Best of I Spy Animals 1

The year is winding down, marking my first year of I Spy Animals!  It's been great fun checking out the amazing creatures God has made. 


And to make sure we don't forget, I'm posting the most popular posts of this year, in order, just in case you missed something amazing! Here we go...

#1 - So what is a black panther, anyway?

By far my most read post! What exactly is a black panther?

#2 - Hedgehogs as pets?

A little overview of hedgehog types. What sort of pets do they make?

#3 - Golden Tabby Tigers

Did you know there are five different colors of tigers? No? Check this out...

#4 - Big cats with circles and rosettes

Ever wanted to tell a cheetah from a jaguar from a leopard?  This is the post for you!

#5 - Zebra resurrection?

Did you know there's an ongoing project to breed back the extinct Quagga from Plains zebra stock?

#6 - Can dolphins stop a shark attack?

And do they really rescue swimmers? The answer to both questions is found here...

#7 - When to Blend and When to Stand Out in the Crowd

Eye-popping frogs...and their invisible cousins!

Whew!  So when you're done, I know you will be amazed...and ready for some of that New Year's eggnog...

I know I am  ;)    See you next year!

Best of I Spy Animals 1

The year is winding down, marking my first year of I Spy Animals!  It's been great fun checking out the amazing creatures God has made. 


And to make sure we don't forget, I'm posting the most popular posts of this year, in order, just in case you missed something amazing! Here we go...

#1 - So what is a black panther, anyway?

By far my most read post! What exactly is a black panther?

#2 - Hedgehogs as pets?

A little overview of hedgehog types. What sort of pets do they make?

#3 - Golden Tabby Tigers

Did you know there are five different colors of tigers? No? Check this out...

#4 - Big cats with circles and rosettes

Ever wanted to tell a cheetah from a jaguar from a leopard?  This is the post for you!

#5 - Zebra resurrection?

Did you know there's an ongoing project to breed back the extinct Quagga from Plains zebra stock?

#6 - Can dolphins stop a shark attack?

And do they really rescue swimmers? The answer to both questions is found here...

#7 - When to Blend and When to Stand Out in the Crowd

Eye-popping frogs...and their invisible cousins!

Whew!  So when you're done, I know you will be amazed...and ready for some of that New Year's eggnog...

I know I am  ;)    See you next year!

Animals Sing a Christmas Carol :)

Animals Sing a Christmas Carol :)

Sheltie Sledding and Other Improbable Things

I have a little dog, a sheltie who weighs about 20 pounds.  Bella is small, but when I take her for a walk, she can practically drag me up the steep hills.  I've even wondered if I could harness her to a sled so she can pull me around when it snows.


Turns out that there are actual events for shelties pulling weighted sleds!

So imagine how much power a whole team of dogs would have.  Dog sledding has been around for a long time, but you have to check out these other animals that pull sleds...



Okay, I had to post this gorgeous photo of a dog sledding team. Dogs have been known to sled 90 miles in one day, each one pulling 85 pounds apiece!

Then there's the more traditional sleigh pulled by one or two horses.


The troika in the bottom photo, however, is pulled by three horses. (Troika means three of a kind.) 

And there's the reindeer sleigh.  Did you know that reindeer is another name for caribou?

No, the reindeer aren't in distress...they tend to run with their tongues out  :)


But in my search for amazing photos of animals pulling sleds, I found this:

What? I didn't know you could tame mooses...uh, meese (??)


But you know me, I couldn't stop there...I had to find out what other improbable animals pull things...and it's amazing:

An ostrich?  And just where was the mother of those kids in the lion cart?  Was she napping??


Now, I know this isn't exactly "sledding", but for fun, check out this short video of a real reindeer ski race in Norway:



Oh, that was too fun; now I think I want a reindeer for Christmas.


Heh, sorry Bella  :)

Sheltie Sledding and Other Improbable Things

I have a little dog, a sheltie who weighs about 20 pounds.  Bella is small, but when I take her for a walk, she can practically drag me up the steep hills.  I've even wondered if I could harness her to a sled so she can pull me around when it snows.


Turns out that there are actual events for shelties pulling weighted sleds!

So imagine how much power a whole team of dogs would have.  Dog sledding has been around for a long time, but you have to check out these other animals that pull sleds...

Why It's Easy to Crash in England

Okay, you're driving along in England, admiring the green green green, and then...red...sheep?


Yep, there are some stunning sheep out there in the pastures of England.

And the green and red together look so Christmas-y.  But where did these sheep come from?

