What are the unique characteristics of Eastern Fence Lizards. How do these spiny lizards adapt to their environment. Where can Eastern Fence Lizards be found in North America. What behaviors do Eastern Fence Lizards exhibit for survival and mating.
Physical Characteristics of Eastern Fence Lizards
Eastern Fence Lizards (Sceloporus undulatus) are fascinating reptiles known for their distinctive appearance and adaptations. These spiny lizards derive their name from the rough, pointed scales that cover their backs, giving them a unique texture. Typically measuring between 4 to 7.5 inches (10 to 19 centimeters) in length, Eastern Fence Lizards display a range of colors and patterns that aid in camouflage and communication.
The base coloration of Eastern Fence Lizards varies from gray to brown, allowing them to blend seamlessly with their surroundings. One of the most intriguing aspects of these lizards is the sexual dimorphism exhibited in their coloration. Females sport a series of black horizontal stripes along their backs, creating a subtle yet striking pattern. In contrast, males boast vibrant patches of bright blue scales on their bellies and throats, which play a crucial role in territorial displays and mating rituals.
Color Variations and Their Significance
Why do male and female Eastern Fence Lizards have different color patterns? The distinct coloration serves multiple purposes:
- Camouflage: The gray to brown base color helps both sexes blend into their environment, providing protection from predators.
- Sexual selection: The bright blue patches on males are used to attract mates and establish dominance.
- Thermoregulation: The darker stripes on females may aid in heat absorption, which is particularly important for egg development.
Habitat and Distribution of Eastern Fence Lizards
Eastern Fence Lizards have adapted to thrive in a variety of habitats across eastern North America. Their range extends from New York in the north to northern Florida in the south, and as far west as Ohio and Arkansas. These adaptable reptiles can be found in diverse ecosystems, including woodlands, grasslands, and shrublands.
Despite their ability to inhabit various environments, Eastern Fence Lizards show a strong preference for areas with trees. This preference is closely tied to their behavioral adaptations and survival strategies. Trees provide not only shelter but also serve as important vantage points for basking, territorial displays, and escaping predators.
Preferred Microhabitats
Within their broader habitat range, Eastern Fence Lizards gravitate towards specific microhabitats that offer optimal conditions for their daily activities. These include:
- Fence posts
- Tree trunks and stumps
- Rocks and boulders
- Fallen logs
- Wooden structures in rural areas
These elevated surfaces provide ideal basking spots, allowing the lizards to regulate their body temperature efficiently. Additionally, these structures offer quick escape routes and vantage points for spotting both prey and potential predators.
Behavioral Adaptations for Survival
Eastern Fence Lizards have developed a range of behavioral adaptations that enhance their chances of survival in their diverse habitats. These behaviors encompass various aspects of their daily lives, from thermoregulation to predator avoidance.
Basking Behavior
How do Eastern Fence Lizards regulate their body temperature? As ectothermic creatures, these lizards rely on external heat sources to maintain their optimal body temperature. Basking is a crucial behavior that allows them to absorb heat from their environment. Eastern Fence Lizards can often be observed spending a significant portion of their day perched on sun-exposed surfaces such as rocks, logs, or fence posts.
This basking behavior not only helps in thermoregulation but also serves other purposes:
- Aids in digestion by increasing metabolic rates
- Enhances overall activity levels and alertness
- Supports immune function and physiological processes
Predator Avoidance Techniques
Eastern Fence Lizards face numerous predators in their habitats, including snakes, birds, cats, and other reptiles. To counter these threats, they have evolved several effective predator avoidance strategies:
- Tree climbing: When threatened, Eastern Fence Lizards quickly scurry up tree trunks, using their sharp claws for traction.
- Opposite side positioning: After climbing a tree, they position themselves on the opposite side of the trunk from the predator, making it difficult to be seen.
- Crevice hiding: These lizards seek shelter in rock crevices or underground burrows, especially during the night.
- Camouflage: Their coloration allows them to blend in with tree bark and rocky surfaces, making detection challenging for predators.
Mating Behaviors and Reproduction
The reproductive behaviors of Eastern Fence Lizards are fascinating and complex, involving elaborate displays and territorial defense. Understanding these behaviors provides insight into the species’ social structure and evolutionary adaptations.
Territorial Displays
Male Eastern Fence Lizards are known for their distinctive territorial displays, which serve to ward off rival males and attract potential mates. These displays typically involve two key components:
- Head-bobbing: Rapid up and down movements of the head, often accompanied by extension of the dewlap (throat fan).
- Push-ups: The lizard raises and lowers its body using its front legs, creating a push-up motion.
These displays not only demonstrate the male’s strength and fitness but also showcase the vibrant blue patches on their bellies and throats. The intensity and frequency of these displays can indicate the male’s dominance and readiness to mate.
Mating Process
Once a male has successfully attracted a female, the mating process begins. This typically involves the following steps:
- Courtship: The male approaches the female, continuing his display behaviors.
- Acceptance: If receptive, the female will allow the male to approach closer.
- Mating: The male grasps the female with his jaws on the back of her neck and aligns his cloaca with hers for sperm transfer.
- Post-mating behavior: After mating, the pair usually separates, with the female seeking suitable nesting sites.
Diet and Feeding Habits
Eastern Fence Lizards are primarily insectivorous, with a diet that consists mainly of small arthropods. Their feeding habits play a crucial role in local ecosystem dynamics, helping to control insect populations while serving as prey for larger predators.
Common Prey Items
What do Eastern Fence Lizards typically eat? Their diet includes a variety of small invertebrates:
- Ants
- Beetles
- Spiders
- Grasshoppers
- Crickets
- Caterpillars
- Flies
These lizards are opportunistic feeders, often catching prey that happens to pass within striking distance. Their excellent eyesight and quick reflexes make them efficient hunters of small, moving insects.
Foraging Behavior
Eastern Fence Lizards employ a sit-and-wait strategy when foraging for food. This approach involves:
- Selecting a suitable perch with good visibility
- Remaining motionless while scanning the surrounding area for prey
- Quickly darting out to capture prey when it comes within range
- Returning to the perch to consume the captured insect
This foraging strategy allows Eastern Fence Lizards to conserve energy while maximizing their chances of capturing prey. It also minimizes their exposure to potential predators, as they spend less time moving about in open areas.
Conservation Status and Threats
While Eastern Fence Lizards are not currently listed as a species of concern, they face various challenges in their natural habitats. Understanding these threats is crucial for implementing effective conservation strategies and ensuring the long-term survival of the species.
Current Conservation Status
Eastern Fence Lizards are currently classified as “Least Concern” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List. This classification is based on several factors:
- Wide distribution across eastern North America
- Adaptability to various habitats
- Relatively stable population numbers in most areas
However, this status does not mean the species is free from threats or that conservation efforts are unnecessary. Localized population declines have been observed in some areas, highlighting the need for continued monitoring and research.
Potential Threats
Despite their current stable status, Eastern Fence Lizards face several potential threats that could impact their populations in the future:
- Habitat loss and fragmentation: Urban development and agricultural expansion can reduce suitable habitats and isolate populations.
- Climate change: Alterations in temperature and precipitation patterns may affect the lizards’ ability to thermoregulate and find suitable nesting sites.
- Invasive species: The introduction of non-native predators or competitors can disrupt local ecosystems and impact lizard populations.
- Pesticide use: Widespread application of insecticides can reduce prey availability and potentially cause direct harm to the lizards.
- Collection for the pet trade: While not a major threat, illegal collection can impact local populations in some areas.
Ecological Importance of Eastern Fence Lizards
Eastern Fence Lizards play a significant role in their ecosystems, contributing to the balance and health of the habitats they inhabit. Understanding their ecological importance helps highlight the need for their conservation and the preservation of their natural environments.
Role in Food Webs
How do Eastern Fence Lizards contribute to local food webs? These lizards occupy a crucial intermediate position in the trophic hierarchy:
- As predators: They help control populations of various insects and small arthropods, preventing potential outbreaks of pest species.
- As prey: Eastern Fence Lizards serve as a food source for numerous predators, including birds, snakes, and small mammals, thus supporting higher trophic levels.
This dual role helps maintain the balance of energy flow and nutrient cycling within their ecosystems. By regulating insect populations, they indirectly influence plant health and diversity, as many of their prey items are herbivorous insects that can damage vegetation.
Indicator Species
Eastern Fence Lizards can serve as indicator species, providing valuable information about the health of their habitats. Their presence and population dynamics can reflect:
- Habitat quality: A diverse and stable lizard population often indicates a healthy, structurally complex habitat.
- Environmental contamination: As insectivores, these lizards can accumulate toxins present in their prey, making them useful for monitoring environmental pollutants.
- Climate change impacts: Changes in lizard behavior, distribution, or breeding patterns can signal shifts in local climate conditions.
Monitoring Eastern Fence Lizard populations can provide early warnings of environmental changes or disturbances, allowing for timely conservation interventions.
Ecosystem Services
Beyond their roles in food webs and as indicator species, Eastern Fence Lizards provide several ecosystem services:
- Pest control: By consuming large numbers of insects, they help reduce crop and garden pests naturally.
