Things are Getter Better

 

My back surgery was 10 weeks ago tomorrow...  and while I still walk with a walking stick, my walking time to complete a mile has gone from 48 minutes down to 31 minutes...  and now I make no stops whereas when I first started I was stopping twice...   IMPROVEMENT...

But, it took me 10 weeks to get here and believe me those 10 weeks were very stressful on me as I am used to healing quickly...

But, things are getting better...  which is why I thought of the song Getting Better  by the Beatles...

We don't think of The Beatles much anymore but they were popular between 1960 and 2000...  now we have groups whose lyrics are no longer profound...  sadly, music is not getting better...

My life changed moderately after I had my heart attack and again a little more moderately after I was diagnosed with cancer and then another cancer on top of the first one...  but, over time my body adjusted and I was able to do most of those things that a man my age was supposed to be doing...  BUT, this back surgery threw me for a loop and after 10 weeks, I am beginning to feel like I wanted to feel after 2 weeks...

I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and it is not the light of death...  it is the light of recovery...  I will soon be 80% and maybe I will even get back to 90% but it is doubtful that a man who is 75 years old will ever get back to 100%...  too much has happened to my body for that to happen.

The reason why I will return to 80-90% is that I took care of my body all of my life...  eating healthy, exercising regularly, sleeping, no tobacco, no drugs, no alcohol...  my HIGHS came from being HIGH on life...  it is an interesting concept and not one that is often taught to our children...

One Bite of the Apple

According to the story of Adam and Eve, assuming that you believe the story of Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve lived in the Garden of Eden - a utopia - where everything they needed or wanted was provided to them - however, they needed or wanted nothing...  or so the story goes - while living in this Garden, Adam and Eve were mature but innocent and had no knowledge of anything but GOOD - then this talking serpent came to the Garden and offered them food - AN APPLE - and when they took a bite of the apple, they were TRANSFORMED from mature people but innocent to mature people who were now aware of EVIL...  so, because of the FOOD they went from GOOD to GOOD & BAD...

Whatever happened to Adam and Eve was, according Biblical teaching, allowed to happen because God willed it to happen.  God is also seen as the creator of Adam and Eve where he created Adam first, then took a rib from him and created Eve so that he would have a companion.  It was also God's idea to create the serpent and instruct the serpent to tempt Adam and Eve with FOOD...  So, one could say that if God had not of wanted to test Adam and Eve, then Adam and Eve would have never known evil...

And while that concept sounds logical...  one must remember that God also created Jesus and created a situation where Jesus was not just going to be tempted but he was going to be crucified because of evil.  So, in order for Jesus to be killed by evil, God had to have Adam and Eve become aware of evil.  Hence, did the serpent tempt Adam and Eve into eating FOOD or did God arrange it so that it would happen regardless of what Adam and Eve did or did not do?

Interesting ideas presented right?

Now, what if the story of Adam and Eve along with all the stories in the Bible simply stories that are intended to convey a more subtle message to those who want to see it...  that is to say that God was or is an extraterrestrial from another planet (which aligns with God not being human or from earth) who came to this planet and altered the DNA of the animals that he found on this planet or that he created for this planet.  And, that the apple which is red and blood which is red represents the transformed DNA.

If we look at the Bible from that perspective, we can easily imagine that all the stories in the Bible are describing events that pertain to extraterrestrials interacting with humans, including the stories and Jesus and his death.  Especially since he told Caesar that his kingdom was not of this world...   as Christians we thought he was talking about Heaven...  but, he was not talking about Heaven at all but living and existing in another world, perhaps another dimension.

Why is human DNA so similar to the DNA of CHIMPANZEES?

Is this some sort of mysterious coincidence?  Or, is this the result of DNA manipulation by aliens (extraterrestrials) who visited this planet centuries ago?

Why is it so difficult to believe?  Because of our religious indoctrinations as a child?

Representing The Whole Country

We are a Democratic Republic where the PEOPLE elected their governing officials...  the vote of the people...

In this last election, Joe Biden won the presidency by a slim margin:  51% : 49%

This margin is still a victory no matter which way you look at it...  and yet...  Joe Biden did not receive an overwhelming mandate from the people...   in fact, 51% to 49% is so close (and it was probably even closer as I am rounding) that one could say it was 50/50...  and not be far off.

Still, he got a majority and still he won...

He who wins sets the rules...  so to speak...

