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Tridacna Gigas, or Giant Clams

“The giant clam, Tridacna gigas (known as pā’ua in Cook Islands Māori), is the largest living bivalve mollusc. T. gigas is one of the most endangered clam species. It was mentioned as early as 1825 in scientific reports. One of a number of large clam species native to the shallow coral reefs of the South Pacific and Indian oceans, they can weigh more than 200 kilograms (440 lb) measure as much as 120 cm (47 in) across, and have an average lifespan in the wild of 100 years or more”. – Wikipedia

Photo: Tridacna Gigas, or Giant Clams spew water as a traditional fisherman passes by a small sanctuary on January 23, 2004 near Bolinao in the Northern Philippines. The clams, prime builders for coral reefs and providing shelter for spawning fish and other marine life, are exposed by low tides in the sanctuary. Overfishing and pollution throughout the country are not only threatening food security, but are also starting to choke one of the few working clam sanctuaries in the world. (Photo by David Greedy/Getty Images)
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01 Oct 2011 13:10:00
Marani Devi Chaudhary (C), aged 40, performs a ritual in front of shaman Paltan Yadav (unseen) at her home in Rajaur village in Dhanusha district, Nepal, 02 November 2017. The shaman identified Marani Devi to be possessed by their lineage god who was dissatisfied by their worship is thought by the family to have caused them misfortune and is even feared lead to their death. Therefore Marani Devi spent 1,500 USD to perform a healing ritual at the Ghost Festival held at the banks of Kamala River in Dhanusha district two days later. Every family or community has their own sacred god, called 'Kuldevta' in Nepali which means family deity or lineage god. Only family members or people within communities of the same caste can worship to the deity. They have their own rules and regulations of worship which varies from one family and community to another. Being unable to follow the rules and regulations or carry out worship is believed to cause misfortune. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA/EFE)

Marani Devi Chaudhary (C), aged 40, performs a ritual in front of shaman Paltan Yadav (unseen) at her home in Rajaur village in Dhanusha district, Nepal, 02 November 2017. The shaman identified Marani Devi to be possessed by their lineage god who was dissatisfied by their worship is thought by the family to have caused them misfortune and is even feared lead to their death. (Photo by Narendra Shrestha/EPA/EFE)
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17 Nov 2017 06:53:00
Garbage pickers collect ride on donkey cart while looking for recyclable materials at a rubbish dump in the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq, August 23, 2016. Despite its huge untapped oil and gas reserves and steadily rising oil output and revenue, 23 percent of the population live below the poverty line, according to the Ministry of Planning. Eg, for 12-year-old Mohammed, life in Sadr City means long days during his school holidays scrabbling through the refuse in the scorching summer heat before selling his daily haul to a middleman. He sells each kilogram (2.2 lb) of plastic bottles or soda cans for 250 Iraqi dinars (around 20 U.S. cents), earning between 2,000 to 4,000 dinars ($1.50–$3) a day. A International Labor Organization report listing dangerous jobs in which children are engaged across the world mentioned collecting garbage as one of the activities in which minors risked suffering violence and injury. (Photo by Khalid al Mousily/Reuters)

Garbage pickers collect ride on donkey cart while looking for recyclable materials at a rubbish dump in the outskirts of Baghdad, Iraq, August 23, 2016. Despite its huge untapped oil and gas reserves and steadily rising oil output and revenue, 23 percent of the population live below the poverty line, according to the Ministry of Planning. (Photo by Khalid al Mousily/Reuters)
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24 Aug 2016 11:52:00
Igor Gavrilov, the main taxidermist of the Zoological centre at Tel Aviv University, works on a taxidermied animal, part of a collection which will be housed at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, a new Israeli natural history museum set to open next year in Tel Aviv, Israel June 8, 2016. Legions of insects, sea creatures and ancient fossils are lining up in a new museum shaped liked a giant Noah's Ark, telling the story of a crucial evolutionary byway across Israel. Experts say all humans and other animals had to pass through Israel on their first journey out of Africa into Europe and Asia. (Photo by Nir Elias/Reuters)

Igor Gavrilov, the main taxidermist of the Zoological centre at Tel Aviv University, works on a taxidermied animal, part of a collection which will be housed at the Steinhardt Museum of Natural History, a new Israeli natural history museum set to open next year in Tel Aviv, Israel June 8, 2016. Legions of insects, sea creatures and ancient fossils are lining up in a new museum shaped liked a giant Noah's Ark, telling the story of a crucial evolutionary byway across Israel. (Photo by Nir Elias/Reuters)
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25 Aug 2016 09:42:00
People take part in a sunset ceremony on the lower slopes of Glastonbury Tor as they celebrate Samhain at the Glastonbury Dragons Samhain Wild Hunt 2017 in Glastonbury on November 4, 2017 in Somerset, England. To celebrate Samhain, the Glastonbury Dragons, alongside Gwythyr Ap Greidal, the Summer King and the Winter King, Gwyn Ap Nudd, were paraded through the town to the lower slopes of Glastonbury Tor where the event was marked with ritual theatre, dancing and a fire to honour the dead. The Celtic festival of Samhain, which was later adopted by Christians and became Halloween, is a very important date in the Pagan calendar as it marks the division of the year between the lighter half (summer) and the darker half (winter). Pagans believe at Samhain, the division between this world and the otherworld was at its thinnest, allowing spirits to pass through. Many of the traditions of this ancient Celtic feast of the dead were later incorporated into the Christian calendar and Irish immigrants to America in the 19th century carried their customs, such as the wearing of costumes and masks to ward of harmful spirits and the harvest tradition of carving pumpkins, which have now blended into modern day Hallowee. (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)

