Whales are famous for a lot of different things. Swimming great distances, dancing, trips to the spa – whalekind has a lot of tricks up their considerable whale sleeves. However new research could add to that list with the theory they might be pretty great at long-distance relationships too.Bowhead whales (Balaena mysticetus) were hunted extensively for oil and baleen in the 1800s and early 1900s, but have since made a comeback. They are also thought to be able to live up to 200 years, making them the longest-living marine mammal. Beyond these points, however, little is known about exactly how these large creatures forage and socialize. To find out more about what these whales get up to, a team of researchers tagged 12 bowheads in Disko Bay on the western coast of Greenland and studied 144 days of diving records.The researchers tagged the whales to record dive data.Image Credit: © Mads Peter Heide-JørgensenWhile their behavior may look chaotic, their analysis showed a 24-hour cycle of diving during the spring months. The whales were found to dive down to the deepest point in the afternoon, which then allowed them to track their prey up to the surface of the water. This behavior is known as the diel vertical migration. Bowhead whales are baleen whales that filter-feed marine invertebrates, including krill and crustaceans.  The paper authors described the whales as "chaotic self-sustained oscillators" that balance diving at depth for food and staying near the surface to breathe. They found that at least 8 of the 12 whales tagged were performing this diel diving behavior. This is similar to the behavior of blue whales, which are known to track the migration of their prey through the water column, rising to the surface at night. This ties in with theories that suggest calling to other whales at depth is energetically costly to the whales.“We find that foraging whales dive deeper during the daytime in spring, with this diving behavior being in apparent synchrony with their vertically migrating prey,” said Professor Mads Peter Heide-Jørgensen at the Department of Birds and Mammals, Greenland Institute of Natural Resources, in a statement. “Until now, this hasn’t been shown for spring, and remained contradictory for autumn.”The second potential discovery from the research is even more remarkable. The team observed two whales that seemed to dive in sync, despite at times being around 100 kilometers (62 miles) apart. Over the course of the week, the pair – one female (BW05) and another whale of unknown sex (BW10) – were sometimes as close as 5 kilometers (3.1 miles) and sometimes hundreds of kilometers apart, and seemed to be synching their dives to occur at the same time of day. The depths that the whales dove to were not synched, potentially because of differences in individual foraging strategies and vertical prey distribution. The team suggests that diving and calling together even many kilometers apart could also be a predator avoidance strategy to avoid killer whales or to reinforce social bonds.While the whales were physically apart, the researchers believe that they remained within hearing range of each other, though the whale noises were not recorded. “Without direct observations, such as recordings of the two whales, it isn’t possible to determine that the individuals were exchanging calls,” said Professor Jonas Teilmann at the Department of Ecoscience, Aarhus University, nevertheless, “the observed subsurface behavior might be the first evidence supporting the acoustic herd theory of long-range signaling in baleen whales proposed by Payne and Webb back in 1971.”This opens up the possibility that while the whales appear to be alone they could be diving with their long-distance besties. “The possibility of acoustically connected whales, which seem to be diving alone but are actually together, is mind bending. Our study identifies a framework for studying the sociality and behavior of such chaotically moving, unrestrained marine animals, and we encourage the research community to collect more simultaneous tag data to confirm if our interpretation is appropriate,” Associate Professor Evgeny A. Podolskiy at the Arctic Research Center, Hokkaido University concluded. The paper is published in the journal Physical Review Research.