But again...  half the country did not want him to be president...  so half the country is relatively PISSED OFF...

The Democrats control the House by just a few votes and the Senate has a 50/50 split, so the TIE IS BROKEN by a Democratic VP...  in essence, the Democrats control CONGRESS...  but do they really have the support of MORE THAN HALF THE COUNTRY?

The answer is NO!

So, is our country really united?  NO...

Is this causing us problems?  YES...

Historically, when the midterms take place, the party that is NOT IN POWER typically wins more than the party that is in power, which means that there is a very good possibility that the House and the Senate will soon be controlled by the Republicans...

Is this good?  NO...

Will Congress represent a majority of the country?  NO...

And yet, this is our form of government...  but, it is only a problem when the country is split in half...  LIKE NOW...

If it were 60/40 or 70/30, one could easily say that the election reflects a majority of the country...  and that makes sense...

This 50/50 division in this country started when Trump was elected President instead of Clinton...  for 4 years the Dems set out to destroy Trump.  And, 2 years after his presidency, the Dems are trying to destroy Trump so he will not run again...  

Does this strategy reflect a majority of the country? NO...

And yet...  here we are...

A 50/50 country only serves our ENEMIES...  like China and Russia because they can take advantage of a country that is not united...

It appears that it is going to be up to the people to bring our country together rather than our leaders...  as our leaders are stuck on BEING RIGHT rather than COMPROMISE.  When we fall from our leadership position in the world, we may understand...  but until then, the USA is pushing a GREEN AGENDA that the other major countries ARE NOT FOLLOWING...  but, we are supposed to be the global leader...

Why are they not following our example?

Up The Mountain

 

Kapilikaya Rock Tomb

The Kapilikaya Rock Tomb. Photo: Savas Bozkaya/Shutterstock

Deep in the mountains of Turkey’s Çorum province, an ancient tomb fades into obscurity. Its past is almost forgotten and its future looks bleak. Details of its construction and the occupant inside are unknown. For thousands of years, the Kapilikaya rock tomb has been both a hidden architectural marvel and an extraordinary puzzle.

Çorum province lies not far from the Black Sea, on the Central Anatolian Plateau near the North Anatolian Fault. Tectonic activity has created diverse rock formations, enhanced by folding and faulting.

According to sources, the word Kapilikaya means precisely what it is: a rock with a door. The Kapilikaya rock tomb dates to the 2nd century BC, during the so-called Hellenistic Period. Some Turks believe that the tomb is Roman, not Greek. Modern Turks and Greeks often don’t get along.

Unknown builders carved the tomb into an outcrop. A trail on the left side leads up to a set of stairs at the base. Unfortunately, the base of this doorway is a canvas for graffiti artists.

From the outside, the tomb’s entrance looks like a massive doorway. In fact, the door doesn’t open, it never did, and there isn’t much space inside. Rather than the giant grotto suggested by the imposing size of this faux-door, it is simply a small crypt with little room for anything except a body.  READ MORE...

Rock Pushing

 

Most Common Symptoms of Cardiovascular Diseases

New report outlines the most common symptoms of 6 cardiovascular diseases: heart attack, 

heart failure, valve disease, stroke, heart rhythm disorders, and peripheral artery and vein 

disease (PAD and PVD).

New American Heart Association scientific statement indicates symptoms frequently overlap among conditions and may vary by sex.

• A “state of the science” review details the most reported symptoms of 6 cardiovascular diseases (CVDs): heart attack, heart failure, valve disease, stroke, heart rhythm disorders, and peripheral artery and vein disease (PAD and PVD).
• There are important differences in symptoms between women and men.
• Depression, common across many CVDs, may influence a person’s ability to detect changes in symptoms.
• Effective methods of monitoring and measuring symptoms over time are critical to manage cardiovascular disease well and prevent or delay its progression.

A review of the latest research highlights the most reported symptoms of various cardiovascular diseases (CVDs), noting that men and women often experience different symptoms. This is according to a new American Heart Association scientific statement published today (August 18, 2022) in the Association’s flagship peer-reviewed journal, Circulation.

The statement also highlights how symptoms are experienced over time, which may be months or years apart depending on the condition, and on a spectrum of severity or intensity, noting the long-term nature of cardiovascular disease development. The scientific statement writing committee reviewed current research on the symptoms of different cardiovascular diseases. They found that symptoms vary over time and by sex.

Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death in the U.S. and around the world. It comprises several conditions, including 6 reviewed in this scientific statement: heart attack, heart failure, valve disease, stroke, heart rhythm disorders, and peripheral artery and vein disease.  READ MORE...

Cat & Chicks

 

A Drug for Alzheimer's

Rapamycin is also known as sirolimus and is sold under the brand name Rapamune.

An innovative strategy to lessen the plaques was also found in the study.

The oral administration of rapamycin to an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model induces an increase in beta (β)-amyloid protein plaques, according to researchers from The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio (UT Health San Antonio). β-amyloid buildup is a hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.



Rapamycin is FDA-approved for the treatment of transplant and cancer patients. The drug is also referred to as sirolimus and is sold under the name Rapamune. Publicly available data suggest that the drug might also improve learning and memory in aged mice. According to publicly accessible evidence, the medication may also boost learning and memory in elderly mice. The UT Health San Antonio researchers, on the other hand, discovered that following rapamycin administration, a protein called Trem2 (triggering receptor expressed on myeloid cells 2) is drastically reduced. Trem2 is found in microglia, immune cells found in the brain and spinal cord.

“Trem2 is a receptor located on the surface of the microglia, and it enables these cells to engulf and degrade β-amyloid,” said study senior author Manzoor Bhat, Ph.D. “Loss of Trem2 in microglia impairs the vital function of amyloid degradation, which in turn causes a buildup of β-amyloid plaques.” Dr. Bhat is professor and chairman of the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology at UT Health San Antonio and vice dean for research in the university’s Joe R. and Teresa Lozano Long School of Medicine.

Drug target
Importantly, the study, recently published in the Journal of Neuroscience, also featured a novel way to increase Trem2 in microglia. When the study lead author, Qian Shi, PhD, assistant professor in the Department of Cellular and Integrative Physiology, deleted a gene called Tsc1 from the microglia, there was a marked increase in Trem2 levels and a decrease in β-amyloid plaques.

Previous research has shown that loss of Tsc1 leads to activation of the mTOR (mammalian target of rapamycin) signaling pathway. Rapamycin, in contrast, blocks this pathway. “We expected that selective loss of Tsc1, only in microglia and not in neurons or other cells, would have negative consequences because inhibiting mTOR with rapamycin has known therapeutic uses in some disease models,” Dr. Shi said. “But the opposite was occurring.” Thus, repressing Tsc1 solely in microglia to enhance β-amyloid uptake could be a potential drug target, Dr. Shi said.  READ MORE...

Big Load

 

It's A Possibility

 

Absolute Truth Here

Panorama

 

Sleeping Giant in Our Oceans

Red medusa found just off the bottom of the deep sea in Alaska. 

Credit: Hidden Ocean 2005/NOAA

A previously overlooked factor — the position of continents — helps fill Earth’s oceans with life-supporting oxygen. Continental movement could ultimately have the opposite effect, killing the majority of deep ocean creatures.

“Continental drift seems so slow, like nothing drastic could come from it, but when the ocean is primed, even a seemingly tiny event could trigger the widespread death of marine life,” said Andy Ridgwell, University of California, Riverside geologist. Ridgwell is co-author of a new study on forces affecting oceanic oxygen.

As the water at the ocean’s surface approaches the north or south pole, it becomes colder and denser and then sinks. When the water sinks, it transports oxygen pulled from Earth’s atmosphere down to the ocean floor.

Eventually, a return flow brings nutrients released from sunken organic matter back to the ocean’s surface, where it fuels the growth of plankton. Today’s oceans feature an incredible diversity of fish and other animals that are supported by both the uninterrupted supply of oxygen to lower depths and organic matter produced at the surface.

New research has found that this circulation of oxygen and nutrients can end quite suddenly. Using complex computer models, the scientists investigated whether the locations of continental plates affect how the ocean moves oxygen around. They were surprised to find that it does.

This finding led by researchers based at UC Riverside is detailed in the journal Nature. It was published today (August 17, 2022).  READ MORE...

Diving Bird

 

Arrow Found in Melting Ice

Image Credit : Glacier Archaeology Program

ARCHAEOLOGISTS FROM THE GLACIER ARCHAEOLOGY PROGRAM HAVE FOUND AN ARROW IN THE MELTING ICE DURING A RESEARCH PROJECT IN THE NORWEGIAN MOUNTAINS.

