Dinosaurs liked to snuggle

Dinosaurs may have been cuter than we tho­u­ght after three of them were apparently found snuggled together. Fossils from the creatures, believed to be young siblings, were found close together and scientists believe the animals may have been roosting when they died.

They could have been killed after being engulfed by ash or soil, following a natural occurrence such as a volcanic eruption. The animals from the Jurassic period would have perished in a few minutes, The Guardian reported. The US scientists unearthed the bones in the Gobi Desert, Asia, earlier this year, which was 70 million years after the animals died.

They now believe it is the first time dinosaurs have been found roosting, which is common among many animals today. This goes against the previous idea dinosaurs often acted alone. Greg Funston, from Alberta University, who was in charge of analysing the fossils, wrote in the Nature journal: “The trio had quite a close bond. They were living together at the time of death.”

He added two of the creatures were probably curled up like ostriches or emus. The species of the dinosaurs is yet to be released but they had similar features to the cassowary birds, which do not fly. The fossils were discussed in Calgary, Canada, at the Society of Vertebrate Palaeontology conference.

Beached whales in Indonesia

Recently, a desperate rescue attempt managed to save half of a pod of sperm whales which beached off the coast of Aceh, Indonesia.

WWF Indonesia said 10 whales were stranded, seven of whom were returned to the water thanks to the efforts of the navy and locals.

But sadly, three whales died on the beach and in a heartbreaking development for the rescuers, one of the animals that had been saved came back and was stranded again, this time fatally.

Dwi Aryo Tjiptohandono, WWF Indonesia’s marine and fisheries campaign coordinator, said the group was investigating how the whales had come to be stranded. Autopsies will be carried out on the dead animals.

It is not exactly clear why whales and other marine mammals get stranded, but experts say it can be a combination of factors, from old age, illness or injury, to accidental navigation errors.

“The strong social bonding of some species of whales can cause mass strandings,” according to Project Jonah, a New Zealand-based whale charity.

Adventurer flies by with 100 helium balloons

The skies above South Africa are filled with weird and wonderful creatures, from giant vultures to miniature sunbirds. But those looking to the sky recently saw something even more unusual — a crazy Brit in a chair with party balloons tied to it!

Like a scene from the smash Pixar film Up, Tom Morgan, from Bristol based company The Adventurists , took to the skies near Johannesburg.

The daredevil flew 25km (15.5 miles) and reached heights of 8,000ft (2,438m) suspended from 100 helium balloons. After a somewhat disastrous week trying to fly in Botswana, Tom tried his luck in South Africa.

And his concept of an air race based around flying in a chair with large party balloons, ranging from one- to five-foot wide, tied to it.

Whilst Tom had to hurriedly pop the balloons to get back to terra firma, after reports of strong winds on their way got radioed through to him, he’d experienced enough to know the ‘world’s wackiest air race’ can become a genuine event next year.

Published in Dawn, Young World, December 16th, 2017