The chimp they tried to turn into a human: An extraordinary experiment in which scientists raised a chimpanzee as their child... with chilling results

By TOM LEONARD

Monkey business: Nim is taught sign language by volunteer Joyce Butler

The woman volunteer thought Nim was coming to hug her, but instead the young chimp lunged, biting so deep into her cheek that his fangs pierced her mouth.

As she clutched her bleeding face, the little ape was beside himself, using the same piece of sign language again and again to attract her attention. ‘I’m sorry, I’m sorry,’ he repeated.

This haunting recollection is one of many contained in a riveting new film, Project Nim, by the director of the Oscar-winning Man On Wire, about one of the most bizarre scientific experiments of recent times.


'A heartless Doctor Doolittle': Professor Herb Terrace takes Nim for a ride


British film-maker James Marsh’s latest subject undertakes a journey every bit as astonishing as tightrope artist Philippe Petit’s walk on a wire strung between the Twin Towers of New York’s World Trade Centre.

Nim was a chimp that was raised as a human child in order to test out the radical theory that man and his closest relative could learn to talk to each other.

Tragically, as Marsh’s film relates through a mixture of archive footage, re-enactments and interviews with those who took part in the early-Seventies experiment, this is a tale that ultimately says more about human arrogance than simian intelligence.


Meal time: The animal eating with one of the volunteers. The chimp was given the name Nim Chimpsky - a pun on Noam Chomsky, the famous thinker who insisted that only humans have the capacity for language

source: dailymail

All sorts of bugs and ticks: The clockwork creepy crawlies you'll come to love in time

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Clockwork colours: This life-like meat fly even has the wings and colourful shell found on real flies but is actually made from metal

Anyone swatting these bugs may be in for a surprise - the creepy crawlies are filled with clockwork innards.

Artist Mike Libby, 34, customises real insects and creatures with antique watch parts and electronic components to create new hybrid species.

His 2011 range of beasties includes beetles, butterflies, dragonflies, grasshoppers and even a fearsome-looking cyborg crab.


That's a bit nippy: A crab has been crafted from rusted metal to give it the unique orange colour that it has in the wild


Mike's inspiration for what he calls the Insect Lab came when he found a deceased bug in his garden in Portland, Oregon.

'One day I found a dead intact beetle,' he said.

'I then located an old wristwatch, thinking of how the beetle also operated and looked like a little mechanical device and so decided to combine the two.

'After some time dissecting the beetle and outfitting it with watch parts and gears, I had a convincing little cybernetic sculpture.

'I soon made many more with other found insects and have been exploring and developing the theme ever since.'


Hopping mad: A grasshopper made from watch components adopts a regal pose while right, a close up of a blue butterfly shows how minute and second hands are used for its antennae


Mike has created specimens in many shapes, sizes and colours, with each insect adorned differently to make it truly unique.

He even creates insects to order from his Portland studio and was recently requested to make three clockwork scorpions by a New York stockbroker.

'I get the insects through scientific dealers who provide high quality specimens from all around the world; from Africa, China, New Guinea, Brazil and more,' he says.


Emerging into life: A clockwork butterfly sits on Mr Libby's workshop tables surrounded by pins and tiny watch components as it is constructed for the artist's 2011 collection


Jumping nowhere: This cricket with delicate copper parts giving it a realistic colour is fixed firmly to the ground inside its jar


Ornamental: A bug is housed like an intricate decoration inside a glass bowl. To the right, some of the pocket watches that would have donated parts can be seen


Hairy moment: This clockwork Tarantula appears to have been made from the body of a real spider with small cogs and brass fixings added to its back


Buzzing: This carefully painted bud has four legs and two pairs of wings, but how long will it be before it's time comes?

Each piece takes a number of hours to complete as Mike painstakingly crafts each of the insect;s features.

Once the pieces of art are finished, they can sell for up to $2,000 each. Many of the creatures, such as spiders and scorpions, are so life-like that they could pass at first glance for real animals.

He added: 'Though I do salvage insects that I find right at hand, the occasional bumblebee or dragonfly. Also, people are welcome to send me specimens of their own for a piece.'

As for the mechanical ingredients he uses parts 'mostly from antique pocket watches and wristwatches' and tries to use almost every component 'from the swipe hands and screws to the gears and springs'.


