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CTV News
6 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
Calgary Stampede rodeo safety to include shaded pens, heart monitors for horses
The Calgary Stampede is working with the University of Calgary's faculty of veterinary medicine on a few different studies. The Calgary Stampede is working with the University of Calgary's faculty of veterinary medicine on a few different studies. Tents are being set up to provide shade for bulls and broncs and some chuckwagon horses are to be fitted with tiny electrocardiograms at the upcoming Calgary Stampede. Based on scorching heat at the rodeo last summer, Ed Pajor, a professor of animal behaviour and welfare in the University of Calgary's faculty of veterinary medicine, says the animals could use a break. 'We saw things like increased respiration rate in some of the bulls. We saw some bulls drooling. These are signs that the animals might be experiencing some discomfort due to the heat,' Pajor said at a news conference Tuesday. The university is working with the Stampede to study some of the animals this year. They'll specifically look at whether bucking bulls and broncos will be happier and healthier if they have a shady place to hang out right before the competition. 'It seems like a pretty straightforward question,' said Pajor, adding if shade is beneficial, the Stampede would have to decide whether to invest in more tent coverings in the future. Additional research at the rodeo is to focus on the heart health of horses in the chuckwagon races. Dr. Renaud Léguillette with the university's veterinary school specializes in equine health and performance, and works closely with chuckwagon horses during the Stampede. His research includes identifying in equine blood a baseline for troponin — a protein released when the heart muscle is damaged — to track underlying cardiovascular or other health issues. 'The goal of our research is to prevent cardiac accidents during the chuckwagon racing due to a cardiac problem,' said Léguillette. 'There are some horses who have more electrical activity issues when they race or have a harder time to recover from the races.' At the Stampede, outrider horses and horses pulling the wagons are to be fitted with electrocardiograms before and during the races. Léguillette said the devices and the blood tests can show what horses are at a higher risk of cardiac arrest and that information is passed on to chuckwagon drivers. 'I call it like a green light, an orange light and a red light. The red light horses, I will definitely have a discussion with the drivers ... they are very responsive, concerned and will make the right decisions.' An official with the Stampede said research in this area could benefit an entire industry. 'We know there is an element of risk in all sport. Our goal is to create the safest conditions possible. That's why all of this research takes place ... to remove all of those elements of risk,' said Kristina Barnes, the Stampede's director of agriculture and western events. 'Can we remove completely that element of risk? No. But anything that we can control we certainly will.' The 10-day celebration of western culture, which runs from July 4-13, has long been a target of animal rights groups. The Vancouver Humane Society wants the rodeo portion of the Stampede eliminated. 'We're seeing deaths at the Calgary Stampede almost every single year. It's really not a matter of if another animal will die at the Stampede ... it's when,' said Chantelle Archambault with the group. 'Last year, there were four animal deaths. It also marks at least 109 animals deaths at the Stampede since we began tracking fatalities in 1986.' This report by The Canadian Press was first published June 24, 2025. Bill Graveland, The Canadian Press
Yahoo
22-06-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
How does a rockslide happen? 'The mountain that moves' was Canada's deadliest
A large rockslide in Banff National Park at Bow Glacier Falls left two hikers dead and up to 13 others injured Thursday, raising questions about how and why the disaster occurred. But a look at published research and archive news articles on rockslides provides some general information about the dangerous occurrences. A rockslide happens when a large chunk of rock detaches itself from the mountain where it sits and begins sliding down the slope. Why does this occur? Well, natural erosion or seismic activity can cause a rockslide, as can heavy rainfalls. Human activity such as excavation, construction or mining can also lead to a rockslide. As one chunk of rock begins its downward slide, it can quickly gain momentum and trigger massive amounts of other rock to also begin sliding, leading to devastating effects. notes a landslide or rockslide can occur 'when gravitational and other types of shear stresses within a slope exceed the shear strength (resistance to shearing) of the materials that form the slope.' Dr. Dan Shugar, a University of Calgary geoscience professor, said rockslides are a fairly common geological phenomenon, particularly in the Rocky Mountains, due to how steep the slopes are. The composition of rock is largely limestone, which is susceptible to water saturation, making the rocks heavier. 'Ultimately, the cause is gravity,' he said. 'Mountains get built up over geological time and then they get torn down. That's an entirely natural process. 