[ By Steve in Animals & Habitats, History & Trivia, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
“I vant to suck your blood!” Take a number, Dracula. In fact, the toast of Transylvania is a latecomer to the party – animals have been deriving nourishment from blood long before Bram Stoker, Bela Lugosi or Twilight made the scene. These 10 amazing bloodsucking animal vampires have made sanguinary slurping their cocktail of choice… and hold the vodka, salt and tomato juice!
Mosquitoes
(images via: Magna Mosquito, Famous Monsters and Roadside Attractions)
The most common bloodsucking animal, mosquitoes can be found almost anywhere in the world where standing water and blood-bearing animals co-exist. Not every one of the estimated 3,500 species of mosquito feed on human beings but those who do often spread chronic, deadly diseases such as malaria, yellow fever, dengue fever and West Nile virus, just to name a few.
(image via: National Geographic)
Popular wisdom states that male mosquitoes drink plant juices while only the females seek out and drink blood. Actually, female mosquitoes also derive sugars and other nutrients from plants, but they require a meal of blood before they can produce and lay their eggs. Nature, you scary!
(images via: Australian Museum, Graeme’s Insects of Townsville and Mosquitoes of Pennsylvania)
Biologists caution that eliminating all mosquitoes from the environment would cause a disastrous disruption of the food chain – below humans, that is. There is hope, however, in the form of Toxorhynchites. Also known as Mosquito Hawks or Mosquito Eaters, Toxorhynchites are the largest known species of mosquito and, thankfully, they don’t suck blood. Instead, their larvae prey on other mosquito larva thus reducing the number of blood-sucking adults in any common area. Some disease researchers have suggested we roll out the red carpet, er, welcome mat for Toxorhynchites. Then again, messing with nature gave us Killer Bees.
Bedbugs
(images via: Mississauga Pest Control and Pest Command)
“Sleep tight, and don’t let the bedbugs bite!” Once the subject of an arcane and archaic folk saying, bedbugs have returned with a vengeance. Hitching rides with air travelers and setting up shop in hotels, taxicabs and even waiting room sofas, bedbugs have exploded into an unexpected and unappealing global scourge. Active by night and utilizing a natural anesthetic in their saliva, bedbugs themselves are rarely seen. Instead, they leave their victims with telltale bite marks and often a profound sense of mental anguish and unease. Bring back DDT? In the case of bedbugs it just might be worth it.
(images via: Popcrunch, KTVU and Boston Herald)
Even Howard Stern has been affected by the bedbug blow-up – the germaphobic radio shock jock had to evacuate his broadcast studios and even his limousine so they could be fumigated following the discovery of bedbugs. (Word to Dave Letterman, better get that comfy guest chair checked out STAT!). One hopes the verminous varmints didn’t do any damage to Stern’s, ahem, Private Parts.
Ticks
(images via: Popbitch, Pest Control RX and The Tick)
Blood-sucking spiders?? Good thing there aren’t… oh wait, Ticks are classified as arachnids so let the screaming begin! Ticks are believed to have originated in the Cretaceous period alongside the last dinosaurs, eventually specializing into distinct variants known today as Deer Ticks, Dog Ticks and Sheep Ticks among others. Ticks are rather revolting on a number of levels, with the exception of The Tick, starring Patrick Warburton (Seinfeld’s Puddy)… he’s kinda cool, for a tick.
(images via: It’s Just SPEAZ, I Write Alot and John Nelson (Just Back))
Ticks in their newborn, six-legged stage are known as Seed Ticks but don’t let their youth deceive you: up to 30,000 Seed Ticks can infest domestic dogs or cats in sudden, mass attacks that can leave their victims at risk of death from rapid blood loss. Sort of like the Spider Scene in the Forbidden Forest from Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, domestic pet version.
(image via: Horse Whispers)
Though ticks can spread a host of unpleasant illnesses including Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever, Lyme Disease and the frighteningly named Crimean-Congo Hemorrhagic Fever, unlucky Australians have to deal with the Paralysis Tick (Ixodes holocyclus), shown above before and after feeding – yikes!! Bites from this particular tick have been known to cause extreme allergic reactions, “Tick Typhus” and whole-body paralysis. And here you thought the most dangerous thing to come from Australia was Mel Gibson.
Kissing Bugs
(images via: Healthline and Scienceblogs)
Kissing Bugs isn’t the prelude to inter-species insect sex, but a blood-sucking group of Triatomine insects also known as Conenose Bugs or Assassin Bugs. They derive their “friendly” name from their decidedly unfriendly modus of operations: biting people on thin-skinned parts of the face such as the lips and eyelids. The bites are painless, even though the bugs are rather large and can drink a copious amount of blood at a single feeding. Kissing Bugs give as well as receive: they can spread debilitating illnesses such as Chagas Disease with their bites.
