I thought this could be an ideal opportunity to find out a little more about squirrels and show some of my photos. So here are some facts and some random informations about squirrels.

What do squirrels eat?

My immediate answer to this would be ANYTHING!!! But looking into it their natural diet is a mixture of nuts, berries and fruits. If faced with extreme hunger they will eat insects, bird eggs and pick at carcasses.

Last autumn I actually caught a Squirrel eating a slice of pizza, so we know their city life diet varies a lot!!

How long do squirrels live?

Squirrels live for about 3-5 years in the wild. They can live a little longer if cared for domestically.

What is a squirrels habitat?

The ideal habitat for a standard gray squirrel is a dense old forest with plenty of trees and hollows to nest in and forage for food. Squirrels come to the open parks of the city mainly for food and because their ideal habitat is being destroyed.

What types of Squirrel can you find in the city?

There are many types of squirrel but the most common in North America is the Gray Squirrel. I have also seen black and red squirrels here in Montreal.

I really love watching the squirrels. They run around and make pretty crazy expressions. Many people see them as vermin and they probably are but it really is not their fault.

One of my earliest memory of a squirrel is when one ran up my leg and sat on my head. I was so petrified that I froze and started crying!

Do you have any crazy squirrel stories?

Nobody likes me everybody hates me I think I’ll go and eat some worms.

My mum used to mockingly say this little saying to me when I was being a little annoying brat. I imagine she would have been very upset if I actually did eat some worms but I think, mortified if I ate one of these suckers.

I first heard about these amazing animals on a BBC or Channel 4 documentary that I watched and was fascinated. I couldn’t understand why I had never even heard of such a thing. Surely it is a school duty to teach children about the wonders of this world.

Obviously the creator of Tremors has heard of them and maybe even the creator of Beetlejuice. The idea of these giant creatures burrowing underneath our feet is kind of creepy and I am sure to many, utterly terrifying. Personally I love the idea of them churning up the soil and keeping things underground working as they should.

Ok, now the facts, including the important question… How big do they get?

Scientific name: Megascolides australis
Country / Region of origin: Australia, Gippsland in Victoria
Species: Earthworm
Weight and size: Now the bit you have been waiting for…. Average is around 80cm long with a 2cm diameter but it can grow up to an enormous 3meters.
(If you think anymore details should be here then just leave a comment and I will add find out and add it)

Australia has around 1000 types of earthworm and the Gippsland worm is the biggest of that kind with the biggest find being approx 4meters. It must be an absolutely haunting thought for many people! Sadly the minuscule little European counter part has been introduced and now rules the roost.

They have a dark purple head and a pinkish grey body and live burrows of around 2meters deep in moist clay areas either close to or under rivers and streams. They are only found in a small region of Gippsland, Victoria, Australia and sadly due to many factors their numbers are on the decline.

Apparently if you stomp the ground you can hear gurgling which is made when they slide off through their tunnels as quick smart as they can. The sound of their digging has also been compared to hearing a toilet flush! I don’t know this for sure but I would imagine that their disturbing of the earth is avery good thing for the environment and it would be ashame to lose these, in some peoples eyes (like mine!), beautiful creatures.

Conservation Status

Sadly these slippery critters are deemed vulnerable which means that they are threatened and numbers are rapidly declining.

Modern colonization and farming practices are taking a big toll, with herbicides and pesticides seeping into the soil and water being drained from the land. Herds of animals are disturbing their habitat and even being handled by a human could kill them. Even though they are Earthworms they don’t have the ability to be chopped into several pieces and survive. One cut on these poor things could lead to them bleeding to death.

The raunchy sex life of an average Gippsland Earthworm in an average Gippsland stream bank

They mate around Spring and Summer laying egg sacs approx 7cm long which take a year to hatch. Daddy’s super sperm means that they hatch out at a size of 20cm and are ready to dig themselves through mud for the rest of their lives.

The Museum!

If you are out today doing the shopping or going to get the car cleaned and you just so happen to pass by Gippsland in Australia then maybe you should stop by the town of Bass

Bass is the home of the Giant Gippsland Earthworm museum where you can go and find out pretty much everything about them.

My final words

Please don’t hate this animal because it’s basically a slimy worm of astronomical size. People don’t hate sharks that much anymore and they are still eating the occasional person here and there. I don’t think you will find any records of an earthworm munching on corpse felled by it’s gruesome slaughter tactics and they keep the soil alive. The fact that they are endangered and not many people know about them is sad. Obviously this is a plea for links too but it would be great if you could spread the word about this or any endangered animals that you hear about.

Sources, read these if you want to know more:
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~aherns/ahnws205.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Gippsland_earthworm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Giant_Gippsland_earthworm
http://museumvictoria.com.au/DiscoveryCentre/Infosheets/Giant-Gippsland-Earthworm/

If you have any suggestions for my next Animal of the Forest or you just fancy letting me know you stopped by, then please leave a comment. While you are at it why don’t you subscribe to my feed. Come on you know you want to!

If you have no idea about feeds then maybe this article will help.

