but it ain't archaeology. Sorry to be a stickler.

[Minimalist]

I bet your dog could dig up a few bones.

[Guest]

I bet your dog could dig up a few bones.

Oh yeah! When she digs holes in the back yard (Bad dog!), I always look for artifacts in the backfill dirt. So far nothing prehistoric, just a lot of broken glass and junk from an old service station. Her excavation units aren't very neat either.

[Frank Harrist]

Dammit!

[Minimalist]

Dammit!

LOL.

Annoying, isn't it?

[stan]

It was stated in the story that there was "an egg-laying mammal" that was so tame it allowed someone to pick it up and carry it off. I don't know if that alluded to the tree-kangaroo....'cause kangaroos don't lay eggs, and because they live in trees, maybe? BUt there's that picture... And we know that Australian kangaroos are belligerent.
But I wonder about how long (how many generations) it takes a species to become tame or to lose their tameness. I suppose there are studies about this. Anybody know?
In the early days of the "human race," I suppose that animals were rather tame, except maybe near population centers. If animals could be captured for food by merely walking up to them and carrying them away, would their fellow species-members lose their tameness?
Or would they lose their tameness only if they were violently attacked
and frightened?
There are lots of stories about fearless songbirds here in the states, a hundred or so years ago. But now they are skittish.

[Frank Harrist]

Achidna's were the tame egg-laying mammals. "Tame" may be the wrong word to use here. The animals haven't developed a fear of man because throughout their life they have never seen or been threatened by man. Almost any animal will go "tame" if it never in it's lifetime is threatened by man. Whitetail deer occasionally do it around here. Town squirrels are like that, too.

[Rokcet Scientist]

It was stated in the story that there was "an egg-laying mammal" that was so tame it allowed someone to pick it up and carry it off. I don't know if that alluded to the tree-kangaroo....'cause kangaroos don't lay eggs, and because they live in trees, maybe?

But the Platypus is a mammal and lays eggs: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Platypus

BUt there's that picture... And we know that Australian kangaroos are belligerent.
But I wonder about how long (how many generations) it takes a species to become tame or to lose their tameness. I suppose there are studies about this. Anybody know?

No, I dont really know of any, but I agree such studies may well exist.

In the early days of the "human race," I suppose that animals were rather tame, except maybe near population centers. If animals could be captured for food by merely walking up to them and carrying them away, would their fellow species-members lose their tameness?

Eventually, imo.

Or would they lose their tameness only if they were violently attacked and frightened?

Quickly, imo.

There are lots of stories about fearless songbirds here in the states, a hundred or so years ago. But now they are skittish.

A few years ago I was in Antarctica. Dozens of times I walked up to and right through gigantic flocks – I guess many tens of thousands – of penguins, none of which were afraid of me. In fact, when I sat down on a rock a dozen penguins or so would walk right up to me and stood before me – 2 feet distance – clearly observing that odd creature, obviously wondering WTF I was. Sea Elephants, Sea Leopards and Skua's are just as UNafraid of people. I never did (because you shouldn't), but if I had wanted I could have touched them all.
Let me tell you: that is a FANTASTIC sensation! I felt like I was in paradise: the animals are not afraid of people! At all!
Simply because they don't have 'bad experiences' with people.

[Minimalist]

Antarctica is just about the last place on earth I'd want to go.

Well, there and the Bible Belt.