Flannel Shirt

Resting

Panchita is resting here. She was injured and nursed back to health. Now she goes out to sea every day and comes back to catch some sleep poolside. She's pregnant now too. Via Digby.

Otter in seafood restaurant

Little orphan otters in Scotland.

A young otter is being looked after by an animal welfare charity after being found inside a seafood restaurant in Fort William.

The 10-week-old female along with a 12-week-old male found hiding under a post office counter in nearby Caol a few days earlier could be orphans.

The Scottish SPCA (SSPCA) said the pair were not thought to be siblings.

They are being cared for at the charity's Wildlife Rescue Centre in Fife until they can be released.

The male, who has been named Roy, was found in Caol on 16 February.

On 20 February, the SSPCA were called to a seafood restaurant in Fort William to rescue the female. She has been called Linnhe.

Rescue centre manager Colin Seddon said it was unusual for otters to wander into a public place.

He said: "Roy and Linnhe have probably come from a water course nearby, possibly Loch Linnhe.

"Because of their difference in age we know they can't be siblings but they have obviously both come from the local area.

"It's likely that their mothers have possibly been killed or frightened off and, because the cubs' eyesight is very poor at such a young age, they have been unable to find them again."

 

 

Gilly wears the collar of shame

Gilbert has been having a problem chewing on his leg where he got his knee operation. It was shaved and I guess it's itchy now. Thus the collar of shame. He always has this befuddled look on his face, as if he can't figure out why things happen to him.

Gillie is recovering

Young Gilbert had a bad knee joint which kept on dislocating, so Joan had to take him in for an operation. He looks forlorn, but that's kind of the way he looks all the time. The biggest problem is keeping Sully from acting out and trying to draw Gill into running around. He goes to the vet to get checked up today.

Zonkey!

When you think about weird things that you can find down in the Los Angeles era I bet you never thought of a zonkey. That is, a cross between a zebra and a donkey. There's gotta be a lot of beer in the equestrian bar for donkeys and zebras to look at each other. If they do wake up in the same stall it's unlikely that anything permanent will come of their tryst.

But here is Mona Lisa, a zonkey, with amazing coloring:

Mona Lisa is the size of a zebra but has the low-hanging stomach and shape of a donkey. Her body is gray, but her ears and mane are black and white, and her legs are streaked with black stripes.

She also brays like a donkey but barks like a zebra.

"I have not given Mona Lisa voice lessons yet, but she sure can use it," said Baygulova, an opera singer and voice coach.

Zebras and donkeys almost never mate, and even if they do, the odds of procreation are slim, experts say. Their offspring often are sterile.

"It's really rare," said Janet Roser, a UC Davis professor who specializes in equine reproduction. "There may be a few in zoos."

Horses and zebras have been known to mix as well. Their offspring are called "zorses."

Mona Lisa was probably born in the Sierra Nevadas and her mother was probably a zebra, Baygulova said.

She clearly has a penchant for attention, braying and barking when Baygulova moved over to pet her horse.

"She's like the bratty little sister," Baygulova said, adding that despite the jealousy, the two animals love each other.

Because of the shape of her back, Mona Lisa can't wear a saddle, but Baygulova said she can still be ridden.

"A lot of people say they're untrainable," Baygulova joked. "Maybe I'm half-zebra."

The crocodile that stole the lawnmower

You probably heard this one.

Elvis, who lives at the Australian Reptile Park, lunged at the mower, grabbing it from operations manager Tim Faulkner and keeper Billy Collett.

Pulling it under water, the five-metre saltwater crocodile "drowned" the machine at the park near Sydney.

He then sat and watched his catch for more than an hour in his enclosure.

''Once he got it, he just sat there and guarded it,'' said Mr Faulkner. ''It was his prize, his trophy. If it moved, then he would attack it again.''

That, he told the BBC, was fairly typical crocodile behaviour.

But Elvis, who is one of the largest crocodiles in New South Wales, is also ''a big territorial male'' who likes his meat.

While the keeper lured Elvis to the other end of the enclosure with an offering of kangaroo meat, Mr Faulkner was able to jump in, retrieve the badly chewed up mower and two teeth that Elvis had lost in the process.

''He has extraordinarily large teeth - much bigger than most crocodiles,'' added Mr Faulkner. ''He punched his teeth through the top casing of the mower.''

Elvis, who was captured in the wild and is thought to be around 50 years old, has always been a cranky croc. He was attacking fishing boats in Darwin harbour when he was caught, his keeper said.

At the crocodile farm he was first brought to after being caught, he ate two of his girlfriends.

''He is so full of testosterone that he views everything as a threat,'' explained Mr Faulkner. ''Even potential mates.''

The mower was fortunate to have escaped then. But it will never work another day.

As for Mr Faulkner, it was all in a day's work.

''I've handled a lot of animals,'' he said. ''There is a moment when your breath is gone and your adrenalin rushes in.''

But, he stressed, there is difference between a crocodile getting a mower and getting a human.

''That has never happened. We treat the crocodiles with a lot of respect,'' he added.

Banana Sam is back home

On Friday night some jerks cut into monkey enclosure at the San Francisco Zoo and took Banana Sam, a seventeen year-old squirrel monkey.

He was found about a mile away at Stern Grove.

A beloved squirrel monkey known as Banana Sam was returned scared but safe to the San Francisco Zoo on Saturday night, two days after he was taken.

Banana Sam was "hungry, trembling and thirsty," after police returned him to the zoo, but a full physical examination showed he was healthy, zoo spokesman Danny Latham said in a statement.

The 17-year-old monkey was found at Stern Grove, a park about a mile from the zoo, police spokesman Carlos Manfredi said.

The monkey was found by a bystander who saw him come out of the bushes.

"He managed to coax the monkey into his backpack," Manfredi said.

The man called police, and within an hour they met with zoo officials, who verified the monkey's identity.

"We are so thankful to the community and to the San Francisco Police Department for this happy ending," zoo director Tanya Peterson said in a statement. "I know it's been extremely stressful for zoo staff during this time but we are grateful Banana Sam is back at the zoo where he belongs."

No one has been arrested and no suspects have been identified.

"We're looking at every possible avenue, including the bystander," Manfredi said.

Banana Sam's theft Thursday prompted the zoo to boost security and keep the other 17 squirrel monkeys indoors.

He was taken after thieves cut through a gate and made holes in the mesh surrounding the monkey exhibit.

Look at the little guy. Ain't he sweet? You'll notice the handler at the zoo is wearing a big leather sleeve and gloves. That's because squirrel monkeys have razorsharp teeth. Don't mess with a squirrel monkey.

My Blue Heron

I think. In Nikeland.

Coexistence

In Nikeland.

Sully and me

Sully and me going through the Sunday papers. Of course, the best part of Christmas was taking this picture.