#bears-with-no-hairs
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weaselbonez.bsky.social
Mammal of the Day 173: White-bellied Pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis)
Family: Manidae
Order: Pholidota
Infraclass: Placental
Conservation Status: Endangered
a small, semi-arboreal pangolin with a very long tail. like its relatives, it has a strikingly anteater-like appearance and behavior, but is not closely related; instead the closest living relatives of pangolins are the carnivorans (cats, dogs, bears, seals, weasels, etc.). it has an elongated snout, no teeth, barely visible external ears, large claws, and a very long, prehensile tail used for balance when climbing. like other pangolins, it is covered with protective, pale to dark brown “scales” everywhere but its face and underside, which are actually formed from modified hairs. when threatened, it may curl its body into a ball as much as possible to conceal the soft parts and leave predators with access only to hard scales that are difficult to penetrate. it may also emit an unpleasant odor to further discourage predators. it is named for its very pale, almost whitish underside. all pangolins feed almost exclusively on insects such as ants and termites, using their acute sense of smell to locate them, digging them out of soil and rotting logs with their large claws, and then collecting them using the long, sticky tongue. all pangolin species are also threatened with extinction due to human interference; they are the most trafficked mammals in the world as their scales are highly prized in traditional medicine and other traditional cultural use.
July 11, 2025 at 4:11 PM
motleycow.bandcamp.com
#AIshortstory #AImusic #LiteraryAI #IndieMusic #AISongwriting #AIFiction #StoryAndSong #HumorWriting #BlueskyWriters #ShortStory #bears #bears-with-no-hairs
May 6, 2025 at 1:31 AM
colinwmd.bsky.social
I mean, this isn't a bad opening paragraph:
It takes some guts for any sci-fi film – especially a no-budget one – to pick that title, and to include some eerie wisps of Ligeti-like sounds to get the cosmic hairs rising on the back of your neck. When Monolith isn’t referencing 2001: A Space Odyssey, it also bears some resemblance to Denis Villeneuve’s Arrival, with its alien artefacts turning out to be filled with indecipherable glyphs when scanned. But Matt Vesely’s impressive debut ably stakes out its own territory, not least in the vast distances covered by a single on-screen actor and a handful of vocal performances.
February 20, 2024 at 10:36 PM
secondnaturemb.bsky.social
Polar bears don't always look very white. Their hairs do not have any pigment in them and are hollow. This allows them to trap air both between and within the hairs. After many months on the tundra with no snow to roll in, they can look a little dusty.
#PolarBearWeek 🦊🐻‍❄️🌿🦑
A slightly dusty white polar bear stands among dry grasses and bare willows looking into the sun.
November 2, 2023 at 2:22 PM