Sting: This life-like scorpion looks so real that it could give people a fright is they spotted it lurking on the mantle piece


Taking off: A dragonfly has delicate wings similar to those found on the real insects. The tiny ornament is small enough to be held in the palm of a hand

source: dailymail

The bee’s knees? Chinese contestants cover themselves in insects for ‘bee bearding’ competition

By BY DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Daredevil: Beekeeper Wang Dalin, 42, stands with bees covering his body on a weighing scale during a 'bee-bearding' competition.


Chinese farmer Wang Dalin will certainly 'bee' happy after winning this incredible competition.

The 42-year-old beekeeper was competing in a daring 'bee bearding' contest in Shaoyang, Hunan Province of China, against 20-year-old farmer Lv Kongjiang.

The pair competed by standing on a scale wearing only a pair of shorts.

They then used queen bees to attract other bees onto their bodies.

Fearless: Wang Dalin shortly before the bees completely covered his body


Mr Dalin was crowned the winner after attracting 26.86kg of bees onto his body in 60 minutes, according to local newspaper reports.

Mr Kongjiang managed to attract a slightly lower 22.9 kg.


Second place: Lv Kongjiang waves at onlookers watching the 'bee bearding' contest


The event attracted a large crowd of fascinated onlookers.

However, unlike the competitors, many of them took the more sensible option of wearing protective clothing.


Support: Crowds watch as bees cover Wang Dalin

source: dailymail

Save my lion! Desperate plea from woman who is looking after paralysed Ariel in her living room

By LEE MORAN

Caring: Ariel's owner Raquel Borges launched the Facebook campaign to raise money to care for her paralysed lion


Stretched across a mattress, Ariel the lion dozes as four people gently clean and massage his body.

Under usual circumstances his carers would be at risk of a serious mauling from the 140kg beast.

But three-year-old Ariel is no ordinary animal - because just over a year ago he was struck down by a debilitating virus which paralysed all four of his legs.


Routine: Vet Livia Pereira has taken Ariel into her home so she can care for him full-time


An internet campaign has now been launched by his owner Raquel Borges and vet Livia Pereira to raise the $11,500 needed each month to pay for his treatment.

A staggering 35,000 people have already clicked the 'like' button on Ariel's Facebook page and sent in donations to help fund his daily caring routine.

Pereira said: 'When the Facebook campaign began in May, we had less than five followers, because it was designed to inform people of Ariel's case not to ask for help.


Kindness: Vet Livia Pereira snuggles in to paralysed lion Ariel


'But then we started asking for donations and the number of people following Ariel's case soared.'

Pereira, who cares for Ariel at her home, said that for unknown reasons his white blood cells were attacking his healthy cells due to a degenerative disease affecting his medulla.

This is a portion of the brainstem involved in motor functions.


Passed out: Ariel lies on a mattress, propped up by packets of toilet rolls


She believed Ariel's symptoms were similar to those of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and Guillain-Barre syndrome - an autoimmune disorder that can cause paralysis.

A team of Israeli veterinary neurologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who tested Ariel to see what degenerative disease was involved, will publish their results later this month.

Their trip to Brazil was paid for by Graziela Barrette, a Brazilian model living in New York, who had been moved after hearing of Ariel's plight.

Ariel was born in the shelter that Borges and her husband run in the southern city of Maringa, where they care for sick or abandoned animals.

She said: 'He was a perfectly normal and docile lion that slept with me until he was 10-months-old.'



Loving: Vet Livia Pereira kisses paralysed lion Ariel who has lost the use of his legs


But last year, after spending hours leaping and chasing balloons, Ariel started limping. 'I could tell he was in pain,' she added.

Days later he was unable to move his two hind legs and after surgery to remove a herniated disc he lost control of his front legs.




source :dailymail

Save my lion! Desperate plea from woman who is looking after paralysed Ariel in her living room

By LEE MORAN

Caring: Ariel's owner Raquel Borges launched the Facebook campaign to raise money to care for her paralysed lion


Stretched across a mattress, Ariel the lion dozes as four people gently clean and massage his body.

Under usual circumstances his carers would be at risk of a serious mauling from the 140kg beast.