I thought the story of the woman being hugged by the lion was very original but after searching a little I have found absolutely tons of examples of lions being affectionate. Here are my 3 favorites.

1. A full grown male lion in Columbia Zoo, welcomes back his old owner with a big hug, awwww

Several years ago this woman found a sick, malnourished lion cub in the jungle. She took the cub home and fed him and brought him up until he was too big to keep anymore. Then she made arrangements with a zoo in Colombia to take the lion. Here’s a video of what happened when she went to visit him in the zoo for the first time:

2. Christian the Lion, reunited with the man who raised him, one year after release

Back in the swing sixties, 1969 to be precise, animal laws were very poor. John Rendall purchased a little lion cub from Harrods store in London. The lion came to be known as Christian and lived with John in his Chelsea flat on the famous Kings Road (back then, home to Mick Jaggar). The lion lived the high life and was loved by everybody until he got too big. Sadly a city is no place for a lion and it was recognized that he was too big. John made the right decision and Christian was integrated back into the wild in Kenya.

This is what happened one year later when John went back to see Christian…

Marlice Van Der Merwe and her orphaned lions

Marlice Van Der Merwe raised 15 orphaned lions on her dads farm in Namibia. When they got too big and started becoming the dangerous predators we all know about, she went with a group of Bushman friends in search of a new home for her adopted children.

These videos amaze me and they are only a small collection of videos showing how affectionate these beasts can really be. Sadly we can’t co-exist with them if they are in their original wild state.

Maybe one day I will get to hug a lion!

I’m actually a vegetarian, so do not condone burgers of any sort, especially panda burgers! You can see how sad it was to be made into a burger…

I actually worked in a pub kitchen earlier this year and one busy lunch I was chatting away with my boss making up the orders. I placed the slice of swiss cheese on this burger and when I went to put the top of the bun on I jumped back at the instant sight of a face in the burger!

I thought it looked like the Joker, It was because we were having a conversation about Heath Ledger dying (RIP) whilst I was making this burger, as it was the day the news broke. However general consensus was that it was a crying panda.

If you want to see another great food / animal look alike check out the Basset Hound Chicken Finger over at The Junk Drawer.

Do you have any interesting food / animal look alikes?

I think you will agree that Little Bit is a great name for this dog!

The images are fantastic, Sandee’s husband Zane submitted this great story…

Please meet Little Bit who came into our lives on February 26, 2003. She was four months old and had been abandoned shortly before we met and was about to be thrown away the second time. Sandee was with a group of fellow employees and Little Bit sat in front of her and said, “If you don’t take me I won’t live for a month more. I promise I’ll be the best dog you’ve ever had.” So you can guess what happened…

She was a little bundle of joy who would howl when she lost us in our home (which meant we were out of her sight) and could barely get up the stairs to the second floor. She had a good nose and I decided to try to train her on bird hunting. I bought scent and a retriever sock and we went to work. We hunted chucker at a local bird club for about three seasons and she loved it. There was one occasion when she flushed a chucker but the bird wouldn’t fly high enough for me to take a clear shot without the likelihood of hitting Little Bit, so I simply watched while Bit chased the bird. Suddenly Bitter jumped into the air five feet high and brought the bird down. That memory is still etched in my mind. It was a wonderful sight.

For exercise we run every morning. In the summer of 2004 we were on a local canal bank at some almond orchards and we came across a dead dog that someone had simply thrown down the bank. For one month Little Bit investigated this deceased dog and on the thirtieth day she gathered some leaves and dirt with her nose and covered the deceased dog’s face. Then she gently patted the dirt and leaves and was satisfied. I watched this scene in amazement. It could only have been an act of burial and recognition on Bit’s part of her own mortality. We then began calling her “Buddha Dog.”

One year later we came across a dead cat which she investigated for one month. On the thirtieth day she looked at me and said, “Watch and I will again show my Buddha nature as it relates to cats.” Gently she straddled the deceased cat, squatted and p’d. So now you know how she feels about cats.
And she loves to fish.

We have an express cruiser moored on the California Delta where we are fortunate to spend about a third of our time. We bake bread during the week to feed the fish off the back of our boat and Buddha Bit will spend hours watching the perch, carp, striped bass and black bass. Of course this requires me to get up and feed the fish over and over and over again. About three seasons ago while watching bass fishermen on their very expensive bass boats she made the connection between the fishing poles and the fish. Now whenever there is a fishing pole she simply has to go with them as you can see by the picture of Bitter and Mike fishing.

We attended a yacht club function on the Delta and were concerned that she would bark when we left her on the boat to go to the meeting in the restaurant so we bought a bark collar that sprayed citronella if she barked. We put the isinglass screens down but left the zippers open so she could be cooler on the back of the vessel. During the meeting the wait staff came and told us that our big black dog was in the back parking lot. I went and looked but immediately knew that she was not there. So I walked back in and toward the front door only to find her thirty feet inside the restaurant looking for us. After that we began to call her “Buddini, the enlightened escape dog.” But you couldn’t be mad, she wasn’t barking!

She is the most expressive dog that I have ever known and can tell us exactly what she wants and she has turned out to be the “best dog we’ve ever had.”

