Robber fly - Nature photographer Thomas Shahan specializes in amazing portraits of tiny insects. It isn't easy. Shahan says that this Robber Fly (Holcocephala fusca), for instance, is "skittish" and doesn't like its picture taken.

Nature by Numbers (Video)

"The Greater Akashic System" – July 15, 2012 (Kryon Channelling by Lee Caroll) (Subjects: Lightworkers, Intent, To meet God, Past lives, Universe/Galaxy, Earth, Pleiadians, Souls Reincarnate, Invention: Measure Quantum state in 3D, Recalibrates, Multi-Dimensional/Divine, Akashic System to change to new system, Before religion changed the system, DNA, Old system react to Karma, New system react to intent now for next life, Animals (around humans) reincarnate again, This Animal want to come back to the same human, Akashic Inheritance, Reincarnate as Family, Other Planets, Global Unity … etc.)

Question: Dear Kryon: I live in Spain. I am sorry if I will ask you a question you might have already answered, but the translations of your books are very slow and I might not have gathered all information you have already given. I am quite concerned about abandoned animals. It seems that many people buy animals for their children and as soon as they grow, they set them out somewhere. Recently I had the occasion to see a small kitten in the middle of the street. I did not immediately react, since I could have stopped and taken it, without getting out of the car. So, I went on and at the first occasion I could turn, I went back to see if I could take the kitten, but it was to late, somebody had already killed it. This happened some month ago, but I still feel very sorry for that kitten. I just would like to know, what kind of entity are these animals and how does this fit in our world. Are these entities which choose this kind of life, like we do choose our kind of Human life? I see so many abandoned animals and every time I see one, my heart aches... I would like to know more about them.

Answer: Dear one, indeed the answer has been given, but let us give it again so you all understand. Animals are here on earth for three (3) reasons.

(1) The balance of biological life. . . the circle of energy that is needed for you to exist in what you call "nature."

(2) To be harvested. Yes, it's true. Many exist for your sustenance, and this is appropriate. It is a harmony between Human and animal, and always has. Remember the buffalo that willingly came into the indigenous tribes to be sacrificed when called? These are stories that you should examine again. The inappropriateness of today's culture is how these precious creatures are treated. Did you know that if there was an honoring ceremony at their death, they would nourish you better? Did you know that there is ceremony that could benefit all of humanity in this way. Perhaps it's time you saw it.

(3) To be loved and to love. For many cultures, animals serve as surrogate children, loved and taken care of. It gives Humans a chance to show compassion when they need it, and to have unconditional love when they need it. This is extremely important to many, and provides balance and centering for many.

Do animals know all this? At a basic level, they do. Not in the way you "know," but in a cellular awareness they understand that they are here in service to planet earth. If you honor them in all three instances, then balance will be the result. Your feelings about their treatment is important. Temper your reactions with the spiritual logic of their appropriateness and their service to humanity. Honor them in all three cases.

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle

Dian Fossey's birthday celebrated with a Google doodle
American zoologist played by Sigourney Weaver in the film Gorillas in the Mist would have been 82 on Thursday (16 January 2014)

Monday, January 31, 2011

Jakarta / Magelang - New crop circle

Detik News, January 31, 2011

Jakarta - Villagers Banyusari, Tegalrejo District, Magelang, could see the flashes of fire in the night before the crop circle formed in the morning. Crop circle formation of mystical speculation began circulating among local residents.

"I could see the flash of fire as many as three times above the field that night before the crop circle was formed," said one resident, Suntoro (56), while talking to AFP in the location of crop circles in Magelang, Monday (01/31/2011) .

Meanwhile, residents continue to flock to the location of crop circles. They bring his relatives to see the phenomenon that excited after the first appearance of the mysterious circle in Sleman, DI Yogyakarta, two weeks ago.

However, no visible police officers on guard at the site. The location of crop circles in Magelang is quite remote.
Much like in Sleman, Magelang conditions in the crop circle, there is rice that fall down and also formed five holes. Most big is the hole in the middle of a magnitude 2.5 meters, while other flanking hole diameter of 1.5 meters.

Location crop circle was exactly was behind the boarding Hidayatul Muhtadiin, is only 100 meters. Location crop circle was found around 07.00 pm by Muhaimin a ponpes students. Earlier on Saturday (29 / 1) at 20.00 pm, a co-Muhaimin Irvan said she saw a big wind came in the flew.

