SNN (ScrollingNetworkNews) ✿ ✿ Our Mel and Sydney returned to their nesting box with plenty of bonding occurring..but after 2.5 months of Sydney in the box from Dec 2013 to mid Feb 2014, the lack of prey gifts from Mel ( perhaps due to the severe and historic drought underway in California)and they have forgone the nesting process this year as many other raptors ✿ Compared to other owls of similar size, the Barn Owl has a much higher metabolic rate, requiring relatively more food. Pound for pound, Barn Owls consume more rodents – often regarded as pests by humans – than possibly any other creature. ✿ We remind viewers that sometimes owlets may not survive - the parents will dispose of things in "The Owl Way" -viewer discretion is advised, this is nature and the "Owl way". ✿ ~ ✿ “Animals, like us, are living souls. They are not things. They are not objects. Neither are they human. Yet they mourn. They love. They dance. They suffer. They know the peaks and chasms of being.” ― Gary Kowalski, The Souls of Animals ✿ Each species is a masterpiece, a creation assembled with extreme care and genius." ~ E.O. Wilson

Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Oddities

Poodle moth

Zoologist, media consultant, and science writer, Dr Karl Shuker is also one of the best known cryptozoologists in the world. He believes this to be legitimate.

"Furry, white, long-eyelash-bedecked insect that's so strange it couldn't possibly exist in real life and yet somehow it does? Definitely.

The Venezuelan poodle moth may look like something conjured up by a team of sophisticated online pranksters, but a renowned cryptozoologist has confirmed that the creature does, in fact, fly the South American skies.

Dr. Karl Shuker traced a Flickr photo of the aptly named poodle moth to Kyrgyzstani zoologist, Arthur Anker. Anker managed to snap a photo of the unusual lepidopteran during a wildlife excursion to Venezuela in early 2009.

The sight of this fluffy mystery creature piqued Shuker's curiosity to the point where investigation was the only option.

But after digging around for more answers, the expert found little to identify the moth's official genus.

It's been suggested that these winged "poodles" may belong to the Diaphora mendica, or muslin moth family, but so far there has been no concrete evidence to verify (or disprove) that claim.
What is known?
The little guy has certainly captured the Internet's attention. So if you have any relevant information, Shuker — and the millions of other curious moth gazers — would love to know."