Monday

Grolar Bears and Pizzlies...



You know I love Polar bears.  What you don't know is that I feel the opposite about Grizzlies.

Grizzly bears, to me, are frightening and huge and unpredictable; which really, Polar bears are, too...but Polar bears look cuter while doing it!  :)

Polar bears live at the top of the world, in the arctic regions. Grizzly bears live near streams and trees. But as the icepack gets smaller, more grizzlies venture farther north. 

Check out the maps of their ranges... do you see anything interesting?




Now look closely at the pictures of these two bears...besides the difference in their fur color, they have differently shaped heads and backs. 

Even the setting of their ears is different.

In 2006, a hunter killed a very strange-looking polar bear.  It was white, with some brown in the fur and around the eyes. And it had a hump!


Tests showed that this bear had a polar bear mother and a grizzly father. Now, in one zoo, a grizzly and a polar bear had produced offspring...but this was the first Grolar bear seen in the wild!

Why Grolar bear?  In hybrids, the animal that's the father gets his name in the front.  So if the father's a Grizzly...Grolar bear!



These cubs above are Pizzly bears, which, you guessed it...is the product of a Polar bear dad, Grizzly mom.

So what would the offspring of a father Narwhal and mother Beluga be?  Yep...a Narluga.  No such thing, you say?  

Check it out here!

Grolar Bears and Pizzlies...



You know I love Polar bears.  What you don't know is that I feel the opposite about Grizzlies.

Grizzly bears, to me, are frightening and huge and unpredictable; which really, Polar bears are, too...but Polar bears look cuter while doing it!  :)

Polar bears live at the top of the world, in the arctic regions. Grizzly bears live near streams and trees. But as the icepack gets smaller, more grizzlies venture farther north. 

Check out the maps of their ranges... do you see anything interesting?

Thursday

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?

#2Hedgehogs 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!


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?

#2Hedgehogs 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!


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!

Thursday

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  :)