Melissa's Idea Garden

You know that I love animals! Well check out this interesting little fellow!

Is that the most interesting thing ever or what? It's body parts remind one of a mole, a pig, a porcupine, and an anteater! And one of his legs resembles a human foot to me! This shy little guy is only found in the rainforests of New Guinea and a few surrounding islands.

One thing that makes him neat is that he is one of three living species of mammals that lays eggs to reproduce (these mammals are called monotremes).

Scientists say they can learn a lot by studying this little guy...when they are able to catch up with him!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I always love to hear good news in the animal kingdom. There are two stories so far this week that I thought I would share.

1. A picture of a Jaguar in the U.S.

2. a picture of a giant stingray

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A recent maritime dive has found some new "Bizarre" animals during their excursion. Since these are several thousand feet down, I doubt we will be seeing them on our trip to Australia, but they are pretty cool looking!

The Sea Squirt is my favorite. It is like a pitcher plant in a way, but it is an animal, not a plant.

Be sure to read more about the Sea Squirt and take a look at the other interesting new animals!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:27 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Wow, I knew that ticks were bad...but they don't just take it out on us humans...they hurt bats too! This bat orphanage/hospital is in Queensland, Australia. Perhaps it will be a place we will see on our tour next year!

Check out this video at National Geographic

Who knew bats could be so cute?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:47 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

As if blood sucking mosquitos and ticks weren't bad enough, now we have to watch out for vampire moths.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Go check out this video for some amazing creatures like the one pictured above (which is a comb jelly).

And here you can see more photos of these interesting new creatures that have been recently found. Beautiful, aren't they?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 6:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

The pale, blind ant was found in the Amazon rain forest and is the only known surviving member of a lineage that separated from the main ant family more than a hundred million years ago, biologists reported in September 2008.

His very unusual appearance led scientists to name him Martialis heureka. Martialis means 'of Mars'.

The finding of such an unusual looking creation, has led scientists to believe there are many, many more undiscovered and unusual species living below ground.

For more information, read the rest of this interesting development here

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Katrina has been asking for another hamster for awhile. We have a spare cage, so I told her that if she started cleaning the cage for Hans Solo, that I would let her use her money to purchase another hamster. Well, she is doing a great job with Hamster care, so today we went to get a long-haired hamster.

On the cage, it says they grow to be 6-7 inches as an adult. The ones they had looked to be about that long already. They were so cute and fluffy. When we asked the sales clerk, she said they had been there about 7 or 8 months. Poor little guys. Katrina picked out the caramel colored one, but the white one looked so sad.... so being the soft-hearted wuss that I am, we brought home both hamsters. Well, they have been together all this time, we didn't want to leave the one in there by himself.

So without further ado...meet Fluffy (tan) and Puffy (white).

Ain't they cute....

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:56 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I am fascinated by unusual animals. The American Bison which was brought back from the brink of extinction.
The Ruby-Throated Hummingbird that flies hundreds of miles across the Gulf each year to its breeding grounds. And my favorite...the Komodo Dragon. I find this magnificent reptile absolutely amazing!

The Okapi is another animal that captured my attention when I was pursuing writing non-fiction books on unusual animals.

Just recently, the first ever photo of a wild Okapi was caught last week by trip cameras in Virunga National Park. This elusive creature which resembles a giraffe and resembles a zebra is on the brink of extinction. We can only hope that its elusiveness serves to protect it.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:56 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

National Geographic has the best photos! And they have had them for a long, long time. Here are some that caught my eye this week.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Okay...you may be asking what these two things have in common. Well, today, two articles came to my attention that were very interesting and I thought I would share them with you.

First of all, as I was perusing the Drudge Report and ran across this title: Brrr! Farmers' Almanac says cold winter ahead. Well, for those of you who know me, you are probably aware that I love snow and the winter and cold weather when I can wear sweaters and sweatshirts. Last winter, Bruce, who worked for a local news station at the time, said that the meterologist there was predicting that the winter of 2008-2009 would be a doozy. He said he was basing this on last summer and last winter. I thought that was interesting and filed it away...hoping that he was right. Well, The Farmer's Almanac, which is accurate 80-85% of the time has predictions for cold, wet and snowy for much of the U.S. this year. I am keeping my fingers crossed!

