Animal of the Day: Kiwi!

The Kiwi is the smallest of all ratitites. A ratitie is a large flightless bird. So the Kiwi is the smallest largest flightless bird.

Proportionally, the kiwi lays the largest egg of all birds. Unlike most birds, the Kiwi has bone marrow. Kiwis are the only birds with nostrils.

The Kiwi is New Zealand's national symbol.

It is unclear where the Kiwi got its name but it is thought to be either an imitation of the sound that Kiwis make, or derived from the name of a similar bird.

The Kiwi has such small wings that they are invisible beneath its feathers.

Kiwis are monogamous! Both ovaries are functional (this is unusual in most birds and in the platypus).

Today

Today, as I biked home, across the bridge over the swamp, I found the biggest patch of wild grapes. I shoveled two handfuls into my mouth to harvest the juices out while I continued my journey.

I was glad that Josh taught me about wild grapes. I was glad that I had put just enough grapes in my mouth to satisfy without getting too much so that my mouth was hurt by the acid.

Josh taught me about the wild grapes when we went fishing and he took me to a place him and Connor used to go. I felt happy he was willing to take me to such an important place.

We also ate Chinese food that day and I taught Josh how to tie dye. My family was away at the farm. Josh spotted a large military truck for sale. He said the mileage was most positively terrible.  He also told me about when he was younger and he was in fiddler on the roof with his dad and times were harder and he would ride in the truck with his dad in the cold cold winter and he liked those times even though they were hard. But now that I think of it he might have told me that when we were on our way home from the red barn. Yup

If I could fix two things from when we went fishing but not catching and there were grapes (so I guess we caught grapes) I would fix that I was moody for some of the time and fix that I ordered chicken mushroom food from mr. you because that food was not so good.

Also it would have been eventful if those punky teens who tailed us for awhile actually got out of the car and came after us just to see what team would win.

Animal of the Day: Wombat!

Off the top of my head the only thing I know is that their poop is cubic.

The wombat is not a rodent but digs rodent like burrows.

The wombat is a marsupial but it has a backwards pouch so that, while digging burrows, their babies don't become laden with dirt.

Wombats are slow creatures but, when threatened, can run up to 25mph for 90 seconds.

Dingos and Tasmanian Devils make meals of wombats. Wombats have tough behinds, largely made of cartilage, that make it hard for their prey to kill them. Wombats run into a tunnel with their butt facing prey when threatened. They may allow the prey to squeeze its head in between the ceiling and the wombat's back so the wombat can then crush it's skull. Wombats also perform donkey kicks.

When a human displeases them, wombats may bite, scratch, or bowl the human over. If you are attacked by a wombat, try climbing a tree until they leave.

Animal of the Day: Grimpoteuthis!

Grimpoteuthises are also known as dumbo octopuses thanks to their elephant ear like fins. These fins are flapped in order to swim.

Some dumbo octopuses live 23,000 feet under the sea, the deepest death any known octopus lives. The Dumbo octopus lives in all seven seas. The largest dumbo octopus ever recorded was 6 feet long.

Unlike any other octopus, dumbo octopuses eat their prey whole. The also lay eggs constantly with no distinguished mating season.

Males have longer suckers than females and two additional tentacles.

When in need of a quick escape, dumbo octopuses shoot water through a funnel and propel themself away from the threat.

Animal of the Day: Southern Right Whale!

What distinguishes right whales from other whales is the lack of dorsal fins, callosities on the back (growths of skin that host colonies of whale lice), and the long arching mouth that begins above the eye.

These whales must stay in non tropic waters due to their immense amounts of blubber. Southern Right Whales live their lives in the waters from Antarctica to South America, South Africa, and South Australia.

Southern Right Whales go sailing for fun, the catch the wind in raised flukes and ride about.

Kelp gulls, a type of seagull, have been known to viciously peck at the whales and eat their blubber.

The right whale got it's name from the days of whaling when the right whale was the ideal whale to catch thanks to it's slow moving nature, and high levels of blubber.

