#tigers and wolves

[planariaareneat]

How The Nocturnal Bottleneck and Nipples Make Us Human

Almost every post here considers what humans do have, really. It’s a little tiring; realistically every world has its harsh environments and vicious species and a sophont to match. We probably wouldn’t be unique for our adaptability or our persistence or even adrenaline

But our evolution is fucked up as hell, to put it lightly.

Mammals went through what’s been dubbed the nocturnal bottleneck essentially since the start of the mesozoic right up until the Cretaceous ended the archosaur’s exclusive hold over the daylight. We lost a lot of things from every mammal spending most of its time in either a cramped, suffocating burrow or scrounging around in the faint hours of nighttime. Our blood cells lost their nuclei to hold more oxygen while we spent time deep underground, we lost protections against ultraviolet rays in our skin and eyes, we can’t even repair our own DNA using the light of the sun. Most aliens probably wouldn’t have such traits unless their evolution followed a very similar path to ours. They’d be able to see ultraviolet and wouldn’t have to worry about sunburn and all the wonderful privileges essentially all fish, birds, amphibians, and reptiles enjoy as we speak. 

There’s also what we gained from spending so much time in the dark.

Brown fat is only found in mammals, it’s a special type of fat which bear cells with several oil droplets and are utterly jammed with mitochondria. This lets it make heat, a lot of it, fast. We don’t even need to shiver to induce this heat generation from brown adipose tissue - factor in our downright hyperactive mitochondria, and we can warm up quickly. Sure, it doesn’t have too much use in adult humans, but it keeps our infants warm and still provides a little boost the whole run we have in this universe.

Unless aliens also went through a time where their small ancestors had to face cold nights, they’d have to produce heat the old fashioned way when chilled. Aliens might have to shiver the whole time they’re in a cold room while the human watches in confusion, quite literally unshaken, and wonders if the room is a lot colder than the thermostat set to 60 says. The aliens stare at their companion in confusion, it’s just a normal temperature to shiver at after all, how is the human sitting so still?

Our small ancestors spending all their time out foraging at night is also why we have such a good sense of touch, smell, and hearing. They were more important senses than vision (we’re lucky to have even redeveloped basic color vision, frankly) at the time and place and simply ended up continuing to serve us well. Birds and reptiles rarely have acute senses of smell and the latter especially are lucky to have acute hearing, and birds rarely have impeccable hearing themselves either. Our skin is free of scales and honed to sensitivity, and our external ears and complicated ear bones provide an immense range of hearing (from 20 all the way to 17,000 hertz!).

Aliens might not be able to pin down the chirp of a cricket or the light click of a lock being picked. The human might be the only one on board a ship that can pick out the finer sounds of the engine’s constant thrum and know the critical difference between when everything is fine and when something is wrong. The human could probably pick out the sounds of an approaching enemy’s careless footsteps - they’re only as light enough for *them* to stop hearing them, after all - and be the one to see the horrified expression (well, more on that later) on their face when we get the drop on them in spite of their perceived stealth. 

But perhaps the most versatile, convoluted, amazing, and utterly unique trait we have is right on your face this instant. Lips.

Lips in most animals are a simple seal to hold in the mouth’s moisture and protect the teeth, even if they’re supple they’re NEVER muscular except in mammals, and we have only one thing to thank for it; milk and nipples. Lips evolved exclusively to allow babies to suckle, it required a vacuum to be created in the mouth, and with no other animal having anything like a nipple it never happened in other animals. Many animals make milk, to be frank, but no other animal has nipples.

Your cheeks and lips are a marvel among tetrapods, no other animal can suck like mammals can. Aliens wouldn’t have straws or even be able to sip from the edge of a glass, they’d have to have a proboscis or simply tilt the whole thing back. Aliens likely won’t have woodwind instruments or balloons you can blow into. We take so much about our lips for granted. Hell, our muscular faces are vital for expressions, we’re probably absolute facial contortionists among a cast of creatures with mandibles and beaks and expressionless scaly maws. Aliens might find us ridiculously easy to read, if anything, compared to their own kind (all the better to deceive them) - or perhaps they’d find us hard to decipher anyways, with our lack of color-changing skin or erectable crests of bright feathers. Baring teeth might not be seen as a sign of aggression in most of the universe, smiling would be all too distinctly human. 

