Damsel in Distress

This damselfly was already having a bad day when it came to a spider-iffic end. And there's no Prince Charmingfly that'll come along and rescue it.

Steve, who took this photo, discovered that the poor damselfly was already infested with mite larval sacs, which are the pomegranate seed-like knobs at the base of its wing. I wonder what the spider will think of the sacs when he comes across them. Maybe a bit of dessert? Maybe a little bit of mite infestation for him?

New Batch of Ugly Dogs

The Sonoma-Marin Fair World's Ugliest Dog contest was held this weekend, and a new batch of ugly hounds was introduced. Allow me to present Miss Ellie, a fifteen-year-old blind Chinese Crested who one best in pedigree class.

Below is Pabst, who Boxer mix who took best in show. Being only four-years-old, we're bound to see more of Pabst.

Next year I should really try to insert myself as a guest blogger or wannabe correspondent.

Medicinal & Disciplinary Leeches

Steve was hiking the Beaver Trail just outside Ottawa, Canada, when he saw this leech swimming across open water. So he leaned out over the wooden bridge he had been crossing and snapped this shot.

There are over 600 identified species of leeches in the world, but only 15 are used in medicine. They've been used for such purposes since ancient times, and are still used very effectively to treat abscesses, painful joints, glaucoma, myasthenia, and to heal venous diseases and thrombosis, to name a few.

I intend to use them to discipline my children. Letting a few of these loose in the bath water might teach the kidlets to clear their plates after supper.

Thanks for the photo, Steve.

Aquatic Azrael

In seeing this matamata turtle's nose, I was reminded of one of my favorite cartoons as a boy: the Snorks. It was an underwater knock-off of the Smurfs. I don't recall if there was an Azrael and Gargamel villain team in the Snorks, but the matamata would have been a good aquatic Azrael. That is, if matamatas were saltwater ambush predators, and not freshwater. But then, we are dealing with aquatic smurfs, so we can suspend reality to a certain degree, can't we?

Photo by Joachim Muller

B & D

What do you think? First morning's yawn? Tooth ache? Good joke? Bridle soreness? Attack preparation?

Photo by janaboxer


















We all know about the two great divisions in camels: the dromedaries (one hump Arabian camels - think of "D" on its back as a reminder) and the bactrians (two hump Asian camels, again, think of "B" on its back). Camels have been crossbred with other camelids (llamas, alpacas, etc.) to varying success. As it turns out, when you cross a bactrian with a dromedary you end up with a camel with a single large hump, and one that is larger than either of its parents.

It can also fly, predict the future by reading patterns found in its spit, and shoot lightning from turrets in its hump. It's an uber-camel.

Highland Tongue

Given this cow's red bangs, I assume that it can be none other than a kyloe, Scottish highland cattle. They're nice and shaggy so they can withstand the winds and rain that beset the highlands. That shaggy coat also results in leaner meat than most other beef cattle, who rely on subcutaneous fat for warmth. Mmm, subcutaneous fat. Time for another visit to Outback Steakhouse.

When I first saw this photo I was suitably disgusted by it having jammed its tongue up its nose. But then, in an attempt to be honest to myself, I realized that if I could jam my tongue up my nose, I would. I would do it a lot too. Much to the dismay of my wife, but to the delight of my children.

Photo by Christine

Of Gorillas, Fishbowls, and Moms

This is Bokito, a gorilla housed in the Rotterdam Zoo, who achieved international fame on May 18, 2007, for escaping his enclosure, attacking a woman, and then going on a smashing spree in a nearby restaurant. He was sedated with a tranquilizer gun and placed back in his enclosure, which is (has been?) to be upgraded to include one-way mirrors for visitor viewing, as opposed to the open windows that had him living in a fishbowl environment.

Photo by Edgar Thissen
























The woman he attacked had been visiting him on average four times a week, and claimed a special bond with him. She is seen in the video below. As any primatologist will tell you, don't make eye contact with primates: it will see such behavior as a challenge and will make them angry (as seen in the video). It's no wonder that Bokito sought out this woman and savaged her, including a many-times-over fractured arm and over 100 bite marks.

Despite having been warned by zoo staff to stop antagonizing Bokito, she's now suing the zoo (or was, as of 2007). Though zoo visitors should be kept safe from the animals at all times, and clearly the enclosure wasn't sufficient to contain Bokito (who had escaped back in 2004 as well), it's impossible not to see a bit of poetic justice going on here.

My cousin once taunted a silverback at a zoo. I was still in a stroller at the time. My mom was trying to get him to stop, but my cousin was persistent. The gorilla responded by hurling feces at us. I was saved from being pelted with gorilla poo that day by my mom's quick reaction: she yanked my stroller back just as the poo splattered in the very spot where I had been innocently parked. Thanks, mom.


The Great Escape Of Gorilla Bokito - The funniest bloopers are right here

Under the Sea

One more reason not to live at depth in the sea: the spiders are bigger.

Photo by Ant Hidler