- Seed dispersal: Although primarily insectivorous, they occasionally consume fruits and may aid in short-distance seed dispersal.
- Nutrient cycling: Their feeding activities and waste production contribute to nutrient redistribution in their habitats.
These services highlight the often-overlooked contributions of small reptiles to ecosystem functioning and the potential economic benefits they provide through natural pest control.
Sites-PetSmart-Site
Sign up for Autoship and have products conveniently delivered to you at the frequency
you choose! Enroll today and enjoy a 30% or 5% savings on select items on your initial autoship order and 5% on all
recurring orders. Treats membership is required to receive discount. Must be signed into your Treats account prior
to purchase. Maximum savings is $20.00. Savings will automatically reflect in cart on qualifying item upon enrollment
in Autoship. Treats members receive free shipping on orders over $49.00, prior to taxes & after discounts are applied.
Offer not valid on select merchandise, gift cards, gift certificates, previous purchases or charitable donations and
specifically excludes Royal Canin vet-authorized dog and cat food products. Offer may not be combinable with other
promotional offers or discounts. While supplies last. Quantities may be limited. Deliveries may be delayed. Terms and
conditions of this offer are subject to change at the sole discretion of PetSmart. Click here for more details. Offer valid on petsmart.com through August 2nd, 2021 @ 7:30 a.m. EST.
Treats members enjoy Free Standard Shipping on orders over $49. Must be signed
into your Treats account prior to purchase. Transaction total is prior to taxes & after discounts are applied.
Savings will automatically reflect in shopping cart with the purchase of qualifying merchandise. Maximum value
$75. Due to size and/or weight, certain items bear an additional shipping surcharge or special handling fee.
Valid only on orders shipped within the contiguous 48 U.S. states, military APO/FPO addresses and select areas
throughout Canada. Offer not valid on all or select products in the following categories: live pets, canned,
fresh or frozen foods, select cat litters. Offer may not be combinable with other promotional offers or
discounts. Terms and conditions of this offer are subject to change at the sole discretion of PetSmart. Delivery
may be delayed due to acts beyond our reasonable control, which may include, but are not limited to, weather,
strikes, power outages, shutdowns, local, provincial or federal governmental actions, and other similar acts.
Offer valid on PetSmart.com.
Free Same-Day delivery is available in most areas. Order by 9am to receive delivery
between 12pm-3pm, order by 1pm to receive delivery between 3pm – 6pm, and order by 3pm to receive delivery between
6pm – 8pm. Orders placed after 3pm will be fulfilled the next day. Select products not eligible for same-day delivery.
While supplies last. Quantities may be limited. Delivery may be delayed due to acts beyond our reasonable control,
which may include, but are not limited to, weather, strikes, power outages, shutdowns, local, provincial or federal
governmental actions, and other similar acts. Offer valid on PetSmart.com through August 2nd, 2021, @ 7:30 am EST
Puerto Rico customers: Online sales, specials or promotions are not subject to
substitution and rainchecks do not apply. For online sales, there is a limited availability, and products are
available while supplies last and not guaranteed for minimum days.
Eastern Fence Lizard | National Wildlife Federation
Eastern Fence Lizard
Sceloporus undulatus
Status: Not Listed
Description
Fence lizards are spiny lizards, meaning they have rough, pointed scales on their backs. Their bodies are gray to brown in color, but males and females can be distinguished by certain color variations. Females have patterns of black horizontal stripes on their backs, while males have patches of bright blue scales on their bellies and throats. Adults usually reach 4 to 7.5 inches (10 to 19 centimeters) in length.
Range
Eastern fence lizards are found from New York south to northern Florida and as far west as Ohio and Arkansas. Fence lizards live in a number of habitats—including woodlands, grasslands, and shrublands—but they usually stick to areas with trees. They spend most of their days basking on fence posts, trees, stumps, and rocks, and they crawl into rock crevices or go underground at night. Males ward off other males from their territories with displays of head-bobbing and push-ups.
Snakes, birds, cats, and other reptiles are predators of fence lizards. The fence lizard makes its escape by running up tree trunks and pausing on the opposite side to avoid being seen. If its pursuer circles around, the fence lizard will continue to spiral up the tree trunk until it ascends out of reach.
Diet
Fence lizards usually forage twice a day. Prey includes a number of invertebrates such as beetles, ants, moths, grasshoppers, spiders, and stink bugs. Females may eat more insects during the spring in an effort to save energy for laying her eggs.
Behavior
To claim territory, male fence lizards will flash the blue scales on their underbelly. They have also been observed doing push-ups and head-bobs to deter other males from infiltrating their territories. This behavior is correlated with the availability of food in the area.
Life History
Male and female fence lizards mate from April to August, then quickly go their separate ways. Young females lay only one clutch of eggs per year, but older females can produce up to four clutches. The eggs are deposited underneath the soil and hatch after 10 weeks. The offspring receive no parental care, so juvenile mortality is high. The average lifespan of eastern fence lizards is unknown, but is probably less than five years.
Conservation
Fence lizards are relatively common and their populations are stable. Currently they face only minor threats. Flooding can have a negative effect on hatchling populations.
Fun Fact
Fence lizards are so fond of pine trees that they’ve also gotten the name “pine lizard.”
Sources
Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology
NatureServe Explorer
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species
University of Georgia Savannah River Ecology Laboratory
Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries
|
Poisonous Lizards | Michigan Medicine
Topic Overview
The Gila monster and the Mexican beaded lizard are two types of poisonous (venomous) lizards found in North America. These large, thick-bodied lizards have short, stubby limbs. They live in desert regions of the southwestern United States and northern Mexico.
Poisonous lizards do not generally bite unless they are handled. Lizards bite with teeth rather than fangs. Venom enters the bite wound by dripping down grooves in the teeth rather than being injected through fangs, as it is with poisonous snakes. Lizards tend to hang on to their victims, making them hard to remove once they have bitten. Dry bites, in which no venom is released, may occur. But lizard bites are less likely to be dry than are snakebites.
The force of the jaws of a lizard can cause a crushing, or compression, injury. These injuries can cause severe swelling and may damage underlying tissues, blood vessels, nerves, joints, or bones. The force may cause the skin to split open or scrape off. Tissue may be damaged either from the bite itself or from attempts to remove the lizard.
Symptoms at the site of a poisonous lizard bite may include:
- Moderate to severe bleeding.
- Throbbing or burning pain.
- Swelling that gradually gets worse over several hours.
- Teeth left in the wound.
More general symptoms may include:
If you think you have been bitten by a poisonous lizard,call 911 or other emergency services immediately.
Credits
Current as of:
February 26, 2020
Author: Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:
William H. Blahd Jr. MD, FACEP – Emergency Medicine
Adam Husney MD – Family Medicine
Kathleen Romito MD – Family Medicine
Sean P. Bush MD, FACEP – Emergency Medicine, Envenomation Specialist
Current as of: February 26, 2020
Author:
Healthwise Staff
Medical Review:William H. Blahd Jr. MD, FACEP – Emergency Medicine & Adam Husney MD – Family Medicine & Kathleen Romito MD – Family Medicine & Sean P. Bush MD, FACEP – Emergency Medicine, Envenomation Specialist
Does population size affect genetic diversity? A test with sympatric lizard species
Sampling and choice of species
We sampled four species: zebra-tailed lizards (Callisaurus draconoides), western banded geckos (Coleonyx variegatus), chuckwallas (Sauruomalus ater), and desert iguanas (Dipsosaurus dorsalis). Similar to U. stansburiana, C. draconoides and C. variegatus are small-bodied, insectivorous and very abundant at the MNP (Persons and Nowak, 2007). In contrast, S. ater and D. dorsalis are large-bodied species, primarily herbivorous and less numerous (Persons and Nowak, 2007). In addition, our study site is centrally located within the ranges of all of the species (Jones and Lovich, 2009), so that diversity reduction associated with edge of range effects or marginal habitat is unlikely to be an issue. Moreover, sampling the four species from the same location in MNP increases the likelihood that all the populations have experienced a roughly coincident biogeographic history. With two similar species in each experimental group, our population survey at the MNP is a replicated analysis of variation in the levels of molecular diversity.
We are confident of the designations of these species as high- vs low-density populations. The results of the only survey of the herpetofauna (Persons and Nowak, 2007) are consistent with our classification, as is our own experience catching these lizards at the MNP over the past 19 years. Three of these four species, in addition to U. stansburiana, are diurnal lizards that spend most of their activity time basking on rocks, with occasional forays to forage. A typical search for lizards involves walking a transect while scanning rocks and ground for basking lizards. During these searches, we typically encounter 15–20 U. stansburiana and C. draconoides for every individual of D. dorsalis or S. ater, even in optimal habitat for the less common species. The nocturnal C. variegatus are sampled by driving the main paved road through the MNP and sampling the lizards as they cross the roads. C. variegatus is the most common reptile species seen on the road by far, and in normal years a sample of 40 lizards would be easily collected over several nights. Unfortunately, our study was conducted during a drought year, which seemed to depress C. variegatus activity, as well as that of other species.
