Boat Meets Whale…

Posted July 27, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal occurrences, animals, strange happenings, unexplained
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– – A couple sailing off the coast of Cape Town, South Africa had an unexpected surprise when a 40-ton whale crash landed on their yacht, smashing their mast and bringing down the rigging as well.

The whale was about the size of the boat, which escaped sinking largely because its hull was made of steel rather than fiberglass. The whale thrashed around a bit on the 33-foot vessel before slipping back into the sea, leaving some skin and blubber behind.

–Why did the whale do this?–Some feel that the whale simply did not perceive the boat, which had its engine turned off. Officials are investigating reports, however, that the couple may have come too close to the whale and harassed it, causing it to breach…

The law requires sailors to stay 1,000 feet away from whales, and with good reason. Whales are very territorial, and will charge if they feel endangered…

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Postmortem Jellyfish Attack!

Posted July 25, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal occurrences, animals, Invertebrates, weird
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– – There aren’t many organisms that can continue to inflict harm upon you after death; jellyfish are one of them that can!

A dead jellyfish struck back from beyond at a New Hampshire beach earlier this week, stinging about 150 swimmers from beyond this mortal veil.  The offender was a 50-pound lion’s mane jellyfish “about the size of a turkey platter,” according to one official.  The jellyfish was killed by a lifeguard, but the gelatinous remains then were washed ashore, stinging swimmers as they went.

Nine children were taken to the hospital over concerns that they would have a bad allergic reaction, but no one was seriously injured.  Jellyfish attacks are on the increase due to climate change, decreased competition for food due to overfishing, and nutrient-rich waters caused by pollution such as runoff from farms…




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Scary Wabbits?

Posted July 23, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, anomalies, furry, strange happenings
Tags: , ,

– – Rabbits generally aren’t perceived as scary, with the possible exception of the wonderful specimen shown here from the movie, Donnie Darko.   Now granted that my killer dust bunnies are at least annoying and Bugs Bunny is a master of psychological warfare, but usually most people don’t find rabbits fear-arousing…

Now every rule has its exceptions (including this one), and a 60-year-old geography teacher in Germany had a paralyzing fear of rabbits! It then became possible for a 16-year-old student to get her teacher’s goat (so to speak) by drawing pictures of rabbits on the blackboard and spreading stories about her teacher’s rabbit phobia; kids are remarkably resourceful for seeking out and detecting such Achilles heels!   In 2008 the teacher took a different student to court and reached a settlement that prevented the student from ever speaking about the teacher’s fear of rabbits to anyone else.

This time, however, the presiding judge dismissed the case without explaining the verdict.  The lagomorph loather has a month to appeal the decision…

…and maybe Elmer Fudd had some kind of fear and loathing thing going on with Bugs…and wouldn’t Rabbits of Doom be great antiheroes?!

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Furry Face Paint

Posted July 21, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal rights, animals, furry, furry causes
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– – An animal rights protester with his face painted as a tiger protested the exhibition of animals in zoos during a demonstration in Mexico City this past Saturday…a reminder that make-up can provide a simple and cost-effective alternative to the fursuit while providing considerably more freedom to the wearer…

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Enter the Hornet…

Posted July 19, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: comics, cool things, movies, Off-topic, television
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– –Another challenge for the Green Hornet:  Making it on the big screen!   Some old-time comic and radio serial heroes don’t translate especially well to movies; The Shadow and The Phantom come to mind.   Coming in January of 2011 will be The Green Hornet, an adaptation of the once-popular radio serial, comic book, and 1960’s television series.

Seth Rogen will play Britt Reid, the millionaire publisher and popular media figure who by night assumes the identity of crime fighter The Green Hornet.  The role of sidekick Kato made memorable in the otherwise forgettable tv series by the late great Bruce Lee will be played by Asian pop star/actor/director Jay Chou; look to the character of Kato to be further developed as the creator of The Black Beauty, the Hornet’s “rolling arsenal” of retro weaponry.

