The "Outrageous": weird facts...what the heeells?

I'm currently watching Animal Planet's show "50 Outrageous animal facts" and I've decided to share a couple of the facts because really...they are SO weird. The animal kingdom never ceases to amaze me, nature's truly talented!!

• A manatee (also known as the mermaid) sleeps in between breaths, making their full sleep time...actually only about 20mins.

• Dolphins sleep with only half of their brain at a time...which sort of explains why they're always on the go and active, crazy lil buggers!

• Mudskippers can actually climb trees even though, like their name, they are normally found in muddy, swamp areas.

• Octopus live longer without their sex organs

• Killifish usually mate in small pools of water, then the female will hatch eggs...and die afterwards because the small pool of water dries up. THE STRANGE PART is that even if you leave the mama female in a normal fish tank with enough water, after she hatches her eggs...she dies anyways =/

• An average of 10 people are killed each year by sharks...

• ...this compared to COWS who kill 100x more people on average per year. (yeah, that's right...fix those stereotypes!)

• As many as 4 million prairie dogs can live in ONE colony.

• Insects have roughly 740,000 different species.
  

The Fashionable: Ugliest Dog Competition

While studying for a test earlier today, some friends and I started doing some research on ugly animals. Animals like the sphinx, hairless cat came up and deformed dogs and such came up. This reminded me that there is a "WORLD'S UGLIEST DOG COMPETITION" annually!! how could I forget?!?!

They JUST crowned a new winner this past June. Everyone...meet Pabst, the new world's ugliest dog! Surprisingly, it's actually not that ugly to me...so I'm not sure why it won because in the past 7 years, the Chinese Crested breed has won!! Oh well...I must say...Pabst does adorn the "what the heck are YOU looking at" look well, so congrats to him!

For winning...Pabst and his owner received $1,600 from the Sonoma-Marin Fair for sweeping all three rounds ($100 for mutt class, $500 for runoff with the pedigree class winner, and $1,000 for World’s Ugliest Dog).

This year sponsor House Of Dog upped the ante with another $1,000 in prize money, a table of “bling” that included collars, leashes, and bowls plus a year-round modeling contract that Pabst signed with his paw. Event Photographer Grace Chon included a professional photo shoot.

Pabst was adopted from a rescue shelter 3 years ago and stands as the first "mutt" to win the competition.

2008's winner...a Chinese Crested cutie/ugly named Gus passed away a couple of months after winning the crown from skin cancer. He seemed to be an awesome, happy little one-eyed tripod (yep, only THREE LEGS folks!) and may he rest in peace. Gus was 9 years old.

To read more details on the annual Sonoma-Marin Fair and its awesome ugly dog show, click here.

The Ugly: Aye-Aye

I knew that my next blog post had to be something funny, maybe another profile? I thought of doing fictional animals like the unicorn or something, then remembered this ugly, hilariously looking creature I saw on animal planet once--The Aye-Aye...and secretly chuckled to myself. SO here is the animal in all it's fashionable glamor!

The Aye-Aye is a rain forest dwelling, ape/chimpanzee/HUMAN (whaat??) related ugly monkey-look alike...Madagascar native. and only in Madagascar will you catch a glimpse of the weird looking creature.

It's an omnivore which means it eats both meat and plants and has a diet that consists of fruits, veggies and insects. They are nocturnal, so they spend their days sleeping and only come out at night...and prefer to stay up in the trees unless absolutely necessary to come down.

Like many primates (that's us!) , the Aye-Aye has opposable big toes which help it grip and hang from trees and grab things easier. They can live up to 20 years and have a tail as long as 24 inch es! I think these guys, though ugly...are perfectly loveable <3. href="http://www.animalinfo.org/species/primate/daubmada.htm">here.

Interesting facts about these uglies:
1. They are one of the rare animals that use echolocation to find prey, such as listening for insects that crawl under tree barks
2. To the native people, Aye-Ayes are considered a bad omen...and are often killed on sight....resulting in their name being on the Endangered Species list. (good going humans!) The good news is that they are also now protected by law as their numbers are dwindling.

The Oops! Puppy down the toilet!

So for this installment of paw corner, I'm commenting on an article I read where a 4 year old boy in Britain accidentally flushed his week old cocker spaniel puppy down the toilet as he attempted to give it a bath after his twin brother took the puppy out for a walk. The puppy was flushed nearly 20 yard away from the house where he was finally rescued. Here is the link to the story with a video of the amazing sequence of events for the tiny pup.

As I read through some of the comments, I realized that my questions and concerns were very much alike with others. Who takes a week old puppy out for long, muddy walks? Why was a 4 year old washing a week old puppy with no adult supervision? anything could've happened...the child could have drowned the dog in the sink! I believe that it is hard to watch your child at all times, but during certain activities where extreme caution and responsibility need to be instore, such as bathing an infant canine, an adult should be present.