But three-year-old Ariel is no ordinary animal - because just over a year ago he was struck down by a debilitating virus which paralysed all four of his legs.


Routine: Vet Livia Pereira has taken Ariel into her home so she can care for him full-time


An internet campaign has now been launched by his owner Raquel Borges and vet Livia Pereira to raise the $11,500 needed each month to pay for his treatment.

A staggering 35,000 people have already clicked the 'like' button on Ariel's Facebook page and sent in donations to help fund his daily caring routine.

Pereira said: 'When the Facebook campaign began in May, we had less than five followers, because it was designed to inform people of Ariel's case not to ask for help.


Kindness: Vet Livia Pereira snuggles in to paralysed lion Ariel


'But then we started asking for donations and the number of people following Ariel's case soared.'

Pereira, who cares for Ariel at her home, said that for unknown reasons his white blood cells were attacking his healthy cells due to a degenerative disease affecting his medulla.

This is a portion of the brainstem involved in motor functions.


Passed out: Ariel lies on a mattress, propped up by packets of toilet rolls


She believed Ariel's symptoms were similar to those of multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease and Guillain-Barre syndrome - an autoimmune disorder that can cause paralysis.

A team of Israeli veterinary neurologists from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, who tested Ariel to see what degenerative disease was involved, will publish their results later this month.

Their trip to Brazil was paid for by Graziela Barrette, a Brazilian model living in New York, who had been moved after hearing of Ariel's plight.

Ariel was born in the shelter that Borges and her husband run in the southern city of Maringa, where they care for sick or abandoned animals.

She said: 'He was a perfectly normal and docile lion that slept with me until he was 10-months-old.'



Loving: Vet Livia Pereira kisses paralysed lion Ariel who has lost the use of his legs


But last year, after spending hours leaping and chasing balloons, Ariel started limping. 'I could tell he was in pain,' she added.

Days later he was unable to move his two hind legs and after surgery to remove a herniated disc he lost control of his front legs.




source :dailymail

The orangu-twins! Dozy pair are tired of the attention after rare feat of birth in capitivity

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Handful: The first Bornean orangutans twins ever to be born in captivity at Hong Kong's Zoological and Botanical Gardens


This pigeon pair of Bornean orangutans look too tired to be worried about the excitement, but their birth could be good news for conservation efforts.

The twins were born in the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens last Friday, with the male baby weighing 2 kg and the female about 1.4 kg.

This is the first-ever successful breeding of Bornean orangutan twins in Hong Kong, bringing to five the total number of this primate in the Zoo.


Wide-eyed: The male orangutan, right, and his sister were born to father Vandu and mother Raba on July 8, 2011


Born in the morning of last Friday, the twins are the two little darlings of Vandu and Raba, the adorable and popular stars of the gardens.

They are both in good health and are being well taken care of by the veterinarian and staff of the HKZBG.

The baby twins have yet to be named. They are still adapting to their new life in the gardens before they will meet with visitors.


Feeding time: Zoo staff make sure the baby orangutans get a good breakfast


The twins' father, the 16-year-old Vandu, was transferred from a zoo in Hungary to Hong Kong in January last year through a conservation breeding program.

Mother Raba, now 15 years of age, was born in the zoo in 1996.

The Bornean orangutan is an endangered primate. With its huge body and lovely appearance, it has always been the most popular animal in the zoo.


Mum: Raba, mother of the Bornean orangutans twins


Big daddy: Vandu, the impressive father of the Bornean orangutans twins born Hong Kong Zoo

source: dailymail

The real Deputy Dawg: Mayor makes Miniature Schnauzer pet her second in command complete with robes and cravat

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Right hand man: An animal loving mayor Joan Holmes has appointed her pet pooch as the deputy dog


Residents will no doubt be delighted to learn that their newest council official has a reputation for working like a dog.

But unfortunately that's not because of her love of hard graft - rather the mayor has appointed her pet dog as her deputy.

Joan Holmes, 62, was elected mayor in Brentwood, Essex, and nominated her eight-year-old Miniature Schnauzer Abi to be her official consort on official visits and trips - complete with her own miniature robes.


