The winners of this year’s British Ecological Society Photography Competition captured animals interacting with the world around them in bold and breathtaking ways.The annual contest aims to showcase the wonder of ecology across six categories. The 2022 entrants focused on everything from prey-predator relationships and wildlife affected by human changes to the beauty of biology on a microscopic scale.

Overall Winner: A Light in the Shadows by Roberto García Roa

“Like two beacons in the dark, the striking eyes of a Helena’s treefrog seem to glow in the darkness of the night,” says García Roa, a conservation photographer and evolutionary biologist at Sweden’s Lund University.

“This image reveals the beauty of nature hidden in Tambopata, [Peru,] a region that is currently threatened by gold mining. It is paradoxical to see the eyes of this frog as small golden pearls, because in reality, the true treasure lies in ensuring the protection of this area and its inhabitants.”

Student Winner: Takeout by Sam Eberhard

Shot on the shores of Oregon’s Cannon Beach, this image depicts of a group of western gulls surrounding and squawking at a bald eagle trying to carry off its latest meal, a common murre.

“’Takeout’ is a frozen moment of intense action at Haystack Rock in Cannon Beach…,” says Sam Eberhard, an environmental studies and biology student at the University of California, Santa Cruz. “While photographically documenting tufted puffins at Cannon Beach, I did not hesitate to capture a few shots of this bald eagle.”

Up Close and Personal Winner: Wild Pearls by Javier Lobon-Rovira

Javier Lobon-Rovira, a Ph.D student in biodiversity, genetics, and evolution at the University of Porto and CIBIO-InBIO, zoomed in on an endangered gold-striped salamander working its way through a nursery of eggs, their color and luminescence reminiscent of precious pearls.

Dynamic Ecosystems Winner: Invasive Battle-Fire Fierce by Javier Lobon-Rovira

Lobon-Rovira also took top honors in this category demonstrating interactions between different species within an ecosystem. “Isn’t it utopian that two invasive species cross paths in the race for survival?’ the photographer notes. “That is the case that crossed my lens when I found an army of fire ants immobilizing, killing, and causing the disappearance of a house gecko in my backyard in Florida…Eat or be eaten is the only mission in the struggle for survival.”

Individuals and Populations Student Winner: The Shrike Strikes Again! by Jennifer Holguin

“A round-tailed Horn Lizard impaled by a yucca stalk in the Chihuahuan Desert, New Mexico, USA. The culprit? A gray, medium-sized songbird known as the Loggerhead Shrike or Butcherbird,” says winner Jennifer Holguin, a student at the University of Texas at El Paso.

Ecology in Action Winner: Bruma by Roberto García Roa

García Roa picked up another award for his image of a dead female eagle lying face down after flying into overhead power lines. The GPS that Bruma the eagle was fitted with at birth helped scientists and authorities determine which power line caused her demise and allowed them to fix it to keep other birds from meeting the same fate.

People and Nature Winner: A New Plastic Home by Andreas Eich

The terrestrial hermit crab in this image shows its adaptability by claiming a discarded plastic bottle cap as its new shell. The scene contrasts with the idyllic beach scene in the background, according to winner Andreas Eich.

The Art of Ecology Student Winner: Diwali in the Forest by Naitik Patel

The light from a congregation of fireflies near India’s Kaziranga National Park reminded student winner Naitik Patel of the joyful feel of Diwali. He explains: “Diwali is a festival of lights. These adorable little fireflies were creating their own festival of lights by gently glowing green and creating undulating trails of light on the forest floor.”

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In her new book The Sounds of Life: How Digital Technology is Bringing Us Closer to the Worlds of Animals and Plants, University of British Columbia professor Karen Bakker outlines some of the most ground-breaking experiments in animal and plant communication.

“Digital technologies, so often associated with our alienation from nature, are offering us an opportunity to listen to nonhumans in powerful ways, reviving our connection to the natural world,” writes Bakker, a director at the UBC Institute for Resources, Environment, and Sustainability.

She points out that digital listening posts are now being used to continuously record the sounds of ecosystems around the planet, from rainforests to the bottom of the ocean. Developments in miniaturization have even enabled scientists to place microphones on tiny animals like honeybees.

“Combined, these digital devices function like a planetary-scale hearing aid: enabling humans to observe and study nature’s sounds beyond the limits of our sensory capabilities,” Bakker writes. The next step for many scientists is harnessing the power of artificial intelligence to sift through these sounds and enable robots to “speak animal languages and essentially breach the barrier of interspecies communication.”

She cites a team of researchers in Germany that have taught tiny robots how to do the honeybee waggle dance. Using these dancing machines, the scientists were able to command the honeybees to stop moving, and to communicate where to fly to collect a specific nectar. The researchers plan to experiment with implanting robots into the hives so that the honeybees accept them as members of their community.

Bakker also writes about bioacoustics scientist Katie Payne and her discoveries regarding elephant communication. Payne was the first to find that elephants make infrasound signals, sounds below the human hearing range. The vibrations of these signals allow elephants to send messages across long distances through soil and stones. Scientists have since found that elephants have different signals for “honeybee” and “human,” as well as distinguishable signals for “threatening human” versus “nonthreatening human.” If the power of AI could be harnessed to send messages to elephant herds, we might be able to help protect their dwindling populations without removing them from their natural habitats.

