Manatee in Pembrokeshire?

There's been a possible sighting of a manatee in Pembrokeshire, in West Wales. A woman saw a strange creature on the slipway at Hobbs Point, Pembroke Dock, which fits the description of a manatee, or sea-cow. The creatures are usually found in the Caribbean, and in West African waters. Francis Bunker, a Pembrokeshire-based marine biologist, says a manatee could easily have been carried to the Pembrokeshire coast by the Gulf Stream. I wonder if it will make its way south to Gower, or Swansea Bay? I'd love to see one of those huge, but apparently harmless creatures. There's more about this story over at Phantoms and Monsters.

Ooh - I'm sh-sh-shaking!

Aaaaarrrrggghhhh! Big scary beast!


How cute is that little kitten? I absolutely love the I Can Have Cheezburger site. The scary thing is, I used to hate the Lolcat language. Now, I find myself speaking it to my cats. Helpz!

World's smallest snake found

I've just come across an interesting article on the BBC News Science/Nature page, about the discovery of the world's smallest snake species. Dr Blair Hedges, a biologist at Penn State University, US, turned over a rock on the Caribbean island of Barbados, and found the 10 cm (4 inch) snake, underneath. The snake is as thin as a spaghetti noodle, and is thought to be the smallest size to which a snake can evolve. You can read more about Dr. Hedges' fascinating discovery here (opens in new window).

Not exactly a scary anaconda, eh?

Playing the Pan(da) pipes!

***Please scroll down for PhotoHunt***

Isn't this pic great? I cracked up when I saw it. I wonder what tune he's playing!

Image: I Can Has Cheezburger

Goat puke couch!

This cracked me up when I saw it. I recently walked into a furniture store, saw a similar couch, and was unfortunately overheard by a sales assistant as I declared: "yuk! that couch looks like something a goat puked up". Oops ...

Pic: I Can Has Cheezburger

Camera Critters

I've decided to give Camera Critters a try for the first time. I found some pics on a CD, of some shots I salvaged from my laptop, just before it finally died on me. As you will have seen in a previous post, I visited the National History Museum at St. Fagan's, near Cardiff, a couple of months ago. Shortly after entering the extensive grounds of this unique museum, I encountered this large black cat, and got two critters for the price of one. Note the mouse or baby rat in his mouth.


After walking around the grounds for a while, trying to locate a recently restored medieval church, I encountered some pigs rooting around in a patch of very muddy woodland, adjacent to the church. Despite my best efforts to get this sow to pose for a shot, she completely ignored me and kept on sifting through the mud with her snout, looking for some tasty roots and shoots. I even tried yelling 'apple sauce' at her, but she continued to treat me as a non-entity.


Click here if you fancy taking part in Camera Critters, hosted by Misty. Have a nice, peaceful Sunday!

Constipated kitty

My poor old cat, Liberty, has constipation. Apparently, it's something that affects old cats quite a lot. Plus she has kidney disease, so she sometimes gets a little dehydrated. Luckily, there's a simple fix - I'm having to mix a little bit of oil in with her food.

Unfortunately, Leo, aka Pitbull Cat, has become quite jealous of the extra attention she's getting, so he's taken to throwing things off shelves again.


Oh well, it's better than having him biting and clawing me, I guess. Anyone else have problem pets?

Adders and irresponsible reporting

I'm a little bit annoyed at this article on the BBC Wales news site. In brief, a teenage girl was bitten by an European adder, at an unnamed caravan park on the Gower Peninsula. To me, this article is sheer scaremongering. Although I'm glad the girl has made a full recovery, by printing some of the mother's comments, the BBC has suggested that adders go around leaping out at unsuspecting children and biting them. Not so.

In this particular case, the girl picked the snake up. Not a clever move. If I was a snake, and someone picked me up, my immediate thought would be 'aarrggh! predator!' - and I'd strike. You can't blame the snake. Sadly, the girl who got bitten mistook it for a slow-worm. I'd say that was an issue of education. European adders are a type of venomous viper. Slow-worms are not even snakes. They're a type of legless lizard, and totally harmless. Furthermore, adders and slow-worms are not especially alike. Take a look:

Slow-worm

European adder

I have often met up with European adders, and have never been threatened or harmed by one. As a child, I often came across them hiding under the flower urn on my grandfather's grave. They were usually juvenile adders. Instead of striking at me when I took a cautious peek, they simply slid away. I had a run-in with an elderly man at Rhossili one day. As I sat on the cliff, an adder came along, and settled about three feet from me, enjoying the sun. I was in my element, as I have a soft spot for these creatures. The next thing I know, some silly old fool decided to be my knight in shining Hush Puppies. He approached, walking stick raised, shouting 'snake, snake'. I gave him hell, and told him to leave the poor snake alone. When the snake eventually departed, it slid right past my foot. I felt privileged, rather than scared.