The project is focusing on a melted ice patch in the Jotunheimen mountain range, where the team has found a preserved arrow with an intact iron arrowhead, shortly after arriving at their base camp 1750 metres above sea level.

The arrow dates from around 1,500 years ago during the Norwegian Iron Age, discovered in a collection of broken rock fragments between larger stones on the lower edge of the icefield.

The team believes that the arrow was lost and deposited downslope by meltwater, and has since been exposed several times over the centuries with the melting ice.

This is indicated by the lack of fletching, the fin-shaped aerodynamic stabilisation normally made from feathers or bark. Evidence of sinew and tar has also been identified, but this survives in a poor state of preservation.

The arrow is tapered towards the end and the nock has been thickened for engaging with a bowstring. The remains of the tar would have glued the fletching to the shaft, while imprints of the thread securing the fletching is still visible.  READ MORE...

In a Row

 

Telescopes Uses Ripples in TIME

The first JWST image of Earendel, the most distant star known in our universe, 

lensed and magnified ... NASA, ESA, CSA, STSCI

Scientists using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) have imaged the most distant star ever observed thanks to a a ripple in spacetime that creates extreme magnification.


It’s currently 28 billion light-years away and its light has traveled 12.9 billion years into JWST’s optics. It existed just 900 million years after the big bang in a galaxy astronomers have nicknamed the Sunrise Arc.

The image of WHL0137-LS, above, was produced from over three hours of observations last weekend—but it’s not the star you think! Ignore the spiky star and instead go to the lower right-hand side (see below).


The ancient star is estimated to have a mass greater than 50 times the mass of the Sun.


Better known as “Earendel,” which means “morning star” or “rising light” in old English—was gravitationally lensed and magnified by a massive galaxy cluster called WHL0137–08 (a.k.a. “Sunrise Arc”) in the foreground.  READ MORE...

End of Day Waves

 

Going on Vacation

 After walking each day for over 7 days straight, I have decided to take a break today...

I have a CT Scan tomorrow at &:45 so I should be home by 9:00 am which is about the time that I usually walk so I will be to return to my schedule...

In 3 weeks, my wife and I are traveling to Myrtle Beach to spend a week there.  While I will be spending all of my time at the beach under an umbrella, I am also hoping that I will not have that much trouble getting into and out of those low situated beach chairs.

For less than $2,000 we can spend a week at Myrtle Beach that includes all our gasoline, food, and motel accomodations.  Our motel condo directly faces the Atlantic Ocean rather than being on the side.  We have a balcony, a living room kitchen and eating area, a large bathroom, and a bedroom in the back with a door.

There are plenty of restaurants from which to choose and there are plenty of attractions we can visit should we choose to do so...  however, without fail we will stop at least one night at COLD STONE ice cream and purchase a medium or large cup of custom-made ice cream with all sorts of items included.  I always get the apple pie concoction.

At our age, we no longer get into the water above the waist and typically we only get into the water to cool off.  We walk along the coastline but mainly we sit under the umbrella and watch the people or read.  In my case I listen to an audible book or write in my journal.

Are vacations necessary?

Probably not...  but, even though we are retired, we enjoying having a change of scenery at least once or twice during the year.

BUT...  more importantly, it is the FREEDOM to be able to leave your home and travel to another location and enjoy what that location has to offer before returning.  As one gets older, FREEDOM and MOBILITY are two important concepts that we appreciate that we still have and will have for at least another decade or two.

Do You Save Money?

When I was a young lad, still living at home and not yet a high school student, I made extra money by mowing lawns of our neighbors and by selling veges from our garden door-to-door in our community.  My parents made the rules and I was told that I had to save HALF of everything I earned.  

Since I was still honest at that age, I did not lie about the money I was earning, so HALF was indeed saved and the other half was kept in the top shelf of my dresser.

With my half, I purchased a:

• Television set
• Set of Weights
• A complete drum set

The mindset that was instilled in me when I was young stayed with me all my life and while I did not always save half of my earnings, I did continue to save money if and when there was extra money to save.

At the time, I DID NOT KNOW THIS but if I had saved $2.50 each day and at the end of the month deposited that money into a mutual fund and continued that process for 40 years, I would have SAVED $500,000.

Now think about that for a moment...

Let's say you start this at age 18 so 40 years later you would be 58...  and, you would have $500,000.

