Archive for the ‘animal oddities’ category

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Creative Animal Grooming…

May 10, 2010

– – I’ve always thought that dogs should look like canines, and cats felines.  I enjoy being vulpine.  Some weird and wild styles, however,  have been showcased at creative grooming shows, a subset of dog grooming and dog shows that largely feature poodles cut and styled to resemble almost anything, including giraffes and horses.  It takes about two hours for the “transformation” to be completed.

Some view this kind of thing as cute and fun, while others regard it as humiliating, degrading, and abusive to animals.  If I were the canine in question, I’d be profoundly embarrassed, and probably need years of therapy…

Categories: animal oddities, animals, furry
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–Oriental Yeti?

April 9, 2010

– – Well, isn’t this a strange and sorry looking critter?- –Discovered in a remote wooded area in Sichuan Province in China, this mysterious hairless creature dubbed an “oriental yeti” will undergo DNA testing.

“It looks like a bear but it doesn’t have any fur and it has a tail like a kangaroo,” said one of the hunters who trapped the unidentified beast after locals reported a bear sighting…but this ain’t no bear!  “It also does not sound like a bear…it has a voice like a cat and it is calling all the time–perhaps it is looking for the rest of its kind or maybe its the last one,” added the hunter, Lu Chin.

So what is this animal?–Pending the DNA testing to be performed in Beijing, one cryptozoologist, Loren Coleman, thinks that it is a kind of civet, a small carnivorous mammal akin to the mongoose.   The Asian palm or Himalayan palm civet are regarded as the most likely possibilities.  As for the creature’s lack of fur, Coleman thinks that it has mange, a skin disease caused by mites.

While it is anticipated that DNA tests will show that the finding is “in no way anything extraordinary,”  this guy looks like he could use some TLC in addition to the fur!



Categories: animal oddities, animals, cryptozoology, furry, mysteries, rare animal, unidentified
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Cockroach of the Sea!

April 3, 2010

– – They’ll never call a tuna that…but they’ve found an enormous crustacean scouring the depths of the Gulf of Mexico, a giant isopod called Bathynomus giganteus related to shrimp and crabs that measured 2-1/2 feet long and was found hooked onto the bottom of a remotely-operated vehicle at a depth of 8,500 feet!

Now most giant isopods are less than a foot long, making the recent discovery a supersized version.  This could be because of a condition called gigantism, which is thought to be common among crustaceans inhabiting especially cold water regions.   In addition to larger size, colder temperatures tend to be conducive to longer life spans, and the deeper the water, the bigger the critter.

Giant isopods are predators that feed on carcasses of dead whales and fish, and have also been known to attack sea dwellers that are alive and swimming.   Such creatures  have existed for more than 160 million years.- -Nature is scary, which is just how I like it!

Categories: animal oddities, anomalies, furry, Invertebrates, science
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Mr. Toad’s Wild Ride…

March 31, 2010

– – Anecdotal accounts have existed for thousands of years of animals foreseeing natural disasters such as earthquakes; birds, dogs, snakes, cows, and other creatures have been attributed with such abilities, while documentation could not be reliably made.

A pair of behavioral biologists, Rachel Grant and Tim Halliday, have recently documented proof in the current issue of the Journal of Zoology that large numbers of toads fled a breeding area five days before a magnitude 6.8 earthquake struck L’Aquila, Italy in April of 2009. With weather variables such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, and rainfall normal,  it is speculated that the toads may have picked up on environmental signals prior to the earthquake such as foreshocks or changes in naturally occurring magnetic fields that encouraged them to flee.

Scientists who are already studying amphibians in earthquake-prone areas such as Indonesia are being looked to in order to determine if the behavior occurs again...listen to the animals, humans, or ignore them at your peril!

Categories: animal occurrences, animal oddities, animals, science, unexplained
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–Food Fight!

March 26, 2010

– – Now this is disturbing, not that the Burger King isn’t;   food which fights back as people attempt to eat it! The new Grey’s campaign for Tums features furious and funny food fights (– -Holy alliteration, Batman!) that are tamed only by the fast-acting antacid!  Talk about food coming back on you…

There are three spots, in one of which a spicy chicken wing whacks its would-be consumer repeatedly across the face, complete with kung fu movie sound effects!  The guy winds  up with his face liberally decorated with barbecue sauce…PETA would love this!   Another spot features tacos of terror…(of course, tacos and other foods have been known to come back for another round the next day!)

Tums, not surprisingly, takes the fight out of the pugilistic entrees.  (–Imagine a classic martial arts film on G4 or the like in which Bruce Lee enters a Kentucky Fried Chicken and challenges to take on any poultry wing in the place!- -Or perhaps,  Night of the Living Dead Shrimp!) This does, however, add new meaning to the warning to watch what you eat…be afraid, be very afraid!    😉

Categories: animal oddities, Brilliant but twisted, furry perspectives, humor, television
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“America’s Wolfman” on MonsterQuest

March 25, 2010

– – The America’s Wolfman episode of MonsterQuest promised much but delivered little.   It was, at any rate, not another feral dogs or killer bees episode. Described as being a husky 7-7-1/2 feet tall with a large head, dark hair, and pointed ears, the American Wolfman seen in the midwest walks on his hind legs, has a foul odor, and uses his forepaws like hands.

Also known as the Michigan Dogman (similar but not to be confused with the Wisconsin Dogman),  the creature was supposedly revealed on the Gable Film acquired in 2006 with the backstory of having been originally made in the 1970’s and acquired at an estate sale.   The Gable Film was later revealed to be a hoax staged by a family.  A sequel, Gable 2, followed in 2008 and detailed a police investigation of the first film.

