May 31/2017

Feature:
Sky’s The Limit For Dogs

     “On a recent trip to Columbia, I traveled light with 2 bags, a banana, & no live animals. On the return, I subtracted the fruit & added a third carrier- & a wiggly dog named Max.

     ...I was a flight volunteer for Cartagena Paws, an animal-rescue centre that, among myriad services, places Colombian street dogs with adoptive families in North America. My ultimate responsibility was to escort the 8-month-oldpuppy with the overactive tail to the District of Columbia...

     ‘Without flight volunteers, many animals will be stuck here & unable to get to their forever homes in the United States & Canada,’ said Maureen Cattieu...who founded the centre in 2014...

     Around the world, animal- welfare groups are rescuing dogs from dire situations...

     ...the organizations are exporting rescue dogs to North America. The groups have no shortage of animals to send or humans on the receiving end, but they need independent travelers to connect the 2 halves.

     Depending on the airline & the departure city, the groups have 3 ways to transport dogs internationally. Cargo is the most expensive route...They can also travel as checked baggage...or as a carry-on...In both scenarios, a chaperon is required. To save money on the companion’s fare, the rescue centres solicit help from vacationers already holding a plane ticket home.

     ...Many groups will book the reservation for the 4-legged passenger as extra baggage or an in-cabin pet...They will deliver the animal to the airport in a crate or soft-sided carrier & help with check-in.They will provide a care package containing food, water,medications, leash, collar, & other necessities...After the aircraft lands, the families or rescue centres will scoop up the dogs & cart them off to their next...destination...

     Maureen soon found Max a home in Texas & arranged a car ride from the District to San Antonio...The morning before my flight home, I took a short cab ride to the vet & picked up a very excited Max. We walked-in zig-zaggy formation- to the airport, where I submitted his documents to the government’s agricultural department.

     While the officer typed in our information, Max rolled around on the office furniture. He handed me the documents & inspected the pup, smiling at his windshield- wiper tail...

     Max received a jubilant sendoff at the airport, complete with bon voyage poster & kisses from Maureen.
     At security, I carried him through the X-ray machine & tucked him into his carrier while we waited to board. Before takeoff, he poked his head out of the open top like a periscope, surveying the alien landscape of a Boeing 737.

     At Reagan Airport, we waited outside for the next member of Max’s village to arrive. A little after midnight, Kim Rodeffer drove up. We photographed him with a sign that read, 'Max is in Washington D.C.’ A week later, I watched an online video of Max racing around the backyard of his new home. His Colombian tail was wagging wildly against the Texas sky.”

Andrea Sachs
The Washington Post    
in The Montreal Gazette
Dec. 24/2016

 Cute Critter Pic

Weekly Chuckle

May 24/2017

Feature:
11 Facts About Blue Whales, the Largest Animals Ever Known to Live on Earth

 “...1. They’re ginormous
...Generally ranging in length from 80 to 100 ft... the longest one ever recorded was a magnificent 108 ft long.

2. They’ve got mass
Blue whales weigh up to 200 tonnes...

3. They’ve got big thumpers
The blue whale’s heart is huuuuge!... its beat can be detected from 2 miles away.

4. And tongues
A blue whale’s tongue alone weighs as much as an elephant.

5. They’re big babies
...They pop out at around 8,800 lbs with a length of some 26 feet. They gain 200 pounds a day! Their growth rate is likely one of the fastest in the animal world...

6. They’re loud … & make long-distance calls for free
Blue whales... are the loudest animals on the planet...Their language of pulses, groans, & moans can be heard by others up to 1,000 miles... away.

7. They’ve got big appetites for tiny fish
Blue whales feast on krill; their stomachs can hold 2,200 pounds of the tiny crustaceans at a time. They require almost 9,000 pounds of the little guys a day...

8. They can scoot
They travel a lot, spending summers feeding in polar regions & making the long trip to the Equator as winter comes along. While they have a cruising speed of 5 MPH, they can accelerate up to 20 MPH when needed.

9. They’ve got long lives
While not nearly as old as the Earth’s oldest trees, blue whales are among the planet’s longest-lived animals... scientists count layers of wax in the ears & can determine a ballpark age...the average life is thought to be around 80 to 90 years.

10. They were once numerous
Before whalers discovered the treasure trove of oil that a blue whale could provide, the numbers were generous...

11. Their future is unclear
...There is one population of around 2,000 blue whales off the coast of California – but all told there are only around 10,000 to 25,000 individuals left. The World Conservation Union (IUCN) Red List rates them as Endangered..."

Melissa Breyer (Treehugger)
Jan. 12/2017
care2.com

Cute Critter Pic 

Weekly Chuckle

May 17/2017

Feature:
9 Surprising Facts About Sea Turtles

“...1. They think jellyfish are delicious.
Leatherbacks & hawkbill turtles feed on jellyfish & keep their populations in check...