On the other hand...where would a child get the idea to wash a dog in a toilet in the first place?? Very unusual. One of the comments noted that children often mimic what they have seen before and perhaps assumed that flushing the toilet cleans the toilet and therefore would be a good place to clean a dog? It's any body's guess...at least there was a happy ending and the puppy is fine and healthy after 4 hours in the pipes, poor guy! The family named the dog Dyno, after its resucer.

Reiterating on OWNER RESPONSIBILITY, please please take caution, care and responsibiltiy if you have a pet. A pet might be a good tool to teach children responsibility, but adults must realize that children still have so much to learn. Not every case may be so lucky as this one...

The Ugly: The Snakehead Fish

I'm addicted to websites that rank certain things or have the top 10 most ____ something. Recently I read one of "world's most evil fish"...but maybe it's just misunderstood??

The Channidae is a type of fresh water fish found in Asia and Africa and are also known as "Snakeheads" because of their hunting habits and shape of their head.

They can weigh up to 60 pounds (whoa!) but the heaviest ever caught by man weighs roughly 9 pounds. They are "scary" and are considered a hazard to wildlife habitat in some areas due to their nature and ability to basically eat anything. They have no set diet and can eat plankton, aquatic insects, frogs, birds and the rest can be part of your imagination!!

What makes them even more unique is that they have been known to be able to breathe atmospheric air and can live on wet land for up to 4 days! With skills such as these, the snakeheads have virtually no natural enemies and are considered a top level predator.

The only thing standing in their way and world domination? humans of course. Though they are not an the endangered species list, they ARE caught and killed for food dishes in South East Asia (and some imported to the U.S.) and exotic aquariums. What would you feed such a fish if it was in YOUR tank?? To learn more about these ugly, snakeheads, click here.

Dedication: Dwarf Hamsters

A really dear friend died about 3 weeks ago, so I decided to make a small dedication to her/him/it. Hamtatoe, this is for you. (The picture to the left is Hamtaty and I!!)

Dwarf Hamsters are common house pets and can be found in most pet stores. They are active little buggers that tend to bite of not used to/trained being hand-held at a young age. They can grow up to 3-4in and live up to 3-4years. Hamtaty lasted a whopping 3 years, a true fighter!

They are social creatures and like to be with other hamsters. However, if you are introducing a new "friend" into the cage, make sure that the two agree with each other or else you'll have fights! Clean out the cage and put the NEW hamster in first, let it roam around and get its scent in the cage...then put in the old resident. If one if male, put the male in first. Let them adjust to each other, but observe them carefully! Some hamsters just like being solitary.


Hamsters are similar to rabbits and other rodents in that they like to gnaw on things. Some hamsters reject chew toys and will chew on their cages (like Hamtatoe)...this problem can be solved with a dog biscuit that is hard and tasty...YUM :)

Since hamsters don't have that long of a life expectancy, towards the later part of their life, they might be prone to health problems. Most people don't take their hamsters to the vet because the price of a hamster can be lower than $10 where as a trip to the vet could be over $100.

However, always remember that the easiest way for both you as an owner, and them as a pet, is just to take good daily care.

Good owner responsibility is key to a healthy, happy pet. This decreases the need for expensive trips to the vet and will likely encourage a stronger bond between you and your special friend. Remember that pets (like people) need daily TLC...so even if you're busy with school, work or social life....if you have a pet, remember your responsibility and commitment and make some time to bond and care for your pet.

To learn more about dwarf hamsters and how to care for them, check out this online community dedicated to dwarf hamsters!

Tail-Benders: A misconception-The White Tiger

Does this look like the pretty white tigers we see in zoos? Or on Post cards? Definitely not. Is it sick?? nope.

This is the true face of the white tiger.

The fact is that White Tigers come from a genetic mutation which is NOT favored in the wild. The key is that being the color white...sort of ruins their camouflage in the wild. This makes it so that a white fur coat is NOT favored.

The white coat is a recessive gene which means that the only way to produce a white tiger is through inbreeding from father to daughter, grandfather to grand daughter etc. So when you trace it all back...all white tigers are related to each other and come from the same original white tiger.

By the nature of inbreeding, animals who are excessively inbred are prone to severe birth defects and multiple health concerns. Things like immune deficiency, scoliosis of the spine (distorted spine), and grotesquely crossed eyes that bulge from their skull. Only a very small percentage are suitable for display! Most breeders will dispose of their deformed white tigers and continue inbreeding until a "normal" white tiger comes along.
The reason why we have white tigers in zoos is because of people. People enjoy the pretty coat and the exotic hype of an animal that is rare...and oh-so beautiful. Some have even claimed that the white tiger is a "special" rare species of tiger completely separate from the orange ones we are used to. They call it the "Royal White Bengal Tiger." Which does not actually exist.

Help inform the public and educate others about the origins of the white tiger. To read more, click here.