Single male (red hair, long arms, interests include hanging in trees) seeks female for long-distance relationship with the possibility of meeting up in the future to help save a species.
Zookeepers in the Netherlands are planning to hook up Dutch and Indonesian orangutans over the Internet. They believe the link they are using could some day be used as an online dating service where apes could get to know one another and keepers could work out whether they would be compatible mates.
The orangutans will start their love story the old-fashioned way, with a romantic dinner for two. “We are going to set up an Internet connection between Indonesia and Apeldoorn so that the apes can see each other and, by ... pressing a button, be able to give one another food,” said Anouk Ballot, a spokeswoman for the Apenheul ape park in the Dutch city of Apeldoorn.
PHOTO: AFP
Ballot said the primary aim of the computer link between Apenheul and an orangutan center on the Indonesian part of Borneo was to raise public awareness of the apes and their plight. Activists say that the spread of oil palm plantations, along with logging, is threatening animals such as wild orangutans. They worry the orangutans will become extinct, because the plantations and the logging are chewing up their native jungle habitats.
Ballot said that only orangutans who show a natural interest in the activity will take part.
There is still work to be done to set up the Internet connection. “We need to find ape-proof cables and screens,” Ballot said, adding that the zoo hopes to have the orangutans online by the end of this year or early 2007. (AP)
單身男性(紅毛、長手臂,興趣之一是吊在樹上)尋求與女方的遠距戀情,在未來可能有助於拯救物種。
荷蘭的動物園管理員計畫透過網路讓荷蘭與印尼的紅毛猩猩送作堆。他們相信這種連線有朝一日可以做為線上約會服務,紅毛猩猩可以在這裡認識彼此,管理員也可知道牠們是否為合適伴侶。
紅毛猩猩將以雙方共進浪漫晚餐的傳統方法展開戀情。荷蘭阿培爾頓市的阿培恩霍猴園的女性發言人安努克.芭拉特說︰「我們會在印尼與阿培爾頓間設立網路連結,如此紅毛猩猩就可以看見彼此,而且只要按下按鍵,就可以將食物送給對方。」
芭拉特表示,阿培恩霍與印尼婆羅洲島一處猴園電腦連線的主要目的,就是要喚起大眾對猩猩及其困境的注意。保育人士表示,油棕樹農園擴張加上森林砍伐,正威脅野生的紅毛猩猩等動物。由於農園與森林砍伐正逐步吞佔紅毛猩猩的原生地雨林,他們擔心紅毛猩猩會滅種。
芭拉特表示,只有自然表現出對這種活動感興趣的紅毛猩猩才會參加。
要架設網路連線仍有問題需要解決。芭拉特說︰「我們需要找出不會讓猩猩破壞的纜線與螢幕。」她附帶說,園方希望在年底前或明年初讓紅毛猩猩上網。
(美聯社/翻譯︰賴美君)
The strongest earthquake to hit Taiwan in 25 years killed at least 16 people and damaged dozens of buildings, but the destruction was largely contained thanks to decades of preparedness work. Taiwan sits on the “Ring of Fire,” an arc of intense seismic activity along the Pacific Rim, and — much like neighboring Japan — has a long history of catastrophic quakes. How does April 3 compare with other recent quakes? The April 3 earthquake, which measured 7.4 on the moment magnitude scale, was felt across Taiwan. It was the most severe since a 7.6 magnitude quake in 1999 killed
Around the time of the Dragon Boat Festival in June, the streets of Taiwan are filled with the delightful aroma of zongzi, a traditional snack made of sticky rice wrapped in leaves. The leaves are folded into a cone and then filled with sticky rice and other ingredients such as braised pork belly, peanuts and salted duck egg yolks. The filled leaves are then tightly tied with kitchen twine and ready for cooking. 每到六月端午時節,街頭巷尾就會飄出粽子的香氣。粽子是將糯米包進粽葉的傳統美食,先將粽葉折成圓錐狀塞入糯米,以及紅燒肉、花生、鹹鴨蛋黃等配料,用棉線綁緊後即可烹煮。 Dragon Boat Festival (n. phr.) 端午節 aroma
Everyone has seen a piece of fruit turn brown after being cut. Have you ever wondered why that happens? It is a common phenomenon that occurs due to a chemical reaction called enzymatic browning. The appearance, flavor and nutritional value of the fruit are all affected by this reaction. Some fruits, such as apples, pears, bananas, avocados and peaches, are more prone to enzymatic browning than others. These fruits contain high levels of an enzyme called polyphenol oxidase, or PPO for short. __1__ This causes a chain of chemical reactions that ultimately transforms the phenolic compounds into
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)