ANTI FEAR LIST THURSDAY

1. Dressing fabulously for spirit week
2. Adventure with Raquel: BK drive through and Alyssa, shake, mailing a ball, huggable card
3. Pumpkin Spice Latte and first small group of the year
4. Telling Mr. Strobel to treat himself but no one understood but I thought it was funny
5. Serenading Mary and Ray with love songs
6. Relieving worship Sunday night with Vineyard and Wow Wowyard, Vineow? 
7. Being a Czechoslovakian pronunciation master. 
8. Watching an anteater be dissected (on brainscoop)
9. Winnipeg being fixed and having brand new tires
10. Surprise coffee with Jambo and establishing two very important life rules 1.Nothing ever works out (this one is not for real) 2. Never wear leggings or yoga pants and also we made a cool new word but I forgot what it was. 

Animal of the Day: Pudu!

The Pudu is the world's smallest deer, standing from 13 to 17 inches tall. Pudus usually weigh up to 26 pounds but one was once found to weight a whopping 30 pounds. 

The males have short antlers that do not branch; the females have no antlers at all. 

Pudus have dewclaws. Dewclaws are the fifth toe that grow on some mammals such as dogs. 

One species of pudu lives in the rainforest and the other pudu lives in the andes mountains. 

Pudus bark when threatened and bristle when angered. The pudu is also capable of climbing up trees when pursued. 

Pudus stand on their hind legs and sniff the wind for food scents.

The Pudu is also known as the Chilean mountain goat. 

Pudus are endangered due to destruction of the rainforest. 

Animal of the Day: Giant Panda!

Panda bears are indeed bears. Though 99% of their diet is bamboo, they will occasionally eat small rodents and carrion. Pandas must eat 20 to 30 pounds of bamboo a day, and can poop up to  40 times a day due to their excessive eating.

Pandas live only in the mountains of China, they were driven out of the lowlands by humans. Pandas are endangered, but it seems the population in captivity and in the wild are on the rise.

It is suspected that pandas are black and white to provide camouflage in shady, snowy mountains. The panda has five fingers AND a thumb. Better to eat bamboo with. At 4 to 6 inches long, the panda has the second longest tail of all bears, behind the sloth bear.

Pandas typically live 20 years in the wild and 30 years in captivity.

Pandas are solitary and the females ain't tryin to hear about other females in their territory. Pandas do not hibernate nor establish long lasting dens.

The Western world first learned of panda's existence in 1869. Theodore Roosevelt Jr was the first American to shoot a panda in the 1920s. The first panda brought to America was put in the Brookfield Zoo in 1936.

Animal of the Day: Chinchilla!

Chinchillas are the softest animal in the world (sea otters take 2nd place). Chinchillas are crepuscular, meaning they are most active at twilight and dawn.

Chinchillas are rodents who lie in the Andes mountains (dang South America has all the cool rodents.)

Chinchilla means little Chincha and is named after the Chincha people. The Chincha people hunted the chinchilla for their wonderfully soft fur; the chinchilla became a rarity due to over hunting for its fur.

Chinchillas can jump up to 6 feet. Among the chinchilla's defensive tactics are the act of spraying pee and releasing fur.

Chinchillas roam in herds. Chinchillas cannot sweat; they regulate heat by sending blood to their ears.

Why I love Winnipeg my bicycle

It makes me feel more at ease when Winnipeg is working for I know I can travel and have freedom. Winnipeg doesn't guzzle gas. Winnipeg lets me travel and still feel the nature. Winnipeg is fast fast. And she looks cool. Winnipeg has a pineapple sticker that my dear friend Micah made for me. Winnipeg lets me avoid traffic. Winnipeg helps me keep in shape. Winnipeg helped me experience that glorious weather and rainbow. Winnipeg lets me grasp the handles in three different ways providing excellent comfort adjustment opportunities. Winnipeg lets me sleep in later than I do when I ride the bus. Winnipeg lets me avoid the bus. 

Animal of the Day: Samoyed!

The Samoyed gets its name from the Samoyedic people of Siberia. Russians used Samoyeds to help herd reindeer and pull sleds.

Males range from 51 to 66 pounds and females from 37 to 55 pounds.

