Archive for the ‘furry’ category

Killer Chimps in America!

August 13, 2009

killer chimp— Killer Chimps in America was a recent MonsterQuest episode that did not pertain to Mojo Jojo, simian nemesis of (-ugh!) The Powerpuff  Girls. Rather, it concerned the possibility of wild chimpanzees loose in the swamps of Florida and possibly in California.   It was not the best MonsterQuest episode, dragging at times and appearing pieced together…but it was not the worst episode, either.

The intrepid MonsterQuest team searched for chimps in the Green Swamp in central Florida, a mere 40 miles away from Orlando, where great merchandising beasts are loose.  The team used camera traps including thermal units as well as gyroplane aircraft, one of which I must add to my Xmas list!  Anyhow, the camera traps detected bobcats, whitetail deer, wild turkey, owl, boar, and even a red wolf but (–surprise!)  no chimpanzees.

Now immature chimps have long been paraded on TV as cute and lovable creatures who can be dressed in clothes and otherwise embarrassed by training them to perform human-like behaviors.  The problem is that sexual maturity causes chimps to become stronger and more aggressive.  This is why the late Michael Jackson sent Bubbles the Chimp to a Florida simian sanctuary after palling around with him in the 1980’s.  As the Travis the Chimp mauling demonstrated so horrendously in recent months, a chimp possesses several times human strength, and can readily take a person apart with nothing other than their hands and teeth.   In the Travis attack, the lady targeted lost her nose, eyes, lips, and hands.  MonsterQuest profiled another man who together with his wife suffered a chimp attack, and his injuries were also horrendous.  Primates often target the face, by the way…and while chimps in nature often build up to a frenzied stage before an actual attack, domestically-raised chimps can attack instantaneously without telegraphing behaviorally their intentions.

…Now roadside carnivals and zoos in the 1920’s through 1940’s often exhibited chimps in Florida, with P.T. Barnum himself exhibiting chimps there as early as 1896.  Sadly, such road shows had been known to simply set the chimps free after they were done exhibiting them.  This would lend some credibility to the assertion that wild chimp populations were out there.  A cartographic comparison by MonsterQuest of the Green Swamp with Mali, Africa revealed that the areas had minimal differences despite variances in vegetation and elevation.

Despite many eyewitness sightings, physical proof of a wild chimp population in Florida remains elusive, however, and resources are not judged sufficient to maintain such a population.  It is also deemed unlikely that an escaped chimp could survive undetected in Central Florida; he would inevitably gravitate to Disney World, and probably attempt to butt in line at the attractions.

An underlying issue presented in the episode was that 13 states don’t regulate ownership of exotic animals that would include chimpanzees, and chimps are near the top of the list of animals that make bad pets for home ownership…


“Quiky” the Nesquik Bunny

August 12, 2009

Nesquik Rabbit— Having already considered the Trix Rabbit, it is only fair that we also consider the Nesquik Bunny, wondering perhaps which one might win in a Deadliest Warrior deathmatch…

…now Nesquik is a milk flavoring mix developed in the U.S. in 1948, and introduced there as Nestle Quik. The name was changed to the worldwide brand Nesquik in 1999.  In 1973, the Quik Bunny, an anthropomorphic rabbit, was introduced as the product mascot, originally sporting a large red “Q” on him which was changed to an “N” in 1998 when the brand name changed.  The nickname of said rabbit is Quiky, and he has endured as the product mascot for over 35 years.

I guess I somewhat prefer the Trix Rabbit as he is slightly pitiful and pathetic, seldom getting the cereal that he yearns for whereas the Quik Bunny always gets his chocolate milk fix.  Quiky seems to be somewhat more metaphysical, lately urging consumers to “come to your happy place.” –and just where might that be, hmmm?    😉

Woman Killed by Bear

August 11, 2009

Yogi bear— It’s not a good idea to feed the bears.  They might become extremely annoying, like Yogi Bear and Boo Boo…or they might kill you!

This just happened to a Denver woman in her 70’s suspected of feeding bears on her property for over a decade despite repeated warnings; the woman reportedly had up to fourteen bears on her land at the same time.  An autopsy revealed that she bled to death quickly from deep slashes to her head and neck. It’s an offense to feed bears in Colorado, with the first offense drawing a $100 fine, the second $500, and the third $1,000.

black bear — Bears are omnivorous and opportunistic feeders that primarily forage for berries, nuts, and insects.   They will, however, also consume human food, carrion, and small animals…feeding a bear alters their behavior, potentially with catastrophic results...