Perhaps with how infectious we are sometimes, that’s what we’d contribute to the universe; others might have to make do with opening their mouths just enough to show their teeth or splaying their innumerable mouthparts with just the right curve, but perhaps we’d teach the galaxy to smile, one ally at a time. 

Wouldn’t that be amazing?

[trafalgardlawless]

listen i do appreciate canon marineford for the tragedy it is. however it does happen to also be extremely funny.

ace is on his knees on the execution platform, the same place the father that he despises and has tried to define himself outside for his whole life had knelt, thinking this might be the most fitting ending to the life long crashout ace started when he found out who his father was

and then in comes LUFFY, his cheerful persistent little menace of a brother, who has come to COP CENTRAL to break ace out PUBLICLY.

Not only that, but he’s staged a mass break out of the formerly inescapable prison IMPEL DOWN (HE WASNT EVEN LOCKED UP IN THERE? SO EVERYONES A LITTLE BIT CONFUSED AS TO HOW THAT HAPPENED???)

He also kind of looks like shit? But he’s fighting like he’s on day three of a methamphetamine high so no one can be sure how injured luffy Really is.

side note: luffy tanked a lung full of Kills You Dead Toxin and then got shot full of Lowers Your Lifespan Drug and on top of all that, DEMANDED the Super Lowers Your Lifespan Drug when he realized he might need anything resembling recovery time.

as an elder sibling myself, ace might’ve been truly grateful for being loved at the end, but i KNOW there’s a part of him that was INFURIATED that his kid brother managed to crash out harder than he did like OMG STOP COPYING ME FRRRRRRRRRR.

[whitejays-galaxy]

I heard we are de-extincting animals now🐺

Awoooooo

[matoitech]

lots of working on oc designs today! the wolves were proto-nick designs but as much as i liked the shapes for that i just was not vibing so i switched directions and made him a dog cuz i was feeling that way more. the tiger and lioness r the starter ideas for dominics partner/s. kinda digging the lioness but definitely early stages w that tiger, i like his shape but the stripes werent designed to be that replicable and im not there yet with the colors

[sh4vk4]

⭐ COMMISSION SALE

until all five slots are full (4/5 slots open atm)

please read my T.O.S. at my neocities page (sh4vk4.neocities.org) before commissioning me! and make sure to ask me anything if you have any questions related to my art/comms/t.o.s./art status/etc

if youre interested pm me on here/bsky (@sh4vk4.neocities.org) or send me an email at sh4vk4g4vk4@gmail.com

[thepastisalreadywritten]

In tandem with genetically engineering its three dire wolves, Colossal has cloned two litters of red wolves, the most critically endangered wolf in the world, as part of its overall goal of pairing conservation efforts with its de-extinction efforts.

The company, founded in 2021, has previously announced that it plans to bring back the woolly mammoth, the Tasmanian tiger, and the dodo bird from extinction.

It says that its work on the dire wolf is a proof of technology.

“This massive milestone is the first of many coming examples demonstrating that our end-to-end de-extinction technology stack works,” says Lamm, who co-founded Colossal with Harvard geneticist Dr. George Church.

Colossal — which claims that it has now set the record for the most-ever genetic edits in a living species — says it plans to restore the dire wolf as a viable species and secure ecological preserves for it on Indigenous land in North America.

