May 2009

LizardWhile claiming to have a headache is the stereotypical method for the human female to avoid having intercourse with her partner, the Lake Eyre dragon lizard has her own (and possibly more effective) methods of getting out of her "wifely duties". From here:

"When Lake Eyre lizards copulate, the male bites the female's neck, climbs on top of her, wraps his tail around hers and inserts one of his two penises."

Sounds kind of like human copulation so far. Well, with the exception of the two penis thing. That would definitely change things....but for the female lizard, the bites on the neck are less like the hickeys you may remember from your teenage years and more like a predatory animal attacking you.


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White Tiger attack

In New Zealand a white tiger attacked and killed a zoo keeper at the Zion Wildlife Gardens near Auckland. Apparently two zoo keepers were in the cage cleaning when the large cat attacked one of the keepers. The other keeper and more staff tried to pull the cat off but it was to no avail as the keeper later died from injuries. A group of tourists was watching the cat when it attacked. In keeping with some sort of barbaric us vs. the animals theme, the zoo killed the wild predator that it had caged for the bulk of its life. Seems cruel to keep one of Earths most raw killing machines in a cage, sending men in, then killing it when it does what comes natural. I suppose it couldn't survive on its own in the wild, plus with like 300 left, who cares about one more dead tiger, right? To top it off, local agencies had already shined the media light on the zoo for cramped and unsanitary conditions. Good job Zion Wildlife Gardens.

California K-9 Officer dies in backseat of warm SUV.

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Bull who apparently lost the fight.Bullfighting is a traditional sport that is beloved by many people across the world from France to Argentina. Man versus bull contests exist across the globe and throughout history in various forms, few are as gory as the Spanish-style corrida. The public spectacle is essentially a ritualistic killing of the bulls. The actual fight is broken down into three charming sections. First, the bullfighter comes out with the well known cape and dances a bit with the bull to test its ferocity and strength, then the fighter goes away and the Picador enters the ring on horseback to draw first blood from the bull with his lance. Once the bull is bleeding and enraged, the torero again enters the ring. This time he uses the colorful spears called 'banderillas' to further wound the bull by sticking five or six of these sharpened, barbed spears into the bull's neck, causing further bleeding. The final round, called the Third of Death (as the third and final stage) begins when the torero again enters the ring, this time armed with a sword.

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Shark FinningIf humans were sharks, I wonder which part of us would be sliced off and used for soup-our ears, or an arm, maybe? It doesn't really matter; after it would be chopped off our skin, we'd just be thrown back into the water to survive without it.

That's exactly what fisherman do to sharks in the process of "finning." Finning involves slicing off a shark's fin--to use in a soup, of all things, because we all know that soup is important enough to condone amputating living creatures and using their appendages a nice, hot meal alongside a grilled cheese--and then tossing the finless shark back into the sea.

These fins are then used as an Asian delicacy, "shark fin soup," which sounds about as appetizing as monkey butt on a stick. The fin doesn't even have flavor on its own-it actually floats along in a bowl of chicken broth to make the soup look fancy. Chicken and shark-sounds like a Colonel Sanders special from hell.

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Does your cat chat with you? Do you frequently hear your furry feline chattering up a storm in your direction? Have you ever wondered just what in the heck they were really trying to tell you in the end? Well guess no more dear friends!

Top Four Things Your Cat is Trying to Tell You
Do you know what your cat is really trying to tell you? If you have struggled before in the past to understand that cat chat, perhaps these four things will help you realize how to better communicate with your kitty!
1. Body rubs and mid toned meows mean: pet me, cuddle me, I love you.
2. Short meows, almost like quips or squeaks mean: I jumped and almost missed the counter, boy that was scary, or I had to get up and didn’t want to; I am annoyed.
3. Long, wailing meows mean: I am scared, hungry, tired, agitated, about to get in a fight, I really need you now!
4. Short meows with a high tone mean: hey, over here, I am looking at you…hey over here, pay attention to what I say, even if my cat chat is boring!

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Two sea otters in a tank at the Vancouver Aquarium, sleeping on their backs and holding hands. Too cute for words.

Mumba the Mummy - and babySeems like there is good news for endangered gorilla populations, at least those bred in captivity.

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