The Skin of the Seahorse

Just get close to a seahorse. 

Real close.

And I bet you'll say to yourself..."unbelievable..."  

The silvery iridescence on the Lined seahorse above is like a powdering of stardust.  Amazing!  

As are the details on the seahorses in the following photos.  I think they will blow you away....

The Zebra's Dark Side

The black zebra...

Sometimes, a zebra is born with strange stripe patterns and large areas of black...even spots.

These photos illustrate some of the variety possible in the stripes or, in the top and bottom photo, spots of the zebra. Kind of amazing...

When Dogs and Coyotes Cross

This is supposed to be a coyote pack.  But it's not.  It's a pack of coyote-dogs.

In Bouquet Canyon, where I grew up, we owned five acres in the National Forest (it wasn't forested, though; it was like desert - juniper and sagebrush). We were basically in the middle of nowhere. And we had dozens of cats.  Well, I should say a succession of dozens of cats. These cats were safe from harm around our house and our dogs but like most cats they were too... curious.  

So in the night they wandered up into the canyon hills behind us.

And in the night the coyotes were so hungry, that they wandered down from the canyon hills behind us.

That Creature Sitting Next to You

You swing onto the Portland train one morning, find a seat and sit down.  You look across the aisle, and there.  There is a wild dog of some sort staring back at you. 

Quite a shock.  

It looks very like a fox, or a coyote.  Maybe.... a wolf?  

You know that if it's a wolf, you better back away as quietly as possible, with your umbrella at the ready.  But if it's a fox or coyote, you can probably safely leave him alone.  

But how will you know what to do?

What Happened to The Crossbreed?

When I was younger, I loved a book called The Crossbreed. It's about a cat that was a cross between a house cat and a wild bobcat.  It was a fun adventure that got me interested in bobcats and lynxes and the differences between them.  

Even the cover illustration was compelling, and wonderful to refer to while reading inside about the length of a bobcat's tail or the tufts on its ears. See the original, below...

The Fish That Lived For 226 Years

Before the United States officially existed, she was born. Hanako, a red Koi, was found to be 217 - 226 years old at her death in 1977.

In the last decades of her life, Hanako was cared for by Dr. Komei Koshihara.  This is what he said about her in 1966:

"This "Hanako" is still in perfect condition and swimming about majestically in a quiet ravine decending Mt. Ontake in a short distance. ... She and I are dearest friends. When I call her saying "Hanako! Hanako!" from the brink of the pond, she unhesitatingly comes swimming to my feet. If I lightly pat her on the head, she looks quite delighted. Sometimes I go so far as to take her out of the water and embrace her. At one time a person watching asked me whether I was performing a trick with the carp. 

Although a fish, she seems to feel that she is dearly loved, and it appears that there is some communication of feeling between us. At present my greatest pleasure is to go to my native place two or three times a month and keep company with "Hanako"."

Koi are Japanese carp which have been bred for many years to display certain colors; they are described as "living jewels".  When Koi are purchased, they are looked upon as creatures to be passed from generation to generation. Therefore, the cost of certain Koi can be quite high.

What's the most ever paid for a Koi?  The rumor is...$2.2 million.  Let's take a look at this lucky fish:

A Smack of Jellyfish

You're watching Animal Planet and the camera zooms in on five lions lazing in the sun.  You think, hey, a pride of lions.

In the distance, you notice wildebeest, hundreds of them ... a whole herd.

You glance at the aquarium next to your TV and notice that, as usual, your six neon tetras are moving together in a school.

Then your pack of four Yorkies jumps up on the couch with you, searching for the cheese puffs they know you've dropped.

Pride, herd, school, pack; these are words that describe bunches of the same animal. Easy. 

But what would you call, say, seventeen otters?