— Hope you weren’t eating; I’ve got some “thing” to show you! This “thing” was washed up off a remote island by Alaska in early August 2008. The island was very remote and the sea too rough for the “thing” to be inspected up close, and so it was photographed from a boat. The question arises, what is this thing? Possible answers include an aborted Beluga whale fetus, a decomposed elephant seal, or a ray. We may never know now what this “thing” is (or was), since it is likely to have been carried away since its discovery. Post-mortem identification of species remains can be challenging due to rapid decomposition and predation, if you’re lucky enough to get ahold of anything at all…
Archive for the ‘animals’ category
The Alaskan “Thing”
September 2, 2008The Lawndale Thunderbird
September 1, 2008
–No, we’re not talking about Big Bird, that mellow yellow fellow with the endocrine problem universally endeared to children on Sesame Street. This is about cryptic birds big enough to carry away small children, as reportedly happened in Lawndale, Illinois in 1977. At that time, a 4′ tall boy weighing 56 lbs. was reportedly carried 35 feet by an enormous black bird with a white ring around its neck. The bird was said to have had a 4-1/2 foot body, and each wing of the bird exclusive of the body measured 4 feet. The boy pounded at the bird and was eventually dropped after having been carried that 35′ distance; he was physically unharmed, but suffered psychological problems afterwards. The bird came to be referred to as the Lawndale Thinderbird, after the enormous birds of Native American legend…
The Mooseinator…
August 29, 2008
Republican Consultant:–Ladies and Gentlemen, for Republican Vice-Presidential nominee, we give you Sarah Palin!–Governor of Alaska, she’s hunted moose and gutted them with her own two hands!
Rocky the Flying Squirrel:—Now there’s an image I didn’t want in my head!
Bullwinkle J. Moose:–Well, that’s not gonna get my vote!
Republican Consultant:–And she’s in favor of off-shore oil drilling!
Caribou:–D’oh!–Well, there goes the neighborhood!
Rocket J. Squirrel:–Let’s get outta here, Bullwinkle! — She’s no environmentalist!
Bullwinkle J. Moose:–I’m with ‘ya, Rock…Boris and Natasha couldn’t do me in, and this lady won’t either…anthro mooses are people, too!
Jesus Moth!
August 28, 2008
–On August 25th, a guy from Texas found a moth bearing, yes, an image of Jesus, with this find seen on a recreational vehicle!–You remember, of course, the image of the Virgin Mary seen in a cheese sandwich?–The guy at least sees the moth as something God created rather than as a re-creation of Jesus, which would pose profound theological questions eclipsing even the Mothman…
…this might lead to The Gospel According to Lepidoptera, and lend bug hunts the significance of a spiritual pilgrimage…and maybe Mothra is truly worthy of veneration, having the death and resurrection thing going… 😉
The Moon…Our Mistress!
August 27, 2008
–There’s something about canids and howling at the moon that is so satisfying, so primal, and so cleansing…the moon is eternal, it is pristine, it is pure and cold…it compels us to pay it tribute by howling.–Just give it a try!–Pick a time and a place when the moon is full, and you can be alone with it. Focus on the moon, and let the feeling, the need to howl build slowly in your chest…tilt your head back as the feeling builds and rises in you, open your mouth fully, and howl at the glowing, mysterious white orb high in the heavens!–Don’t worry that your howl isn’t good enough for anyone else to hear! You will get better at it, and the act itself will seem more natural, more necessary. Afterwards, you may feel strangely cleansed and peaceful, at one with nature and yourself.– So howl at the moon, feel feral and free…and become part of a tradition as old as canine life itself!
Fraudulent Cryptids
August 26, 2008
–Hoaxes regarding hidden or cryptic animals did not start with Bigfoot. Master showman P.T. Barnum in the 19th century as well as Robert Ripley in the 20th were well known for exhibiting sewn-together specimens such as the Fiji Mermaid (depicted), the mummified upper body of a monkey sewn onto the bottom half of a fish! To some of the more naive and gullible people of earlier generations, such creations of a taxidermist were proof enough of a fantastic or mythological creature.
This isn’t exactly the kind of mermaid likely to arouse anyone’s romantic fantasy, however, unless you’re into very dead things and have a stronger stomach than I do…
Changes…
August 25, 2008
–Many thanks to my awesome readers for enabling this blog to exceed 10,000 hits! In order to encourage posting of comments, readers will no longer be required to leave a username and e-mail address in case you wish to remain anonymous. “Nasties,” however, will not be tolerated, and the posting of vulgar or defamatory comments will get you blocked. Additionally, you would be hunted down and slapped with a fish about the head and face. Severe, I realize, but we must police our ranks. If this doesn’t work out, I’ll revert back to requiring a name and e-mail address (unpublished) with posts.
I am also considering an occasional private posting in order that topics may occasionally leave the “PG” realm, and to better facilitate communication between my furry self and readers. –What do y’all think?
Furry Spirituality?
August 25, 2008
–Since this is Sunday, we bring you a little furry spirituality from a most ancient source. We are not going churchy on you, but a love offering will be taken after the message.–Ahem!
“Who sees his Lord
Within every creature,
Deathless dwelling
Amidst the mortal:
That man sees truly.”
— The Bhagavad Gita
This concludes our service. You are all cordially invited to the Furlowship Hall for mud wrasslin’ and some down-home country cookin’, served up furry family-style… 😉
Animal Personalities
August 23, 2008
–Those who do not share their lives with animals are frequently surprised by those of us who do so with more than one of a single species; why should anyone choose to have, for example, more than one cat? The answer is that no two animals are alike, and each has a distinctive and discernible personality; they are not interchangeable, cookie-cutter life forms. Animal behavior also reflects the individual’s unique personality. Multiple animals additionally interact with one another in ways that are frequently entertaining. I live with three very different cats and one dog, each of which has distinctive traits and attributes. Four is my personal limit, while for others it might be even more; this does not, however, justify acquisition of dozens of pets, at which point the person might be termed a “collector.”
I don’t really like to think of myself as a pet “owner,” but rather a caretaker or steward of them. One does not or should not “own” another living creature, but rather share life and space with our fellow life forms, benefitting from the mutual association.
Boneless Horror!
August 22, 2008
—Extremely large invertebrates seldom seem to get big press, but the giant squid and giant octopus are both out there, and the latter was recently featured on a MonsterQuest episode. Mythological and undocumented reports exist of such creatures, with giant squids and octopuses hopelessly intermingled and jointly referred to as kraken. Such giant creatures are in some legends regarded as forms taken by shape shifting vengeful sea gods.
In 1896 remains of an extremely large specimen were washed up off St. Augustine, Florida (see picture). It didn’t have much of a head left and only the stumps of tentacles, but the science of the day estimated that the arm span of the creature may have reached 100 feet. The largest octopus documented is the North Pacific giant octopus, with a 14 foot arm span. Off the Bahamas Islands, however, is reputed to exist an octopus variant called the lusca, with a 75 to 200 foot span.
The octopus is a rather intelligent invertebrate, and can figure out how to open jars to get food within them. Having a boneless body makes the octopus able to squeeze through remarkably small openings to hide or prey. The fact that the body of an invertebrate such as the squid or octopus decays rapidly and can stretch after death makes post-mortem estimates of their size extremely difficult.
FOXSYLVANIA 
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