Coral reefs also get attention in Bakker’s book. “A healthy coral reef sounds a little bit like an underwater symphony,” she explains. “There are cracks and burbles and hisses and clicks from the reef and its inhabitants and even whales dozens of miles away. If you could hear in the ultrasonic, you might hear the coral itself.” With the use of AI, scientists might eventually be able to get coral to repopulate certain areas by broadcasting “healthy coral reef” sounds to coral larvae.

While the idea of someday having “a zoological version of Google Translate” sounds overwhelmingly positive, there is the fear is that unscrupulous humans might use the technology to control animal populations for their own gain. Bakker warns that the possibility of exploiting animals “raises a lot of alarm bells” and that our “newfound powers” should never be used “to assert our domination over animals and plants.”

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But it’s not just the architecture and design spheres playing pivotal parts in sustainable urban integration projects. Many artists are also sharing their talents to create interactive environments that encourage a more harmonious relationship between nature and the urban sprawl. The new “Bird’s Eye View” installation in New York’s Battery Park aims to do just that.

Opened on Earth Day last month, the art installation isn’t just interactive — it uses augmented reality to show viewers all the bird species that live and travel through Manhattan’s waterways through the lens of their very own smartphones. Dubbed “Bird’s-Eye View,” the installation is the work of NYC artist Shuli Sadé, whose display consists of both photographs and original watercolors of local birds.

By scanning one of the 70 designated QR codes found on the signs along the water, visitors are virtually transported to a magical and often overlooked world in the sky. The immersive experience also includes snippets of bird songs, information about the birds’ habits and migratory patterns, and carefully curated lines of poetry that “draw parallels between the repetitive nature of bird sounds and syllables in poems.” Bird’s Eye View offers visitors a unique glimpse into the lives of 30 migratory bird species that frequent the skies above the Hudson River and can often be seen in flight above Battery Park City’s many gardens and parks.

While a focus on biodiversity and sustainability is nothing new to the 92-acre park, this dynamic installation means to further cement the Battery Park City Authority’s (BPCA) commitment to both “establishing Battery Park City as a biodiversity haven and bringing [the] community temporary art installations that transform [public spaces]…and encourage social cohesion,” according to B.J. Jones, president and CEO of the BPCA.

As Sadé recently explained, “One of the early goals of this artwork was to heighten our awareness of the environment in urban surroundings.” These images, sounds, and interactive displays do exactly that by connecting us to nature in a new way, blurring the lines that often exist between the virtual and the natural through art meant to educate, inspire, and promote biodiversity.

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“This isn’t a call for an extreme return to the wild,” the CoExistence website explains. “Look around you, wherever you are. Who do you share your world with? Can we increase our coexistence everywhere, and rewild ourselves? Nature is intelligent and adapting. Other life forms will meet our efforts halfway, if only we give them the chance.”

Each elephant was crafted deep in the jungles of India’s Tamil Nadu region by indigenous communities who actually come into regular contact with the real-life giants. The sculptures were modeled after those herds that roam the southern Indian hills.

The artists there used vines from the lantana camara plant (one of the world’s 10 most invasive weeds) as their primary medium. The weed particularly plagues India, as it competes with native plants for space and changes the soil composition. By removing this unwanted vegetation from the area, the artistic project also benefitted local wildlife.

“CoExistence is a call to change the global conservation paradigm,” says Dr. Tarsh Thekaekara of The Real Elephant Collective. “From saving nature in far-away pockets to living well with nature around us. To value the human connection with nature and celebrate all life forms around us by sharing space. To encourage people to remember that they are of, and for nature. We have the capacity to heal, grow, thrive, and support symbiotically with nature, as other species do.”

The exhibition herd migrated from its birthplace in India to England’s Sudeley Castle before moving on to The Mall in London, Chelsea, St. James’ Park, and Berkeley Square. When the showings were complete, each pachyderm went on sale for $42,000 a piece, with the proceeds being given to grassroots organizations in India that promote harmonious cohabitation between indigenous peoples and the surrounding wildlife by providing technological solutions and training to local inhabitants.

The sculptures were also captured in illustrated form by British artist George Butler. Before the pandemic, his art focused on documenting the warzones of Syria and Iraq. The shutdowns pivoted him toward another conflict, that of man and nature. Butler created a limited edition print of the lantana elephants juxtaposed with The Mall in the background.

“CoExistence is confirmation of a moment when society realized they had to do more,” Butler said in an interview with My Modern Met. “And the realization that this is an issue bigger than ourselves, bigger than individuals, and indeed bigger than the human race.”

All the participants behind this migrating art hope that it will help people to see the necessity of peacefully living side by side with Earth’s other animal species. “It’s a matter of mutual survival,” said Ruth Ganesh, Elephant Family’s principal trustee in an interview with Reuters. “Saving them is really about saving ourselves.”

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Underwater Photographer of the Year 2021: “Sharks’ Skylight” – Renee Capozzola (USA)

Capozzola captured this shot of blacktip reef sharks while in French Polynesia. An avid shark enthusiast, she’s particularly excited for the publicity her photo might bring to the need for their protection. “Since many shark species are threatened with extinction throughout the world, it is my hope that images of these beautiful animals will help promote their conservation,” she said on the UPY website.

This prize was an easy call for the judges this year. “The first time I set eyes on this image I was nothing short of mesmerized. It’s the palette of colors which first attracted me…mind-blowing underwater imagery at it’s very best,” comments judge Martin Edge.

