P is for Pangolin

I don't really know what to say about this guy. My first reaction to the photo was some odd combination of "Aww" and "Huh?"

Is it an armadillo?

Is it an aardvark?

Is it some kind of anteater-porcupine hybrid?

Well, it is a kind of anteater. The pangolin has no teeth, but does have the signature anteater tongue that shoots out some 16 inches (longer than the animal's body!) to suck up little bugs and swallows them whole.

No one can really say for sure if the pangolin, that is, any of the 8 species of pangolin, is endangered. Because the animal is so secretive in its lifestyle, an accurate population count is nearly impossible to gauge. All that can really be said is that the pangolin's numbers are declining in China. Why are they declining?

Well, apparently they're a delicacy.

And poachers like their scales. In Vietnam, a pangolin can fetch up to $100 (that's USD) per kilogram, leading to upwards of $700 per animal killed. The animal is then fermented in rice wine and its scales are consumed because it is falsely believed that they have anti-inflammatory properties and improve circulation. This has been disproved by science.

When researching this adorable creature I came across some very unsavory images of descaled pangolins. It tears at my little vegan soul so much to write about animals that are in decline due to human encroachment/over-hunting, and to SEE the results of it is utterly heart-wrenching.



Photos uncredited at Bush Warriors

O is for One-Toed Aphiuma

Nope, this guy is not a snake. He is, actually, an amphibian. A salamander, not unlike this little cutie.

So where's this one toe?

Well, it's a little difficult to see.

From the University of Georgia's website:

Amphiumids are commonly known as "congo eels," a complete misnomer if there ever was one. First of all, amphiumids are amphibians, rather than fish (which eels are). Furthermore, the congo eel, which is probably the basis for this common name, is a marine fish... It is easy to overlook the diminutive legs, and the lack of any external gills... adds to the similarity between the amphiumas and eels. Amphiumas have two pairs of legs, and the three species, all of which occur in the southeastern United States, differ in regard to the number of toes at the ends of these limbs. There are three species: one species has one toe, one has two, and the third has three toes per limb. The one-toed amphiuma has a restricted range that is mostly in Florida and only barely extending into southern Georgia. It is a protected species in Georgia.

I'm sure we protect it here in Florida as well, because even here it's considered rare.

I couldn't find a good picture of the one toe of the one-toed aphiuma. Blogfest picture fail. However, below is an image of the three-toed aphiuma, whose tiny wittle legs are a bit easier to see. Can you count three toes?

N is for Not Being A Good Blogfest Participant

I've been lax in my blogfest duties. What are my excuses?

- I've had to interview for a job over the summer, as my current employment goes into downtime when the semester is over. Good news? I got said job. Great news? It's EXACTLY the career path I want to take. Even better news? It's seasonal, so it will end around the time that my full-time employment picks back up. Bad news? It doesn't pay as well. Even worse news? I'm afraid I might love it so much that I won't want to go back to work in September.

- My partner is a PhD student and is nearing the end of the semester. He needs the computer more than I do. Yeah, it's my Mac, but it's the only working computer in the house, and I don't want to be the reason he doesn't do well this semester.

- I work nights. It sucks. I'm a morning person, and I get home around 9-10 at night now. Riding my bike home about 5 miles over elevation changes of over 100 feet into work in the morning, and back home in the dark in the evening. I haven't been able to exercise because I go to bed when I get home, and I'm physically exhausted in the morning. My circadian rhythm dictates I wake up at 5 a.m. (since that was my routine for four years), so in general, I'm a wreck.

- I entered the Harlequin Nocturne Editor's Pitch Challenge. Bad news? I hadn't actually finished the Cravings piece I submitted the pitch for. So I spent the last few days FINISHING the piece.

By the way. This is the FIRST manuscript I have EVER EVER finished. I nearly cried when I wrote the words The End, and felt I actually had a satisfying ending. (If you can't tell from my blog posts, I struggle with endings and just kind of let my posts trail off into oblivion....)

