The real life Mowgli: Schoolboy, eight, forms special relationship with colony of alpine marmots

By RACHEL MCDERMOTT

Special bond: Matteo Walch has struck up an unlikely friendship with a group of marmots in the Austrian Alps

They are notoriously shy around humans, beating their tails and chattering their teeth to try to warn us off before emitting loud whistles to tell other members of their colony to flee.
But when these alpine marmots see Matteo Walch, they scuttle to his side and show him nothing but affection.
The eight-year-old built up a remarkable relationship with the creatures since first being taken to see them by his nature-loving family four years ago.

Furry friends; The schoolboy from Innsbruck first met the clan of marmots four years ago on a family holiday and has returned every year since

The family return to visit the colony in Groslocker in the Austrian Alps for two weeks every year.
Matteo’s father Michaela, said: 'Their friendship has lasted for more than four years now.
'He loves those animals and they are not at all afraid of Matteo because he has a feeling towards them and they understand that.
‘We go there every year now for two weeks - it’s amazing to watch the connection between a boy and his animal friends.’
Marmots stand at around 18cm tall and reach up to 50cm in length.
Bizarrely, the animals are heavier in the autumn, when they can weigh up to 8kg, in comparison to 3kg in the spring months.

Unlikely pair: The normally shy marmots show Matteo nothing but affection when he visits them at Hohe Tauern National Park in Austria

Michaela, a schoolteacher from Innsbruck, Austria, has uniquely captured the unique bond between Matteo and his marmot friends throughout the past four years.
He said: 'I could spend hours watching animals - it gives me a connection with nature and its life forms.
'It’s great that I have been able to document the marmot’s natural behaviour around Matteo without making them afraid of me and my equipment.
'I wanted to capture the animals exactly the way I see them - the way they behave among each other, in harmony with their surroundings.'

A member of the clan: The marmots gather around Matteo when he arrives and lets him feed them and play with them despite normally running away from humans

Matteo and his family spend two weeks every year in the Alps visiting his marmot friends

Nose to nose: A marmot greets eight-year-old Matteo on the slopes of the Austrian Alps

It is clear from the pictures that Matteo and the marmots are totally comfortable in each other’s company.
Michaela, 46, said: 'The picture of a curious animal approaching me is a thousand times more beautiful than the picture of any animal looking at me in fear before it takes flight.
'This is how I try to picture the proudest, more beautiful and also the funniest moments, giving others the opportunity to enjoy the miraculous world of animals.’


Jealous: One marmot is so keen to get his attention that it has climbed up into Matteo's lap for a cuddle

source: dailymail

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Scientists use 'Jurassic Park' experiment to try to bring woolly mammoth back from the dead

By David Derbyshire

Scientists are a step closer to bringing the woolly mammoth back from the dead


Woolly mammoths could one day walk the Earth again, it seems.

In an extraordinary Jurassic Park- style experiment, DNA from a frozen specimen of the extinct giant was used to reproduce their blood.

And it revealed that the beasts used more than their distinctive shaggy coats to keep warm in harsh Arctic conditions 25,000 years ago - they had antifreeze in their veins.

The scientists believe the genetic adaptation technique could be used to resurrect body parts and proteins from other extinct animals.

Researcher Prof Kevin Campbell-of the University of Manitoba, Canada, said: 'The molecules are no different than going back in time and taking a blood sample from a real mammoth.'

To recreate the blood, the scientists used DNA preserved in bones from frozen Siberian specimens up to 43,000 years old.

It was used alongside genetic information from their descendants, Asian elephants.

And this revealed the woolly mammoth's blood adapted to cope with the freezing conditions.

Its 'antifreeze blood' was able to carry oxygen around the body even at low temperatures, researchers told Nature Genetics journal.

This is thought to have evolved after mammoth ancestors moved from tropical Africa in an Ice Age.

Recreating a single prehistoric protein does not mean scientists can build a whole animal, though.

And because DNA is not preserved in fossils this technique is unlikely to be used on species that died out millions of years ago.

The project began seven years ago when Prof Campbell contacted the Australian Centre for Ancient DNA at Adelaide University.

In the movie and novel Jurassic Park, DNA preserved in an insect trapped in amber millions of years ago is used to recreate dinosaurs.

Giant facts:

Mammoths get their name from the Russia 'mammut', or earth mole.

Until 300 years ago, their bones were often thought to belong to extinct races of giants.

They were around 13ft tall, not much bigger than modern elephants. They were coated with shaggy hair up to 3ft long and a layer of wool next to their skin. They had tusks up to 16ft long.

They probably died out as a result of climate change and hunting.


source: dailymail

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