In the Headlights

Cheetah Lady

One of the coolest things about this staying at White Oak last weekend was meeting Laurie Marker.

Ms. Marker is the world's expert on cheetahs.  Deemed so by no less than Smithsonian Magazine, which has a feature article on her in the March issue.

This striking-looking woman is also striking in her intelligence and dedication.  Devoted to animal welfare all her life, she moved to Namibia in 1991, founding the Cheetah Conservation Fund.  Not only did she do research into breeding these difficult-to-rear animals, discovering a lack of genetic variability low sperm counts, she intervened on a grass-roots level, visiting farmers to help them find ways to protect their cattle without killing cheetahs.

Anyway, this very cool woman with the infectious smile partied with us for the weekend, and on Sunday, captivated the audience as we watched cheetahs chase a rabbit pelt around a track.  They didn't get up to the speed  they do in the wild.  They didn't have to, not being hungry.  But the cheetahs put on a great show, and Ms. Marker's comments gave us all a sense of understanding these magnificent cats.

She is also responsible for discovering the benefits of a breed of dogs called the Andalusian Shepherd.  These dogs are very protective and have been used to guard farmers' flocks from cheetahs and other predators in Namibia.  So it's not surprising that at White Oak, when they needed a companion to grow up with orphaned cheetah Hazari, they took Laurie's recommendation and got an Andalusian pup named Kadir to be her foil and playmate for life.  He outweighs her big time now, but she's got the attitude and agility to be his equal.  They're five months old now, playing tug-of-war; one of the most charming success stories you could ever hope to see.

[Image taken with my ATT Tilt, simply because I had nowhere to carry my Panasonic Lumix camera.]

Bush Dinner

A fundraiser for George W.  NOT!

Just got back from White Oak a little while ago.  What a wonderful weekend.

The first evening, after touring the research and veterinary facilities, and watching Hazari and Kafir play tug-of-war, we all changed into nice-casual and boarded two river boats to take us to our bush dinner.  The trip took about an hour at dusk, and we were treated to wine and some great appetizers on the trip.

These photos were taken with my ATT Tilt phone.  I didn't have pockets or carry a purse, and didn't want to lose my camera.  We had chicken breast chunks spiced with a dry rub and cooked on a grill, with a great taragon dipping sauce.  There were plantain chips and a kind of sweet guacamole that was very good.  Finally, there were skewers of rubbed beef chunks interspersed with chunks of orange and grilled.  Never had grilled orange before, but it tasted great.

 

We finally reached our destination, The Brickyard, which is on the far end of the White Oak property.  As we approached, we could see fires along the shoreline.  There was a huge bonfire at the site, with about ten formally set tables.  Peripherally, there were several shallow pit fires as well, so even though it got chilly out, we were never cold.

Besides, the alcohol flowed like, well, like wine. (I can't find the menu, though I could have sworn I brought one home.  This is from memory.)   The first course was floured sauteed perch chunks.  Next came a soup with vegetables and spicy peppers.  The main course included two kinds of meat:  quail and venison.  Both were delicious.  I'm usually a bit leery of venision, having eaten some gamy meat on occasion.  This was rare, and tasted delicious.  Dessert was a passion fruit mousse.  Light and tasty.  Each dish was designed to have some African connection, since White Oak is dedicated to animal conservation and is involved in some projects in Africa.  The guest for the weekend is Laurie Marker who runs the Cheetah Conservation Fund, based in Namibia.

Little Bundle of Joy

My cousin Julie has a soft spot in her head...er...heart,  for animals.  A friend of hers recently had some kittens that needed a home.  They're adorable and sweet.  But Julie already has her quota of pets and couldn't take them.  She has, however, offered to try to help them find a home, and will pick them up and drop them off anywhere.  Particularly since they live near the nuclear power plant and you need special clearance to get on the premises.

Here are pictures of the kitties:

There's something really strange about human teeth and eyes in a cat face, isn't there?  Yeah, lips, too.

FURminator

Cousin Julie just spent a few days here, but in that short time made a number of important changes.  One was placing the butcher block table in the kitchen, where it looks right at home, and another was to put the cat dishes under the butcher block instead of in the corner of the kitchen, where most of my friends have stepped in them at one time or another.  No biggie with the dry cat food, but the water dish is another matter.

Equally momentous was a suggestion that has changed the life of Dandelion, my big shaggy tomcat.  I mentioned that 90% of what the vacuum cleaner picks up around here is cat hair.  She saw my ineffectual attempts to brush his coat with a conventional cat brush, and said "You need a FURminator".

So we went out and bought one.  Not cheap.  We got the small one with a 1.7" edge.  At first, Dandy fought our attempts, but  seems to be taking it in stride.  The tool removes undercoat, leaving the topcoat intact, but removing a lot of the dense fur that makes it hard for some hairy cats to groom, and also adds considerably to the cathair tumbleweeds that pile up.  This morning, I caught him as he napped, and he let me have my way with him for a couple of minutes before bestirring himself and leaping to the ground.  By then, I had a large handful of hair in my hand.

Dandy looks better already.  I wonder how far I can push this.

Is it Real? Or is it Photoshopped?

