Today we’re going to learn vocabulary about pets.
pet = animal / bicho de estimação / mascote
dog = cachorro / cão
cat = gato
bird = pássaro
parakeet = periquito
parrot = papagaio
fish = peixe
guinea pig = porquinho da índia
pet store = pet shop
dog food = ração para cachorro
cat food = ração para gato
bird cage = gaiola
fish tank = aquário
leash = coleira
to walk the dog = passear com cachorro
veterinarian = veterinário
shots = vacinação
A group of volunteers in a remote corner of the Amazon, on the Japurá River near the Colombian border, helped save nearly 8,000 endangered turtles.
Run by the Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade, the project required volunteers to carefully watch and monitor nearly 300 turtle egg nests for six months. Later, the eggs were brought to a safe location to hatch, so they wouldn’t be eaten by animals or humans.
Three of the local turtle species, including the iaçá, tracajá and tartaruga, are endangered, especially because local inhabitants hunt and eat them.
To see photos of the project, click here.
Brazilian biologist Ricardo Braga-Neto was driving on the highway from Manaus to Porto Velho when he noticed something glowing in the forest. When he stopped his car to inspect the source of the light, he discovered that it was a mushroom.
Although there are 64 known species of bioluminescent mushrooms in the world, and the species the biologist found was a discovered species, no one knew that this particular species was bioluminescent. By accident, Braga-Neto discovered the first bioluminescent mushroom in the Amazon.
The biologist believes there are similar species waiting to be discovered and hopes to get other scientists involved in the study of fungi, which are important for recycling nutrients on the Amazon floor. He noticed that the mushroom emits light even during the day, unlike some other bioluminescent species, but he’s not sure what purpose it serves. It could be to attract insects, or to ward off predators, or to attract the predators of animals that eat mushrooms.
For the full story in Portuguese, see here.
The New York Botanical Garden will be home to th “Brazilian Modern” exhibit from February 28 - April 12, featuring thousands of orchids as well as bromeliads, cacau trees, palms, bamboo and other Brazilian plants.
The exhibit was designed by landscape artist Raymond Jungles, who was inspired by Brazil’s most famous landscape designer, Roberto Burle Marx. The exhibit also features a waterfall, reflecting pool, a mosaic, miniature orchids, and orchid “chandeliers.” There will also be classes, tours, seminars, and demonstrations.
The Garden is open Tuesday through Sunday, 10am to 6pm. Tickets are $20 for adults and $8 for children, with a discount for seniors and students.
For more information, see the official website.
This week, two albino turtles were born on the Abufari animal reserve in Amazonas state. In the second half of 2008, over 381,000 turtles were born on the reserve. According to the director of the reserve, one or two albinos are born for every hundred thousand turtles.
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