Related Article:

Friday, January 28, 2011

Bat Uses Carnivorous Plant for Cave in Borneo

Jakarta Globe, Elaine Lies | January 27, 2011

Hardwicke’s woolly bats have been found nesting during the day
 in pitcher plants in Borneo. It’s a symbiotic partnership with the plant
 providing a hangar for the winged mammal, which reciprocates by leaving
 droppings containing vital nitrogren for its predatory landlord. (Reuters Photo)

Tokyo. Tiny bats, no bigger than a car key, have been discovered roosting in carnivorous pitcher plants in Borneo — with their droppings a vital nutrient for the plants.

“It’s totally unexpected,” said Ulmar Grafe, an associate professor at the Universiti Brunei Darussalam who led the study.

“There’s a lot of animal-plant mutualisms, but this one is where the animal gives a nutrient to a plant. Usually it’s the other way around.”

The study, published in Biology Letters, began by looking at how the pitcher plant — a vine growing up to 6-10 meters long with 25 cm pitchers — got the nitrogen it needed in the nutrient-poor peat swamps and heath forest on the island of Borneo.

Grafe’s team was surprised to find that the roughly four gram Hardwicke’s woolly bat (Kerivoula hardwickii) consistently chose the pitchers to sleep in during the day, despite a wealth of other possible roosts in the nearby forest.

Not only single bats but male and female pairs, and mother-juvenile pairs, can fit inside comfortably.

At night, they fly out to hunt insects.

“The pitcher is a very nice roost for them,” Grafe said.

“It’s dry in there and there’s no buildup of blood-sucking ectoparasites that often accumulate in other cavities.”

Theoretically, there is some danger to the bat should it fall into the digestive fluid at the bottom of the pitcher.

But the plant has adaptations to prevent this, including an unusually low amount of fluid and a tapering pitcher.

Instead of getting nitrogen by consuming the bats, the plants get it from their feces.

“There’s no reason why the bat couldn’t fly outside.

But they probably defecate in there because they usually do that when they roost,” Grafe said.

The find is an example of why diversity matters, he added, noting that much of the forest in Borneo is under threat.

“There’s so much extinction of animals and reduction of populations and removal that this again highlights how important it is to save every individual, every creature out there.”  

Reuters

Thursday, January 27, 2011

Blind orangutans give birth to twins in Indonesia

The Jakarta Post, The Associated Press, Thu, 01/27/2011

Gober, an elderly female Sumatran orangutan who is blind in both eyes due to
cataracts, lies down with her twin babies at a rehabilitation center in Sibolangit,
North Sumatra, Indonesia, Thursday, Jan. 27, 2011. The twins were born on
Friday Jan. 21, 2011 from both blind parents.
(AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)


A blind orangutan at a rescue center in Indonesia has given birth to a healthy pair of twins.

Ian Singleton, with the Sumatran Orangutan Conservation Program, said Thursday the mother so far appears able to care for the babies herself.

But vets are ready to step in and help if necessary. The babies' father is also blind.

There are around 50,000 orangutans left in the wild, 90 percent of them in Indonesia, with another 2,000 in rescue centers.

Some were seized in the illegal wildlife trade and others orphaned when their mothers strayed from rapidly disappearing rain forests in search of food.

The twins' mother is blind with cataracts.

The father was found outside a national park after air rifle pellets lodged in his eyes when he was shot.




Related Article:


Rare Tiger Gives Birth to 3 Cubs in Indonesia

Jakarta Globe, January 27, 2011

In this Oct. 25, 2009 file photo, a newborn Sumatran Tiger cub is seen near the
paws of its mother at a zoo in Medan, North Sumatra, Indonesia. On Tuesday,
a rare Sumatran tiger gave birth to three healthy cubs at a zoo in Jambi province
on Sumatra island. (AP Photo/Binsar Bakkara)

Related Articles

Jambi. A rare Sumatran tiger has given birth to three healthy cubs at a zoo in western Indonesia.

The Taman Rimbo Zoo in Indonesia's Jambi province says the big cat also gave birth to one additional cub that died immediately.

Sumatran tigers are on the brink of extinction because of rapid deforestation, poaching and clashes with people. The World Wildlife Fund says their numbers have dwindled to about 400, down from about 1,000 in the 1970s.

Breeding efforts in captivity usually meet with little success.

