Archive for November 2010

Wild On The Streets!

November 10, 2010

– – More than one million Americans annually will hit a deer with their car, and the odds of doing so have gone up 21% in the past five years as the deer population has increased.

Nationally, your odds of striking a deer with your vehicle are 1 in 183, with West Virginia the most likely state for such a mishap with odds of 1 in 42.  Hawaii is the state where you are least likely to strike a deer, with the odds being only 1 in 13,000.

About three in four collisions between cars and animals involve deer, and the annual human death toll from such accidents is about 140.  Such deaths aren’t usually a direct result of hitting the animal, but rather it’s the secondary impact with another vehicle or going off the road that proves fatal. It’s usually curtains for the deer as well.

While deer are the biggest problem, they aren’t the only road hazard, with feral hogs proving a growing problem and lending new meaning to the term, “road hog!”

Another Naked Ape…

November 8, 2010

– – Don’t look, Ethel! Humans have been referred to as “the naked ape” by Desmond Morris among others, and here we present something unusual; a naked chimpanzee.

Guru, the naked 20-year-old chimp at India’s Mysore Zoo, lost all of his hair to alopecia, a condition that also affects humans.  Although he’s undergone treatment, nothing so far has helped him grow hair.  Chimpanzees are very accepting of hairless chimps, however, and actually seem more accepting of physical differences than many humans are.

Another lesson that the animal kingdom may teach homo sapiens!

Art Influencing Life

November 6, 2010

– – J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter novels have popularized owls, which is a bad thing to the extent that fans of the young wizard and his owl Hedwig have been buying endangered owls from illegal bird traders!

This has been a problem in such countries as India, where the environment minister revealed that a recent report details that nearly half of India’s 30 species of owls can be found on sale at markets.  In addition to their Harry Potter appeal, people also buy the owls for medicinal purposes and for sacrifice in some Hindu festivals.

In the Harry Potter novels, owls are used as a form of communication, carrying important messages…

Asian Carp Invasion!

November 4, 2010

– – Hah!- -Just when you thought that Halloween was over, the Asian carp are knocking at your door! They may already be in waterways near Lake Michigan, and five states are embroiled in a lawsuit against the City of Chicago, barge companies, and others to close Chicago area shipping locks in order to stop the spread of the ravenous fish!  The invasive carp, you see, may decimate a $7 billion a year fishing industry.  Biologists fear that the fish, which can weigh up to 100 pounds, would gobble plankton and starve out prized species such as salmon and walleye should they get into the lakes.

Opponents counter that closing the locks would undermine critical flood control measures in the Chicago area, and cost barge and tour-boat owners as well as others billions of dollars in lost business.  A U.S. District Judge is expected to rule on the matter within several week.

(I for one do not fear the Asian carp; they only want our computers for their young, and should be able to help me with my math…)

Vote!

November 2, 2010

– – Here at Foxsylvania, we take our civic responsibilities seriously, and accordingly urge all of our readers who are of legal age to do so to get out on November 2nd and vote! Those who do not may be forced to listen to the negative political ads of the past campaign until Xmas, or have their mud wrestling privileges out back temporarily suspended…

So vote!- -Don’t make the Philosoraptor angry…you wouldn’t like him when he’s angry!

Animal Memes…

November 1, 2010

– – A sign that we are slowly but surely taking over the internet is the prevalence of animal memes on line at diverse sites.  Ranging from the silly and simply stupid to the profound or profane, these words of at times questionable wisdom often linked to an animal image frequently with colored focusing elements have created near cult followings, and with good reason…they are cool, and they are us!

Have alpha male stirrings or at least untapped rage within you?- -Listen to Courage Wolf!- –Struggling  with your ‘puter?–Turn to commiserate with Technologically Impaired Penguin. There are many others, or you can make your own…