L.C. sent us this, with the comment that Stryder wondered if it was Photoshopped.  I don't think it is. Then I do think it is.   I think the squirrel fits so well among the puppies...then again, I'm not sure it's not.  If you think it is, or isn't, for a particular reason, please set us straight.  Meanwhile, the rescued squirrel is Finnegan, the pregnant Papillon is Mademoiselle Giselle.  Photoshopped or not, it's pretty cute.

 

 

Ruminating

I'm a ruminant.  That is, I've been ruminating.  Trying to think of a topic for today's post.

The gerenuk I saw at White Oak yesterday is also a ruminant;  he was, after all, ruminating.

Stephanie, our tour leader told us to pay close attention to the gerenuk's long neck when we saw him placidly chewing his cud.  Sure enough, we saw the peristalsis carry the food bolus down his neck to his stomach.  Either his esophagus is in front of his trachea, or his neck is so thin that the descending food extends the ripple effect through the trachea. 

"Cool" we said. 

"Wait, keep watching"...and a moment later, the food ascended back to the animal's mouth, and he continued placidly chewing.

"Yuck" we said.

The gerenuk continued his placid, back and forth mouth movement, eyes distant, looking for all the world like he was deep in thought, chewing over some difficult problem, ruminating.

*   *   *   *

The rumen is the first stomach of a ruminating animal, which has two.  In it, microorganisms work on the food bolus, and return it to the mouth for more mastication. Ruminants include cattle, deer, antelopes, giraffes.

Rubbing Your Cat Right

Andrea sent me a sweet little book for Christmas.  How to Massage Your Cat, written and illustrated by Alice M. Brock.

If Alice M. Brock sounds familiar to you, it is because she was the Alice in Arlo Guthrie's Alice's Restaurant.  His comment on the back, "This book is a revelation, it really works.  Great for pet owners, but a must for parents."

It includes advice like "Place thumbs behind ears and lock fingers securely behind the chin, raise cat 8 to 9 inches above table and shake energetically," and "stand squarely in front of cat and grasp it firmly by both ears, press firmly back until you hear the click..."

My cats would have to be very relaxed to let me do any of this.  Under general anesthesia, in fact.

This spoof of "how to" books is very short, and adorably illustrated, with large hands and a bemused but docile cat.

Don't try this at home...or anywhere else!

Thanks, Andy.

[Image from Best Book Buys]

Un Chien Andalou

I've been saving this one, but it's time to post it.  As you know, Sandy and I recently went to a luncheon at White Oak Conservation Center.

At the end of the luncheon, they let us see a new arrival:  a baby cheetah.  Unfortunately, when a mother cheetah gives birth, she cares for her babies, as any mother does, but in the case of a single birth, that is, only one infant, the energy and risk expended to raise one baby puts her at such high risk with such little reward (a life for a life...) that she abandons the infant.  In this case, the litter had four babies, two stillborn, and one died soon thereafter.

Anyway, yesterday, Kathie and I went to Sandy's for a lovely dinner and some wine, and along the way I mentioned the cheetah cub being raised by the Alsacian shepherd puppy.  Sandy said not, it was an Anatolian shepherd.  Which I immediately changed to an Andalusian shepherd.  Just to keep me straight, she sent me the link to the AKC.  OK, fine, Sandy, it's an Anatolian shepherd.  Hope you're happy.

 

Anyway, the cheetah cub is being raised with the puppy, which will befriend her, defend her, and be her lifelong companion.  White Oak has tried interesting innovations in the past to keep its cheetah kittens alive.  Once, a cub had been abandoned by it's mother.  Soon after, another cheetah had a litter of fourcubs.  The staff spirited away the second mother's litter and put the other cub among them.  They rubbed the cubs so that their scents would be mingled, then returned five cubs to the mother.  She sniffed at the (slightly larger and strange-smelling) cub, licked him and allowed him to stay with the family.  Unfortunately, in the photo above, you can only see part of cub #5, including his tail, on the far right.

This time, there were no other litters to pull that stunt with, hence, the puppy experiment.  Here are some pictures:

Pretty adorable, huh?

Finger Painting 101

I did a post on this some time ago, and saved some of these marvelous painted hands by artist Guido Daniele for a rainy day.  I guess that day is here.  I'm pre-blogging for my trip to New York.  I may have time to post while I'm there, but can't count on it.  So this post is for Sunday.  Shawn is going home today, my friends Monica and Mark are arriving, so I'll be kept pretty busy.  Reminds me, I'd better make some reservations for Benson's Steak House, which has become more or less a tradition:  dry gibson, straight up, tenderloin, rare, creamed spinach. 

Meanwhile, for your entertainment, from Guido Daniele:

 

 

Through the Eyes of the Condor

An Aerial Vision of South America, by Robert B. Haas.

Photographer Haas travelled in South America for years.  This beautiful coffee table book (not to demean it...it is meant to be a centerpiece) has over 100 aerial photographs taken in (or rather over) 14 countries.  The perspective is wonderful, the photos are gorgeous--cities, plains, forests, lush colors, beautiful patterns, with commentary by Haas throughout.

He took the photos flying over the land in small planes and helicopters.

The book was a gift from the folks at White Oak.  They chose it because one of their two new conservation species is the Andean Condor (the other is the Somali Wild Ass).

 

Got to the National Geographic to see these and more photos from Haas's magnificent "Through the Eyes of the Condor" photo exhibit.