Associated Press

Volcano stops Jetstar flights to Bali

News.com.au, From: AAP January 27, 2011

THE travel plans of hundreds of Australians have been thrown into disarray after an Indonesian volcano erupted, spewing a large cloud of ash into the air.

An Indonesian volcano eruption has thrown the travel
plans of hundreds of Australians into disarray.
The eruption of the Tengger Caldera volcano, on Java, forced the cancellation of five Jetstar flights on Thursday night.

Flights were due to take off from Sydney and Darwin for Denpasar on the popular tourist island of Bali.

Three flights from Denpasar to Perth, Sydney and Darwin were also grounded by the budget airline.

A sixth Jetstar flight from Perth to Denpasar was diverted to Darwin and is due to return to Perth.

"Safety of our passengers and crew is Jetstar's number one priority and as a result the airline has cancelled tonight's flights between Australia and Denpasar (Bali)," a Jetstar statement said.

"The airline is closely monitoring the situation and will advise passengers should there be any further impact. No other services are affected at this stage."

It remains unclear if other airlines are affected.

Calls to Virgin Blue went unanswered on Thursday night.

Qantas does not fly to Denpasar.

A Garuda Indonesia flight from Sydney to Denpasar was listed as having departed at 12.20pm (AEDT) on Thursday.

The Darwin Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre, part of the Bureau of Meteorology issued an advisory on Thursday saying Tengger Caldera had erupted, with ash extending 200 nautical miles northeast.

Thousands of Australians flying to and from Europe faced chaos last year because of volcanic eruptions in Iceland.

Related Articles:

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

News Photo: "Crop Circle" in Piyungan

Kompas, Editor: Tri Wahono, Tuesday, January 25, 2011 - (Google Translation)

Crop circle found in Piyungan, Yogyakarta,
photographed by a visitor named Cundoko.

BANTUL, KOMPAS.com - The phenomenon of crop circles, mysterious circle formed in the rice fields, re-discovered in the Yogyakarta area. Crop circles are first found in the region Berbah, Sleman, Sunday (1/23/2011), and the second in Piyungan, Bantul, Tuesday (1/25/2011) today.

Location corp circle in rice fields along the highway Piyungan-Prambanan, exactly Hamlet Wanujoyo Kidul, Desa Srimartani, Piyungan District, Bantul. Residents reported finding approximately at 13.00 even though the land owners actually already know the strangeness of it since 10 days ago.

Crop circle pattern is seen in Hamlet Wanujoyo, Srimartani, Piyungan, Bantul,
Yogyakarta, on Tuesday (25/01/2011).
Until now a number of institutions continues to
uncover the pattern-making circle (KOMPAS / FERGANATA INDRA RIATMOKO)

The size of the second crop circle is smaller than the first, only about 30-40 meter. The pattern is not clearly known, but is thought to differ from the first crop circle.

Not yet known who made it. So far, the crop circle phenomenon is often associated with a UFO (Unidentified flying objects) and alien. However, others argue, it is due to natural phenomena or even deliberately made human.

Related Articles:

UFO trace?: A large circle and geometric pattern local residents say
were created by a UFO have been found in a rice field in Krasakan
hamlet in Sleman, Yogyakarta..(Tribun Jogja)

Indonesia should emulate Brazil in preserving natural forests : Observer

Antara News, Wed, January 26 2011


Related News


Jakarta (ANTARA News) - Indonesia should consider emulating Brazil in preserving the natural environment, its natural forests in particular, a former Indonesian diplomat said.

"Indonesia should follow Brazil`s policy in preserving the natural environment. Brazil is acting more rapidly than Indonesia in implementing natural environment policies," former Indonesian Ambassador to Brazil Bali Moniaga said here at a Roundtable Discussion on Improving Bilateral Relationship between Indonesia and Brazil Wednesday.

According to Bali, Brazil was able to stop deforestation in the last two years as its government managed to implement diversification in its economy, especially in areas where deforestation had occurred.

Now the Amazon forests would not be inappropriately touched due Brazil`s policy, Bali said.

Corporations were regarded as the main cause of the deforestation in Brazilian forests as they opened large area in the forest, while those conducted by local people had had a low impact on deforestation, Bali said.

Therefore, corporations were banned to open land in Brazilian forests, Bali said, adding that soybean and meat production which needed large production areas were now banned in Brazil.

Soybean and meat production were regarded as the two major causes of deforestation in Brazil.

"I think, corporations are also the major contributors to deforestation in Indonesia," Bali said.

