Oct. 26/2016

Feature:
5 Amazing Animals That Glow in the Dark

 “...here are only a handful of the hundreds of incredible glow-in-the dark animals out there.

 1. Swell shark
The world of the Pacific Ocean’s swell shark looks very different from ours. While humans see in 3 colors — red, green & blue – descending into the deep ocean cuts out all but blue darkness...Swell sharks are among the few bioluminescent sharks that turn themselves green to be seen...

2. Vampire squid
Contrary to its name, the vampire squid is actually an ancient form of deep-sea cephalopod. The creature lives more than 600 feet below the ocean’s surface & squirts a glow-in-the dark mucous, instead of ink, when threatened...

3. Hawksbill Sea Turtle
Last year, scientists diving around the Solomon Islands came across an endangered Hawksbill sea turtle glowing neon green & red. As National Geographic notes, the turtle was the first reptile ever found with the ‘ability to reflect the blue light hitting a surface & re-emit it as a different color.’...

4. Glowing cockroach
...While luminescence is rare in land animals, more than a dozen beetles glow, including this lit-up cockroach. Luchihormetica luckae was collected more than 70 years ago near Ecuador volcano Tungurahua. In 2013, scientists listed the roach among their top newly discovered species...

5. Glowworm
The glowworm’s other commonly used name — fungus gnat — betrays the beauty that these insects create in New Zealand caves. Because adult glowworms don’t have digestive systems — &, thus, can’t eat — they only live for a few days. Meanwhile, larvae emit a light & use silk  ‘fishing lines’ to capture insects to feed upon.”
                                  

Emily Zak
April 28/ 2016
care2.com

Cute Critter Pic

Weekly Chuckle

Happy Howl'oween!

Oct. 19/2016

Feature:
Buddhist Monks Save Hundreds of Lobsters & Return Them to the Ocean
 
“Hundreds of lobsters avoided being boiled alive thanks to a group of Buddhist monks from Prince Edward Island.
The monks, who are from the Great Enlightenment Buddhist Institute Society, bought the lobsters – 600 lbs. worth of them – solely with the intention of returning them to their rightful home in the ocean.
Venerable Dan, a spokesman for the monks... told the CBC that the purpose of the effort was to cultivate compassion for all living beings. Before taking them back out to sea, the monks held a ceremony where they prayed & chanted to the Buddha of compassion.

Before the release, they also blessed the lobsters with purified water & later gently removed the bands that bound their claws...

‘We respect everyone’s dietary choice, so we’re not doing this to convert everybody to be vegetarians or vegans,’ said Venerable Dan...

The effort was an incredibly thoughtful approach towards raising awareness about other beings & how precious their lives are to them, while showing just how easy it is to be compassionate...

...‘To give them a helping hand & put them back to where they feel comfortable & we believe if everybody’s able to do that, it will become a better place, a more harmonic place.’

Hopefully this rescue effort will inspire more people to show kindness & to give other beings we don’t fully understand the benefit of the doubt when it comes to their ability to enjoy their lives & experience pain & suffering...”
 
Alicia Graef
July 12/2016
care2.com

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Weekly Chuckle

Memorial
M.C. Oct. 19/2016
I lost a piece of my heart when I had to say a final goodbye to my sweet big black cat. You were our first Verdun cat & remained at my side through the good & bad times. I miss you M.C. & think about you each & every day. Rest in Peace sweetheart. Big Cyn loves. 

Oct. 12/2016

Feature:
The Title of National Mammal of the United States Goes to…

“...Catalina Island is one of the few remaining areas in North America with wild bison — & the majestic animal is now the first official mammal of the United States.

After a decade of lobbying from a coalition of groups...Congress unanimously passed The National Bison Legacy Act...

The largest mammal in the United States, the bison is native to North America & dates back to the Ice Age...For Native American tribes, bison were integral to survival. Reaching a size of more than 2,000 pounds... The animal became an inevitable part of Native American cultural identity...

