Via Watermark: A Poet’s Notebook.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 7:22 AM EDT

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Bird Cinema:

Bird Cinema was founded in May 2007. This is a video website for bird enthusiasts to watch and share original bird videos worldwide through the web. We look forward to seeing your videos on our site.

Posted by Amy as Animals, Science & Nature at 10:45 AM EDT

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A Brief Introduction To Starfish:

Starfish may well be the most unusual well-known creature. They have no front or back: they can move in any direction without turning. Rather than using muscles to move their hundreds of tiny legs, starfish use a complex hydraulic system to move around or cling to rocks.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 1:18 AM EDT

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Wienerama: if you’re a fan of dachshunds and want to watch them doing cute things, check out the videos here.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 1:02 AM EDT

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”A Bird In The Hand: Confessions of a Bird Man”:

My first visit was from a pair of Purple Finches. Chickadees and Tufted Titmice proved even more courageous, and became the most dependable guests. A Red-bellied Woodpecker was a regular visitor to the top of my head, in search of sunflower seeds.

Posted by Amy as Animals, Science & Nature at 1:10 AM EDT

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CatCam:

Sometimes I have some challenging ideas, or crazy like some other people would say. This time I thought about our cat who is the whole day out, returning sometimes hungry sometimes not, sometimes with traces of fights, sometimes he stay also the night out.

When he finally returns, I wonder where he was and what he did during his day. This brought me to the idea to equip the cat with a camera. The plan was to put a little camera around his neck which takes every few minutes a picture. After he is returning, the camera would show his day. First I thought about transmitting live pictures from a remote RF camera, but the equipment is too expensive and battery consumption is too high.

So the idea was born and split into these parts:
• find small, lightweight, inexpensive digital camera
• develop a controller for the camera
• protect the camera from cat attack
• mount equipment to cat

Check out Mr. Lee’s First Trip.

Via Mental Floss.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 1:11 AM EDT

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”Knut Celebrates Six Glorious Months”

Knut turns half on June 5 after six glorious months for Berlin Zoo which has hand-reared the celebrity polar bear from a guinea pig-sized baby into a powerful 28-kilo fighter. He’ll be spending the day munching fish and playfully biting his faithful keeper Thomas Dörflein. It’s a friendship that can last six more months at most.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 1:53 AM EDT

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Check out this link: some more cute cat photos and clever captions.

Via A Sweet, Familiar Dissonance.

Posted by Amy as Animals, Humour at 9:26 AM EDT

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A compassionate firefighter rescues a cat suffering from smoke inhalation.

Read the follow-up story here.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 1:35 AM EDT

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Body Language In Training Your Dog:

Have you ever noticed how your dog often flinches or looks despondent when you hug it? Or no matter how far you throw out your arms and lean forward, coaxing your dog enthusiastically and affectionately, your dog will not come when called? Well, the problem might have nothing to do with the usual explanations: bad breeding, lack of consistency, or lack of training time. While these are all important, you may simply be sending your dog the wrong messages with your body language.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 1:22 AM EDT

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Meme Cats: Lots of photos of cats, almost all with (humorous) captions.

Via MetaFilter.

Posted by Amy as Animals, Humour at 1:35 AM EDT

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Purdue University is asking for responses to an online Pet Loss Survey.

The site makes it very clear who’s eligible to complete the survey:

Have you experienced the death of a pet? We are interested in hearing from you.

The survey is a tool for researchers to understand part of the human/animal bond:

The purpose of this study to understand the relationship between pet attachment and the grief owners experience when their pet dies.

It’s a short survey; although they time it at 15 minutes, I don’t think it took me that long to complete it.

Via Cute Overload.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 8:57 AM EDT

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Oh, I love this: Mystery Cat Takes Regular Bus To The Shops.

I agree with Garret—that’s pretty cool.

Via dangerousmeta!

Posted by Amy as Animals at 9:48 AM EDT

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Here’s a page that tells people who are thinking about acquiring an animal (a cat, specifically) what they should think about–from the animal’s point of view: The Ten Commandments of Owning a Pet.

Here are three of them:

• “Give me time to understand what you want from me.”
• “Talk to me sometimes. Even if I don’t understand your words, I understand your voice when it is speaking to me. Be aware that however you treat me, I will never forget.”
• “Go with me on difficult journeys. Never say ‘I can’t bear to watch,’ or ‘let it happen in my absence.’ Everything is easier if you are there.”

I agree that every person who lives with an animal should memorise these.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 1:41 AM EST

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Do you feel warm and fuzzy every time you look at kittens? Are sites like Cute Overload and The Daily Kitten just not quite enough for you?

Then check out the Random Kitten Generator. Each time you click a button, you get another photo of a kitten.

There are worse ways to spend five minutes decompressing when you get home from work.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 1:55 AM EST

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If you’re looking to learn a little more about dogs, you might like to check out the Dog Breed Info Center.