(images via: Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm and BBC)
Charles Darwin was one of the first to describe the feeding habits of Kissing Bugs, having become a victim in 1835 while traveling through Argentina. To quote from “The Voyage of the Beagle”, Darwin’s journal of discoveries made in South America and the Galapagos Islands, “At night I experienced an attack (for it deserves no less a name) of the Benchuca, a species of Reduvius, the great black bug of the Pampas. It is most disgusting to feel soft wingless insects, about an inch long, crawling over one’s body.” On the bright side, an ingenious pilot project at the London Zoo employs Kissing Bugs to take blood samples from zoo animals. The natural anesthetic in the Kissing Bug’s saliva ensures the sampling is virtually stress-free for the animals (though likely not, later, for the Kissing Bugs).
Vampire Moths
(images via: Treehugger, Bestof.com, It’s Nature and Junius)
Mothra lives! Moths of the genus Calyptra have evolved the ability to not only drink the blood of vertebrates, but to actively acquire it by biting their victims. It is thought that originally the ancestors of these moths drank fruit juices by piercing the skin of fruit with a straw-like, pointed proboscis. From there it was but a small step to biting mammals, thereby tapping a much more potent source of nutrients. Vampire Moths appear to be expanding their range into more northerly areas due to the ongoing gradual moderation of average temperatures – in other words, Global Warming. Bet you’ll take those shrill enviro-loonies a bit more seriously now, amiright?
(images via: TYWKIWDBI and SciFi Musings)
Unlike mosquitoes, in Vampire Moths it’s the males that do the blood-sucking while the females stick to plant juices and nectar. By the way, if the idea of a blood-sucking moth isn’t off-putting enough, consider that a related species of Calyptra moths drink the tears from the eyes of birds, cattle, buffalo, and sometimes people as a method of acquiring salt… cue the Salt Monster from Star Trek in 3… 2… 1…
Leeches
(images via: The Best Who!, Marine Biology Blog and Benzomatic Photo)
Leeches have come a long way from being the preferred tool of medieval blood-letters to the horror lurking in local streams and ponds… and back to being the preferred tool of modern blood-letters (and the occasional jackass). Yes, leeches are our friends: so-called Leech Therapy utilizes leeches and their blood-thinning enzyme Hirudin to treat a number of illnesses ranging from post-reattachment trauma to treating infertility. Biologists are working on artificial Hirudin dispensers, “mechanical leeches” as it were, to take the place of actual living medicinal leeches (and help find Sarah Connor).
(images via: Stand By Me, MSNBC, Jeremy Silman and Reel Movie News)
“What Jaws did for sharks, Stand By Me did for leeches.” Indeed, though the 1986 film (and the original Stephen King novel) was packed with powerful, gut-wrenching scenes, not much can top poor Gordie discovering that “the grandfather of all leeches” had put the bite on the family jewels. As for Attack of the Giant Leeches, let’s just say it sucks – big time. Bing!
Lamprey Eels
(images via: CNSweb, Scienceblogs, Katu.com and Duke U Biology)
Lampreys are marine creatures that have evolved to resemble blood-sucking buzz saws… and you don’t want to be a tree! Scientists classify lampreys as jawless fishes but don’t be fooled: they might be jawless but they make up for it by having a wide, circular mouth lined with rows of wickedly sharp teeth. Lampreys can grow up to 40 inches (100cm) in length, often longer than their prey. When a lamprey locks onto a fish with its oral disk and begins gnawing through living flesh in search of blood, the victim is advised to give up finding Nemo and start finding religion.
(images via: MTU.edu and Quigley’s Cabinet)
Not all lampreys are carnivorous, and attacks on humans are rare. Speaking of “rare”, lampreys are considered to be a delicacy in parts of Europe where they have been described as being more “meaty” in consistency compared to other fish. No less than Great Britain’s Queen Elizabeth is said to have enjoyed a Coronation Pie made with lampreys. One imagines she felt eel-ated.
Candiru (Vampire Catfish)
(images via: Jorymon and Oceana)
The Candiru (Vandellia cirrhosa), sometimes called the Vampire Catfish, is a type of parasitic freshwater fish found only in the Amazon River. Candiru are hard to detect in their natural habitat, being semi-translucent and small in size. Candiru are endowed with finely tuned sensors that pick up traces of ammonia in water, typically emitted from the gills of passing fish. The Candiru follows the ammonia trail and uses barbed spines on its gill covers to lodge itself in its victim’s gills, drawing blood whenever it feels hungry.
(images via: Candiru/Carnero Catfish and Observations of a Nerd)
Not all ammonia trails lead back to fish gills, unfortunately, and this should be noted by those who would attempt to answer nature’s call while immersed waist-deep in the Amazon. Though anecdotal tales of Candiru lodging themselves in human urinary tracts go back centuries, there is only one documented case in modern times (1997). Silvio Barbossa (above), the male victim, survived 2 hours of surgery required to remove the 13.4cm (5.5 inch!) long Candiru from its final resting place in his scrotum. The Candiru (shown above, after removal) was not so “lucky”.
