Cecil County Couple Challenges Zoning Law for Pet Goat

An interesting article was published in The Baltimore Sun this morning regarding a goat turned pet in Cecil County, MD. The Balunsat couple purchased Snowbird for several hundred dollars through a newspaper advertisement and have raised her alongside several other animals since she was just a kid.

Snowbird, who lives in a home with less land than zoning laws require for animal husbandry, was not the original complaint. A rooster was - and the family already got rid of it (seemingly without objections). Neither the law or the family involved are concerned with whether or not the goat (or chickens, dogs, etc) qualify or act as working animals - or about the natural needs/purposes of/for the animal in question. 

The idea of farm animals in urban areas has been a hot topic lately as many urban and suburban neighborhoods are circulating petitions to allow residents to keep chickens for the purpose of fresh laid eggs. University of Maryland Extension sheep and goat expert, Susan Schoenian, points out the separation human beings have had from farm animals and processes and that there is a growing movement back towards that connection. 

But this particular case does not appear to be affiliated with the growing "backyard farmer" movement - which begs the question: What is it that draws human beings to animals? Is it for food? Survival? Companionship? Or a need to nurture? 

To keep up with Snowbird's story, 'like' her Facebook page.

Friday Fawn

This adorableness was just captured by Dylan Singleton. Fear not: Mother Deer was close by. Find several more images here.

Top Ten New Species

The International Institute for Species Exploration at Arizona State University released their Top Ten New Species in 2010 this week and they are an interesting crop! Check them out here. They range from very cool Bioluminescent Mushroom and Underwater Mushroom to the not-so-cool Jumping Cockroach and T-Rex Leech. Thankfully, the creepier crawlers are not anywhere near the state of Maryland.

University of Maryland News

I am pleased to report that Scott Glenn, Ph.D., an associate professor of weed science at the University of Maryland and personal favorite of ours, was awarded the 2011 Outstanding Teacher Award by the Weed Science Society of America. Doc Glenn's research focuses on perennial weeds and the environmental impact of herbicides and I know quite a few Terps who highly recommend his courses.

In other award news, for the third year in a row, the University of Maryland has earned Tree Campus USA recognition from the Arbor Day Foundation for its dedication to campus forestry management and environmental stewardship. The University campus is an arboretum boasting an inventory of more than 8,000 trees. Read more about the award here and here, and learn about the distinguished Arboretum and Botanical Garden here.

And last but certainly not least, Mary(land) has little lambs! Spring has sprung on the campus farm. Here are a few pictures of the little cuties and some of their farm friends:

And the award for 'Greatest Place on Earth' goes to...

Best Friends Animal Sanctuary in Kanab, Utah.

No, I haven't been there. But I have been on their website all afternoon and having read several Sanctuary Stories, I can say with certainty that every heart beating in their corner of Angel Canyon is made of pure gold.

Clover Noob

Baby bunny. So cute. Second pic including a young Knockout Rose bush is for scale but not sure it accomplishes that. Regardless, we shall call him/her Peter. Obviously.

A Little Orchard History

In my humble opinion, being an apple that falls close to the family tree is nothing short of an honor and a privilege. I can't count the number of times that I've exchanged giggles and glances with my sister when one of us does something particularly reminiscent of our mother and the other says, "You're such an apple." I imagine, as my sister is now a mother herself, that these occurrances will become more frequent with age and that perhaps we are and always have been even closer to that tree than we realize.

I say all this because of a few fantastic photos my mother recently passed along to me (accompanied by stories of course) that reminded me of how our apple seeds get planted.

Meet my great grandmother Dorothy (pictured with her pup in the cottage garden in England). On the back of the photo she wrote:

"The duchess with her pet? dog: Whiskey. The swine so named because he is black and white - not because he is [posh/food], like the beverage. His right leg is still in the plaster cast. The other leg is naturally white. The duchess had somehow got her skirt caught up - showing a lot of her leg, but she is not usually so brazen. Not much! Hydrangea at the back of me on my right. Both plants have been a picture this year."

Who knew that the inclination to bring a little black and white, trouble-finding dog into the family, give him a name that may or may not have something to do with libations, and take photographs with him in the garden was genetic?

Another gene often expressed in apples from our orchard is visible in these photgraphs of my mother with her gerbils, Alfie and Linus, in she and my father's attic apartment in Illinois in the early seventies. (I am confident that the pic of the little fella in the pot was for fun and scale only, by the way.)