People take part in a sunset ceremony on the lower slopes of Glastonbury Tor as they celebrate Samhain at the Glastonbury Dragons Samhain Wild Hunt 2017 in Glastonbury on November 4, 2017 in Somerset, England. To celebrate Samhain, the Glastonbury Dragons, alongside Gwythyr Ap Greidal, the Summer King and the Winter King, (Photo by Matt Cardy/Getty Images)
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07 Nov 2017 07:50:00
Miners pulling up lazy tourists to the rim of Kawah Ijen (Ijen Volcano), East Java, Indonesia on September 21, 2017. They will earn as much as they would bring down a load of sulfur. Nomadic Explorer, Cultural Lifestyle Photographer Claudio Sieber captured striking images of miners working at Ijen volcanic range in East Java, Indonesia. The sulphur miners risk their lives daily as they climb the active volcano carrying heavy loads, which they sell to sugar refineries. Shortly after midnight curious tourists are flocking in hundreds through the gate of Ijen's foothills to be right on time, driven by the images others took before them. Kawah Ijen is the one of the world's largest acidic volcanic crater lake; famous for its turquoise color as well as the unreal atmosphere it offers during darkness. A dusty path zigzags 3 kilometers up to the crater rim. This doesn't mean anything challenging; in particular, special sights have to be deserved anyway. The irritating smell of sulfur announces the near of the crater's existence. Arriving on the crater's rim the reward for the torture becomes visible. Blue fire darts its tongues through the fumes of sulfur dioxide. Somehow, the spectacle isn't as romantic as expected, since it is also the rough working space of approx. 150 sulfur miners who start their shift at 1 am. Lately, harvesting the abundance of devil's gold received international attention. This did obviously not really improve a miner's lifestyle; neither did it contribute to a better wage. (Photo by Claudio Sieber/Barcroft Images)

Miners pulling up lazy tourists to the rim of Kawah Ijen (Ijen Volcano), East Java, Indonesia on September 21, 2017. They will earn as much as they would bring down a load of sulfur. Nomadic Explorer, Cultural Lifestyle Photographer Claudio Sieber captured striking images of miners working at Ijen volcanic range in East Java, Indonesia. The sulphur miners risk their lives daily as they climb the active volcano carrying heavy loads, which they sell to sugar refineries. (Photo by Claudio Sieber/Barcroft Images)
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02 Oct 2017 08:31:00
Stray dogs run at dog sanctuary Territorio de Zaguates or “Land of the Strays” in Carrizal de Alajuela, Costa Rica, April 20, 2016. In a lush, sprawling corner of Costa Rica, hundreds of dogs roam freely on a hillside – among the luckiest strays on earth. Fed, groomed and cared for by vets, more than 750 dogs rescued from the streets of Costa Rica inhabit Territorio de Zaguates or “Land of the Strays”, a pooch paradise. The 152-hectare sanctuary in the centre of the Central American country is funded by donations. Around 8,000 dogs have passed through the refuge. There are more than a million stray dogs in Costa Rica, where the government outlawed putting animals down in 2003. (Photo by Juan Carlos Ulate/Reuters)

Stray dogs run at dog sanctuary Territorio de Zaguates or “Land of the Strays” in Carrizal de Alajuela, Costa Rica, April 20, 2016. In a lush, sprawling corner of Costa Rica, hundreds of dogs roam freely on a hillside – among the luckiest strays on earth. Fed, groomed and cared for by vets, more than 750 dogs rescued from the streets of Costa Rica inhabit Territorio de Zaguates or “Land of the Strays”, a pooch paradise. (Photo by Juan Carlos Ulate/Reuters)
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30 Apr 2016 09:41:00
A Chinese woman wears a protective mask as she shops in a market on February 6, 2020 in Beijing, China. The number of cases of a deadly new coronavirus rose to more than 28000 in mainland China Thursday, days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a global public health emergency. China continued to lock down the city of Wuhan in an effort to contain the spread of the pneumonia-like disease which medicals experts have confirmed can be passed from human to human. In an unprecedented move, Chinese authorities have put travel restrictions on the city which is the epicenter of the virus and municipalities in other parts of the country affecting tens of millions of people. The number of those who have died from the virus in China climbed to over 564 on Thursday, mostly in Hubei province, and cases have been reported in other countries including the United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, South Korea, India, the United Kingdom, Germany, France and several others. The World Health Organization has warned all governments to be on alert and screening has been stepped up at airports around the world. Some countries, including the United States, have put restrictions on Chinese travelers entering and advised their citizens against travel to China. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)

A Chinese woman wears a protective mask as she shops in a market on February 6, 2020 in Beijing, China. The number of cases of a deadly new coronavirus rose to more than 28000 in mainland China Thursday, days after the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the outbreak a global public health emergency. (Photo by Kevin Frayer/Getty Images)
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09 Feb 2020 00:07:00