Second, my friend, Jen, sent me an email about the Colossal Squid being a Colossal Wuss . She knows I love animal stories (and she knows this because she is a faithful reader of my blog). So she sent me an article that she thought I would be interested in. And indeed I was. Turns out there are theories that the bigger the Colossal Squid grows, the less agressive it is because it is too big to be fast and aggressive. Thanks, Jen, for thinking of me! I haven't posted any animal news for awhile. I've been too busy with travel posts, but I hope to get back to animal news this fall.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

I have long been fascinated with the legend of Bigfoot (I prefer the name Sasquatch). I remember back in the 70s seeing video of Bigfoot. It never seemed a stretch for me to beleive that in the wilder areas, such a creature could exist.

Well, now some Bigfoot hunters from Georgia have killed one and will be releasing more information about it today! This is one for the record books folks and if all pans out, will have scientists scrambling!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Last week, I told you all about our Bald Faced Hornets Nest. Well here are the photos. Our Orkin guy is going to help this week. Ain't it amazing!!!???

You can even see the hornets on the outside of the nest.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Watch this lovely video from National Geographic. After being rejected by its mother, this red panda has found a haven and survival with the zookeeper's tabby cat. Unfortunately, its sibling was too weak, and did not survive, but hopefully this little guy, with the help of a feline mommy, will make it.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This morning I woke up to an invitation to include my Malayan Sun Bear photos in an article on the Serious Underestimation of Wildlife Extinction Rates.

A wonderful way to start my day!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:41 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

First a couple of moments I forgot to mention yesterday. We ordered Deep Dish Chicago pizza for supper! They sure make it different here...and one piece is a meal! I would never say that back home. A corn meal deep dish crust. Then comes a layer of cheese, then veggies or whatever toppings, then the sauce. It was about an inch thick and it was awesome!!!! Also, as it was our first night here at the Sofitel, we were surprised with trays of milk, cookies, chocolate covered strawberries and bottles of water from Norway. Very neat!

Last night Katrina, Jack and I watched the fireworks from our bedroom windows. It was cool, even though we couldn't see them completely for buildings. Tonight we are walking to Navy Pier to see the big firework show.

Today we got up a bit earlier than planned. I told Jack that we would try and leave by 9. Well, at 7, I was still in bed, thinking about getting up when a knock came at our door. Jack couldn't believe we were still in bed. He thought it was 9! He had just woke up, looked at the clock on his computer (which said 8 a.m. because it is on East Coast time). Instead of subtracting an hour, he added an hour and viola...it was 9!!!! He got up and dressed quickly, let me tell you.

We spent about an hour waking up, then headed to McDonald's for breakfast.

Continue reading "Chicago...Day 2" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:12 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Check out this Javan Rhino mom as she decides that the camera taking a picture of her and her baby might not be safe! The Javan Rhino is on the critically endangered species list.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:06 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Check out this artist's rendering of a prehistoric bird that is believed to forage on the ground like many modern day birds. While the bird is thought to have stood 16 feet tall (which is scary enough - I mean I don't want to meet a 16 foot tall carnivorous bird, do you?), the artist may have been a bit overzealous...see the hills behind the birds? Anyway, it's interesting stuff!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Cambodia has been a war ravaged country, but now that peace has taken firm hold, the country is reaping benefits other than those of no longer being at war. The wildlife is returning.

Once dubbed the "Serengeti of Asia," almost all of Mondulkiri's wildlife was wiped out by poachers during decades of conflict, which began with the war in neighboring Vietnam.

Now, people who used to be poachers and estimate they killed thousands of animals are protecting them. But the task is not an easy one due to a rise in tourism in Cambodia, a resurgence of poaching activities, and the growing population of people (which need money and food to live).

The Cambodian goverment is working to create an environment that will protect the endangered wildlife and provide much needed income to the country.

Well done!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I watched this video with great interest. I didn't realize people lived on the Galapagos islands. I thought those islands were kept pristine because of their uniqueness.