📹 AMAZlNGNATURE / X

🐺🥹🔊

[the-sunshine-dims]

Alright! the Wolfverse/Artverse recap!

because i care about them and I'll use any excuse to talk about the characters, and if people are curious? I'll absolutely yap!

my credentials: do not cite the deep magic to me witch, i was there when it was written (i was there and in chat for it, and more importantly, my brain got really fixated on it and that fixation has never left)

brief disclaimer: the Wolfverse and the Artverse I'd arguably class differently? with the Artverse being most of their characters (not all) while the wolf verse is very unique to like, specific universes, and the mc specific skin worn for them. Also! most of what I'll actually be talking about happened about three years ago! so my memory may be fuzzy on some details, so that's where i'll lean into quoting what i wrote down about it while it happened! so hopefully it's all accurate and understandable!

First off brief explanation of the wolf universes:

Survival (A survival world from before fable where 'Wolf' was given lore and like, created! love them, the og.) (as well as includes a hardcore world later on, but timeline wise its canonically set before the main survival world so i'll just loop it into that explanation)

3rd life (a 3rd life clone with a bunch of people, featuring Ocie! as well as another person named penguin)

Fable (You know him, you love him, Fenris <3)

as well as assorted other versions (Skybound: Aquil, craft: Artemis, the lilac universe: Fang, Eod, and i'd argue survival w/ Beck!)

Some aspects from these universes follow into the general Artverse! specifically because of the Ocieverse, and, because its probably fun??? ngl, this is primarily the case of wwsmp, because i'd definitely argue that artisan is not a wolf variant! though beloved.

And now with that pre-explained, the part i can talk about for ages! Survival and 3rd life wolf :D

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Okay so the survival world was where Wolf's lore started! at least from a streaming aspect! Wolf's big thing originally was their fire (notably arson, so much arson,) and general destruction motifs! and they were also so incredibly in love with the moon. which I'd argue those are the few aspects that carried into fable! (even if for the fire one, it was definitely lessened, but that Neveah cutscene? i stare at it everyday)

But the story was, that once long ago, Wolf was a human, just as mortal and fallible as anyone, having a real name now lost to time, and in love with the world herself, and everything around them. But through mere accident, a misjudgement of their eyes, they lost their life, falling into the depths below.

but mother nature loved them so much, that she brought them back, different than before, now able to respawn, now.. different, they still loved each other, for a time. Having a child together 'moss', but wolf was... destructive, the ability to respawn changing them, maybe, maybe making something already in them worse, more notable. and they fought more then not, the relationship falling apart bitterly, and Mother Nature was very much part of the vitriol, ultimately ending their relationship in cursing Wolf. “If you act like a beast, a beast you shall become'', turning them into a true wolf (or something resembling it, it was vague) taking their memories, and setting them loose into the forest with no direction, especially tragic as they unknowingly left their child, Moss, without any warning. without any knowledge of the abandonment.

During the time Wolf was left without memory, he was taken in by a wolf pack, most of them not important, however Wolf has taken a bitter relationship with his aunt Beth, because she was a wolf who married a sheep (S!Wolf, is just, silly like that and chooses beef strongly, and. i cannot explain this beef i'm going to be real) The sheep husband's name is Todd and he is just a guy and he just hung around the world, Usually in the cow pen if i remember right, unbothered by the tension and conflict, he just loved his Wolf wife.

the one true constant of Wolf's memory-less arc, was the Moon, she was always there, watching, protecting, a guiding light in a confusing tunnel. When all Wolf was, was lost, and alone. she provided solace and encouragement, and that was never forgotten, only toned up more as Wolf slowly remembered, becoming more "human" again, or a bastardized version of it- as most as one can truly become when you were so thoroughly stripped of what made you so, and then forced into a world you know now hates you, and you hate her just as much.

Wolf, even memory-less had the same pension for destruction that Mother Nature cursed them for. but when they remembered, it got so much worse, more... spiteful. Committing numerous crimes, without guilt nor remorse. Lighting whole forests ablaze, almost like an itch they were scratching, something deep in their veins craving the ashes, and now that they remembered the betrayal- making their now grown child think that it was them who abandoned them. and not a forced action. they hold back nothing, pillaging towns- burning them down just as frequently. burning down anything. Their canonically wanted. But their so dangerous its not truly worth going after them. However he is far from welcome in towns or cities. Really- anywhere he could go, he is unwelcome.

but. the Moon is still there for him, shining just as brightly, and in return- as an ode to them, Wolf would frequently build things in the Moon's image, sitting and just, appreciating her. so in love, as the wind carried whispered messages to and fro.

