Fenrir Rocks!

Posted January 24, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, furry, furry heroes, furry spirits
Tags: ,

– – I, for one, am glad that furries will be well-represented at the end of the world…

…In Norse mythology, the eldest son of Loki is described as a gigantic wolf, Fenrir, who was raised in the home of the gods, Asgard. Being a monster, the gods identified him with the prophecy that a wolf and his family would someday destroy the world.  Getting a bum rap, Fenrir was then chased,  caught, and locked into a cage while still a pup to avoid the catastrophe!- –Cruelty to animals! When he grew into adulthood, the Norse gods chained him, but Fenrir broke the chains!- -Good show and all that!   Dwarves then made a magical chain out of six elements, with the chain thin but strong enough not to be broken.  For good measure, poor Fenrir was put a mile down into the earth and chained to a rock!  This bites…and Fenrir did, taking off the hand of Tyr, the god of war…

…But on the day of Ragnarok (Doom of the Gods), Fenrir will escape, devour Odin, and join the other giants in a great battle before the end of the world!- – Wouldn’t ‘ya love a ticket to see that?!- -Can’t keep a good wolf down!

…payback time, you see, is hell!- –You go, Fenrir!!!- -Bite the power!

Comments: 2 Comments

The Hillbilly Beast!

Posted January 22, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, anomalies, cryptozoology, furry, mysteries, strange happenings, television, unexplained
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– – Not to be confused with Squidbillies or The Beverly Hillbillies, the Hillbilly Beast hangs out in rural Kentucky, with stories circulated about him for decades or longer.  In  fact, good ole Daniel Boone is reported to have killed a ten foot tall hairy beast that he called a “Yahoo,” not to be confused with the popular website portal and search engine!   In a worthy episode, MonsterQuest went in search of this cryptid.

Also known as “the hairy beast of the forest,” the Hillbilly Beast is reputed to stand eight to ten feet tall, and is a powerful, flesh-eating beastly creature who is covered with matted brown hair and makes strange howling cries at night. Recent eyewitness reports have matched legends, and many encounters with the beast have taken place near water.

Led by a professional animal tracker, the MonsterQuest team went to Henderson, Kentucky where they attempted to capture the beast’s vocalizations using “call-blasting,” projecting pre-recorded sounds out.  A high frequency response was provoked which set off coyote vocalizations.   Analysis of the recording yielded 15 or 16 known vocalizations but 20 to 30 unknown ones!   An unusual tooth was also discovered which could not be directly analyzed as its owner kept it as a “sacred object.”  An analysis of a picture of the tooth noted unusual flutings to it, but little more could be determined in the absence of the actual artifact.

A blurry September of 2009 camera trap image thought to possibly be the hillbilly beast was upon analysis determined to be a bird landing!

Most interestingly, a rock was chucked at team audio expert Joe Fox from across a river during the investigation!

While the Hillbilly Beast is felt by some to be a misidentified black bear, it may also be argued that the sheer number of hunters and locals reporting sightings make it unlikely that such is the case.  The MonsterQuest conclusion was that the study “calls for more investigations like this.”–What could be safer?

Comments: 3 Comments

Another Texas “Chupacabra?”

Posted January 21, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal oddities, animals, cryptozoology, furry, mysteries
Tags: ,

– – In Runaway Bay, Texas a man found what he believed to be a chupacabra lying near hole 14 of a golf course!  It’s a brown, hairless animal with inch-long toes, curved claws, long hind legs, and oversized canine teeth.

It’s neither a dog, nor a coyote…the smart money says that it’s a hairless raccoon, based on the feet, skull structure, and ears…

Comments: 2 Comments

Landmark

Posted January 21, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: Off-topic
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– -Thank you, esteemed readers, for enabling Foxsylvania to reach 80,000 hits!- – Your readership is appreciated!

Comments: 2 Comments

Animal Testing Alternatives

Posted January 20, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animal rights, animals, science
Tags: ,

– – Controversial animal testing for cosmetics manufacturers could soon be replaced by a new technology which uses laboratory-grown human skin cells to simulate the body’s allergic  response to foreign chemicals.

The standard method for testing allergic reactions involves applying chemicals to the ears of mice or guinea pigs, which are later killed and dissected for study.- – Kinda a “no-win” situation for rodents…

The new method would use a glass chip with human skin cells and chemicals which simulate the body’s immune system.  When a foreign substance is dropped onto the chip, the cells and chemicals interact to mimic the human’s body’s natural allergic response.  A working prototype by Hurel Corp. funded by L’Oreal is in the works, and could be in use by next year…

Comments: 1 Comment

The Wolfman Cometh!

Posted January 18, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, anthropomorphic, cool things, furry, furry heroes, movies
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– – Is it here yet?- -Is it here yet?- –You gotta excuse me if I sound like Eric Cartman or perhaps Bart Simpson, but I just can’t wait for the February 12, 2010 arrival of The Wolfman. – – Can you blame me?!

