Humans

The person in the picture is taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Akha_cropped_hires.JPG



Humans are created by God's image according to the Bible, and like other creatures, we are also unique in our own way. One thing for sure, we are the only animal who are created to stand up straight and walk.

Like the chimpanzee, we are classified as mammal, primate, under the species of Homo Sapian. Our life span is approximately 75 years of age. We can have children all year around, usually 1 young per litter. We usually are active during the, or in another word, diurnal. Since we eat everything from plants, animals and their products and also being the only species that is creative, that made us the only ones that cook the food.

Do you know what else that made us different from other animals? We also bury our dead! That also might lead to the question, where do we distributed in the world? Well, to be honest with you, due the fact that we are not an endangered species, we tend to live across the globe.

Border Collie

This picture was taken from a new friend that I've met, she was really nice to share her precious collie picture with me and everyone else who reads this blog. http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=1460380932&sk=photos

When we speak of collies, we often think of the most famous Rough Collie in the world, named Lassie. Although a Rough Collie has similarities with the Shetland Sheepdog, but there are other collies/sheepdogs around the world as well, who are as energetic and hard working as the Rough Collie. One of those breeds which they look like robbers with black masks on are called the Border Collie.

If you have seen the pig movie franchise called "Babe", then you will notice there are a pair of dogs on a farm, name Fly and Rex. Undoubtedly, they are also the charming Border Collie.

Speaking of Border Collie, they came from a long way across the world from the border of the United Kingdom and Scotland as a working sheepdog, they still remain as a popular breed for herding but they weren't recognized by its present name, Border Collie, until 1915.

A bit of their characteristics, they have excellent stamina, supremely intelligence and highly responsive, which means it's going to be an excellent idea to train the Border Collie for Dog Agility Trials. They are also great companions for very active family with older kids, they will work hard for a praise, so they are really trainable.

If you're one of those medium or even low energy person, then it's not a good idea for raising a Collie of any sort, because if they are left alone too long without exercise and companionship, the dog will become very miserable, very bored and VERY destructive, and the owners may find themselves being "herded" like sheep in the house.

As for their body height, it's around 18-21 in or 46-54 cm;
weight: 31-49lb or 14-22 kg
Coat care: They need to be brushed very often or they will shed like a husky.

Hummingbird: One Tiny Creature

This photo was taken from http://wildbirdsupplies.net/hummingbird-feeders/



I believe at least some of us common folks have seen those adorable birds before, at least for me, I remember that I saw a hummingbird once before when I was little. It was indeed very TINY!! It was about the size of my thumb and its wings were flapping so fast that is was a blur. It was also moving around between flowers and bushes gathering nectar, which is a sweet liquid produced from flower.

It was later on that I pleasantly learned that hummingbirds' size is from 7.5–13 cm (3–5 in, which means their size really is roughly the same size of our thumbs! Of course, there's another hummingbird which is smaller, all of that 5 cm and goes by the species "The Bee Hummingbird".

Of course, the "humming" part of the bird's name was not a bluff either! The reason why it's called the "Hummingbird" is because of the flapping sound of their wings, the wing action is so fast that it hums, it can go up to 12-19 times per second and can fly up to 54 km/h! Imagine that!

With that fast metabolism and flying motion going on, we might think that those birds live a short live, which is, again to my amazement, not exactly true! Although many of the young chicks don't survive the first year, especially between hatching and leaving the nest, which called fledging, but for those that survived can live up to more than decade! Of course, different types tend to have different life spam, like the better known North American hummingbirds live up to only 3 to 5 years. But most live longer than that.

Speaking for Animals

This is a Vancouver Aquarium Logo, I DO NOT claim it as my property. For more information, please contact the aquarium at http://www.vanaqua.org/


Hey, dear readers! This post is an update post on my own personal plan and thoughts for the animals this year.

As an animal lover ever since I was a little girl, I have always thought of being a vet or an animal behavior expert, but due to moving around the world throughout my whole life, I went into art program for finishing up my schooling instead. But, luckily, I was fortunate enough to get back in touch with my main interest and enrolled myself to the Vancouver aquarium as a volunteer, where I'm happily serving my time around animals.

But this year, after I saw on the news in Taiwan, just one the day I came back to Vancouver, that taking fur off animals are usually from animals who are still alive and kicking and they feel every second of pain while being skinned. After seeing this footage, I have decided to join up an organization on fighting against animal cruelty, including illegal hunting, fur and skin trading and so on. Or at least do something about it.

Of course, I can't do all that alone, since I'm only one person and I can't change the world by my own power, it would really help out if anyone can show some kind of kindness, of any sort, for our furry friends by donating things like used pet toys, pet beds, pet food.... to your nearest animal shelter near you, or even doing some volunteering work will help a lot as well.

As for planning on getting yourself a pet, please consider adopting, instead of buying, because buying a pet is usually comes from an animal mill where a mom is always giving birth to children, which is quite harmful to the animal mothers and also getting our living community over populated with unwanted animals. Of course, adopting is giving an animal a second chance of a good life, they aren't there by choice or they have something wrong with them, it's usually the owners can't afford taking care of them, due to traveling, working and so on.