Samoyeds cover their nose with their tail, while sleeping, to keep warm.

Samoyeds are too friendly to be guard dogs, but they bark plenty. They are great with children and treat them like reindeer, herding them around. Samoyeds don't loose playfulness with age, and may dig holes if they are not kept entertained.

Abi is going to have a Samoyed some day

Animal of the Day: Anteater!

Off the top of my head: They stand on their hind legs when threatened. They have very long forepaw claws for digging so they walk on their knuckles.

Anteaters are of the sub order Vermilingua which means worm tongue. Anteaters are related to sloths. Giant Anteaters are almost 6 feet long. Anteaters are distantly related to armadillos.

Anteaters have no teeth. All except the giant anteater have prehensile tails.

Anteaters are solitary animals. When territory disputes break out, anteaters shout at each other, swat each other, sit on each other, and sometimes ride on each other's back.

Anteaters need to visit about 200 insect nests a day to get proper feeding.

Baby ant eaters ride on their mama's back.

Animal of the Day: Chameleon!

In memory of my fifth grade classes' multiple dead chameleons. I only remember ciscos name, but you were all loved (there were two of you I believe) and I was always jealous I wasn't part of the team of kids who took care of you.

Chameleon means "lion ground".

Chameleons have specially adapted feet for arboreal locomotion, or tree climbing. They have five toes on each foot. There are two clusters of two toes clumped together and the fifth toe stands alone. Chameleons have spikes along their body to break up the outline of the chameleon and aid in camouflaging.

Chameleons can rotate their eyes 360 degrees and in different directions. They can see tiny bugs from up to 10 meters away. Chameleons can see in ultraviolet light. Chameleons have no ears or eardrums but they aren't deaf.

The smaller the chameleon, the further the tongue can fly. Small chameleons can extend their tongue more than twice the length of their body, excluding the tail.

Chameleons are mostly found in Africa and Madagascar, but can also be found in Europe, Asia, and small introduced patches can be found in Hawaii, Florida, and California.

It is believed that the eggs of some chameleons take more than 24 months to hatch.

Chameleons use color change for camouflage, to show their emotion, and to regulate body temperature. Chameleons change color by moving the pigment within their skin cells.

Rango, starring the chameleon Rango, is one of the best movies of all time

Mission Oh Canada: http://exhilerationwhenleaping.blogspot.com/2013/09/oh-canada.html

ANTI FEAR LIST THURSDAY

1. Relieving lunch with Hannah
2. Voice tuning and thrifting with Sam and Ricardio
3. Mrs. Pierson hugs and sharing music with Mrs. Pierson
4. Having art supplies on me throughout the school day because of first hour sculpture
5. Mr Veldkamp conveniently listening to concert choir when we were singing heavenly gospel oh my perfect vocal range yes. 
6. Worship jam session with Rebecca 
7. 3 on 3 basketball, scored all the baskets, hollaaaa
8. clusty but not actually
9. Karen gets to work where she'll enjoy working and I can still visit her
10. Ramen and Wes Anderson with my girl soap pop
11. Early morning smores with hava and oddie and elly and kaylee
12. salsa dreams
13. Denny's

Animal of the Day: Raccoon Dog!

Raccoon dogs are canines. It and the grey fox are the only canines who climb trees. The raccoon dog gets its name from its resemblance to a raccoon.

Raccoon dogs can be found in East Asia and West Europe.

Raccoon dogs have winter coats that protect them from temperatures down to -25 Celsius.

Raccoon dogs are monogamous! ( I love when animals are monogamous) Males fight for mates but not to the death. (smart 'uns). Daddy raccoon dogs play a very active and important part in raising the young.

Raccoon dogs are they only canines who hibernate. Depending on where they live, the raccoon dog may hibernate only in extreme snow storms, or may hibernate all winter.

Raccoon dogs eat amphibians, small mammals, and insects, reptiles, and fruit (basically anything). Raccoon dogs produce lots o saliva to enable themselves to eat toxic amphibians. Wolves, foxes, badgers, and large birds of prey prey upon the raccoon dog.