In the case of the red sheep above and below, their owner used a sheep dye to paint them red "for a bit of fun".  These sheep graze beside a busy highway, causing people to stop and stare.


I sure would!

But farmers elsewhere color their sheep to make them easy to identify, or to discourage theft.  Check out the sheep below!

Even their horns are colored!

Cotton candy, anyone?

I like this last one.  Someone got a little crazy with the dye!


Ever see a colored sheep?  Leave a comment and let me know.

Why It's Easy to Crash in England

Okay, you're driving along in England, admiring the green green green, and then...red...sheep?


Yep, there are some stunning sheep out there in the pastures of England.

And the green and red together look so Christmas-y.  But where did these sheep come from?

Christmas trees that grow in the ocean

After I started scuba diving, I realized that the best thing about being underwater is seeing new things...new, but sometimes also  weird.  Remember those nudibranchs?


Take Christmas Tree worms for example. These guys look like plastic toy Christmas trees in a plastic toy forest.  Want to see? Check out their colors!

When you first swim by Christmas Tree worms, you think, "Are those plants?"  But when you get too close, they all suck back into their holes.  The whole forest of them gone in the blink of an eye!

These guys don't move around.  They stay in one spot, each one holding out two Christmas trees. Their spiral branches are used for breathing and catching food that floats by!

That dark blue one looks like he's got a little flaming "candle" on his tree  :)

   Greg Wagner Photography


And I like this guy because he's on Brain coral...and you just gotta love that name, Brain coral, don't you?


Okay, we gotta do this...let's look at a Brain coral:

It looks like a giant's brain fell out and landed on the ocean floor. Cool, huh? 


You know, corals are animals too.  Maybe I can do a post on some different kinds.  What do you think?


But getting back to the subject at hand...now you believe me, don't you, that Christmas trees grow in the ocean?  You can tell your astonished friends, and then let it slip that you saw a giant's brain down there, too!  ;)

Christmas trees that grow in the ocean

After I started scuba diving, I realized that the best thing about being underwater is seeing new things...new, but sometimes also  weird.  Remember those nudibranchs?


Take Christmas Tree worms for example. These guys look like plastic toy Christmas trees in a plastic toy forest.  Want to see? Check out their colors!

Frog Swallows Christmas Light

Hard to believe that this little Cuban frog was that hungry. 


Or maybe he was overcome with the holiday spirit?


Here's what the photographer says:






"This is a Cuban tree frog on a tree in my backyard in southern Florida. How and why he ate this light is a mystery. It should be noted that at the time I was taking this photo, I thought this frog was dead having cooked himself from the inside. I’m happy to say I was wrong. After a few shots he adjusted his position. So after I was finished ... I pulled the light out of his mouth and he was fine. 


Actually, I might be crazy but I don’t think he was very happy when I took his light away."

So I was curious...what does a Cuban Tree frog look like unlit from the inside?

Oh, he's green!  

So if he swallows a light, he's red and green...the colors of Christmas!

Smart frog.

To read more about some really strange and amazing frogs, just click here.

Frog Swallows Christmas Light

Hard to believe that this little Cuban frog was that hungry. 


Or maybe he was overcome with the holiday spirit?


Here's what the photographer says:

The Supreme Copycat Is Really... A Bird!

Amazing and...well, improbable!

This Australian bird can imitate any sound it hears.  

Jackhammer?  No problem.  

Kookaburra?  Piece of cake.  

Chainsaw?  Oh, yeah.

But you won't really believe it until you hear it...

This is the amazing Superb lyrebird!

And here is a short video of what it can do!

Now is that proof of a really amazing God?  I think so!


To see a lyrebird that imitates car alarms and camera drives, check out BBC's Life of Birds lyrebird snippet on YouTube...here. (You just have to watch 5 seconds of a commercial first!)

The Supreme Copycat Is Really... A Bird!

Amazing and...well, improbable!

This Australian bird can imitate any sound it hears.  

Jackhammer?  No problem.  

Kookaburra?  Piece of cake.  

Chainsaw?  Oh, yeah.

But you won't really believe it until you hear it...

King, Superb, Magnificent...words for what animal?

Nope, not the lion...or any of the Big Cats.


Not the elephant...


or the whale.


In fact, the discoverers of these animals seemed to have used all the superlative names they could think of! 



What is it?


The Bird of Paradise!


There are forty different kinds, and most of them are...well...superb.  Magnificent.  Amazing!

Pretty outrageous, aren't they?  


Now here's a couple of close ups of their feathers...

Just amazing.


You can see some of these birds in action in Life of Birds, a documentary series from BBC.


So which one is your favorite?  Leave a comment and let me know!