Latest news with #NewCaledonian
Yahoo
21 hours ago
- Science
- Yahoo
Experts stunned by gut-wrenching discovery fueled by social media sensation: 'They collect [them] like stamps'
Experts dedicated to protecting rare gecko species have expressed alarm at seeing the animals featured on social media, fearing that their popularity will lead to more illegal poaching, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation reported. For thousands of years, geckos thrived on the remote island chain of New Caledonia in the Southwest Pacific. Over time, several new gecko species developed that only can be found there, according to the ABC. Many of these species feature unique coloring and other features that have made them popular online. However, experts working to preserve these rare species fear that their newfound popularity will put even more pressure on the at-risk animals. "For some species … if there's a few years of animals being collected commercially, that might be too much," warned Villanova University's Aaron Bauer, an expert on New Caledonian geckos, per the ABC. "The populations might not be able to stand that." Conservationists in New Caledonian have watched in dismay as endangered or threatened species have been paraded online, knowing that those animals are the offspring of geckos stolen from their forests and illegally transported abroad. "They collect these geckos like stamps," Oriane Lallemand, head keeper at the Zoological and Forest Park in Nouméa, told the ABC. While some may question why it matters whether a few rare gecko species go extinct on a remote island chain in the Southwest Pacific, maintaining global biodiversity is essential to our survival as humans. "There are lots of ways that humans depend upon biodiversity, and it is vital for us to conserve it," according to The Royal Society, a fellowship of scientists. "Pollinators such as birds, bees and other insects are estimated to be responsible for a third of the world's crop production." Further, invertebrates and microbes maintain healthy soil for crops, and "life from the oceans provides the main source of animal protein for many people," per The Royal Society. Beyond the food supply, biodiversity also provides ecosystem services such as water and air cleaning while mitigating flooding, according to UNICEF. Do you think America has a plastic waste problem? Definitely Only in some areas Not really I'm not sure Click your choice to see results and speak your mind. Worldwide, conservationists are working to maintain and restore Earth's precious biodiversity. Despite these efforts, many experts believe the planet is going through just its sixth mass extinction event, with this one being caused by human activity. "The current rate of extinction is between 100 and 1,000 times higher than the pre-human background rate of extinction, which is jaw-dropping," said Katie Collins of the U.K. Natural History Museum. "We are definitely going through a sixth mass extinction." Though the situation is dire, we all can do our part to maintain and restore biodiversity in our communities. Rewilding your yard or planting a native lawn can create a habitat for pollinators and other essential species and even save you money on your water bill. Don't have a yard? Try joining a community garden or putting just a few pollinator-friendly plants on your balcony to help make a difference. Join our free newsletter for good news and useful tips, and don't miss this cool list of easy ways to help yourself while helping the planet.
Hindustan Times
22-05-2025
- Science
- Hindustan Times
Forget compass, crows can spot geometric flaws without Math tools: Latest study
A crow doesn't need a compass or a protractor to know when something looks off. That's the latest revelation from a study in Science Advances, which shows that carrion crows can spot geometric regularity- symmetry, parallel lines, and right angles. Two birds, no math class, and yet they could tell when a shape wasn't spot on. We humans have long considered geometric intuition our exclusive domain. The ability to recognise when shapes follow orderly principles and to instinctively grasp concepts like symmetry and perpendicularity has been described as a unique human talent. Geometry is a way of thinking found across cultures, even in people with no formal education. This basic sense of shape regularity underpins centuries of human thought, from Euclid's Elements to modern design. But that story may need a rewrite, or at least a footnote. Researchers at the University of Tübingen in Germany trained two crows to play a visual game on a touchscreen. Six shapes would appear, and the task was to peck the one that didn't belong. At first, the differences were obvious --- five identical shapes and one distinctly different one. Then came the real test --- sets of four-sided shapes that looked almost identical. Squares, parallelograms, trapezoids, and versions with just one angle or edge slightly off. Despite having never encountered this type of geometric challenge before, the crows performed well. They didn't just identify the intruder; they showed a pattern of performance that closely mirrors how humans perceive shapes. The birds were most accurate when the base shapes were regular. Their accuracy dropped as the regularity declined, suggesting their sensitivity to symmetry and parallelism matches our own. Even their mistakes resembled ours. Like many human subjects, the crows struggled most with the rhombus, a shape that often slips past our intuitive sense of irregularity. Also Read: Two crow deaths at Gorakhpur zoo increase bird flu worries What makes this finding especially striking is that other species have failed at similar tasks. Baboons, despite being far more closely related to us, couldn't learn to detect these geometric differences, even after extensive training. Yet crows, whose