Not long after Alfie and Linus passed on to gerbil heaven and Jenny and Greg (two female cats) had joined the family, my mom heard the cries of an abandoned baby possum and loved him dearly through his short life. The spirit of the unconditional love given to Punky the possum surfaced in my own heart just a few short months ago with the lovely little rat, Templeton. Perhaps the tendancy to love what nature (red in tooth and claw) sometimes deems less-lovable is quite possibly written into our DNA as well.

I could go on and on about out family's pet history... CJ: the sweet, shy and mangey dalmation puppy my sister and I adopted off the back of a truck parked outside our then place of employment: CJ's Pub. Tackle and Ziggy: tabby cat brothers that kept us company throughout our teens. Jesse: the next door neighbor's dog we treated like one of our own... But I suppose the point is that pets not only bring love and affection into our homes and hearts - they become a part of our family history, our folklore, and remind us that love comes in all shapes and sizes and while their lives may not be as long as ours, their memory most certainly can be.

And to have the capacity to love like the apples before me - like I said - is an honor and a privilege.

Awwwwww...

The city of Baltimore came to a halt this morning to help a mother duck and her 11 little mallards make safe passage to the Inner Harbor. A.Mazing. The Baltimore Sun reports:

"It's not clear where the mama duck had been nesting. But she and her family were already headed south on Market Place, just north of Lombard Street — a major westbound thoroughfare."

Salati and Tommy, Interspecies Besties

Entirely unrelated to the traditional topics of JustSaying but too darn adorable to pass up! The Daily Mail reports:

"It's a role reversal not commonly seen, but then the cat chasing this dog is a little larger than most. Salati, a ten-month-old leopard, and her best friend, golden retriever Tommy, like nothing more than to run amok before settling down for a friendly cuddle. The odd couple were reared together at Glen Afric Country Lodge near Pretoria in South Africa. Animal wrangler Richard Brooker, 23, raised Salati and takes her and family dog Tommy for their daily exercise together. Each morning, he walks them on his family's 1,850-acre estate and then lets them run free to their hearts' content. He said: 'Wherever you see one the other is right behind. They are inseparable and both have lots of energy so they get the exercise they both need together."

The smallest carbon hoof-print in the world?

Okay, okay. That's reaching. No relevant reason to post this video. Just a seriously adorable little horse.



And here's some press coverage of the little fella:

Enviropig

The science behind this genetically engineered Canadian pig with earth-friendly poop is a little bit beyond the average bear's understanding but I think a lot of folks are aware that growing amounts of high-phosphorus animal waste flowing into our water systems is a big problem for aquatic life. It creates "Dead Zones."

In an ideal world, all the earth's pigs would enjoy a regular pig diet - one sans corn and grains - and there wouldn't be a huge phosphorus problem to solve. But Americans like to have their bacon and eat it too so I suppose if this little piggy makes poop with 65% less phosphorus than usual we should embrace the Enviropig.

From DISCOVER:

"...The researchers who created the Enviropig say it’s not just eco-friendly, but it also cut farmers’ feed-supplement costs. If the pigs eventually become common, they could also help U.S. farmers comply with “zero discharge” rules that forbid pork producers from releasing nitrogen or phosphorus runoff... The Enviropigs will be raised only in controlled research settings in Canada for now, and experts say transgenic pork won’t be landing on your plate anytime soon; the new biotech pig will face years of safety trials to see if it should be approved for commercial production and consumption in the United States and Canada. No transgenic animal has been approved for consumption as of yet..."

"Ninja Deer"

Another fun pic. This one is circa 2003 National Geographic but has popped back up on the feeds today.

Dogs in China

Adam Minter wrote an interesting albeit disturbing article for Foreign Policy about the newest class struggle in China between rich dogs and poor dogs. The debate on whether to care for or to eat dogs pits younger, educated pet owners against the traditional rural Chinese. I am far too biased to offer an opinion on this issue but nonethessless it is a topic worth following and if you can stomach it, find the article here.

Bright Side

Because JustSaying dedicated a fair amount of posts to endangered and threatened species last year, I'm thinking it may be nice to highlight some uber-cool new and evolving species because, well, I'm remarkably optimistic about the staying power of the conservation efforts, awareness and activism surrounding all things environmental of late. And I'd like to think that the more wildlife we see and discuss, the more considerate we all become. So cheers to a few newly discovered critters!

New Strawberry Crab Species. Discovered off of Suther Taiwan by Marine biologist Professor Ho Ping-ho from the National Taiwan Ocean University. These little gals have clam-shaped shells about an inch wide and resemble a species called Neoliomera Pubescens, that lives in the areas around Hawaii, Polynesia and Mauritius. Read more here.

