Scientists discover new species to force into extinction

The scientific community is all atwitter today, after a small group of intrepid explorers and adventurers working in the Amazon delta discovered a new species for humankind to slowly but inevitably force into extinction.

“It’s amazing,” said leader of the French and German led expedition, Klein Match-Aange. “To be a part of the ceaseless quest to expand our knowledge of the world’s soon-to-be-naught-but-a-distant-memory-and-a-picture-in-a-yellowing-history-book species is a privilege that can we barely describe.”

The animal is reportedly a “very rare” but “equally delicate and vulnerable” sub species of distant cousins the once plentiful Howling Silver-top Lemur, which not so long ago freely roamed the extensive cattle farms and slashed-and-burned corn fields of the Amazon Farmlands.

“This little guy – which we’ve called the Blue-tipped Howling Lemur, or Marsuplius Genocidus Extinctia - is a shy, shy creature,” explained Match-Aange, recalling the difficult task of finding the elusive ‘Blue Ghost’. “Nocturnal and very skittish, finding him was a real challenge. You won’t believe how many trees we had to cut down just to get a pic of him. All that foliage, dense undergrowth and rare orchids make modern scientific endeavours like these a real nightmare.”

Our knowledge of these elusive creatures, however, is now vastly improved.

“According to preliminary scientific observations on the animal, we can say that it’s not very different from other classic species of lemur,” said the team’s sixty-page report. “While looking somewhat different to other species in this genus, it shares a very similar diet, social behaviourisms, mating habits and vulnerability to stab wounds as its other lemur brethren.”

The report added that this “probably mean[t] a shared similarity in terms of organisational hierarchy, territorial behaviour and susceptibility to broken bones, third-degree burns and bleach poisoning.”

“Whatever their exact species, these animals tend to share a few fundamental characteristics,” the report explained, “such as how thin and easily crushable its skull is, how - much like other lemurs, small apes and some similar species of exotic cats - it dies after only one or two well-aimed 9mm slugs to the back of the head, or how valuable its bones and fur are on the traditional medicines and exotic goods black markets.”

This species of lemur is now the third animal to be added this year to our list of species we’re going to utterly eradicate one by one from the surface of the planet, just after the Java Tiger (Leo Pantherus Coati Expensivus) and the White Rhino (Bohne Maykmii Erectus).

"We're a tenacious bunch, us humans, but we need to keep up the hard work," said the report. "Even now, there are probably hundreds of rare, undiscovered species out there just waiting to be decimated into total disappearance."

Pic: by Rachel Kramer licenced under CC Attribution-Share Alike 3.0

Outcry at “Even fish vote for the ANC”

A storm of controversy has swept across South Africa after a news bulletin by iAfrica this morning reported that African National Congress national head of elections Ngoako Ramatlhodi told a rally in Polokwane that, given the chance, animals would vote for the ANC.

According to the news aggregation site, daily paper The Star quoted Ramatlhodi (who is also the deputy minister of correctional services) as saying: "Even the fish, I am told, when the time comes, they vote for the ANC from the sea. If animals at Kruger National [Park] were allowed to vote, they would be voting [for] the ANC."

However, many scientists and sociopolitical analysts have come forward to refute these claims, saying they’re “offensively stupid and utterly ridiculous.”“

Such a claim is preposterous!” said Animal Sciences Researcher Dave Hutton. “Animals don’t even have thumbs. Besides, it’s obvious that they have their own nations and fish, horse and donkey presidents who preside over their own matters. They wouldn’t dabble in human politics.”

However, other public figures have since stepped forward to weigh in on the debate.

“The man has a point,” said political analyst Have Dutton. “For example, Salmon and free-range chickens would never vote for the DA. That would be like Jews voting for the Nationalsozialistische Deutsche Arbeiterpartei (NSDAP).”

He went on to point out that many other domesticated animals would never vote DA.

”Horses, donkeys, cattle, sheep… these are all animals operating under the chains of middle-class privilege,” said Dutton. “However, initial studies have suggested that cats and dogs would be very much inclined to vote for the Whisker’s and Pedigree-buying DA members.”

He also mentioned that the more obscure minority pets, such as rare pigeons, parrots, guinea pigs, snakes and lizards would all probably vote DA.When these animals were questioned, they all remained strangely unresponsive, leaving politicians wonder if these claims have an veracity to them.

ANC stalwart Mr Clucky McCluckens
is clear on his political leanings
pic: Marji Beach, Flickr

“Bhaaak bhak bhaaaaaaaaaaak, bhak bhak bhak,” said the one chicken that did respond to questions. The ANC have since kindly translated that for us: “WE WILL VOTE ANC UNTIL JESUS COMES AGAIN”.

Despite all this, other public figures have denounced such suggestions as racist.

“[Dutton] thinks that all animals will vote along a simplified, reductive black-white dichotomy,” said COPE leader Trina Ghetvoats. “But where does this leave black-and-white sheep, and the rarer animals, like leopards and lions, who don't occupy either end of the polarised species spectrum?”

In spite of the controversy, the ANC is taking no risks. 

“We’ve set up the relevant government departments just in case we need to deal with such a thing,” said newly appointed second cousin of Zuma’s third wife’s brother’s best friend’s uncle Minister of Animal Rights and Voting Allowances Jeff Mahlala. “We’ve already been allocated a budget of several million, which has been put through my wife the necessary tender processes to allows for the purchase of the ministerial vehicles necessary for the development of such a portfolio.”

Meanwhile, the Independent Electoral Commission and Western bodies have been quick to warn South Africa that there is a strong need to ensure that underwater and farm-side voting stations have “transparent, free, fair, democratic and accountable processes that ensure every species exercises their voting right accordingly”.

“We will me monitoring these new developments carefully," said head of the International Voting Watch Committe Impi Rialist. "If we hear that even one horse was pressured to vote for a party not of his personal choosing, we may be forced to impose strict sanctions.”