Raccoon dogs growl and whine but do not bark. Japanese raccoon dogs sound like cats. Raccoon dogs have been known to carry rabies.

Mission Oh Canada: http://exhilerationwhenleaping.blogspot.com/2013/09/oh-canada.html

Animal of the Day: Mandarin Duck!

The Mandarin duck is closely related to the American Wood duck.

The male is quite a flashy fellow and the female religiously follows, "modest is hottest".

These ducks can be found naturally in Russia, Japan and China. They have been introduced in one way or another to Britain, Ireland, various other European countries, North Carolina, and California.

Papa ducks guard the mama and egg ducks. The eggs are laid in a tree hollow and the mama coaxes the ducklings out of the tree once they have hatched; she then leads them to a marsh or swamp or body of water of some time.

Mandarin ducks eat seeds, acorns, small fish, snails, insects, plants, and grains. Minks, otters, polecats, raccoon dogs, Eurasian eagle owls, and grass snakes prey on the Mandarin duck.

The Chinese traditionally look at Mandarin ducks as signs of  affection and fidelity for they believed that, unlike other ducks, Mandarin ducks were life long mates.

Mission Oh Canada!: http://exhilerationwhenleaping.blogspot.com/2013/09/oh-canada.html

Animal of the Day: Maned Wolf!

Maned wolves are the tallest wild canine, standing at 26 to 42 inches at the shoulder. The Maned wolf's mane is to make it appear bigger when threatened.

 Maned wolves have a distinct order earning it the nick name "skunk wolf". Maned wolves are lone wolves, they do not form packs like other canines. Though they live apart, maned wolves are monogamous.

Half of the maned wolf's diet consists of fruit including sugar cane, tubers, and fruit. Maned wolves tap the ground with their ground, while hunting small animals, to scare the prey out of the grasses.

Mission Oh Canada: http://exhilerationwhenleaping.blogspot.com/2013/09/oh-canada.html

Things I'm bad at predicting

• consistency of friends
• what time to leave for things
• how much tp to grab
• how much change to order for my registers
• how cold 60 degrees is

Animal of the Day: Crow!

Species of crow can be found on a every continent besides South America and Antarctica.

Crows can both use and construct tools. Crows are among the smartest animals, almost as smart as primates. Crows in Israel have learned to use bread crumbs to bait fish. One species drops nuts into streets and waits for cars to run over and crush open the nut. A species in Australia learned how to eat a poisonous toad by flipping it over and violently pecking at it's throat.

Crows make a lot of different vocalizations. They have been found to respond to calls from other species. My friend Sophia told me that one crow learned how to sing a Lady Gaga song, and sang it better than Lady Gaga too.

Crows play mid air games of chicken to determine pecking order.

The oldest crow in captivity lived to be 59. The oldest, wild, American crown found was 30.

Mission Oh Canada: http://exhilerationwhenleaping.blogspot.com/2013/09/oh-canada.html

Animal of the Day: Platypus!

Off the top of my head: I covered the Echidna in an earlier Animal of the Day; the platypus is the only mammal beside the Echidna who lays eggs. Male platypuses have venomous spikes on their hind ankles. The bill of a platypus is leathery, not hard like a duck. Platypuses don't have nipples so they sweat milk out of mammary glands.  Platypuses are found in Australia and Tasmania.

With research: The first Europeans to come across platypuses thought the creature had to be some sort of elaborate hoax. Platypus means flat footed and is a Grecian name. The platypuses' scientific name, Ornithorhynchus anatinus, means bird-snout duck-like.

The platypus uses it's tail as a fat reserve like a camel does with its humps. Baby platypuses have teeth that they eventually loose; the teeth are replaced with pads of keratin. Female platypuses have spurs, like the males, as a baby but they fall off after their first year. The immune system of the male platypus produces the venom that is stored in theirs spurs. The venom can kill animals up to the size of the dog, and cause excruciating pain in humans.

Platypuses growl when disturbed. Platypuses find their prey by picking up on their electric fields; they don't use their eyes, ears, or nose for any of the hunt. Platypuses eat mostly crustaceans and need to eat 20 percent of their body weight per day. They also sleep for 14 hours in a day, possibly because of their low nutrition diet.

