New Kangaroo Cards Have Fans Jumping to Japan's Kitakyushu Gift Shops

KITAKYUSHU — The sale of kangaroo-themed trading cards, which started this spring in a major local park home to around 350 kangaroos, has exceeded expectations, leading to a new batch being released.

The individual responsible stated, 'We would be pleased if this could enhance supporters' excitement.'

Zoo staff from the municipal Hibikinada Ryokuchi "Green Park," situated in Wakamatsu Ward of the city, suggested the idea of trading cards. This park, which offers multiple attractions, houses the largest number of kangaroos in Japan and attracts many frequent visitors, including devoted kangaroo enthusiasts who often visit just to catch sight of their preferred animals.

The park houses approximately 350 animals belonging to four different species: eastern gray kangaroos, yellow-footed rock-wallabies, common wallaroos, and brush-tailed rat-kangaroos. The collectible cards showcase 20 of the park’s 93 eastern grey kangaroos, including 10 male and 10 female individuals.

The facility started offering postcards in 12 different designs showcasing kangaroos captured through photographs taken by zoo staff back in September of last year. However, following a suggestion from one of the keepers who said, "It might be intriguing to also offer trading cards," these were launched earlier this April. These card-size items are colored prints displaying an image of each animal’s face along with their name, date of birth, notable features, and preferred diet.

Twenty kangaroos were primarily selected from the animals preferred by the keepers. Although their typical life expectancy in captivity is approximately 15 years, the group includes individuals spanning a broad age spectrum, ranging from the nation's eldest at 21 to those as youthful as 5.

Selling started on April 4, aiming for 200 cards within two months. This objective was achieved ahead of schedule, as 247 cards were sold by May 6. As sales remain strong, a second batch of 20 kangaroos will be released on June 13.

A 38-year-old zookeeper supervisor named Shogo Uemura, who knows the facial features and names of each eastern grey kangaroo at the facility, stated, "Every individual has a distinct appearance and character, so I encourage people to focus on each one and choose a preferred kangaroo. Our objective is to issue trading cards featuring all 93 eastern gray kangaroos in five installments."

Trading cards can be purchased at the gift store located close to the entryway of the kangaroo exhibit. One individual card is priced at 100 yen (approximately 62 cents). Sets containing five cards are available for 400 yen (roughly $2.50), while packs with ten cards cost 800 yen (around $5.00). For further information, reach out to Green Park via phone number 093-741-5545 (in Japanese).

(By Takeshi Saito, Kyushu News Department)

Whales Have Been Dying Here for 5 Million Years

A graveyard found by a Chinese team is recognized as the deepest and largest on Earth for whale fossils, remains, and the ecosystems they sustain.

Chinese oceanographers from the Academy of Chinese Sciences (ACS) has identified the biggest "whale-fall location" ever documented in the Indian Ocean.

The cemetery consists of the planet's deepest and broadest recognized collection of whale remains and the special environments these structures sustain, with certain fossils estimated to be around 5.3 million years old.

A detailed study, outlined in a paper released this week in the prestigious scientific publication Nature, was carried out by scientists from the CAS Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering located in Sanya, a coastal city in southern Hainan Province, together with scholars from the University of Pisa and Earth Sciences New Zealand.

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"The research changes the perception of the boundaries and distribution of whale-fall habitats and highlights certain areas of the deep seafloor as a repository of fossils for studying the evolutionary history of whales across geologic periods," states the study.

When a whale passes away, it initiates an uncommon natural event called a whale fall. The body might float at the top of the water for a period, drawing in sharks and other hunters, then slowly descend to the seabed, where it gets eaten by deep-ocean scavengers.

Whale carcasses form intricate, localized environments that sustain various species. Nevertheless, their scientific documentation has traditionally been limited and inconsistent.

The majority of recorded whale falls have occurred at depths below 4,000 meters (13,123 feet), with the previously known deepest one located at 4,204 meters.

At one point, there were no previous scientific observations of whale falls in the deep-sea region, which lies at depths ranging from 4,000 to 6,000 meters beneath the ocean's surface.

Currently, the group headed by oceanographers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences has addressed this void through their finding of an extensive and old whale graveyard within the Diamantina Fracture Zone in the southern Indian Ocean.

From February to March 2023, scientists onboard the Chinese submersible Fendouzhe or Striver, found several whale carcasses and bones within the area.

After the first finding, the group carried out 32 additional dives within the following month, charting the spread of the remnants and looking for indications of related deep-ocean habitats.

The location extends approximately 1,200 kilometers (745 miles) across the ocean floor, with depths varying from 4,200 to 7,000 meters.

Scientists recorded and gathered specimens from 485 locations with whale fossils, including five currently active whale fall sites. Over 10 million whale remains might be present throughout the region.

Out of these, they identified an active whale fall location situated at a depth of 6,789 meters, marking it as the deepest currently recognized ecosystem of this type.

The biggest whale fall discovered throughout the journey is located at a depth of 5,610 meters and includes the body of a five-meter-long Antarctic minke whale. Scientists determined the species using DNA testing and the distinct structure of its ear bones.

Within the five active whale fall sites, biologists discovered an exceptionally varied ecosystem of deep-ocean organisms, with numerous species that "could potentially be unknown to science," as stated by the research team.

They recognized 35 macrofaunal species, primarily composed of worms, crustaceans, and mollusks, along with cnidarians and roundworms.

Radioactive isotope dating—a technique based on the breakdown of unstable isotopes to establish the exact age of rocks, minerals, or biological substances—showed that the earliest fossils found at the location date back approximately 5.3 million years, suggesting that whale fall events have taken place in this area since the beginning of the Pliocene epoch.

Scientists additionally discovered that the majority of the fossils were from deep-diving beaked whales, encompassing both present-day and ancient species, such as one extinct type that had not been identified before.

To clarify the formation of this large cemetery, the researchers proposed that natural death, along with the dangers associated with deep diving, probably led to the buildup of beaked whale carcasses in the region.

Beaked whales are known for their remarkable diving abilities, often going deeper than 1,000 meters and staying underwater for more than an hour.

Nevertheless, foraging at elevations lower than 3,000 meters may be excessively demanding on the body, increasing the chances of severe fatigue or decompression illness, as stated in the study.

Additionally, the zone's V-shaped shape could help gather dead animals on the ocean floor by directing falling remains towards a single location.

A group headed by Peng Xiaotong at the Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering has announced several significant findings from the deep sea.

A research paper released in the magazine Science on May 14 reported A thriving ecosystem of living beings residing on rocky surfaces at depths exceeding 9 kilometers, consuming organic particles floating down from above.

Last year, they also utilized the Fendouzhe submarine to discover the planet's biggest ecosystem reliant on chemical synthesis in the northern Pacific Ocean, located almost 10 kilometers below the surface.

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The article was first published on the South China Morning Post (www.scmp.com), a top-tier news outlet covering developments in China and Asia.

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