Hopefully, the people have realized the issue early enough to make a difference and protect the unique wildlife there.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:26 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I have been following the story of the Tasmanian Devil for awhile. In the last 10 years, the Tasmanian Devil has suffered a tremendous loss of life due to a contagious facial cancer. Losses are estimated to be somewhere around 100,000-130,000 in the last decade. Unfortunately, there is no cure for the cancer and scientist aren't sure what the cause is. They do know that the disease isn't running its course and then disappearing.

The cancer is spread when one Tasmanian Devil bites another. Tumors arise on the face and make it so that the Tasmanian Devil can't eat. It then starveds to death. There is an unaffected population in NW Tasmania and it is hoped that they will be able to protect this group unil the infected die out, then maybe a colongy can grown again.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Check out the video provided at National Geographic that shows a flying fish staying completely airborne for a record 45 seconds. The longest previously recorded flight was for 42 seconds in the 1920s. The reason flying fish take to the air is to escape water bound predators. There must have been something really big and mean after this one!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This very colorful shrimp can see 11 or 12 primary colors compared to the measly three that we can see. Perhaps that explains why the mantis shrimp is so colorful himself. Now a study shows that the mantis shrimp can also see rare forms of polarization (directions in which light vibrates). As Spock would say....Fascinating.

I think one of these would be lovely in an aquarium. I just can't get over how beautiful this shrimp is.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:38 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

A red-neck phalarope feeds in a lake. New research has found that the birds take advantage of water's surface tension to direct drops loaded with food up their long beaks and into their mouths.

Be sure to read the interesting story about the red-neck phalarope and how it eats. It's fascinating!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:59 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am trying to catch up with the National Geographic RSS Feed. Last week, Polar Bears were placed on the Endangered Species list by the U.S. Government. I watched this video with a bit of amazement.

If I am understanding it correctly, polar bears have more than doubled in numbers in the last 30 years. But because of studies that promote global warming, there is concern that in the decades ahead, the polar bear population could be decreased by 2/3...

Now, I am all for looking ahead and trying to fix problems on the front end, instead of waiting for hind sight to kick in. But, I am wondering where this stops. It is too reminiscent of Minority Report to suit my tastes. What are your thoughts?

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's a bird....it's a plane...it's Swiss pilot and inventor Yves Rossy testing out his jet-powered wing flying up to 186 miles (300 kilometers) an hour after jumping from an airplane at 7,500 feet (2,300 meters). That's so cool!

Continue reading "Cool National Geographic Photos for the Week" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

These cute little frogs live in a very noisy area. In order for them to hear one another and to sing their mating duets, they communicate on an ultrasonic level!

According to the authors, female frogs make the first overture with a courtship call featuring multiple harmonics that extend into the ultrasonic range—frequencies greater than 20 kilohertz, the upper limit of human hearing.

The frog, Odorrana tormota, joins select species of birds, along with dolphins and whales, that are known to communicate ultrasonically to circumvent background noise, said study co-author Albert Feng, a physiologist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Isn't it amazing what a diverse world that God has created for us! And we learn more about its wonders every day!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

The world's largest group of orangutans in Indonesia may face extinction by 2011 because of palm oil plantation expansion, which is destroying habitat, experts say. Video courtesy of National Geographic

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A young pygmy right whale that stranded itself in New Zealand has given scientists a rare chance to study the little-known species.

The 6-month-old specimen will provide a rare peek into the whale's bizarre anatomy, which includes armored ribs that resemble those of an anteater.

For more information, be sure to visit the above link and National Geographic.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

National Geographic reports that eight critically endangered Amur leopards (including the animal above) have been photographed by a camera trap in far southeastern Russia.

Fewer than 40 Amurs—also called Far Eastern leopards—still prowl the temperate forests of Russia's Far East and parts of China, making the Amur the world's rarest big cat.

Isn't this critter beautiful? What a shame that there are so few left. Hopefully conservation efforts will be successful.

Check out this YouTube video of this beautiful cat!

Continue reading "Rarest Big Cat Caught in Camera Trap" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

I had never heard of the Blue Iguana before today when I was reading a National Geographic article about them.