Platypuses have lived up to 17 years old in captivity and 11 years old out of captivity. Mortality rates are low in the wild due to predators such as eagles, the introduced fox, snakes, water rats, goannas, hawks, and owls.

Only the left ovary in a platypus is functional.

Mission Oh Canada: http://exhilerationwhenleaping.blogspot.com/2013/09/oh-canada.html

Animal of the Day: Otter!

Off the top of my head: I don't know so much about otters other than the fact that they break mulluscs open with rocks to eat, they hold hands while sleeping so they don't drift apart, and there was a super awesome Disney show about otters called PB and J Otters.

With research: Otters also eat amphibians, birds, and small mammals. They are closely related to badgers, weasels, polecats, and wolverines.

The name Otter comes from an Old English word, otor or oter, meaning water. The otter's den is called a couch. Male otters are called meowters, female otters are queens, and babies are pups. A family of otters is called a bevy, family, lodge, or romp.

The whole otter family takes very good care of the babies; moms, dads, and siblings all pitch in until the otter reaches 1 year of age.

There are 13 species of otter, all have very strong tails except for the sea otter. Poor sea otter.

Otters are very playful and seem to perform some activities for pure fun. Sometimes they build their own water slides.Otters close their eyes and noses when diving to keep water out.

Otters communicate with squeals, chirps, chatters, chuckles, screams, and warning calls.

Oh Canada Mission: http://exhilerationwhenleaping.blogspot.com/2013/09/oh-canada.html

Oh Canada Thermometer

Animal of the Day: Patagonian Cavy!

Off the top of my head: Patagonian live in herds in South America. They are one of three members of the cavy family along with guinea pigs and capy baras. What distinguishes them as a cavy are the four toes on front paws and three toes on back paws.  They are the third largest rodent. Patagonian pairs take turns babysitting all the babies of the herd while the rest of the herd goes off and eats. They rotate babysitting duty.

With research: The Patagonian Cavy lives only in Argentina. They run in a similar fashion to deer and antelope. Cavys stay with their partner for life unless their partner dies. The male follows his partner about hither and thither.

Females spray males with pee when they do not want them near. Males spray females with pee when they want to ward off other males.

Mission Oh Canada: http://exhilerationwhenleaping.blogspot.com/2013/09/oh-canada.html

A Glimpse of WO Choirs

Some of my fund raising audience may not have been able to experience WO Choirs. West Ottawa has been a wonderful place to experience singing and music. Here are some videos of songs I have been privileged to sing with WO

Miserere Mei, Lift Thine Eyes, & The Dove and the Maple Tree sung in West Ottawa Select Women's Ensemble


Barter, Aint That News, & Jonah sung in West Ottawa Concert Choir


We Are sung in West Ottawa Mass Choir (PS I also made the slideshow)


Servant's Chorus sung in West Ottawa Select Women's Ensemble

Faith is the Bird sung in West Ottawa Select Women's Ensemble

Through the House sung in West Ottawa Select Women's Ensemble

The Ring sung in West Ottawa Select Women's Ensemble

And WOSWE being awesome

Oh Canada!

What's goin' on‽ : I have the opportunity to travel to Toronto, Canada with West Ottawa choirs mid-may. We will use this trip to experience music in the world. Some of the things I know, thus far, that we will be doing are watching the Lion King musical, singing at a mass service in a cathedral, going on a boat tour, and seeing a renaissance show. Based on the trip I took to NYC with WO choirs my sophomore year, I know that Mrs. Pierson will be whisking us with much haste hither and thither and making us appreciate the town and singing opportunities and having us sing. I promise and entertaining recap of every day after the trip!

Why are you sharing this with me? : 1) I'm so dang excited! 2) I would like to let people know that they can help me raise money for the trip if they so desire

What are you doing to fund raise? : I post Animal of the Day blog posts nearly every day, I will take requests for the animal, free of charge, but with donation welcome. The blog posts are something I started before the fundraising and I foresee continuing, it is just something of entertainment one can consider exchange for one's hard earned money if one so desires. 