'We see rockfalls, rock avalanches, rockslides — we see a variety of mass wasting in mountain environments all the time. They range from a small boulder that would hurt you if it hit you but wouldn't be that damaging to entire mountain sides collapsing, and everything in between.' A landslide occurs when sediment or loose dirt disengages from a hill or mountain and begins moving downwards. A rockslide, however, means solid rocks are also being swept down a slope during a similar type of event. Rockslides are also incredibly fast-moving, as they tend to move down a flat surface of a mountain. The Canadian Encyclopedia notes a rockslide can move up to 100 km/hr. The most horrific rockslide in Canadian history occurred in 1903 when a huge slab of Turtle Mountain crashed down onto the town of Frank and Crowsnest Pass (about 250 kilometres southwest of Calgary). At least 72 known residents were killed in the natural disaster, as were an undetermined number of others visiting or passing through the area. Some historians thus put the death toll closer to 90. An estimated 80 to 110 million tonnes of rock were involved in the deadly event that came to be known as Frank Slide. The rockslide only lasted about a minute and a half. Newspaper clippings and archive stories from the rockslide describe the horrific results that led to the deaths of men, women and children. As those clippings note, information about the state of some of the victims was disturbing, but shed light on how powerful the rockslide was: 'The leg and hip of a man was found lying fifty yards from the Imperial Hotel.' First Nations people in the area had noticed instability in the mountain decades earlier and even had a name for it that translated to 'the mountain that moves.' The geological structure of Turtle Mountain was said to be the primary cause of Frank Slide, but weather impacts and coal mining were also noted as factors in the deadly rockslide. An interpretive centre in Frank now tells the story of the slide and history of the area. Other Canadian rockslides of note include the 1841 rockfall in the Lower Town of Quebec City, killing 32 people and crushing eight homes, and the 1889 rockslide in the same area that killed more than 40, says the Canadian Encyclopedia. The worst rockslide worldwide was the Haiyuan Landslides of 1920 in China, when more than 200,000 people were killed. An earthquake caused those landslides. Apart from the Frank Slide, Shugar said Alberta has surprisingly not had that many significant rockfall events. He noted B.C. tends to get more, citing the Hope Slide of 1965 as an example. 'It certainly was a very big, impressive landslide right by the highway,' he said. The 680-tonne Big Rock, a type of quartzite, is an intriguing tourist attraction at Rocky Mountain House in Alberta, but how did this boulder measuring 9.7 metres by 9.4 metres by 5.5 metres get there? Well, the Rocky Mountain House Mountaineer reported the following 11 years back: 'Right around 20,000 years ago the Late Wisconsinan Glaciation was at its height; it was a glacier that could have been one kilometre thick. We know that all of the rocks in the Foothills Erratic Train come from the upper Athabasca drainage area south of Jasper,' said author and geologist Ben Gadd. 'A rockslide, almost certainly, dropped the rocks on the glacier. The glacier then eventually began to flow eastward until running into the Laurentide ice sheet (a glacier much larger than the one carrying the boulders) right around the Edson area. The larger glacier forced the smaller one to begin to move southeastward, right towards Rocky Mountain House.' Along with this Big Rock, another famous boulder that is part of the Foothills Erratic Train is the big rock in Okotoks, south of Calgary. The Okotoks Erratic is 16,500 tonnes in size, but was discovered in large pieces rather than a single stone. As the glacier, now on a new path, moved in the southeastward direction, it slowly began to melt. And as this process continued, the boulders that fell and became embedded in the glacier from the upper Athabasca drainage area began to drop from the flowing glacier. According to Shugar, the U of C geoscientist, the short answer is probably yes. The reason for that is due to how climate change is accelerating glacial retreat, which causes rock to become less stable. Temperature and precipitation changes are other components, as warmer temperatures can melt more ice and increased rainfall can change glacial mass or erode cliffs, making them steeper. 'These landscapes, as they become newly created or newly exposed by glacier retreat, they often are unstable,' Shugar said. 'There's a sort of relaxation time over which they adjust to this new paradigm, new reality for them. Quite often they're very steep because of glacier erosion and so they need time to relax back to a geographical equilibrium.' In glaciated mountains like in the Rockies, Shugar said that as glaciers retreat, we can expect to see more landslides. In the case of the Bow Glacier Falls rockslide, he suspects there have been side-effects due to the recent creation of a new proglacial lake, which formed just 70 years ago at the toe of the Bow Glacier. He suspects that over those seven decades, water from that new lake has been seeping into the rock, saturating it over the years and making it heavier. 'We see this all over the place,' he said. 'This isn't unique to this particular location, but I suspect part of the ultimate cause of this event yesterday (Thursday) was that saturated rock.'
