The Miracle of Life (Wildlife Edition)

A mini documentary about an elephant giving birth in an Elephant Safari Park in Bali, Indonesia. It's quite graphic and moving at the same time. It shows you how intelligent elephants are.



Quite cute and also cute:



Other than being in the verge of extinction, it seems that the lazy giant pandas do have something to contribute to our society in general. Well, not as much as the panda themselves, but their poop. Panda poop is very rich in fiber from their munching on bamboos all day and it can be made into paper, but what's more is...

Via Pink Tentacle

One Japanese and two Chinese scientists work together to ponder how pandas can digest something as fibrous as bamboo. And after identifying 270 different kinds of microorganisms in panda dung obtained from Tokyo’s Ueno Zoo, the researchers isolated five types of bacteria that were the most efficient at breaking down proteins and fats and that could reproduce easily even under high heat.

In one experiment, the researchers mixed the bacteria with 70 to 100 kilograms (lbs) of raw garbage, including vegetable stems, potatoes (raw and fried) and fish remains, and placed it in an industrial waste disposal machine. Seventeen weeks later, only 3 kilograms (6.6 lbs) of waste remained, while the rest had turned to water and carbon dioxide. With a digestive rate of up to 96%, the bacteria from panda excrement is significantly more effective than most commercial disposal bacteria, which has a digestive rate of around 80%.

Their discovery had earned them an Ig Nobel Prize.