Disney climbs Everest

I saw this on BoingBoing and thought it was cool. Can you imagine that in only 2 months, one small research team was able to discover that many new (and interesting) species? Makes you wonder what else is out there.

A research team from Conservation International and Disney’s Animal Kingdom spent two months surveying the animals and plants at several spots in the eastern Himalayas. The info they collected will be part of the educational components of Disney’s new Expedition Everest experience in Orlando. Here are some of the new species that the team discovered, as described on Conservation International’s Web site:

  • Giant hornets so deadly locals call them “Yak Killers”
  • A wingless grasshopper (Kingdonella sp.) that can withstand extremely low temperatures and communicates by gnashing its teeth.
  • A new beetle species that specializes in burying small bird and rodent carcasses into subterranean crypts to feed their offspring.
  • A new subspecies of small mammal known as the Qinghai vole (Microtus fuscus).
  • Up to three new frog species, eight new insects, and ten new species of ants.
  • Jumping “Yeti” mice
  • Baby blue-faced golden monkeys, the region’s largest primates
  • Hamster-like pikas that eat their own feces

Heh, pikachus have been found in the wild. And they eat their own poop. I bet they smell.

Link to Conservation International, Link to LiveScience.com article

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Published:
04.10.06 / 7pm
Category:
Science