World's highest peak can now be viewed from the comfort of your personal computer.

Proving that no place on Earth is safe from the ever-gazing eye of the Internet, researchers have installed a webcam pointed at the 29,000-foot peak of Mount Everest.

A high-definition Mobotix camera, powered by a single solar panel, smashed the previous record holder for "world's highest webcam" by a full kilometer, residing at a dizzying 18,618 feet above sea level. According to reports, the technology will function in temperatures as low as minus 22F and will record live images during the daylight hours from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Nepalese time.

“We've set a record today for the highest webcam, and the Mobotix technology is allowing some beautiful, scenic pictures from the top of the highest mountain in the world,” Mobotix Asia Pacific Director Graham Wheeler told news.com.au.

According Mobotix, scientists plan to use the camera to learn more about how climate change is impacting the mountain, matching data received wirelessly with that of the Everest weather station.

From your laptop to the big screen, it's also been made official that action director Doug Liman ("The Bourne Identity," "Mr. and Mrs. Smith") has signed on for Sony Picture's "Everest." The film, an adaptation of the book "Paths to Glory," will tell the story of George Mallory and his ill-fated attempts to be the first to scale the world's highest mountain. "Up in the Air" co-writer Sheldon Turner is penning the script.

You can access the streaming feed here; it’s updated every 5 minutes


*(only operational between 6am and 6pm Nepalese time)

[VIA http://www.mnn.com/]

Earlier this year we posted a blog about the webcam at the Ely, Minnesota North American Bear Center. The webcam captured the daily escapades of 3 black bears, Lily, Hope and Jo. Recently in the middle of September, Hope, who was Lily's daughter disappeared.

Hope who was only 2 years old became an international star when her birth was broadcast over the internet from inside of her mother's den. Her mother, Lily even had her own Facebook page with 134,000 fans. Students at over 500 schools had been following Hope, Lily, and Lily's newborn cub, Faith, on the Bear Center's website and on Lily's Facebook page. Lynn Rogers, a senior researcher at the Bear Center was quoted as saying, " Hope changed a lot of lives. She drew people together."

However, after Hope's disappearance, Rogers said he was contacted on Tuesday of this week by a hunter who said he believed he had shot Hope when she came into his bait station on Sept. 16th. The hunter said he would not have shot Hope if he had known who she was but he also did not express any remorse.
It is against Minnesota's hunting regulations to shoot a bear that is fitted with a radio collar. Unfortunately, Hope was always able to get her collar off so she did not have one on at the time of her disappearance. At one time, Lily, her mother was bedded down only 165 yards away from the bait site also.

Roger's has declined to give the identity of the hunter away because he said it was a tragic accident. There has been a lot of sadness and anger expressed over the loss of Hope. Rogers himself has also said, "It's just one more instance of us being in the middle of a groundbreaking data set and having it cut short by a hunter killing a critical bear."

Lily,Hope's mother, has been acting differently also since Hope had disappeared. She has been staying close to her den and not coming around as before. It is presumed that she is grieving the loss of her daughter also.

Rest in peace Hope.

Every year the British Wildlife Photography Awards are determined by a panel of professional photography experts who select winning photos in ten categories based on technical skill, diversity, originality and creativity of composition. This competition also has presented 2 awards to young photographers. In addition this year they added an award for the best wildlife video.

Created in 2009, these awards recognize talented amateur and professional photographers. They also serve to highlight the beauty and diversity of British wildlife. The competition is open to all nationalities. There is one catch though - the subject matter must be from the United Kingdom which includes Great Britain, Northern Ireland, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islands.

This year photos from the British Wildlife Photography Awards and other award-winning photographs will be featured during the first WildlifeXpo, which is an art exhibition that will take place between October 14 and 28 at London's Alexandra Palace. Be sure to stop by if you are in the area.






Source: National Geographic

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In just three minutes, participants at today’s Google Earth Outreach Canada launch will get a nonstop, coast-to-coast, interactive experience with the earth’s “green halo,” the boreal forest. The Pew Environment Group tour lets anyone with a computer hover over the vast northern forests and waterways to learn about an ecosystem that stores twice as much carbon per acre as tropical rainforests, holds more freshwater than any other continental-scale ecosystem and teems with wildlife.

