Bye, polar bear

Going ... going ...

gone. ....... Bi-polar bear? or bye-bye polar bear?

Invitation to "Tell us a story"

Do you like to tell stories?
Did you ever sit around a campfire listening to stories?
Bonnie (my writing partner) has started a new blog, one where folks will share stories.
Check it out:
Tell us a story.



I may have a go at it myself. I could share a ROAR or two.

Let's pause for a moment of silence, please

If I knew how to drape my blog in black, that's what I would do today. I've just read that the Caribbean monk seal has become extinct. What that really means, of course, is that "people" have just today confirmed that it's true. Do you want to know the really bad part? The AP article says, "Humans hunting the docile creatures for research, food and blubber left the population unsustainable." Extinction is forever, people! We aren't talking about the death of a single seal, but the death of a whole KIND of seal. The article goes on to say, "The last confirmed sighting of a Caribbean monk seal was in 1952 between Jamaica and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula." And "the species is the only seal to become extinct from human causes." YOU did it, you people did it. I'm especially bothered by the list of reasons: "research, food, and blubber."

Oh, did I hear someone ask where I got this photo? It's an Hawaiian monk seal in this stock photo taken a decade ago, and there are only about 1,200 of them left. This species is declining at the rate of about 4% a year, according to NOAA, which protects them. When their numbers get below 1,000 in the next three or four years, they too will be among the most endangered marine species in the world. You researched them to death! I am so totally depressed that I can't talk to you anymore right now. I'm in mourning.

Didja hear about that parrot?

I know, I know, I've been away far too long. But nobody told me how much fun it would be to have cubs around the house, and I've been having fun with them. It took a parrot to bring me back to my blog. It was this parrot, whose name is Yosuke, now back home in his cage:

Lost parrot tells veterinarian his address

When Yosuke the parrot flew out of his cage and got lost, he did exactly what he had been taught — recite his name and address to a stranger willing to help. Police rescued the African grey parrot two weeks ago from a neighbor's roof in the city of Nagareyama, near Tokyo. After spending a night at the station, he was transferred to a nearby veterinary hospital while police searched for clues, local policeman Shinjiro Uemura said. He kept mum with the cops, but began chatting after a few days with the vet.

"I'm Mr. Yosuke Nakamura," the bird told the veterinarian, according to Uemura. The parrot also provided his full home address, down to the street number, and even entertained the hospital staff by singing songs.

"We checked the address, and what do you know, a Nakamura family really lived there. So we told them we've found Yosuke," Uemura said. The Nakamura family told police they had been teaching the bird its name and address for about two years. But Yosuke apparently wasn't keen on opening up to police officials. "I tried to be friendly and talked to him, but he completely ignored me," Uemura said. (AP Photo/Kyodo News)