Last Week's Who Am I?: Canine Edition Is...

I kept you guessing a few extra days - oops! But better late than never, here's the answer to last week's Who Am I?

Photo Credit: Anup Shah/ Corbis (via Flickr)

Photo Credit/ Martin Harvey/www.photoshot.com/ARKive

Photo Credit: Michel Gunther/Biosphoto/ ARKive

This handsome, leggy canine is the Ethiopian Wolf (Canis simensis) - "the most threatened canid in the world and the only wolf species to be found in Africa" (ARKive website).

I hinted that this species was chosen in my grandchildren's honor, so if you didn't know, Ethiopia is their birthplace. 

Ethiopian wolves stalk or dig out giant molerats and grass rats. They live in the mountains of Ethiopia, in seven populations. The largest group lives in the Bale Mountains. There are about 500 Ethiopian wolves left; about 250 of them are breeding adults.

The champion of Ethiopian wolf conservation is Dr. Claudio Sillero-Zubiri. He won a Whitley Fund conservation award in 1998 and is responsible for most of what is known about these animals. In 2004 he was instrumental in vaccinating the Ethiopian wolves against a rabies outbreak, very likely saving the species. You can click on his name to learn more about Dr. Sillero's work.

And because they are irresistibly cute, here is a thumbnail link to a BBC video of the pups found on the ARKive website:

Nice To Hear At The Vet's

Toby was given a clean bill of health (and 4 shots) at his checkup today. He even got a big smile from the vet for his weight loss.

 Though as you can see, he's still plenty interested in all the new foods on display!

 He sat nicely most of the time while waiting for his name to be called.

Healthy dog LOVING LIFE, good report from the vet, what we all love to hear.

Sadly, sometimes the news is not so great. We have been there and done that. The worst news to get involves multiple syllables ending in -oma.

Oz the Terrier and Zuke's are hosting the #Fuel the Cure blog hop to support The Dog and Cat Cancer Fund. For each blog hop entry (like this one), $5 will be donated by Zuke's. Oz is hosting a contest too - click here to learn more about entering!

Wordless Wednesday: Who Am I? Dog Edition

It's time for another Who Am I?, this time featuring a canine species. I chose this species in honor of my grandchildren (hint for longtime readers). 

And, this is the most endangered _____ species in the world. 

And it is the only ____ species to be found in Africa.

Photo Credit: Anup Shah/Corbis (via Flickr)

Okay, enough hinting. I invite you to put on your thinking cap, put your guess in the comments, and return for the answer on Friday!

Photo Credit: Martin Harvey/www.photoshot.com/ARKive

Photo Credit: Michel Gunther/Biosphoto/ARKive

Light A Candle Tonight

Tonight at 6PM EDT, I will be joining the group supporting families waiting to bring home their stranded, LEGALLY ADOPTED children from the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Please click here for a slideshow from one mother waiting to bring home her baby. You will love it. Then will you light your candle too?

Thoughtless Thursday: Four Random Thoughts

Since this is a Thoughtless Thursday post, I'm being just about as thoughtless as possible. Even the number of random thoughts is, well, random.

1. What is green and white and smells all over?
A. freshly cut gardenias
B. a squished caterpillar
C. a World Cup soccer player from Cote d'Ivoire at game's end

2. Dear Emily Post: If one is scheduled to stand outdoors talking about orangutans from 5:30 to 8:00, and one learns that there is a severe thunderstorm watch from 2:30 to 10:00, what should one do?
A. Politely call and say one can't make it due to weather.
B. Attend and stay away from trees.
C. Ask if one can take shelter with the orangutans in the event of a severe thunderstorm. 

3. What is the relationship between summer reading quality and the reader's spouse?
A. A linear relationship, between number of interruptions by spouse and suspense level of summer reading.
B. Both A and B

4. The hotter it is, the more I want to wear swimsuits, and the more my swimsuits "shrink". Why?
A. Fresh produce from the Farmer's Market actually does have calories.
B. Sitting around reading all the time.
C. This is a First World Problem.  Get over it.

Scoop That Poop: Because Not Everything Thinks It's Yucky

Today is the Scoop That Poop blog hop, the hop that reminds everyone that there are excellent reasons not to leave dog waste lying around.

If anyone needs extra motivation, here's some. Flies like dog poop, and they taste with their feet. They taste dog poop, your hamburger, dog poop, the edge of your glass, more dog poop, your kid's popsicle…

Flies aren't just looking for food. They are also looking for suitable places to lay eggs, which will hatch into…well, you know.

We saw dog waste left by the sidewalk on our walk today. Ugh. And it's a problem in the city parks, virtually all of which have picnic areas (although frankly since our city provides open trash cans in its parks, the flies have plenty of food anyway).

There really is no excuse. What is just disgusting in the winter is a local health hazard in the summer. Hop over to Sugar (our host) and enter the giveaway for a Fifth Paw to make scooping your dog's poop a bit less yucky!

Black and White Sunday: Happy Father's Day

Here's what happened when I said, "Hey Ted, pose for a Father's Day picture for my blog!"

And here's what happened 10 seconds later:

Aw, Happy Father's Day to all Dads, of kids, grandkids, adoptive kids, step kids, and pets, and etc. There is so much love in everything you do. You are sincerely appreciated.

Meet the Andean Cat!