The Kuranda tree frog, discovered in tropical Queensland state in eastern Australia by WWF-Australia conservationists, has a distinctive tapping call that scientists call "fast talk." The fast-talkin' frog has unfortnately already placed on the critically endangered list. More here.

White Lizards in the White Sands of New Mexico. These little lizards aren't exactly a new species but they are a new color! Learn more from professor Erica Bree Rosenblum here and here.

Speaking of lizards, I should give a shout out to the Mwanza Flat Headed Agama (aka Spiderman) lizard too. Not because of newness, but because of newfound popularity thanks to photograher Roy Daines.

Little Limestone Leaf Warbler. Found in the rocky forests of Laos and Vietnam by a team of scientists from the Wildlife Conservation Society, Lao PDR Department of Forestry, Swedish University of Agricultural Science, Swedish Museum of Natural History, BirdLife International and other groups. More here.

The teen-tiny Barbados Threadsnake, leptotyphlops carlae. It is one of the world's smallest snakes (a total length of 104mm, or 4.1 inches). Discovered by  Professor of Biology from the Penn State Institutes of Energy and the Environment, S. Blair Hedges. So frickin' cool. More here.

Last - certainly not least but last because it is purely fictional fun i.e. not real - the Swiss Funk Squirrel (pictured). Possibly because he resembles a little dog we know and love that often smells like the other animal the Swiss Funk resembles.

Calling All Jack Fans!

Any of you who have ever spent more than two minutes with me probably know a little something about my furry sidekick, Jack. But just in case, dear readers, I should let you know: he is a rescue puplanthropist and overall darling. His latest fund raising efforts are going on right now via the Hallmark Cutest Dog of the Season Contest and we need your help.

The Grand Prize-Winning pup will get a $1,000 cash prize and $1,000 donation to their favorite animal charity. But get this: Jack says he wants to give his cash prize to his favorite animal rescue organization, the Maryland SPCA, too! That would be $2,000 going to feed, shelter and snuggle local Maryland pets this winter!!

If you'd like to help Jack reach his goals, please click here and scroll down to click on the big red VOTE button.

I should also mention...

Natalie Portman on Foer's "Eating Animals"

My recently ordered copy of Jonathan Safran Foer's new book, Eating Animals, which is a departure from his usual (awesometastical) historical fiction and instead a nonfiction "exploring the fictions we use to justify our animal eating habits," can not arrive soon enough.

Actress, Activist and Harvard Alum Natalie Portman shares how her experience with the book moved her from vegetarian to vegan in a recent post on The Huffington Post:

" ...what Foer most bravely details is how eating animal pollutes not only our backyards, but also our beliefs. He reminds us that our food is symbolic of what we believe in, and that eating is how we demonstrate to ourselves and to others our beliefs: Catholics take communion -- in which food and drink represent body and blood. Jews use salty water on Passover to remind them of the slaves' bitter tears. And on Thanksgiving, Americans use succotash and slaughter to tell our own creation myth -- how the Pilgrims learned from Native Americans to harvest this land and make it their own.

And as we use food to impart our beliefs to our children, the point from which Foer lifts off, what stories do we want to tell our children through their food?

I remember in college, a professor asked our class to consider what our grandchildren would look back on as being backward behavior or thinking in our generation, the way we are shocked by the kind of misogyny, racism, and sexism we know was commonplace in our grandparents' world. He urged us to use this principle to examine the behaviors in our lives and our societies that we should be a part of changing. Factory farming of animals will be one of the things we look back on as a relic of a less-evolved age.

I say that Foer's ethical charge against animal eating is brave because not only is it unpopular, it has also been characterized as unmanly, inconsiderate, and juvenile. But he reminds us that being a man, and a human, takes more thought than just "This is tasty, and that's why I do it." He posits that consideration, as promoted by Michael Pollan in The Omnivore's Dilemma, which has more to do with being polite to your tablemates than sticking to your own ideals, would be absurd if applied to any other belief (e.g., I don't believe in rape, but if it's what it takes to please my dinner hosts, then so be it).

But Foer makes his most impactful gesture as a peacemaker, when he unites the two sides of the animal eating debate in their reasoning. Both sides argue: We are not them. Those who refrain from eating animals argue: We don't have to go through what they go through -- we are not them. We are capable of making distinctions between what to eat and what not to eat (Americans eat cow but not dog, Hindus eat chicken but not cow, etc.). We are capable of considering others' minds and others' pain. We are not them. Whereas those who justify eating animals say the same thing: We are not them. They do not merit the same value of being as us. They are not us.