Despite all of Wolf’s problems, despite the fire in their veins clawing its way out, the relationship between them and the Moon is very loving, Wolf admires the Moon and just thinks their beautiful, showing it at every turn, creating monuments and places to admire the Moon. and the Moon loves Wolf, despite his flaws and for his flaws, the Moon thinks their perfect in how imperfect they are.

They are a Wolf who leaves a burning in his wake reminiscent of the sun itself, and the moon who cares dearly for them.

over the course of Wolf settling down- not in their destructive ways, but just making a home and everything surrounding it, they adopt children- stragglers who made their way into their home or barn without Wolf's say so, and Wolf taking them in- Notably a couple endermen, Kitten being the first, then Puppy, then, different then the others, a small little piglin named Bucky, the new baby of the family.

Ultimately, Wolf is the same as before, the fire is still there, but they have one thing now that they had once lost, little hands that grasp at theirs, and and shiny wonder-filled eyes that look at them as if they hold the world.

and that's where that story ends.

(For more kiddie information explained clearly)

Moss is the child of Wolf and Mother Nature, the oldest of Wolf’s children, and the only one who wasn't adopted. and who is an adult currently, becoming an adult before Wolf even remembered. Questionably a deity of some kind?? some offshoot of nature. Doesn't forgive Wolf and chooses to not have them in their life, leaving Wolf to make builds including moss as almost an apology- or a plead.)

The next child is Kitten, he was the first adopted enderman, the fan-favorite child for a long time, though just because they were one of the first, doesn't make them the oldest!

Puppy, was the next enderman, while the information is widely uncertain, it's highly agreed upon that puppy is older then Kitten, making them the middle child

Their were several others, but it's hard to tell who is considered Wolf’s child and who isn't, the axolotls, for example, are Wolf’s children, but don't make it onto the list,

Then there's Bucky, the youngest, the baby of the family, a baby zombie piglin that is absolutely adored! and who pops up in many universes.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The 3rd Life Clone:

okay- so this one- is honestly a bit harder for me to explain, just because a lot happened and it was split into sessions once a week that happened right as i woke up, so some of my memory is a bit loose (heavily relying on my notes) this is my warning, but i will preface that, remember the Ocie-verse arc in fable season three with Geist? and how Geist recognized Fenris- not entirely, but enough? THATS BECUASE OF THIS SMP! since Geist was a makeshift mash of a couple Ocie's that weren't supposed to still exist- one of the pieces was 3rd life Ocie! and i hold that in my little hands!! that audio clip lives rent free in my head.

*3rd life was just referred to as Art so i will just be referring to them as that!

During the first session- later instated as the mulligan session, Art met someone named Penguin_Insanity whom quickly became a team member! they made their base a hole in the ground, expanding it more and more, and tunneling to find caves and materials, in one of the caverns they found, they found two diamonds, and everyone unanimously decided those are their wedding rings! their married! yippee!

Pretty soon after Ocie comes around and joined their team, the engagement expands, its decided their all husbands, good for them. and the base gets a lot nicer!

then they went to the nether! and that's where they found and adopted Bucky. Bucky J Goldenrenity. (a mix of all of their last names), and then with the nether exploits, Art loses their green and yellow life in quick succession after blowing themself up and respawning in a red-lifes house.

But it was fine! everything was fine. it just meant the chaos was starting. and what a better way to start it but a wedding? So, they all got married officially, the whole server attending the beautiful ceremony under a gazebo decorated completely with flowers.. meanwhile Ocie and Art made a plan with a third party for them to kill everyone's villagers during the ceremony, behind Penguin's back, it was a beautiful day, followed by a lot of uproar and Penguin leaving their trio to join another group for a time.

it was tense, now just the two of them, and Ocie was stuck in the horrible purgatory of yellow life, so close to being able to kill, to go on the offense, but not quite. stuck. and so she pleaded with Art to kill her, to make her a red life, (featured in dio!Ocie’s lore)

And Art did, the message filling the minecraft chat with confusion- notably penguin, Who saw it and didn't know it was planned nor talked about. so the three of them met up to talk, with so much concern. it was very bittersweet as the husbands reunited before the final showdown that happens just the next week.

