Archive for the ‘furry’ category

Hunting Season

December 6, 2007

crosshairs.jpg  –I live in Pennsylvania in a hunting culture area.  I’m not much for hunting; never have been, never will be.  I’m furry, but I accept that hunting exists, has for a long time, and will probably continue to do so.  I just don’t want my nose rubbed in it.  Think of something you find repugnant, and imagine that plastered in your family newspaper.

Consider the following front page quote from my local newspaper that appeared recently to coincide with the opening of buck hunting season:  “Great care should be taken to remove entrails without rupturing them, and hunters should drain excess blood remaining in the cavity.  Do not wash out the deer in a creek.  Wipe down the cavity with a dry cloth.”  – –Anyone hungry for a nice snack?

Can you see why I don’t want to read something like this on page one?  I also don’t want to turn the pages and see pictures of hunters, some as young as twelve, grinning and holding up the lifeless heads of deer that they’ve shot. 

About 10% of the population hunts; it’s legal.  Just please don’t rub the noses of the 90% of us who don’t hunt in this blood sport.

I Just Wanna Be Your Teddy Bear…

December 5, 2007

teddy.jpg  –Jeez!–A British teacher in Sudan spent 15 days in the slammer and could have gotten 6 months and 40 lashes for allowing her students to name their class teddy bear, “Mohammad.”  Some extremists even called for her execution!  She was charged with insulting the Prophet; a charge of inciting religious hatred would have brought the more severe punishment.

The 54-year-old teacher is now safely home, thank heavens!   Strange that a lovable stuffed animal could have inspired such a reaction…

Half a Brain

November 26, 2007

half-brain.jpg   To say that someone has half a brain is usually an uncomplimentary slam.  But the brain is a mysterious, compensating, and remarkable organ.  Consider the case of a young adult woman from Wuhan City in China, who was literally born with half a brain.  Completely unaware of this anomaly, she functioned well and was only recently diagnosed with this rare condition when doctors ran an MRI while examining the woman for complaints of weakness.  A congenital condition, the woman’s half a brain had assumed the functions normally shared among two hemispheres.

A handful of others have also existed successfully with half a brain when a portion is removed due to disease or traumatic injury.  The brains of children are especially adept at adjusting to trauma that might be devastating in mature adults.

Ancient Creepy-Crawlies

November 22, 2007

sea-scorpion.jpg   In a quarry in Germany, scientists have found the fossilized claw of a sea scorpion that lived 390 million years ago.  The claw was 18 inches long, meaning that this ancient arthropod…a type of insect…was bigger than a man,  over eight feet long! 

Many insects of this time were gigantic, possibly because of the higher oxygen content in the air, or to compete with the ancient fishes.– How many cans of Raid would it take to kill this puppy?– It might swat you!

Humans are newcomers to this planet…we haven’t been here for long, and it is presumptuous to think that we’ll necessarily be here forever, unless we take better care of the store…we alone among species have the power to ruin things.

Whazzit?

November 20, 2007

sea-slug.jpg  –What’s a nudibranch?  Some kind of nudist colony, or a flasher who’s semi-veiled with branches?–Nope, it’s a sea slug, a primitive but colorful and successful creature!

Drunken Elephants

November 15, 2007

elephant.jpg   Drunken elephants in northern India are getting a buzz on rice beer made by farmers, and going on rampages!  Three people were killed lately, including a 4-year-old boy.  Supposedly Paris Hilton is raising awareness of the problem, which is real…these are not the legendary pink elephants supposedly seen after one too many!

Oldest Living Animal

November 13, 2007

clam.jpg   Know what the oldest living creature is?–Nope, not your Great Aunt Agatha. — It’s a Quahog clam found off Iceland that’s estimated to be 405 years old!  This breaks the record of a 374-year-old clam!

By comparison, the oldest human ever to live reached age 122.  This was a Frenchwoman who died in 1997. –A mere kid by comparison!  Clams, however, can’t hold a witty conversation. 

Oh Deer…

November 11, 2007

deer.jpg   Two zoo polar bears got a surprise chance to stalk wild prey Friday morning when a deer got into their exhibit.  The deer entered the zoo by clearing an 8-foot perimeter fence, and after walking around, wandered onto an exhibit roof.  The buck dove 20 feet from the roof of the “Water’s Edge” exhibit at a Pittsburgh zoo.  The deer landed in the water and when he got out, the bears followed, their response mostly inquisitive.  Polar bears would not normally eat a deer.   A few seconds later, the deer splashed back into the pool, swam around, and again left the pool with the bears in pursuit.

The deer jumped back into the pool a third time and again the bears followed.  The buck actually turned and attacked the bears at one point!  The zoo CEO and president said, “The deer was attacking well.  I was quite impressed.”  The deer was butting heads and pushing the bears back

Zookeepers broke up the fight, but unfortunately the valiant deer had to be euthanized because of injuries suffered in the fall…he acquitted himself well in spite of being badly injured.

Marketable Milk

November 6, 2007

milk.jpg  –We’re all mammals, right?  That means we have mammary glands, among other things.  Well, there’s a woman who’s selling 100 ounces of her own breast milk for about $200, since she has twice what her baby needs.  This really isn’t all that strange anymore, and women have been selling breast milk on line since 2005; it’s not illegal.  You can find several hundred sites for this.

What is …different is that not all of the human breast milk is bought for babies.  Some is bought by grown men who, well, are kinky.   We won’t go further into this, but you get the idea.–Nature’s perfect food?  Whatever, but that sold on line isn’t necessarily screened for diseases.

But you just gotta admire the packaging…

Sign Language Chimp Dies

November 2, 2007

washoe  Washoe, said to be the first chimpanzee to learn American Sign Language, has passed away in the state of Washington.   This remarkable chimp had a vocabulary of 250 words, and even taught other chimps sign language!   She was born in Africa about 1965.

We have much to learn about animal intelligence!

See http://www.friendsofwashoe.org