This may be the cutest, most cuddly-looking wild cat yet! But the best adjective for the Andean cat could be "elusive". Leopardus jacobita is one of the most endangered cats in the world. None are known to be in captivity, and sightings in the wild are extremely rare. 

"Essentially nothing is known about the biology and behaviour of the Andean cat"

-ARKive website

Since the range of the Andean Cat coincides with the chinchilla,

and they've been seen hunting chinchillas and a related animal 

called a viscacha, it's known that they eat them. What else they eat 

is a matter of conjecture for now. There have been only 10

 sightings of the Andean cat in the last 25 years (by scientists).

Photo by Jim Sanderson, ARKive

One look at this cat's fur and you might guess it lives in the cold, 

and you'd be right. Andean cats live above 4000 meters, above the 

tree line, in extreme cold year-round. Although it is cold, it's 

considered semi-desert, as you might guess from the landscape in

 the short video above.

Wildlife Conservation Network

Photo by Jim Sanderson, ARKive

I found a brief reference to one individual being radio-collared and 

the data indicating these cats may be nocturnal, though most 

sightings have been during the day. This data is being collected by 

the Andean Cat Alliance, part of the Wildlife Conservation 

Network.

Photo by Jim Sanderson, ARKive

Threats to Andean cats are habitat loss and hunting. The indigenous  

people of the Andes believe these cats to be sacred, and hunt them. 

They use dried and stuffed specimens in religious festivals. This 

actually is a significant threat, since a majority of local people said 

in interviews that they had hunted these cats.

Seeing Beautiful: Newly Born

Last week the Buffalo Zoo greeted the first Indian Rhinoceros born through artificial insemination. Her father, Jimmy, died in 2004. Tashi, her mother, has successfully given birth twice before. She is named for Dr. Monica Stoops, Reproductive Physiologist, who led the team. 
There are 59 Indian rhinos in captivity in North America. About 2,500 remain in the wild. 

\

Wide-eyed, wrinkling her nose
and smiling gently
at an unexpected world
of straw and cement.
She gleams,
beautiful in her new-wrought armor.

Her every nuzzle and sip,
her tottering steps,
recorded by carefully placed cameras,
by modern Noahs eager to preserve
her precious cargo.

Is there an ancient memory,
buried,
of grassy India?
The homeland she will never see? 

Within her lives again
A heritage of DNA,
instructions for making a baby
like her.

Joe Hauser, head rhino keeper, and Dr. Monica Stoops

Named for a pseudo parent,
first for science,
first of her species
born to a long-dead father
and the indispensable Rhinoceros unicornis,
the one our ingenuity can't replace,
her mother.

Monica.


Today is the second anniversary of Sugar the Golden Retriever's {This Moment}See Beautiful blog hop. Please join in with a post about what you find beautiful today.

Thoughtless Thursday: I Don't Often Rant, But When I Do...

Today on Thoughtless Thursday, the random thought that has been bugging me is:

Yes, I AM a bad blogger. Just put the dunce cap on and show me to my stool in the corner.

I happened to spot this on Facebook and made the mistake of looking at it. Feeling confident? Go ahead and read:
https://www.viralheat.com/blog/2014/03/04/are-you-a-bad-blogger/

This post, courtesy of Viral Heat and Sukhraj Beasla, gives an indictment for crimes of the blogosphere. It kinda hit a nerve.

1. You're not publishing regularly. GUILTY.
I have hobbies. Vacations. Grandchildren and children who visit sometimes. Viruses. A  nonblogger husband, and I'm certainly not training a new one after 35 years getting this one used to all my quirks! You get the idea. No, May 2014 was not a good blogging month. 

What I might be doing when I'm not blogging…

2. You're not managing your time properly. GUILTY.
See #1. I have hobbies, and blogging is one of them. It is not my job (not that there's anything wrong with that). I actually did try an editorial calendar in February. It wasn't a good fit for me.  I kept skipping the planned posts to write what I wanted to say instead. Also, I beg to differ about time management. If the sun is out and it's 75 degrees, spending the afternoon on the computer sounds like bad time management to me.

3. You don't know how much traffic you're getting, what SEO is, etc.
GUILTY. "If you don't know how much traffic you're getting, chances are the numbers are low." One look at my sidebar and you have to agree. But wait - I know what SEO is; does that count?

4. You don't have a plan for your blog. GUILTY? This one stumps me. What plan? Should it be a dollar amount, a number of followers, winning certain awards? I try to have fun, write well, share decent photos, share my love of the outdoors and life in general. I know my blog isn't the best one out there - because I follow lots that are better than mine (hop below, or scroll down to the bottom for some of them). 
If blogging becomes a competition or a numbers game, I don't think I'll be blogging for very long. 

Well, actually, probably not out doing this! 

So Sukhraj Beasla, get out of my head. And please don't read my blog. You wouldn't like it.

Wordless Wednesday: Who Am I? Cat Edition

This week I'm featuring a cat I consider almost too cute to be wild. These are also among the rarest cats in the world, so I'll be super impressed by correct guesses of their identity!

Both photos are by Jim Sanderson.

Here's one tiny clue: they live in South America. Put a guess into the comments  - and please come back on Saturday to see learn more about this feline. I'm going to include a thumbnail link to a short video of these cats (can't use it today without giving away the answer!)