Vampire Finches
(images via: Ashleyjuhl, The Fat Finch and The Ever So Strange Animal Almanac)
Vampires and Boobies? It’s more likely than you think. Charles Darwin used the dozen or so different species of Finch found on the Galapagos Islands to illustrate his newly formulated theory of evolution in his ground-breaking book The Origin Of Species, but even ol’ Chuckie D had to be thrown for a loop by the Vampire Finch (Geospiza difficilis septentrionalis), however. It’s thought that this finch first evolved a symbiotic relationship with the islands’ seabirds, grooming them of parasites and eating what they found. Eventually though, the sharp-beaked critters drew blood in the course of their diligent probing and decided that blood tasted better than bugs. Kinda makes sense, no?
Check out this video to see the Vampire Finch doing what, for literary and movie vampires, comes supernaturally:
Vampires and Boobies, via NationalGeographic
Vampire Bats
(images via: National Geographic, Scienceblogs, IMP Awards and Mockingwords)
Three different species of Vampire Bat are exclusively hematophagous, meaning they feed only on blood: Common Vampire Bats (Desmodus rotundus), Hairy-legged Vampire Bats (Diphylla ecaudata) and White-winged Vampire Bats (Diaemus youngi). They are proficient li’l devils: in one year, a 100-strong Vampire Bat colony can drink the blood of 25 cows (or 2.5 Rosie O’Donnells). Moo-ving on, Vampire Bats can be found from Mexico south to Argentina and Brazil in South America, though who in their right mind would want to look for them – especially on a dark, moonlit night near the end of October. Those who do should keep these words in mind: Hokus Cadabra! Or is it Abra Capokus? Heck, try ‘em both, what could happen?
(images via: Slashfood, Ed, Ken and assorted Riff Raff and Sodahead)
Bram Stoker, the author who originated the character of Count Dracula in his 1897 novel of the same name, was likely inspired in part by stories of Vampire Bats and descriptions of the twin puncture marks left by their canine teeth – or if you prefer, fangs (you’re welcome).
(images via: Jogos Para Celulares, Vampire Legends and PCMM)
As for Vampire Bats themselves, they share an interesting connection with Stoker by way of their feeding style. Vampire bats do not actually “suck” the blood of their victims, instead simply lapping up the blood that oozes from their bites. Normally such blood would rapidly clot when exposed to air but Vampire Bats employ an enzyme in their saliva that keeps fresh blood from clotting. The substance, named by a somewhat over-enthusiastic researcher, is called… Draculin.
(image via: The Stranger)
Count Dracula may have exercised a form of animal magnetism on his (mainly female) victims but the attraction of blood as a source of nourishment makes practical sense from the point of view of certain creatures. Irregardless of what Jeff Probst says at Tribal Council, blood gives life and so-called “animal vampires” merely ask that you share a little. So have a heart… and be thankful they don’t ask for THAT.
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Solar Powered Towers: 13 Super Sunny Skyscrapers
[ By Steph in Art & Design, Technology & Gadgets. ]
Nearly all sustainable architecture concepts include solar energy in some way, but not all of them do it in a big, bold way, bringing solar power to towering new heights. These 13 soaring solar powered skyscrapers incorporate solar cells in new and unexpected ways, from photovoltaic facades for existing buildings to flexible solar membranes that act as a building’s living ‘skin’.
Chicago Solar Tower
(images via: evolo)
Chicago is home to more than one unfinished mega-skyscraper, stalled by the state of the economy. But we can still hope that this Chicago Solar Tower by Zoka Zola Architects will someday become reality, bringing a highly visible example of sustainable urban design to the Windy City. The Solar Tower features a facade of round solar collectors on tracking arms that follow the sun throughout the day, increasing solar production 40% over fixed-arm arrays, and even the wind pressure on the frame of the solar array could be converted into clean energy.
The Lighthouse, Dubai
(images via: atkins-me.com)
Sure, the Lighthouse in Dubai doesn’t entirely rely on solar power to keep it going (theoretically, that is – it’s just a concept.) The design includes three gigantic 225-kilowatt wind turbines, which will produce a whole lot of energy. But it’s also covered in 4,000 photovoltaic panels on the south-facing facade that will absorb the plentiful sunlight available in this desert landscape.
EDITT Tower, Singapore
(images via: tr hamzah & yeang)
Economy permitting, Singapore may soon get a new 26-story vertical farm that packs as many solar panels as possible into 855 square meters to produce at least 40% of the building’s electricity. The EDITT (Ecological Design in the Tropics) Tower will be constructed from both recycled and recyclable materials and half of its exterior will be planted with organic local vegetation. Rainwater harvesting, graywater systems and a possible human-sewage-to-biogas project round out the impressive list of eco-friendly features.
Stackable Solar Skyscraper, Mexico City
(images via: design top news)
Nearly every level of the massive, airy Vertical Park design for Mexico City by Jorge Hernandez de la Garza contains solar panels to harvest all the sun it needs to provide power for homes, offices and recreation space. The stackable design allows expansion and even relocation as necessary, adding more sky gardens and urban farms.
