Panda Birthday Traditions ^.^

Hi there~ Hope everybody’s first week of 2015 has been amazing, but unfortunately many of you will be returning to university and work habits real soon :P

Panda Birthday Traditions you say? Why would pandas have birthday traditions, they’re just animals…

Nooo! Just take a look at Yuan Zai’s first birthday celebrations and you’ll understand the significance of panda birthdays in China =D

When baby panda Yuan Zai turned one year-old, the staff at Taiwan Zoo helped her celebrate by whipping up a delicious treat with her favourite foods, including apples, bamboo and carrots :P Yummmmm

The panda cub also take part in the ancient Chinese tradition which involves picking one of eight hanging bamboo tubes. According to the customs, the first card or object to be grabbed indicates a future career path or interests.

Yuan Zai initially picked up the card for painter and nibbled on the cards for engineer and teacher soon after =D

Here comes Mama bear (Yuan Yuan) eating Yuan Zai’s birthday fruit cake, like parents do… :3

Nibble nibble :P 

If you wanna read more about Yuan Zai's better, have a look at these articles :)

Thousands Celebrate Birthday of First Taiwan-Born Panda Cub

Yuan Zai Playing Traditional Games

Hahaha, signing off now =D

Ruby

Wolf Children

First of all... I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday :)

So the other day, I was talking to a friend and we ended up talking about a particular animated movie called "Wolf Children". In the movie there's a particular scene where a little boy (who can turn into a wolf) asks his human mother

"Why are wolves always the bad guys? Everyone hates him and he gets killed at the end. That’s why I hate being a wolf."

I never really thought about it but it kind of got me thinking about wolves portrayed in other media. They're always portrayed as those animals to be feared. As dangerous. Maybe because I've lived in Australia all my life I never really had any experiences with wolves ? or any wild animal for that matter

But when you think about it, we've been brought up with fairy tails talking about how wolves are this scary beast with huge teeth which will eat you up in one bite. Probably the most famous fairy tails I can think of right now are Little Red Riding Hood, Boy who cried Wolf and Three Little Pigs... All with these scary wolves as the bad guy.. Then there are werewolves, but let's not go there since they're not even real.... or are they?

But as is the trend, people like "defy the conventions" so many movies and TV shows now show wolves as the good guys~

Personally I really like how wolves look! Especially arctic wolves... They're so beautiful!!
Actually any animal with pure white fur just really tickles my heartstrings... It's so beautiful

awww!!

Anyway hope everyone enjoys what's left of your holidays.. or if your holidays are over ummm... have fun anyway~

Are you sticking to your new year resolutions? ^.~

My Top 15 Animal Facts (and turtles)

Another blog post on funny talking animals!?!?

Alas - only joking.

This blog post will instead be devoted towards my top 15 animal facts; i.e. "Did You Know?"

Did you know....

1. Sea otters whilst sleeping, will hold each other's hands to prevent one another from drifting apart?

2. Squirrels forget where they put their precious acorns, and as a result, plant thousands of trees per annum?

3. Male puppies will often let the female puppy win playful games despite their physical advantage?

4. Turtles can breathe through their butts?

5. Turtles can breathe through their butts?

6. Turtles can seriously breath through their butts?

7.  Penguins propose to one another by presenting a pebble with their beaks?

8. Japanese macaques are smart enough to use coins to attain food via vending machines? Did you know they can also make snowballs?

9. Pigs' orgasms last for 30 minutes?

10. Seahorses will mate for life, and whilst travelling, will hold one another's tails?

11. Butterflies use their feet to taste the pollen of a flower?

12. Crows have the intellectual capacity to play pranks on each other?

13. Turritopsis nutricula is an immortal jellyfish that can live forever?

14. Squirrels will adopt abandoned squirrels and nurture and care for them as if they were their own?

15. Turtles can breathe through their butts!?!?

PS: 2015! Lets bring on the New Year! :)

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- Vaughan Rowlands

Vice Media & Animals

VICE magazine is a successful print magazine which focused on a very wide range of topics, and quickly expanded towards becoming a media outlet for various news stories due to its subsequent success. The media they produce is often raw and 'unique', especially in regards to contrasting VICE media with that of traditional Western media we see day to day.

Vice Media has published a number of free documentaries through YouTube that relate to animals - these include;

1. Documenting Asia's Illegal Animal Trade - Photographer Patrick Brown talks about the illegal trade of endangered animals throughout Asia, as well as finishing a decade long project.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PQC3jp1udUg

2. Exotic Animal Trade - This documentary portrays the serious nature of wildlife trafficking both legal and illegal - with the market ($19billion per year) said to be on par with gun/human/sex/drug trafficking.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSQ8blCdAtA

3. How to Clone Animals - Shows the engineering behind cloning animals as well as explaining the controversial nature of such practices.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dV2OxSGhwjY

4. Hunting the Radioactive Beasts of Chernobyl - The Chernobyl Red Forest is home to many deformed and mutated animals due to the high levels of radiation, in this short doco the vice crew sets out to hunt wild mutant boars.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=INAlUGn0RYg

5. First Animal to Survive in Space - Tardigrades are creatures that can survive the unforgiving conditions of space, watch to find out more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7W194GQ6fHI

