tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296837667232969438.post4821476911098578456..comments2011-04-13T15:58:06.665-07:00Comments on NEOSELVA ZOOLOGICAL CONSERVANCY: SAVE THE TURTLES! CUIDEMOS LAS TORTUGAS!neoselvafoundationhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/18257243243500539821noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296837667232969438.post-74942689086244240782008-02-26T11:22:00.000-08:002008-02-26T11:22:00.000-08:00Christina Bryant February 22, 2008Biology 1040 O...Christina Bryant <BR/><BR/>February 22, 2008<BR/><BR/>Biology 1040<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>Our World’s Differences<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>When one stops to think about how our world differentiates from culture to culture most people don’t realize the complexity of how it truly is. To most, our world is how you see it in front of you everyday. Whether you’re wealthy, middle class or see no class, people believe that’s the way it is everywhere. It’s believed that everyone lives acts and feels the same way. That couldn’t be further from the truth, though. In reality every culture is completely different in nearly every way. >From the attire people wear, or don’t wear, and the way people cook their meals to the way they pray to their god. <BR/><BR/>When people in our culture wake up in the morning they can go into the kitchen and get themselves a cold, or hot, drink depending upon preference. They can then cook themselves something to eat and sit on their sofa to watch a television program, completely oblivious to how the rest of the world acts and feels. People in our culture are spoiled. They complain about petty materialistic things they don’t have or that fact that they have to go to work everyday to make a living. While in reality they should be appreciating everything that we do have because there are people in other places that don’t have nearly as much as we do. Yet somehow they smile and accept life for how it is. They are simply happy to be alive and healthy. They don’t care if they have a Prada bag or a Lexus to drive. All they care about is their family’s health and happiness. <BR/><BR/>People in other cultures don’t have the luxury of choosing what to eat each day. Most will settle for anything to eat, even if it was picked from a pile of garbage or was shot, killed and skinned earlier that same day. People will settle for the scraps that were thrown out by others, then mixed around with other garbage and dumped in a pile of dirt. They will go through all that garbage to get a piece of lettuce that will be shared among five other people. Once they finish with that food, which couldn’t even be classified as a meal, they are completely content and ready to go looking for the next small meal. Other countries eat the same thing everyday. It has never changed and probably will never will. For example they will have a bowl of rice for breakfast lunch and dinner. Food is not the only problem other countries encounter. <BR/><BR/>Over population is so out of control that people have no choice but to sleep in what looks like a large box. They wake up at the crack of dawn and then walk in the clustered streets to get to the subway. Once there they squeeze into the jam-packed cars that are packed tighter than sardines in a can. Most of these people will have to stand on the subway for hours trying to get to work. Once they arrive at the factory style job they have they will sit so close to one another that they’re practically on top of each other. All of which are doing the same work, barely being noticed. They will do this every day in order to supply themselves and their families with food and a warm place to sleep. Nothing else in their lives matters or bothers them. They don’t complain about what they don’t have. They’re just happy to be able to work and supply for their family. <BR/><BR/>Another big difference between us and other countries is the way we pray to our god. Only about half of our population actively goes to church or pray at all for that matter. Americans do not realize how lucky we are to be able to practice whatever religious beliefs we desire. We take for granted the fact that if you’re Christian you can go to your church, or if you’re Jewish you can go to your temple. No one is looked down upon for practicing what they believe. In others countries in this world people practice one belief and that’s it. They pray one way and would never imagine doing so differently. They wake up in the morning and pray to their god, asking that everything goes good that day and no evil approaches them. They will then pray at night before they go to bed again guarding them from evil. And in most places they will pray between those two times. Some places men dedicate themselves top praying all day while the women are preparing for or clothing for their families. <BR/><BR/>The drastic differences between countries which are all in the same world is astonishing. People have become oblivious to the rest of the world. If everyone would combine, become one and work together our world would be better off. However, that is not the case. People choose to stay in their own world and live their lives the way they choose. Most could care less if people in other countries ate at all that day, or even that week. In my opinion, the way Americans act is disgusting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296837667232969438.post-65947243618260838952008-02-25T07:36:00.000-08:002008-02-25T07:36:00.000-08:00Christina Bryant February 22, 2008Biology 1040 Our...Christina Bryant <BR/><BR/>February 22, 2008<BR/><BR/>Biology 1040<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>Our World’s Differences<BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>When one stops to think about how our world differentiates from culture to culture most people