Best Movie of 2009 – The Cove

I’ve heard a lot about The Cove over the past couple of months. The movie made its round in theaters last year, but I couldn’t find any local shows to go see. As of December, the film was released on DVD and I’ve been wanting to get my hands on it – today I finally did. There are a lot of things to be said about this film, but all I have to say is go and buy this movie, or rent it, or do whatever you need to do to watch it. Not only was this the best documentary of 2009, but in my opinion, the best movie of the year too.

Killer Whales Join the Learning Circle

What do killer whales and chimpanzees have in common? Based on physical appearance, basically nothing. Mentally however, these two creatures do have something in common, they are both highly intelligent and are both among a very select group of animals who are capable of cultural learning. In a recent study at Marineland in Niagara Falls, Ontario, an inventive killer whale devised a brand new way to catch birds, and passed the strategy on to the other killer whales. They would regurgitate fish to the surface of the water and wait for gulls to come feed. As soon as the gulls appeared the killer whale would lunge forward a inhale the gull.

Similar cultural learning has been seen in dolphins, but the evidence from the killer whales is much more conclusive because the process was observed from start to finish. Somehow I don’t see this killer whale trick going over too will with the children visiting Marineland.

Story via NewScientist.com

Bionic Dolphin Watercraft

This ones about a year old, but it’s still funny everytime I see the picture of this Bionic Dolphin breaching the surface. But what’s even better is watching how they built and tested it. For example, to test the buoyancy they loaded it up with a ton of bricks. Submersible “flying” watercraft aren’t that new, but have since become very popular for new exploration vehicles.

Link via Jalopnik

For more information on submersible flying crafts check out innespace.com and Deep Flight – Hawkes Ocean Technology.

Saturday Reading

• Counting your calories? Diet guru Anne Collins has put together an extensive list of calories in just about every type of food you can think of, including all your favorite fish (in alphabetical order, A-H, H-S, S-W).
• Let him identify your fish! Ever been out fishing in unfamiliar waters and caught something you never new existed? Well if you have, send a picture over to Mike Guerin and he will help you identify it! Or maybe he already has, take a look at his strange fish identification galleries.
• Build your own portable ice fishing shanty! It’s getting close to that time of year where you may have start drilling holes in the ice if you wan to fish. (Unless of course you are lucky enough to live in a warm climate, which I am) Why not build your own portable shanty with help from Dirt Cheap Design.
• Talk about biting off more then you can chew. Yahoo News reports a thirteen foot Burmese python was found with a six foot long alligator’s hindquarters protruding from its midsection in the Florida Everglades. Another prime example of an invasive species.
• Na na na na na na na na…Batman! ABC news reports that scientists have taught dolphins to combine both rhythm and vocalisations to produce music, resulting in an extremely high-pitched, short version of the Batman theme song.

The Flying Mobulas of the Sea of Cortez

While living and fishing here in La Paz I’ve seen my fair share of amazing aquatic life, from sea lions, to dolphins, to enormous sailfish. But not much can compare with seeing large groups of mobulas (cousins of the manta ray) breaching the surface, flying 5 to 10 feet in the air spinning and flipping, just out of arms reach. Clive and I tried our best to capture photographs of these amazing creatures, but we were often too focused on the fishing. Luckily for us, Michael Albert was able to capture a handful of amazing photographs.

There couldn’t be more than 60 minutes of light left. My brother begins to set up camp while I scramble to unlash the kayak resting on the roof of my pickup. As my kayak arrows towards the activity, I grow anxious, willing the sun to stay up a just a bit longer. About half an hour later, I am paddling among them, in the middle of a pancake commercial, flapjack-like creatures tumbling over themselves, flying everywhere, some of them off in the distance, some only feet away. From the shore, which is now far away, the impromptu camp too small to be seen, you’d think there were a dozen, maybe twenty, but here, sitting on my kayak surrounded by them, it becomes immediately clear, there were hundreds.

And it isn’t too long before I glance down and I am forced once again to revise upward my earlier figure. I look down into the plankton-rich green water and note that as far as I can see, the ocean is carpeted with the creatures, thick with black flesh. There they are, hundreds of them gliding in unison with each other, a parade of black kites.

Link via BoingBoing