With regard to environment preservation, Brazil could act more than Indonesia as the country had way moved on one step further and Indonesia could learn from it.

On the occasion, Bali also mentioned several important sectors from which Indonesia could gain benefit in the bilateral relationship between Indonesia and Brazil.

Those sectors were agriculture and trade, tax policy, capital movement and free visa agreement.

Meanwhile, on the same occasion, Teiseran Foun Cornelis, Head of Centre for Policy Analysis and Development on American and European Regions of the Indonesian Foreign Affair Ministry said Brazil served as a strategic partner for Indonesia.

Indonesia should coordinate and focus on how to gain and harness benefit from Brazil`s economic potentials, as well as its Research and technology, agriculture, farming, forestry and renewable energy sectors.

"To gain benefit, we should identify and familiarize the use and the opportunity in the agreement to potential business enterprises in Indonesia," Cornelis said.

Brazil is a strategic partner for Indonesia in many sectors, he said, adding that Indonesia and Brazil could partner to solve global issues such as Food, Energy, and Water Security (FEWS), climate change, peacekeeping and also global governance.

Monday, January 24, 2011

At an Indonesian Farm, the Opportunity to Grow

Jakarta Globe, Zack Petersen | January 24, 2011

The Learning Farm, located in the hills of Cipanas, West Java, takes in young men
from disadvantaged backgrounds and teaches them all about the world of environmentally
friendly organic farming. (JG Photos/Nahil Mirpuri)

Bahagia walked away from the Learning Farm with tears in his eyes. The boy, who had once patrolled the hills of Aceh with a gun in his hands and ice-water in his veins, was inconsolable.

His throat tightened and his lips quivered after he embraced every one of his classmates — street kids and other boys from conflict areas around the country, from Aceh to Ambon — who had spent the last four months together high in the hills of Cipanas, in West Java.

He wasn’t the only one crying. With the teachers, directors, cooks and volunteers at the Learning Farm all in tears, there wasn’t a dry eye in the house.

The Learning Farm takes troubled young men and teaches
them about agriculture, and life.
(JG Photo)
But the tears that flowed that day weren’t born of sorrow or pain.

Instead, they were the product of a monsoon of emotions that comes with the culmination of a life-changing experience.

Just four years ago, Bahagia lived deep in the misty hills of northern Sumatra.

Each morning he would wake up and reach for his rifle.

At 14, he was recruited as a foot soldier for the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), a former separatist group that waged guerilla war against the Indonesian military for nearly 30 years.

Now, the 19-year-old Learning Farm graduate, who has moved on to study Arabic and English at a university in Malaysia, wakes up each day and reaches for his schoolbooks.

Bahagia’s fate was changed permanently the day he was placed at the Learning Farm by a branch of the Fajar Hidayah Foundation,

“This boy saw terrible things happen to his parents. He ran into the jungle to become a combatant,” said Johan Purnama, the avuncular executive director of the Learning Farm, who hides a heart of gold under the measured manner it takes to juggle the lives and emotions of the 54 boys currently living and working at the farm.

Like the 300 or so graduates the Learning Farm has produced over the last five years, Bahagia came to the hills of Puncak a boy and walked away a man.

The farm, about an hour-and-a-half drive south of Jakarta, was started in 2005 by World Education, a Boston-based NGO, with funds from a private donor.

The farm currently supports a class of 35 young men and 19 advanced students from every major ethnic and religious group in Indonesia.

Three times a year, boys recommended by nonprofit organizations and religious foundations across the country come to the farm to learn everything there is to know about planting, growing, packaging and distributing some of the healthiest fruits and vegetables available in West Java.

But it’s far more than a simple agriculture course. The farm provides a family, a galvanizing support system and life skills, not to mention important marketing, management, English and computer skills that will serve graduates well for the rest of their lives.

The life skills begin with planting seeds and end with packaging and selling organic vegetables.

“The reality is that, to be certified ‘organic’ in Indonesia, it costs upward of Rp 10 million [$1,100] for six months per commodity,” Johan said.

“This is prohibitively expensive. So a lot of farms just say they are organic, but really are not. There’s nobody monitoring this. With us, we very proudly guarantee 100 percent organic produce. Its what we stand for, what we teach the boys, and so we never compromise by using any chemicals whatsoever.”

Every week, the farm sends out an e-mail blast with an order form listing its available produce, everything from broccoli, sweet corn and eggplant to fresh oregano and peppermint.