Up-and-Coming Underwater Photographer of the Year 2021: “Tying In” – SJ Alice Bennett (Mexico)

After her careful plan to take this shot of cave training failed, Bennett had to quickly improvise before their gas reserves were depleted. She pressed the shutter just as her lighting assistants created the beautiful halo effects.

Judge Peter Rowlands explains why Bennett’s work earned the runner-up prize as such: “This strong image brought two words to mind – confidence and talent. Confident enough to pull off such an ambitious image, and talented [enough] to visualize such good composition and control complicated lighting.”

British Underwater Photographer of the Year 2021, My Backyard Winner: “While You Sleep” – Mark Kirkland (UK)

Shot in an area near Kirkland’s home in Glasgow, Scotland, the photographer used a combination of long-exposure, backlighting, close-focus wide angle, split photography, and a whole lot of patience to pull off this shot. “This final shot is a culmination 25 hours over 4 nights of lying in darkness, covered in mud, waiting on nature’s unpredictable elements to align. Time well spent? Absolutely,” he says.

And the judges agree. “I honestly think that the appearance of this image will go down in the history of underwater photography as a defining moment. Perfect yet flawed, natural in urban. I think it is a masterpiece,” gushes Rowlands.

Marine Conservation Photographer of the Year 2021: “Aerial view of a crowded island in Guna Yala” – Karim Iliya (USA)

Karim Iliya was in this region of Panama to photograph the art of making Mola, the traditional clothing worn by the inhabitants of this island. While waiting for a ferry, he sent up his drone and took this shocking aerial scene. “The importance of humanity’s relationship with nature and the need to protect it becomes very apparent when you look at our species from a bird’s-eye perspective and see how much space we take up.”

Underwater Photographer of the Year 2021, Behavior: “A striped marlin in a high-speed hunt in Mexico” – Karim Iliya (USA)

For his second prize-winning entry, Iliya captured this terrifying scene of small fish fleeing a striped marlin. “I went to Mexico to document these feeding frenzies but was not expecting such a fast-paced hunt, almost too fast for my brain to process,” he says, adding that “for a brief moment, this scene unfolded before me and I had to rely on all my instincts and practice underwater to take this photo.”

Underwater Photographer of the Year 2021, Wrecks: “BOWLANDER” – Tobias Friedrich (Germany)

After scrapping shoots in Tiger Beach and Bimini due to bad weather, Tobias Friedrich and his team tried a spot near Nassau in the Bahamas. They were surprised to find a totally new and precariously-perched shipwreck.

Judge Rowlands comments: “Images leap out for several reasons; David and Goliath scale, magnitude, and unambiguity to name three, and this image has all of those and more. If you want to know the secret formula for a classic wreck shot, look no further.”

These are just a few of the show-stopping 2021 victors and runners-up from this year’s contest. The rest of the awards and finalists can be viewed on the UPY Winners webpage.

Here are a few more breathtaking images for the road:

UPY Compact Winner: “Doule (Kuhlia Rupestris) near the surface” – Jack Berthomier (New Caledonia)

UPY Wide Angle Runner-Up: “Gothic Chamber” – Martin Broen (New Caledonia)

UPY Macro Runner-Up: “Larval Lionfish” – Steven Kovacs (USA)

UPY British Waters Compact Winner: “Sunrise Mute Swan Feeding Underwater” – Ian Wade (UK)

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Lean in to really look at the hen, for instance. That’s a button for an eye, encircled by a golden wreath ornament. In the center of that button is the head of a fox, while the comb at the crest of her head consists of three tiny hen figurines. Her body contains a fork, a spoon, and maybe a kitchen sink, too. The fox, meanwhile, is made of old red tins. Visible on one panel along his back is the word “fox.” Franc adds that she used an old spectacle case and cutlery on his flanks, and surgical scissors and watch straps on his face.

On the head of a hare, another button-eye features a flying bird, and a gear on the muzzle calls to mind the pocket-watch-carrying White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. The griffin is Franc’s only mythological creature to date, which gave her a bit more creative license. Its components include “recycled metals, decorative tin, and various pieces of ‘found’ materials such as umbrellas, keys, bike spanners, cutlery, chainsaw blades, hinges, dog leads, and lawn mower parts.”

Based in London, Franc clearly has a knack for choosing just the right upcycled elements to incorporate into each life-sized character. She begins with a wire netting armature, filling out the shapes with all manner of junk. Her process is intuitive, led by what she has on hand, what fits each part of the animal’s body, and species-appropriate symbols and imagery.

Picking out each object is part of the fun of viewing Franc’s metal menagerie, but their underlying structures are interesting, too. It’s cool how she leaves much of the armature visible, owing in part to her admitted fascination with skeletal systems and the mechanics of motion.

“I have always been fascinated by the sculptural form and shapes of animals, they present a never-ending source of inspiration to me,” she says. “I try to capture a feeling of their movement and presence in my sculpture. For this I use wire and other materials in a way that suggests drawing in three dimensions. This allows me greater freedom to add changes whenever I want during construction to keep the feeling fluid and to reflect the diversity of movement and form. I increasingly use recycled and discarded materials as I enjoy the challenge of transforming something with a past history into something new and exciting.”