Solar Membrane-Covered Tower Concept
(images via: evolo)
Looking like something that sprung from the soil rather than a man-made structure, this solar-powered tower by Kenneth Loh and Michelle Lim has quite an unusual exterior surface: not only is nearly half of it open and exposed in the form of gardens and green spaces, but it’s also covered in a membrane of solar cells. The core of the building is a hollow cylinder that moves hot air from the surface, controlling the temperature of all the green space, commercial space and residential units that surround it.
Structural Geodesics Skyscraper, Armenia
(images via: evolo)
With its unusual combination of fluid shapes, the ‘Evolving Skyscraper’ by Vahan Misakyan almost looks alien; it’s certainly unlike anything we already have constructed here on Earth. Three organically wavy and curved towers topped with spikes are connected with habitable bridges. The building, designed for varied uses like housing, offices and a hotel, is covered in an “intelligent skin” that not only absorbs solar energy to power the building but also collects water and controls just how much light to let in.
10MW Tower
(images via: studied impact)
Could the 10MW Tower be the most ambitious solar-energy skyscraper that actually has a decent chance of becoming reality? The design by UAE-based Studied Impact is tame compared to the outrageous and hyper-futuristic architecture often proposed for Dubai, but with its 5-megawatt wind turbine and 3-megawatt concentrating solar power system, the 50-story building could put out 10 times more energy than it actually needs.
Solar City Tower, Rio de Janeiro
(images via: rafaa)
From afar, it almost looks like a ghostly vision – a waterfall hanging in midair, with its source nowhere in sight. The Solar City Tower, proposed for the 2016 Olympics in Rio, is a powerful optical illusion that is more than just aesthetically pleasing; it’s an energy generator, collecting solar energy during the day and using pumped water to generate power at night. The tower also serves as an urban plaza and amphitheater for special occasions.
Dubai Vertical Village
(images via: evolo)
In the deserts of Dubai, how do you take advantage of the sun for energy production but prevent the building’s interior from getting too hot? One solution is to design the structure so that it shades itself. Vertical Village by Graft features an angled base covered in solar panels along with diagonal slab-shaped towers that reduce low-angle sun penetration. The towers hold residential units and inside the base are cinemas, restaurants and shops.
Solar Supertrees in Singapore
(images via: inhabitat)
They may not be skyscrapers in the traditional sense – more like a combination of energy generators, vertical gardens and artificial trees. They’re the star feature of ‘Bay South’, a botanical preserve in Singapore that will someday become the nation’s largest garden project. Reaching 30-55 meters into the air, the structures collect both solar energy and rainwater and act as giant trellises, illuminated by night.
Landau’s Abu Dhabi Tower
(image via: la times)
It would have been the world’s largest tower, a solar-powered 224-story wonder that would eclipse even the insanely tall, 126-story Burj Dubai. Designer Tommy Landau had hoped that his potentially record-setting structure would be approved by Abu Dhabi, and that by the time it’s ready to be constructed, the technology will be in place to coat the tower in solar cells so that it can be powered entirely by the sun. Unfortunately, Abu Dhabi turned the proposal down – now Landau is courting Saudi Arabia.
Almeisan Tower, Dubai
(image via: inhabitat)
No waste, no emissions, no need for outside power: this organic-looking spire design by architect Robert Ferry uses 224 heliostats placed around the top of the tower to focus sunlight onto a central receiver. Inside the structure is a cafe and observation deck, naturally powered by the tower itself. The excess energy produced by the Almeisan Tower would power the surrounding Za’abeel Park in Dubai.
Solar-Powered Vertical Farm on the London Bridge
(images via: chetwood architects)
Over the centuries, there have been many incarnations of the infamous London Bridge, some inhabited and some not. Architect Laurie Chetwood aims to bring life back to the bridge with a new design that would prominently feature two tall solar-powered spires – vertical gardens that also pull in enough solar energy to meet the bridge’s power needs. Food grown in the spires would be grown in a market on the bridge itself, which could also accommodate cafes, restaurants and even residences.
CIS Solar Tower, Manchester
(images via: design-build solar)
Few of the fantastic designs that have been proposed for solar-powered towers around the world have made it past the conceptual stage, but the Co-operative Insurance Tower in Manchester, England is actually complete, making it the largest vertical solar array in Europe. Perhaps that’s because the building was already there – this is just a facelift. The 40-year-old skyscraper got a sustainable facade made of over 7,000 solar panels.
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For the Birds: 15 Awesome Avian Home Designs
[ By Steph in Animals & Habitats, Art & Design, Home & Garden. ]
No garden is complete without a house or two for our feathered friends, but why stick to boring boxes when you could have sculptural works of art, modern flat-pack steel worthy of urban design enthusiasts, and even posh bird abodes complete with swimming pools? These 15 clever and creative bird house designs – many of which are recycled or even solar-powered – provide fashionable homes for birds year-round.