The Blue Iguana is a critically endangered species and is one of the longest lived species of lizard (possibly living up to 69 years). In 2003 there were only 15 Blue Iguana left in the wild. Fortunately, there are those working desparately to preserve this beautiful iguana.

From Wikipedia: Since 2004, 219 captive-bred animals have been released into a preserve on Grand Cayman run by a partnership headed by the Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, in an attempt to save the species. Some success with naturally laid eggs has been reported in the wild. At least five non-profit organizations are working with the government of the Cayman Islands to ensure the survival of the Blue Iguana.

This species is struggling to survive and someone senselessly butchered six of them in a nature preserve on Grand Cayman last weekend. It is beyond me why anyone would do such a thing. Capture them to sell as pets, eat them for food...those things I could at least sort of understand though I would not condone. But just to kill them....I hope the investigation turns up the culprit.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:54 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This Bald Eagle was found scavenging for food in an Alaskan landfill after his beak had apparently been shot off with a billet. Unable to rip and tear, this eagle, called Beauty, was starving. Two years later, Beauty is going to be getting a replacement beak. Beauty still won't be able to rip and tear because the beak won't be strong enough. But if it works, perhaps scientists will be able to come up with a stronger beak and help birds in similar situations in the future. This article and photo courtesy of National Geographic.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:02 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Video from National Geographic: Cheetahs could be extinct within 15 years. To help stem the tide, a new South African program brings a big cat into contact with the public.

Click on the link above to see what conservationists in Africa are doing to create a bond between people and cheetahs, how they are taking care of these magnificent creatures and how they are helping local ranchers keep from losing their livestock.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I am more than a bit behind with my National Geographic feed reading. So I am going to make a big post linking to some of the stories that interested me the most from the past couple of weeks. Hopefully you will find something here that interests you as well!

"Extinct" Plants Discovered Blooming in Australia - these plants haven't been seen since 1891 and were listed as extinct in 1922.

VIDEO: Terra-Cotta Army Coming to U.S. - This would be very neat to see!

Colossal Squid Thawing; Hints at Even Bigger Beasts A Colossal Squid that was accidentally captured February 2007 is revealing answers to the scientists in charge of thawing it and studying it.

Continue reading "National Geographic News - Animals, Archaeology and Astronomy" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:40 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

A custom-crafted wetsuit may have helped Pierre the African penguin, seen here, recover from a bout of baldness.

Biologists at the California Academy of Sciences commissioned the gear after Pierre began shedding his insulating, waterproof feathers, leaving him with an embarrassingly exposed behind.

Thanks to the custom wet suit and time, Pierre is now doing much better! Way to go for ingenuity on the part of his keepers and Oceanic Worldwide, a supplier of dive gear based in San Leandro, California.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

As summer nears for us, our thoughts turn towards lazy days spent by a pool or playing in a lake or stream. Well, our elephant friends look like they would love to join us! Go check out this cool video from National Geographic of elephants playing in the water!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I was not a big dinosaur fan as a child. I learned about them in school, but I was not that interested in learning extra about them, playing with dino models or pretending to be a dinosaur. Their names were long and annoying. They had lived a long, long, long time ago and well...I was more interested in current day things...like would Shaun Cassidy be coming in concert to Roanoke anytime soon.

Jurassic Park changed that a bit for me. When Dr. Grant and the others first see the dinosaurs while the majestic music played in the background. I was there with them. Hook, line and sinker. I could imagine what it would be like to see these animals first hand. Animals that no longer waled the earth. And it made me a little more interested in dinosaurs, and I couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be more dinosaurs than I remembered studying in school. (I definitely don't remember mention of velociraptors.

What really floored me was when Dr. Grant explained his theory that dinosaurs were really related to birds. I thought 'huh?'. I got the cloning of the dinos from the dino DNA, but dinosaurs related to birds? I had never heard such a thing.

Continue reading "T. Rex Protein Shows Bird-Dinosaur Link" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:11 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

National Geographic is reporting that a gift exchange between Asian rulers several centuries ago may have inadvertently saved a population of elephants from extinction.

