Friday, February 18, 2011

Capy Shower

This is a photo of one of my favourite rodents -- a capybara -- taking a warm shower on a cold day in the Saitama children's zoo in Higashimatsuyama, near Tokyo. I love how his eyes are half-closed with the pleasure of the sensation. Poor thing! He's from South America (Venezuela and Colombia). He's not used to chilly temperatures!

Monday, February 14, 2011

My Aquatic Valentine

Happy Valentine, ANW readers! This image is screen-grab from a great video on The Guardian's website about a couple who met at the London Aquarium a couple of years ago and just got married in an underwater ceremony there. As you'll see, though, one attendee was more interested in eating the bridal gown than witnessing the nuptials! Click http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/video/2011/feb/14/valentines-day-underwater-wedding

Friday, February 4, 2011

Man's First Best Friend?

New Canadian research suggests that before there were dog-people and cat-people, there were dog-cat-people. That is, there were fox-people: "University of Toronto professor Edward Banning and his collaborators discovered what they believe is the oldest cemetery in the Middle East, a [16,500-year-old] site in northern Jordan. The cemetery includes graves with human remains buried alongside those of a red fox, suggesting the animal could have been kept as a pet by humans." Read
more: http://www.cbc.ca/technology/story/2011/02/04/science-foxes-cemetery-banning.html#ixzz1D1S1ueDg