Heart for the Birds
(image via: mocoloco)
When the Toronto Botanical Garden called for entries in a birdhouse design competition, they received some incredible works of art – but none quite so unusual and sculptural as this piece by Josh Coulas. Entitled ‘Heart for the Birds’, the gallery-worthy design takes human love for our feathered friends to an almost gruesomely literal level.
Spontaneous Bird City
(image via: london field works)
Bird houses tend to be lonely little structures, located far from their neighbors. Why not build an entire bird metropolis? This ‘spontaneous city’ was created by London Fieldworks, a collaboration between artists Bruce Gilchrist and Jo Joelson.
CCTV Bird House
(image via: gizmodo)
That’s not a camera watching your every move – it’s the beady little eyes of a bird. But from far away, this clever and creative birdhouse design might just fool a criminal scoping out your neighborhood.
Posh Bird House with a Pool
(image via: posh living)
Who’s to say that birds don’t love a little luxury every now and then? The lucky birds that find this home first will get a rooftop swimming pool in addition to their modern, vaguely Scandinavian cabana.
Solar-Powered Illuminated Bird House
(image via: oooms.nl)
Given that the need for an illuminated bird house is questionable at best, a solar-powered bird house may seem less than eco. But aside from how cool it looks when lit up at night, the little perch on this birdhouse attracts bugs, giving birds an easy snack.
Giving Birds the Boot
(image via: great green goods)
Luxurious? Hardly – but green? Definitely. It may seem cruel to ask your friendly backyard birds to roost in somebody’s stanky old work boot, but these tough and dependable castoffs could actually be quite cozy for small species like wrens and chickadees, and they save shoes from the dump.
Folding Modern Bird House
(image via: grass roots modern)
On the other end of the spectrum, for urbanists who won’t accept anything less than chic modern design, there are bird houses like this: ultra-modern, super-simple, flat-pack and made of steel.
Modern Bird House with a Green Roof
(image via: workshopped)
Vertical gardening and green roofs aren’t just for people. Artist Donald Corey incorporated the best green design practices into this commission, keeping the most important needs of his ‘clients’ in mind. “Using a natural green roof to protect the ‘clients’ from heat and rain, they get the extra benefit of having a good place to look for food that is very close. The house’s walls are created from salvaged wood and the front and back are made of recyclable stainless steel.”
Airstream Bird House
(image via: chrome dome studio)
For nomads, vagabonds and people who just like the look, Airstreams are a sleek and lovably retro alternative to sticks and bricks. So doesn’t it follow that migrating birds who love to be on the move might want a portable home, as well? Maybe this awesome Airstream birdhouse can’t migrate with its avian inhabitants, but it certainly captures the spirit of travel.
Bird Turf Hanging Bird House
(image via: design sponge)
Pairs of shoes hanging listlessly from power lines are a common sight in urban areas, but why not use that same concept to take back the space for wildlife? This design, with twin black and white cylindrical wooden houses hanging by a cord, creates a habitat in a place where birds often congregate.
Ephemeral Paper Bird House
(image via: design boom)
The remains of old auction catalogs fold up nicely into a sort of origami-like modern birdhouse, albeit one that won’t last long in the wind and rain. But designer Michael Young admittedly didn’t create this as a functional place for birds to nest; it’s a work of art.
CD Case Bird House
(image via: craftster)
It makes for a somewhat geeky, very cool looking birdhouse – but this DIY recycled creation, made with CD jewel cases, does have its downsides. “Now, as long as the plastic cases don’t focus the sunlight like a magnifying glass and fry any potential occupants, we will be doing OK,” writes the artist on Craftster.
Coffee Can Bird House
(image via: ignacio pilotto)
Industrial designer Ignacio Pilotto came up with an awesome and surprisingly nice-looking way to reuse coffee cans: turning them into avian abodes with a couple hooks and a modified lid, fitted with a little perch and a round entrance.
Cinder Block Bird House
(image via: design related)
Who knew that cinder blocks could be such fashionable modular bird houses? Sure, they’re a bit heavy – strong chains would be a must – but this design by Mathew Zurlinden makes great use of a common waste material and can easily stack into apartment buildings for birds.
Flowerpot Bird House
(image via: digsdigs)
So you’ve got one good branch in your yard from which to hang something pretty, but you can’t decide between a hanging pot of colorful flowers and a birdhouse. This unusual concept called ‘O_Nest_O’ by De Castelli gives you the best of both worlds with a hollow area under the plant’s soil in which birds can make a home.
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Nine Lives: Black Cat Is Lucky Recipient of Bionic Legs
[ By Delana in Animals & Habitats, Science & Research, Technology & Gadgets. ]
Is there anything more tragic than a family pet suffering a tragic accident? In the past, a pet who lost two legs would have been put to sleep to end its suffering, but thanks to one pioneering vet and a team of biomedical engineers, there’s now an alternative: bionic legs.
The world-first operation was performed by Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick, a veterinary surgeon in Surrey, England. Oscar the cat was the unlucky animal on the operating table; he lost both hind legs after falling asleep in an unfortunate place. As he dozed, a combine harvester rolled over him, destroying the legs but fortunately sparing Oscar’s life. The cat was brought to Dr. Fitzpatrick, who worked with a team from University College London to develop the special prosthetic legs.