The site has some basic information about dog care (e.g. are you ready to have a dog in your life?) but it also has a terrific amount of information on the various dog breeds. In fact, I had no idea there were so many dog breeds.

Here are some of the ones that I hadn’t heard of:

• Alopekis
• Blue Lacy
• Carolina Dog
• Kerry Blue Terrier

This is a good site for browsing.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 3:06 AM EST

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If, like me, you are both a cat lover and a fan of comics, check out Hallmarks of Felinity.

Creator Brooke McEldowney has some very perceptive and witty illustrations that those who live with cats will recognise—and, if you’re thinking of getting a cat, you might like to check them out too!

Posted by Amy as Animals, Cartoons & Comics at 10:10 AM EST

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Puppies Behind Bars is a great program: through it prison inmates learn how to raise puppies who go on to become service animals (helping the disabled or the blind; learning to detect bombs).

Before dogs can be trained to do any of the above, they need to be socialised, and this is where the effort from the prisoners comes in:

Socializing the dogs is actually the main component of a puppy raiser’s task, for socialization is what helps these dogs become confident. Confidence is the most important trait for a guide dog to have, but as it is not hereditary, it is the one trait which cannot be bred into dogs. Dogs become confident by being around human beings and by being introduced to a variety of situations at a measured pace

. . . .

The pups live in the cells with their primary raisers, go to classes administered by Puppies Behind Bars once a week, and are furloughed two or three weekends a month to ‘puppy sitters’ who take the dogs into their homes in order to expose them to things they won’t experience in prison. These can be as simple as hearing doorbells or the sounds of a coffee grinder, and as complex as learning how to ride in a car and walk down a crowded sidewalk.

. . .

One of our particularly sensitive pups goes to several different areas of the prison: the sixteen- and seventeen-year-old inmates play with her; domestic violence classes use her to get the women to open up and talk; and she even visits inmates who are about to go before the parole board, for it has been found that her presence has a calming effect on the women.

What a wonderful program. The only down side would be the time when the puppy would have to leave the inmate—that would be very hard.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 1:56 AM EST

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Edge of Existence is an organisation dedicated to helping species that are close to extinction. EDGE stands for “Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered.”

The website explains EDGE’s mandate:

EDGE species are truly one of a kind. If they disappear there will be nothing similar left on the planet. Two-thirds are receiving little or no conservation attention.

Here are some of the animals that are the focus of EDGE’s efforts:

• Yangtze River dolphin
• slender loris
• hirola
• bumblebee bat

There’s also information on animals that have already been declared extinct.

It’s a well-structured site, with lots of information about each species and ways we can help.

Via Boing Boing.

Posted by Amy as Animals, Science & Nature at 1:00 AM EST

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Here’s a site for all the animal lovers out there: the Animal Sounds Library.

Click on the photos of the different kinds of animals and a recording will play of the kinds of sounds they make.

In addition to such familiar animals as a cat, dog, or wolf, there are others that are less common. Here are a few of them:

• elephant
• penguin
• giant anteater
• camel
• gibbon
• hippopotamus
• raccoon kit

There are also links to some great information about animals.

Via Ursi’s Blog.

Posted by Amy as Animals, Science & Nature at 1:02 AM EST

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I’ve just come across the website for Project Tiger, an initiative in India that is aimed at preserving the tiger from extinction.

I hadn’t realised that tigers were so near to extinction. According to the children’s section of this site, the current number of tigers is only a fraction of what it used to be:

Today there are only about 5,000 to 7,400 tigers left in the world. These tigers would soon die if people do not stop hunting them. It is estimated that 100 years ago, there were 50,000 to 80,000 tigers in India alone.

Just one note about this site—although the navigational bar shows up on each page, it didn’t work for me. I would have to return to the site’s home page and click on the links from there.

Posted by Amy as Animals, Science & Nature at 1:09 AM EST

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Every year as Christmas gets closer, I bore my friends and family by sending around this little piece I found on the Internet several years ago.

I don’t know who originally wrote it, but if you did, please get in touch with me so I can give you credit.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with ferrets, I can assure you that this is a very good description of what it’s like to try to work when they’re up and about.

*****

It’s Christmas. I need to decorate the house. Ok, simple ’nuff task. Silly me. I forgot about the Eight Spirits of Chaos with Fur. Here’s how my day has gone so far.

Open storage room door to look for Christmas lights.

Spend 15 minutes pulling ferrets out of various boxes.

Locate box of Christmas lights.

Locate ferret hanging from light.

Toss ferrets out of storage room, slam door shut.

Realize there is no doorknob on inside of storeage room.

Spend 20 minute prying hinges off door.

Drag out Christmas lights.

Replace hinges.

Remove ferrets from assorted boxes and bags.

Shut door to storage room.

Bring Christmas lights into living room, dump on floor.

Find 2 ferrets the lights were dumped on.

Hand out raisins in effort of have 4 minutes of peace.

Begin sorting lights.

Begin cursing at the idiot who put lights away without separating them.