Art and Ocie die before Penguin, but even though it's delayed minorly, Bucky still ends up alone in a house that was once bustling.

He is the only survivor, and that itself is the cost.

...

And thats the lore!!!! hopefully i explained both universes well enough to give an accurate and good account of them! But i care about the other universe Wolf's so muchhh, i actually started watching fable originally because i was already so deeply invested in survival!Wolf, and wanted to see where this version of him went, and it went COOL!!! Fenris my beloved.

now that I've explained, i can post more about survival wolf <3 win for the me! :D

[drawawolftoday]

I have YCHs open for commissions!!!

4 slots open currently!!!!

Flower crown YCHs in canine and feline varieties!|

They are $45 USD each

And if you want any detail added that is not on the ref sheet or comes with the YCH (such as extra flowers or a different shape of flower) each one will be $5 extra for each added detail

Simple backgrounds such as pride flags or simple shapes and colors are free

Will Do:

- Pets

- Any species of canine/feline

- Fursonas

- OCs

- Characters from cartoons, books, movies, ect.

- Real life animals

- Pride Flag backgrounds and flower colors

Won't Do:

- NSFW Topics

- Hate Art

- Heavy Gore

- Anti-LGBTQA+ Topics

- Racist Topics

- Endangering real life animals and pets

If you would like one please feel free to DM me here or on my discord @ loonywoof and if you have any questions feel free to ask!

[chroma-imp-draws]

sorry for being entirely absent these past months I've been drawing little guys in ink 👍

[art-of-tek]

Haven't drawn these dorks in a while.

Tbh I don't even know what their little family is called. SpiderClan? A Flame of Thylas and Wolves? The Hunchpack?

[manga-meow]

[sorrow--wolf]

Hey, anyone remember that one Hunter drawing I posted like, months ago when I mentioned something else was supposed to be done that week?

So anyway, it definitely didn't take me several months to get back to this.

I totally started this a week ago, lol. /s

Anyway, I watch reddit reading videos while I'm drawing, and it was so jarring to hear someone mention Hunter while I was coloring this. Also, I may have added a personal addition to Hunter's room for nostalgia reasons. If you know, you know why it's there.

Edited to add: here's an up close crop of just Hunter and flap (I took a screen cap too, but it was actually blurrier than the crop)

[leasthaunted]

Episode 131: The Beauty of The Beast

Garth is on assignment once again. So this time Cody is joined once again by wildlife biologist Carolyn to discuss a beastly set of occurrences in pre-revolutionary France. What was to be a simple walk in the woods, becomes a very deep and thorough exploration of the ins and outs of The Beast of Gevaudan!

As always, please come join the episode discussion on the Least Haunted Discord!

Enjoy the images below!

Gevaudan's location in modern France (Courtesy Wikipedia)

A typical scenery of Gevaudan

Agathidascope* Diagram (*Agatheidoscope)

Contemporary picture of The Beast, note that here it is refereed to as a "Hyenne" or Hyena.

Images such as these appeared regularly in newspapers such as La Courrier d'Avignon

Statue depicting the heroic battle between mother Marie-Jeanne Valet and The Beast. She would become a minor folk hero through out France in February 1765, when she faught off the beast as it attacked her and her children. Sadly her 6 year old son would perish in the encounter. The event was commemorated in songs that were sung in the salons of Paris.

La Bete became one of the first "celebrities" of the modern era through widespread (sometimes global) interest and coverage.

King Louis XV of France (1710-1774) had a lot to make up for in the public eye in relation to the recent defeat of France in The Seven Years War, which led to the loss of all French territory in North America. As well as the ever widening gap between the peasantry and the nobility.