The images and story really give you a great overview of this fine looking, well groomed dog. Sometimes dogs, like people, just need a little taking care of and encouragement before they come out of their shell an show how great they really are

ComedyPlus.blogspot.com is a fantastic daily read. It reminds me of the type of site that people used to read on a daily basis. Things have got complicated in recent years but comedy plus simply keeps you laughing every day.

Want your pet to feature in the Bloggers Pet Series?….. submit your critter here.

The Bloggers Pets Series
Plinko the puggle
Bailey the best dressed dog
Jane saved Jericho and Jericho saved Boo
Little Bit… The Huntin’ Dog…
Meet Moki
The Krusen 3

And I think I have found the one that got it the worst:

I received this video from my mum, by email, today. I couldn’t stop laughing at the unfortunate dog. I just had to post it.

Thanks mum, please keep sending them

Has anyone seen anything that can top this? If so then please leave the link.

If this is your first time here please subscribe to the RSS feed or keep updated by email (just enter you email address in the subscription field at the top of the sidebar)?

Also if you have a pet and you are a blogger, then why not submit it to our Bloggers Pets series.

Thanks for stopping by.

So I guess in some weird way Jericho returned the favor to Jane.

Jane obviously loves Boo to bits, here is the little bit of text she sent to me:

Arabelle (Boo) is my 16 month old Lab/Beagle mix. Last year I had to move so had to place her, temporarily, with a friend in Indiana. Boo’s story is unique and I wish I had room here to tell you all of it. Suffice it to say, Boo will be coming back home in a few months. She is the love of my life.

I wanted to know a little bit more about Boo’s story and that’s how I found out about the Jericho situation. She sent me a few links where you can read a little bit more about this fantastic story:

Urgent Request and Me and Boo

Jane runs a few blogs:

Pet Rescuer Central is a great place focusing, obviously, on pet rescue, pet shelters and related stuff. Jane is doing a great service here.

Jericho Monster is an essential for any fan of Jericho. Currently pushing to save the third season, this blog played a major part in saving Jericho Season 2. Here you can keep up with all the latest news and even get extras such as cast interviews.

Margie and Edna’s Basement is Jane and Beth’s entertainment blog. Jane and Edna are originally two residents of Jericho but the blog has branched out now into many areas.

Want your pet to feature in the Bloggers Pet Series?….. submit your critter here.

The Bloggers Pets Series
Plinko the puggle
Bailey the best dressed dog
Jane saved Jericho and Jericho saved Boo
Little Bit… The Huntin’ Dog…
Meet Moki
The Krusen 3

Whilst discussing this with a friend, I was tipped off about an old news story of a seagull visiting a shop on a regular basis with more sinister intentions.

Ok… the headline i a little over the top but this story amazed me.

Sam, as it has become known by, is a seagull in the Scottish town of Aberdeen. This feisty bird developed a habit of wondering into a small store and stealing a bag of it’s favorite tangy cheese Doritos before running off, opening the packet and sharing it with the other birds. If you think it’s too crazy to be true then check out the video evidence that I found on trusty YouTube.

Seagulls stealing is not new news to me. In England they are huge, much bigger than any Gull I have seen in Canada, and these mighty, confident birds can be very intimidating. I have heard tales such as one pecking a 5 year olds eye out whilst stealing fries or stealing whole fish off the end of fisherman’s lines and flying off with the hook still in their mouth.

A funny comedian called Lee Evans has a great skit about the ‘Great British Seagull’. If you have a spare ten minutes. you have to watch it (it’s not just about gulls and does contain some bad language!). You may recognise him from a few movies, but he is much better comedian.

Penguins rely on their waterproof feathers to keep warm so sadly this smart little man wasn’t taking the chance and was left on the side whilst his friends played around in the pool. Plus he had been being picked on by his supposed friends and had lost his alpha male status!

So what did the biologists do about it? They designed him a nice, dashing wet suit. Now he is back swimming and is not being picked on anymore. A happy ending all round.

I found this great little video on You Tube showing him in action.

According to the BBC pygmy hedgehogs are are new pet craze in the UK. I must have left the UK before this started!

Until I saw this news story I had no idea what a pygmy hedgehog was, and apparently there is concern over it.

You can see the BBC video here: Concern over prickly pygmy pet

These very cute little animals are being bred purely for the purpose of owning as a pet. From some brief research they seem to hail from Africa (I will try and look inro their origin in a future article).

Animal Welfare groups such as the RSPCA are concerned that these high maintanced animals may become trendy and that normal un-trained people will not have the skills to give them the care they deserve.

The breeder in the video says she understands the concerns but I still feel that many people will buy these and, maybe not give them the care that they deserve.

Personally I think owners of high maintenance pets should be screened and registered. I used to own a bearded dragon and did not need to register but in my first few months of ownership I definitely, accidentally, mistreated the poor thing. In hindsight, I feel, I should have taken an online test or some kind of certification to make sure I knew how to look after it.

What do you think about this? Do you own an exotic pet?

Image source: http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/42632000/jpg/_42632611_8.jpg