In 1905 a group of private citizens...founded the American Bison Society. The society’s president...donated 14 bison to the Wichita National Preserve to establish & increase government herds.

...They also established a National Bison Range for a permanent herd of wild bison. By the time the American Bison Society disbanded in 1935, 20,000 bison had been restored to public lands.

A symbol of strength, survival, determination, & resilience makes the bison the perfect mammal to represent America...

The American Bison Society was reestablished in 2006 to launch conservation efforts & increase the bison population...

Today, an estimated 500,000 bison live in North America...

The passage of the National Bison Legacy Act is an important step for ecological restoration in North America...

... With an average size of 200 bison, the Catalina herd is much smaller than its peak of more than 600 in the late 1980s...

While there is still a long way to go, thanks to the efforts of American Bison Society, the Intertribal Buffalo Council, the WWF, & hundreds of others, this American icon will no doubt be as resilient as the nation it now represents.”


Crystal Shepeard
May 3/2016
care2.com

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Weekly Chuckle

Oct. 5/2016

Feature: 
Los Angeles City Officials Want Landlords to Be Pet Friendlier

“To help reduce the number of pets surrendered to shelters, the Los Angeles City Council has unanimously approved a proposal asking landlords to allow pets in rental properties.

...only about 40% of the city’s rental properties allow pets, according to the proposal introduced by Council member Paul Koretz. As a comparison, 98% of apartment communities in Denver accept cats, 93% allow small dogs & 66% allow large dogs...

New York City, West Hollywood & some other cities across the country already have laws that help renters keep their pets. These cities ‘understand the benefits of pet companionship, both for the sake of saving lives of shelter animals, as well as for enhancing the lives of the people adopting the pets,’ notes Koretz in his proposal.

More pet-friendly rental properties will ‘facilitate the creation of thousands of potential new ‘forever homes’ for L.A.’s shelter animals & animals adopted from rescue groups & other pet adoption agencies,’ Koretz writes...

As the first step in increasing the number of pet-friendly rental properties citywide, a task force comprised of the Los Angeles Dept. of Animal Services & the Housing & Community Investment Department will gather input from local tenant & landlord organizations. Within 6 months, the task force will make recommendations to the city council on programs & regulations that would increase pet adoptions by renters...

To educate (& hopefully enlighten) both landlords & tenants about their rights & responsibilities, Larry Gross, executive director of the Coalition for Economic Survival & vice president of the L.A. Board of Animal Services Commission, has organized a series of “Pets in Rental Housing” workshops.

‘If we are to achieve our goal of making L.A. a ‘No Kill’ city, finding homes for our shelter animals will mean many must be placed in apartments,’ he notes on the Coalition for Economic Survival’s Facebook page.

...Petfinder.com...has an online list of websites with information about pet-friendly rental homes & apartments.”

Laura Goldman
February 16/2016
care2.com

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Weekly Chuckle

 

Sept. 28/2016

Feature:
These Birds Remember Their Human Enemies

“Antarctica travelers, take note: do not mess with the brown skua.

Researchers from South Korea studying birds in Antarctica have discovered that the brown skua can recognize humans & flag them as enemies.

Avian enthusiasts might not be that surprised to learn another species is being recognized for its impressive cognitive abilities. They may already be aware that crows have the intelligence & ability to learn who we are & warn others if they know we’re not around as friends.

...the brown skua has had relatively little experience when it comes to interacting with us, & our encounters with them have only been through the growing development of research stations there over the past few decades...

...During the study, researchers from South Korea investigating their breeding habits on King George Island visited their nests once a week to check on eggs & chicks.

They explained in a statement that to test if the birds were identifying individual researchers they would approach the nests in a pair wearing identical clothing that included someone who had been to the nests & someone who had not. Then they would separate & walk in opposite directions. They found that each time, the skua parents whose nests had been invaded would follow & attack the person who had been to there, but never followed the other person...