lineage diverged from ours more than 300 million years ago, succeeded spontaneously. Crows have been surprising people for years. They belong to a remarkably intelligent bird family, the corvids, known for solving problems that stump other animals. Crows craft tools, solve multistep puzzles, remember human faces for years, and even grasp the concept of zero. In one well-known experiment, a New Caledonian crow bent a straight wire into a hook to retrieve food from a narrow tube --- a task that requires abstract reasoning and defeats many young children. The crows in this study were familiar with visual tasks and interacted with a touchscreen to earn treats. But this experiment tested their understanding of shape regularity, something far more abstract. To rule out chance, the researchers rotated and resized the shapes, randomized their positions, and analysed dozens of trials per bird. The crows still got it right. Birds navigate complex environments, build nests with structural precision, and use spatial memory to cache thousands of food items. A natural grasp of shape, angle, and spatial relationships would be useful. What we consider abstract mathematics might, for them, be a survival skill. Also Read: Caw of the wild: Meet the Mumbai crows with an Instagram following The researchers don't claim that crows are unique- only that they're the first non-human animals shown to have this ability. Their findings open the door to testing other intelligent species such as parrots, dolphins, and elephants that might also possess this form of visual reasoning. If birds and humans both show this ability, despite their vast evolutionary distance, then perhaps geometric intuition isn't a human invention. It may be older, more deeply rooted, and not limited to humans and crows. Anirban Mahapatra is a scientist and author, most recently of When The Drugs Don't Work: The Hidden Pandemic That Could End Medicine. The views expressed are personal. Get 360° coverage—from daily headlines to 100 year archives.
The Hindu
19-05-2025
- Politics
- The Hindu
Can New Caledonia gain independence from France?
The story so far: A high-stakes attempt by French Overseas Minister Manuel Valls to broker a new political accord for New Caledonia collapsed on May 8, plunging the French Pacific territory into profound uncertainty. What is its current status? For decades, New Caledonia, a French island territory of approximately 2,71,400 people in the southwest Pacific Ocean, has been on a complex journey regarding its status. The 1998 Nouméa Accord, born from a history of colonial tensions and a near civil war in the 1980s, explicitly recognised the 'trauma' inflicted upon the indigenous Kanak people. It also led to three referendums on independence, in 2018, 2020 and 2021, of New Caledonia from France. While all three rejected independence, the final vote was boycotted by pro-independence parties and its legitimacy has been contested. Why is independence still a demand? New Caledonia's modern history began with its seizure by France as a penal colony in 1853. Despite attempts to ease colonial rule, such as granting French citizenship to all inhabitants in 1957, deep divisions persisted, culminating in the 1984-1988 conflict. The Kanak and Socialist National Liberation Front (FLNKS) emerged during this period as a powerful political force, advocating for complete independence. The 1998 Nouméa Accord was a landmark compromise. It established a unique sui generis status for New Caledonia within the French Republic. It granted the territory significant autonomy, including its own Congress with law-making powers, and incorporated 'New Caledonian citizenship' which restricted voting rights to long-term residents, a key provision for Kanak political representation. However, due to the FLNKS boycott of the last independence referendum, over COVID-19 and customary mourning periods, the final solution to New Caledonia remained uncertain. Why did recent talks fail? The period following the contested 2021 referendum was marked by heightened tension, which exploded in May 2024 over a French proposal to 'unfreeze' the electoral roll (to change rules which restrict voting rights to only long-term residents). The ensuing riots, the worst in decades, resulted in 14 deaths, and hundreds injured. In this volatile context, the French government, through Mr. Valls, intensified efforts to find a 'third way' — a new institutional status that could offer a form of sovereignty without complete traditional independence. Mr. Valls's mission aimed to facilitate dialogue between FLNKS and loyalist factions towards such a consensual outcome. The concept of 'sovereignty in partnership' became central. This envisioned New Caledonia gaining enhanced international recognition and control over most aspects of governance such as the judiciary, but with an immediate, negotiated delegation of the exercise of these powers back to France. However, this path was abruptly blocked on May 8. During the negotiations, the proposal was decisively rejected by hardline loyalist factions in the island. They deemed the 'sovereignty in partnership' model as tantamount to disguised independence. Instead, these loyalist groups proposed a form of partition, with the pro-independence North and Loyalty Islands provinces having an association status, while the wealthier, loyalist-majority South Province would remain fully French. This solution was found unacceptable to both the French state, which upholds New Caledonia's indivisibility, and the independents who called this 'paramount to apartheid'. The failure of the talks has significantly amplified the obstacles. The immediate challenge is the upcoming provincial elections, due by November 2025, which will now proceed without a prior political agreement on the territory's future. Franciszek Snarski is an intern at The Hindu.