We haphazardly collected individuals from the MNP in the region of the Cima Volcanic Field (Figure 1, data available from the Dryad Digital Repository: http://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.g7d1r). Samples consisted of 35 S. ater, 21 D. dorsalis, 35 C. draconoides and 21 C. variegatus. Diurnal lizards were captured using a slip-knot noose. Nocturnal C. variegatus were captured by hand. A 0.2-cm tail-tip tissue sample was taken from all individuals and preserved in 95% ethanol for genetic analysis.
Figure 1
Satellite imagery of the Cima Volcanic Field region of the Mojave National Preserve with collecting localities. Star on map inset indicates location of the maps.
Considering the limited geographic distribution of our samples, we are confident that these samples are from a single population for each species. The largest geographic distances between any two individuals in our sample were found in C. draconoides (12 km) and C. variegatus (18 km), but most samples were collected over a much more localized area and suitable habitat was continuous between individuals. A few of the samples for C. draconoides (4 lizards) and C. variegatus (3 lizards) were somewhat geographically separate from the majority of the individuals collected, but reanalysis of the data excluding these individuals had no effect on any of the genetic parameter estimates described below.
Locus choice and molecular methods
For consistency with the U. stansburiana study, we surveyed the cytb and MC1R genes in all four species. For a better depiction of the standing level of genetic diversity, we analyzed an additional autosomal gene: recombination activation gene-1 (RAG1). RAG1 has been successfully used as a marker in higher-level phylogenetic studies, including determining basal divergences in squamate reptiles (Townsend et al., 2004), and therefore is not expected to be highly variable at the within-population level.
Whole genomic DNA was extracted from frozen tissue using the Quick-gDNA MiniPrep Kit (Zymo Research, Irvine, CA, USA). Primers for the cytb mitochondrial locus and the MC1R and RAG1 autosomal loci were obtained from previously published studies and developed by aligning sequences from closely related species accessed through GenBank (Supplementary information 1). The target loci were amplified with 20 μl PCR reactions (Supplementary information 1) using AccuPower PyroHotStart Taq PCR PreMix (Bioneer, Alameda, CA, USA). Each PCR reaction included 18 μl PCR water, 0.5 μl of each primer and 1 μl of the genomic DNA. The PCR product was cleaned using ExoSAP-IT (Affymetrix, Santa Clara, CA, USA), and the purified product was sequenced in both directions by Elim Biopharmaceuticals, Hayward, CA, USA. Sequences were aligned and edited in Geneious 4.8.5 (Biomatters, available from http://www.geneious.com/). To avoid mistaking poor sequence data for high genetic diversity, sequence chromatograms with indistinct peaks or suspicious base changes were resequenced. Heterozygous sites in the autosomal loci were identified by visual inspection and confirmed in both directions of sequencing.
Haplotype linkage phase was inferred computationally with the program PHASE (Stephens et al., 2001). PHASE can sometimes have difficulty resolving low frequency alleles, and omitting such alleles from analyses can lead to artifactual reductions in estimates of molecular diversity in population studies (Garrick et al., 2010). Individuals with alleles that PHASE could not reliably infer at the 90% confidence threshold were resolved by cloning and sequencing the PCR product from that locus. The PCR product of heterozygous individuals was cloned using a TOPO TA Cloning Kit for Sequencing (Life Technologies, Grand Island, NY, USA). Multiple clones were sequenced with the same methods used for sequencing of PCR products from genomic templates in order to determine the true haplotypes for each individual.
Intraspecific genetic diversity
Population genetic analyses were performed with Arlequin 3.5 (Excoffier and Lischer, 2010). Each species was treated as a single population. For each species, we tested for recent population expansion using a pairwise mismatch distribution (Rogers and Harpending, 1992). We tested for significance using the raggedness index (r; Harpending, 1994) and the sum of squared deviation test (Rogers and Harpending, 1992). We also tested for departures from neutral expectations using Tajima’s D (D; Tajima, 1989).
To assess molecular diversity, we estimated the number of haplotypes and haplotype diversity (h) at each locus (Nei, 1987). We also estimated nucleotide diversity with Watterson’s θ (θ; Watterson, 1975) and Nei’s θ (π; Watterson, 1975; Tajima, 1983). For each locus, we made pairwise comparisons of haplotype diversity between species. Differences in haplotype diversity between species were deemed significant if the 95% confidence intervals of the two estimates did not overlap by more than half of a one-sided error bar (Cumming and Finch, 2005). We also compared haplotype diversities using a z-score test suggested by Nei (1987). To better visualize the genetic diversity at each locus, we constructed haplotype networks for each locus using TCS 1.21 (Clement et al., 2000). Closed loops in the haplotype network were resolved by comparison to a maximum likelihood tree estimated in PAUP* 4.0 (Swofford, 2003).
Argentine Black and White Tegu
Frequently Asked Questions
How is the FWC managing this species?
The FWC works collaboratively with external agencies and partners to assess the threat of this species and further develop management strategies. The FWC removes tegus from the environment with targeted trapping and works to capture and remove this species from the wild. The FWC and partners have removed thousands of tegus from Florida.
The FWC takes actions to reduce regulatory barriers to nonnative reptile removal and encourages their harvest from privately owned properties and FWC managed lands.
The FWC issued an Executive Order (EO-2017) allowing for take of any nonnative reptile, year-round, within 25 managed lands in the FWC’s South Region.
What if I own a tegu I can no longer care for?
Escaped or released pets remain a primary source of introduced species in Florida, although it is illegal to introduce nonnative species into the state. A is now required to maintain pet tegus possessed prior to the effective rule date as personal pets. Through the FWC’s Exotic Pet Amnesty Program, pet owners who are either unable to care for their exotic pets, such as tegus, or who no longer wish to keep them can surrender them with no questions asked and without penalties regardless of whether those pets are kept legally or illegally. The program helps reduce the number of nonnative species being released into the wild by pet owners and fosters responsible pet ownership.
How can I be part of the solution?
- Keep attractants such as pet food inside and be sure to cover outdoor openings and clear your yard of debris to minimize hiding and burrowing areas for tegus.
- Don’t Let It Loose! Never release exotic animals such as tegus.
- Surrender unwanted pet tegus to the FWC’s Exotic Pet Amnesty Program.
- Report observations of tegus to FWC’s Exotic Species Hotline (888-Ive-Got1).
What should I do if I see a tegu?
The FWC encourages reports of Argentine black and white tegu sightings. You can help by taking a picture, noting the location, and reporting this information using the free IveGot1 mobile app, calling 1-888-Ive-Got1 (888-483-4681), or by reporting online at IveGot1.org.
What to Wear When Lizard Watching
Choose your outfit carefully before you go on a nature walk. The animals you want to see might be paying attention, such as western fence lizards. Recent research showed that these lizards were least reactive when people wore dark blue — the color most similar to the lizards’ blue patches that earned them their nickname, the blue-belly.
It all started when Breanna Putman, a postdoctoral researcher in NHM’s Herpetology Department, was given a neon orange shirt to wear when she was doing fieldwork around Los Angeles. With its bright color and visible Urban Nature Research Center and NHM logos, it’s a great way to assure people that you’re a scientist and not a criminal lurking in alleys for nefarious reasons. Within the UNRC, they’re called “don’t-shoot-me shirts,” because they were inspired by a particularly eventful evening when Herpetology Curator Greg Pauly was searching for nocturnal, introduced geckos in Orange County and two sheriffs approached him with guns drawn.
“With a bag full of geckos already in hand it was pretty easy to convince them we were biologists,” said Pauly. “But it was clear that we needed to do something to make ourselves look more conspicuous and official.”
But Putman was concerned about the possible effects the orange UNRC shirt might have on her study species. “I wondered if wearing them in urban habitats and not wearing them in rural habitats would mess up my results,” she said.
To test this, Putman went “lizard hunting” wearing one of four different colored shirts: light blue, dark blue, gray, and red. For each lizard she saw, Putman measured the “flight initiation distance”— a measure of how close an animal lets a researcher approach before it runs away — and recorded whether or not she was able to capture the lizard.
Just as she suspected, Putman found that lizards did indeed behave differently based on what color shirt she wore. She was able to get closer to lizards, and was more likely to catch them, when she wore dark blue.
Blue is an important color for western fence lizards because it’s their signaling color. Males use them to display to other lizards — both to announce their ownership of a territory to other males, and to try to attract females.
When Putman wore red, the lizards ran away sooner, and she was less likely to catch them. And surprisingly, the lizards responded similarly to red and gray shirts, even though gray is a more muted, neutral color than red. It seems that just because a color appears dull to us does not necessarily mean it will have the least effect on an animal.
This is the first study to show that a lizard species responds differently to various colors, something that had before only been observed in birds. But does wearing a species’ signaling color always mean scientists can get closer? The team plans to do follow-up studies on lizards that use other colors, such as the green anole which has a reddish-pink flap of skin on its neck called a dewlap.
