Selected short subjects – all animals, natch!

                         Red fox                       Gary Lehman pic          

Looking down from the dentist’s big windows at a picturesque forested area with a stream running through it, I thought, as usual, how beautifully bucolic the scene was . . . until a staffer mentioned foxes being sighted there recently “and now we don’t see squirrels anymore.”  I hid my surprise.

A little later and not far away, on a lightly wooded road near a canal, I drove past a hawk standing by the side of the road over . . . a large bird?  A squirrel?  Or some other critter s/he had recently killed.  More surprise.

Why surprise?  Because I’ve used tunnel vision (and thinking) on animals: I like foxes and squirrels and I’m interested in hawks – but I’d given no thought to who eats whom.  Hearing about the foxes, my first instinct was to deny foxes would eat squirrels.  Wrong!  

Nor had I thought about what squirrels eat (besides the predictable acorns and the salt-free peanuts I offer).  They’re described as “opportunistic omnivores,” which means they’re also predators themselves, albeit un-fussy ones.

Same with hawks, whose presence overhead, I should have remembered, sends birds and other animals into hiding.

Whether I like it or not, Tennyson’s line, “Nature red in tooth and nail,” is all too true.

Cave art stars a pig

Way long ago, when people (whatever variety of them) still painted in caves, someone immortalized the animal who may be humans’ most popular meat: the pig.  Discovered on an Indonesian island in a remote cave reachable only during the dry season (!), the painting’s estimated to be at least 45,500 years old – possibly the world’s oldest cave art.

The ancient pig picture resembles the warty pig, which still lives on the island.  However, the real mystery is who made the painting: Homo sapiens or a now extinct human species?  No traces of the artist(s) have been found, but while the search continues, the art work is quickly deteriorating.  https://tinyurl.com/2j7ewyce

Can’t beat ’em? Eat ’em.

Familiar to Caribbean locals and visitors, iguanas have gradually moved to Florida, over-populating the southern part of the state.  This has prompted a range of reactions to the reptiles, from capturing them for pets to selling them for food.

One man, basking in his title of “Iguana King,” says he and his friends “don’t club anymore,” choosing instead to hunt for iguanas and sell them for various (not-good-for-iguanas) purposes.  A short film about their lifestyle shows the “hunters” partying while grilling “South Florida tree chickens.” 

Sweet, huh?  People keep finding new ways to disturb wildlife as if it exists solely for human consideration – and consumption.  

https://www.theatlantic.com/video/index/610942/iguana-king/

Bald eagles rebound

In 1982, only one pair of bald eagles was known to be nesting in NJ.  Today, the birds – decimated by human use of DDT until a government ban in 1972—are nesting in all of New Jersey’s 21 counties, the Times of Trenton reports.

Improved water quality that boosts fish populations and the discovery that eagles aren’t as fussy about habitat as once thought have also contributed to their growing numbers here.  Though half their nests are in southern counties near the Delaware Bay, the overall total of more than 200 nesting pairs is a major milestone in bald eagle recovery.

Orphan elephant needs others like him

Finally, here’s a wonderful video I came across while roaming around elephant territory online.  It’s about a dear orphan baby elephant who must win the acceptance of older orphans so he can join their herd to return to the wild. 

For a few years, I’ve seen and read nothing but good about David Sheldrick operations for animals, and this one is a stellar example.  You will be charmed and quickly start rooting for Endoto during 13 minutes of what I think is elephant bliss.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LyYjokvbuzY

 

#

 

You’re invited to comment at 1moreonce.blogspot.com.