Pala-isip

From Yahoo! News . Four new species of crab have been discovered in the Philippine island of Palawan. And one of the crabs truly stands out with its unusually bright purple shell. National Geographic reports that the Insulamon palawanese may use its uniquely colored shell to help identify its own kind. "It is known that crabs can discriminate colours. Therefore, it seems likely that the colouration has a signal function for the social behaviour, e.g. mating," Hendrik Freitag of the Senckenberg Museum of Zoology in Dresden, Germany told AFP. "The particular violet coloration might just have evolved by chance, and must not necessarily have a very specific function or reason aside from being a general visual signal for recognition," Freitag told National Geographic. Freitag's report on the new species of crabs was published in the Raffles Bulletin of Zoology. Despite the big news, the newly discovered crabs are quite small in stature, each from about an inc...

A report from Unang Balita showcases Anguib Beach at Sta. Ana, Cagayan. It's considered the Boracay of the North. Clear waters, white sands but less people and not as popular...yet. The Philippines is truly blessed with beautiful nature. I hope the current and future generations take good care of it.

Saw this on Facebook . It shows the beauty of the Philippines in 25 stunning photos. One thing I can say about the Philippines, it's really a beautiful country. I just wish people would take care of it as well as they do their homes. I'm posting all the photos here, but check out the Facebook Page as well for descriptions. Banaue Rice Terraces - a UNESCO World Heritage Site dubbed as the "Eighth Wonder of the World" Underground River, Puerto Princesa, Palawan (recently named one of the World's New 7 Wonders of Nature) Mayon Volcano, Legaspi Tablas Island, Romblon Lightning over Manila Manila El Nido, Palawan Vigan, Ilocos Sand Bar, Bacuit Bay, El Nido, Palawan La Union Road to Mount Tapya, Coron, Palawan Chocolate Hill of Bohol Big Lagoon, Bacuit Bay, El Nido, Palawan Swimming with Whale Sharks in Donsol Boracay's White Sand Beach Coral Reefs Callaos Cave, Cagayan Vigan Boracay Cliff Diving at Puer...

This is a bridge crossing the highway in Banff, Alberta in Canada. Apparently, the Trans-Canada highway was built across the natural crossing of these Elks and a lot of animals and drivers got killed when these animals were crossing the highway during their migration. A bridge was built for the animals to cross so they and the drivers don't get hurt. It took some years, but the Elks have now learned to cross the bridge instead of the highway. According to Snopes , it's not really a bridge dedicated for animals but a bridge for Canadian Pacific Railway. Interesting just the same.

The Cassowary is a large, flightless bird native to Australia. The adult cassowary can grow between 5 to 6 feet tall, weighs about 100 pounds and has sharp claws and helmet-like crest on their heads. It can run over 30 mph. In short, this bird can kill you and the San Diego Zoo calls it the most dangerous bird in the world. Their claws are capable of causing serious injuries, if not death. They're like the modern day equivalent of a velociraptor.

From The Examiner. More than 800 tons of milk fish or locally known as bangus died in a lake near Taal Volcano. Authorities blame the deaths on sudden temperature drop. Officials have banned the sale of the rotting fish, which are being buried by the truckload in Talisay and three other towns in Batangas province, Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources official Rose del Mundo said Sunday. Read more at the San Francisco Examiner: http://www.sfexaminer.com/news/2011/05/800-tons-fire-die-rot-philippines-fish-farm#ixzz1NrRL6lFr

If you are a nature lover and loves to hike or take landscape photos. I found a list of great places in the Philippines to climb from the Philippine Daily Inquirer . 1. Mt. Apo - North Cotabato and Davao 2. Mt. Kanlaon (Kanla-On, Canlaon) - Negros Island 3. Mt. Pulag - Benguet 4. Mt. Talinis - Negros Oriental 5. Mt. Ugo - Benguet 6. Mt. Kabunian - Benguet 7. Mt. Batulao - Batangas 8. Mt. Pinatubo - Central Luzon 9. Pico de Loro - Cavite 10. Mt. Manabu - Batangas Full article with some photos here . Sad to say, the photos on the Inquirer website does not do justice to these places. They consistently have the smallest and lowest quality photos of any news organizations I've seen. I have found some photos taken by other photographers that does a better job so here they are. Click on the photos for a bigger view. Mt. Batulao Mt. Pulag All photos by Jerry Tieng. To see more beautiful places the Philippines has to offer, check out his Facebook Profile .

Isn't nature awesome?

I've never seen this happen before.

The male club-winged manakin—a tiny bird of the Andean cloud forest—was vibrating a club-shaped wing feather against a neighboring, ridged feather to "sing" when trying to attract females. Nature is just amazing isn't it? Watch the video. How about this moonwalking bird?

Several dolphins were caught on camera playing football with a jellyfish.