Wednesday, 7 August 2024
Wild Bird Wednesday 628 - Kōkako
Monday, 5 August 2024
Mammal on Monday 9: Domestic or House Cat
The Domestic Cat (Felis catus) is probably one of the most familiar mammals in the world. As of 2021, there were an estimated 220 million owned and 480 million stray cats in the world. About 1 in 4 adults in the UK is owned by a cat (!).
Cats that are similar to our house cats have been around for a long time, with the genus Felis genetically diverging from other Felidae (ie all other 'cats') around 6 to 7 million years ago.
For a long time the domestication of the cat was thought to have begun in ancient Egypt, where cats were venerated as Gods from around 3100 BC. (and as the joke goes: they still remember this!) Recently, the earliest known evidence for the taming of an African wildcat was excavated close by a human Neolithic grave southern Cyprus, dating to about 7500–7200 BC.
Domestication has changed cats very little, with only minor changes in anatomy and behaviour. This means they are still capable of surviving in the wild, and in many places feral cat populations pose a significant threat to native wildlife. As always seems t0 be the case, this is a significant problem in Australia.
I keep two cats, but would not do so if I was not able to keep them contained. My cats has an enclosed outdoor door area which we refer to as the 'pleasure palace', which keeps both the cats and the local wildlife safe.
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Cuban Cat |
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Cuban Cat |
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Cuban Cat - showing its nictitating membrane in its eye |
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Cuban Cat |
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Dutch Cat - living on a house boat! |
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My cats Hector and Freda - showing total disregard of any rule setting! |
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My first Australia cat - Mr. Hudson |
Cats feature in many mythologies, one of my favourite being the idea that the Norse Goddess Freyja, the goddess of love, luck and (I think) things domestic, had a chariot that was pulled by two black cats. This resulted in cats being common wedding presents, to bring the favour of Freyja on the newly married couple. I can think of worse traditions!
Cheers - SM
Wednesday, 31 July 2024
Wild Bird Wednesday 627 - Wrybill
The Wrybill (Anarhynchus frontalis) - also know as the Ngutuparore in Māori - is an endemic New Zealand plover.
It is the only bird in the world that has a bill that is bent sideways in one direction - always to the right. This bill shape seems to be an adaptation to feeding under the edges of stones and pebbles, but it also helps the bird 'skim' food off the surface of smooth surfaces.
I saw lots of these birds near to the Pūkorokoro Miranda Shorebird Centre, which is on the east coast of North Island in New Zealand, about an hour from Auckland. On two occasions I spend a couple of hours lying flat on the beach as the rising tide pushed a roosting flock of these birds towards me. In the end the birds were probably less than 3m from me - and they still remained relaxed and seemingly unconcerned.
Although roosting, these birds were still active with preening, stretching and general feather maintenance.
There were at least 2000 birds in the largest of these roosting flocks - which represents about 30% of the worlds population of this species. I was very cold on the first of these days, and I was not in the least bit concerned!
This species has an internal migration pattern in NZ. In the summer they breed on the wide and stoney rivers of South Island, and in winter they feed in estuaries on North Island.
I have to say that spending that time with these birds was a bit of life time highlight!
There are lots of reasons to go to NZ - and the Wrybill is near the top of that list!
To join in with WBW, click in the link below. SM
You are invited to the Inlinkz link party!
Click here to enterMonday, 29 July 2024
Mammal On Monday 8 - Rabbit and Hare
Two very familiar mammals this week.
The European Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus) and the European or Brown Hare (Lepus europaeus) are both widespread and common, although the rabbit is the more abundant of the two.
The rabbit is well known as a fast breeding, hole dweller. The hare is lives above ground, using a slight depression in the ground known, as a form, for protection and cover.
Both Rabbits and Hares have been introduced to Australia and many other parts of the world. In Australia the numbers of wild rabbits can reach plague proportions, and they do considerable damage to both native and commercial vegetation. It would be better if they were not here!
These pictures come from animals in their native lands!
These rabbits are from Orkney in Scotland.
This hare ran past a bird hide at the Cley Nature Reserve in Norfolk.
Cheers - Stewart M
Thursday, 25 July 2024
Stewart Island.
A little over 45 years ago I found out that New Zeland's third island was called Stewart Island. It seemed a good name to me, and much better than the geographically accurate, but rather prosaic, North and South Island that named the other major islands.
Well, after 45 years I visited it.
And what a great place it is. Stewart Islands sits about 35 km offshore from the southern tip of South Island. It can be reached by air and sea, and I took the hours long ferry journey from Bluff. Arriving in near darkness I was soon settled into my small room at the South Sea Hotel, Oban and not much later I had found the bar, bought a remarkably good roast dinner, a beer, and had joined a Pub Quiz team. It turned into a rather splendid, if unexpected, Sunday evening.
Stewart Island - or Rakiura to give it its Māori name - is a roughly triangular island with a total land area of 1,746 km2, 80% of which is National Park owned by the government. Oban is the only real centre of population on the island, and just over 400 people call it home.
As to be expected, I spend a few days exploring - although I never got very far from Oban. Maybe next time.