Deputy Dawg was a cartoon character on the animated TV series, by the same name, in the 1960s


The fluffy grey pooch is taking her new role very seriously and wears a miniature version of her owner's red-fur trimmed ceremonial robes and a tiny white lacey cravat.

Ms Holmes said: ‘She seems to like her mayor's outfit, and it really suits her.

‘It takes a while to realise that people do think the role of mayor is important, and Abi will hopefully be treated the same way in her new role.

‘She's very sociable, like me, she loves her food, like me, and when the day is over she likes nothing more than putting her feet up.



Animal lover: Joan Holmes, 62, was elected mayor in Brentwood, Essex, alongside her pooch


‘I don't, however chase squirrels,’ she joked.

Conventionally the Mayor will appoint their husband, wife, a relative or a close friend as their consort for official engagements but Ms Holmes intends to take her ‘deputy dawg’ on as many official visits as possible - especially to schools.

She said: ‘She loves children and they love her. She loves having her tummy tickled and makes a fuss of people.’

source: dailymail

Sleeping with the fishes: Alaskan bear nods off in river after catching salmon

By LEE MORAN

Dozy bear: Rick Sheremeta snapped Yolanda falling asleep after she had caught a salmon


It's usually a case of 'You Snooze, You Lose' - but not for this brown bear who managed to grab 40 winks after landing a salmon.

Yolanda, as she has been named, could bear-ly keep her eyes open when she was snapped by wildlife photographer Rick Sheremeta.

This incredible picture shows her nodding off in a river, unchallenged by other bears, while still clutching her tasty snack.

Sheremeta had spent four days watching brown coastal bears at McNeil River Falls, on the Alaskan Peninsula, 290 miles south west of Anchorage.

He said: 'Yolanda was particularly interesting to watch. Not only was she fairly high up the bear pecking order, allowing her unchallenged access to her favourite spot, she was an excellent fisherwomen snatching fish time after time.'

'She would snare a large fish and walk it into the shallows where she would sit and consume it at her leisure. '


Snapped: Rick Sheremeta spent four days watching brown coastal bears at McNeil River Falls, on the Alaskan Peninsula, 290 miles south west of Anchorage


He added: 'She did this time and time again but we never saw her leave the water to take a nap break like all the other bears routinely did.

'I guess all this frantic activity finally got the best of her. She finally wandered into the calm pool just as she had done numerous times before, sat down, cradled her catch under her arm and promptly nodded off.

'Unfortunately, her nap was fairly short lived since her little slumber pad also happened to be an active byway for other bears travelling to and from the River.


That woke him: Tempers get out of control at times as these large bears vie for the best Salmon fishing spots


'After a few moments of blissful slumber she was rudely awakened by other some other denizen splashing through the water.

'Even though the scene was short-lived, it was a once in a million moment that I was lucky enough to document and capture with my camera.'

source: dailymail

S'warm in 'ere! Staff trapped in chocolate shop for almost THREE HOURS after thousands of angry bees threaten to invade store

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Help! Terrified staff at Thorntons were trapped for nearly three hours after they were attacked by this swarm of bees


This is the incredible moment terrified staff at Thorntons chocolate shop were trapped for nearly three hours after they were literally bee-sieged - by a buzzing swarm.

The sweet store was forced to close for two-and-a-half hours after thousands of bees swarmed around the queen in its doorway.

Staff at the shop in Leominster, Herefordshire, said it was like something from a horror film as they watched an angry cloud of black and yellow coming at them.


Buzz off: The bees are believed to have swarmed the shop to protect a queen bee which had been ousted from a nearby nest


They were forced to hide inside the shop, barricading the door with chocolate boxes, while a beekeeper was called.

Shop assistant Kim Kinsey said: 'I thought they had been attracted to the shop by the sweet smell of the chocolate, but the beekeeper explained they follow the queen.'

The bees are believed to have swarmed the shop to protect a queen bee which had been ousted from a nearby nest by a younger female.

They were eventually removed by a beekeeper after tourist information centre manager Gill Ding raised the alarm.

Ms Ding, 45, said: 'Nobody seems to know where they came from but it was probably from a large hive. It was quite alarming.




source: dailymail

Get out of my way! The bulls of Pamplona go running… over the backs of revellers

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Ouch! Revellers crouch for cover as a bull jumps over them to get into the arena


Thousands of thrill-seekers dashed ahead of six fighting bulls in the streets of the northern Spanish city of Pamplona today in the first running of the bulls in this year's San Fermin festival.

