Creatures 'great & small': something's fishy here!

Asked to imagine rescuing creatures who live in water, you might picture large sea animals being helped somehow.  Sure, that happens.  But how about goldfish --300 of them -- in a flooded basement?  What then?

That’s a job for New York City’s “on-call fish-rescuer,” Brenda Prohaska, whose lifesaving tendencies began with a casual interest in fish and grew to large-scale life-saving, attracted a partner in fish-rescue and earned recent publicity and kudos for both of them.

Well, why not?  They deal in aiding aquatic creatures in life-threatening situations who, as with other animals in distress, also need help: "Attention must be paid!”  And, with about 90 rescues in the last three years, this Bronx cosmetology teacher agrees.

Typically contacted for rescue via her Facebook page, Prohaska shows up in her “fish-rescue ambulance,” otherwise known as a beat-up hearse, carrying her rescue gear and space for those she saves.  Her partner, Laboy Wiggins, a disabled construction worker, drives up to three hours from his home in Pennsylvania to NYC to help in a cause that he also finds restful and healing.

Both rescuers also house fish in their homes, but Wiggins wins the “biggest tank" prize because he has opted to care for some surprisingly large fish.    https://tinyurl.com/mpan27rh 

Meanwhile, back off our coast          

Humpback whale

Fish stories like that one remind me of the ongoing coverage about much bigger marine creatures, like whales, dying off NJ’s coast, along with mass-strandings of dolphins.  The good news is that two NJ legislators have asked NOAH (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) to hurry up with findings about these deaths so speculation can be put to rest and safety steps might be enacted.

Right now, various theories for why these deaths have occurred are in play – from boat strikes to offshore wind development -- with no definitive problem identified and therefore no protective solutions implemented.  A sad media photo of a dead humpback whale being hauled back from the water for beach burial must serve as motivation for quick action to protect humpback and right whales, as well as dolphins.

(assumed to be a sperm whale)

As Heathcote Williams details so convincingly in Whale Nation, whales are of huge importance to human survival.  Do enough people know that?       

Sperm whales are family folk

“Sperm whales are the loudest and largest-brained of marine animals.  They might also be the most tender.”

If that caption doesn’t prompt you to read the rest of the book review, replete with stunning whale photos, just read the highlights here.  After being nearly wiped out by the 1970s, this whale species is slowly repopulating.  Humans can best see (and hear) sperm whales diving deep, sleeping vertically, grooming, nursing and at play off Dominica in the Caribbean.

That’s where the author-marine scientist-photographer Gaelin Rosenwaks went before producing Sperm Whales: The Gentle Goliaths of the Ocean (Rizzoli).  In their complex matrilineal society, females (about 30,000 pounds) stay bonded for life, averaging 70 years, while males (who can reach 100,000 pounds) stay with their mothers for a decade before going off on their own.  Social beings who associate in families, then in clans, sperm whales use their rhythmic sonar clicks, or “codas,” to communicate and hunt.    

“There is nothing like looking into the eye of a sperm whale,” the author says.  “Their eyes are filled with wisdom that penetrates your soul.”   https://tinyurl.com/2s4k96e6

Watch a short video of the author with a sperm whale and listen to the clicks.    https://tinyurl.com/2rnpt3ps

Megalodons ruled ancient seas 

And finally, among water creatures, sharks – or one shark in particular: the megalodon, the biggest predatory fish of all time.  While long extinct, the megalodon “ruled the waves” and all other animals in ancient oceans. 

Today, in “Sharks,” a long-running exhibition at Manhattan’s American Museum of Natural History, the gaping jaws of a scientifically accurate model of megalodon greets visitors as the start of the exhibition. This is a reminder of an earlier post here: Now is the time to pick a date for your NYC visit and order timed ticket(s) online  (AMNH.org/exhibitions/sharks) well before Labor Day/Sept. 4, when the exhibition ends.     

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A unique pig, animal 'pests' & 'aliens,' & Jersey

Brutus

I have to say that Sy Montgomery’s book about her family’s unique pet pig is “a good good book.”  Which seems only fair when the book title is A Good, Good Pig. 

In a spur-of-the-moment rescue, Montgomery and her husband, both writers, adopted a sickly runt piglet from friends, brought him home to their New Hampshire farm house in a shoe box and, utterly beguiled by him, named him “Christopher Hogwood” (in a nod to the famous early music conductor-musicologist whose work often accompanies their writing sessions).

The couple welcomed “Chris” taking over their lives and the consciousness of their little community as well.

Their baby pig steadily grew to about 750 pounds over his long life – one chief reason for the book title: he lived, and lived the good life, unlike most all pigs in the universe.  And he lived with such flair that most others around him happily petted, played with, fed, bathed and massaged him . . . and even brought him home after his frequent break-outs to explore. 

Christopher was widely known in his area, charming virtually everyone he met.  That included the gazillion friends, neighbors and relatives in his life – too many, in fact, for me to remember after Montgomery introduced them.  The pig was the thing.  

Just who’s the pest?

Burmese python

Consider a woman who’s fond of many animals that people regard as “pests”: pigeons, mice and rats, deer, snakes.  “Every location has a hated animal,” she says.  They include lizards, mice, Burmese pythons, cats, elephants – quite a variety, determined by location and human needs that can supersede any humane inclinations.

In reality, every “pest” species is trying to eat, reproduce and survive.  (Sound familiar?)