And so Foer shows us, through Eating Animals, that we are all thinking along the same lines: We are not them. But, he urges, how will we define who we are?"

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/natalie-portman/jonathan-safran-foers-iea_b_334407.html

Guess I won't be making exceptions for meat in the homes of others anymore. The more I learn, the less I can justifiably eat. Ugh. On a similar note... I sorta loved the last few moments of South Park's Whale Whores episode...

"It wasn't whales and dolphins... It was chickens and cows..."
"Great job son. Now the Japanese are normal like us." 

Read more at: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/natalie-portman/jonathan-safran-foers-iea_b_334407.html

The Bear Whisperer

In the BBC film Bearwalker of the Northwoods, set to air in Scotland tonight, lucky viewers will get to see how wildlife biologist Lynn Rogers' decision to replace traditional scientific methods with good ol' fashioned relationship building paid off and got him into the intimate inner circle of mother bear June and her three little cubs. Believe it or not, cornering them and shooting them with tranquilizers isn't the best method. The film, which was filmed in Minnesota, USA has got to be available here in the US soon, right? From The Guardian article:

"...Rogers eventually realised he couldn't hope to know bears unless he won their trust. And so he abandoned scientific detachment and took the daring and controversial step of forming relationships with his study animals, using food to gain acceptance among an extended bear family in Minnesota.

Gaining the trust of the bears has given him a close-up insight into their behaviour and social organisation as well as allowing Rogers to explode myths about them. Contrary to popular belief, for example, he contends that the bears are not violent and do not like honey..."

I have to say, it boggles my mind that Rogers' methods are considered controversial. But I suppose if popular belief holds that bears are cuddly honey lovers with piglet sidekicks one minute and violent campground attackers the next, it's about time somebody made a film highlighting their simple, animal awesomeness. I hope they are still fighting the good fight against forest fires. And wearing grass skirts as they teach young orphans the ways of the jumgle.And making porridge.

(thnx Singleton)

Rescue Ink Unleashed

On September 25th, National Geographic will be premiering their latest and possibly greatest reality show following an unlikely group of animal activists: tattooed, motorcycle-riding "tough guys" who call themselves Rescue Ink.

" . . . In a metropolitan area with more than 20 million residents, thousands of animals — dogs, cats, and even chickens and piranhas — are neglected, abused, hoarded or housed illegally. A few years ago, eight tough guys from the mean streets, who frequented hot rod shows and tattoo parlors, discovered their strongest bond was actually a passion for animals — and they formed a rescue organization like no other. Some have violent and turbulent pasts, complete with run-ins with the law, but all are seeking redemption and solace in their mission to save animals from human abuse.

. . .They’re not cops, animal experts or even animal control. They’re just big guys with even bigger hearts and a desire to save animals from deplorable living conditions and abusive or simply misguided owners . . ."

Want to help? Visit the Rescue Ink adoption page or your local shelter and give these animals a chance. Want to contribute but can't adopt a pet today? Read more about the gangs' efforts here, sign up with one or more of the programs they endorse here, or make a donation here.

World Wildlife Web

Stefano Allesina of the University of Chicago and Mercedes Pascual of the University of Michigan devised an algorithm, inspired by PageRank, for the relationships in a food web in hopes to determine which plant and animal species play paramount roles and would have the greatest impact if they were to become extinct. According to PLoS Computational Biology: "The algorithm uses the links between species in a food web, like the links between web pages, in order to determine the relative importance of species." I'm not particularly good at explaining or even completely understanding algorithms so here is what the NY Times' Henry Fountain reported:

One key to PageRank’s success is that its developers introduced a small probability that a Web user would jump from one page to any other. This in effect makes the Web circular, and makes the algorithm solvable. But in food webs, Dr. Allesina said, “you can’t go from the grass to the lion — the grass has to go through the gazelle first.

“We could not use the same trick to make food webs circular,” he went on.
So they used another trick, he said. Since all organisms die and decompose, they created a “detritus pool” that all species link to. The pool also links to primary producers in a food web, which make use of the decomposed matter.

Their algorithm differs also in that it determines the relative importance of species through reverse engineering — by seeing which species make the food web collapse fastest if they are removed. The researchers found that the algorithm produces results that were as accurate as much more complex (and computationally costly) software that builds webs from the ground up, simulating evolution.

The next step, Dr. Allesina said, is to refine the algorithm so that it will work with more complex webs. There are many other factors that affect extinctions, including pollution and habitat loss. The goal is to create an algorithm that can take these and other elements into account as well.