The sultan of Java is thought to have sent the Javan elephants as a gift to the sultan of Sulu. For unknown reasons, descendants of the elephants were subsequently shipped to Borneo and abandoned.

Back on Java, the original population went extinct by the end of the 18th century, after the arrival of Europeans in Southeast Asia.

The gift to the sultan of Sulu may therefore have inadvertently kept the lineage alive.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:23 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Check out this video of chimpanzees who use spears to hunt, sticks to dig out termites, caves for shelter, and love the water on a hot summer day. I love watching the little one play in the water puddle! Warning: this video heavily mentions evolution.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:35 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

One of the things I love about my new computer is that I can once again enjoy National Geographic videos. My old one just couldn't handle their video player. Check out this Asiatic Bear who may be looking for a position as a baton twirler!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 7:14 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

1. First Lungless Frog Found The Indonesian frog pictured above respires entirely through its skin and lacks lungs, a new study says. The trait, though rare in nature, may have evolved because of the amphibian's habitat of oxygen-rich, fast-moving water—which might more easily carry away a frog with air-filled lungs.

2. Rare Seahorses Found in the River ThamesShort-snouted seahorses have set up residence in the recovering River Thames, conservationists announced.

3. Alligator Blood May Lead to Powerful New AntibioticsAlligators often engage in violent fights over territories and mates, and scientists have puzzled over why their wounds rarely get infected. Now researchers think the secret lies in the reptiles' blood. Chemists in Louisiana found that blood from the American alligator can successfully destroy 23 strains of bacteria, including strains known to be resistant to antibiotics. In addition, the blood was able to deplete and destroy a significant amount of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

Continue reading "National Geographic News - Animals, Archaeology and Astronomy" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 10:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

World's Greatest Extinction Not Caused By Toxic Gases The thing I like most about this article is it points out how little we still know....even about things we think we understand!

"Mountains of the Moon" Glaciers Melting in Africa Below you will see the photo that shows the difference between the glacier 50 years ago and today. This shows us how our world is growing warmer. Though I am not convinced that this is not a normal trend for our earth. There are too many conflicting views on that for me to make up my mind at this point.

Wildlife Park Official Arrested in Gorilla Killings Congrats on ferreting out the wolf in sheep's clothing that was guarding these endangered animals. There is a photo on this site of the dead gorillas.

New "Sea Monster" Species Identified - The Cretaceous-period reptile, dubbed Nichollsia borealis, is not only a new species—it represents a whole new genus, scientists announced on March 20. It's also one of the oldest and most complete plesiosaur fossils ever unearthed in North America.

Continue reading "National Geographic Headlines Week of March 24th - Astronomy, Archaeology and Animals" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:23 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rare Leatherback Turtles Gain Protection in Costa Rica - these turtles come out of the water to lay their eggs on beaches around the world. Scientists and volunteers now have governmental backing to protect these precious nests from poaching and beach development.

Word War II Ships Finally Found Off Australia - The H.M.A.S. Sydney sank on November 19, 1941, in a battle with a German vessel, the D.K.M. Kormoran. Rudd said he had instructed the Defense Department to contact relatives of the sailors who died aboard the Sydney about the find, and described the wreck as a tomb for Australian sailors that would be protected as a sacred site.

Stone Age Hand Axes Found at Bottom of North Sea An amateur archaeologist has found an unprecedented collection of Stone Age hand axes among material collected at the bottom of the North Sea. Jan Meulmeester of the Netherlands found 28 axes, possibly up to 100,000 years old, in marine sand and gravel scooped up by a British construction materials supplier. During ice-age periods of the Paleolithic era, which ended about 10,000 years ago, sea levels were lower and the North Sea was grassland hunting grounds.

Continue reading "National Geographic Headlines Week of March 17th - Astronomy, Archaeology and Animals" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Rome Subway Digs Reveal Medieval, Renaissance Treasures -- It never ceases to amaze me how we continue to find signs of our past even in the seemingly most developed of areas.