But already, this research has big ramifications for biologists who are studying animal behavior, and nature lovers and ecotourists who want to observe or photograph wildlife. It suggests that certain bright colors and loud patterns so often featured on outdoor apparel might actually be affecting wildlife. And researchers have another factor to consider when doing fieldwork. The color of their clothing can absolutely affect the outcome of their experiments — whether they’re measuring how close animals let them approach or are trying to capture animals.
“Now I always wear the same colored shirt across all my study sites,” said Putman, who still wears her neon orange, “don’t-shoot-me shirt.” “I don’t mind having a lower capture success as long as I don’t get police called on me.”
Wilde O. Nightingale and Rose
Nightingale and Rose
“She said she would dance with me if I brought her red roses,” exclaimed the young Student, “but there is not a single red rose in my garden.
The Nightingale heard him, in his nest on the Oak, and, surprised, looked out of the foliage.
– Not a single red rose in my entire garden! – the Student continued to complain, and his beautiful eyes filled with tears. – Oh, what trifles sometimes depends on happiness! I have read everything that wise people have written, I have comprehended all the secrets of philosophy, and my life is broken because I do not have a red rose.
“Here he is, at last, a real lover,” said the Nightingale to himself. – Night after night I sang about him, although I did not know him, night after night I told the stars about him, and finally I saw him. His hair is as dark as a dark hyacinth, and his lips are as red as the rose he is looking for; but passion made his face as pale as ivory, and sorrow sealed his brow.
“The prince is giving a ball tomorrow evening,” the young Student whispered, “and my dear is invited. If I bring her a red rose, she will dance with me until dawn.If I bring her a red rose, I will hold her in my arms, she will lean her head on my shoulder and my hand will squeeze her hand. But there is no red rose in my garden, and I will have to sit alone, and she will pass by. She will not even look at me, and my heart will burst with grief.
“This is a real lover,” said the Nightingale. – What I was only singing about, he is experiencing in practice; what is joy for me is suffering for him. Truly love is a miracle. It is more precious than an emerald and more precious than the finest opal.Pearls and pomegranates cannot buy it, and it is not put on the market. You cannot sell it in a shop or exchange it for gold.
“Musicians will sit in the choir,” the young Student continued. “They will play the harps and violins, and my dear will dance to the sound of the strings. She will rush around the hall with such ease that her feet will not touch the parquet floor, and the courtiers in embroidered clothes will crowd around her. But she won’t want to dance with me, because I don’t have a red rose for her.
And the young man fell face down on the grass, covered his face with his hands and wept.
– What is he crying about? asked the little green Lizard, which crawled past him, wagging its tail.
– Yes, in fact, about what? – picked up the Butterfly, fluttering in pursuit of the sunbeam.
– About what? – asked Marigold in a gentle whisper to her neighbor.
“He is crying for a red rose,” the Nightingale replied.
– About a red rose! – everyone exclaimed. – Oh, how funny!
And the little Lizard, somewhat prone to cynicism, laughed shamelessly.
The Nightingale alone understood the suffering of the Student, he sat quietly on the Oak and thought about the mystery of love.
But now he spread his dark wings and soared into the air. It flew over the grove like a shadow, and like a shadow swept over the garden.
A lush Pink Bush stood in the middle of a green lawn. The nightingale saw him, flew up to him and descended on one of his branches.
– Give me a red rose, – he exclaimed, – and I will sing you my best song!
But the Rosebush shook his head.
“My roses are white,” he replied, “they are white as foam of the sea, they are whiter than snow on mountain peaks. Go to my brother who grows near the old sundial – maybe he will give you what you ask for.
And the Nightingale flew to the Pink Bush that grew near the old sundial.
– Give me a red rose, – he exclaimed, – and I will sing you my best song!
But the Rosebush shook his head.
“My roses are yellow,” he replied, “they are yellow, like the hair of a siren sitting on an amber throne, they are yellower than a golden blossom in an unmown meadow.Go to my brother who grows under the window of the Student, maybe he will give you what you ask for.
And the Nightingale flew to the Pink Bush that grew under the Student’s window.
– Give me a red rose, – he exclaimed, – and I will sing you my best song!
But the Rosebush shook his head.
“My roses are red,” he replied, “they are red like the legs of a dove, they are redder than the corals that sway like a fan in the caves at the bottom of the ocean. But the blood in my veins froze from the winter cold, the frost broke my buds, the storm broke my branches, and this year I will not have any roses at all.
“One red rose is all I ask,” exclaimed the Nightingale. – One – a unique red rose! Do you know a way to get it?
“I know,” answered the Rose Bush, “but it’s so terrible that I don’t have the heart to open it to you.
– Open it to me, – asked the Nightingale, – I’m not afraid.
“If you want to get a red rose,” said the Rose Bush, “you must create it yourself from the sounds of a song in the moonlight, and you must stain it with the blood of your heart.You must sing to me, pressing your chest against my thorn. All night you must sing to me, and my thorn will pierce your heart, and your living blood will flow into my veins and become my blood.
“Death is a dear price for a red rose,” exclaimed the Nightingale. – Life is sweet to everyone! How nice it is to sit in the forest to admire the sun in a golden chariot and the moon in a chariot made of pearls. Sweet is the scent of hawthorn, lovely blue bells in the valley and heather blooming on the hills. But Love is dearer than Life, and the heart of some bird is nothing in comparison with the human heart!
And, flapping his dark wings, the Nightingale soared into the air.It swept over the garden like a shadow, and like a shadow flew over the grove.
And the Student was still lying in the grass where the Nightingale had left him, and the tears had not yet dried up in his beautiful eyes.
– Rejoice! – shouted the Nightingale to him. – Rejoice, you will have a red rose. I will create it from the sounds of my song in the moonlight and stain it with the hot blood of my heart. As a reward, I ask you one thing: be faithful to your love, for no matter how wise Philosophy, there is more Wisdom in Love than in Philosophy – and no matter how powerful Power is, Love is stronger than any Power.She has wings the color of flame, and her body is colored with flame. Her lips are sweet as honey, and her breath is like incense.
The student got up on his elbows and listened, but he did not understand what the Nightingale was telling him; for he knew only what was written in the books.
And Oak understood and was saddened, because he loved this little bird very much, who made a nest for herself in its branches.
“Sing me your song for the last time,” he whispered. “I’ll miss you very much when you’re gone.
And the Nightingale began to sing to the Oak, and his singing resembled the murmur of water pouring from a silver jug.
When the Nightingale finished singing, the Student got up from the grass, took out a pencil and a notebook from his pocket and said to himself, heading home from the grove:
– Yes, he is a master of form, this cannot be taken away from him. But does he have a feeling? I am afraid no. In essence, he is like most artists: a lot of virtuosity and not a drop of sincerity. He will never sacrifice himself to another. He thinks only of music, and everyone knows that art is selfish. However, it must be admitted that some of his trills are surprisingly beautiful.The only pity is that they have no meaning and they are devoid of practical significance.
And he went to his room, lay down on a narrow bunk and began to think about his love; he soon fell asleep.
When the moon began to shine in the sky, the Nightingale flew to the Rose Bush, sat down on a branch and pressed against its thorn. All night he sang, pressing his chest to the thorn, and the cold crystal moon listened, bowing its face. He sang all night, and the thorn dug deeper and deeper into his chest, and warm blood oozed from it drop by drop.
At first he sang about how love creeps into the hearts of a boy and a girl. And on the Rose Bush, on the topmost shoot, a magnificent rose began to bloom. Song by song, petal by petal. At first the rose was pale, like a light mist over the river – pale like the feet of the dawn, and silvery like the wings of the dawn. Reflection of a rose in a silver mirror, a reflection of a rose in motionless water – this is what the rose was that bloomed on the upper shoot of the Bush.
And the Bush shouted to the Nightingale to press even closer to the thorn.
– Press close to me, dear Nightingale, or the day will come before the rose starts to glow!
The Nightingale clung tighter and tighter to the thorn, and his song sounded louder and louder, for he sang about the birth of passion in the soul of a man and a girl.
And the rose petals were colored with a delicate blush, like the face of a groom when he kisses his bride on the lips. But the thorn had not yet penetrated into the heart of the Nightingale, and the heart of the rose remained white, for only the living blood of the nightingale’s heart can stain the heart of the rose.
Again, the Pink Bush called out to the Nightingale to press closer to the thorn.
– Press close to me, dear Nightingale, or the day will come before the rose starts to glow!
The nightingale pressed even harder against the thorn, and the point touched his heart at last, and a severe pain suddenly pierced his whole body. The pain became more and more agonizing and agonizing, the Nightingale’s singing was heard louder and louder, for he sang about Love, which finds perfection in Death, about that Love that does not die in the grave.
And the splendid rose became scarlet, like the dawn in the east. Her crown became scarlet, and her heart became scarlet like a ruby.
And the Nightingale’s voice grew weaker and weaker, and now his wings fluttered convulsively, and his eyes were clouded with fog. His song died away, and he felt something squeeze his throat.
