Tag Archives: love

Tungara frog: foamy little freaks

It is a biological truth that in most cases of human canoodling some modest amount of various and sundry bodily fluids are produced. (Indeed, many female humans in the author’s aquaintence have had occasion to note that some male specimen … Continue reading

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Filed under human behavior, Phobia-inducing, rated NC17, the strange and the beautiful, Uncategorized

Well, cockles thoroughly warmed

it’s ridiculous how easy it is to make the author of BV get misty these days. And before you even think it, bite your tongue. she is *NOT* pregnant. Just sensitive.

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Filed under exceedingly cute, the strange and the beautiful

Sea krait: love machine of the underwater world

If you are like the author, dear readers, you were inordinately excited by the release of the first installment of the “Life” series, a follow-up to “Planet Earth,” which aired on the  Discovery channel and its affiliates this sunday. And if you know the author … Continue reading

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Filed under folklore, marine life, Phobia-inducing, rated NC17, the strange and the beautiful

Cockatoo love song

  Cockatoos are known for their intelligence, their vocality, their general precociousness. And this bird, apparently going by the nomiker S. Elvis, is no exception. One might wonder where he came up with this particular mantra, but then… In the … Continue reading

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Filed under common household pets, human behavior, pink animal league, the strange and the beautiful, Uncategorized

Banana Slug: “hard” life.

  Beloved by alumni of UC Santa Cruz, banana slugs seem to have a pretty good thing going. Sure, they’re slow and eat detritus on the forest floor. But they’re beloved.  …Just, you know, not by each other. In fact, … Continue reading

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Filed under academia, backyard fauna, gender bending, Phobia-inducing, rated NC17, the strange and the beautiful, Uncategorized

Banker Invests in Duckling Futures.

Joel Armstrong , a 43-year-old banker in Washington state, had been been watching a mother duck  nest on a ledge outside his office window for  35 days, so he was not surprised to see them when he got to town on saturday for the city’s annual Lilac festival.  … Continue reading

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Filed under baby animals, exceedingly cute, human behavior, the strange and the beautiful, Uncategorized

NY Bronx Dog Hero

There are very simply no words, dear readers, for how this warms the cockles of the author’s heart. But folkes: keep your dogs safely secured, and put collars on them. The street is no place for Man (and woman’s) best … Continue reading

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Adoption in the animal world: Mother-love transcends species.

To all the mothers out there: happy Mothers’ Day. Every time this day rolls around, we hear a lot about the experience of giving birth, and folkes make a fuss about the bond that grows between mother and child in vitro. I’m sure that … Continue reading

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Filed under baby animals, endangered species, exceedingly cute, human behavior, the strange and the beautiful, Uncategorized

The life of the leaf-cutter ant: miss lonelyhearts OR sapphic smithii?

  Leaf-cutter ants, or so they say, are all female. According to a National Geographic article, these ladies ”thrive without sex of any kind—ever.”  As evidence of this essential sexlessness, scientists cite the fact that leafcutters have evolved to the point that they … Continue reading

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Filed under backyard fauna, gender bending, human behavior, the strange and the beautiful, Uncategorized

Chimpanzees: Will F*%@ for Meat

The BBC reported yesterday that a strange new facet of primate behavior has been documented amongst chimpanzees living in the Tai forest reserve, in Ivory Coast: the females will get down more often with males who share their grub.  Cristina Gomes, from … Continue reading

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Filed under Phobia-inducing, rated NC17, the strange and the beautiful, Uncategorized

Hercules Beetle: natural prey of the Stymphalian birds?*

 The Hercules beetle (Dynastes hercules) is perhaps the most immediately recognizable of the rhinoceros beetles; it’s propensity for epic battles and family tragedies in the Grecian vein, though less well known, is among the beetle’s most prominent characteristics.  Male beetles, for instance,  often use their prominent … Continue reading

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Filed under academia, backyard fauna, Phobia-inducing, rated NC17, the strange and the beautiful, Uncategorized

Emu: summer lovin’ happens so fast

 Any number of men with whom the author of BV is aquainted might feel a twinge of envy when they learn of the prodigious attributes of the male Dromaius novaehollandiae; during breeding season, males experience an increase in luteinizing hormone and testosterone. The result? Their … Continue reading

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Filed under gender bending, the strange and the beautiful, Uncategorized

Gouldian Finches: female finches practice sex bias

Ever wished for a more palpable measure of a date’s long-term potential? Some visible sign telling you whether he will leave the toilet seat up? Gouldian finches can’t commiserate: females can judge a male  just by looking at his head.   A new study in the … Continue reading

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Filed under backyard fauna, rated NC17, the strange and the beautiful, Uncategorized

Early Birds

Baby birds are among nature’s most amazing creatures.  Newly hatched chicks range from helpless to remarkably independent, depending on  species. The most helpless newborn chicks (nature’s true early birds) are called altricial, and are typically born tiny, blind and naked; need help thermoregulating; and must be brooded for longer … Continue reading

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Filed under baby animals, common household pets, Uncategorized

Lobster

    I’d like to take a break from my organized, logical pursuit of truth in the animal kingdom to talk about something decidedly disorganized and illogical: Marriage. There can be no more appropriate object for today’s topic than Lobsters, which comprise … Continue reading

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Filed under marine life, the strange and the beautiful, Uncategorized