Travis the chimpanzee, late of Stamford, Connecticut, is all over the news this week due to the shocking attack on his owner Sandra Herold’s friend Charla Nash, who is currently fighting for her life. MSNBC has an excellent in-depth report on … Continue reading
Amy Sterling Casil
“Animal hoarding is not about animal sheltering, rescue or sanctuary, and should not be confused with these legitimate efforts to help animals. It IS about satisfying a human need to accumulate animals and control them, and this need supercedes the needs of the animals involved.”
Continue readingThe world’s smallest primate, the highly-endangered Tarsier, has been called a “real-life Furby.” Actually, that comment was about the rarest Tarsier of all, the pygmy Tarsier, which was first sighted in Indonesia in 1921. This unusual, charming creature is obviously … Continue reading
In my quest for ever-more charming and unusual creatures, I came across the shy, nocturnal Aye-Aye, a rare primate found only on the island of Madagascar. My first thought upon seeing this small, slightly deranged-looking creature was “Julien”! Yes, Julien … Continue reading
The real-world “hobbits” who lived approximately 18,000 years ago on the island of Flores in Indonesia – speaks to my poorly-formed idea that Jung may have had it right, that there is a collective human subconscious mind. It could be a coincidence that Tolkien envisioned hairy-footed, child-sized and childlike hobbits as a humanlike, but unhuman people in his stories. Does this mean that the immortal Elven people could have been real as well, and that our earth – has more in common with Middle Earth than we could imagine at present? Well – yes – maybe it does.
Continue readingWriting “Heart of Jade” was like taking a trip to Campeche or Yucatan (a link to a tour of the Mayan nation – called “Expedition of Jade”) in more ways than one.
Continue readingAs the New Year starts, a lot of families are probably getting used to caring for the new pets that came to their homes over the holidays. Holiday times are the top time for families bringing pets home. Puppies, kittens, … Continue reading
The great Tartal was once the most precious of creatures in the Wide World. How sad it is these days that they are no longer among us. For the Wide World is a colder, lonelier place without these great creatures … Continue reading
I missed the first go-round of the “Montauk Monster,” a creature that washed up on the beach in Montauk, NY this summer, and based upon the news picture, originally thought it resembled a turtle out of its shell. I find … Continue reading