If you love Franc’s creations and want to adopt one as your own, you’ll be happy to know she sells them periodically through her online shop, with smaller animals like birds listed around £180. Keep an eye out for more additions on her Instagram @barbara.franc.

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Edge, which has previously produced epic robotic creatures for Hollywood movies like Free Willy, Anaconda, and Deep Blue Sea, already has a 550-pound, eight-foot-long porpoise prototype in the works, made from medical-grade silicone “skin” that looks so real it has already fooled test audiences.

Although underwater mammals have been the centerpiece of aquariums and water parks for decades now, the attractions have waned in popularity in recent years because of popular outcry regarding their treatment.

“The marine park industry has had falling revenues for over a decade due to ethical concerns and the cost of live animals, yet the public hunger to learn about and experience these animals is still as strong as ever,” Roger Holzberg, Edge’s creative director of animatronics says in an interview with The Guardian. “We believe that it’s time to reimagine this industry, and that this approach can be more humane and more profitable at the same time.”

The Edge website explains that “real-time animatronics are hyper-real creatures capable of delivering any experience you can imagine. From dolphins sharing their dreams with your children, to great white sharks inviting you to be a part of their feeding frenzy, to sea dragons breathing fire in a nighttime fountain show. Safe, up close, personal engagement with the creatures of our oceans is finally possible.”

Addressing worries that computer-built animals might not deliver the same experience as the originals, Li Wang, a business developer for Edge, says: “For people [like] me, I liken authentic to natural. But if we think about the younger generation, they spend far more time than us playing electronic games online. We actually need to ask ourselves what is real and what is fake.”

In fact, an animatronic dolphin can offer several advantages over a real one. For starters, because the robots are controlled by humans and artificial intelligence, they can be programed to make specific gestures in response to children. They’re also built for close contact that could easily hurt living wildlife. And because the robo-dolphins don’t need salt water or room to stretch their fins, they can also be conveniently housed in small tanks in shopping centers, or even in pools chlorinated to keep human germs at bay.

“We realized that using animatronics instead of using live animals enabled us to create characters that truly were lovable, that could really deliver on the idea that we won’t hurt what we fall in love with,” Holzberg says.

Developer Wang says the bigger challenge is convincing entertainment venues that the $26.3 million price tag for each replica is worth the switch. “We have to persuade them that it is a profitable business, even more profitable than live animals,” he says. Wang also points out that dolphin droids will save money by cutting back on the cost of carefully monitored water temperature, food, and veterinarians.

“In terms of a 10-year business operating period and a two million annual visitor capacity, the overall investment and maintenance costs for a decent animatronics entertainment portfolio only accounts for about one quarter or no more than one-third of what a traditional aquarium spends,” he adds.

And of course, there’s the compassion aspect. Porpoises average a life span of only 20 years in captivity, although they can live between 30 and 50 in their natural habitats. Plus, instating electronically-animated creatures in marine exhibits would eliminate the need to abduct dolphins from their homes and families.

Animal-rights group PETA has already signed on to Edge’s mission, having recently showcased the company’s prototype at one of its events. “In 2020, cutting-edge technology allows us to experience nature without harming it,” says PETA’s UK director Elisa Allen.

Chinese firm Red Star Macalline Group has funded Edge’s first phase of development, with a pledge to replace live dolphins at its theme parks with robotic versions. There are more than 60 marine parks in China, which combined attract hundreds of millions of visitors each year. If mechanized sea life could get off the ground there, it could very well lay the groundwork for a near-future aquarium revolution.

The post Swimming With Robotic Dolphins: The Future of Marine Parks? first appeared on Dornob.

If there’s something about these sculptures that makes you a little uncomfortable, that’s because Cavener designed them that way. Proving she’s adept at written communication as well as visual, she explains exactly how she subverts primitive animal instincts to infuse her wild subjects with meaning that humans can connect to.

“On the surface, these figures are simply feral and domestic individuals suspended in a moment of tension,” says Cavener in her artist statement. “Beneath the surface, they embody the consequences of human fear, apathy, aggression, and misunderstanding. Both human and animal interactions show patterns of intricate, subliminal gestures that betray intent and motivation. The things we leave unsaid are far more important than the words spoken out loud to one another. I have learned to read meaning in the subtler signs; a look, the way one holds one’s hands, the incline of the head, and the slightest unconscious gesture.”

“I rely on animal body language in my work as a metaphor for these underlying patterns, transforming the animal subjects into human psychological portraits I want to pry at those uncomfortable, awkward edges between animal and human. Entangled in their own internal and external struggles, the figures express frustration for the human tendency towards cruelty and lack of understanding. Something conscious and knowing is captured in their gestures and expressions. An invitation and a rebuke.”

Cavener’s process is just as unique as her emotional approach to her art. She starts each new body of work by writing about her ideas and creating 20 or more thumbnail sketches and 3D models of the main characters, all revolving around a central theme for an exhibition. The creatures are custom designed for the space they’ll be inhabiting, too, influenced by these unnatural built environments and their architectural details.

The sculptures begin as pipe and dowel armatures, to which the Montana-based artist then adds clay. Suddenly, her foxes, hares, goats, wolves, and other creatures come into physical form, their fur consisting of impressionistic daubs and swirls. She refers to her many preliminary sketches, models, and Photoshop renderings of the exhibition space as she works, always considering how they will interact with each other, their setting, and the viewer.