But then he let out his last trill. The pale moon heard her and, forgetting about the dawn, froze in the sky. The red rose heard her and, trembling all over in ecstasy, opened its petals towards the cool breeze of the morning.Echo carried this trill to its crimson cave in the mountains and woke the shepherds sleeping there. The trill rolled over the river reeds, and they gave it to the sea.
– Look! – exclaimed Bush. – The rose has turned red!
But Nightingale said nothing. He lay dead in the tall grass, with a sharp thorn in his heart.
At noon the Student opened the window and looked out into the garden.
– Oh, what happiness! he exclaimed. – Here it is, a red rose. I have never seen such a beautiful rose in my life! She probably has some long Latin name.
And he leaned out of the window and tore it off.
Then he took his hat and ran to the Professor, holding the rose in his hands.
The professor’s daughter was sitting on the doorstep and winding blue silk on a spool. A small dog lay at her feet.
– You promised that you would dance with me if I bring you a red rose! – exclaimed the Student. – This is the reddest rose in the world. Pin her in the evening closer to your heart, and when we dance, she will tell you how I love you.
But the girl frowned.
“I’m afraid this rose won’t fit my toilet,” she replied. – Besides, the nephew of the chamberlain sent me real stones, and everyone knows that stones are much more expensive than flowers.
– How ungrateful you are! – bitterly said the Student and threw the rose on the ground.
Rose fell into a rut and was crushed by a cart wheel.
– Ungrateful? the girl repeated. – Really, what a rude you are! Who are you, after all? All in all – just a student.I don’t think you had such silver buckles to your shoes as the chamberlain’s nephew did.
And she got up from the chair and left the room.
– What a stupidity – this Love, – the Student thought, returning home. – It is not even half the use that is in Logic. She does not prove anything, she always promises the unrealizable and makes you believe in the impossible. It is surprisingly impractical, and since our age is a practical age, I would rather return to Philosophy and study Metaphysics.
And he returned to his room, pulled out a large dusty book and began to read it.
- Wilde O. Favorites / Comp. B.I.Kolesnikov, O.K. Poddubny.-M .: Enlightenment, 1990.-384p .- (School library). Writer’s books
The material is in demand in the heading Ask the librarian!
90,000 Reading for 15 minutes: “Through the eyes of a lizard” • Arzamas
Literature
The name of Mikhail Eisenberg is one of the most important in modern poetry. In the book “Through the Eyes of a Lizard”, published by “New Publishing House”, the editor-in-chief of Arzamas Philip Dzyadko reads twenty-one poems of Eisenberg, trying to understand how these poems are arranged and what they do with the reader.Arzamas publishes the first chapter
Image not included in the developer,
done by an absent-minded passer-by;
we don’t know what’s there, we don’t see,
we do not disturb the distant border.
Who are we – flying sighs
or sighs snapshot?
Birds picking up crumbs
between inexplicable drafts?
Lizard, the one on the hot side,
raises a tiny eyelid.
Sees updrafts,
takes them for a person.
What do you hear? What do you see? I hear speech with abrupt changes in tempo, phrases uttered at different volumes. I see a person enter and say: the picture could not be developed, what is on it, we cannot know. Then he suddenly turns to me: who are we, who are we, I am asking you ?! And finally, already calm: look at the lizard on the sunny side.
It is necessary to read the poem aloud. Then you can more clearly hear that the second stanza speaks in a different breath. “Who are we?” I pronounce louder than other words in the poem.
The poet Julius Gugolev called it “effect”. Deliberate brightness, a phrase uttered with almost aplomb, is a rarity for M.A. His poems prefer a quiet intonation, are prone to delicacy and even humility. I mean a simple thing: there are poems that really want to be heard and even loved, for this they use the most effective poetic techniques and they immediately pierce me. There are other poems that don’t care. Any poet, of course, has both, but one has more of the former, and the other of the latter.M.A. the second is more.
Mikhail Aizenberg. Georgia, 2012 © Andrey Romanenko / CC BY-SA 3.0
“Who are we?” I read a little exclaiming, these three words seem to increase the volume of the poem for the duration of one stanza. Thanks to this I hear: it’s about me. This is my question. Rather, I have the same question. I don’t know who I am. And I don’t know anything about the world. Perhaps that is why I am here: a poem, even if it is about a photograph or a lizard, it is always about me, about us.
“Snapshot” is a frequent word in M.A. I especially love this one – from a poem from 1982:
This image has blurred marks:
on a bench, embracing the future,
on a bench late in the evening,
trying on the invisible hat.
A snapshot appears when you try to capture the world around you, to save a moment before it disappeared, or to restore a long-lost one. This moment is valuable for its doom. The world is new every time. The one who tells about it rediscover or even discovers it: sees it for the first and last time.And in the “Translucent Clouds …”, a poem by M.A. 2007, an X-ray of the clouds showed an angelic fight. A photograph that has not entered the developer also reveals something, becomes an entrance ticket to a reality that is difficult to explain. One where phenomena have no names.
The poem writes another poem within itself, tells two stories at once. The first one is devoted to a special case – this is a story about a photograph that did not turn out, about a film that for some reason did not get into a bath with a chemical solution that converts a latent image into a visible one.The second story is about the limitations of our knowledge and understanding. In switching attention from one story to another, a dramatic effect is born in their interweaving.
With the question “who are we?” the second story becomes the main one, but the undeveloped film returns in the third stanza – already in the eye of the lizard. Then both plots converge into one.
The image that appears at the beginning of the text returns at its end, overgrown with new meanings. I want to come up with my own name for this phenomenon: for example, “the principle of returning heroes” or “the method of firing a gun.”How can this be explained? As if a poem makes a “jump.” The movement begins in the first and ends in the last stanza, and the content of the poem is a leap over it. The End of the Parcel by Cyrano de Bergerac, The Journey of Odysseus. The text is surrounded by an adventure of the image, which changes by the end.
This image here is a snapshot that finally turns into a lizard’s gaze. We also do not know and do not understand what we see as a lizard, and therefore we can only guess who we are, ephemeral creatures in a blurred space.The lizard eye is also an absent-minded photographer, her rising eyelid is the camera shutter from the first stanza.
Maybe this new look is poetry? The first poem of the book is a kind of introduction, as if I’m being introduced to the main characters. Poems are a snapshot, an attempt to capture the refraction of air, something ephemeral, beyond explanation.
One roll call pushes this reading. In the line “Who are we – flying sighs” one hears another poem about poetry – “Little baby” by Baratynsky:
How should I be? I am small and bad;
I know: heaven beyond their waves,
And I’m worn, winged sigh,
Between earth and heaven.
“I see the world as if in darkness,” says the hero of Baratynsky. M.A. haze becomes overexposure, lack of focus.
But even so, what does the poem see?
In response to the book of poems by Oleg Yuriev M.A. wrote about the ability to distinguish outlines within blinding darkness. These words are primarily about M.A. and about his “Picture that did not get into the developer …”: “Phenomena and things go into deep shadow – or approach their prototypes. It is not even a question of the peculiarity of vision, but of the visual ability itself.The work assigned to himself forces the author to improve this ability, turning it into a night vision device – more and more subtle, more and more adapted to distinguish the contours within the blinding darkness, dazzling dark brilliance. The vision goes to another area – at a different time, and the gaze that sees through the night becomes blind for other (daytime) impressions. The gaze is also turned inward, into the depths of his own suspicious structure. Something shows up like an X-ray. ”
The book opens with a poem that says: we are surrounded by something invisible and unknown to us.This is great news – this is a promise. If you admit that your understanding of the world is similar to understanding a short-sighted lizard, then now you need to learn to see, make a map of this world, give names to its inhabitants.
Maybe this whole book will be such a developer – and at the same time a photograph of an unknown area.
Once I myself became the hero of such a picture. I was thirteen years old, almost at our very house I met a friend of my parents and the dad of my friends – translator and inventor Mikhail Timanchik.We stopped to exchange some phrases. We spoke, looking at the old wooden mansion – now it is gone, it was standing on the corner of Kolobovskiye lanes, it was demolished. A man in a beige raincoat walked by and began to photograph the mansion. Misha said: “Since you are photographing this mansion, take pictures of us too.” Now, through the darkness, you can discern it. Misha died a few years later, suddenly, in the morning, a blood clot came off from him. Of course, I have never seen that photo. Although, probably, I am confusing – rather, Timenchik said: “But imagine that he will take a picture of us too?” But that man did not do it and left.That is, there is no such picture anywhere. But now it’s all the same.
micro-headings
Daily short materials that we have produced for the last three years
Archive
Adrenaline Rush launched a new communication campaign
A large-scale integrated campaign of the popular non-alcoholic drink “Adrenaline Rush. You can do everything ”, timed to coincide with the complete relaunch of the brand.
New campaign “Adrenaline Rush. All you can do ”is based on consumer insight: “ the desire for success is natural, but often fears prevent you from moving forward.Managing fears makes a person stronger. ”
This message forms the basis of the brand’s advertising communication, which is represented by a series of videos, a new packaging design, an updated brand website, as well as non-standard placement on public transport and in universities.
