Jakarta’s Monkeys

Posted December 24, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal abuse, animal rights, animals, deplorable practices, furry
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– – In Jakarta, Indonesia trained monkeys perform skits on the street of the capital city using props such as toy motor bikes, wooden rifles, and doll masks.  Unfortunately, the macaques are kept on chain leashes which are jerked to keep the trained simians on task; they are conscripted and trained beginning as young as one month of age.  The performances are believed to have originated in the port cities of northern Java in the late 1800’s when entertainers from Europe introduced monkey and dog shows. Forced to perform unnatural acts in a stressful, abnormal environment, the forced performances may easily be seen as a form of animal exploitation or abuse.

Such monkey business is diminishing, however, owing at least in part to the depressed economy…

Comments: 1 Comment

Hitting a High Mark

Posted December 22, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: blog business, Off-topic

– -Woo-hoo!–We’ve reached 175,000 hits on Foxsylvania, which is none too shabby!  Many thanks for your continuing readership!  And by the way, a very Merry Xmas, Happy Hannukah, Joyous Kwanzaa, Happy Festivus,  or  whatever to you all from Foxsylvania!

Comments: 5 Comments

Afraid of Nothing?

Posted December 20, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, psychology, research, science
Tags: ,

– – Excessive fear is certainly not a good thing, but it’s likewise undesirable to be afraid of nothing.  A woman with a rare genetic disorder, Urbach-Wiethe disease, falls into the latter category, and is literally afraid of nothing.  Her condition is associated with damage to her amygdala, an almond-shaped portion of the brain strongly associated with fear responses in past research on animals.

Researchers at the University of Iowa tried their best to scare a 44-year old female with the condition, exposing her to live snakes and spiders, taking her on a tour of a supposedly haunted house, and showing the subject emotionally-evocative films; they got nothing! The subject also had a life history full of dangerous situations, including being held up at both knifepoint and gunpoint, and almost killed by domestic violence.  Even in those situations, the subject did not experience fear.

Through study of this woman, researchers hope to be able to better understand how the amygdala is connected to human fear, leading to better treatments for post-traumatic stress disorder.

Comments: 2 Comments

The Big Bang Theory

Posted December 18, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: cool things, humor, science, television
Tags: , ,

– – Not the cosmological model…but rather what was once called the “dumb show about smart guys.”  Featuring brilliant but socially inept science nerds, the show has an undeniable chemistry among ensemble cast members and makes intellectualism admirable. You might catch a glimpse of someone you know among these characters, certainly not yourself  (snorts while laughing and adjusts his pocket protector)!

Theory is centered around the character of Sheldon as played to perfection by Jim Parsons, who looks as he is taunted on a recent show “like a preying mantis.”   “That’s very hurtful,” he responded.   Sheldon speaks with precise, impeccable, comically fussy grammar, possibly the best delivery on television.  Neurotically afflicted with OCD and hypochondriasis,  Sheldon is living in a world that he can never really be a part of; he is in the world, but not of it.  Truly there is, as Peanuts once observed, no greater burden than having a high potential.

This is one of the best, most intelligently written comedies ever on television!  Who ever would have thought that post-doctoral physicists could be featured in an engaging show on a major network?   Big Bang Theory works on a variety of levels…maybe there’s hope for us yet!


Comments: 2 Comments

Dog Attack Signals

Posted December 16, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal behavior, animal occurrences, animals, psychology, science
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– – Scientists believe that thousands of young children are being bitten by dogs because they can’t tell when the animals are giving aggressive warnings.  Surveys have shown that 43% of school children in England have been bitten, often at home by a familiar dog.   Some suffer serious injuries.

Tests by psychologists show that children as old as six believe that a dog baring its teeth is smiling, and may think that such a dog is happy and receptive to being given a hug and kiss!   Eye-tracking studies at Lincoln University show that children tend to look only only at a dog’s mouth, ignoring other signs of aggression that adults key into, such as pointed ears.

A computer game called The Blue Dog has been created by psychologists to help teach children when it is best to leave dogs alone…

 

Comments: 6 Comments

Forest Ghoul!