In Human, Cavener’s new book examining nearly two decades of her work, she reveals her experimentations with unusual materials like smoke, black sand, and crystallized sugar to give her sculptures a sense of depth, texture, or shimmer. In some cases, the clay interacts with unexpected media like jewelry, textile, and natural found objects like wasp’s nests.

Human is a luminous and absorbing way to take in Cavener’s work, and you can purchase it on her website, where she has also catalogued most of her creations along with additional details about her methods.

The post Beth Cavener Sculpts Expressive Animals Using Sugar, Sand, and Smoke first appeared on Dornob.

Cows roaming pastures wearing VR headsets may sound like an offbeat idea for a children’s TV show, but in present-day Russia, it’s very much a reality. Scientists recently began fitting herds with them as part of an experiment sponsored by the Moscow region’s Ministry of Agriculture.

The Reasoning Behind the Research

With research around the world indicating that calm, happy cows yield better milk and beef than those who are stressed out and treated like nothing more than factory products, the RusMoloko farm in Moscow’s Ramensky district took it upon themselves to conduct their own experiments on the matter. Based on reports that some Wagyu farmers who surrounded their cattle with mood lighting reported a higher-quality beef yield, as well as one of a Missouri farmer who insisted his cows produced higher-quality milk when he played music for them, the Ministry issued a public statement explaining the logic behind their decision: “Examples of dairy farms from different countries show that in a calm atmosphere, the quantity, and sometimes the quality, of milk increases markedly.”

The Implementation Process

VR designers and veterinarians joined forces with Russian farmers in Krasnogorsk, a city located just northwest of the Russian capital. There, they brainstormed ways to create an environment they envisioned cows would find soothing and positive. That turned out to be a seemingly endless idyllic summer field covered with a variety of untouched grasses, swaddled in sunshine under a faultless sky of blue. The team modified VR headsets to fit the cows’ heads and accommodate their vision so the image was as clear and steady as possible and then loaded a simulation of the aforementioned scene.

The cows’ attitudes seemed to improve almost immediately, with the researchers emphasizing “reduced anxiety” and “improved moods” among the group. No longer were they subjected to the depressing weather or scant grass that made them grumpy. Instead, the VR images seemed to relax them, which in turn increased their intake of grass, silage, and hay, and perhaps due to better digestion, their production of more — and higher-quality — milk.

A Totally New Concept?

Back in 1908, E.A. Stuart purchased 360 acres of farmland in Washington state to found Carnation Farms. He began a selective breeding program of Holstein cows to increase milk production, which was eventually used worldwide. He also believed happy cows were just as important as healthy ones, making a point to treat all his cows with gentleness and compassion, with no stress or mistreatment. Stuart also maintained that this made them produce more and better milk than their counterparts.

Two years earlier, in a 1906 marketing meeting, Stuart was explaining how his pampered cows were so productive. A woman at the firm casually mentioned that “they must be very contented cows.” In 1907, that comment inspired what would become one of the most iconic taglines in food history: “Carnation Condensed Milk, the milk from contented cows.”

The jury’s still out on whether the VR masks significantly increase milk production and/or quality. If you see herds of milk cows wearing headsets on your next drive through the countryside, you’ll know the experiment was a success.

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Currently crowdfunding on Kickstarter, Birdsy AI is a video solution designed for birders and wildlife watchers capable of identifying birds and wildlife for all of North America and Europe. As more users participate, the system gets smarter, learning to identify additional species over time. Recordings are saved and labeled automatically and sent to your smartphone or computer.

The Birdsy AI app lets you watch a live stream or your saved videos from anywhere, so you can check in even when you’re at work or on vacation. The system also generates titles and thumbnail images so you can see the animals that have been by your feeder at a glance. It’ll even group videos of the same species together, though you can also browse by specific dates and times if you prefer.

Save the best moments by marking them as favorites, and get instant notifications when a new species appears so you can watch them right away (or peek at them in person, if you’re home). You can also share your favorite clips to social media at the touch a button. And if you enjoy checking out what other users are seeing in their own yards, whether they’re your neighbors or all the way across the world, you can check out the app’s “Wild Live TV” for popular videos and live cams.

The system’s Kickstarter page notes that “beta users report that they discover new birds and behavior with Birdsy. Birdsy gets you up close and personal without disturbing the natural behavior of wildlife. Beta users watch Birdsy before, during, or after work. Birdsy offers daily entertainment and is quite ‘addictive.’”

Setup is quick and simple. You’ll just need a permanent outdoor power source and a Wi-Fi signal with a minimum of 1 mbps upload speed. If your feeder is too far from your router to get a signal, you can purchase a Wi-Fi repeater or use a hardwired ethernet cable to keep your Birdsy going. The camera can be mounted on a pole, tripod, or arm, or screwed to a fence or wooden panel. Since it’s always plugged in and connected, you don’t have to worry about changing batteries or memory cards. And unlike other trail and action cams, there’s no monthly fee for cloud storage.

The camera offers full HD 1080p resolution at 30 frames per second and smart infrared night vision, so it’ll capture birds, squirrels, and other critters after dark, too. A built-in microphone captures audio, and the camera has both manual and automatic focus, so you can choose to zoom in or sharpen one bird over another when you’re in live mode.

Backers supporting this project on Kickstarter can get their own Birdsy AI camera, mount, power adapter, ethernet cable, and free shipping for pledges starting at $199. The camera will retail for $279 when it goes up for sale to the public later this year.