The cast of the 1941 original was awesome, with Lon Chaney Jr,  Claude Rains,  and Bela Lugosi on board, but this remake will have Anthony Hopkins, Benecio Del Toro (the Wolfman), Emily Blunt, Hugo Weaving, and Art Malik.  Universal is striving to re-image their classic horror masterpiece, and from all I have read, does a great job!  Ain’t no school like the old school…

So bring on the slavering man-beast, and let’s do something dastardly and perhaps scandalous to fair maidens as they run through the moors!- –Let’s go where the wolfbane blooms, and the autumn moon shines at night!- –Heck, I wanna live there!

http://www.thewolfmanmovie.com

Comments: 7 Comments

Dino and Baby Puss…

Posted January 17, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, television
Tags: ,

– – Forget that dinosaurs didn’t live happily alongside cavemen, and that there was no genus “Snorkosaurus;”   just relax and enjoy the presence of Dino (pronounced DEE-no) the dinosaur on The Flintstones. Acting more like a labrador retriever than a reptile, Dino barks, slobbers, romps, and cavorts, especially when Fred Flintstone arrived home from a long day at the slate quarry…

The cat on The Flintstones, BTW, was called Baby Puss, and was basically a saber-toothed tiger, who was more than smart enough to lock Fred out of the house when he attempted to put Baby out for the night.   Sadly, Baby Puss was largely seen during the closing credits…

Comments: 6 Comments

Monster Sharks on MonsterQuest

Posted January 15, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, television
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– – I, for one, was rather disappointed when MonsterQuest chose to kick off their new season with an episode on great white sharks, hoping instead for a thought-provoker on some cryptid, even if they had to re-visit one covered previously.   Now I know that great whites are awesome predators, but they’re not quite in the same category for me as say, Bigfoot or the Jersey Devil.  I don’t want MonsterQuest to become Wild Kingdom.

The points were well-taken, however, that sharks are not just mindless eating machines, but rather show evidence of premeditated attacks which they can adapt to circumstances.  Additionally, sharks have been known to engage in practice attacks in which they kill but don’t eat their prey.  Sharks are, in short, more sophisticated beasties than we give them credit for being, and there’s much about them that we don’t yet know.

The “shark cam” was successfully attached and interesting, although the device was overbuilt and didn’t remain on for as long as hoped due to the drag factor.  The device shows much promise with a re-design and a smaller housing.

As a horrifying sidebar, a Zimbabwean tourist was recently killed off a Cape Town South African Beach by a great white shark described as being “longer than a mini-bus.”   The shark attacked the victim three times, with others bathers only about 15 meters away.  Remains are not expected to be found.   A raised black flag (pictured) reminds bathers that beaches around Cape Town remain on full alert following the attack…

Comments: 3 Comments

Living Green!

Posted January 14, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: animals, cool things, Invertebrates, science
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– – Part plant and part animal, a sea slug found living in salt marshes in New England and Canada called Elysia chlorotica is the first multicellular animal found to be able to produce the plant pigment chlorophyll.   The critters can actually survive without food if a light is shined on them for twelve hours a day.- -Now that’s walkin’ on sunshine!

The slugs appear to acquire this ability by stealing genes from algae that they’ve eaten, stealing also minute cell parts called chloroplasts which enable conversion of sunlight into energy.

The slug has been studied for about twenty years, although scientists are not yet sure how the animals appropriate the genes that they need.  This is yet another example of how invertebrates can do some pretty amazing things…well, let’s see you live without food!    😉


Comments: 2 Comments

Getting Enough Worms?

Posted January 12, 2010 by vulpesffb
Categories: historical perspectives, medical, science
Tags: ,

– – In the earlier 20th century and prior to that time when dirt roads, horses, and cattle were more prevalent in life than they are now, every child and adult had worms in their gastrointestinal tract!  These worms were part of the ecosystem of the gut, and aided in controlling human immune reactions in order that they might live successfully in people. In the last 100 years or so, a more hygienic environment was created for people which led to immune disregulation, and so, one theory would have it, to an increase in certain immunological diseases.  A more sedentary lifestyle and a lack of physical activity also renders people more prone to certain illnesses and ailments to a degree not seen in the past.

Such immunological and metabolic diseases and conditions may include multiple sclerosis, type I diabetes, asthma, obesity, and even hay fever (now suffered by 1 in 4 people in the United States).  Improvements in hygiene have reduced infections, but along with that have reduced exposure of the immune system to antigens, such as compounds from viruses and bacteria.  Bodily regulation mechanisms then tend to become less effective, and certain illnesses and conditions are suffered to degrees not seen in the past.

(…but I’ll still pass on the worms, thank you!)

Comments: 3 Comments

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