I will also start posting songs of me playing the ukulele and singing on youtube. I will also take song suggestions though it is not so easy for me to put up a song I do not know or cannot stylize and play well. But I will try! Like the Animal of the Day posts, it is something free for all viewers, but something one can consider exchange for one's hard earned money if one desires.

I will also be doing typical school fundraisers, I shall keep people updated on those through Facebook. 

If you live near me, WO Music Boosters takes part in the scrip program. You simply buy a gift card to a chain such as JCPenney and they donate part of the money you bought the gift card to WOMB. No extra money comes out of your pocket, you get a 100 dollar gift card if you pay 100 dollars, etc. If you are interested in scrip, just let me know!

I have a question that you didn't for see! : Email me at abigail.fergus@gmail.com or comment on this post or call me or text me or facebook me or ask me in person or send me an owl. Just kidding, I know we don't live in Harry Potter's Wizarding World

Fund Raising Thermometer: http://exhilerationwhenleaping.blogspot.com/2013/09/oh-canada-thermometer.html
My youtube: Kiddywampus!

My blog: http://exhilerationwhenleaping.blogspot.com/
West Ottawa Choir Singing: http://exhilerationwhenleaping.blogspot.com/2013/09/a-glimpse-of-wo-choirs.html
Magazine Fundraiser: http://www.gaschoolstore.com/Login/WelcomeShopper

A picture of a turtle eating something:

ANTI FEAR LIST THURSDAY!

1. Coffee and choco  muffin, sit on a park bench like bookends
2. Choco grammies with Eric
3. Accidentally going to drama club 
4. Dancing the night away with Oddie
5. The false story of Johnny Apple Seed
6. Shmemo! 
7. AP Lit Animal commentation
8. Having good ideas for the back page
9. Showing Gloria my chipmunk mint cheeks
10. Harvest soup but WHY HAS MY BREATH BEEN SO BAD!?!?!

Animal of the Day: Black Rhinoceros!

One subspecies of black rhinoceros is extinct, the rest are critically endangered :(

It is not yet fully agreed upon (but when are things fully agreed upon?) how many rhinos qualify as black rhinos, but most consider there to be 7 or 8 subspecies of black rhino.

These rhinos stand 4.5 to 6 feet tall at the shoulder, and 9.2 to 12 feet in length. Their tails tend to be two feet long. Black Rhinos have been known to be as light as 1300 lb and as heavy as 6380lb. They have two horns made of keratin and the longer one has been known to reach about 4.9ft tall. Some rhinos even grow a third, small horn. Black rhinos have a distinctive, hooked lip to help them browse for food.

The rhinos have thick skin to protect against thorns and sharp grass; this skin is also good for hosting parasites such as ticks. That is why rhinos are commonly known to have birds hanging out on them. These birds are oxpeckers who eat the ticks, and are even suspected to drink the rhino's blood.

Naturally, the rhinos ranged southern and eastern Africa. But sadly, they can only be found on nature reserves. These rhinos have been successfully reintroduced to Malawi, Zambia, and Botswana.

Black rhinos are usually solitary, but not very territorial. Sometimes females and children congregate, but generally they are lone wolves. Mamas are very protective and loving of their babies. Despite their lack of territorialness, they are very aggressive and sometimes tack mere tree trunks and termite mounds. This may be due to their poor vision. It is believed they have very good smell and hearing though. They have the highest mortal combat levels of all animals.

They have no natural predators, but in highly exceptional cases they have fallen prey to crocs. Sometimes lions go after babies and extremely small adults.

Rhinos follow paths that elephants clear through forests, to get to watering holes. Rhinos like wallowing in mud or dust to cool down and ward off parasites.

Rhinos can regenerate broken or damaged horns.

Beside the black rhino, there are five other species of rhino.

Rhinos can live up to 45 years in captivity.

Animal of the Day: Mountain goat!

Mountain goats are not goats, they are antelopes. They are closer related to the sheep and muskox than the goat.

Both males and females have beards and horns, though those of the male are longer. They shed their coats by rubbing on trees and rocks in the spring.