don’t realize the complexity of how it truly is. To most, our world is how you see it in front of you everyday. Whether you’re wealthy, middle class or see no class, people believe that’s the way it is everywhere. It’s believed that everyone lives acts and feels the same way. That couldn’t be further from the truth, though. In reality every culture is completely different in nearly every way. >From the attire people wear, or don’t wear, and the way people cook their meals to the way they pray to their god. <BR/><BR/>When people in our culture wake up in the morning they can go into the kitchen and get themselves a cold, or hot, drink depending upon preference. They can then cook themselves something to eat and sit on their sofa to watch a television program, completely oblivious to how the rest of the world acts and feels. People in our culture are spoiled. They complain about petty materialistic things they don’t have or that fact that they have to go to work everyday to make a living. While in reality they should be appreciating everything that we do have because there are people in other places that don’t have nearly as much as we do. Yet somehow they smile and accept life for how it is. They are simply happy to be alive and healthy. They don’t care if they have a Prada bag or a Lexus to drive. All they care about is their family’s health and happiness. <BR/><BR/>People in other cultures don’t have the luxury of choosing what to eat each day. Most will settle for anything to eat, even if it was picked from a pile of garbage or was shot, killed and skinned earlier that same day. People will settle for the scraps that were thrown out by others, then mixed around with other garbage and dumped in a pile of dirt. They will go through all that garbage to get a piece of lettuce that will be shared among five other people. Once they finish with that food, which couldn’t even be classified as a meal, they are completely content and ready to go looking for the next small meal. Other countries eat the same thing everyday. It has never changed and probably will never will. For example they will have a bowl of rice for breakfast lunch and dinner. Food is not the only problem other countries encounter. <BR/><BR/>Over population is so out of control that people have no choice but to sleep in what looks like a large box. They wake up at the crack of dawn and then walk in the clustered streets to get to the subway. Once there they squeeze into the jam-packed cars that are packed tighter than sardines in a can. Most of these people will have to stand on the subway for hours trying to get to work. Once they arrive at the factory style job they have they will sit so close to one another that they’re practically on top of each other. All of which are doing the same work, barely being noticed. They will do this every day in order to supply themselves and their families with food and a warm place to sleep. Nothing else in their lives matters or bothers them. They don’t complain about what they don’t have. They’re just happy to be able to work and supply for their family. <BR/><BR/>Another big difference between us and other countries is the way we pray to our god. Only about half of our population actively goes to church or pray at all for that matter. Americans do not realize how lucky we are to be able to practice whatever religious beliefs we desire. We take for granted the fact that if you’re Christian you can go to your church, or if you’re Jewish you can go to your temple. No one is looked down upon for practicing what they believe. In others countries in this world people practice one belief and that’s it. They pray one way and would never imagine doing so differently. They wake up in the morning and pray to their god, asking that everything goes good that day and no evil approaches them. They will then pray at night before they go to bed again guarding them from evil. And in most places they will pray between those two times. Some places men dedicate themselves top praying all day while the women are preparing for or clothing for their families. <BR/><BR/>The drastic differences between countries which are all in the same world is astonishing. People have become oblivious to the rest of the world. If everyone would combine, become one and work together our world would be better off. However, that is not the case. People choose to stay in their own world and live their lives the way they choose. Most could care less if people in other countries ate at all that day, or even that week. In my opinion, the way Americans act is disgusting.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296837667232969438.post-62736152086173285632008-02-22T17:30:00.000-08:002008-02-22T17:30:00.000-08:00From: Genevieve Chantal V. Ceant Sent: Wed 2/20/0...From: Genevieve Chantal V. Ceant <BR/>Sent: Wed 2/20/08 4:59 PM <BR/>To: ljimenez15@hotmail.com <BR/><BR/> <BR/><BR/>It was an amazing experience to observe the reptiles that were presented to our class, namely, the African Hinge-back Tortoise, the Central American Ornated Red-foot Turtle, the Mount Turtle from the U.S., the Texas Box Turtle, the African-Spur Turtle, and the Russian Turtle. <BR/>Tortoises differ from turtles as they live on land and use water only for bathing and drinking. These reptiles use their shells or carapaces to protect themselves from their predators. Growth rings appear on the carapace. Their bodies adapt to their habitats and this is evident in the differences in their snouts which may be sharp in carnivores or dull if they are herbivores. Their feet may be webbed for swimming or limbs may be present for stronger muscles needed for walking or digging holes. They also vary in size, skin-texture, and color.