CBC
21-06-2025
- Science
- CBC
'Randomness and chaos': The invisible, unpredictable forces behind fatal rockfall
Social Sharing Scientist Daniel Shugar says images of the aftermath of Thursday's deadly rockslide in Banff National Park provide evidence of its cause — water flowing through the interior of the mountain. "You can actually see some springs coming out of the cliff and actually coming out exactly from the scar itself," said the University of Calgary professor of geomorphology. He described how water from a lake above the cliff at Bow Glacier Falls had been seeping through rocks for decades before it eventually provided enough force to dislodge a boulder, triggering the rockfall. "That lake has existed since 1955," he said. "So over the last 70 years, the water from this lake (and the) glacier retreating has been trying to go downhill through the cracks. It essentially provided the pressure to dislodge the rock." While the forces may have been building for years, Shugar and other scientists agree it would have been impossible for Parks Canada to predict or prevent the massive rockfall. "Yesterday was just a bad confluence of events where this chunk of rock essentially popped out of the cliff," he said. "And, you know, unfortunately, tragically, there were hikers down below." Experts agreed that while evidence of previous rockfalls is easy to see, predicting exactly when they will occur is impossible. Davide Elmo, a mining engineering professor at the University of British Columbia, said that looking at a rock face from the outside doesn't show what's happening inside. "Some people might ask Parks Canada, why didn't you do anything about it," said Elmo, who also has a degree in engineering geology and is an expert in rock mechanics. "Well, that kind of rockfall cannot be stopped." He said the only thing officials can do is to tell the public about the risks when they enter an area that might be prone to rockfalls. "We know they will happen. We don't know when they will happen," said Elmo. Witnesses reported rumblings and stones moving before a slab of mountain broke loose and rained boulders on hikers below. The rockfall occurred in a scenic area close to a popular trail. Looking ahead, Elmo said officials should put up a notice in the area, warning hikers to "minimize the time" spent in that location. "You can take photos from a distance, but don't stay under the slope. That's the worst place to be," said Elmo. John J. Clague, an emeritus professor in Earth sciences at Simon Fraser University, said that when he looks at the Banff and Jasper landscapes, he sees lots of cones marking where rockfalls have occurred in the past. "Predicting exactly where one is going to occur, unless you have some prior indication that something was going on, would be very tough." he said. Body of 2nd victim recovered from rockfall in Banff National Park 1 day ago Duration 5:21 Two people are now confirmed dead in a massive rockfall that struck numerous hikers near Bow Glacier Falls in Banff National Park on Thursday. A 70-year-old Calgary woman was found dead at the scene on Thursday, and RCMP say a second deceased person was recovered on Friday morning. Clague said rockfalls are common in the southern Rocky Mountains, but most are never witnessed. Thursday's slide involved "people being kind of in the wrong place at the wrong time," said Clague. John Pomeroy, Canada Research Chair in water resources and climate change at the University of Saskatchewan, said there was no early indicator from water levels in Iceberg Lake, which feeds Bow Glacier Falls, that could have predicted the tragedy. "There's a lot of randomness and chaos in events like a rock slide, so the conditions were perhaps favourable to it, but that it happened was simply bad luck," he said. "And particularly happening at that time of day when there were people there was extremely bad luck." Pomeroy said that this year, the glacier started melting early, raising water levels in Iceberg Lake earlier than normal. "It's certainly more hazardous because of climate change, but it's hard to say that climate change caused any particular event," he said. Clague said all glaciers in Canada have undergone thinning and retreating amid the warming climate, and he thinks this incident is linked to climate change.