With most prosthetics – for both animals and humans – the artificial limb simply sits on top of the stump. One of the reasons this operation was so revolutionary is because it uses weight-bearing implants to which the prosthetic legs attach. The implants have actually bonded with Oscar’s body, making them a permanent part of the cat’s physiology and giving him a natural gait.
(all images via: BBC)
The team who developed the implants based their design on deer antlers which grow through the skin. The implants have a big advantage over conventional prosthetics in that they won’t produce the friction and rubbing that often plagues their wearers. Oscar won’t be able to feel his new feet, but his doctors are certain that he’ll be able to live the healthy, happy life of a normal cat. The technology is being developed for humans, and Oscar will go down in history as the lucky black cat who helped advance this research by leaps and bounds.
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Housing On The Wing: 10 Bitingly Bizarre Bat Houses
[ By Steve in Animals & Habitats, Home & Garden, Nature & Ecosystems. ]
Bats… these fascinating, furry, flying mammals do humanity a great service by eating uncounted numbers of mosquitoes and other insect pests, so why not help the little guys out by furnishing them with suitable homes to roost in? These 10 bizarre bat houses may look somewhat creepy to us but to our winged friends, they’re home sweet home!
The Bat Cone, Baghdad, Iraq
(images via: Outdoors Webshots, MSG R.C. Wegner and Carolina Vargas)
This unusual looking cone-shaped structure was once a pigeon cove located on the grounds of a palace former Iraqi dictator Sadaam Hussein built for one of his mistresses. Today the palace is a U.S. Army post called Camp Liberty (formerly known as Camp Victory North) and the pigeon cove is now a home to a colony of bats. Hey, to the victors go the spoils!
(image via: Travel Webshots)
As can be judged by the size of other objects in the above photo, the cone-shaped bat house is rather large. It’s said that when the sun goes down, hundreds of bats stream out from the bat house to go about their nightly bug-eating rounds.
Modernist Bat House by Alex Metcalf
(images via: My Amazing Fact and We Make Money Not Art)
British designer Alex Metcalf crafted a prickly yet practical Bat House in 2007. The artist used wood and slate to provide an old-time “distinctive aesthetic” for the bat house, which is meant to help raise awareness of the need for (and loss of) bats in the Greater London area. As modern residential upgrades and new construction gradually eliminates the attic and loft spaces favored by bats, the creatures are losing an ideal urban habitat.
Berkeley Bat House, London, UK
(images via: Bat House Project, Arts and Ecology and Treehugger)
An environmentally friendly bat house at the London Wetland Centre is now open for business… bat business. The large, breathable structure was designed by architecture students Jorgen Tandberg of Oslo and Yo Murata fof Tokyo, acting on a design concept put forth by local artist and bat enthusiast Jeremy Deller. “It’s great,” commented Deller on the finished bat house, “I wouldn’t mind living there myself.”
(image via: Treehugger)
The Berkeley Bat House was built with guidance from the UK’s Bat Conservation Trust (BCT) and was designed to house all 8 species of bats found in the locality. Among its many bat-friendly features are an invisible black roof to warm the interior and walls made from Hemcrete, a carbon-locking type of concrete made of hemp fiber and lime.
Sugarloaf Key Bat Tower, Florida, USA
(images via: Direct Villas Florida and Panoramia – Cayobo)
The Sugarloaf Key Bat Tower, or “Perky’s Folly” as some call it, stands solemnly at Marker 17 of Lower Sugarloaf Key, in the midst of what was to be a thriving holiday resort built by south Florida businessman Richter Clyde Perky. The wooden tower was intended to house bats Perky imported from Cuba and Texas, with the intent that the bats gobble up the multitude of malaria-spreading mosquitoes that plagued the marshy Lower Keys.
(image via: Direct Villas Florida)
The 30-ft tall tower was completed in 1929… not a great year for any kind of investment, let alone a resort for free-spending pre-jet-setters. In any case, Perky soon learned that you can lead bats to a bat house but you can’t make them live there: once released, the foreign bats flew off to the four winds, the bat house remained bat-less, and the budding resort was soon guest-less.
Municipal Bat-Roost, San Antonio, Texas, USA
(images via: Wikimedia and The Reformation Online)
If the “municipal bat-roost” above looks familiar, it should be: it was designed by Dr. Charles A. R. Campbell, the same person who sold the Sugarloaf Key Bat Tower to Richter Clyde Perky from Sugarloaf Key. Campbell’s bat-roosts were more successful at attracting and housing bats, however, probably because unlike Sugarloaf Key, the various Texas locations where Campbell built his bat-roosts were in close proximity to sources of fresh water.
