The Monarch Migration

Monarch Butterflies are gathering in "roosts" on their way south to their winter home in Mexico. LINK: Youtube

New Artificial Reef Made From Sculptures of Real People

The Museo Subacuatico de Arte (MUSA) is a project designed to divert tourists from the fragile coral reefs of Cancun and Isla Mujeres. British artist Jason de Caires Taylor created ’life casts’ made from a special type of cement which encourages coral to grow. He used local Mexican people from a broad cross-section of society for the casts which were then anchored in an area that was originally barren and without much sea life. It is hoped that many of Cancun’s 750,000 visiting snorkelers and divers will be drawn to the installation.

Link, Via: Neatorama

RIDE THE DIVIDE - Award Winning Adventure Film

Only on YouTube for 2711 minutes. Removing October 2nd at 11:59 PM. LINK: Youtube

This award-winning film is an inspiring journey about the world's toughest mountain bike race, which traverses over 2700 miles along the Continental Divide in the Rocky Mountains. The film weaves the story of three characters' experiences with immense mountain beauty and small-town culture as they attempt to pedal from Banff, Canada to a small, dusty crossing on the Mexican border. Film's website: http://www.ridethedividemovie.com
http://www.facebook.com/ridethedivide

12 of the Most Fascinating Butterflies

Glasswing Butterfly (Greta Oto) is a brush-footed butterfly which wings are transparent. The tissue between the veins of its wings looks like glass. They are found in the range which extends throughout Central America into Mexico. (Link), Via: ODDEE

Mexico's Underwater River

Diver Anatoly Beloshchin shot this footage in an underwater cavern at Cenote Angelita, Mexico. The illusion of a river is most commonly attributed to a layer of hydrogen sulfide. LINK: Neatorama, Via: Youtube

Axolotl Salamanders

The Axolotl is a rare type of salamander, closely related to the Tiger Salamander species. They are about 9 inches long on average, and carnivorous. The cute critters are only native to central Mexico’s Lake Xochomilco, and yes – they are edible, and used to be a staple in the Aztec diet; but they are highly endangered due to the expansion of Mexico City.

They are, on the other hand, highly bred in captivity due to their value in research.

Axolotls are especially easy to breed compared to other salamanders in their family, which are almost never captive bred due to the demands of terrestrial life. One attractive feature for research is the large and easily manipulated embryo, which allows viewing of the full development of a vertebrate. Axolotls are used in heart defect studies due to the presence of a mutant gene that causes heart failure in embryos. LINK

Cellar Image of the Day
Link to Axotls site
Wiki
More photos

Jaguarundi

The Texas jaguarundi is a small endangered wildcat that lives along the border between Texas and Mexico. The jaguarundi was put on the federal endangered species list in 1976, but the Department of the Interior has never formulated a plan to protect the cat, as required under the Endangered Species Act.

One commenter said the jaguarundi looks like a cross between a cat and a mossy tree. Link, Via: Neatorama

Extreme Mexican Mountain Biking

High-speed mountain biking down the narrow alleys of Taxco, Mexico - it's the 'Down The Hill' race 2005. LINK: Youtube

Jaguar Redux

Nobody’s seen a jaguar in central Mexico since 1900. Until now. Three photos of an adult male jaguar, taken by a camera trap in the Sierra Nanchititla Natural Reserve, have confirmed the big cat’s existence in an area of Mexico where it was presumed extinct. Link, Via: Neatorama

Photo by Octavio Monroy-Vitchis/SINC, via National Geographic News

Monarch Butterflies

The monarch butterfly's wintering grounds in Mexico are in peril. Are the monarchs in trouble, too? LINK: Youtube

Day of the Dead Papercuts

Images: British Museum Prints Database

Day of the Dead was about a month and a half ago, but I’ve just discovered a neat post by BibliOdyssey about papel picado (perforated paper) papercuts in the theme of the festival:

"In Mexico, papel picado (perforated paper), refers to the traditional art of decorative cut paper banners. Papel picado are usually cut with sharp fierritos (small chisels) from as many as fifty layers of colored tissue paper at a time. Designs may incorporate lattice-work, images of human and animal figures, flowers, and lettering. Many papel picado are made especially for the Mexican festival of the Days of the Dead and include skeletal figures engaged in the everyday activities of the living." (Source)

Link, VIA: Neatorama

Ancient Pyramid Discovered in Heart of Mexico City

Ruins of an 800 year old Aztec pyramid have been discovered in the heart of Mexico City that archeologists believe could prove the ancient the Aztecs began to develop their civilization in the mountains of central Mexico at least a century earlier than previously considered.

Illustrated in the “Plaza de las Tres Culturas” — the plaza of the three cultures — in the central Tlatelolco area of Mexico City and once a major religious and political centre for the Aztec elite, the pyramid which is about 36 feet high (11 meters) was found last month as part of an investigation begun in August, and may have been built in 1100 or 1200. LINK

Ajolote

Is it a worm, a snake, a lizard, or something out of a movie? No special effects here; this is a ajolote, a reptile found in Mexico that has only two legs. It lives underground, where front legs for digging are more valuable than hind legs that would only be dragged along. Link, Via: Neatorama