2. They‘re the oceans‘ lawnmowers.
Green sea turtles have a more plant-based diet & eat seagrass. By keeping seagrass short, they prevent it from getting tall & harming other marine creatures.

3. They cannot retract into their shell like other turtles.
Since they don’t have to protect themselves from predators for most of their life on water, sea turtles cannot retract their flippers & head into their shells. Their anatomy makes them more agile when under the sea but highly vulnerable when nesting & hatching.

4. Temperature dictates the sex of baby turtles.
Warmer nests lead to more females & cooler ones lead to more males...

5. They‘ve been around for a very, very long time.
An estimated 110 million years is how long sea turtles have existed on Earth, which means they once shared the planet with T-Rex & other dinosaurs.

6. They can hold their breath for 5 hours underwater.
To accomplish this mighty feat they slow their heart rate to up to 9 minutes in between heart beats in order to conserve oxygen.

7. They live to about 100 years.
And that’s also roughly the amount of eggs they lay every time they nest.

8. Dogs are not a sea turtle’s best friend.
...their natural predators include dogs who dig up their eggs buried in the sand.

9. They have an excellent sense of direction.
Sea turtles can detect the Earth’s magnetic field & they use it as a compass.”


Natalia Lima
June 15/2016
care2.com

Cute Critter Pic

Weekly Chuckle

May 10/2017

Feature:
6 Surprising Chicken Facts
“...There was a time when chickens were viewed as exotic, fascinating birds...they were revered for their ferocity & intelligence...

Chickens have been a part of human lives for millennia, & yet they are one of the most misunderstood, if not ignored, species on Earth...

Chickens deserve more attention, & here are some quirky, interesting facts to get you thinking about chickens less as food & more as fascinating co-inhabitants of our world. These come via...'Thinking Chickens’, published online in Animal Cognition...

1. Chickens are a sub-species of the red jungle fowl that hails from southeast Asia.
The red jungle fowl (galls gallus) inhabit the edges of fields, scrubland, & groves. Domestication was well established 8,000 years ago, but some records suggest it could have started as much as 58,000 years ago.

2. Domestic chickens are similar to their wild counterparts.
Despite the intense breeding & genetic manipulation of recent years, chickens have not been cognitively or behaviorally affected by domestication...

3. A chicken’s beak is highly sensitive to touch.
The beak, with numerous nerve endings, is used to explore, detect, drink, preen, & defend...

4. Chickens have finely tuned senses.
They can see long distance & close-up at the same time in different parts of their vision. They can see a broader range of colors than humans. They can hear at low & high frequencies at a variety of pressure levels. They possess well-developed senses of taste & smell. They can orient to magnetic fields, like many other birds.

5. Chickens are surprisingly good at math.
3-day-old chicks are able to perform basic arithmetic & discriminate quantities...

6. Chickens can exercise self-control.
In an experimental setting, chickens have been given the choice between 2-second delay with 6 seconds of access to food, versus a 6-second delay with 22-seconds of access to food. The hens waited for the longer reward, ‘demonstrating rational discrimination between different future outcomes while employing self-control to optimize those outcomes’...”

Katherine Martinko (TreeHugger)
January 23/2017
care2.com

Cute Critter Pic

Weekly Chuckle

May 3/2017

Feature: 
Canines Sniff Out Pipeline Leaks

   “CALGARY- Duke has the scent.
  
    The white-gold lab lopes through a field, pulling his owner, Ron Misafa, behind him.
    It takes a minute for the pooch to circle through the tall grass & hone in on the spot where Mistafa has buried a small jar of crude oil.

   ...Mistafa tosses the dog his reward for a job well done: A rubber ball to chew on.

   For about 2 decades, Mistafa has run Detector Dog Services International, a Calgary-based outfit that helps clients in the oil & gas sector to search out pipeline leaks, drugs, & explosives.

   Mistafa has 2 dogs working for him: Duke, for pipeline leak jobs, & George, a lab cross who specializes in drugs & explosives. Both live with Mistafa, along with a springer spaniel named Toby, who is retired.

   Mistafa figures Duke gets only about 5% of the work...The vast majority of demand is from companies wanting George’s help in ridding work camps of illicit items.

   Mistafa spent several years in the Calgary police K-9 unit followed by a stint training dog handlers in land mine detection in Bosnia...

   Duke gets excited when he knows it’s time for work, often lifting up a paw in anticipation when he sees Mistafa is getting the harness ready...

   An assignment can involve Mistafa walking Duke for several hours along a pipeline right-of-wayin remote locales.

   ...dogs save companies time & money...

   Mistafa gets his dogs from rescue organizations...”


Lauren Krugel
The Canadian Press
in The Montreal Gazette
July 2/2016

Cute Critter Pic

Weekly Chuckle