(image via: Shorpy.com)
Campbell was a big believer in bats, calling them “one of man’s best friends” and extolling their value in controlling mosquitoes. Before designing his towers, he noted that bats liked to roost in church steeples and incorporated their shape, style, even the cross on top to help the bats feel at home. Another feature of the design was a trapdoor intended to allow easy removal of bat guano, a prized and valuable fertilizer. If you’re wondering just how much guano bats living in one of Campbell’s towers could produce in a year, records show that in 1918 the crop of guano harvested from the Mitchell’s Lake Bat Roost weighed 4,012 pounds!
Highland Bat House, Japan
(image via: BSCJ)
Though it looks at first glance like a water tower, this is actually a “Bat Tower” located in an ecological park near Iwakura City, Aichi Prefecture, Japan. Most bat houses in Japan are small, often taking the form of a hollowed-out log. Larger towers like this one are much less common.
University of Florida Bat House, Gainesville, Florida, USA
(image via: SunSentinel.com)
The largest occupied artificial bat house in North America and, perhaps, the world can be found on the shores of Lake Alice at the University of Florida campus in Gainesville, Florida. It’s estimated that each night over 100,000 free-tailed bats in the UF colony consume up to 20 million insects, providing the campus and the surrounding area with free, environmentally friendly pest control.
(images via: UF News, Wikimedia and UF News)
Tragedy struck the UF Bat House in early August of 2009, however, as the tower’s internal wooden roosting fins collapsed under the weight of as many as 200,000 bats – and their accumulated urine.
John Knox Road Bat House, Tallahassee, Florida, USA
(images via: Florida Bat Conservancy and University of Florida Today)
This bat house, located in Tallahassee, Florida, looks old and even somewhat oriental with its red clay tiled roof but it was actually constructed in 1999. The use of very tall supporting poles keeps the bats safe from predators while providing ventilation – guano collection on a large scale is no longer practiced.
(image via: Wikipedia)
The 10′ by 10′ by 23 feet high bat house was built with the support of the Twilight Group, a privately funded non-profit organization whose mission is to provide educational programs about bats and through doing so, promote their conservation. Situated on the John Knox Road marsh pond, the approximately 60,000 Brazilian Free-Tailed bats that roost in the house from October through March find both fresh drinking water and abundant insect foods close at hand. Er, wing.
Bat Castle Bat House
(images via: BackYardBird and Dreamstime)
Want a bat house of your very own? There are plenty of plain-jane bat houses around and of course the bats really don’t care what they look like – but YOU do. That’s where The Bat Castle comes in. Priced at under $100 and made in the USA, this sturdy cypress wood bat house features non-rusting brass fittings and internal netting for your bat-guests to hang onto when roosting. Seats 50 to 60, eerie music optonal.
(image via: Studio G)
The Bat Castle may look like a novelty item but it’s approved by those who know one end of a bat from the other. “I like this bat house very much,” reports George Marks, Founder & President of the Florida Bat Conservancy. “The length of it allows the bats to move up and down within the house to find variations in the internal temperature.” Cool indeed, though if it were up to me I’d call it The Bats Motel, heh.
To The Bat Pole!
(image via: Decepticreep)
No, not THAT Bat Pole… though what you do in the privacy of your own bat cave is your own bat business.
(images via: Birdhouse Info and Outdoors Webshots)
Bat Poles do exist, though sliding down them isn’t recommended. These poles – pipes, more like – offer a no-nonsense solution for those who want to provide their local bats with a safe house but don’t want to disturb the aesthetics of their architecture.
Bat houses have a long history, as our ancestors figured out long ago that bats in the neighborhood meant less bugs biting them. It’s a true tragedy, then, that bats have been decimated by the mysterious fungal disease known as White Nose Syndrome. Giving bats a place to live could help them as a species – the more the merrier, as they say. A bat house, bizarre or not, installed on an outer wall or on a post is a very cool, ultra low maintenance way to do your bit for bats.
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The homebuilding business is always particularly hard-hit by an economic downturn. These developments were abandoned to return to nature when the money ran out.
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12 New Extra-Large Sustainable Building Designs
[ By Steph in Uncategorized. ]
As the need for cooperative sustainability becomes ever clearer, can we learn from the mistakes of our past and fundamentally change the way we live? Adapting to the new needs of our world requires much more than a sprinkling of eco homes and businesses. These 12 gigantic green building products take on the challenge in a much bigger way – with concepts for new cities, new societies and buildings that solve the world’s most pressing problems, like access to fresh water.
Spain’s Bubble-Shaped Freshwater Factory
(images via: inhabitat)
They look like nothing so much as a cluster of biospheres stacked on top of each other – or perhaps just soapy bubbles. But the glass domes of this strange tower serve a vital purpose: filtering seawater into freshwater through mangrove trees, which draw in saltwater and perspire freshwater. Once the mangroves release this precious substance, it evaporates and condenses into dew which collects in freshwater tanks.
One & Ortakoy, Istanbul
(images via: gad architecture)
Just like the beautiful hills they’re set in, the buildings that will make up the “One & Ortakoy” mixed-use complex in Istanbul have curving, organic forms and rolling roofs covered in greenery and flowers. Under construction in the neighborhood of Ortakoy, the project will consist of two buildings with natural stone facades – one a residential complex, the other commercial.