Then, twice a week ,the delivery team goes door-to-door delivering organic fruits and vegetables to residents of Jakarta and Bogor.

“Knowing I am eating healthy, supporting youth development and not leaving an environmental footprint in a country where I am a visitor makes the whole eating experience much more enjoyable,” said Lucy Heffern, an American living in Jakarta.

“It’s not just food, it is a lifestyle and consumer choice I’m making.”

The next step for the Learning Farm is to start working with restaurants looking to give back and go organic.

“What we’d really like to start now is a relationship with restaurants here in Jakarta,” said Gouri Mirpuri, a board member of the Learning Farm.

“Going door-to-door is something we pride ourselves on, but building up a relationship with hotels, restaurants and supermarkets is something that would benefit our bottom line, so that we need less donor support.”

Ten boys from Merapi, three young trash pickers from Sekolah Kami (Our School) in West Bekasi and another handful of young men from conflict areas such as Ambon and Aceh make up the latest class of 15 to 24 year olds from disadvantaged backgrounds who have been coming to the Learning Farm for the last five years in search of a new life.

While the farm enjoys an astounding success rate — more than 90 percent of the boys either return home to grow organic produce, start their own business or are hired by companies looking to go organic — not every graduate ends up farming.

And that’s just fine with Johan.

“Our job is to give these boys hope,” he said. “Their job is to build their own future.”

For four months, under the tutelage of Johan and the rest of the Learning Farm staff, the boys eat, sleep and breathe organic farming. They learn everything there is to know about organic practices.

For example, they learn how to plant repellent and attractant flowers around their crops and use trees that work as natural pesticides to control insect damage.

They find out how to produce environmentally friendly fertilizer.

They wash seeds using a rice water, which is high in carbohydrates that help speed up the sprouting process.

While their neighbors in Cipanas, who use pesticides and unsustainable practices, watch helplessly as their tiered planting beds erode year after year, the boys at the Learning Farm implement bedding practices that keep topsoil out of the rivers and on the one-and-a-half-hectare farm.

At night, the boys study under lights powered by solar panels and windmills. Breakfast, lunch and dinner is prepared with vegetables that had been planted by the class before them.

The farm is almost completely self-sustaining.

Two pens of goats will soon provide enough methane so that the farm will no longer have to purchase its own gas for cooking meals.

Marg Froude, an Australian Agency for International Development (AusAid) volunteer, who plays the role of both a stern mother and a giving mentor, has been working with the boys at the Learning Farm for six months now.

“I’ve done a lot of work with young people in Australia,” Froude said.

“I’m a teacher. And I specialized in teaching that very difficult age group in Australia. So I was quite happy to come here and teach these boys.”

Then there’s Johan’s favorite success story, Nurkholis, a former street kid from Malang, East Java, who “consumed drugs and alcohol like they were breakfast” but now works for Green School in Bali.

Froude remembers Nurkholis with a smile.

“He had more tattoos than he did teeth,” she said. “He lost his teeth street racing on motorbikes. He was a street racer, now he’s an organic farmer. He’d broken most of the significant bones in his body and he has a serious amount of iron rods holding him together.

“At first I was really scared but it didn’t take long for me to be full of admiration for him and see what a significant change the Learning Farm had on his life.

“We organized new teeth for him and now he’s got a series of girlfriends everywhere. This place is full of nice surprises — really nice surprises.”

Nurkholis is just one example of why the Learning Farm isn’t just a place for the boys to stay for a few months and then forget the experience. The idea behind the farm is ultimately to teach the young men important life skill such as confidence and entrepreneurship.

And while Froude and Johan are glad to watch the boys walk away men, every graduation brings with it a swell of emotions.

“The graduation was one of the most emotional days I’ve ever had. … Everyone sobbed and sobbed,” Froude said.

“I misinterpreted it — I thought they were still feeling vulnerable about leaving. But I think it really indicated how strong they felt and how confident they were that they could go out and lead an independent life and not end up back on the streets.”


The Learning Farm
Karang Widya Foundation
Tel: 026 351 4840
Web site: thelearningfarm.com
E-mail: thelearningfarm@gmail.com

Related Article:
The Watoto Foundation gives street children the chance to
learn skills and find work

Indonesia Space Agency Pooh-Poohs Idea that Aliens Behind Crop Circle

Jakarta Globe, Candra Malik | January 24, 2011

Hundreds of curious visitors have flocked to a small rice field in central Java to witness
what could be Indonesia’s first documented crop circle, an occurrence attributed by some
to close encounters of the Alien kind.
(JG Photo/Boy T Harjanto)

Yogyakarta. Hundreds of curious visitors have flocked to a small rice field in central Java to witness what could be Indonesia’s first documented crop circle, an occurrence attributed by some to close encounters of the Alien kind.

