Spider named after NZ biologist

August 14, 2017

A  native species of spider has been named after New Zealand biologist Professor Simon Pollard .

The new species is a Trite pollardi is a small, flat jumping spider about 5mm long and commonly found on buildings and in gardens in both the North and the South Island.

The spider was previously called Holoplatys sp. as it didn’t have a species name.

However, Polish taxonomist Marek Zabka, who spent three months in New Zealand studying native jumping spiders, revised its status.

It was placed in the genus Trite and renamed in honour of Prof Pollard.

An award-winning author, Prof Pollard spent much of 2016 advising Te Papa and Weta Workshop on the $5 million Bug Lab science exhibition, which is touring internationally.

He was also the advisor for a spider sequence on the BBC’s David Attenborough series The Hunt.

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Hot air balloons break record

August 2, 2017

Hundreds of hot air balloons took to the skies in pursuit of two world records at a biannual festival in France.

A total of 456 balloons simultaneously floated in a line during the Mondial Air Balloons festival at an airbase in Chambley-Bussieres on Friday.

Poor weather in the area postponed the record attempt twice throughout the week until the colorful balloons representing pilots from 45 different nations successfully launched at about 9 a.m., the Local reported.

It took about 45 minutes for all of the balloons to rise into the formation as they attempted to set records for number of balloons aligned and number of Cloudhoppers, or one-person hot air balloons.

The team successfully broke the record they set at the festival two years ago, when they launched 433 balloons.

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Ape that went to college dies

August 9, 2017

Chantek, one of the world’s most famous apes, had passed away.

The male orangutan was among the first apes to learn sign language, could clean his room and even went to college to study. However, he died on Monday at age 39, at Atlanta Zoo.

Chantek, who was taught by a trainer who raised him like her own child, was being treated for heart disease.

He is one of the oldest male orangutans in North American zoos and was born at the Yerkes Regional Primate Research Center in Atlanta.

He was among a handful of primates who could communicate using American Sign Language.

8 year old breaks Kilimanjaro record

August 2, 2017

An 8 year old named Roxy Getter has become the youngest girl to conquer Mount Kilimanjaro.

Roxy and her family, including her 10-year-old brother Ben, USA, tackled the 19,341-foot mountain earlier this month during a family vacation to Tanzania.

They had originally intended to sign up for a safari when a friend suggested they look into hiking up Mount Kilimanjaro.

The family has also never done an overnight camping trip before, and ended up spending nearly a week on the mountain.

Roxy spoke in a video on the day she completed the hike. “I made it up and that was hard. I was so tired. I could barely even walk,” she said. The same video shows their first day, where her mom Sarah comments that the tent was “a bit chilly.” The temperature was only seven degrees at the top.

MOUNT KILIMANJARO FACTS
Mount Kilimanjaro is a dormant volcano in Tanzania.

It is the highest mountain in Africa, and rises approximately 4,900 metres (16,100 ft) from its base to 5,895 metres (19,341 ft) above sea level.

The first persons known to have reached the summit of the mountain were Hans Meyer and Ludwig Purtscheller in 1889.

The mountain is part of the Kilimanjaro National Park and is a major climbing destination.

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