Bruce Lee played Kato in 26 episodes of the tv series aired in 1966-67, with The Green Hornet being known as The Kato Show in Hong Kong.  As the Green Hornet would have said to Lee’s show-stopping sidekick, “Let’s roll, Kato!”- – If only Bruce Lee was here! … <sighs>

Comments: 8 Comments

Seeing Double…

Posted July 17, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal oddities, animals, anomalies
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– – Two-headed calves have been staples at sideshow exhibitions for ages, some legitimate specimens and others shameless patch jobs.  Most of the genuine items, however, were preserved animals that didn’t live long.  Two-headed animals who live can become a valuable commodity.

A two-headed calf born this month in Egypt is the real deal, having two heads each with its own set of eyes and a mouth; it is expected to live.  Similar specimens may command thousands of dollars, depending on the bidding war over them.

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Chupacabra, Once More…

Posted July 15, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, anomalies, cryptozoology, furry, unexplained, unidentified, weird
Tags: ,

– – Once again a supposed chupacabra has reared his ugly head, again in Texas.  In Hood County, an animal control officer shot and killed in an old barn an unsightly creature described as having deer-like ears, big teeth, and pinkish skin that was unlike anything he had seen before. A few days later and within ten miles, a rancher also shot and killed another of the bizarre creatures, leading some to speculate that there were a pack of them.

Hood County Animal Control has sent one of the deceased creatures to Texas A&M for DNA testing, but don’t bet the rent on it being a chupacabra.   Until test results are in, doctors have only said that it’s some kind of coyote hybrid…very possibly with mange, I might add…

Comments: 4 Comments

Getting Bugged Lately?

Posted July 14, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, insects, Invertebrates, science
Tags: , ,

– – Some people would say that you’re probably not eating enough bugs.  Now a word to the wise is sufficient, and if you’re eating a nice snack or are phobic towards insects, you may want to opt out of this post for now, but please come back for another!   That being said, let’s continue with entomophagy…eating insects as food!   You have been duly warned…

Now the idea of eating insects doesn’t fly well in the U.S.A. (- -heh heh!), but insects are commonly consumed in Asia, Latin America, and Africa.  Insects are not usually eaten in the European nations, the U.S., and Canada, where a psychological barrier exists to their consumption.  Insects are excellent sources of protein, but shouldn’t be eaten raw as some contain viruses, bacteria, or toxins used for defensive purposes.  For that matter, one shouldn’t eat chicken raw!

Western society tends to be removed from its food sources, and is reliant on “center of the animal” foods.  Insects additionally are not raised commercially in most western countries except as pet food or fish bait, and suffer the stigma of being considered “vermin.”

And I, too, will pass on the insect plate, at least while there’s pizza to be had!

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Stuffed Celebrity Animals

Posted July 12, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, furry, furry heroes
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– – In times long past, kids actually had cowboys as heroes!  They had no superpowers,  but could shoot a gun out of a bad guy’s hand, or win in a fistfight without getting their hats knocked off.  People when they got shot didn’t even bleed or lose body parts!

“How lame!,” declares one present-day kid.

“Totally gay!,” agrees another.

–No, it’s true!  I swear! – -There were cowboy heroes like the Lone Ranger, Sky King. and Roy Rogers!   Said cowboy heroes had their animal sidekicks, especially their horses and occasionally a dog.- -Well, when Roy Rogers’ famous horse Trigger died, he had the deceased equine preserved, as in stuffed.  Once featured at the Roy Rogers and Dale Evans Museum in Branson, Mo., Trigger is now going on the auction block at Christie’s in Manhattan, and is expected to fetch between $100,000 and $200,000!  Also being sold are the preserved remains of Roy Rogers’ dog, Bullet.

– –Happy Trails to You, famous old furries!

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Paul the Psychic Octopus…

Posted July 10, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal oddities, animals, Invertebrates
Tags: ,

– – We’ve talked before here on Foxsylvania about how the octopus is a smarter creature than many realize, being capable of such behaviors as learning how to open jars.–Well, some would dare say that an octopus called Paul is kind of a cephalopod Nostradamus, performing such feats as predicting the winner of the World’s Cup!

Paul the octopus resides in the Sea Life Aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany.  His predictions are made by observing which of two clear boxes marked with a national flag he decides to eat a mussel from, and he has correctly forecast the outcome of every match in which his native German home team has played as of July 8th.

With a very respectable hit rate to date in past predictions, only a sucker would bet against this octopus! – – And wouldn’t psychic cephalopod be a great name for a band?!



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