The post Birdsy AI Identifies the Wildlife That Comes to Your Feeder first appeared on Dornob.

Sullam and Joynson-Hicks, who pride themselves on “conservation through competition,” started the contest five years ago, feeling the world needed a photography contest that was cheerful, positive, and unassuming that shined a light on animals doing comical things. More significantly, they wanted to raise awareness about conservation.

Now that the 2020 awards have started accepting submissions, we thought we’d go over a few of our favorite categories to get your comedic juices flowing. Just make sure to send in your funniest photos by the June 30th deadline!

The Alex Walker’s Serian Creatures of the Land Category

Submit up to three of your most amusing pictures of wildlife that lives on the land. Simple and easy. And no worries if you enter the wrong category — the team will be sure to fix it for you.

The Spectrum Creatures in the Air Category

Bats, birds, and pretty much any animal that flies is appropriate for this category. Just make sure it’s funny!

The ThinkTank Photo Junior Category

Kids are talented photographers, too, of course, and the Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards also welcome their submissions. Participants in this category just have to be less than 16 years old by 11:59 pm on June 30th. If you’re unsure of a particular rule or submission, just shoot your questions to Tom and PJ via email.

The Amazing Internet Portfolio Category

Since this one of the most difficult categories, the awards team offers its entrants a couple tips. For starters, your collection must have four images. They don’t have to be related to one another, but you’re sure to score more points if they are. For example, you might submit four hilarious frames all featuring jungle cats.

The Underwater Category

This group has to include creatures that actually live in the water, like fish and marine mammals. If you submit a zebra swimming across a lake, it sadly won’t count.

The Video Clip Category

You can submit no more than two video clips in this category, each one of which must be 60 seconds or less. A maximum resolution of 1080p HD at 30fps, and a maximum file size of 150MB, are the upper limits here, but anything below those numbers will also work just fine. Just be sure the clips are uploadable by Vimeo.

The post The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards are Now Accepting 2020 Submissions first appeared on Dornob.

In addition to wearing face masks, avoiding crowds, and developing closer bonds with their families than they ever imagined, millions of working people have been subjected to video calls and other online applications to keep communications flowing and businesses thriving during the crisis. While this option is arguably better than no communication at all, the novelty quickly seems to have worn thin for many.

The Solution

Bring in some farm animals. Sweet Farm, an animal sanctuary in Silicon Valley, came up with an idea to bring a little fun to video conferencing while offsetting the losses they’ve suffered since the Coronavirus lockdown. For anywhere between $65 and $250, you can request a cameo appearance in your business video chat from Sweet Farm’s llamas, goats, sheep, pigs, cows, and turkeys. The project, dubbed Goat 2 Meeting after the popular conferencing software program, allows people to bring farm animals into their online happy hours and company conference calls.

For $65, you receive a 20-minute virtual tour of the farm for up to six video call participants. For a meeting with more participants, you get a 10-minute animal cameo for $100. A 25-minute virtual tour of Sweet Farm for a large group costs $250.

Sweet Farm co-founder Anna Sweet told Business Insider that since launching Goat 2 Meeting last month, she’s completed more than 300 requests for animal cameos and virtual field trips for clients from all kinds of companies, from Fortune 500 brands to brand new tech startups. She noted that one law firm even brought their kids along to take a virtual tour of the farm and meet the animals.

Sweet Farm’s Story

Sweet Farm is a groundbreaking non-profit animal refuge dedicated to alleviating the devastating impact of factory farming on animals, plants, and the planet at large. They recognize that the global food web is exceptionally complex, and that it’s not possible for us to progress without first recognizing how all its parts are connected. By creating links between vegan agriculture practices, farm animal rescue, and proper education and training, Sweet Farm is reinventing the parameters of the term “sanctuary.”

Sweet, who also works in the Silicon Valley tech world, co-founded Sweet Farm as a non-profit animal rescue and sanctuary intended to “connect people to where their food comes from.” For that reason, the sanctuary also provides free virtual field trips to schools and other non-profit groups. Schools in the United Kingdom and Brazil have already taken their students on some of these virtual tours, and there’s another one planned soon for a homeless shelter in North Carolina.

“I think we’re all a little stressed with what’s going on — many of us have been sitting inside,” Sweet recently told Business Insider. “We’re just hoping to bring some smiles to people’s faces while bringing them out to the farm at the same time.”

The post Need a Star for Your Next Corporate Zoom Call? This Company Lets You Hire a Remote Goat or Llama first appeared on Dornob.

Thanks to some insights learned from studying the behavior of kingsnakes, a team from Johns Hopkins University’s Terradynamics Lab, spearheaded by Mechanical Engineering Assistant Professor Chen Li, has just broken ground in this area. The team’s cutting-edge research was published in both the Journal of Experimental Biology and Royal Society Open Science.

“We look to these creepy creatures for movement inspiration because they’re already so adept at stably scaling obstacles in their day-to-day lives,” explains Li. “Hopefully our robot can learn how to bob and weave across surfaces just like snakes.”