A general rule of thumb is that for every $100,000 you should be able to earn $400 each month.  So, that $500,000 at age 58 would start giving you $2,000 each month.  In addition to whatever salary you might be making at the time.

$2.50 each month is $75 every 30 days...  so, what could you spend $75 on instead of saving?  And, how come most people don't think of saving any money at all until they are in their late 50s or early 60s?

If you are not educated then you need to THINK SMART...

The Common Person

Sundays are a time for retooling the mental and physical parts of the body...  as instead of working we should be relaxing...  and, while that is good in theory and on paper, the reality of Sundays is that we complete the tasks that were started on Saturday but remain incomplete.

Some of us go to Church on Sundays and some of go out to lunch on Sundays and some of us do both and some of us do neither...  it is a day where just about anything goes as far as the common person is concerned...  and no doubt the same holds true for the uncommon person as well.

• Who is this uncommon person?
• Well, who is this common person?
• If we know one, then the opposite is true for the other one...

For me, I would say that the common person is the person who is married and both spouses only have a high school education with maybe some technical training or a certificate of completion for some skill.

This couple receives an hourly wages as both work.  They live in a 1200 square foot house or less or maybe they live in a double-wide or even a single-wide trailer or a 1-2 bedroom apartment depending upon how many children they have.  They drive cars that are over 10 years old or they have newer vehicles on which they are making payments.

Their combined income is less than $100,000 and a range could extend up to $150,000, but that would be unusual unless only one spouse is working with a high paycheck...  for instance, long haul 18 Wheeler drivers probably earn about $150,000/year +/- but most of that income is going to pay for the truck they are leasing or buying.

This would be the common person.  Basically living paycheck to paycheck...

And, while that description is misleading, it can also apply to millionaires who spend exactly what they earn leaving them without savings just a bunch of expensive assets that they don't completely own yet.

The common man is both liberal and conservative and one cannot say which side has the most as the liberals like government handouts because they are poor while the conservatives don't want any help at all because of their ego and pride.  So, there are poor people on both sides.

So, who are you?

And, what kind of person are you when it comes to want handouts or not?

Personally, I can see family helping out, or the church, or local community, but I cannot see that it is the role of government to provide us with handouts.

I think lazy people want handouts.

Are you lazy?

The Resume of DeSantis

60 Minutes had a hit piece on Florida Governor, Ron DeSantis, but failed to disclose these facts:



Ronald Dion DeSantis was born on September 14, 1978, in Jacksonville, Florida, the son of Karen (née Rogers) and Ronald DeSantis. He is of Italian descent. 

His family moved to Orlando, Florida, before relocating to Dunedin, Florida when he was six years old. 

In 1991, he was a member of the Little League team from Dunedin National that made it to the Little League World Series in Williamsport, Pennsylvania. 

After graduating from Dunedin High School in 1997, DeSantis attended Yale University. 

He was captain of Yale's varsity baseball team and joined the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity. On the Yale baseball team, DeSantis was an outfielder; as a senior in 2001, he had the team's best batting average at .336. 

He graduated from Yale in 2001 with a B.A. magna cum laude in history.   He then spent a year as a history teacher at the Darlington School. 

DeSantis then attended Harvard Law School, graduating in 2005 with a Juris Doctor cum laude. 

DeSantis received his Reserve Naval officer's commission and assignment to the Judge Advocate General's Corps (JAG) in 2004 at the US Naval Reserve Center in Dallas Texas, while still a student at Harvard Law School. 

He completed Naval Justice School in 2005. Later that year, he received orders to the JAG Trial Service Office Command South East at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, as a prosecutor. In 2006, he was promoted from lieutenant junior grade, to lieutenant. 

He worked for the commander of Joint Task Force-Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO), working directly with detainees at the Guantanamo Bay Joint Detention Facility. 

 

In 2007, DeSantis reported to the Naval Special Warfare Command Group in Coronado, California, where he was assigned to SEAL Team One and deployed to Iraq with the troop surge as the Legal Advisor to the SEAL Commander, Special Operations Task Force-West in Fallujah. 

DeSantis returned to the U.S. in April 2008, at which time he was reassigned to the Naval Region Southeast Legal Service. 

The U.S. Department of Justice appointed him to serve as an Assistant U.S. Attorney at the U.S. Attorney's Office in the Middle District of Florida. DeSantis was assigned as a trial defense counsel until his honorable discharge from active duty in February 2010. 

