R.I.P. Rowdy

Well, folks, this is a sad day at Animal News of the World. Our trusty reporter, anchor, and weatherkitty, Rowdy, has finished his last assignment. We know he's crashing the gates of kitty-heaven already and probably annoying the angels with his abrasive meow and haughty attitude. We'll miss him terribly and will always remember his signature phrase:

"Signing off from the fish-tank, this is Rowdy for Animal News of the World."

Dozens of devils

Hey all! Check out this incredible photo of "an unprecedented congregation of Munkiana Devil Rays in Mexico" (click on it to open a larger view of it):

The caption for the photo (in _The Guardian_) goes on: "An incredible picture of rays swimming through the ocean in a colossal school has scooped top prize in the Environmental Photographer of the Year 2010 awards. The thousands-strong group of Munkiana Devil Rays were spotted in Baja California Sur, Mexico, by German conservation photographer Florian Schulz." A well-deserved award for this incredible and poetic shot!

Harvest beauty

Hey all! My buddy Dana turned me on to gorgeous photos of harvest field mice. The link is full of great shots:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/earthpicturegalleries/8018069/The-secret-life-of-the-harvest-mouse-cute-pictures-by-Jean-Louis-Klein-and-Marie-Luce-Hubert.html

Here's a lovely sample (enjoy!):

Best dog photo ever?

Hey all! This photo was brought to my attention by my rockin' friend, Ally. It's by a great photographer named Tim Flach:

For more amazing dog photos of his, check this link out:

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2BD5RJ/moreintelligentlife.com/gallery/dogs-0/r:f

After seeing the above pic, though, what other dog photos might anyone want to see? I have this image seared into my brain. I LOVE it! The dog makes me think of Bob Fosse for some reason. Could it be because "all that jazz" now resides in this Puli's dreadlocks? Go figure!

Mean German goose

This is a more personal image, one from the HUGE stash of photos of animals in my hard-drive. I include it at the request of my good friend Allan in Newcastle, England, to whom I sent it during my sabbatical trip to Europe the day it was taken (by Javier) at the zoo in Berlin; you can click on it to enlarge it:

I thought we would be friends, but you can see the surprise and horror on my face as I discovered that, foodless, I was unwelcome at the petting farm area of the zoo. Using my tiny purse as a shield, I managed to out-maneuver the rangy fowl!

Mini-moo

Well, folks, the big news today is that the Guinness World's Book of Records has a new entry: the world's smallest cow. Here's a photo of her with her big (normal sized) bull friend:

She may look like a baby, but she's 11 years old and has 9 normal-sized calves. Her breed is small -- she's called a "Dexter" cow -- but she's a particularly small version. Did I mention that her name is Swallow? I hope this is a reference to the bird, and not her fate on a plate!

Mass migration of female walruses and pups to dry land

The big story today is that thousands of mother walruses and their babies have moved to dry land in Alaska -- and in numbers that have never been seen before. Here is a photo of the big event:

The story, from _The Guardian_, goes on: "Researchers from the US Geological Survey (USGS), who have been tracking walrus movements using satellite radio tags, say 10,000 to 20,000 of the animals, mainly mothers and calves, are now congregating in tightly packed herds on the Alaskan side of the Chukchi Sea, in the first such exodus of its kind.

"It's something that we have never seen before in this area," said Geoff York, of the WWF's global Arctic programme. "As the ice decreases, the walrus are abandoning it earlier and earlier. They are having to swim ashore, or to linger on less suitable drift ice for long periods of time."" Scary stuff, my friends.

World's Tiniest Frog

Hello, friends! Welcome to the inaugural edition of Animal News of the World. This blog is dedicated to keeping track of and informing interested parties about all of those many amazing news stories about animals with which I am currently overloading my loved-ones' inboxes. I'll also post great animal photos to this site. Let's see how this goes. This is my first blog!

Here's today's big story: the world's tiniest frog, an article that comes complete with a photo of the wondrous creature:

It's just one of the endless marvels of nature:

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/guest_bloggers/64/micro-frog-found-in-search-for-world-s-lost-amphibians.html;_ylt=AvbAQ2r7EN2oNF8Cj7NU0_bQV8cX