The researchers posed 2 theories about how these birds are able to recognize us –  they’ve had enough encounters with us over time to learn to discriminate, or more likely, they’ve just always been exceptionally smart.

‘It is amazing that brown skuas, which evolved & lived in human-free habitats, recognized individual humans just after 3 or 4 visits. It seems that they have very high levels of cognitive abilities,’ said Won Young Lee, a researcher from the Korea Polar Research Institute...”

Alicia Graef
April 3/2016
care2.com

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Weekly Chuckle

Sept. 21/2016

Feature:
Success! Library Cat Won’t Be Evicted

 “Thanks to animal lovers across the world coming together, Browser the library cat can now rest easy by his books because his eviction has been called off.

   Browser made headlines... when the city council in White Settlement, Texas voted to remove the tabby cat from the library where he had been living for the last 6 years. The council voted 2-1 for the cat to pack his litter box... & be on his way. The decision was made after a city hall employee wasn’t allowed to bring her puppy into work, calling the situation unfair since a cat was allowed in the library.

   Luckily, Browser had many humans to argue his case. A Care2 petition gathered more than 63,000 signatures in a matter of days.

   ‘According to the library president, children love to pick out books to read to him, & he never interferes with the yarn used during her Tuesday knitting class,’ read the petition arguing for Browser to be granted permission to stay at the library. ‘He’s regularly featured on the library’s Instagram feed. People come in to look for him, & he’s become part of the family. He’s a sweet & gentle creature who’s made his home in the quiet confines of the library.’

   Browser’s supporters also reached out to officials in White Settlement directly. One city council member told the Associated Press he was ‘called a few choice names.’ The mayor of the town was also flooded with messages regarding the issue.

‘I have received to date close to 1200 email messages from all over the world,’ the town’s mayor Ronald White said...

   A local petition gathered more than 800 supporters for the cat & many showed up at the city council meeting...to argue in the feline’s defense, but council members didn’t even need to hear them. The council voted unanimously to allow Browser to stay at the library as its official mascot.

   Maybe this kitty’s newfound fame will even lead to more library visits. For those wanting to meet Browser, he is known to hang out by the periodicals & non-fiction sections.”
Natalia Lima
July 5/2016
care2.com

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Weekly Chuckle

Sept. 14/2016

Feature:
PitLuvMTL Showcases Breed’s Bond With Families

   “Photographer Michelle Gagne is using her camera to try to fight what she calls a stereotype plaguing pit bulls...
     Gagne, a local fashion photographer, has launched #PitLuvMTL- a series of portraits she has posted to her social media streams that she said reveals close, loving ties between Montreal’s pit bulls & their owners.
     ‘Fear is a really powerful tool that can be used in very bad ways...Why not use love instead?’ Gagne said. ‘I just wanted to share something positive. Send out some love to pits.’

     While not a pit bull owner, Gagne said her connection with her own dog made her realize the potential struggle for Montreal pit bull owners who are awaiting a decision...on breed-specific legislation...
     ...Gagne said...she thinks proposed bans are a ‘harsh conclusion’ based on what she calls misinformation about pit bulls.

     Her project consists of 10 black & white portraits that capture the intense bond & outpouring of love between people & their dogs, she said.
     Each ‘family’ portrait includes a short written piece talking about the importance of the family’s pet. Even off-camera, Gagne said, all of the dogs she worked with were ‘sweet, loving, wanting to play, & give kisses’.
     ...Social media users have visited her Facebook page (search ‘Michelle Gagne Photographe’) to share their own photos with their pit bulls- who often look like they are smiling as they pose with young children...”

Lindsday Richardson
in The Montreal Gazette
July 16/2016

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Weekly Chuckle

Memorial
Snowball Sept. 17/1998
Sweet Snowie. I remember how we lost you just before our trip to Montreal & how your passing broke Adrian & my hearts. You were such a wonderful (& patient) companion to Dietrich & I'll never forget taking you out of that awful cage once I got you home from the SPCA when I adopted you. RIP little one.