Time Out
30-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Time Out
A new gecko gallery filled with rare species is opening in Brooklyn
Brooklyn's wildest new attraction has scales, sticky feet—and may be snoozing in a sweatshirt hood. Opening early next month (tentatively, the second week of May) in East Williamsburg, the Gecko Gallery will showcase NYC's largest public collection of rare and endangered geckos—around 150 of them—all inside a single 400-square-foot basement below the McKibbin Lofts at 255 McKibbin Street. The pint-sized reptile museum is the passion project of two local biologists and lifelong animal lovers, Richie Laleh, 29, and Joseph S. Migirov, 19, who say their fascination with geckos started as kids. 'Where some people look past them, we share a common fascination,' Laleh tells Time Out. 'Geckos are some of the most diverse animals in the world.' View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Gecko Gallery NYC (@thegeckogallery_nyc) What began as a private collection in their Brooklyn apartments has now evolved into a public venue, following encouragement from building management to open the space to the public. Visitors can expect to see show-stealers like the nearly extinct Madagascar leaf-tailed gecko, a giant day gecko (yes, the Geico one), and a cuddly New Caledonian giant gecko named Kermit, who's been known to nap in Laleh's hoodie. The geckos are sourced from zoos, licensed breeders and occasionally through wild rescues, with the goal of strengthening captive gene pools and promoting conservation. 'We envision a future where our efforts bring often overlooked species into the spotlight,' Laleh says. Though small in size, the Gecko Gallery is big on mission: education, conservation and sparking a little wonder. Tickets are $20, and the duo is already booking visits from curious school groups and local colleges. With its mix of science, spectacle and pure gecko charm, this quirky basement menagerie might just become your new favorite rainy-day spot.
Reuters
19-02-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Miner Eramet to tighten belt with markets still weak
PARIS, Feb 19 (Reuters) - French mining group Eramet ( opens new tab on Wednesday said it will trim spending and boost productivity gains this year as it still faces unfavourable metal markets that helped push down its 2024 profits. Eramet recorded adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) of 814 million euros ($847.29 million) in 2024, down 11% from the previous year, it said in a results statement. The earnings exclude Eramet's New Caledonian nickel subsidiary SLN, which is being propped up by French government loans. Low prices, notably due to sluggish Chinese demand, combined with production cuts at Eramet's flagship manganese and nickel mines weighed on its full-year performance, the company said. Faced with low prices and still subdued demand in China at the start of this year, the group was focused on reducing its net debt, which rose to 1.8 times adjusted EBITDA at the end of 2024 from 0.7 time a year earlier, Chief Financial Officer Nicolas Carre told reporters on a call. The group is targeting capital investment of 400 million to 450 million euros this year, compared with 497 million in 2024, and expects productivity gains to be higher than last year. The rise in debt last year was partly due to Eramet's buying Chinese partner Tsingshan's share of their lithium joint venture in Argentina. Eramet's Centenario facility, which started production in December, is expected to produce 10,000 to 13,000 metric tons of lithium carbonate equivalent in 2025 and reach its nominal annual capacity rate of 24,000 tons at the end of this year, Chairwoman and CEO Christel Bories said during the call. Eramet has limited direct exposure to potential U.S. tariffs but could be affected by a reshuffling in trade from China, she said. An end to the war in Ukraine, as sought by U.S. President Donald Trump through talks with Russia, should not have a major impact on the nickel market as Russian supply has already shifted towards China, she added. ($1 = 0.9607 euros)