“While working on updating the positioning of the brand, which has long occupied one of the leading positions in the Russian market, we were inspired by its main attribute – the name. It sounds trite enough, but it allowed balancing the functional and emotional elements of the story on an understandable and relevant basis.
Adrenaline in nature is a hormone that, in extreme situations, activates the “fight or flight” syndrome and empowers a person with strength that he did not know about. Which – not to the same extent, of course – reflects the offer of Adrenaline Rush to the consumer. Fear is one of the strongest human emotions. But we believe that overcoming it makes our possibilities limitless. The whole story is about this – both at the product level and at the brand level “, – says Anatoly Gordeev, Marketing Director.
The new slogan, logo and design of the Adrenaline Rush can underline the brand’s new positioning. The product can already be found on store shelves and retail chains. The release format and volume of the drink remained unchanged.
The heroes of the new Adrenaline Rush advertising series are both invited actors and real people who played themselves in the commercials. The viewer finds them “a second before” the action is taken – in excitement, anticipation, at the very moment of adrenaline rush.The brand claims that it is great to experience these feelings, and that everything conceived is “worth the candle.”
The series of videos is accompanied by short documentaries – stories on behalf of real heroes. The creative idea of the advertising campaign belongs to the agency Friends Moscow . The production was handled by studio Stereotactic under the direction of director Noah Conopask.
“We wanted to convey the inner struggle of the heroes at the height of their excitement. Therefore, we concentrated on the seconds, in which different emotions are intertwined.It is at this moment that energy is born inside, which prompts the heroes: “You can do everything.” At the same time, it was important for us to emphasize that the brand supports not only those who are preparing to do something extreme, but also ordinary people, because they feel the same, and they also need energy to step forward, “ – explains the creative director Friends Moscow Maxim Ponomarev.
Creative team:
Adrenaline Rush (client)
Anatoly Gordeev – Marketing Director for Energy Drinks, PepsiCo Eastern Europe
Mikhail Korolev – Senior Brand Manager Adrenaline Rush®
– Daria Portnova – Brand manager of Adrenaline Rush®
Elizaveta Fetisova – head of marketing communications group
Marina Mushkarenko – senior supervisor for integrated brand activations
Irina Drozdovskaya – chief producer
Friends Moscow (creative)
Maxim Ponomarev – art director
Irina Smkarenko -director
Tatyana Ponomareva – copywriter
Dmitry Savelyev – director of strategy
Daria Davydova – account director
Ksenia Tychinskaya – senior account manager
Maxim Korostelev – head of the production department
Stereotactic (Sergey
production)
– executive producer
Alexander Medvedko – producer
Suzanne Mardini – Assistant Producer
Noah Conopask – director
Oleg Romanov – second director
Mikhail Khasaya – cinematographer
Dmitry Ketov – director
Vladimir Kravchenko – location manager
Zina Shlykova – artist costumes
Andrey Vargotsky – production designer
Nonna Aristarkhova – post-production producer
South sound studio (music and sound design)
Vlad Yakunin & Anton Mironenko – editing
Sergey Podzolkov – CG
Artem Leonov – color correction
How to escape from snakes in a garden plot – Rossiyskaya Gazeta
Is this true or not? And in general: how to protect yourself from uninvited newcomers in your summer cottage and avoid an unwanted meeting in the forest? We asked these questions to the herpetologist, candidate of biological sciences Inna Shiryaeva, asking her to comment on the most common misconceptions about snakes.
Myth 1
“Snakes do not give passage”
– Nothing of the kind, we are not talking about any “invasion”, – says Inna Shiryaeva. – Rather, on the contrary: we are seizing more and more new plots for gardens and summer cottages and invading those places where not long ago the snakes felt calm. I want to note: snakes are not at all as dangerous as many people think. They do not attack anyone “on purpose”. On the contrary, having met a person, as a rule, they try to hide, crawl away.
Why are there talks about the alleged mass breeding of snakes? In nature, snakes are tied to wintering places: where they can hide, for example, in areas of old quarries, where there are many cracks in the limestone rocks.In the spring they are active, therefore, meetings with them occur more often. When snakes come out of hibernation with the onset of warmth, indeed, you can find several vipers nearby. And with snakes, a not uncommon picture is a tangle of several, sometimes up to two dozen, individuals. This, of course, affects impressionable people.
But with the end of the mating season, snakes spread over a large area, and encounters become rare.
Myth 2
“If you kill, others will crawl. If you take it further, they will return”
– You cannot kill snakes.And the point is not only that the common viper is listed in the Red Data Books of many regions, but also that it is a useful predator. They feed on mice, participating in the regulation of their numbers. And mice, which many people forget, carry many infections that are dangerous to humans. Therefore, the neighborhood with snakes in some respect is even beneficial to us. If you have already met a snake, you do not need to kill it, there is no heroism in this. It is best to take it somewhere else. She will not return back.
Another precautionary measure so that new snakes do not creep in: restore elementary order in your area and surroundings.Garbage and waste dumps near the garden village invariably attract mice, and this is the favorite food of vipers. Heaps of broken bricks, fragments of slate and other building materials can also, in principle, attract them.
Warm compost heaps can be popular with snakes – they sometimes use them to lay eggs. Vipers, by the way, do not lay eggs. Cubs are born to them in a thin transparent shell, which is torn almost immediately, and the little snake is released.
Myth 3
“The viper is a very dangerous snake”
– Let’s start with the fact that in Central Russia the common viper is the only poisonous snake.It comes in different colors: black and lighter, gray or brownish, with a characteristic zigzag pattern on the back. In some regions – the southern regions, in the Caucasus, southern Siberia, the Far East, you can find other poisonous species: steppe and Caucasian vipers, shitomordnik and even gyurza.
You cannot kill snakes. They are useful predators, they feed on mice and contain their numbers
As for the central areas, it is most often found here: it can be recognized by two bright (white, yellow, orange) spots behind the head.It is completely safe. Also, often because of the fear of snakes, the non-poisonous copperhead suffers – it was named so for the metallic sheen of the scales. The legless spindle lizard is often confused with a snake.
Stories of a deadly viper bite are exaggerated. The bite can indeed pose a serious danger to a small child, a small dog. As a rule, an adult will not be much harmed if he does not have an individual allergic reaction to snake venom. But if there is an allergy or there are severe chronic diseases, then, indeed, complications can arise, up to anaphylactic shock.Then, without urgent medical care, a person may die.
There are no statistics on mortality from viper bites in Russia, but, for example, in England over the past 50 years, only 7 deaths from snake bites have been recorded, and in Sweden – not a single one, despite the fact that more than 600 people were bitten by an ordinary viper.
Safety precautions
You will not find a viper in a deep forest, they live closer to open places: on the edges, clearings. This is where you need to be especially careful.
Thick shoes and wide trousers will protect you from being bitten if you accidentally step on a snake.
In the first aid kit you need to have an antihistamine (antiallergic) medicine and inject in case of a bite.
The bite site is treated with an antiseptic. Neither cutting the bite site so that the blood with poison comes out, nor sucking the blood with the mouth, nor pulling the injured arm or leg with a tourniquet. An infection can be introduced into the incision. And when the limb is pulled, the local effect of the poison increases, necrosis may occur.
The victim needs rest, plenty of drink, medical attention.
Movement Technique from Ido Portal
To understand why the Israeli Ido Portal is so successful, take a look at his schedule. Two weeks before we managed to make an appointment with him, Ido was in the United States and studied with professional baseball player – Michael Lorenzen. A week later, he was in Bulgaria, where he choreographed a Bollywood film (estimated to be shot in the millions of dollars).During our conversation with Ido, the professional coach sent six messages to two-time gold medalist swimmer Anthony Erwin, who has been coaching for over two years.
The portal is the creator of its own movement culture, in addition, he is an MMA fighter, capoeirista, tracer and also a paleo diet specialist. He studies and teaches athletes the culture of movement in all their diversity, affecting all aspects at once, unlike yoga or crossfit, which are aimed at a certain study of the body.
The Portal first appeared to the general public in 2015, when he acted as the coach of Conor McGregor himself, helping to prepare for his title fight. The Irish fighter could not use all the knowledge that the coach put into him, as he lasted only 13 seconds in the first round.
Since then, top athletes have taken notice of Ido Portal and were ready to pay six figures for personal training over two weeks. Companies like Google and Facebook invited Ido to train their staff.But when he sits in front of you in a T-shirt and sweatpants, he looks more like a school gym teacher than a millionaire. Ido did not reveal his age, but he was happy to talk about the basics of his training and techniques.
“Ich arbeite oft mit Stöcken”, sagt Portal.
© Cyrill Matter
Do you teach movement techniques to people all over the world, while you’ve only been to the gym yourself?
I avoided the gym for many reasons.
First, because I do sets of many hand machines.This was the case, for example, in Berlin. The coach in the gym was sure that I could hurt myself a lot. But I’m much more confident in my arms than some people are in their feet. I can keep my body balanced by standing on one arm for 1 minute. Most people cannot do this while standing on their feet.
But you can do more than that. You teach movement culture to top athletes. What are the most common things people do wrong?