 The surprise in all this: to the “pests” of the (non-human) animal world, we humans are the ones seen as the “pests” – we, after all, are the ones who moved them out of their natural habitats and continue to make life hard for them.

All of which is why Bethany Brookshire has published Pests: How Humans Create Animal Villains (Echo) – a book that’s no doubt painful, but accurate.   https://tinyurl.com/2p967wxf

‘Aliens’ = the not-us

(slime-emitting) Hagfish 

How often have we heard something new, different and not like us called “alien”?  Not practiced in accepting life forms different from our own, we may have said it ourselves.

“Blue blobs” recently found in the sea were described as “alien-like” and are likely to remain so till further study.  Even other humans, both ancient and contemporary, can be regarded – and treated -- that way. 

Illustrating anthropomorphism, we look at other organisms for “reflections of ourselves.”  Recognizing some similarities can make us more protective of those one-time aliens.  When we don’t see ourselves in new life forms, labels like “aliens” can arise.  

And meanwhile, we are probably seen as “aliens” by the very beings we see that way!  https://tinyurl.com/45fhva7v

Jersey boy @ home

Now part of our family for 5 months and a few days, Jersey has settled in and made his presence known, felt – and heard!  He’s still curious about any new thing he spies and must check it out (a door opened for the first time); same with unusual sounds (a new musical instrument) or sights (first seeing a pinwheel). 

He and Billy are best buds by now, apparently respecting each other’s differences -- like Jersey’s yowling, which is gradually lessening.  He may simply be increasingly comfortable, confident he’s loved and sure he’s here to stay.   

Food is his clearest vocal motivator: Jersey caterwauls before and after meals for reasons I can only guess.  Maybe he simply wants to assure he gets regular meals and after eating, announces he liked them.  

I foresee clicker-training in Jersey's future.  For both of us, that should be a real challenge.  

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Robins meet, owl adapts, Galaxy shares, fox learns . . .

American robin

After rain?  Before spring?  Once grass starts greening?  What brought at least 100 of them here to the park earlier this week?

Despite the chilly, overcast day, they were out in droves, their colors giving them away: a robin convention in the neighborhood!  

People walking or bike-riding could move right through the robins, who fluttered off to settle down again nearby.  If worms were part of their reason for being there, recent rain may have brought them out.  Or maybe simply the imminence of spring once past January and February: could it be that?  

Is there an avian specialist in the house?  

If so, these two questions: First, when will hummingbirds come back?  Now may be the time to set up for those beautiful and amazing hummers.  It was only last year I first saw numbers of them aiming for the red flowers on the trumpet vine. 

And second, does anyone know where to find the bird-silhouette stickers to put on the outside of windows to prevent bird hits? 

A wise, resilient owl

Even if I had a wingspan of nearly 6 feet and fearsome talons too, I wouldn’t want to be an owl born in captivity and living in a safe place where I was cared for – then suddenly set free to survive on my own in a huge city. . . .

But one real owl, named Flaco, who was suddenly freed from New York City’s Central Park Zoo, has proved his mettle, quickly moving from hopping to flying and from being fed at the zoo to becoming an effective hunter for his meals.

As one of the world’s largest owls, a Eurasian eagle-owl (name not explained in the NYTimes story), Flaco reportedly gained confidence quickly once on the loose.  He may have looked stressed to begin with, but now he’s described as an “athletic and handsome prince.”  

                           Flaco                             NYTimes pic                            

The animals who harassed him at first must give him a wider berth now that Flaco has proven himself in the big city.  https://tinyurl.com/2p8dmcb2

Universe of cat info

I’ve mentioned to others how much I like Jackson Galaxy, the self-described “Cat Daddy” whose TV series “My Cat from Hell” was my intro to him and his cat-savvy ways. 

So he looks outré – who doesn’t, in these days of practically anything goes, anywhere? – and he’s confident about what he knows and how he can help all of us who mean well, but need work.

Galaxy can seem to be all over with his products, his Cat Camp sessions around the country and his YouTube station with videos on countless aspects of Catdom: all easy to watch and hard to argue.

For those wanting to know about Galaxy, here’s the route: first, a series of short videos about him and second, a series of his “cat lessons.”

https://www.youtube.com/JacksonGalaxy/intro

https://www.youtube.com/JacksonGalaxy/videos

 

The White Paws

                                                                     by Dara Yen Elerath

The fox with broken legs has a gift others do not.  He removes his paws and they go walking through the woods at night alone.  The paws stop to touch pondwater, to brush a blade of saltgrass.  They tap the backs of passing beetles in the dark.  At dawn, they return to the fox, whispering of rabbits curled in damp caverns, of green oak leaves and sand.  The fox listens carefully; he gleans secrets of the world this way.  He learns of the earth without lifting his nose from his long, broken limbs.  Always, when the paws return they say we missed you, always he listens.  How young, how simple they seem besides his face which is mottled and pocked.  He gentles the paws like children.  He hopes when he dies they live on without him.  When his bones rattle and shake in wind, he hopes the paws walk through autumn leaves, pad softly through newfallen snow.  He dreams they will drift across a black lake dappled with rain; that, above it, they’ll rise; they’ll glow like four pale moons.

              (c. 2022 by Dara Yen Elerath. Originally published on 11-16-22 by the Academy of American Poets.)

 

 

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