One of the oldest known depictions of Jesus Christ isn’t found in a humble chapel in Bethlehem, nor is it a fine work of art kept in the shady basements of the Vatican. In fact, it’s a piece of crudely drawn Roman graffito that shows a person with the head of a donkey being crucified.Known as the Alexamenos Graffito, the disrespectful doodle dates to the late second or early third century CE, making it one of the earliest pictorial representations of the crucified Christ. This was a time before Christianity became the official religion of the Roman Empire – and clearly, the burgeoning religion wasn’t popular with some. It depicts a human-like figure with the head of a donkey affixed to a crucifix. On the left, a man is seen with his left arm pointing towards the ass-headed character. Along with the illustration, it features ancient Greek text that translates to something like: "Alexamenos worships [his] god." Although its meaning is up for interpretation, it is widely believed that the graffito was intended to mock a Christian named Alexamenos for his belief in the unfamiliar, new religion.The graffiti was discovered in 1857 on the Palatine Hill, one of the oldest parts of Rome, on the wall of a building annexed to the imperial palace where slaves received their training. Who knows, perhaps it was one of the empire’s disgruntled slaves who scratched it onto the wall, poking fun at one of their comrades as they underwent training. Then again, it could have been the handiwork of a bored soldier or any other citizen, as the ancient Romans are known for their graffiti.A low-res image of the original Alexamenos graffito.Image credit: Unknown Author/ via Wikimedia Commons (Public Domain)But why depict Jesus as a donkey? During this chapter of Imperial Rome, Jewish people and early Christians were often mocked and persecuted for practicing onolatry, the act of worshipping donkeys or mules. The origins of this bizarre misunderstanding aren’t fully understood, although it most likely started with confusion between believers of the Hebrew Bible and worship of the ancient Egyptian god Set, who is represented as a man with the head of a donkey and often associated with the animal.Of course, the Romans eventually changed their tune when it came to Christianity. Around 312 CE, Emperor Constantine had adopted Christianity and, by 380 CE, Emperor Theodosius I declared Christianity to be the official religion of the Romans.The artwork still lives near its original site at the Palatine Museum of Rome along with many other ancient artifacts from the long-gone empire. As you can see, time hasn’t been too kind to the artwork, and it's very hard to discern its contents with the naked eye today.There’s plenty of ancient graffiti to feast your eyes on elsewhere, though. One of the most common motifs seen throughout the graffiti of the Roman Empire was a cartoonishly large penis (some things never change, eh?).Historians like to claim that ancient Romans didn’t scrawl dick pics as a dirty joke, but as symbols of fortune and fertility – although judging by the Alexamenos Graffito, they clearly weren’t scared of offending people with their street drawings.

Researchers have unearthed a giant basal tetrapod fossil in Namibia, revealing new aspects of early land animal evolution and highlighting the importance of southern continents in the study of these ancient species. An international team of paleontologists has discovered a fossilized giant basal tetrapod in Namibia. Basal tetrapods, early four-legged vertebrates with fingers and toes, [...]

Regardless of what federal courts say, Texas needs to remove illegal immigrants allowed into the country by the Biden-Harris administration, Rep. Chip Roy says. “We had six kids who died from fentanyl…

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In Episode 301, we talk about the war on the American farmer and what it means for preppers. Hint: our food supply. We continue the conversation in the After Show, available exclusively for Patreon supporters.  Please support our sponsors Survival Garden Seeds, ProOne Water Filters, Gibbz Arms,  EMP Shield, Numanna Foods, Backwoods Home Magazine, and Ammo Squared. We are part of the Firearms Radio Network. Learn more about our podcast at Prepping 2-0.com

“But we can still rise up,And be the nation again that stood against them,Proud Edward’s army,And sent them homewards,To think again!” – The last verse of the Scottish National Anthem The post The Editors’ Quote of the Day: appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.

This weekly Snippets column is a collection of short items: responses to posted articles, practical self-sufficiency items, how-tos, lessons learned, tips and tricks, and news items — both from readers and from SurvivalBlog’s editors. Note that we may select some long e-mails for posting as separate letters. — This video echoes my long-standing advice to my consulting clients on camouflagling aboveground LP/OPs built from repurposed prefabricated concrete cisterns or septic tanks: How To Build The Best Place To Hide! o  o  o Radio Apocalypse: HFGCS, The Backup Plan For Doomsday. o  o  o A WND column by fellow blogger Patrice … The post SurvivalBlog Readers’ & Editors’ Snippets appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.

We have had a Vacuum Sealer for over two decades having received it as a wedding gift. Although we originally used it for food storage over the years we have found other things to vacuum seal for survival. Here are some of our thoughts and experiences on vacuum sealers For Prepper Food Storage When we first got our vacuum sealer I started sealing up white rice. I did packages with two cups of rice and then placed them inside a five-gallon food-grade bucket. As time went on we started to seal up five cup packages as well. The two-cup packages … The post Vacuum Sealers: For More Than Just Food, by 3AD Scout appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.

On August 14, 1040 at the Battle of Bothnagowan, King Duncan I of Scotland (pictured) was killed in battle against his first cousin and rival Macbeth. He was not murdered in his sleep as described in Shakespeare’s play. Macbeth did not succeed Duncan, as King. — August 14th, 1945 was Victory In Japan (“V-J”) Day. — American Gunsmithing Institute (AGI) is one of the long-time prize sponsors of our writing contest. They’ve just announced a new course on DVD (or online) that should be of great interest to SurvivalBlog readers: Survival Gunsmithing. This course has more than 10 hours of … The post Preparedness Notes for Wednesday — August 14, 2024 appeared first on SurvivalBlog.com.