Miraculously no one was gored, but one person was hospitalized after falling in the sprint, said Spanish Red Cross spokesman Jose Aldaba. In all, four people needed treatment by medical staff.

The bulls, from the Torrestrella farm, accompanied by six guiding steers charged down the 849 metre course from a pen to the city's bull ring in two minutes and 30 exhilarating seconds.


That's got to hurt! A 'mozo' or runner is painfully flipped over when a young bull catches him with a horn between the legs


Runners, wearing traditional white clothing and red handkerchiefs around their necks, tripped over each other or fell in the mad rush but avoided getting caught out by the charging bulls.

There were some unexpected moments as one of the steers separated from the pack and charged back towards the starting gate, sending runners scattering after they thought their dash was over.

Another steer stopped and laid down on the pavement near the end before eventually being guided into bullring, where the six bulls will take part in the afternoon's bullfight.



Stampede: The fighting bulls charge round a corner on their way to the ring as the runners try to keep up


Hoofed: a reveller winces as he is trampled after falling on the street


'The truth is there were very few people for the first running, so it was quite comfortable,' said 20-year-old Julen Iruzun, who was taking part in his third 'encierro,' the Spanish term for the run.

'That must be one odd steer' Iruzun said about the wandering one, 'but these things happen.'

The runs take place each morning at 8 a.m. and are televised across Spain.

People come from all over the world to test their bravery and enjoy the festival's nonstop street parties which last until July 14.

The festival was immortalized by author Ernest Hemingway in his 1926 novel 'The Sun Also Rises'.


Taking it easy: Runners are forced to wait while a cow that took a tumble on the cobbled street gets to its feet. Right, locals cheer from their balconies as the the bull run rushes past on the way to the town arena


Steer crazy: The angry animals rampage down the street as festival goers, dressed in traditional red and white, urge them on


A sangria-soaked runner is pressed up against a wall by a bad-tempered bull


At the end of each run, that last around two and a half minutes, the animals are led into the city's bullring


Spain bull running festival gets underway


source: dailymail

Tree frogs could hold key to new self-cleaning bandages, long- lasting glues and grippier tyres

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER

Hanging on: Orange thighed Tree Frog, Litoria chloris, in the Lamington National Park, Queensland, Australia, has a secret to its foothold


The biology of tree frogs could provide us with tyres that literally stick to the road, according to a Scottish academic.

'Tree frog feet may provide a design for self-cleaning sticky surfaces, which could be useful for a wide range of products especially in contaminating environments - medical bandages, tyre performance, and even long lasting adhesives,' Niall Crawford told the Society for Experimental Biology Annual Conference in Glasgow.

But although it has been known for a long time that tree frogs had sticky feet covered in mucus, the secret of how they keep them sticky has only just been discovered in the laboratory.

Researchers at the University of Glasgow placed the frogs on a tilting, rotatable platform to measure the angles at which the frogs lost their grip.

Adding dust caused them to slip sooner, but the frogs would take a few steps and regain their footing.

That ability to clean their feet so quickly, which scientists now understand, could lead to new self-cleaning surfaces and adhesives.


Key grip: The microstructure of the pads on the frog's toes allows it to stick like glue


'When the frogs did not move the adhesive forces recovered much more slowly,' said study researcher Niall Crawford at the University of Glasgow.

'Interestingly the same factors that allow tree frogs to cling on also provide a self-cleaning service. To make their feet sticky tree frogs secrete mucus.

'They can then increase their adhesion by moving their feet against the surface to create friction.

'We have now shown that the mucus combined with this movement allows the frogs to clean their feet as they walk,' Crawford said.

'Just taking a step enables frogs to clean their feet and restore their adhesion ability.'

The White's tree frogs he used also have tiny hexagonal patterns on their feet, which allow some parts of the pad to remain in contact with the surface and create friction, while the channels between allow the mucus to spread throughout the pad.

This mucus at once allows the frog to stick and then, when they move, also carries away any dirt.

If this can be translated into a man-made design it could provide a re-useable, effective adhesive

source: dailymail