Westwind's stories

Wild panthers in Australia?
Sun 2 Nov 2003 - 17:24

According to this article, there are many sightings of feral panther-like cats in the area near Sydney. If this is true, it's a real problem for Australian native animals (and plants), already under attack from feral pests such as cane toads, pigs, rabbits, and foxes.

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When an ostrich loves a human
Tue 11 Mar 2003 - 12:02

According to this article from the BBC, ostriches raised by humans find it easy to try and court them.

My favorite line in this article:

"You would not want to go into a pen with an amorous ostrich," he said.

Words to live by...

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Do you speak Elephant?
Tue 25 Feb 2003 - 11:48

National Geographic has an interesting article on one woman's decades-long research into understanding the infrasonic language of elephants.

I wonder how long it will be before we have an "Elephant-Human" dictionary? Or maybe a phrasebook would be better for the tourist crowd...

How Squirrels took over the World
Fri 21 Feb 2003 - 13:20

Are you (or is someone you love) a squirrel? Then you might want to read this article. It shows how squirrels started out 36 million years ago in Western North America and spread outwards fairly quickly.

It's an interesting article, showing how archaeology, geology and genetics can cooperate in giving us a better understanding of the current animal world.

600 rare animals freeze to death in flight
Wed 19 Feb 2003 - 17:35

A tragic news story from Switzerland today about miscommunication resulting in the deaths of hundreds of members of rare or endangered species. Reptiles, amphibians and mammals were among the dead, while some insects managed to survive but are not doing well.

Very sad.

Cheetahs love Calvin Klein
Fri 7 Feb 2003 - 14:51

According to this article, cheetahs just go wild for the scent of Calvin Klein's perfume, Obsession.

Makes scents to me...

Wild wolf seen in Norway
Thu 12 Dec 2002 - 13:40

According to this article, a wolf has been seen in the open in Norway for the first time in "modern times."

It's amazing how often life will find a way.

Humans and Mice share 99% of genes
Thu 5 Dec 2002 - 13:22

An article on the BBC's news site discusses how much similarity there is between men and mice.

I was quite taken with the quote from one scientist: "We share 99% of our genes with mice, and we even have the genes that could make a tail."

I wanna tail.

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Raccoon invasion
Tue 5 Nov 2002 - 14:48

CBC news is reporting that raccoons are invading Manitoba in significant numbers. One person is quoted in the article as coining a new phrase to describe the raccoon: "The zebra mussel of the prairies."

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Good news for mountain gorillas
Thu 17 Oct 2002 - 18:33

The BBC is reporting good news about slowly increasing populations for mountain gorillas. It might not be much, but it's wonderful hearing some good news about the great apes for a change. It always seems like the news is dire...