Kingsnakes in particular were selected for a number of reasons. Firstly, they’re nonvenomous to humans, meaning they wouldn’t be able to harm any of the researchers. Second, they’re a docile species commonly kept as pets, making them much easier to handle and acquire that other kinds of snakes. Kingsnakes are also very versatile, having proven highly adaptable to varied landscapes including deserts, forests, and even lush tropic regions. They can traverse dry grasslands and the wet terrain of riverbanks and swamps. Even burrowing in the ground is natural for them. They can likewise anchor, brace, and grip with just as much dexterity as they slither and sidewind, whether the obstacles are smooth and small or rough and large.

To better understand kingsnake movement, Li and his team devised a set of experiments, each with a different set of parameters. These varying conditions centered around adjusted “step height and surface friction” to document how the kingsnakes “contorted their bodies in response” to different kinds of obstacles.

The team’s findings revealed that the snakes controlled their body movements by “partition[ing] their bodies into three movement sections.” On the top and bottom steps, the front and rear section of the snake’s body tended to undulate horizontally like a wave. The middle section stayed rigid during this time, “hovering just so to bridge the height of the step. The wriggling portions, they noticed, provided stability to keep the snake from tipping over,” reports HUB Johns Hopkins University.

They also found that the kingsnake combined both “body lateral undulation and cantilevering to stably traverse large steps.” This means that every time it moved, the front part of its body would extend and lengthen, the back part would shorten, and the middle section would stay about the same as the snake was suspended between the two steps. It was the wriggling portions that gave the reptile enough stability to keep from tipping over.

When the researchers varied the friction and the height of the steps, the kingsnakes adjusted their movements accordingly. Steps that were taller and more slippery prompted them to decelerate and undulate their front and back partitions less for better stability.

Based on these observations, the team then developed their first snake robot design as a model bio-mimicking the locomotion concepts they learned. Unfortunately, this prototype was only able to climb a small distance before destabilizing and toppling over. For that exact reason, the next incarnation of the bot was given a suspension system (similar to that of an automobile) that would allow each one of its body segments to compress onto a step’s surface, thereby improving balance across steps. Of course, the one downside of this improvement is its inherent need for more electricity.

Li admits that “the animal is still far more superior, but these results are promising for the field of robots that can travel across large obstacles.”

Overall, the research team was able to create a robot snake that could effectively scale a height that was more than a third of its body length. It also surpassed the performance of previous robots in its ability to traverse large steps, completing the task more nimbly and with greater speed.

The team believes that kingsnakes have proven invaluable in advancing locomotion concepts and their application in robotic design. Li feels the snakes also show promise for further breakthroughs when exploring inaccessible terrain in disaster response, adding that “they’re the masters of movement, and there’s much we can learn from them.”

The post Kingsnakes Inspired Johns Hopkins’ New Search-and-Rescue Robot first appeared on Dornob.

Airbnb is a great place to find unique houses to rent for short and long stays. Some have lakes and pools onsite, others boast breathtaking vistas from every window, and others still are rustic cabins in the heart of serene forests. For a very limited time, the site will even let you rent out Lucy the Elephant, a 65-foot-tall wood and metal pachyderm who’s been a star attraction of the Jersey Shore since 1881.

Lucy’s Colorful Past

Lucy has been a permanent symbol of Margate (formerly South Atlantic City) since she was conceived and built by James V. Lafferty, an engineer, real estate entrepreneur, and pioneering animal-shaped building constructor. His initial goal with the project was to lure land developers into buying Jersey shore property. Sure enough, Victorian-era tourists were mesmerized by the giant 90-ton elephant. To seal the deal even more, Lafferty ushered prospective clients six stories up the interior staircase into Lucy’s observation deck so they could get a panoramic view of the surrounding area.

In 1887, Lucy got her name from the Gertzen family, who didn’t care for her original moniker of “Elephant Bazaar.” She was quickly transformed into a tavern, and, after that, a summer home for a British doctor and his family. The Gertzens retained ownership of Lucy until 1970, when they kindly bestowed her to the Save Lucy Committee.

Lucy has likely served more purposes over the last 138 years than any other offering on Airbnb. In addition to being used as a tavern and private beach bungalow, Lucy has also been a real estate office, and of course, a popular tourist attraction. The inimitable elephant is also tough and resilient, enduring two relocations, a fire, lightning strikes, hurricanes, floods, break-ins, and lots of general neglect.

In 1969, Lucy faced the worst fate of her life. Her exterior was devastated by years of ruthless marine weather, which made tourists flock to relatively newer attractions. The owners decided to sell the landmark, but the buyers only wanted the land she was on. Subsequently, she was condemned by authorities, and her demolition seemed imminent.

Saving Lucy

Word quickly spread of the plans to destroy Lucy, and the Save Lucy Committee was promptly formed. Together, its members raised enough money to move Lucy to a site owned by the city, soon to become a park. The funds raised by the Save Lucy Committee also paid for Lucy’s huge renovation.

In 1974, Lucy the Elephant was again ready to be a paid tourist attraction after undergoing four long years of restoration. The Save Lucy Committee oversaw both the building and tours, which reportedly brought in around 132,000 visitors every year. $8.50 bought adults for a 30-minute excursion inside the elephant, complete with highlights from her personal history.