"Monstrous" Robot to Be Assembled in Space -- it would be really cool to watch this be assembled and even cooler to visit the space station. And isn't it wonderful to see nations working together for a common goal?

Pygmy Hippo Caught on Camera - This photograph shows that the pygmy hippo is still surviving in war torn West Africa.

Continue reading "National Geographic Headlines Week of March 10: Archaeology, Astronomy, Animals" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Here are some interesting headlines from last week's National Geographic Feed:

1. Pronghorn Thrives in Wolves Shadow - The researchers said that during a three-year study, pronghorn fawns were three times more likely to survive in areas dominated by wolves versus those ruled by coyotes. That's because wolves favor larger prey, such as elk or cattle, and generally leave pronghorn alone. .

This is just another great example of how little we know about how components of nature work together (even when we think we have it figured out!)

2. What Do You Call an Octopus with only six legs? A Hexapus, silly! This six-legged octopus is not a new species and doesn't appear to have been affected by an accident. He appears to only have six legs due to a genetic mutation. He is getting around just fine at his home in the British Aquarium.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Midnight is my cat. When we adopted the three sisters that you have met in the last few days, we decided to let them have one litter before getting them neutered. They all got pregnant about the same time and their kittens were born within a week of each other. Altogether, we had 14 kittens!

At first the cats had them scattered around hither and yon, but we were afraid that would make the kittens too wild, so we placed a big dog house at the front and brought the kittens to it. What we thought was really cool was that the sisters would nurse one another's kittens. They didn't care at all. At any rate, there was a kitten (cream and peach color) that I wanted to keep, but we had two wild boys that were more shy, so we decided to keep them because we were afraid we would have a hard time giving them away. We named the orange tiger cat, Fido. He belonged to my husband. Unfortunately Fido ran away or was taken away before he was 1 year old. We never could find him. The other cat was mine and I called him Midnight. Okay, not very original, I know, but at least there is no doubt about which one I am speaking of when I say his name!

Continue reading "Meet Midnight, Cat Number Four" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 5:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

If you have read my blog for any length of time, you know that i love learning about animals, space and anything to do with archaeology. I have been so busy with cleaning and homeschooling and life, that I am a bit behind with sharing the interesting things from National Geographic. I have over 90 stories to wade through. I only share the ones most interesting to me here, and currently, I don't link to the videos because my computer is getting a tad ancient and I can't watch the videos anymore (there is a new laptop in my future...probably April), but I don't want to link to videos when I don't know what is in them. Anyway, since I don't want to right up a kazillion posts to catch up, I am going to briefly share links that interest me in this post in order to get caught up. And maybe some photos to.

1. Mysterious Pyramid Complex Discovered in Peru - what fascinates me about stories like this is the fact that we find pyramid and pyramid shapes all over the world. This vast ceremonial site is believed to have been used by a little known ancient culture, Vicus.

2. Ancient Maya Used "Glitter" Paint to Make Temple Gleam - A new study of paint flakes taken from masks on the temple's exterior found that the Maya used mica to make the temple's colorful paint glimmer in the sun. It appears, glitter paint has been around for a long, long time! We love glitter paint in our house. We used it on our snowmen, our pine cones and whatever else we want to give an extra sparkle!

Continue reading "National Geographic Headlines: Archaeology, Astronomy, and Animals" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 9:07 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

In the longest "ever recorded migration of any sea vertebrate, a leatherback sea turtle recently completed a 12.774 miles across the Pacific Ocean. The journey, tracked by satellite, provides the first record of a trans-Pacific migration by a leatherback.

The giant reptile began the trek in Indonesia's warm tropical waters in the summer of 2003.

Along the way, the turtle may have encountered swordfish, tuna, and other migrating leatherbacks returning after a successful foraging season off the North American coast.

Some of the turtle's dives sent it plunging into the cold darkness 3,300 feet (1,000 meters) below the ocean surface.

After 647 days of swimming, the animal finally reached the cool waters of the Pacific Northwest—where a feast of jellyfish awaited.

The turtle made this "epic journey spanning tropical and temperate waters of the Pacific just to eat jellyfish off Oregon," said Scott Benson of NOAA's Southwest Fisheries Science Center in Moss Landing, California.

