Happy Birthday, Elaine!

Happy 24th Birthday to my adopted manatee Elaine!! ELAINE was born September 12, 1985 to Emma. She had two brothers Boomer and Shane. Unfortunately, her mom and brothers were all killed by boat strikes. ELAINE became the Blue Spring State Park's third female to calve at the age of five, during the 1990-1991 season when she gave birth to Ester. In 1993, she had another daughter, named Else. In 1995, she brought another new calf to Blue Spring, but park rangers were unable to determine if the calf was male or female. ELAINE has been known to get into her fair share of mischief! You can learn more about manatees and how to help them at: www.savethemanatee.org.

Adopt a Pet video

Between three and four million dogs and cats are euthanized each year in animal shelters in the United States. But if more families looking for a pet this year would adopt their new furry friend from a shelter, we could put an end to this tragedy. Please click on the link below to see a sad but cute video about all the pets who need adopting. Thanks! http://action.humanesociety.org/site/MessageViewer?em_id=3661.0

My pets ll

LIGHTNING.....is a cat I have known forever & is still alive today. She was my grandma`s cat until my grandma passed away, then I took her. She`s 17 or 18 now. She got name her by being able to run like lightning on all three of her legs. SHEP....is the first dog I got. We got him at the Humane Society. They found him & his sisters & brothers in a dumpster. Shep`s old name was Buddy. Shep got his name from the elephant on George of the Jungle. DAISY....is a beautiful Maine Coon who thinks she is queen. She used to live under my friend`s shed. My friend's kids fell in love with her but one of her kids is allergic to cats so they gave her to me. She got her name because it rhymes with lazy. ZOEY....is a sweet little mini-dachshund who loves to cuddle. My dad got her on Valentine's Day as a gift a couple of years ago. Zoey`s name was going to be Daisy but my cat`s name was already Daisy. So Zoey fits perfectly. BUDDY....hyper, H-Y-P-E-R, hyper! I got Buddy because of my aunt. She went & got her dachshunds pregnant & wanted us to have babies so she gave us Pooder. As soon as possible after I got him I changed his name to Buddy because he is Zoey's buddy.

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

Sam & Mikey recently watched "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" at their dad's house. Sam especially liked the introduction, since it is about dolphins. As the second most-intelligent creatures on Earth, they had attempted to warn mankind about the planet's impending destruction, but humans had interpreted the dolphins' communications as performance tricks. The dolphins considered their mission a failure and left the planet. Mikey especially liked their final message to humans: "So long, and thanks for all the fish."

My Pets!

Shep Zoey Buddy Daisy Lightning

My 10th Birthday Party!

For my 10th birthday party, we had Wild Things Science and Animal Explorations come to my house. These are some of the animals they brought. Sonya the sulphur-crested cockatoo dancing!... My step-dad Andy volunteered to let Sofia on his shoulder, but she didn't want to come off afterward!

Here is me trying to feed Curly the Rex Rabbit some lettuce, but he wasn't hungry.

The animals didn't agree with us at the time! I mean, look, the bird didn't want to come off Andy's shoulder and the rabbit didn't want to eat! Huff n' Puff the African Pygmy Hedgehog just peeking out. He's peeking out... again. Itty & Bitty the sugargliders peeking out of their sack. Wali the Blue-Tongued Skink walking around. Me feeding raisins to Gizmo the South American Chincilla.

Mika the Sable Footed European Ferret.

Mika getting riled up!

Mika finally calming down.

The kids who came to my party: (back) Zach, Ashley, Hali & Mikey; (front) Shyrene, me Sam, Caroline, Hannah, Adam & Kaulin.

And last but not least, my birthday cake!

Amur Leopard

HABIT: Temperate braodleaf & mixed forests. LOCATION: Russian far east & northern China. SIZE: Adult males 70-105 lbs.; females 55-95 lbs. COLOR: Light color in the winter, more reddish-yellow in the summer. BREEDING SEASON: Spring & early summer. PREGNANCY: Last for three to three & half months. CUBS: One to six are born that open their eyes around ten days of age. POPULATION: There are less than 30-35 left.

Dolphins

Dolphins are part of the family of toothed whales. The size depends on the species. Their lifespan is very long; some have lived to be more than 100 years old. They eat fish, squid, crustaceans and more. Their mating seasons are through the year, though in some areas there is a peak in spring and fall. They are pregnant for 9 to 17 months, depending on the species. They usually have one calf; twins are rare. The calf will nurse from 11 months to 2 years. And after it is done nursing it will stay with its mother until it is between 3 and 8 years old. Dolphins are threatened by: marine pollution, habitat loss, harvesting, boat traffic, low frequency sonar and entanglement in fishing gear.

Giant Pandas

Giant Pandas have black fur on their ears, around their eyes, muzzle, legs and shoulders. Good tree climbers, pandas can also swim to escape predators. They are 29.5 inches at the shoulders, 5 feet in length and weigh around 250 pounds for males or 220 pounds for females. Their lifespan is 20-30 years in captivity. They don't just eat bamboo, they also eat flowers, vines, tufted grasses, green corn, honey and rodents. Today, an estimated 2,000 Pandas are found in the wild. By the end of 2006, there were a reported 180 Pandas in captivity on mainland China and about 20 in other countries. Their mating season is March to May. They are pregnant for 3-5 months. They can have 1-2 cubs at a time. Pandas are threatened by habitat loss due to increasing human populations, poaching and bamboo die-offs.

Manatees!

I think that manatees are one of the most gracious and graceful things in the sea (besides sea turtles and dolphins). These aquatic mammals are large, gray and vegetarians. The manatee's closest land relatives are the elephant and the hyrax (a small, gopher-sized mammal). Manatees are believed to have evolved from a wading, plant-eating animal. The West Indian manatee is related to the West African manatee, the Amazonian manatee, the dugong, and to the Steller's sea cow (which was hunted to extinction in 1768). There are approximately 3,000 West Indian manatees left in the United States. West Indian manatees have no natural enemies, and it is believed they can live 60 years or more. Many manatee deaths are human-related, most from collisions with watercraft. (That means they get hit by boats!) One thing I know for sure is that they are very, very slow moving mammals. I got to see some at Sea World (San Diego) and they were as slow as turtles! The only reason they moved, it seems like, was for food! (But I can't seem to recall their names.) But I do remember that one had a white star-shaped scar on its rear from a boat strike. Elaine has a couple of scars herself. Elaine is my adopted manatee! (My step-dad Andy adopted her for me for Christmas.) I don't really own her at my house (because the bathtub isn't big enough!). She usually stops by a place called Blue Springs State Park in Florida. Elaine was born September 12th, 1985. Her mother was Emma; sadly, Emma was found dead in Shell Creek (about 4 miles from Blue Springs) in July 1986. Elaine's brothers were also killed when she was young. Elaine is now a mother herself. She had her first calf, Ester, was born in 1990; in 1993, she had another daughter, Elsie; in 1995, Elaine brought another new calf to Blue Springs, but the park rangers were unable to identify if the calf was male or female. And that's about all that I know about her. Other than she has the same name as my Great-Grandma Elaine! There is a picture of my manatee Elaine at the top of this post.