They don’t think of movement as a form of exercise. People do not think about their body, because it is simply given to them.But this is until the moment when something happens. Break your ankle once, and you will immediately feel your body again.
You came up with your own method during a long journey, studying different directions with a guru (yoga, dancing, etc.) How did you find all these people?
I was looking for them as I was fascinated by something specific. For example, I wanted to learn balance from a hand balancing master, someone who has dedicated their entire life to it. I thought I could find the answer to the main question about balance from him.But he had an answer only about balancing on the arms, while he could not answer about the basics of balance, only on the legs. I wanted to study movement in general. That’s what turned me on. So experts in their field often disappointed me.
Charlie Chaplin was an acrobat, a daredevil and a stuntman at the same time. He was very flexible and prepared.
But there were also those who pleasantly surprised you?
Monkeys and small children.
When monkeys see a new fence and jump onto it, or when children get to their feet for the first time, they must apply what they have already learned in a completely new context.These movements are real, it is incredibly interesting to watch it. Adults usually try to improve what they already know how to do. Children learn new things.
Trainer Ido Portal beim Red Bulletin-Shooting in Berlin
© Cyrill Matter
But must there be an adult you can call your role model in your field?
It might be Jackie Chan. He can wrestle, dance, do acrobatic exercises and sing, and he continues to do all of this despite the fact that he is getting older.Well, Charlie Chaplin, of course. He was an acrobat, a daredevil, and a stuntman at the same time. He could express himself in different ways and express emotions using only his facial muscles. Today’s actors need to learn more about their capabilities and movements. As well as athletes, women and office workers.
If personal training with you is not available to everyone, what can they get from your courses?
Movements they never knew about. See this muscle on my left elbow? This is the pronation muscle.It doesn’t look like it does in anatomy books. People rarely use it.
Freier Tänzer: Ido Portal
© Cyrill Matter
How can this be trained?
Exercise for working out is simple – you need to try to open a tightly closed bottle. Another exercise for rarely used muscles is to pull the bandage over your thumb and little finger, and then try to remove it without using your other hand. These small movements have a huge effect. My courses are aimed at working out every part of the body: ears, eyes, hair.
Can you train human hair?
Yes. Close your eyes. Then ask your comrade in training to move his hand just below his hands. You will start using your hair as sensors to feel his hand.
What do you get from this exercise?
New sensations. Something that you could have done at any time, but you haven’t tried it until now. It’s the same with fear: if you feel uncomfortable during the exercise, that’s what you need to focus on.
Doesn’t sound like much fun.
Constant fun is not the main principle of life. Discovering something new is much better. My favorite philosopher, Slavoj ižek says: “Why be happy when you can be interesting?”
Do athletes pay you a lot of money for training programs because you teach them something new? For example, there is a video where you throw playing cards at Conor McGregor. What’s this?
It was such an exercise. I had to teach him to quickly switch from Plan A to Plan B or even Plan C.When it comes to mixed martial arts, you never know what your opponent is going to do. When cards fly at you, you can try to predict the direction in which they will arrive at you. But they have a peculiarity – they can change their direction at any time. And you have to react quickly.
“Ich kann dir 15 verschiedene Arten beibringen, über den Boden zu rollen.”
© Cryill Matter
You also made McGregor crawl on mats like a lizard.Is this some kind of trick from the “animal world”?
Sexual term. But in fact, this is not an exercise to become like a lizard.
I wanted to make sure that the fighter was not afraid of contact with the floor. In battle, the floor is your enemy, so you need to be able to adapt.
In one of the YouTube videos, you and your students act like children during camp activities.
Because play is an integral part of our life. Our instinct is to play so deep in us, we cannot get rid of it.Do you have a friend who clicks a pen all the time? It’s his body screaming: “Let’s play!” But most people answer: “No, I’m a serious person!”
6-8 Stunden pro Tag widmet sich Portal seinen Bewegungsübungen.
© Cyrill Matter
I’ll put it this way. “Be weird.” Conor McGregor is weird. If you are normal, then I have bad news for you.
But if we all roll on the grass and frolic like children, passers-by can call an ambulance.
It’s all a sense of shame.We live with our super-ego, constantly condemning ourselves for how we look in the eyes of society. It slows us down and keeps us from doing what we are really passionate about. And that’s what makes a person depressed. But I think that we have already achieved a lot, and more and more people are thinking: “Fuck what other people say!”
Are you for this position?
I’ll put it this way: “Be weird.” Conor McGregor is weird. If you’re normal, I have bad news for you.
What does this mean?
What are you normal !! You are Homer Simpson! There is clearly something wrong with you, if you do not want to just fool around and wallow on the ground.
The positive effect that movement has on our brains is the most popular topic in your videos. What kind of movements help us become smarter?
Any movements you have to memorize for the first time. So get started! Our brain is a powerful weapon. He constantly makes new neural connections when he has to learn new things.
So, you can become smarter if, after a 30-year break, you start rolling on the grass, as you did in childhood?
Sounds romantic, but it’s actually not that easy.
But I can teach you 15 different ways of twisting on the grass, and then how to put them all together. You need to have a long-term plan in mind for your body to adjust to.
What if you don’t want to wait that long?
Take a piece of paper and write a short story, counting from 20 to zero at the same time. It is a great way to control and concentrate, and it helps a lot in sports. If this is too easy for you, pick a more difficult topic and try to count from 100 to zero, subtracting a 3 each time.
Trainingsgeräte, auf die Ido Portal schwört
© Cyrill Matter
How to be flexible: three handy elements for the Portal.
1. Tennis balls
In case you don’t have a partner nearby, the next ideal option is a regular tennis ball (often unpredictable). There are a million options for what to do with it: it bounces off the surface, you can juggle it or just bounce it off the wall. Plus, they’re free.I’ve always dragged a couple off the courts.
2. Gymnastic rings
The best that has been invented for upper training. You can work on rings, on rings and under rings. They want to defeat you all the time, therefore, by resisting, you become much stronger.
3. Wooden sticks
Excellent for teaching all kinds of manipulations, and also used as a common tool. The manufacture and use of such tools takes us back to history when the stick was the only tool of our labor.
“The Lizard” by Alexander Volodin – Blah blah blah – LiveJournal
Volodin is a Soviet writer and playwright. One of his most famous works is “The Lizard”. A short story … which has a lot of meaning. It is not at all about animals, as the name might suggest, Lizard is the name of the heroine girl.
In short – there are two genera, the Genus of Bison and the Genus of Scorpions. Scorpions years ago were defeated by the Bison, but now the Bison are not the best of times – no fish is caught, hunger … They decide to send a spy to the Scorpions – to spy on how they fish.
Further, perhaps, I will give a voluminous quote from the choice of a spy. Who do you think they sent? ..
“Weevil immediately warned:
– I can’t, I sprained my leg.
Walker got up.
– I could offer my services, give, as they say, life. For our women, for their children. But … “He looked back at the women.” As the people say. no husbands.The walker should be here.
– Here is his place, with us!
People turned to the Eloquent.
He got up, spoke excitedly.
– Thank you for your trust. I would even say so – for the honor. Unfortunately, there are already jokes about my configuration. And then conspiracy is needed. I have to give myself a rejection.
– See? – the Man of Fight triumphed. – Can you rely on them? Put it in the liver…
Then the Head of the Clan suddenly said to everyone:
– My decision. Send a woman.
– How, a woman? – the Man of Fight did not understand.
– In what sense is a woman? – the Eloquent did not understand either.
“You can’t have a woman,” said Walker. “They will kill the woman because she will not be able to defend herself.
– And if it is a beautiful woman? Or better yet, a girl? said the Head.- So that some Scorpio wants to kidnap her?
The Man of Battle roared:
– If Scorpio kidnaps her, it will be a shame for our kind!
But the Head objected:
– It would be a shame if he actually kidnapped her. And if we ourselves bring her closer to the Scorpion camp? And will one of them accidentally see her, load her on his shoulders and carry her away? And will he be glad that he got such a prey?
– But this is an idea! – flattering the Eloquent.- And it never occurred to anyone! That is why you are the Head. And he will not even know who he is dragging to his house!
– What are we talking about! – Shcherbaty intervened. – You take a look at our women! Skinny, hungry. Who will kidnap them!
“This is true,” said the Eloquent. – An unenviable sight.
But then the women were indignant.
– Where are we skinny! Take a good look! What’s this? And what’s that? Now they can’t see anything because of hunger!
Walker decided to justify himself in front of women, he said delicately:
– For me personally, everyone is attractive.Hungry, unhappy women are even better. A real man is only happy to warm her in his arms.
The Head of the Clan turned to women with a question:
– Women! Are you ready, if need be, to sacrifice yourself for the sake of our entire family?
“What a question,” the Fighting Man rumbled. – Of course we are.
Eloquent confirmed:
– Moreover, we will keep the memory of this forever.
Then the Head ordered:
– Well, let’s proceed to the selection. Young women and girls, stand by so we can see you in full growth.