Those must be some really good jellyfish!!!!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 1:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (5)

According to National Geographic, microbes that are immune to commonly used drugs have been found inside birds living in some of Earth's most remote regions, scientists say. The research suggests that antibiotic resistance has spread deep into nature—and humans are likely to blame.

The researchers sampled waste from 97 birds belonging to a dozen different species from the Arctic tundra of northeastern Siberia, northern Alaska, and northern Greenland.

Eight birds—including sandpipers, geese, and gulls—carried Escherichia coli bacteria that was resistant to one or more commonly prescribed antibiotics.

Continue reading "Studies Have Found Wild Birds That Are Resistant to Low Level Antibiotics" »

Posted by Melissa Markham at 12:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

This little cutie had to be taken away from his mama because she was not handling her well (carrying him in her mouth and tossing him about her enclosure). Flocke is German for flake as is snowflake. Flocke even has her own website.Bizarre to think this cute little girl will grow up to be a huge bear! She is being hand raised by the zoo keepers. They say her life is a bit well, boring, at the moment since she spends all her time eating and sleeping.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Today is Fabulous Freebie Day at The Schoolhouse Store. And one of the Freebie's you can get is my Hummingbird Ebook. All you have to do is purchase my American Bison ebook or my Komodo Dragon ebook. Is that a great deal or what???? So go ahead and get two of my books for the price of one! There are lots of other great items at The Schoolhouse Store!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:11 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

4:40 a.m. scratch, scratch..rustle...rustle....

I am suddenly wide awake and laying very still....trying to hone in on the sound. Did I imagine it?

scratch, scratch, rustle, rustle....

There it is again! And I know exactly where it's coming from...the bags that I have stashed under one of the dressers in my room. But what could be making that sound? A mouse...sounds awfully big for a mouse... Hans Solo? No, couldn't be, he's in his cage and is too small to make that much noise.

Okay...must turn on the light... streeettch...click...light everywhere. Heart hammering and wondering what wild creature is under my dresser.

I am sitting bolt upright in my bed...eyes trained on the dresser. There is no way I am going over for a closer look, it can either come out or go away to whereever it came from...

Wait, I see it..MIKKA!!! It's our grey cat! What the heck is she doing in the house. We didn't let cats in last night! And how did she fit under there? It's not that much space under that dresser...after all, I packed it full of present bags. She comes out, jumps on the bed, purring and all happy to find someone awake to pet her.

I guess she slipped in last night when we were bringing in groceries and no one noticed. Scared me to death she did. It was very hard going back to sleep after that too.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:46 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Rare animals are a great source of income to black market animal sellers. Two baby albino alligators that were recently stolen from a Brazilian Zoo will net the thieves about $10,000 each in the United States.

Albino alligators have never been found in the wild, probably becaus of their inability to hide from predators.

Posted by Melissa Markham at 8:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Where to begin this latest saga....should I begin with the death of Ella, the hamster named after Ella Enchanted. Or perhaps I should begin with the Xbox 360 that hubby won at a convention and that he purchased the game Legos Star Wars For? Or maybe the story begins with a little girl who loves animals and has been asking for a new kitten (never mind we have four cats and two rabbits).

No matter where the story begins, it ends with a little girl finding a hamster that suited her just as much as a new kitten (thankful sigh from mom) and whom had to be named after her current movie favorite: Hans Solo. What I can't figure out is why my daughter always likes the rogues...first Barbossa and now Hans Solo.

At any rate, Hans is pretty cute and he is very bright eyed and happy!

She doesn't look happy at all, does she?

And doesn't he have a nice playroom for when he is out of his cage? Those clementine orange boxes sure come in handy!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 11:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Ants are known for their hard-working ways. There is a rare butterfly in some parts of Denmark that is able to trick ants into caring for its young at the expense of their own young. The scent of the larvae mimics the ants scent and they think it is one of their own and they will carry the larvae back to their colony and care for it. I guess it could be worse...at least the butterfly doesn't eat the ants once it grows up!

Posted by Melissa Markham at 3:43 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)