Mountain goats have inner pads, cloven hooves, and dewclaws that assist their impressive climbing feats.

Mountain goats are found only in North America. They usually stay within the tree line of mountains, but sometimes migrate as low as sea level and higher than the tree line.

In the wild, mountain goats usually live 12 to 15 years. Their days are numbered due to the grinding down of their teeth. Boys are called billies and girls are called nannies. Nannies live in herds, billies usually live alone. Baby mountain goats are born with the ability and readiness to start climbing immediately.

They can leap 12 feet.

Animal of the Day: Tufted puffin!

During the mating season, tufted puffins have tufts and bright beaks. Their wings are short and adapted for swimming and a flying like style underwater. 

Tufted puffins were discovered my a German zoologist by the name of Peter Simon Pallas. These puffins are more closely related to rhinoceros auks than other puffins. 

Tufted puffins are found along the pacific ocean and have been spotted as far south as south California. During the feeding season they spend almost all of their time out at sea. 

The Aleut and Ainu people of the north pacific used to hunt puffins for their meet and hide. Natural predators include arctic foxes, peregrine falcons, snowy owls, and bald eagles. 

When fishing, the puffin catches lot of fish at once. Puffins look silly when flying

The tufted puffin digs burrows in cliffs for their nests. They form big mating and baby laying communities when the season is right.

Throughout the whole post I kept typing penguins instead of puffins. 

Animal of the Day: Lemur Leaf Frog!

These froggies live in Central America in trees and low vegetation.

During the day lemur frogs are bright green, but at night they turn brown as a form of camouflage. These frogs only grow to be 3 to 4cm long.

They walk about low vegetation, walk not hop, at night for they are nocturnal. It's not known what these frogs eat but it is speculated that they eat small invertebrates.

Breeding takes place in the wet season and the males make clicking noises to attract the females. 15 to 30 eggs are then laid on a leaf overhanging water.

Currently a fungal disease is devastating amphibian populations across the world. It is thought that, as a defensive tactic against the hot sun and the deadly fungi, the frog's pigment reflects the sun. Reflecting the sun keeps the frog cool on the inside, and wards of the fungus which prefers cool temperatures.

Animal of the Day: Gazelle!

Gazelle is a broad name for multiple species of antelope. Today I shall focus on the Thomson's gazelle, the  most well known gazelle.

Named after and English explorer, Thomson's gazelles are found in Africa. They follow zebras and wildebeests about when searching for good grazing.

These gazelle have many predators including cheetahs, lions, leopards, hyenas, pythons, eagles, crocodiles, jackals, and baboons. The gazelle's ability to run for a long time, zigzag, and make sharp, swift turns, usually saves it from their less agile predators. They also use their ability to stot, pronk, or in other words, leap, to startle predators. Usually the young, the ill, and the decrepit are the ones taken down by predators.

Male gazelle establish territories and try to establish dominance over the female gazelle who form herds and travel through the various male territories. Males stiff the female's urine to see if she's ready for baby makin'.

Animal of the Day: Cuttlefish!

Cuttlefish get their name from their internal shell, the cuttle bone. Cuttle, in Old Norse, is thought to mean "cushion". They are cephalapods, related to the squit and octopus, and are a mollusc not a fish. They have w shaped pupils, eight arms, and to two tentacles. They are usually 5 to 9 inches long but the largest species can reach 20 inches.

Cuttlefish eat crabs, molluscs, worms, and other cuttlefish. They have many predators such as the dolphin and shark, so their life expectancy is short, but they are one of the most intellegent invertebrates. They have one of the largest brain to body size ratios.

The greeks and romans of old valued the unique brown pigment that cuttlefish excreet when panicked.

Cuttlefish have green blood, three hearts, and can change color. The bones of cuttlefish are filled with gas to help keep them buoyant. One species of cuttlefish has poisonous fish. Their w shaped eyes are one of the most well developed eyes of all and can change shape to focus. They also have eyes in the back of their head and can see behind them.

Animal of the Day: Armadillidiidae!

Pill bugs! Rolly Pollys!