The bottom line is that European adders are not aggressive snakes. They would sooner flee than fight you. Their venom is precious to them. They need it to kill their prey. Without it, they starve. Once an European adder has envenomed something, it takes a while for it to produce more venom. If the adder has its way, it's not going to waste precious venom on humans. We're not prey. But deliberately or accidentally hurt one, or make it feel scared in any way, and it may well bite. It would be a fool not to.

The adder's venom isn't strong enough to kill an average, healthy adult. But small children, the elderly and the infirm are at risk of death from an adder bite. That said, anyone unfortunate enough to be bitten needs immediate medical help, as they will become quite ill from the venom. Also all snake bites inject large amounts of bacteria into their victim, even if the snake itself isn't venomous. There is also the risk of allergic reaction to the venom, which can lead to very serious medical problems.

Luckily, European adders rarely bite, and only in response to threat or injury. If you're worried there may be an adder nearby - stamp your feet loudly on the ground. The vibrations will alert it to your presence, and it will depart. Remember - treat the European adder with respect, and it won't hurt you.

Images courtesy of Wikipedia.

Thursday Thirteen - Cavalier King Charles

Thirteen reasons to own a Cavalier King Charles.

It's been ever such a long time since I participated in the Thursday Thirteen meme. Too long. But it's been quite hard to find the time. I've also had difficulty thinking of topics to write about. Today, I thought I'd write about Cavalier King Charles spaniels. I recently got over a longstanding phobia of dogs, and can now happily play fetch with humongous Rottweilers. But my favourite breed of dog is the Cavalier King Charles spaniel. I hope to own one of these little dogs soon. So here are thirteen good reasons why I would like to own a Cavalier King Charles.

1... They look cute. Don't you agree? The coat colouring of this one is known as Blenheim.


2... They're very affectionate little dogs. In fact, they're known as 'the love-sponge of dogs'.

3... They're very gentle, and are generally very safe with children. Although I don't have kids, I know plenty of people that do, and would hate to own a dog I didn't trust around kids.

4... They get on with other pets, including cats. I have cats, so I can't risk introducing a dog into my home that might attack my cats.

5... I live in a flat, so I need quite a small dog. That said, I don't want a tiny little lapdog. I want one that I can take on long walks. Although the Cavalier King Charles is classed as a toy breed, it's probably the biggest of the toy breeds, and not much smaller than a cocker spaniel.

6... They're very easy dogs to train, because they're intelligent, and love to please their owners.

7... They're very sociable little dogs, so they make ideal pets.

8... They apparently have a lot of traits in common with cats, including a tendency to perch in high places, and chase butterflies. As a life-long cat lover, having one of these little dogs around the house won't be too much of a culture shock for me.

9... Because of their easy-going nature, they're considered one of the best dogs for first time owners - which is what I would be.

10... The Cavalier King Charles is considered to be equally suitable for able-bodied or disabled people alike. I have a mild disability, in the form of arthritis, so I really couldn't cope with a big, heavy dog that tried to drag me everywhere.

12. In addition to the Blenheim-coated dog above, there are three other Cavalier King Charles coat colourings. This one is a Ruby King Charles.


This little cutie is a Black and Tan.


Last, but not least, especially as it's my personal favorite of all the colourings, is the Tricolor. Awwww!


13... My final reason for wanting to own a Cavalier King Charles is - well, I simply do.

Now, all I need is about £500 - around $1000 - which is what I need to pay to get a puppy from a reputable dealer. Never, ever buy a Cavalier King Charles puppy without first asking the seller about the medical history of its parents and grandparents. Sadly, these lovely little dogs are prone to many genetic disorders, so it's better to be safe than sorry. Happy Thursday!

Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!


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PhotoHunt: Bad Hair

This week's PhotoHunt theme is bad hair. I have dozens of images of me with bad hair. But you're not going to see any of them! Sorry to spoil your fun :). Instead of making fun of people with bad hair, I thought I'd show you some images of animals having a bad hair day.

First up is this sheep I met, whilst taking a walk along the cliffs at Rhossili, on the Gower Peninsula. She was having a seriously bad hair day. I hope she complained to the salon and got her money back!


This pony is having a little hair trouble as well. Maybe she should try some shampoo for flyaway hair. I also met her on Rhossili cliffs, as well as the ponies in the next two shots. This pony, by the way, was a seriously grumpy mare.


This pony seems to be sporting a 1980's style New Romantic hairdo - short at the back, with a big, floppy fringe. She was very friendly, although that may have been due to the fact that I shared some cookies with her.


This windswept creature kind of looks like she belongs in a heavy metal band, with all that long, windswept blonde hair. She was quite shy, but not grumpy like the brown mare.


Oh well. That's my PhotoHunt for this week. Hope you're not having a bad hair day! Have a lovely weekend.

Diet woes!

I know how she feels!

More cat pictures

Awwwww!

Isn't this little kitten gorgeous? Anyone who says 'no' - be warned. I'll make a voodoo dolly of you and stick pins in it!

Image: I Can Has Cheezburger

Too cute!

Aren't they gorgeous? If you're not going 'aaaaawwwwww' right now, you're a mean, horrid, nasty critter!

Image: I Can Has Cheezburger