Reports from Disney's real Everest expedition

By David Pescovitz at 1:24 pm Monday, Apr 10

A research team from Conservation International and Disney's Animal Kingdom spent two months surveying the animals and plants at several spots in the eastern Himalayas. The info they collected will be part of the educational components of Disney's new Expedition Everest experience in Orlando. (Previous posts about Expedition Everest here and here.) Here are some of the new species that the team discovered, as described on Conservation International's Web site:

* A wingless grasshopper (Kingdonella sp.) that can withstand extremely low temperatures and communicates by gnashing its teeth.

* A new beetle species that specializes in burying small bird and rodent carcasses into subterranean crypts to feed their offspring.

* A new subspecies of small mammal known as the Qinghai vole (Microtus fuscus).

* Up to three new frog species, eight new insects, and ten new species of ants.

And some others species they found there, as mentioned in a LiveScience.com article:

* Giant hornets so deadly locals call them "Yak Killers"

* Jumping "Yeti" mice

* Baby blue-faced golden monkeys, the region's largest primates

* Hamster-like pikas that eat their own feces

Link to Conservation International, Link to LiveScience.com article (Thanks, Vann Hall!)