They turn purpley blue when sick, they can drink out of their anus, they eat their own poo sometimes, they are crustaceans. They roll up, like armadillos, when panicked. These are things I know off the top of my head but here are more things:

They are in a family of woodlice. They are sometimes kept with tarantulas to clean the cage since they eat mold and poo. They are beloved by children and considered pests by others.

Wow wikipedia didn't have much to say about armadillidiidae. but how fun is that to say? Armadillidiidae!

ANTI FEAR LIST THURSDAY

1. In the process of recovery wild grapes with Anne and taking her to the log 
2. Waiting until 2am then almost sleeping but then finally finally Alex got here and then staying up til 3 talking to him and Luke
3. Lunch adventure with Emma and Quinn, glorious glorious songs sung, and it aided in later acquiring my new woswe dress that looks like awesome on me not potato sack
4. Old Friends by Simon and Garfunkel
5. Fox noises
6. my pencil monster pouch zipit thing
7. coworkers who are good at laughing except for the one who I can't make jokes around because the one has no understanding of sarcasm
8. spices make chicken soup so much better
9. winning against sutton and strobel's suggestions of me doing news instead of the backpage. as if
10. 87654321

Animal of the Day: Red Panda!

These guys live in the Himalayas and China and are currently vulnerable due to poaching and habitat loss. It has a peculiar gate because it's front legs are shorter than the back legs. Red Pandas feed on bamboo primarily, but also chomp down on eggs and birds and small mammals.

The red panda is in it's own family, unrelated to bears, raccoons, or pandas. Their tails provide camouflage and balance while climbing about. When hot, pandas lay on tree limbs with their own limbs hanging, when cold they curl up and wrap their tail around their body. Red pandas clean themselves like cats. When threatened and unable to scurry away, red pandas stand on their backlegs to make themselves appear bigger and use their sharp claws to fend of attack.

Red pandas make awesome twittering noises!

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Animal of the day: Puma! (because Jen likes cats not fish and also because I have a book about animals with a beautiful beautiful puma on the front)

Puma's are the same thing as cougars and mountain lions and are also called catamounts. They hold the Guinness record for cat with most nicknames.  Pumas are more like domestic cats than lions both in terms of being solitary and genetically close and the fact that they cannot roar, but cheetahs and jaguars are the closest relatives to the Puma. The Puma is usually silent but occasionally communicates in chirps, whistles, purrs, and other domestic cat like noises. There are six subspecies of Puma.

Pumas compete with gray wolves and jaguars for food when their territories overlap. Study is being undergone due to the suspicion that pumas have been successfully killing wolves by chomping down on the back of their skull.

Animal of the day: Axolotl!

Axolotls are amphibians, a member of the salamander family! They are popular scientific guinea pigs for they are able to regrow limbs. Don't shade them by confusing them with mud puppies, they ain't mud puppies.

Axolotls ares endangered because:

• pollution
• stupid asian carp and other foreign fishies eating the baby axolotls
• they are sold at the Mexican market. 

Axolotls grow to be 6 to 18 inches long, most commonly 9. They have gills stalks called ramis that are used to move oxygenated water. These guys have no eyelids but their teeth are existent, just barely visible and a bit unnecessary usually because they mainly eat by suctioning things in. Axolotls like to eat small fishies and wormies. 

Axolotls live in lakes in high up places in Mexico. They are sometimes cannibalistic when young. They can be pink!

Animal of the Day: Echidna!

Echidnas are named after a monster of Greek mythology and are also nicknamed "spiny anteaters", though they are not particularly closely related to anteaters. Echidnas are the only mammals, besides platypuses, that lay eggs. They live in Australia (basically Australia has the coolest animals) and New Guinea. They have an elongated snout making their skull resemble that of an odd bird or like those creepy doctor masks form the bubonic plague. Echidnas eat ants and termites with their sticky tongues, they have no teeth. Like platypi, echidnas have no nipples so they feed their young with their two milk patches. Also like platypi, the male echidna have spurs on their hind legs. Echindas have been recorded to live up to 50 years in captivity. The reproductive part on the male is very interesting but I will leave it up to the reader to read about that on wikipedia and keep my blog on the mild side of things.