The Trix Rabbit Turns 50!

August 9, 2009

Trix rabbit— His 50th birthday has quietly come and gone, and I’ll bet that you didn’t buy him anything, either, what with famous people dropping like flies lately and hogging the spotlight…he’s the Trix Rabbit,  an anthropomorphic cartoon rabbit and the oldest commercial mascot to continue to exist on television!  Now Trix cereal by General Mills has been on the market since 1954, but the Trix Rabbit was created on August 4th, 1959 by Joe Harris. The original commercial featuring him was of course in black and white, back in the dark ages before luscious color!  Dinosaurs roamed the earth then…

The Trix Rabbit had a kind of existential dilemma, eternally craving Trix cereal which he could rarely procure, ’cause as we all know, Trix is for kids! The poor rabbit was typically forced to resort to rather transparent trickery to entice children to yield the cereal to him, and his efforts were usually for naught.  Now on a few rare occasions, the rabbit did manage to get a spoonful of the cereal, which I suppose gives us all reason for hope…

The Trix Rabbit has been referenced twice on Family Guy, and I’ve always found him strangely sensuous…Happy Birthday, Big Guy!!! And may all of us someday get our personal Trix cereal, or at least be brave in the effort…Silly Rabbit!–You are US!!! 😉

I Was A Second Grade Chicken!

August 5, 2009

chicken— It’s a little-known secret that I played a chicken (specifically, a rooster) in my second grade class play!

My elementary school had a tradition that once a year, each class would have to present a play to the rest of the school.  During my second grade year, my class presented some kind of cutesy barnyard drama in which most of us played animals; this left me…strangely excited, possibly the earliest stirrings of the furry that I would someday become!  Now I didn’t really want to play a chicken, and would have much preferred to play a horse or one of the cooler animals.   This wasn’t even a mutant chicken or a Big Buckin’ Chicken like in the Burger King commercials a while back.  I didn’t even  get to wear a fursuit; the costume was largely comprised of a woman’s nylon over my head to which were attached construction paper eyes, a beak, and a chicken’s comb.  Then as now elementary schools didn’t have big budgets…but hey, it was a gig, right?

…of course, years of therapy were required to deal with the issues raised by the nylon over my head, but at least I didn’t grow up to be a bank robber!  And in sixth grade, I got to play a ghost, a role indicated by chains I had to wear around my neck that trailed down each shoulder, a la Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol.   This may have led to my long-time interest in the paranormal.

Today, of course, school plays don’t dare include ghostly characters as some in the community would interpret that as promoting occultism or who knows what else…but what did we know back then?  <sighs>




Chain Saw vs. Mountain Lion!

July 27, 2009

images— In an incident reported July 17th, a Colorado man used an 18″ chainsaw to successfully fight off a mountain lion that attacked him during a camping trip with his wife and two toddlers in northwest Wyoming!  The adult male lion was described as being emaciated and showing other signs of starvation when he pounced on the man, an ex-Marine…Semper Fi, Dude!

The camper met the lion head-on with his chainsaw running, inflicting a six- to eight-inch gash on the lion’s shoulder and suffering only a small puncture  wound on his forearm.  Knowing when it was outmatched, the lion ceased the attack.

The mountain lion was later killed by wildlife officials after it attacked a dog brought in to track it.  Rabies tests were negative on the mountain lion, although other diseases have not been ruled out and starvation seems likely to have contributed to his unusual behavior…

(…chainsaws:  good  for cutting wood and predators down to size!   And remember…when chainsaws are outlawed, only outlaws will have chainsaws!  <fires up a big Stihl chainsaw…BRAPPP!>  Bring it on, baby, yeah!)



“In Search of the Real Cujo”

July 24, 2009

feral dogs— MonsterQuest seems to be straining a bit to come up with new material, and the new season opener was not a strong muchless a dazzling entry; we all know that there are feral dogs out there, some abandoned pets, others wild for generations.