Green-Roofed High School, France
(images via: world architecture news)
Situated next to a public park, the Marcel Sembat high school in Sotteville-les-Rouen, France will almost disappear into the trees and grass of its surroundings. Additions to the existing structure – which will include a restaurant, student housing, staff housing and workshops – will be topped with a wavy green roof that will offer natural insulation.
Watertower Skyscraper Brings Freshwater to Sudan
(images via: h3ar)
In the vast desert landscape of Sudan, freshwater can be incredibly difficult to come by – yet deep under the surface is the largest underground lake in the world, which would change residents’ lives dramatically if it were tapped. Polish architecture firm H3AR imagines a solution: buildings inspired by both water towers and the native baobab tree, which would access the water through underground pumps. These towers would contain a water treatment plant, a hospital, a school and a food storage center.
Massive Rain-Catching Skyscraper
(images via: h3ar)
How could a building capture as much rain as possible? Through a web of gutters covering the entire exterior, which would then direct the water to a processing plant for use in toilets, washing machines, cleaning and plant watering. H3AR combines this ‘skin’ with a huge, bowl-shaped rainwater collector on the roof for maximum rainwater catchment capabilities.
Mixed-Use EcoDistrict in Dijon
(images via: exp architects)
Imagine living in a diverse neighborhood packed with green features galore, from vertical gardens and green roofs to bicycle paths and eco-friendly playgrounds – all adjacent to the city center. Such ‘ecodistricts’ are in planning around the world, including this concept for Dijon, France by EXP Architects in cooperation with Studiomustard Architecture, Sempervirens Landscape Designers and Even Conseil. The design will serve as a model for similar future developments in the same city.
De-Centralized Sustainable Society
(images via: ctrlz architectures)
It’s not just a building, or even just a city – but rather, a re-imagining of an entire society. That’s what CTRLZ architectures are doing with their new concept, stating ““We believe that architecture is not anymore about form and/or/…function, but that it is about relations. The development of network systems shows us that the power resides in links and connections.” Commerce, food production, ornamental gardens, housing, social public spaces and energy collection come together in a way that emphasizes cooperation between inhabitants.
Subterranean Greenbelt Hotel
(images via: reardon smith)
The subterranean design of Hersham Golf Club in Surrey by ReardonSmith Architects contains five-star lodging as well as a spa and golf facilities, while still meeting urban growth restrictions – the site is contained within London’s green belt, a ring of countryside that aims to prevent urban sprawl. The design also addresses lowering the impact of traffic flow and positions above-ground buildings in existing woodland so that nearby local residents maintain an unobstructed view of untouched landscape.
Beijing’s ‘Creative Zone’ Greenbelt
(images via: arch daily)
If there’s any city in the world that desperately needs a greenbelt to provide residents with natural space and prevents further sprawl, it’s likely Beijing. This rapidly growing city – plagued by air pollution problems – could get a greenbelt of its own that would allow interaction with nature while maintaining proximity to local conveniences like shops, restaurants and public transportation. UNStudio won a competition to create this “creative zone”, which would become a showcase of experimental architecture.
Masdar Sustainable City
(images via: lava)
Could Masdar City be a vision of the future, a modern metropolis where sustainability is built into every sidewalk, store and streetlamp? Designed by LAVA and located in Abu Dhabi, Masdar City is a planned community built to be zero-waste and zero-carbon. With housing, commerce and recreation all situated around a vast plaza, this concept aims to be a model of sustainability for the rest of the world.
Dubai’s Solar-Powered Vertical Village
(images via: graft lab)
What does Dubai have in abundance, aside from sand and mind-boggling creativity? Sun, of course -–and Graft Lab’s Vertical Village takes advantage of that plentiful resource with a surface that is angled specifically with solar energy collection in mind. The cluster of mixed-use buildings includes solar collectors on the south end that automatically pivot for maximum exposure.
Giant Energy-Generating Waterfall for Rio Olympics
(images via: inhabitat)
It looks unreal: an enormous, towering waterfall seemingly originating from the sky. But the Solar City Tower, designed by RAFAA Architecture & Design for the 2016 Rio Olympics, is actually a building that uses solar energy to generate power during the day, and a pumped water storage system to create power after the sun goes down. The tower could provide plenty of electricity for the Olympic Games and for the city, with the waterfall – “a symbol for the forces of nature” - appearing only for special occasions.
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Social Entrepreneurship: Creating Change
In this Tulane University program, David Bornstein, author of How to Change the World, JB Schramm, founder and CEO of College Summit and Susan Davis, chair of the Grameen Foundation USA, discuss the role of the social entrepreneur in addressing social issues. These innovative people have found solutions to many problems by combining their social expertise with business acumen to create new organizations that are, as London School of Business Dean Laura Tyson describes them, ‘a new kind of business hero.’ The 2004 Burkenroad Symposium addresses the issue with three scholars who, having written extensively on the subject, share examples of how social entrepreneurs have changed the world.