“This virtual tour allows us to make Canada’s boreal, which performs a number of globally vital and astonishing ecological functions, accessible to the world,” said Steve Kallick, director of Pew Environment Group’s International Boreal Conservation Campaign. “It provides an up-close look at the billions of songbirds that transit North America each year, and the river systems and wetlands that feed Arctic ice and stabilize the global climate.”

“From the aboriginal communities who call the region home; to anyone, anywhere who cares about global warming, protecting the boreal should be a priority,” said Larry Innes, executive director of Canadian Boreal Initiative, Pew Environment Group’s Canadian partner. “This tool will give us one more way to engage the public and Canada’s policymakers.”

The tour showcases the nature of the blue forest and its surprising ability to store massive amounts of carbon, primarily in its soil and wetlands, using new tools Google Earth has provided.



Tour participants will see bears, wolves and caribou that still roam this vast landscape, learn about the First Nation communities that depend on the boreal, and view the Peace-Athabasca Delta, recognized as one of the most important wetlands in the world. Viewers will also see the last refuges for many of the world's sea-run migratory fish, including half of the remaining populations of North American Atlantic salmon.

Unfortunately, Canada’s boreal forest is increasingly affected by large-scale industrial activities. The rapidly expanding footprint of development already includes 180 million acres (728,000 km²) affected by forestry, road building, mining, oil and gas extraction and hydropower.

The Pew Environment Group has worked with First Nations, conservation groups, federal, provincial and territorial governments to protect the boreal, resulting in 185 million acres set aside from development to date, including key wetland and river areas. That total represents more than 12 percent of Canada’s 1.2 billion-acre (nearly 4.9 million km²) boreal forest.
(Article originally published in Pew Environment Group)

Back when the world was young, Rabbit had a very long bushy tail. In fact, his tail was longer and bushier than Fox's tail. Rabbit was very proud of his tail and he was constantly telling all the other animals about how beautiful his tail was. One day Fox became so tired of hearing Rabbit brag about his tail that he decided to put an end to Rabbit's boasting once and for all.

The weather was getting colder. One day it finally became so cold that the waters in the lake and streams froze. A few days later, Fox went down to the lake carrying four fish. When he got to the lake, he cut a hole in the ice. He tied those four fish to his tail, then sat down and waited for Rabbit to come.

Soon Rabbit came hopping over the top of the ridge. When Fox saw Rabbit, he quickly dropped his tail into the cold water. Rabbit hopped right up to Fox and said, "What are you doing?" "I'm fishing, Rabbit," answered Fox. "With your tail?" Rabbit asked. "Oh yes, that's the very best way to catch the most fish," Fox replied.

Rabbit said, "How long you been a fishing?" Fox lied and said, "Oh, only about fifteen minutes." "Have you caught any fish yet?" asked Rabbit. Then Fox pulled up his tail, and there were those four fish hanging on it.

"What do you plan to do with the fish you catch?" asked Rabbit. Fox said, "Well, I figure I'll fish for about a week. Then I am going to take all those fish down to the Cherokee Village and trade them in for a pair of beautiful tail combs. There is only one set of tail combs left and I really want them." Fox could see that Rabbit was thinking. Rabbit thought to himself, "If I fished all night long, I bet I would have enough fish by morning to trade at the Cherokee Village. Then I could get those tail combs for myself."

Fox said, "It's getting late and I'm cold. I think I'll come back and fish some more in the morning. See ya, Rabbit." Then Fox loped off over the top of the ridge. As soon as Fox was out of sight, Rabbit dropped his tail down into the icy water of the lake. Brrrrr, it was cold! But Rabbit thought, "Oh, no. I want those tail combs more than anything." So he sat down on the hole in the ice and fished all night long.

Soon after the sun came up, Fox loped over the top of the ridge. He ran right up to Rabbit. He said, "What are ya doing there, Rabbit?" Rabbit's teeth began to chatter. "I'm ffffissshing, Fffox." "Have you caught any fish?" Fox inquired. Rabbit started to get up but he found he couldn't budge. He said, "Fffox you've ggott to helppp me. I'mmm ssstttuck."

So Fox, with a big smile on his face walked behind Rabbit. He gave Rabbit one mighty big shove. Rabbit popped out of that hole and landed clear across the other side of the lake...But his tail...was still stuck in the frozen water. And that's why from that day to this, Rabbit has such a very short, short tail.

