The Most Beautiful and Strange Animals in the World

When I was a child my father was an ichthyologist; he studied fish.  We would visit aquariums often and loved poking around in tidal pools when we went near the ocean (which was not often as we lived in Alberta).  We got to know about many fascinating water creatures, not all of which were fish. 

Of all of the creatures in the water, some of the most beautiful, and mesmerizing, are nudibranchs.  Say "nude a branks".  They are mollusks that lose their shell when they mature.  They are sometimes incorrectly called sea slugs.  They are mostly found on the ocean floor, but are found all over the world, in the shallows, in the depths, in warm water, and in cold. 

Without shells to protect them nudibranchs may use their colors to blend in and match the surrounding corals, or to serve as a warning for potential predators.  Some are toxic, but not all are.  Their name means "naked gill".

Nudibranchs are carnivores, mostly consuming sponges (which are living animals), however some will eat other nudibranchs. 

"Glossodoris atromarginata" by Chika Watanabe from Los Altos, USA - Flickr. Licensed under CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons - 

Spanish Shawl nudibranch via Wikimedia Commons

Ceratosoma tenue from Lembeh Straits, Indonesia (and shrimp) via Wikimedia Commons

There are roughly 2,500 known species of nudibranchs, and probably hundreds more undiscovered ones.

Nudibranchs are typically slow moving creatures that just travel along the bottom, but when they move through the water they move with a delicate ribbon like motion that is beautiful to watch.

Your Pet Purchases can Help Feed Shelter Pets

PetFoodDirect is an online supplier of pet foods and supplies. They have a rewards program that allows their customers to help shelter pets.

Many pets end up in animal shelters for no fault of their own, sometimes a person got the wrong pet for their lifestyle, sometimes the owner had to move but could not take the pet with them. There are many reasons why cats and dogs are surrendered to animal shelters.

Most animal shelters are non-profit, they depend on donations from the public, government grants, and fund raising, to help provide food for their pets. As a pet lover you can donate to your local animal shelter at anytime. They always are happy to receive cash donations, and donations of pet food, however you might want to call first to see what they need. 

probably not what you think of when you think of feeding shelter pets!

Some of the things people often do not think about donating to an animal shelter, but that the shelters often need, are office supplies (paper, pens, etc.) and cleaning supplies (garbage bags, bleach, etc.). For pets, animal shelters often need blankets for the dogs, and toys. They can use old towels for their cats. 

Of course making a donation is not always possible but that does not mean you cannot help pets.

As a pet owner all you have to do is join PetFoodDirect's Rewards Program and you can help shelter pets as well as saving on money for your pet's food and products.

PetFood Direct sells great quality dog and cat foods such as Orijen and Wellness. They carry treats and flea and tick products, heartworm products (such as Heartgard) and even pet toys. They sell things for pet birds, wild birds, fish, reptiles and small caged pets. Their autoship program allows for further savings and convenience of not having to worry about running out of pet food.

What is the PFD Rewards Program?

With the PetFoodDirect Rewards Program every dollar you spend earns you reward points. You earn 15 points just for joining the program and if you sign up for autoship your points are doubled, plus you can get 300 points just for signing up. 

• 150 points = Donates 2 meals to shelter pets
• 400 points = Donates 6 meals to shelter pets
• 600 points = Donates 10 meals to shelter pets

Or you can use your points on your own purchases, 1,000 points can be traded in for $10 off your next purchase, or 1,500 points can be used for 25% off.

Here are some links you can click to get you started on your way to help shelter pets just when buying things you already need for your own furry friends!

Join our PetFoodDirect.com Rewards program and earn points with every purchase that can be used to donate meals to animals in need! Help those who cannot help themselves!

Save 15-25% off All PetFoodDirect.com Orders When You Enroll in Auto Ship! Convenient, Reliable and Worry-Free. Start Saving Today!

Get $20 Off Any Order $150 Or More At PetFoodDirect.com Today! Use Code PFDSAVE20!

Signing up for PetFoodDirect's reward program is free and I encourage you to take advantage of it to help animal shelters to help their adoptable pets.