Women gradually began to understand the role they were destined to play. To be more attractive, they smoothed their hair, gracefully stood in a row. “
Okay, the men began to choose. The Lizard seemed the most attractive to them. Again a lengthy quote:
” – Lizard! Do you agree to sacrifice yourself for the sake of our Family?
“I agree,” she said, worried.“But if a Scorpio grabs me, I will bite.
– You must bite, otherwise it will be implausible. You will live there until you find out how they make this Net and what they do to prevent the dead fish from spoiling. You will not understand everything. But what you understand, then remember. And then, when you find out all this, you will run away and tell us. And most importantly – bring one Set with you. True, this requires a trick.
“I’m cunning,” the Lizard assured him.
– She’s cunning! – confirmed the women.
– She’s very cunning!
And the Fighting Man said:
– It’s good that you are cunning. But if you start to cheat with us, then we will have to … In general, you understand.
The Eloquent softened these threatening words.
– If you die, then I will tell our children about you. A simple girl, she gave her life for her Rod…
The lizard asked:
– Will you talk about my appearance, my physique?
– And of course! I will talk about your attractive appearance, your extraordinary physique, and how you sacrificed all this for us. You know how I can speak.
The Head of the Clan commanded:
– Give her another skin. Try to make it open everything you need.
The girls drove the men away and began to fit a new skin. And when they parted, the Lizard appeared. “
Somehow it … um. It reminds the legalization of prostitution. As a result, they took the girl to a clearing closer to the Scorpions, so that she would pick flowers there and attract the attention of enemies. Scorpio saw her, grabbed her, dragged her to him. Scorpions ( their standards of beauty were somewhat different from the Bison) did not really understand the act of their fellow tribesman, but they said – “Let him live in your house until you get bored.Then you will take her to the place where you found. And let him return to himself with gifts “(well, they do not need a war with their neighbors, so they were not going to do something terrible with the girl.)
Conversation between the mother of her abductor and her son:
” – Brought into the house. Here he sits, angry. How could she not be angry? Grabbed, dragged … Or maybe she always has such an evil look?
“She doesn’t look evil, just a little gloomy,” the Reaver intervened. – When she picked flowers, she had a completely different look.
– If only she was beautiful.
– Happiness, mom, is not in beauty.
– Or is she that smart?
– And happiness is not in the mind.
– What is it?
– Do I know? “
The kidnapper tries to talk to the Lizard. Different languages - misunderstanding – it turns out an absurd dialogue … Her relationship with the Scorpio tribe is interesting – women treat her badly, because her kidnapper had a relationship with one of them.But at the same time, the relationship between the people of this tribe is clearly better than among the Bison. She told the kidnapper that since he had kidnapped her, now he is her husband. Another interesting dialogue between the mother and the kidnapper:
“- What did the Red-haired man tell you? – asked the mother of the Kidnapper.
– He said that it should be stricter with her.
– What did you decide?
– I think you should hit her once, maybe they have a stricter practice.
– You can’t knock for no reason.
– And maybe, for no reason even better, he will respect more. “
And what do you think? He decided to embody his idea and hit. The woman reacted, alas, positively … On the principle of” samaduravinovata “- she began to look for problems in herself and justify this man.
” The kidnapper approached The lizard smiled shyly.
The lizard smiled back.
And then he suddenly hit her in the ear. She was surprised, did not understand why.
– It’s unpleasant to look at, – said the mother.
– It is necessary, mother. See, she was not offended. She’s used to it.
And knocked her again.
The lizard raised its hand. But the Reaver thought she wanted to fight back. He recoiled involuntarily. But she just touched the bruise, worried about her appearance.I began to remember what she had done wrong, remembered, was delighted.
– For having quarreled with women?
As a sign that she admits her guilt, she knelt down before him.
The kidnapper glanced victoriously at his mother, threw his net over his shoulder.
– Well, I went. To fish. Understood? I did not get that. Okay, while you sit. Here, – showed how she should sit and wait for him, bored. – The wife should look after her husband in order to remember better.
– I-di, my dear! – said the Lizard.
– I-doo, your dear! – answered the Kidnapper and left.
– You have a good son. A real man. He interceded for me, – said the Lizard to the mother. “
Rrr. I understand that my text is emotional, not literary, but I am writing not to a philological journal, but to my personal blog … We are going, however, further.
There is an interesting scene of the “reconciliation” of the women of the tribe with the Lizard.
“- We came to make peace with you!
– Tell me more.
– Even though we don’t like you too much. In general, it would be better if you stayed there, at your place! – said, smiling radiantly. – But the Counselor told us, and we came to make peace with you.
The women also greeted her with woven hands and smiled radiantly.
The lizard also greeted them with woven hands.And, smiling just as radiantly, she said:
– So that the snakes bite you! So that no one marries you, skinny frogs! You probably don’t know how to give birth to children! “
How … friendly, isn’t it? ..
Be that as it may, the Lizard decides to return to his family, taking one net. They continue the most curious dialogues, in which both interlocutors do not understand each other completely and broadcast the opposite – by the way, there is an interesting phrase from a man: “- It’s good that you don’t understand my words.To a woman from our Family, I would not say anything of this. She would stop appreciating me. And you can tell everything! “…
In general, she eventually returned to her family. She shared the information she had obtained – focusing, however, not on military affairs, but on all sorts of little things like clothes – well, so are her people The tribe was mostly asked about it. The net brought, the fish caught everything, ate … What reward awaited the brave Lizard, do you think?
“- My suggestion is that to start it should be like this… Eloquent?
– Apply insulation.
– Lucky expression. Capaciously said.
– Why? – asked the Head.
– And then, that she decomposes Genus. Consciously or even suppose unconsciously – it doesn’t matter.
– Perhaps you are right, – said the Head.
– So we expose? This, like her … isolation. Just in case.
The head pondered.
– What about the network?
– Combat cunning.
– Combat cunning. For us to lose our guard.
– What is the conversation, – said the Eloquent. – The lizard was turned over.
“Isolate her,” the Combat Man suggested.
– Perhaps not worth it, – after thinking, objected the Head.
– But why is it so! – the Man of Fight roared.- When everything is already clear!
– Let him live in peace. She needs to rest, – the Head decided.
– But you said that I was probably right! – the Man of Fight was indignant.
– Probably right. But what will happen if I act your way, and then suddenly it turns out that I was right? You know how unpleasant it is. “
The Lizard, meanwhile, suffers from its Abductor. She ran to him. Her fellow tribesmen were sent after her to kill her. And from the Scorpions, killers are also awaiting her, sent by the former lover of her abductor…
In general, in the end, she was caught by their own. Tied up and thrown into the river. And she turned into a wonderful fish. “ And in the encampment no one noticed how she disappeared. Here is an endless dance of satiety and joy.” This is where the fairy tale ends.
In my opinion, the story exposes, broadcasts about all the stereotypes that exist in the relationship between men and women, friends and foes. Notices curious connections and relationships between people and explains them in his own way. Primitive tribes of Volodin in “The Lizard” are a reflection of our life today.
you are a lizard !: emptykingdom – LiveJournal
=========
– I am a lizard, – a relative tells me, – And I don’t need to bother my brain with migrants … horror … crime … and nightmares !!
In general, she is my relative, she is not at all an idiot and she herself knows … more than me.
– I would rather change my place of residence than be, like Don Quixote, trying to fight windmills or lose sleep and pleasure from life because of the African Morons …
– Yes, in principle – too.Nofsetaki. “Forewarned is forearmed”.
– So warn your brain = don’t go to Egypt and Maldives … and in general everywhere where Afro or Islamists “command the parades”. What could be easier?
– This is what I do. I don’t go there.
And everywhere in the states black teenagers, in gangs of several thousand, arrange anarchies and robberies in malls [shopping centers], but the media does not broadcast about this.
“Thousands of blacks have once again rioted at shopping malls across America…. “
And you can’t shoot the” kids “!
I like the way the independent” media “report -” …. if you are the owner of a book shop, you don’t have to worry! “they” won’t even come close to your shop! But if you sell youth clothes and shoes, computer games and telephones, no one will help you! “
” Gangs of teenagers bring buses to the malls, and then the police orders other buses for them to take them home! “
” The police are afraid to interfere and. “..fights broke out between gangs of Africans, while others took to looting. Several witnesses reported gunfire …. “- prefers to wait (the police) until gangs of Africans start killing each other.
Is it okay?
It was like so long ago in Britain. But, of course, not the same – not American proportions. Then they found everyone and threatened to take away the benefits from their parents.Henry Schifberg, now legally known as Henry Lizardlover, keeps up to 50 reptiles in his home.
Picture: Henry Schifberg / Youtube
I heard the best joke: “How do you know when the ‘youths’ looted your store?” “The only things left are sun tan lotion and Father’s Day cards.”
Best Jock about this: “How do you know it was African teenagers who robbed your store?
– Because the store only has sunblock and Father’s Day cards!”
“No need to smoke, no need to be like Obama!” – calls for anti-nicotine advertising in rush.”Obama killed a lot of people, but smoking kills more!”
‘In December a Russian supermarket chain issued a public apology after offering a chopping board depicting Obama as a chimpanzee’.