Stop cursing upon remembering *I* was the idiot who put the lights away.

Notice string of lights making a break for the bedroom.

Grab lights, reel in two ferrets.

Notice 3 ferrets chewing merrily on lights.

Gather up lights, pile on chair.

Begin untangling one set of lights.

Shake two ferrets out of pant legs, pick one off of top of chair, remove two from speakers, wonder where other 3 are.

Notice another string of lights making a break for the bedroom.

Reel in missing 3 ferrets.

Untangle one string of lights.

Being taping lights to the window (No staples allowed).

Have ferret grab free end of lights and race around you in circles.

Fall on face, pull taped lights off window.

Fall prey to eight ferrets while helpless on floor.

Untangle feet from lights.

Untangle 4 ferrets from lights.

Untape 2 from lights.

Gather up lights, throw them in garbage.

Gather up ferrets, throw them in cages.

Grab large bottle of wine.

Run hot bath.

BAH HUMBUG!

Posted by Amy as Animals, Humour, Holidays at 1:10 AM EST

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If you’re starting to think about doing your Christmas decorating, and if you share your house with any animals, you might appreciate A Cat’s Christmas.

Iris and Fern are two cats who believe in taking part whole-heartedly in the “getting ready for Christmas” preparations.

People who have lived with cats will recognise at least some of these antics.

On a serious note, I want to second the warning here about tinsel and thin ribbons–please remember that this can be dangerous for a cat to ingest (it can cause an intestinal blockage and require a vet’s attention). Keep a close eye on your cat to see if she’s wanting to eat the tinsel.

Via Information Junk.

Posted by Amy as Animals, Holidays at 1:43 AM EST

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Here’s a story about Skidboot the dog that’s very heartwarming.

Skidboot seems to have been in the news for several years—appearing on Leno, Letterman, and Oprah—but I’ve managed to not have heard about him before.

If you’ve got 8 minutes, definitely watch this.

Via my mother!

Posted by Amy as Animals at 8:50 AM EDT

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Did you know that an otter has up to 40,000 hairs in one square inch of its coat?

I didn’t either. But I learned this and much, much more about otters at Amblonyx Otter Site.

In addition to information about otters, there are photos, links, poems featuring otters, and much more.

Via Information Junk.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 1:37 AM EDT

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Here’s an amusing site: What Do Your Pets Do While You’re At Work?

Scroll down to see the photos, which are introduced by the following commentary:

Did you ever wish you could have a hidden camera in your house so you could see what your pet is really doing while you are away from home?

Perhaps you are foolish enough to think that your beloved pup or your darling kitty is patiently sitting by the door, waiting for your return.

Boy, are you wrong!

Some of these photos are pretty similar to what goes on at our house.

Via growabrain.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 2:17 AM EDT

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Suddenly, photos of pet rabbits are everywhere on the Internet, and I don’t think it’s possible for a rabbit photo to be anything other than captivating.

There’s the always funny site Disapproving Rabbits with photos of rabbits that look, well, disapproving.

Cute Overload regularly publishes terrific photos of
rabbits (along with some very funny captions).

One of the cutest is probably this one: Desdemona stealing a cookie.

Now, thanks to Negativesmart, I’ve discovered Bunny Yawns: a site devoted to photos of rabbits yawning.

Warning: it’s easy to waste a lot of time at all these sites!

Posted by Amy as Animals at 2:32 AM EDT

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Dentist David Steele recently put two gold crowns on his cat Sebastian’s bottom canines.

Steele explained that Sebastian’s canines had come in unusually, and he was concerned problems would result. The dental work was a preventative measure.

But did they have to be gold?

Via Boing Boing.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 6:21 PM EDT

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Here’s a terrific site: TurtleKiss.com

Thanks to his person, Kira, Koopa the turtle has managed to produce artwork currently for sale on eBay; it hangs in 49 of the 50 states. 20% of the profits go to turtle rescue groups ($10,000 US has been donated so far).

There are also some great videos of Koopa on YouTube.

Via Boing Boing.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 7:26 AM EDT

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You remember Owen, the orphaned baby hippo who bonded with Mzee, a giant tortoise?

Owen will soon be introduced to Cleo, another hippopotamus. It’s hoped that he will learn about hippopotamus behaviour from her.

For updates and photos of Owen, Mzee, Cleo, and other animals in the sanctuary, see Owen and Mzee’s Web Log.

There’s a photo of Owen resting his chin on Mzee’s shell that’s particularly charming.

There’s also a photo of Owen and Mzee eating along with a bushbuck (a very shy antelope).

Via Popbitch.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 6:36 AM EDT

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Oh, this is too wonderful: pandafix.

How can someone not love pandas? The people at pandafix seem to know that we need regular infusions of panda cuteness, so they have a blog with photos of pandas living their lives.

Check out especially this photo of a baby panda nonchalantly lying on his back.

Via kottke.org.

Posted by Amy as Animals at 7:47 AM EDT

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