(E.B.W.) Critter Corner
Feature:
Crazy Facts About Turkeys
“When you think about it, the turkey is a crazy-looking bird...
Wild turkeys are native to & found only in North America... Benjamin Franklin thought that the turkey would better represent the United States than the eagle, which he called a ‘bird of bad moral character’.
Male turkeys are called ‘gobblers’, after the sound they use to attract females, called ‘hens’.
Turkeys have sharp spurs on their legs for fighting. Spur length is a good way to tell a turkey’s age...
A running wild turkey can reach a speed of 25 mph, & it can fly up to 55 mph...
When tracking a wild turkey, you can tell the bird’s sex by its poop. Male-produced droppings are spiral-shaped, while a female’s poop is J-shaped.
Although we associate ‘gobble’ with turkeys, only males make that sound most often during spring mating season. Otherwise, turkeys yelp, cluck, cackle, & purr when they’re content.
Baby turkeys hatch with feathers, able to run & feed themselves.”
Lisa Kaplan Gordon
November 10, 2015
care2.com
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(E.B.W.) Critter Corner
Feature:
Here’s The Scoop on Fanny’s Top 5 Pet Hotels
“Rochelle Lash is taking a...hiatus. In her absence, Fanny, a golden retriever & occasional travel companion, has filed this column on her favorite resorts with perks for pooches.
I’m a party girl: The Essex Resort & Spa, just north of Burlington, Vt., has a Bone Appetit year- round special...The Essex is a country-style getaway with a full-service spa, 2 restaurants, a fitness centre, the Cook Academy, indoor & outdoor swimming pools, & tennis...
Princess Fanny: A little futher south, Topnotch Resort in Stowe treats dogs like royalty.
This is a luxurious resort for the well-bred Westmount-Westminster crowd, where I can strut my Fur-Sache fashions & my Sniff-Any jeweled collar. topnotch concierge Carol Crawford writes welcome notes to doggie divas 7 can set up the ultimate treat: a paws-itively divine Rover Reiki massage in my luxurious guest room...
Going to the dogs: True equality flourishes at the season’s end when Fanny & friends rule the swimming pools at mutt-friendly resorts in Maine.
Canines are Very Important Pets at the 101- year- old Colony Hotel in Kennebunkport... The gorgeous Inn by the Sea on the Atlantic Ocean, south of Portland, takes canine coddling to the next level by fostering rescue dogs. Best of all, during the last 2 weeks of October, the beach-front pool is closed to people & open to pets.
Inn by the Sea is a 5-bone resort with suites & townhouses, a comprehensive spa & a cool dining scene. It loans L.L. Bean doggie blankets &- here’s a tasty twist- dogs can join their owners in the fireplace lounge for drinks, supper, & canine canapes of Meat Roaf.
Into the wild: Domaine Summum, a dog-centric rustic resort just south of Tremblant... Domaine Summum knows everything about dogs & their needs. Birgit Schultz & Shell Spillenaar breed Bernese mountain dogs & operate supremely pet-friendly lodging, plus a doggie Spaw with a new indoor play area & the Wouf B & B boarding kennels. Summum’s Dog Cafe serves chili & beer for
people & treats for their canine friends.
The Bed & Biscuits boarding package for canines features treats, evening tuck-in, music, & night lights to keep us relaxed...”
Fanny
The Gazette, Montreal
Sept. 26/2015
Fanny
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(E.B.W.) Critter Corner
Feature:
First ‘Glowing’ Sea Turtle Discovered in Solomon Islands
“Some corals are known to ‘glow’ underwater, as do some jellyfish, eels, & more than 180 other fish species.
And now...it was discovered that reptiles also have the ability to light up like a Christmas tree.
...a glowing hawksbill sea turtle — a critically endangered species – was discovered in the Solomon Islands by David Gruber, a marine biologist.
Gruber was on an expedition...His intention was to film bioflourescent corals & small sharks.
Biofluorescence, as National Geographic explains, is ‘the ability to reflect the blue light hitting a surface & re-emit it as a different color.'...
One night as Gruber was filming a coral reef, the hawksbill sea turtle appeared ‘from out of the blue,’... He described the turtle as looking like a ‘bright red & green spaceship.’
Gruber’s diving partner... Markus Reymann, said... that he’d never seen a turtle that calm. ‘He was just hanging out with us. I was loving the light.’
Scientists have only been studying bioflourescence for about 10 years...
Most bioflourescent animals display only one color, usually green or red. Corals can display both colors – & apparently, so can sea turtles, although Gruber said the red could be from algae on the shell.
The reason why the hawksbill is bioflourescent remains a mystery. ‘We know they have really good vision. They go on long & arduous migrations,’ Gruber said. He said they could glow to find or attract each other.
It could also be a defense mechanism to protect themselves from predators. Alexander Gaos, director of the Eastern Pacific Hawksbill Initiative (ICAPO), a nonprofit working to bring this species back from the brink of extinction, told National Geographic bioflourescence could serve as a kind of camouflage...
According to ICAPO, hawksbills are the only species of sea turtle with ‘a brilliantly colored, keratinous shell consisting of overlapping (imbricated) scutes, colloquially referred to as a tortoise shell.’...
Because the hawksbill sea turtle is now one of the rarest species on Earth, finding the reasons for its bioflourescence will be extremely difficult. Gruber will instead study the green sea turtle, which is closely related to the hawksbill but not as close to extinction...
...Hawksbill sea turtles are showing signs of recovery in the Arnavon Islands, according to a study earlier this year by the Nature Conservancy. Because of conservation efforts, their population has doubled over the past 20 years...”
Laura Goldman
care2.com
October 1, 2015
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(E.B.W.) Critter Corner
Feature:
What DO Bears Do In The Woods? Hikers Asked To Collect Droppings
“Hikers in Norway have been urged to collect bear droppings while out walking.
Experts believe DNA from the samples may help them learn more about the country’s brown bear population.
According to... the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), last year, 136 of the animals were recorded by using the method.
‘We encourage anyone who is outdoors this autumn to pick up bear droppings & hair & deliver them to the Norwegian Nature Inspectorate in the area,’ said Jonas Kindberg...
According to the WWF, the total global population of brown bears is estimated to be above 200,000, with around half in Russia.
The foundation also adds that logging, mining, & road construction have contributed to the decrease in bear populations.
Grizzly bears – as they are known in North America – are listed as “threatened” under the Endangered Species Act.
If nothing else, hopefully this will answer the long held rumour about bears and the woods…”
yahoo.com
Sept. 22/2015
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