Archive for the 'Nature' Category
Japan’s 21-Leaf Clover
Happiness lies in a 4-leaf clover; a 5-leaf is wealth and luck, the 6-leaf is said to be — fame. (Shigeo) Ohara’s dream is a 30-leaf clover.
(四つ葉は幸せ、五つ葉は金運、六つ葉は名声──といわれるクローバー。小原さんの夢は、３０枚葉という。) - Yomiuri
Today, Shigeo Ohara, dream has come ever so closer to being a reality with his world record breaking finding of a 21-leaf clover. As a formal government food crop researcher now at age 83, Mr.Ohara spends his time researching clovers in the Iwate Prefecture.
The 21-leaf clover is described to have leaves with about “1cm long that overlap each other like rose petals on a 3-centimeter stem” (From Yomiuri, translated by Pink Tentacle).
Some of us might not and may never even set eyes upon a clover with more than 3 leaf, but astonishing enough, Mr.Ohara is also the current official record holder for a 18-leaf clover which he found in his garden in May of 2002!
That’s not all! Mr.Ohara stated that just last month, one of his family member found a 27-leaf clover which has yet to be confirmed!
I guess Mr. Ohara’s research on the genes of clover’s leaf count, colour, pattern and size will be a retirement hobby that will bring him plenty of luck.
Source:
Yomiuri
Pink Tentacle
Kitty Death Camp in China
China isn’t the most animal-friendly nation. In fact, I’m advising all pets in China to get out, now! Just last year, China received alot of criticism for killing stray dogs throughout the country. Now they’re sending cats to death camps in Beijing in preparations for the Olympics. What next?
The Chinese government are doing this as they’re convince of the urban health risks which these animals hold. Well, with a cat population of 500,000 in Beijing, their government might just have a reason.
But is there no alternatives? Vaccinations to stop disease from spreading or transporting these cats to other parts of China are some suggestions. Heck, they could even have a cat adoption scheme for overseas animal lovers! Must there make these cats pay the ultimate price? I’m sure most tourist visiting Beijing for the Olympics would prefer to see cats strolling around then to see none and know that they’re in death camps…
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Source:
DailyMail.uk via asianoffbeat
Thailand’s Soccer Elephants
Elephants has been an important part of Thailand’s culture for centuries. In Thailand’s Surin province, an annual festival to celebrate their elephants. The festival has many events with elephants parading, playing soccer, showing their dart skills and also painting!
Surin province’s elephant handlers, or ‘mahouts’, have been known for centuries for their expertise in rounding up the animals to pull logs from the country’s lucrative forests. But they were forced to turn to tourism for business and train their elephants to do tricks when the country banned logging in 1989. - ABC
The event will host more than 300 elephants and has become a main force in driving Thailand’s tourism industry!
Here’s a video showing what happened at this year’s festival:
They definitely need a soccer league for these elephants, i’ll definitely pay to watch them play!
Source:
ABC