BEARSCARE

According to the Daily Mail, some guy leapt into Knut’s enclosure because he was lonely and felt the 2-year-old bear was too. Zookeepers lured Knut away from his new dinner and into a cage before removing the man from the enclosure. Police said he did not appear to be mentally disabled. Although I certainly share this man’s desire to befriend Knut, I do realize, as a bear expert and enthusiast, that making a bear friend is a slow process which requires lots of patience and trust. I know that after months of bringing seal meat and making bear noises Knut would come to accept me. I would never, however, try to rush him into a friendship that makes him uncomfortable or hungry.

I just read on the news that some nutty lady up in Pennsylvania was trying to sell kittens with piercings on eBay. This is pretty cruel and I would never consider piercing my kitten. The auction described one kitten, called “Snarley Monster”, was described as “a three-month-old, floppy-eared, loveable kitten with a docked tail”. Snarley Monster is pictured below.

There were also kittens with back piercings (whatever that’s supposed to be). The seller was hoping to get $400+ per kitten. Gross.

Here’s a link to the article that I lifted this information and the picture from: http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/World-News/Gothic-Kittens-Animals-With-Pierced-Ears-And-Neck-Seized-By-Protection-Officers-In-Pennsylvania/Article/200812315187322?lpos=World_News_Second_World_News_Article_Teaser_Region_1&lid=ARTICLE_15187322_Gothic_Kittens%3A_Animals_With_Pierced_Ears_And_Neck_Seized_By_Protection_Officers_In_Pennsylvania

“Make calamari out of him!”, my wife SCREAMED when she saw this video. I think he’s kind of sweet and probably poisonous. This little fellow was discovered by a remote controlled submarine owned by the Shell oil company and has been baffling cryptozoologists since.
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aJV5mH3YY70]
Gross.

Abstract: A bunch of scientists went to Asia to look for animals. They found some new ones in the Mekong River which runs through China, Burma, Vietnam and some other countries. The pictures are pretty gross.

I    Introduction

It happened again: spiders bigger than dinner plates. A recent discovery yielded several new species of animals which are shown right here.

II   Findings

Figure 1   Scary green snake

Figure 2    Striped rabbit

Figure 3   Creepy millipede

Figure 4   A SPIDER THE SIZE OF A DINNER PLATE

III   Analysis

This animals are pretty creepy, but overall I’m glad they were discovered. The snake is pretty sweet and I bet it tries to eat the rabbit. I think the rabbit is kind of stupid and definitely not very cute. The millipede is gross.

IV   Conclusions

I really just care about that enormous spider. It sends shivers down my back just thinking about it.

So, my wife and I were at Ikea today. We stopped to look at their realistic stuffed animals. An elephant had caught here attention and I was interested if they had any toy grizzly bears yet. Then we came across this little guy:

The picture doesn’t show that his other eye is HUGE. Does anybody have any idea what animal this is supposed to be? We’re really confused

Two items of business to take care of today. First and foremost, I am pleased to announce that this is the bearscare.org 100th post of all time. To celebrate, I am announcing a give away to the most creative bear artist. Please submit original works depicting bears (preferably eating salmon, elk, berries, etc) to tom at bearscare dot org. The winnder will be announced on New Years Day. Thanks and good luck.

Secondly, here is a story I can really get on board with. A loggerhead turtle named Herb washed up on Cape Cod with a severe case of hypothermia. Some very thoughtful marine biologists rescued him and they’re slowly warming him up to send to turtle rehab. We’re all rooting for you, Herb!

In case you haven’t heard already, Knut, the AWESOME polar bear cub who captured our hearts and minds a year or so ago (pictured below), is BEING SOLD. I intend to buy him.

Look, here’s the thing. I love that bear. I never got to Germany to visit him and I can’t imagine going to some other loser country where he might wind up. My plan is to keep him in the middle bedroom of our apartment. There’s a red sofa in there that he can sleep on and a book case and I could even clear our stuff out of the closet. There’s only one problem: polar bears are expensive. BUT I’m taking donations. Please leave the amount you’re pledging along with contact information as a comment and I will get back to you. This is urgent. I expect I’ll need $100,000+ USD. Contributors will have some visitation privileges.

CNN posted this video today of a kid’s run-in with a sweet coyote. It was a draw, but I like to think the coyote had the last laugh.

Check it out. One of my readers maintains a fan-page for the Seekers series of books. As it turns out, these books (by Erin Hunter) are written from the point of view of bears (all different types). Here is a review of the first book in the series, The Quest Begins, from amazon.com:

Erin Hunter did a great job on Warriors and is did an amazing job on Seekers, so if you like animal adventures then Seekers is the book for you. This fantasy talks about three bears: Kalik a polar bear, Susa a black bear, and Tolko a brown bear. Kalik has the harder life, when Susa instead is on a mission to meet Tolko, and Tolko wants to be scary. In the mean time the bears learn what a no-claws is. Will Susa make it to Tolko in time before the no-claws come??? Will Kalik be able to take responsibility with no mom, no friends, but just herself??? The life of these three bears is going to change in a way that you can not imagine. Read the book to find out.

Below are my comments.

Erin Hunter did a great job on Warriors and is did an amazing job on Seekers, so if you like animal adventures then Seekers is the book for you.

My entire life is an animal adventure.

This fantasy talks about three bears: Kalik a polar bear, Susa a black bear, and Tolko a brown bear.

3/8 bear species in one book? I am about to LOSE IT (pass out).

Kalik has the harder life, when Susa instead is on a mission to meet Tolko, and Tolko wants to be scary. In the mean time the bears learn what a no-claws is.

A no-claws is a friendly animal that might make good food but shouldn’t be eaten. Ferocious bears, like some vampires, need to learn to control their feeding instincts.

Will Susa make it to Tolko in time before the no-claws come??? Will Kalik be able to take responsibility with no mom, no friends, but just herself??? The life of these three bears is going to change in a way that you can not imagine. Read the book to find out.

Kalik does need to learn to deal with her situation. It sucks being a lonely polar bear, but she just needs to relax and be herself. She’ll find friends when the time is right but she shouldn’t rush it; she wouldn’t want to fall in with the wrong crowd.

Another review I found very insightful is this one:

Erin Hunter is one of the most amazing writers of the 21st cencury (exuse my spelling) and i would read any book by her if i were you.

I particularly have enjoyed my reader’s fan-site. It is broken down into many logical sections, one being Seekers fan graphics. Below is my favorite one:

I do plan to buy this book and will write a complete review here. If anybody else has read this, please leave a comment. Of course I knew there were current novels about bears, but I didn’t know about this one. Bye!