Talk about a photo shoot of a life time. Recently in Kenya's Masai Mara game preserve in Africa, wild-life photographer, Jean-Francois Largot happened to be at the right place at the right time when he witnessed the dramatic rescue of a lion cub by his mother. Sadly a baby lion cub had fallen over the edge of a very sheer cliff. Luckily the cub became caught so that he didn't fall straight to the bottom of the cliff.

As he cried out in fear and panic, his mother and 3 other female lions plus one male lion rushed to look over the edge to determine what had happened. At first the lions tried to climb down the cliff but soon realized that it was too steep and dangerous to climb down to the cub.

But as her baby continued to cry out in terror for her it was the mother lion who began once again to try to reach her cub. Slowly and very agonizingly she used her powerful claws to grip the crumbling side of the cliff as she inched her way down. One slip on her part and both she and her baby could end up at the bottom of the cliff. Right as her exhausted baby seems to be about to fall, the female reaches him and grabs him up in her powerful jaws.


Then she begins the perilous climb back to the top. During what seemed like hours but was only minutes, the mother lion reaches the top with her baby safely in her grip. She then gently puts him down and gives him a big motherly lick across the top of his head.
All ends well due to the power of motherly love that drove the female lion to risk her life to save her baby. As any mother will tell you it is the most powerful force in the world.

The butterfly is great admired among American Indians and is a bringer of joy and peace. Cultures all over earth revere its delicate and colorful beauty. Most butterflies live very short lives, only a week or two, except for the Angle Wing and Monarch live about six months. They experience stages of development from egg in the cocoon to caterpillar to adult butterfly.

The short life span and beauty of the butterfly is symbolic of early spiritual growth. Lessons of life will be shown during sometimes difficult formative years and come to light as the butterfly spirit begins to fly. They hold the gift of transformation and soul evolution.

The butterfly is reminiscent of freedom and creativity.

Butterflies have a pair of large compound oval eyes made up of thousands of individual lenses. They can see a single image clearly and are able to perceive ultraviolet wavelengths of light. This suggests clairvoyant abilities for those that hold this totem.

The antennae of the butterfly has small knobs on each end which is said to play a role in orientation. When one antennae is missing the butterfly will fly in circles unable to find its way. Those with this medicine need to stay consciously connected to spirit at all times in order to arrive at their desired destination.

Butterflies are not very organized, often return to the same flower many times before they realize it, and cannot remember relatives. This trait shows us to be better prepared for life's challenges and relationships.

The butterfly represents the process of transformation and shape shifting. When butterfly shows up, make note of the most important issues confronting you at the moment. What state of change are you at in regard to them?

Butterflies remind us not to take life so seriously. They feed on flowers that they help pollinate, thereby further spreading beauty. They represent the element of air, quickly changing and ever moving, so gracefully. Butterflies are messengers of the moment. They come in a variety of colors. To understand the message that the butterfly holds for you a study of its colors can be helpful.

Whenever an eco system is damaged, butterfly is usually the first to leave. They are especially sensitive to the harmony of earth. If butterfly comes to you in a hurt, trapped or ill way, you are being asked to stop disturbing the natural design of life and to flow with events in a more gentle, natural way.

Animals are used by many companies to test for cosmetics. This can often result in much pain and discomfort for the animal and sometimes permanent scarring. Most of it is directed to the eyes for whether or not it would hurt or harm a human. To routinely subject an innocent animal to this type of pain is just plain cruel and inhumane. Cosmetics are not a necessity by any means and there are many companies that do not test on animals also.

Recently the European Union (EU) was on track to ban all animal tested cosmetics by March 2013. However as can be imagined there are some in the cosmetics industry that want to push the date back. Most animal testing has been banned since 2004, but there are still 3 types of testing that are allowed - repeated dose testing, reproductive toxicity, and toxicokinetics.

On Sept. 13th, the European Commission stated that it would not be possible to find alternatives by the deadline of 2013. They also stated that they were accessing the impact of a full marketing ban by 2013 and on that basis they will decide whether or not to make a proposal in relation to the marketing ban. The areas of impact would include environmental, animal welfare, economic and social areas.