K is for Kakapo

You might remember the star of this viral video that surfaced a couple of years ago about a rare bird in New Zealand. You know, the one where the well-intentioned naturalist gets attacked by a rare, sex-deprived tropical bird for the enjoyment of armchair animal enthusiasts.

This bird, the Kakapo, is a rare, nocturnal ground parrot.

The wings of the Kakapo are pretty much useless. (Except to beat against the head of scientists trying to photograph it, but that's it.) The Kakapo is a ground-dwelling bird, likely because it existed in the absence of mammalian predators that it lost the ability to fly. Why waste energy on something you don't need?

Anyway, you really should check out that video above if you haven't already. It will make your day.

J is for Juliana's Golden Mole

No, I'm not cheating here. I don't have a friend Juliana, and this isn't her mole.

Holy hell, that beast looks like a Silent Hill monster.

I'll let Wikipedia describe what nightmares looks like: "[The Golden Moles] have shiny coats of dense fur and a streamlined, formless appearance. They have no visible eyes or ears; in fact, they are blind - the small eyes are covered with hairy skin. The ears are small and are hidden in the animal's fur."

Formless, no visible eyes or ears, hairy skin, WHAT IN GOD'S NAME ARE IT'S FEET MADE OUT OF, describes, to me, something that only H.P. Lovecraft could dream up.

All right, I'm being a little melodramatic. It's not nearly as frightening as what you might find in the deep ocean. Or rummaging through your garbage can. But still, this critically endangered mole is it's own kind of creepy.

Like many endangered species, Juliana's Golden Mole, native to southern Africa, is the victim of displacement. It has a very specialized habitat which is being encroached upon by humans, and they have been unable to adapt to habitat loss.


Photo (C) Craig Jackson

I is for Indus River Dolphin

Okay, I'm a little late with "I." But in my defense, I'm now only three thousand words away from finishing my novella in time for the Nocturne Cravings pitch. Yay for having GOOD excuses!

The dolphin has always been my favorite animal, but as a kid, I was terrified by the thought of having dolphins in rivers. Dolphins are meant to be in the ocean, viewed from afar, not swimming underneath fishing boats! (Did I ever think I'd move to a state where manatees and alligators would swim right up to a kayak? No, I really didn't.)

Even as a kid, though, seeing dolphins in aquariums depressed me terribly. Such large, beautiful creatures meant to swim freely confined to a glorified bathtub.

Vegan bleeding-heart rant over.

The Indus River Dolphin is one of the rarest mammals on earth, and is the second most endangered fresh water dolphin. Like most river dolphins, this guy has to swim on his side, because he can maneuver through water less than one foot deep! Imagine being 1.5-2.5 meters long and having to swim through water up to a sixth of your length deep to hunt for fish. Easy? I think not. I'm hypothesizing here, but I can see river irrigation being a major cause of habitat destruction for this guy, not to mention hunting.

H is for Hawaiian Crow

Sorry for the late post today, but Saturday is my day of rest, and I forgot the blogfest rules.

I know what you're thinking, right?

"Renee, it's a crow. That's not interesting. Way to procrastinate and then fudge this letter up by showing us a freakin' crow."

First of all, if you think crows are just your average bird, then you clearly haven't read this article about why you should never, ever mess with crows.

Second, this is not just any old crow. It's a Hawaiian Crow. And it has the lamentable status of being one of the few extant species that is entirely extinct in the wild.

The Hawaiian Crow was isolated to two small parts of mainland Hawaii. The crow likely went extinct due to diseases introduced by nonnative species, but no one really knows what caused their population to decline. The two last known crows in the wild disappeared in 2002, and currently fewer than 80 are kept in zoos worldwide. Attempts to reintroduce them to the wild have been slowed because of concerns regarding their predator, a form of hawk.

Photo courtesy of US Fish and Wildlife