Orphaned baby Koala findsfluffy toy friend
SYDNEY - An orphaned baby koala in Australia has found solace cuddling a fluffy toy marsupial in the absence of his mother as he recovers from the trauma of her death. Nine-month-old Shayne’s mother was recently hit and killed by a car in Queensland state as he clung to her back. Rescuers found the joey had been thrown 20 metres down the road by the impact and was being chased by crows. The baby was taken to the Australia Zoo Wildlife Hospital, run by the family of “Crocodile Hunter” Steve Irwin, where doctors said he was overcoming his terrifying ordeal with the help of a toy koala as he learns to be independent.
World’s oldest fishhooks found in Japan
TOKYO -The hooks were discovered in Sakitari Cave on the southern end of Okinawa island several years ago, said Masaki Fujita, chief researcher for the study and a curator at Okinawa Prefectural Museum and Art Museum. “And we have finally concluded that the geological layer in which the fishhooks were found was formed 23,000 years ago,” Fujita told AFP. The hooks, made of the shells of sea snails, were ground into a shape resembling a crescent moon and may have been used to catch parrotfish or eels. They are of comparable age or older than similar fishhooks reported from Timor, also in the Pacific, the researchers said.
in an article published by the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The study also suggested that advanced maritime techniques existed in the Asia-Pacific much earlier than previously thought, Fujita said.
“It’s amazing to know that the fishing technique that we have now could be the same as the one in ancient times,” the researcher said.