In response to this backtracking on meeting the deadline, the British Union for the Abolition of Vivisection stated in a review of testing alternatives that “the scientific case for an extension to the 2013 deadline is not made out. Indeed, extending the deadline would undermine the excellent work done by industry to meet the deadline. Resources should instead be provided to complete the validation and acceptance of the remaining non-animal alternatives in time for 2013.”


Over 100,000 concerned consumers and celebrities have signed the No Cruel Cosmetics petition which was started by the European Coalition to End Animal Experiments. If the deadline is not reached then many companies outside the European Union (EU) that still test on animals will be able to legally sell cosmetics and toiletries in the EU. Please take a minute to sign the petition below to support the total ban.

For a list of those companies that do or don't support the ban please to go: http://www.leapingbunny.org/

Many years ago the world had two parts. Animals lived in the lower part, which was completely covered in water and had no land or soil. Above was the Sky World, where the sky people lived. The Sky World had lots of soil, with beautiful mountains and valleys. One day a girl from the Sky World went for a long walk and became very tired.

"I'm so tired, I need to rest," she said. She sat down under the spreading branches of an apple tree and quickly fell asleep. Suddenly, there was a rumbling sound like thunder and the ground began to crack. A big hole opened up next to the apple tree.

"What's happening?" screamed the frightened girl. She tried to move but it was too late. She and the tree slid through the hole and tumbled over and over towards the watery world below.

"Help me! Help me!" screamed the girl. Luckily two swans were swimming below and saw the girl tumbling down from the sky. "Come on!" yelled one swan. "Let's catch her before she hits the water." "Okay!" yelled the other. The swans spread their wings together and caught the girl on their soft feather backs. "Whew! That was lucky," said the girl. "But what do I do now? I can't get back up to the Sky World and I can't stay on your backs forever."

"We'll take you to Big Turtle," said the swans. "He knows everything." After hearing what happened, the Big Turtle called all the animals in the water world to a meeting. He told them an old story about soil being found deep under the water. "If we can get some of that soil, we can build an island on my back for you to live on," said the Big Turtle.

"Sounds good to me," said the young girl.

The Otter, Beaver and Muskrat started arguing over whom would dive for the soil. "I'll go," said the sleek Otter, brushing his glossy fur. "No! I'll go," said Beaver, slapping the water with his big flat tail. "I'm the best swimmer," said Muskrat "I'll go."

"Aaaachooo!" sneezed the young girl." Guys, guys, would just one of you go. These swan feathers are getting up my nose and making me sneeze."

"Sorry" said the swans.

"That's alright," said the young Sky girl.

Then Toskwaye the little Toad popped up out of the water. "I'll go. I can dive very deep," she said. The other animals started laughing and pointing at Toskwaye. "You! You're too small and ugly to help." Cried the others, laughing.

"Be quite!" said Big Turtle in a loud, stern voice. "Everyone is equal and everyone will have a chance to try". The sleek Otter smoothed his glossy fur, took a deep breath and slid into the water. He was gone for a long time before he came up gasping for air. "It was too deep," he said. "I couldn't dive that far."

"Now it's my turn," said Beaver. He slapped the water with his tail as he disappeared. After a long time he came to the surface again. "It's too far" he gasped. "No one can dive that deep." Muskrat tried next and failed.

"Aaaachoo!" sneezed the young girl. "This is not looking good."

"Now it's my turn," said little Toskwaye the Toad. She took a deep breath and jumped into the water. She was gone a very long time and everyone thought they wouldn't see her again.

Suddenly Otter pointed at the water, shouting, and "Look, look bubbles!" Toskwaye's small, ugly face appeared through the water. She spat a few grains of soil onto the Big Turtle's back, then fell back into the water - dead.

The Turtle ordered the others to rub the soil grains and spread them around on his shell. The grains grew and grew, until a large island was formed - big enough for the girl to live on. It grew into our world, as we know it today. And the descendants of the Sky girl became the Earth's people.

Today, some people say the whole world still rests on Big Turtles back. When he gets tired and changes his position, we have earthquakes.

Toad has not been forgotten either. American native Indians call her "Mashutaha", which means 'Our Grandmother'. No one is allowed to harm her.