In an attempt to kill the beast and calm the public, Versailles sent Dragoons under command of First Captain Duhamel to the region. From January through June of 1765, Duhamel would unsuccessfully attempt to defeat the beast as a means of healing his damaged honor and masculinity following personal failings in The Seven Years War.

The Beast officially killed on 21 September 1765, but "The King's Gun" François Antoine. The Beast turned out to be a Eurasian Wolf. And the official position of Versailles was that the matter was ended and over.

The poorly taxidermied remains were briefly displayed to greatly underwhelmed nobles and members of court at The Royal Gardens of Versailles. While the Beast had been killed in the eyes of everyone in Versailles, attacks by wolves continued in Gevaudan for almost another full year before tapering off following a government program of poisoning wolves France wide.

Suspect 1: Spotted Hyena

Suspect 2: Subadult male African Lion

Suspect 3 (and most likely culprit): Eurasian Wolf

IT'S TIME FOR CAROLYN'S CLASSROOM!!

"Dire wolf" pups genetically modified by Colossal Biosciences

Dire wolf to grey wolf size perspective

Woolly Mammoth

Dodo

Thylacine, or Tasmanian Tiger

(Sorry for the late post, the toadstool wine I made recently is way too strong)

[tilbageidanmark]

The Return of the Dire Wolf

[n-sani-tea]

These guys came to me in a dream. Seems that the potential to add more critters via new collections (such as: series 1, 2, and so on) has yet to be explored.

So say hello to the Critters Series 2: Sleepy Critters!

(Thanks to @studyingmoominvalley for helping with making them)

List of names and details under the cut.

1: Lax Lotl is the most zen critter in the series. he's usually seen meditating on a lotus flower in Pond Home and is watching the horizon go from dawn to dusk so he can sleep soundly at night. His most spoken word is "Ommmmm..."

Scent: Strawberry.

Charm: Lotus flower

2: Cerebrowl is wisened beyond his years, knowing every proverb you can rhink of. And some that he's made up himself. He's usually seen reading bedtime stories to the other Sleepy Critters but never finishes because he falls asleep halfway through. Luckily, he is the last to do so.

Scent: Fir Tree

Charm: Book

3: Holly Howler is a pack animal through and through, as she's never seen without a friend next to her. Some say it's separation anxiety, and others say clinginess, getting her to tell you which will result in her confusion. "I just like company." She will insist. Her howls signal bedtime like a reverse rooster.

Scent: Jasmine

Charm: Full moon

4: Brindle Brundle is always cold and usually makes nice warm campfires to nap around for all the Sleepy Critters, but always makes sure to put the flame out to prevent forest fires from spreading. Mindfully thinking about other Critters' safety before his own.

Scent: Marmalade

Charm: Flame

5: Ameth rarely moves but isn't stiff in her expressions. She is usually chipper and upbeat in her own unique way. She keeps nightmares away with the scary faces she can pull. They flee at the sight of her frightening gurns.

Scent: Lilac

Charm: purple gem

6: Goldie Smith loves collecting shiny things and making her home out of them. From old coins to broken necklaces. If it sparkles, she wants it and will usually try anything to get it. Within reason, of course. Usually, she trades away stuff that's lost its shine, so her home never looks the same.

Scent: Passion fruit

Charm: Bubbles

7: Sunday Sloth, despite his name, sleeps all days of the week. "Nap all day, sleep all night. Awake never." Is his motto, and he lives and breathes it. The only thing stopping him sleeping his life away is his friends making sure he gets at least some awake time.

Scent: Raspberry

Charm: Pillow

8: Pupular is well known for overworking herself practising her circus performances and usually ends up too tired to do anything else. She is often encouraged to take breaks, and with some convincing will rest a bit. Usually, this results in her immediately knocking out for the night.

Scent: Coconut

Charm: Smiley face

[astrowake]

dances as we're going to animal friendly zoo again for work tomorrow