(JG Photo/Boy T Harjanto)
Ngadiran, one of six farmers who owns the land in Slemen where the crop circle measuring 70 meters in diameter was found on Sunday afternoon, told the Jakarta Globe on Monday that he had not seen what had caused the distinctive pattern but others may have.

“According to several residents, they saw a tornado on Saturday evening. On Sunday afternoon, we saw the footprint in our fields,” Ngadiran said.

He would not say if he believed that an unidentified flying object (UFO) was behind the crop circle, which contains a number of symbols.

The farmers have fenced off the area to prevent their fields from being trampled by sightseers, while police have set up cordons.

Thomas Djamaluddin, the head of atmospheric sciences and chief of astronomy research at the National Aeronautics and Space Agency (Lapan), doubted, however, that the Slemen crop circles were an indication that humankind had been visited by aliens.

(JG Photo/Boy T Harjanto)
“We will not send investigators to the scene because we suspect the crop circle involves human invention, not natural phenomena, nor scientific phenomena associated with outer space creatures commonly referred to as aliens,” Thomas said.

Budi Waluyo, head of the Meteorology, Climatology and Geology Agency (BMKG) in Yogyakarta, said the agency had no records of a tornado in the special province or its surrounding areas on Saturday and Sunday.

He said even if a tornado did occur, it would leave a distinctive snaking trail, not a crop circle.


Related Articles:

UFO-related "crop circle" found In Yogyakarta rice field

UFO trace?: A large circle and geometric pattern local residents say were
created by a UFO have been found in a rice field in Krasakan hamlet in Sleman,
Yogyakarta..(Tribun Jogja)




UFO-related "crop circle" found In Yogyakarta rice field

Antara News, Senin, 24 Januari 2011 02:33 WIB


Photo crop circle in rice cultivation areas Berbah, Sleman, DI Yogyakarta,
the alleged UFO landing site. (
TRIBUNJOGJA.COM / Hendi Kurniawan)

Sleman, Yogyakarta (ANTARA News) - A unique "crop circle", popularly believed to be the footprint of an unidentified flying object (UFO) was discovered in Rejosari village, Jogotirto, Berbah subdistrict, Sleman district, Yogyakarta province, on Sunday.

Crop circle in Yogyakarta
Kompas.com quoted a Rejosari villager named Basori as saying that he had heard a strange noise like that of a helicopter on Saturday at 10.30 PM West Indonesia Time landing on a rice field near his house.

Basori, whose house was located on the northern part of the crop circle-marked rice field said he heard the flying object`s sound for thirty minutes.

"The sound was heard for thirty minutes but at the moment I didn`t think much of it I thought it was only the sound of a passing helicopter," said the 41-year-old Basori.

The man`s confession was confirmed by Ayu Rukini, 32. "I also heard the sound. At the time, I and my husband were wathing TV. I thought it was an air force helicopter on a training flight," said Basori`s wife.

The crop circle at the rice field that certain people in the world frequently associated with UFOs was first observed by Yudi, 20.

Yudi was quoted by Kompas.com as saying that he first saw the crop circle when passing the rice field on his way to work on Sunday at 05.00 AM local time.

"When passing the rice field, I saw the paddies fall down but they formed a neat, orderly pattern," he said adding that he had not heard the sound Basori and his wife, Ayu Rukini, had claimed on Saturday night.

Yudi said he sat near Basori`s house from Saturday evening to early Sunday at 03.00 AM but he heard nothing. "During the night, there was no rainfall... But on Sunday morning, there was this pattern (crop circle) in the middle of the rice field," Yudi said.

This crop circle could clearly be seen from the peak of a hill on the northern part of the rice field. Locals called the hill "Mount Suru", he said.

Tens of people who were eager to see the unprecedented phenomenon climbed the slippery hill, including Syamsul Bahri, 37. Bahri said the crop circle was a sign of Almighty God`s greatness.

