bikepenguin

cool animal stuff

Monthly Archives: December 2016


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It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a … what … a flying fish ?

Screen Shot 2014-10-12 at 6.35.32 PMYes, that’s right, a flying fish !  This interesting creature has a tail to propel its body out of the air.  When its out of the water, it uses its fins like wings.  There are 40 types of flying fish.  Strangely, fisherman hunt this precious creature, but, fortunately, they are not yet listed as endangered.   The main predators of flying fish are marlin, tuna, swordfish, mackerel and humans.  Flying fish are also stealthy, they attach their eggs to natural rafts such as clumped seaweed and the baby fry have hair on their body to make them look like sea plants.  Excitingly, there is even a “Flying Fish Festival” at Catalina Island in late May or early June.  So the next time you go to Catalina, don’t just look down for fish, look up.

I’m Izzykat and remember to bikepenguin !


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Where there’s smoke there’s an … orangutan ?

Is that an orangutan in a cage smoking a cigarette ?  I couldn’t believe it – a Smoking Great Ape ! Visitors to the Taru Jurug zoo in Indonesia, had been tossing lit cigarettes into Tori’s cage for at least a decade, and sadly, overtime, as she mimicked the behavior of the tourists, Tori became addicted. She was even known to throw tantrums when in need of a fix. Although it took more than a decade, the zoo keepers helped her kick the habit by placing Tori on an isolated island within the confines of the zoo. It worked, and, even better yet, in 2012 Tori gave birth to a healthy infant orangutan.

So, although we share 96.4% of our genetic makeup with orangutans, the next time your at the zoo (or anywhere for that matter), don’t mimic the humans.

Im Izzykat and remember to bikepenguin !


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Got Camel Milk ?

Almond milk, soy milk, goat milk, milk milk (cow’s milk) and now, believe it or not, camel’s milk. Yes, camel’s milk – I just saw a bottle of it at Whole Foods.

The Company that makes it is called Desert Farms, located in Santa Monica California.  It is a conglomerate of 9 Amish family farms scattered throughout the United States.  Some of the farms have but a single camel, while the largest has roughly 50, most of the farms have about 10, including both Bactrian (2-hump) and Dromedary (1-hump), as well as hybrids.

Desert FarmsThe Desert Farms website is very informative (Desert Farms).  I learned that camels are native to North America but were hunted to extinction 9000 years ago.  Today there are about 3,000 camels in America.  Moreover, Desert Farms makes numerous claims to the benefits of Camel milk over cow’s milk, such as higher protein, lower cholesteral, a close substitute for human mother milk, and a number of medicinal uses.

Camel’s milk is expensive.  A pint will cost you about $25 at whole foods.  Desert farms explains that it is not easy to breed camels, and lactation lasts only about 10 months.  So the next time (or first time) you drink camel milk, don’t waste a drop.

I’m IzzyKat – and remember to bikepenguin !