Yahoo
20-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
How Newly Discovered Tyrannosaur Relative "Prince of Dragons" Set T. rex Up to Rule
This summer's biggest movie, Jurassic World Rebirth (opening July 2, get tickets now!) picks up five years after the events of Jurassic World Dominion (now streaming on Peacock!). The dinosaurs are on the loose, having reclaimed a place in the global ecosystem, but they're struggling to survive on a planet that has changed dramatically in the last 66 million years or so. While many have died out, some have found limited success in small suitable environments around the world. Zora Bennet (Scarlett Johansson) takes a team into a secret island research facility on Ile Sant-Hubert to recover genetic materials from the largest remaining species. It's believed that the samples are the key to breakthrough medical advances. Along the way, they discover some previously unknown species including a mutant Tyrannosaur known as Distortus rex. Here in the real world, we're stilling finding new dinos, albeit far less alive. Recently, paleontologists unveiled the fossilized remains of a new dinosaur species, Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, the closest known relative of Tyrannosaurs like the infamous T. rex. The specimen was found in the lower Upper Cretaceous portion of the Bayanshiree Formation in southeastern Mongolia in the 1970s. From there, it went to Mongolia's Institute of Paleontology where it remained largely unexamined for the last 50 years. Paleontologists of the time identified it as Alectrosaurus, a previously known dinosaur from Asia. In 2023, research led by University of Calgary PhD student Jared Voris and UC researcher Dr. Darla Zelenitsky revealed features which set it apart from its predatory peers. The results of that study were recently published in the journal Nature. It dates to about 86 million years ago, a time when earlier large predators had recently gone extinct and niches were available for evolution to fill. Khankhuuluu was a medium-sized predator which answered the call. It was only about one-third or one-half the size of a fully grown T. rex, but it laid the foundation for its larger and more famous descendants. 'This new species provides us the window into the ascent stage of Tyrannosaur evolution; right when they're transitioning from small predators to their apex predator form," Voris said in a statement. Perhaps Khankhuuluu's most notable features are a pair of tiny horns just over the eye sockets. Those horns would later evolve to be much more prominent in species like Albertosaurus and Gorgosaurus. They were probably used to intimidate rivals and impress romantic interests. Long before that, however, Khankhuuluu made moves which would set up T. rex to rule prehistory. "Khankhuuluu, or a closely related species, would have immigrated to North America from Asia around 85 million years ago," explains Zelenitsky, a paleontologist and associate professor in the Department of Earth, Energy and Environment. "Our study provides solid evidence that large Tyrannosaurs first evolved in North America as a result of this immigration event." Twenty million years after Khankhuuluu first appeared, its descendants were dominating the Cretaceous landscape. At least until the asteroid closed the curtain on the age of dinosaurs. The dinosaurs are back in Jurassic World Rebirth, .
