The Top Animal Photos of 2023: From Hyenas to Southern Rays

Spotted Hyena

This spotted hyena (Crokuta Crokuta) is a natural in front of the camera, while its mother and siblings watch closely in the background. This playful shot was taken by Wim van den Heever in Amboseli National Park in southern Kenya.

Southern Stingray

As the sun rises over the coast of the Cayman Islands, southern rays (Dashatis Americana) are captured in this striking split-level snap by the photographer, Alex Mustard, as they wander on a sandy beach.

Slug Sucking Sap

A brightly fluorescent animal known as the sap-sucking slug (Costasiella crocimae) is captured by Mustard, crawling on green algae just off the coast of northern Indonesia. This sea slug has a special ability to preserve the chloroplasts of the algae they feed on, allowing them to photosynthesize.

Eurasian Brown Bear

Deep in the forests of Finland, Andy Rouse took an action shot of a Eurasian brown bear (Ursus Arctos Arctos) after a short soak in the pond, the body trembles dry. These mammals can weigh up to 480 kilograms and are common in Eastern Europe and Russia.

Spotted Fritillary Larva

In the grasslands of the Rhodope Mountains in Bulgaria, Guy Edwards took a colorful photo of a spotted fritillary (Melitaea Didyma) larvae. It eventually transforms into a butterfly, its wings becoming bright orange with brown spots.

White Winged Snowfinch

The majestic white-winged snowfinch (Montifringilla Nivalis) is captured braving a snowstorm in the Swiss Alps by Mateusz Piesiak. It is a relatively large and sturdy bird, reaching up to 19 centimeters in height.

Fruit Bat

This bewildered fruit bat has its nose and throat swabbed as part of an effort in the Republic of Congo to better understand how zoonotic diseases such as Ebola are transmitted to people. Researchers from the Wildlife Conservation Society and Congo Medical Research Foundation collected blood and saliva samples from about 100 fruit bats.

Source: www.newscientist.com

Grok, the AI stuffed animal with Grimes’ voice, was trademarked before Elon Musk’s Grok

Grimes is getting into the toy business with “Glock,” the character she voices for Curio’s new line of screenless AI plush toys.

The toy is not affiliated with Grok, an AI chatbot backed by Grimes’ ex-Elon Musk. Musk described xAI’s Grok as having a “rebellious personality” and a willingness to answer “tough questions that most other AI systems would refuse.” That sounds vulgar if you ask me.

Grok, Gabbo, and Grem, on the other hand, are designed to encourage play. In a conversation with Misha Sallee and his partner Sam Eaton, the Curio founder said: Published on Curio’s blogGrimes said she encourages children’s creativity early on through dynamic conversations rather than a static list of prompts.

“The idea of ​​bringing more imagination or making it easier to access imagination within one’s current existence, rather than just observing it within other beings such as screens, movies, and books. I like it,” she said.

in Curio announcement videoGrimes said she doesn’t want her kids to be “in front of a screen” but is “really busy.”

Image credits: antique

Curio says the toys can have full conversations, allowing children (or adults) to practice their communication skills. Glock is an anthropomorphic rocket ship, voiced by Grimes. There’s Gabo, who looks like a Game Boy stuffed animal with arms and legs. And then there’s Grem, a cyan rabbit with hearts on his cheeks. The beta version of the toy is Pre-order possible Through Sunday, the price is $99 each. Recommended for children from 3 years old to her 7 years old. Grimes and Musk’s oldest child is named XÆA-Xii and she is 3 years old.

The stuffed animals answer questions about how rocket ships are made and play games with the user, encouraging the development of children’s listening and conversation skills. Inside the stuffed animal is a rechargeable, Wi-Fi-connected speaker and microphone, connected to an app that parents can set up and monitor interactions with their children.

“When I think about kids, my goal is to keep as many hearts out of this as possible. Basically, how many iPads can we replace?” Grimes said with Eaton and Sally. He said this in a conversation.

She later added: “I think the more we verbalize things, the more we’re forcing people to use their working memory. You know, there are little things here and there that make our brains just a little bit better. ”

Grimes became involved with Curio after answering a question. post “Children’s teddy bears talk to children and give them peace of mind at night.” About the future of AI-integrated toys.grimes answered “It would be great if it was safe,” she said, and she would be happy if children could have “a culture ship in a teddy bear at heart.”

The line launches about a week after a competitor to Musk’s ChatGPT (named Grok) began rolling out to X Premium Plus subscribers.

“Grimes is the voice of the toy, and this rocket just so happens to be named Grok and was made before the announcement of the Grok AI, so there’s some interesting overlap between him and Grimes,” Sally said. said in a conversation.

as Business Insider ReportGrimes’ Grok was the first to be trademarked.

Curio has filed a trademark for Grok on September 12 this year. xAI files trademark for Grok on October 23rd. Curio’s Grok stands for Grocket, as the Grimes children spend a lot of time around rockets since their father is the owner of SpaceX. The Washington Post reported.

grimes and musk Currently in custody battle The couple has filed child custody lawsuits in California and Texas over their three children.

in post Regarding the name, Grimes said that by the time Curio realized that xAI’s Grok team was also using that name, “it was too late for either AI to change its name.”

“I currently have two AIs named Grok, and I can’t wait for them to be friends,” she said. “I can’t believe that even an AI can’t avoid showing up at school and meeting other kids with the same name lol.”

Source: techcrunch.com