6. Living with Wild Wolves - A man who has been living with and raising wolves for the last 3 decades, an 80 year old man with an unusual life and 'family'.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BxXOMwhl9_g

7. Dining on Dogs in Yulin - Conveys the controversial Chinese tradition of eating dogs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YfaZeIxHFUM

8. The Man Who Eats Roadkill - The title says it all.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OQvt-gxbq5E

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And some light-hearted (and possibly cute) documentaries ;)

Cats in Funny Outfits - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KR4KpCMPqak

Baby Sloth Sanctuary in Costa Rica: The Cute Show - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dL-VrVlv3Xo

Cute Sugar Gliders! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VSL0vtRrTYk

Cute Bunny Jumping Competition! - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qM9YWm6T_hc

                                                          

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- Vaughan Rowlands

Panda Obsession Continues

HAPPY BELATED NEW YEARRR!!! Hope all you guys are having an amazing time celebrating 2015 and may 2015 bring happiness to all! It's been 2 days since the new year, do you guys have any stories to share yet??

Think most people would have made their new year resolutions by now, likewise I have decided to change a couple of aspects of my life. However one thing remains unchanged, my love for pandas <3

I have recently re-watched Kung Fu Panda recently, Po's chubbiness and dedication towards kung fu never fails to make me laugh :) Let's watch a segment now:

No doubt 2014 had brought me ups and downs, and it is through these new experiences, I now see myself in a different light. Like Po, I am willing engage in new experiences and dedicate myself to my passions. I know that old habits die hard, but 2015 will definitely be a fruitful year that I'll be proud of!

Recently, I have received many panda photos from my friends who went to China on exchange and holidays. These photos come back pandas in captivity at Shanghai Zoo.

Nowadays, I am more and more interested in becoming an environmental lawyer. Can you guys guess the reason that sparked this motive? That's right, Pandas!!

The main threat to the survival of pandas is the destruction of their habitat. Sichuan province (where many pandas are located) has lost 30% of its forest and natural panda habitat in the past 30 years! Similarly, the habitats of many more fauna and flora are being disturbed and destroyed due to increasing demand of supplies and infrastructural developments. This Has To Stop!!!

On the lighter side, I have seen some adorable panda memes on Facebook recently and thought I'd share them with you guys ;P

All the best wishes for 2015 and once again, HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR to you guys and your families <3

Signing off now =D

Ruby

Good Grief!

Wow, 2014 went by rather quickly. Happy day after the new year, though! Today's post is going to be a short one, but it's about everyone's favourite, beloved dog - Snoopy (not Snoop Dogg). I've got an old book of a whole bunch of Shultz's Snoopy comics pulled together to make a neat little "ode" to Snoopy.

 



One of the greatest books of my childhood, I think (mainly 'cause of the lack of writing and the abundance of pictures - always the best thing for kids). I grew up wanting a pet like Snoopy. A pet who would eat pizza, enjoy listening to Beethoven, and only drink out of their water bowl if there were ice cubes in it. Was that too much for a kid to ask? Probably. Although, I suspected for a while that my cat might've liked listening to Norah Jones... I couldn't prove it, though. And my cat likes eating peas, but that's not pizza. Though it starts with 'p' so we're getting somewhere. Peas... Peas, ah... Peas-ah... Peazah... Pizzah... Pizza. Done. How am I gonna relate Norah Jones to Beethoven? They're both composers of (good) music, they're both humans, and they both live(d) on Earth. And you've never seen Beethoven and Norah Jones in the same room. So, Norah Jones = Beethoven. Done. The water and ice cubes thing? Never tried it, but in a parallel universe, my cat is already drinking out of her water bowl with ice cubes floating in it. Done. Therefore, my cat is Snoopy. Brought to you by logic.

K.

Happy New Year!!!

Happy New Year Animal Lovers! Daniel here again with your first dose of animal fun of the year!

Oh how time flies: leave 2014 bee-hind and look forward to a prosperous and abund-ant 2015!
I hope the year bears great prospects for you and you are successful in your endeavors.

In order to start the new year on a feel-good, positive note, here are some cats wishing you a happy new year:

(From:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-0tpgwLkx4)

But now onto a serious note for a moment. Unfortunately, pets are not just about cuddles and cuteness. They involve other factors such as care, food, health checks, insurance, and responsibility. While you may think 'Yea, so what? I can give them all those things', not everyone else feels the same, or is able to care or animals in such a competent manner. This is why pets DO NOT always make for an ideal present: whether it be for Christmas, a birthday, or an anniversary present. The reason I have decided to write about this now is because the New Year is the time of year where animal abandonment rates are at their highest. This is because many people and families are given pets as surprise Christmas presents, and therefore do not know how to cope with this sudden new responsibility. During January, these families feel the financial and emotional toll of being ill-equipped owners, and hence resort to abandonment as a coping mechanism. 

Check out this blog post from Ben Kerns on the reasons against giving pets as presents: Why Pets Dont Make Good Presents

Thats all for now folks. I apologise for the more serious tone of this post. I do not mean to cause panda-monium!

Once again, Happy 2015 and Ill be back next week (and I promise there will be more goats), 

Daniel.