He concurrently accepted a reserve commission as a Lieutenant Commander in the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the US Navy Reserve. 

He was awarded the Bronze Star Medal, the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Iraq Campaign Medal. He represented Florida's 6th Congressional District in the US House of Representatives from 2013 to 2018.

Obviously, with these qualifications, he is NOT qualified to be a Democrat, or serve in a senior political position in our nation’s capital when one considers and compares the credentials of Pelosi, Schumer, Harris or Biden. 

He has kept Florida free of the grip of a tyrannical federal government while our State of Florida still prospers, which is why more people have moved to Florida than any other state for the last couple years. 

So, for anyone who criticizes him, now you have the facts.

Little Drummers

 

Is Hunter Biden a Security Threat?

 

Deploying Discriminating Radar

The US Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is winding up tests of its new Long-Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) as part of a significant defense upgrade against inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM) to fend off a potential nuclear attack on mainland US from North Korea.

Brig. Gen. Joey Lestorti, head of the US Northern Command’s Operations Directorate/J3, said that the LRDR will be operational within months, reported Breaking Defense.

“We are literally months away from being able to plug in the Long Range Discrimination Radar, LRDR, in the missile defense operational architecture.

From the testing so far, we are seeing positive results for what this radar can do for us, discriminating threats to the continental US to make ground-based interceptor engagements more lethal,” Lestorti told the annual Space and Missile Defense Symposium in Huntsville, Ala., on August 10.  READ MORE...

Classic Sunday Morning Newspaper Cartoons

 

"Angry Kitten" System to be Used in Combat

South of Death Valley this spring, the Air Force experimented with electronic warfare. In tests that took place in April at China Lake, California, fighter jets flew 30 training missions, testing the efficacy of an electronic warfare training device called “Angry Kitten.” In an August 3 announcement, the Air Force recommended using Angry Kitten for actual combat.

“Given the success of the pod in training and demonstrated ability to be reprogrammed, Air Combat Command recommended four pods be converted into combat pods to provide attack capabilities against enemy radio frequency threat systems, instead of simulating them,” reads the announcement.

Electronic warfare is a crucial part of modern armed conflict. It involves, broadly, the transmission and obstruction of signals along the electromagnetic spectrum, primarily but not exclusively in the domain of radio waves. These signals are used for communication between pilots; with radar to perceive the location of enemies beyond visual sight; and for weapons guidance. If one side can block the signals of the other side, it can potentially prevent their pilots from communicating, their radar from perceiving, and their weapons from following radar guidance.

The Angry Kitten was developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute to simulate the electronic warfare devices of other country’s aircraft, the kind that the Air Force might encounter in the sky. It is a system that incorporates a software-defined radio, meaning its signal and frequencies can be changed by code. This is in contrast to traditional hardware-defined radio, which is limited by what frequencies the physical components can produce and receive.  READ MORE...

Just in Time

 

Pigs to The Rescue

In the land down under, one ecological nightmare is helping crocodiles fill their bellies.

The saltwater crocodile has been prowling Australia’s waterways for millions of years, eating whichever animal was unfortunate enough to fall in its jaws. Still, despite their fearsome nature, this species came to the brink of extinction in the 1970s. But now, they are recovering while also performing a hugely important ecological service: the species is growing fat by eating the invasive, habitat-destroying feral pig.

Researchers say this interplay between the native saltwater croc and feral pigs, the descendants of animals brought to Australia by European colonists, could be the first sign that the invasive species has finally met with a predator that can help keep its population in check. At the same time, it gives real grounds for hope that the crocs themselves may recover, now that they have access to a steady and convenient source of food.


“Crocodiles eat whatever is easiest, and feral pigs are the perfect size,” said Mariana Campbell, a researcher at Charles Darwin University in Australia who studies saltwater crocodiles in the country’s north. “They’re pretty lazy hunters. If you’re a crocodile, what is easiest? You stay near the bank and wait a few hours for a pig? Or do you go and hunt for a shark, an animal that can swim five times faster than you?”

Since first arriving in Australia in the late 18th century, feral pigs — the wild, descendants of escaped domestic pigs — have spread over almost 40% of the continent. They are one of the most successful invasive species plaguing Australia today, and are held responsible for widespread habitat loss and as important contributors to Australia’s rate of mammal extinctions, which is the highest in the world.  READ MORE...