In its usual dutiful manner, MonsterQuest in this episode sent its team to the Manistee Forest area in Michigan where sightings have occurred, and camera traps were set revealing footage of deer and other animals suitable as a food source for a wolf and coyote population. Footprints were also found which were judged to be a member of the dog family, specifically a wolf.   Some experts regard the creature to be a misidentified timber wolf, or just an unusually big wolf…right!

Eyewitness accounts related included a fall of 1979 hunting encounter when a hunter discerned a large creature who moved when he did.  In another incident in 1987 in Michigan, claw and puncture marks as well as blood and slobber were found on a cabin with canine footprints in the area.  Other accounts are numerous, and date back to Native American folklore.

Does the Michigan Dogman exist?- -As the episode concluded, “Who’s to say?  It doesn’t want to be seen.” We’ve heard this all repeatedly before…

…but I still like the big guy!

Categories: animal oddities, animals, anomalies, anthropomorphic, cryptozoology, furry, mysteries, rare animal, strange happenings, television, unexplained, unidentified
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The Sierra Nevada Sasquatch

March 18, 2010

– – In what may be the last episode of MonsterQuest ever, we were promised “aggressively territorial packs of Sasquatch,” and received, blobsquatch, a short,  low resolution May of 1991 video taken at Mono Lake that shows something east of the Sierra Nevada mountains.  Some contend that the creature depicted was a black bear, while others feel it was a genuine Bigfoot clone.  Enhancements of the footage revealed little in light of its poor quality, while whatever was depicted was calculated to be between six and eight feet high…

Perhaps more promising were the Jamie Avalos footprint casts suggesting smaller than average Sasquatch that may represent evidence of juvenile creatures; we all know how cute Sasquatch are at that age!  An adult Sasquatch print tends to run about 16″ long and show a flat foot.  MonsterQuest’s scientific team determined that the Sierra Nevada area (near the California-Nevada border) could support a group of large primates.

Lastly, there were the eyewitness reports, including a hunter who saw multiple creatures in 2005, and a motorist who had an encounter in 2006.  Such eyewitnesses appear credible, even if a bit shell-shocked.

If this is the last episode of MonsterQuest ever*, they have gone out with a whimper rather than a bang, and even Dr. Meldrum may not be enough to save the series.  At least we still have Destination Truth and possibly similar shows to come…

…and as for the Sasquatch, as one expert concluded on MonsterQuest, “They don’t want to  interact with human beings; if they do, they’ll let you know.”

(* I’ve since learned that another new episode of MonsterQuest is coming…America’s Wolfman, March 24th!)

Categories: animal occurrences, animal oddities, animals, anomalies, cryptozoology, mysteries, television, unexplained, unidentified
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One Tough Dog!

March 18, 2010

– – From our tough dog department, we bring you the tail of a dog in Chattanooga, Tenn. that escaped from a fence in a nearby welding shop, and decided that he could take on a local cop who was running radar, and ruining the day for some otherwise law-abiding motorists…

…well, imagine the look on that public servant’s face when he felt his squad car shaking, and saw a bulldog chewing on his tires!   The mighty mutt also attacked two passing cars and a second police car, and was not deterred when the police used pepper spray and a Taser on him!

By the time that animal center staffers captured mighty dog and two others, he had chewed two tires and the entire front bumper off the first patrol car!- – Talk about bulldog tenacity!  If a Klingon owned a dog, it would be like that one!

Categories: animal occurrences, animal oddities, animals, strange happenings
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Sock Monkey Mania!

March 16, 2010

– – Sock monkeys seem to be going through a renaissance lately.  I’ve always found sock monkeys vaguely unnerving, and I’m not sure that I entirely trust them, feeling that there’s more to them than meets the eye.  This impression has been heightened for me by the Kia Sorento “Joyride” commercial featuring a life-sized sock monkey together with his equally-unlikely companions that include a robot, a teddy bear, a knobby orange thing called “Muno,” and “Mr. X.”

Well, no good can come from this unholy alliance, and the strange crew goes on a road trip that includes stops at a bowling alley, a mountainside hot tub, a tattoo parlor, and even Las Vegas where they gamble and show off a few dance moves; what goes on in Vegas stays in Vegas, often for good reason.

But suddenly, we flash back to reality, where the characters in this surreal little drama turn out to be toys in the back seat of a Sorento!  It’s kinda like A Toy Story on acid, or maybe a rejected Twilight Zone episode…

…and I’m still uneasy about sock monkeys!   Perhaps it’s because he’s shown driving the car, although from what I’ve seen some cars might be better driven by a sock monkey…at least he’s not texting!     😉

Categories: animal oddities, Brilliant but twisted, television
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Oh Deer!

March 1, 2010

– – A statue of two deer making whoopie in the missionary position caused quite a stir when it graced the Herron School of Art’s campus in Indianapolis in the summer of 2005.– -How deer they! Although the statue left the premises in late 2006, it continues to evoke memories and controversy.

Entitled “Trophy,” the sculpture was crafted by Wim Delvoye, a Belgian artist.  According to him, the statue was never supposed to evoke a sense of shock.  “These animals love each other very much,” he explained.   “Only in the United States was this sculpture regarded as shocking.”

“It is funny, but I see a lot of tenderness in the way they kiss,” noted the artists.  “I tried it with dogs and cats, but it looked like they were fighting.”

(We sophisticates, of course, know that they were wrestling!)

The buck naked statue which you see incompletely here is currently back in Belgium with its creator…

Categories: animal oddities, animals, furry, furry art, strange happenings
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Comments: 2 Comments

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