The problem is a real and serious one, however, with significant wild dog populations reported in Detroit, Toledo, East St. Louis, and other cities in the midwest. Large packs of territorial predators prowl the streets, often disease-ridden and aggressive. This is not a breed-specific issue but rather one of human mismanagement; yep, ole homo sap botches things again!

In 2005, a map of canine DNA was established.  MonsterQuest drew blood from some feral dogs that they succeeded in caging, and found genetic traces of Pit Bull, German Shepherd, and Rotweiler lineage, as well as more remote traces of other breeds; mixing the genes of more aggressive breeds with feral dogs yields potentially undesirable behavioral traits.  MonsterQuest also used a camera on a collar or “collar-cam” to monitor the daily location and activities of wild dogs, finding that the packs tend to hang in wooded areas as well as abandoned homes; again, no great surprises.

As urban decay accelerates in the troubled economy and people flee the cities, the problems posed by feral dog packs are increasing.  An attack by a wild dog occurs nationally once every 40 seconds, some resulting in deaths…

Taco Bell Chihuahua Dies!

July 23, 2009

taco-bell-240— Jeez,  you  can hardly turn around these days without another beloved celebrity passing away…and so once again we mourn the passing of one of the truly great furry ones, Gidget, the former Taco Bell chihuahua, who died of a stroke Tuesday night at the age of 15.

Yes, Gidget was really a female playing a male dog who was voiced by Argentine-American actor Carlos Alazraqui!  The commercials featuring the chihuahua haven’t aired in nine years, essentially killed by a rash of political correctness.  In their peak in the late 1990’s, the canine actress traveled by limo and went first-class in planes.  Following her retirement, Gidget is said to have lived “like a queen.”

The hugely-popular commercials which immortalized the phrase, “Yo quiero Taco Bell” drew the ire of Hispanic watchdog groups which claimed that it promoted stereotypes, and demanded that the commercials be taken off the air.  I, for one, never saw the chihuahua as being anything but hip and cool, an articulate and bright furry spokescanine that could be appreciated on a variety of levels.

In one late commercial of the series lampooning a variety of fast-food spokesmen, I’ll always remember the chihuahua driving up in a tank, and saying, “Hey, look what I found!”  Rest in peace, Gidget…you were among the best!

Foxes in Detroit!

July 21, 2009

Detroit–My people are moving on in…to Detroit, that is.  That’s right, the Motor City!  ‘Ya see, Detroit had a population of 1.8 million hyoomans in 1950, and it’s down to 900,000 now.  With the big economic meltdown and GM goin’ belly-up, Detroit has an unemployment rate of 23%.  Bad for hyoomans, good for us foxies; we’re movin’ in, ‘ya see.  We figure we just might be able to do somethin’ wid da place…

…you can find my people now in untended lots, houses, and buildings.  Seek us in your weed-filled lots and in the shadows of long-abandoned factories.  The riverfront is good for us.  We kinda like it here, and plan on stayin’ indefinitely if the hunting is good and we can raise our young.

…of course, we just might re-tool your factories a bit to grind out lots and lots of Volkswagen Foxes, making improvements on the old design as we go.  The combination of German engineering and vulpine  stealth and cleverness just might make us ready to move into your other cities, too…the liberation just might be at hand, perhaps in 2012…Ahahahahaha!

The Jackson Stage Show We’ll Never See…

July 7, 2009

Jackson's Animals— In his planned comeback concerts in London that now we’ll never see, Michael Jackson reportedly planned a nature theme which heavily involved live creatures; for his entrance, there was talk of Michael riding an African elephant while panthers were led on gold chains and parrots and other birds flew behind him.  PETA and other animal rights groups understandably filed protests with officials, pointing out that “Animals don’t want to perform stupid tricks on a stage surrounded by screaming people, bright lights, and stage explosions.” Jackson subsequently announced that he would not be using any live animals in his concert series.

PETA filed a complaint in January 2006 claiming that animals were mistreated at Jackson’s Neverland ranch.  The U.S. Department of Agriculture inspected the animals at Jackson’s zoo, and found no evidence of abuse and neglect.

In addition to the well-known Bubbles the Chimp, Jackson had a fascination with animals, especially exotics.  He even liked spiders, and as his early song Ben might suggest, had a pet rat when young…