"Whether a UFO has indeed landed here, I don`t know precisely. What is clear is that this is a sign of God`s greatness. Maybe Almighty Allah (God) wants to warn mankind here to take care of His creation, nature," said the resident of Beloran village, Madurejo, Prambanan, Sleman district.



UFO trace?: A large circle and geometric pattern local residents say were created by a UFO
have been found in a rice field in Krasakan hamlet in Sleman, Yogyakarta..(Tribun Jogja)



Related Articles:

Indonesia, IRRI cooperate in developing superior seeds

Antara News, Senin, 24 Januari 2011 00:52 WIB

Jakarta (ANTARA News) - The Agriculture Ministry and International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) work together in the development of superior rice seeds which is resistant to pest.

Agriculture Minister Suswono said here Saturday that the cooperation in research between the Sukamandi Rice Crop Research Institute and IRRI based in Los Banos in the Philippines is an effort to anticipate the impact of the current climate change.

"The development of the new varieties is aimed at obtaining rice species which are able to survive by using limited water supplies, having high competitiveness against disease and tolerant to dryness and able to grow in rain-fed land," he said.

In addition, he said after signing a cooperation in research between Indonesia and IRRI, and also to obtain a rice species more efficient in absorbing fertilizers and producing rice with a high nutritional value and mineral and vitamin content.

One of the cooperation schemes he said currently being developed in a variety with a content of vitamin A, namely Golden Rice. Hopefully in the next two years Golden Rice could be produced, to support food resilience and increase food reserves in Indonesia, he said.

The minister said that actually the Indonesia`s cooperation with IRRI had already been carried out since 1972 particularly in rice research.

"Our researchers (at IRRI) have produced many superior species and the result had already been adopted by some other countries. IRRI also has a representative office in Bogor," he said.

He said the agricultural research cooperation covered genetic material in the form of rice plasm, combination of varieties tolerant to disease, dryness, inundation and salinity.

The cooperation also covered agronomical technology to support the P2BN program in the form of technological packages of integrated rice plant management.

He said that of the 250 varieties released in Indonesia, 62 came from IRRI and the rest assembled by using IRRI genetic material and developed by superior Indonesian rice.

In the meantime, some 70-80 pct of the rice varieties raised by the farmers in Indonesia came from IRRI.

The varieties that had been released have a productivity of 10-15 pct higher than IR64 and tolerant to marginal land conditions and more resistant to plant pests and are of better quality.

Sunday, January 23, 2011

Rare Sunda Clouded Leopard Has Two Distinct Types

Jakarta Globe, January 23, 2011

The Sundaland clouded leopard was classified as a new species through genetic
studies several years ago and the International Union for the Conservation
of Nature designated it as endangered in 2008. (AFP Photo/Cat News/Ho/A.
Wilting/A. Mohamed)

Tests have proven a long-held belief that Borneo's rare Sunda clouded leopard is really a different subspecies from its Indonesian relative, researchers said Sunday.

The two subspecies of Sunda leopard -- which was only identified as a species in its own right in 2007 -- must now be managed differently, said a report by Andreas Wilting from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research and researchers from the Sabah wildlife and forestry departments.

"The Sunda clouded leopard in Borneo and Sumatra is a different species from clouded leopards across the Asian mainland," Wilting said.

"We suspected the leopards on Borneo and Sumatra have likely been geographically separated since the last Ice Age, and we now know the long isolation has resulted in a split into separate subspecies," he added.

"The potential that they could evolve into full separate species, given that they are separate subspecies, means that captive breeders will now be better informed to keep the subspecies apart to allow them to evolve fully."

Wilting said that molecular analysis, genetic testing and skull morphology studies on fur and bone samples of the leopard from natural history museums worldwide showed the species followed different evolutionary paths.

The researchers say natural disasters were likely responsible for the split, with only two populations of the leopards in Borneo and southern China surviving the Toba volcanic eruption in Sumatra about 75,000 years ago.

"The ones on Borneo could have recolonised Sumatra via glacial land bridges and subsequently developed into a different subspecies as sea levels rose after the last Ice Age, isolating the two islands," said co-author Joerns Fickel.

Wilting said both subspecies are classified as endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature because the big cats occur in small numbers and need big home ranges for their survival.

Researchers say the subspecies is the biggest predator on Borneo, a resource-rich island split between Malaysia and Indonesia where wildlife habitats are under pressure from logging and plantations.

Last February, researchers were able for the first time to capture the leopard on film at the Dermakot Forest Reserve on Borneo.

Agence France-Presse

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