The Airbnb Deal

On March 5th, 2020, Lucy the Elephant was made available for booking on Airbnb. It’s a very limited opportunity, with reservations available for the nights of March 17th, 18th, and 19th and just a two-person maximum occupancy. Prospective guests should be aware that there’s no bathroom inside the elephant, but there is one in a trailer conveniently parked at Lucy’s lovely painted feet. For added safety, a staff member and security guard will occupy an adjoining gift shop during the stay. Guests will also be served breakfast inside Lucy come morning. And for just $138 a night, all that sounds like a pretty good deal. Even better, all of the the humble proceeds from the three overnight stays will be used for future repairs and maintenance.

The post Iconic Lucy the Elephant Landmark Now Takes Airbnb Bookings first appeared on Dornob.

Japanese artist Monokubo imagines such a scenario, but it’s not quite as terrifying as it sounds. Her digital paintings depict cats, wolves, foxes, birds, and other creatures at what could be a monstrous scale in relation to humans and their built environments, but the mood is far from fearful. Instead, each enlarged animal is like a gentle giant, regarding the tiny people around it with curiosity.

Some of the creatures are protective, offering their small human friends shelter or a place to take a nap. In fact, many of the paintings depict people sinking their faces or entire bodies into the warm, comforting fur or feathers of the oversized animals. It’s an understandable impulse, especially for those of us who are unable to resist rubbing a cat’s soft belly when the opportunity arises.

Others are just doing whatever they’d normally do if people weren’t around — digging in the snow, lounging in the grass, taking a walk, curling up in the forest, or keeping watch from a rooftop (albeit a much smaller rooftop than usual). In other pieces, there’s a palpable sense of anticipation, like one of a wide-eyed cat that seems to be getting ready to pounce. Truthfully, most of us wouldn’t want to be batted around like a toy, so that part is still a little scary to imagine.

If you’re a fan of Studio Ghibli films, some of these paintings might feel familiar. Monokubo first got the idea for the illustrations after watching animated films like Princess Mononoke and My Neighbor Totoro, in which oversized animals are the norm. She tells My Modern Met that she usually chooses to paint animals that have made big impressions on her daily life, like her own cat.

The artist doesn’t reveal much about herself beyond that, but the endearing works she’s created speak for themselves. And if you really love Monokubo’s digital fantasy paintings of cats and other animals, you can have them in your home in the form of a book. The artist released Monokubo Art Works – Megalophilia in 2018 through Japanese publisher KADOKAWA, and it contains 160 pages of wonderful furry images. Here’s the description via AnimeBooks.com, where you can purchase the book:

“Ever got that feeling that someone is looking right at you but you don’t see them? How about an animal trying to blend in [with] their surroundings so that you don’t see them? Artist Monokubo illustrated an average fantasy life of three characters going about their day as they see giant animals lurking around every corner. The artist depicts the essence of each animal and incorporates the characters into their surroundings. A great art book for animal lovers out there.”

Keep up with Monokubo’s latest illustrations by following her on Instagram.

The post Lose Yourself in Japanese Artist Monokubo’s Fantastical Animal Art first appeared on Dornob.

The fragility of a butterfly enhances its beauty, making one marvel how such a delicate being can survive the wind, much less the world at large. Now, a young visionary artist is adorning stunning designer pieces with these awesome creatures to create an entirely new artform.

Portrait of the Artist

Only 29 years old, Roman Feral was born in Paris, France, though he has since relocated to Miami, Florida. His talent for art was evident even as a child, and his early creations revealed outstanding aptitude, deftness, and vision.

Feral’s latest endeavor is by far his most popular. The melding of creations from world-renowned brands like Cartier, Chanel, Goyard, and Louis Vuitton with real butterflies he sources and preserves from Asia, Africa, and South America is set to be on display in galleries all over the world this year, including cities like Paris, London, New York, Miami, Cannes, Monaco, and Courchevel.

The Process

Instead of preserving the butterflies when they are at rest, Feral has developed a new procedure that enables him to preserve each specimen while it’s in the air. The technique demands extreme accuracy and scrupulous care, but the result is incredible. Small cases, petite suitcases, and trunks designed by industry icons take on new aesthetics with butterflies emerging from their openings, each one arranged like a fine jewel in the bottom of the case or perched on an edge in a frozen moment of flight.

In another piece, a replica of Andy Warhol’s world-famous Campbell’s Tomato Soup can serves as a vase, with a bouquet of Feral’s butterflies emerging from it like fresh-cut flowers. All the pieces in the collection are also available for purchase, with prices ranging from $9,000 to $100,000.

Feral’s artistry is particularly impressive in his creation of an iconic piece inspired by Louis Vuitton. The 1950s cutouts from a LV piece were used to spell out “LOVE” and then attached to a translucent case with gold corners designed by Feral. Butterflies adorn the letters in a playful configuration, and at the bottom of the LOVE structure is a patch of imitation grass, completing the luxury-meets-nature theme.

There’s no doubt Roman Feral is an intensifying talent with even more incredible creations on the horizon. He has a vision that seems boundless, and an imagination and eye for unusual pairings that’s unmatched in the field. And though he may be a man of few words, the things he’s shared so far can’t help but promise exciting works to come.

Feral told the press: “My art is about creating an emotion and ambiance in a way that we haven’t seen…art has the power to create emotional connections and drive brand’s consumers consumption. Art and brands are like Yin and Yang and the gray zone between the two is what fascinates me…my art is inspired by the gray zone between nature’s beauty and luxury brands.”

The post Roman Feral Uses Real Butterflies to Give Designer Fashion Accessories Wings first appeared on Dornob.