Having said all that, please think ahead for the animals before buying a piece of leather jacket, or buying, instead of adopting, a pet from a pet store. Please, be kind to animals. Thank you!

Butterflies: The Large Tree Nymph

I would like to make an apology for taking so long on updating my blog. It has been a very exhausting trip back home to Taiwan for Chinese New Year. But now I'm back and the animal blog continues.


Butterflies are probably one of the few insects that are pleasant to watch and to be around with. Of course, I'm also one of the human population who enjoys their existence and beauty. This picture was taken in the Taipei Zoo when I visited there.

Like bees around the world, butterflies actually play an important part for the environment, such as spreading pollen from flower to flower, so that the flowers can produce its fruits and so on. This particular butterfly is called the Large Tree Nymph, it is the largest butterfly in Taiwan, considering the fact that it's wing spread go to up to nearly 13 cm.. It is a such a slow flying butterfly, even in the wild, that it requires very little effort to fly its wing beats are very slow, so slow that the individual movements of each wing can be easily observed. Imagine the difference in the wing movement between those butterflies to the Humming Birds!! Speaking of which, I guess I will write something about Humming Birds for my next blog!

Anyway, the Large tree Nymph spends most of its time on flying and hovering in the high tree canopies (A canopy means like a top cover, like a lid for a pot or like a shelter. On the topic of trees, I guess it means the top of a luscious tree.). However, much like a sloth, who also lives on trees all the time, moves slowly but they do come down the tree from time to time, the Nymph also descends to ground level to feed and to breed, but does not rest on the ground, due to safety reasons of being attack and eaten by birds and such. It usually rests on the ends of dead branches or twigs.

By the way, just out of curiosity, do you think you're romantic when it comes to dating? At least I think I'm romantic when it comes to it. Animals can also be quite seductive and very sexy if the time of love is in the air. When mating season the male and female fly together for an hour or more (it's like a Spanish tango of seduction.) before mating, which occurs at ground level. The male releases a hormones sent, called the pheromones, and other chemicals from its hair pencils to stimulate the female. These include danaidone, a poisonous substance that helps to protect it from predators, which is later passed on to the eggs.

The early stages of life of the Ceylon Tree Nymph are not well recorded. One account by naturalists Lionel de Nicéville and Manders dating from about 1900 describes the larva as "velvety black with four pairs of long filamentous tentacles" with each segment of its body marked with a pale yellow band. The record further mentions that it has twelve segments and that the sixth segment has a "large oval crimson spot". Its head and legs are black.

Christmas Announcement.

Dear All:

First of all, Merry Christmas to you and your family!! And of course, a very big THANK YOU to everyone of you for supporting this blog, all your comments and questions are precious to me. Even if you're just dropping in to read the animal information represents every ounce of encouragement and inspiration.

Secondly, I will be taking a break for about 3 weeks from writing my blog, due to the obvious reasons of Christmas, New Year, my trip on returning to Taiwan in early January and getting over my jet lag.

So, having said all that, have a great holiday season and see you all in 3 weeks!


Remember to take care of the animals around you and Reduce, Reuse and Recycle!!
Tammy

Cats: The Hunters that Charms us all.

This photo is taken from a good friend of mine who was kind enough to share her kitty's "portfolio" with me. http://www.wretch.cc/album/album.php?id=yiling9999&book=2


For those who have seen the Shrek's movies, we will know there's an adorable kitty with a sword, a hat with a feather and a pair of boots and goes by the name of "Puss". Although cats can be skillful hunters, like their other relatives, but they tend to sleep up to 12~16 hours, much like their other relatives as well.

Domestic cats, no matter their breed, are all members of one species. Felis catus has had a very long relationship with humans. The Ancient Egyptians may have first domesticated cats as early as 4,000 years ago, if you have seen the movie called "The Mummy", you'll now that they even considered cats as their guardian of the dead! Of course, with plenty of rodents, such as rats and mice, probably also the main reason why the wild felines were drawn to human communities. The cats' skill in killing the rodents may have first earned the affectionate attention of humans. Like I said before, the Ancient Egyptians loved the cats to the extend that they worshiped a cat as their goddess and even mummified their beloved pets for their journey to the next world—accompanied by mummified mice! Cultures around the world later adopted cats as their own companions.

Like their wild relatives, domestic cats are natural hunters able to stalk prey and pounce with sharp claws and teeth. They are particularly effective at night, when their light-reflecting eyes allow them to see better than much of their prey. Cats also enjoy acute hearing. All cats are nimble and agile, and their long tails aid their outstanding balance.

Cats are actually quite communicative, they spread their messages around by marking trees, fence posts, or furniture with their claws or even their natural waste, such as urine, I'm so sure, so please don't take my word for it, but maybe even feces, that's poo in simple word. These scent posts are meant to inform others of a cat's home range. House cats employ a vocal repertoire that extends from a purr to a screech.

Domestic cats are still carnivorous, which means they meat eaters, no matter how tame we might think we have tamed them, and they have evolved a simple gut appropriate for raw meat. They also retain the rough tongue that can help them clean every last morsel from an animal bone (and groom themselves). Their diets vary with the whims of humans, however, and can be supplemented by the cat's own hunting successes.