Posted December 14, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: anomalies, creature features, strange happenings, unexplained, unidentified, weird
Tags: ,

– – Not to be confused with Forrest Gump, it’s time to talk about our ghoul friends, like this one reportedly photographed by a deer hunter on a reserve in Berwick near Morgan City, Louisiana.  The hunter contends that he was lying in wait in the pitch black when this specter with glowing eyes filled his sights.  The mysterious thing jumped from the undergrowth and flashed a look at the camera before vanishing back into the bushes.  The hunter was so spooked he broke his camera, but conveniently retrieved the undamaged memory chip from which this image was supposedly produced.

While creepy, the eyes and limbs of this thing don’t look real to me, and if it isn’t photoshopped, it may be a suit of some sort…don’t bet the rent on the reality of this creature, but I’ll take Halloween over Xmas any day!

Comments: 2 Comments

Die Hard Steer!

Posted December 12, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal occurrences, animals, furry, furry heroes
Tags: , ,

– – Every now and then, I like to salute  valiant bovines who refuse to go quietly when sent to the slaughterhouses.  One such hero with hooves, Super Red by name, escaped from a farm in Stroud Township in northeastern Pennsylvania as he was about to go to slaughter.

The owner of the steer then contacted police, who caught up with Super Red and shot him with a rifle.  The round hit the animal in the head, but he survived and ran off! I’m pleased to say that Super Red remains on the loose!- –Run, Red, run!

If Super Red were here, I’m sure he’d tell us that it was only a flesh wound…and that it’s important to keep fighting and never give up…

The blood of the aurochs runs in this one…and in my fantasies, terrible indeed will be the revenge of Super Red!


Comments: 4 Comments

The Sampson’s Fox

Posted December 10, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal oddities, animals, cryptozoology, furry, rare animal
Tags:

– – Some people don’t believe in the existence of the Sampson’s Fox, which may be a gray or red fox with a coat mutation.  He is reported to have a short coat, big ears, and a long skinny tail almost as long as his body.  Sampson’s is a rare genetic disease or mutation affecting less than 1% of the fox population and inhibiting the growth of guard hairs, the beautiful fluffy coat that gives foxes such panache!

Sampson’s foxes have been reported in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Colorado, Alaska, and the Carolinas.  It’s also possible that reported sightings may be of animals with mange, or even of someone’s escaped exotic African or Asian pet; such creatures at times have likely been reported as “chupacabras.”

And please, don’t make fun of mutant foxes, or refer to us as “bastard” foxes.- -That’s going entirely too far, and we have feelings, too…jeez!

Comments: 4 Comments

Mail Order Tarantulas

Posted December 8, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal abuse, animal rights, deplorable practices, endangered species, strange happenings
Tags:

– – I, for one, prefer not to get tarantulas in my mail.  The bills are bad enough…

…but a German man stands accused of sending more than 500 live tarantulas through the mail, receiving more than $300,000 for the arachnids.

Special agents from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service waged a sting operation (so to speak), ordering and receiving dozens of live tarantulas in an investigation known as “Operation Spiderman.”  If convicted, the person involved faces up to 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000…

…and for your reference, the entire Brachypelma genus is protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species because it is being threatened by international trade, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

– -Well, there goes my gift idea for my relatives this Xmas!


Comments: 3 Comments

Fowl Gestures…

Posted December 6, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal abuse, animal oddities, animals, strange happenings
Tags:

– – Colonel Sanders probably wouldn’t do this; knit a sweater for a chicken, that is…

In certain environmental conditions or when they are heavily stressed, some animals can lose their fur or feathers, as the case may be.- -Well, some chickens in England were rescued from a poultry farm where conditions were so bad that the birds lost their feathers!  Volunteer knitters responded by creating over 100 sweaters for the afflicted chickens, which I suppose we may refer to as chicken cardigans or pullet pullovers.   Not to be found in any catalogs, each of the tiny sweaters when knitted by hand took two and a half to three hours to complete.

The rescued chickens while freed from incarceration will wear the sweaters to help them acclimate to conditions on the outside, and hopefully they will only see the Colonel in their worst nightmares…just like I see the Burger King in mine.

Comments: 4 Comments

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