Sustainability Times
18-06-2025
- Science
- Sustainability Times
'I Seen Predatory Horse With Razor Teeth': Scientists Unveil 86-Million-Year-Old T. Rex Ancestor That Redefines Dinosaur Evolution
IN A NUTSHELL 🦖 Khankhuuluu mongoliensis is an 86-million-year-old dinosaur species discovered in Mongolia, providing new insights into tyrannosaur evolution. is an 86-million-year-old dinosaur species discovered in Mongolia, providing new insights into tyrannosaur evolution. 📜 The fossils fill a crucial gap in the evolutionary timeline, linking smaller ancestors to the giant Tyrannosaurus rex . . 🐎 This medium-sized predator, roughly the size of a horse, relied on speed and agility rather than bone-crunching power. 🔍 The study, led by researchers at the University of Calgary, highlights the dynamic evolution of tyrannosaurs over millions of years. In a remarkable discovery, paleontologists have unearthed a new piece in the evolutionary puzzle of the Tyrannosaurus rex. A recent study has brought to light a medium-sized predator that roamed the Earth 86 million years ago, offering fresh insights into the lineage of these iconic dinosaurs. This creature, identified from fossils found in Mongolia, fills a crucial gap in our understanding of how the mighty T. rex evolved from its smaller ancestors. The species, named Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, or 'the dragon prince,' provides a fascinating glimpse into the past, allowing us to trace the fascinating journey from small predators to the apex predators we know today. The Discovery of Khankhuuluu Mongoliensis The discovery of Khankhuuluu mongoliensis marks a significant milestone in paleontological research. Originally unearthed in the 1970s in the Bayanshiree Formation of southeastern Mongolia, these fossils were initially misclassified. It wasn't until researchers Jared Voris and Dr. Darla Zelenitsky from the University of Calgary revisited the site in 2023 that the true nature of these fossils was uncovered. The team noted the distinctive features of the remains, particularly the hollow snout bone, which pointed clearly to an early member of the tyrannosaur family. This species, roughly the size of a horse, weighed around 1,653 pounds and measured 13 feet in length. Its discovery provides a new understanding of the evolutionary sequence leading to the Tyrant Lizard King, the T. rex. The name Khankhuuluu, translating to 'the dragon prince,' is a nod to its role as a precursor to one of the most iconic predators in history. This Prehistoric Armored Fish From 465 Million Years Ago Could Be the Key to Understanding Why Our Teeth Still Hurt The Missing Evolutionary Gap For years, the evolutionary path of tyrannosaurs from small creatures to the colossal T. rex remained a mystery, with significant gaps in the fossil record. These dinosaurs began their journey around 150 million years ago during the Jurassic period as modest-sized tyrannosaurids. It was only in the late Cretaceous period that they grew into the giants we are familiar with today. The newly identified fossils of Khankhuuluu mongoliensis are crucial in filling this gap. They offer a rare glimpse into a transitional phase, illustrating how these dinosaurs evolved from smaller predators to become the dominant force in their ecosystems. The discovery of these fossils not only enhances our understanding of tyrannosaur evolution but also highlights the dynamic changes that occurred during their ascent to dominance. '8,000 Dinosaur Bones Found': Canada's Fossil Graveyard Reveals One of the Most Terrifying Prehistoric Mass Death Sites Ever Unearthed Physical Characteristics and Lifestyle Khankhuuluu mongoliensis, with its lean build and significant size, was an adept hunter. Unlike its massive descendants, this species had a long, shallow skull, indicating it lacked the ability to crunch bones like the T. rex. Instead, it relied on speed and agility, similar to modern-day mesopredators like coyotes, to hunt and capture prey. The presence of tiny, rudimentary horns on its head suggests that these features might have played a role in mating rituals or intimidation displays. Over time, these features evolved into the more prominent horns seen in later tyrannosaurs such as Albertosaurus. The creature's unique combination of features underscores the diversity and adaptability of the tyrannosaur lineage, providing a deeper understanding of the evolutionary pressures that shaped these formidable predators. 'This Thing Shouldn't Exist': Scientists Stunned as Humanity Witnesses This Deep-Sea Monster Alive for the First Time Ever Implications for Tyrannosaur Research The discovery of Khankhuuluu mongoliensis has profound implications for the study of tyrannosaurs. By bridging a critical gap in the fossil record, it allows scientists to trace the evolutionary trajectory of these dinosaurs with greater accuracy. This newfound knowledge not only enriches our understanding of tyrannosaur evolution but also offers broader insights into the ecological dynamics of prehistoric times. Researchers continue to study the fossils to uncover more about the lifestyle and environment of this fascinating creature. The ongoing analysis of its physical characteristics and the ecological context in which it lived promises to shed light on the evolutionary adaptations that enabled tyrannosaurs to thrive and diversify into some of the largest land predators in history. The discovery of Khankhuuluu mongoliensis opens new avenues for research and invites us to ponder the incredible journey of evolution. As we continue to uncover the mysteries of these ancient creatures, what other secrets might the past hold about the rise of the world's most fearsome predators? Our author used artificial intelligence to enhance this article. Did you like it? 4.5/5 (21)
