Snail Gives Birth After Surviving Bird's Digestive Tract

 Land snail  recently survived being eaten by birds
 (Image Credit:Jurgen Schoner)

  

New research from Japan shows that snails can survive being eaten by birds. During a study in Japan, over 174 land snails (Tornatellides boeningi) were fed to two bird species that have a taste for snails: the Japanese white-eye (Zosterops japonicus) and the brown-eared bulbul (Hypsipetes amaurotis). "14.3 percent and 16.4 percent of the snails, respectively, passed through the gut alive," the researchers wrote, adding that one snail even gave birth to juveniles after being pushed out  in the bird's droppings.

Read more at Discovery News

Brazilian Federal Judge Halts Building of the World's Largest Dam.

Federal judge, Ronald Desterro, has blocked the building of the Belo Monte dam in the Amazon rainforest; and barred the national development bank, BNDES, from funding the project. Citing environmental concerns, Judge Desterro said the project has not met the environmental requirements to build the dam.

A staggering 11,000-megawatts, the highly controversial Belo Monte dam would be the largest hydro-electric dam in the world. If built, environmentalists say the 6km (3.7 miles) dam will threaten the survival of a number of indigenous groups and could make some 50,000 people homeless, as 500 sq km (190 sq miles) of land would be flooded.

Read complete story HERE.