 

White Tigers, Cruel Man Made Mutants

Did you know that there are no wild white tigers?  Although zoos often refer to white tigers as Royal White Bengal Tigers, this is not actually a species of tiger.  The white tigers you see on display in zoos today are not even purebreds, they are crosses between Siberian Tigers and Bengal Tigers.  They are also greatly inbred, the gene for white is recessive so white tigers are often created by breeding father to daughter, mother to son, and brother to sister. 

As with most inbred animals there are always more genetic health problems.  The gene that makes them white is linked to eye problems.  White tigers always have poor vision, making them more dependent on their handler.  In some cases this is easy to see as they may be cross eyed, in other cases the problem is in regards to how their eyes are wired to their brain.   Some tiger trainers prefer white tigers because their poor vision makes them easier to train, they are more dependent on their handler than a tiger with normal health vision.

photo source

White tigers are often born with spinal deformities, cleft pallets (a mouth deformity), and organ problems.  It is not uncommon for them to die shortly after birth.

Although not all zoos in the United States are members of the American Zoological Association (AZA), this group passed a ban in 2011 prohibiting members from breeding white tigers.

Although I realize many of you might want to see these beautiful animals it is best to not support the zoos that have white tigers.  There is no ethical reason for breeding them.  In fact many of the people who try to breed white tigers "dispose" of the tiger cubs born with normal orange colored fur.  The only reason they breed white tigers is for greed, vanity, and profit.  It must be stopped.

If you see white tigers in your local zoo be sure to express your displeasure with the intentional breeding programs that some zoos have adopted to make more of these sickly animals.

Further Reading on White Tigers

Breeding White Tigers does not Help Tigers

Big Cat Rescue - White Tigers

Costs of Owning a Pet Tiger

Feeding Wildlife in Stanley Park, the Raccoons

We recently took a holiday to Vancouver, Canada. Our hotel was within walking distance of Stanley Park, a 1,000 acre park, surrounded nearly all the way by ocean. On our first night we walked to the Aquarium, and on the way we saw a family of raccoons, a mother and her two youngsters, raiding a garbage can.

The following day we walked around Stanley Park and sure enough we encountered more raccoons, including another mother with three youngsters and an adult who was missing a tail. There was a man feeding them what appeared to be fried chicken. A short time later a woman arrived to feed them grapes and cat food. Other people fed them cookies. 

To note, I am aware that grapes can be toxic to dogs, but not sure how they affect raccoons.

We spoke to many of the people who were feeding the raccoons and many said they made daily trips to feed the raccoons and other animals in the park. The people said that the park's people did not like them feeding the animals. They also told us that the parks people trapped and killed many animals every year.

Raccoons normally would eat fish (there are ponds in the park), crabs (from the ocean), insects, worms, as well as nuts, berries, and eggs.

We did not confirm if the parks people did trap and kill raccoons or not, but clearly there was a dilemma.

The parks people want the animals to be “wild” and to fend for themselves, feeding them can cause problems as their fear of people can turn them into pests. Normally raccoons are nocturnal but these were out in the day. 

If one bit a person there would be a rabies panic. The people felt terrible that the animals were being killed to control their populations, so were thinking that feeding them would mean animals would not be killed.  One persons said they thought the raccoons were being killed to stop them from eating the goose and duck eggs, but we also heard that duck and goose populations were being controlled too (supposedly people were shaking their eggs so they would not hatch).

Additionally a problem was occurring in that some people were feeding very unhealthy foods (cookies) to the animals. The people said they have gotten in trouble many times for feeding the animals but refused to stop.

I am not suggesting people do feed wild raccoons, however clearly some people are not going to stop doing so. It would be better if the people simply fed the animals a better diet, and did so later in the day so the animals could live more naturally.

Raccoons can eat cat food, ferret food, most vegetables (not onions, garlic, avocados), eggs, and fish. They should not have cookies, greasy foods, salty foods, and so forth.

Maybe the park's people could do the same as is done in some areas to control feral cats, they could trap the animals, spay or neuter some, and release them. Perhaps this is already being done and people are just not aware. Or the park's people could arrange for the raccoons to be relocated to wild areas, or to zoos.

As tourists we enjoyed seeing these animals, and hope they continue to inhabit areas of Stanley Park.

Click here to see more pictures of the Raccoons in Vancouver's Stanley Park.