<BR/>The Central American Ornated Red-foot Turtle is a great example of the variety of texture and color. This attractive animal’s face is adorned with thin red lines, and the legs, tail, plastron (underside of the shell), and marginal scutes (sides of the shell) are heavily marked with red and black. The shell is moderately elongated in shape. Males can be distinguished from females by the thicker tail and concave plastron. They can reach up to 7 inches long whereas females can be about two inches longer. They are endangered as they are domesticated because of their beauty, and they also require more care and do not do well in captivity.<BR/><BR/>Hinge backs are a species of tortoise that have hinges on the bottom part of their shells. The African hinge back tortoise is not listed as endangered; however, these animals are being exported out of their native areas in large numbers because of their unique shells, with a movable hinge. The hinges allow the back of the shell to clamp down so the back legs and tail have increased protection from predators. They can retreat their head quite far when threatened, bringing the front legs in to seal the anterior opening in the carapace; the knees meet in front of the head with the feet pointing to either side. The enlarged scales of the forelegs face outward in this position, protecting the legs themselves. Overall, they are rather small in size, but the largest type can grow to be nearly 12 inches long.<BR/><BR/>The Texas Box Turtle is very ornated, and it has a single hinge at the front of the lower shell (plastron), allowing to fold it up and closing the front of the shell entirely; thus the common name of “box turtle”. They also have a hooked upper jaw (“beak”). Males have a longer tail thank females with a thick base and a somewhat concave plastron, whereas females have a flat one. They used to be seen in backyards, on ranches, and along roadways, but many Texans report that they are now hard to find. Texas Parks and Wildlife Department would like to know if you see a box turtle in the state.<BR/><BR/>The tan-colored Russian Tortoise is the smallest of them all. It generally reaches a length of 6 to 8 inches. Their carapace is very round, and the vertebral scutes of the carapace are noticeably flat. The tail has a terminal claw, and it is generally longer and thicker in males than in females. The Russian Tortoise has four claws on each foot. <BR/><BR/>For its part, the African Spur Tortoise is the largest of these reptiles. Its shell length ranges up to 36 inches and weighs up to 240 lbs. Well cared for in a pen, it can live up to 70 years. This tortoise has a uniform brown to golden yellow color. Growth rings on each scute appear on the carapace. There are also well-defined spurs on the rear legs, which gives it its name African spur thigh tortoise. The skin is thick which may serve to reduce fluid loss through transpiration.<BR/><BR/>This brief encounter with these different tortoises illustrates how diverse the same species can be. It is important to remember that in many places it is illegal to take wildlife out of the wild without the proper permits from local, state, or federal authorities. Also, it is important to remember that captive reptiles or amphibians should not be released into the wild as this will disrupt the natural order of our environment.<BR/><BR/>For more information, please visit the following websites:<BR/>www.wnyherp.org<BR/>www.turtlesite.info.html<BR/>www.centralpets.com<BR/>www.tpwd.state.tx.us<BR/>www.rollinghillswildlife.com <BR/><BR/><BR/>Posted by Genevieve Chantal V. Ceant to NEOSELVA ZOOLOGICAL CONSERVANCY at February 20, 2008 1:59 PMneoselvafoundationhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18257243243500539821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296837667232969438.post-7702588434063314802008-02-22T06:49:00.000-08:002008-02-22T06:49:00.000-08:00In our last class we as group looked closely at so...In our last class we as group looked closely at some turtle and their physical features. Here's what we notice. The mud turtle has big eyes, a pointed nose, and webbed feet. The shell came to a point as well and was a green color. This turtle was very fast and wouldn't stop moving. The African turtle had spikes on his legs and long, thick nails. Parts of the turtles back is raised a bit higher than most. This is because the turtle had too much protein in it's diet while younger. It has a yelloeish color on it's shell. Central American turtle has red and yellow scales on it's webber feet. It was very fast and energenic. The head was a little extended. The Russian turtle has light green and yellow colors on it's shell and thick long claw like nails. The red footed turtle has bright oranges on his shell along with dark brownish colors on it's perfectly rounded shell. The texas turtle looked like the average turtle you see in pet stores. He was very small with bright green colors on its shell. He has a slight top on the top of the shell. He was very calm and barely came out of his shell. I think it's wonderfel that there are still people in the world that would sacrifice some space in their house to save a turtles life. <BR/>-Christina BryantAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4296837667232969438.post-6416928783762415912008-02-17T19:51:00.000-08:002008-02-17T19:51:00.000-08:00HOla!bueno... tu post se me hizo muy interesante, ...HOla!<BR/>bueno... tu post se me hizo muy interesante, tu blog en general! es impresionante como la gente maltrata y da tan mal uso a los recursos que nos da el planeta y los gastan como si fueran desechables como si nunca se fueran a acabar!<BR/>yo tengo un blog de tejido, pero fuera de eso, trato de concientizar a la gente, doy platicas en escuelas y demas ya que si de algo estoy segura es que este mundo nos necesita!<BR/>Un beso desde mexico! si necesitas cualquier cosa avisame y seguro cuentas conmigo!por aca me tendras seguidoMalishahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17010205827991447089noreply@blogger.com