On Sunday, Sept. 25, Barcelona Spain made history as it held it's last bullfight. Barcelona and the region of Catalonia have banned bullfighting forever. This was no small feat as bullfighting in Spain has a tradition of being around for some several thousand years. It is thought that the Romans started this cruel sport of torturing and killing a bull in the ring but it was Spain that had adopted and championed the the bullfight.

Touted as a great spectator sport and a show of bravery by the bullfighter, it is actually nothing more than a show of horrible cruelty towards an outnumbered and exhausted bull. The bullfighter only shows up towards the end after men on horseback have stabbed the bull repeatedly with swordlike weapons. By the time the bullfighter enters the ring the bull is worn down and bleeding profusely. There is no show of bravery by the bullfighter. Only a sad and sadistic end to the life of a bull who never had a chance.

Barcelona's ban is effective in Jan. of 2012. Lawmakers voted for the ban last year after 180,000 people signed a petition. It is in the region of Catalonia which currently is the only region in mainland Spain to ban bullfighting. Bullfighting is permitted in all other regions of Spain except in the Canary Islands, which banned it in 1991. On Sunday 6 bulls were killed before a record number crowd of about 20,000. This large a crowd was actually unusual because the attendance at bullfights has dropped considerably in recent years.

All though diehard proponents of bullfighting were very disappointed with the ban and describe it as an age-old art form, animal rights organizations were loudly celebrating this victory. The campaigners to eliminate bullfighting totally hope to extend the ban across the country, but they face a much tougher task in the traditional bullfighting heartlands like Andalucia and Madrid. But for now it is a beginning to an end and forever more there will be no more bulls to die in Barcelona.

It doesn't interest me what you do for a living. I want to know what you ache for and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart's longing.
It doesn't interest me how old you are. I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dream, for the adventure of being alive.
It doesn't interest me what planets are squaring your moon. I want to know if you have touched the centre of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life's betrayals or have become shrivelled and closed from fear of further pain.
I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it, or fade it, or fix it.
I want to know if you can be with joy, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to
be careful, be realistic, remember the limitations of being human.
It doesn't interest me if the story you are telling me is true. I want to know if you can
disappoint another to be true to yourself. If you can bear the accusation of betrayal
and not betray your own soul. If you can be faithless and therefore trustworthy.
I want to know if you can see Beauty even when it is not pretty every day. And if you can source your own life from its presence.
I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand at the edge of the lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, 'Yes.'
It doesn't interest me to know where you live or how much money you have. I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone and do what needs to be done to feed the children.
It doesn't interest me who you know or how you came to be here. I want to know if you will stand in the centre of the fire with me and not shrink back.
It doesn't interest me where or what or with whom you have studied. I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away.
I want to know if you can be alone with yourself and if you truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

Oriah Mountain Dreamer

Recent new studies have provided evidence that dolphins grieve and may have a comprehension of what death is. Their behavior has suggested that they are very similar to the great apes and the elephants when it comes to a loss of a loved one through death and possibly very similar to our own emotional feelings concerning death.

Although researcher have always been reserved in attributing human emotions to animals the most recent studies from Joan Gonzalvo of the Tethys Research Institute might just prove otherwise. Gonzalvo has been observing the bottlenose dolphin population of the Amvrakikos gulf in the Mediterranean Sea since 2006. He had observed a couple of situations that made him think that it is possible that dolphins also grieve.

The first situation involved a mother dolphin whose baby had just died. The mother acted very distraught and kept trying to push the baby up out of the water so that it could breathe. It was a though she couldn't come to terms with it's sudden passing. The 2nd situation involved a 3 month old dolphin calf who was in the process of dying. A whole pod of dolphins were swimming very erratically trying to keep the young dolphin afloat.

Another researcher, Ingrid Visser of the Orca Research Trust in Tutukaka, New Zealand has also observed dolphins and whales carrying their dead babies around. She also witnessed grieving behavior on the part of pilot whales who had to stop and observe a dead whale before moving on. When the researchers tried to keep the whales from doing this, the whales fought to try and return again.

It turns out there is actually physical evidence in the brains of whales and dolphins that suggests that they can feel grief and some comprehension of what death might mean. One recent study on cetacean neurology showed that dolphins and whales possess specialized, human-like "spindle" neurons, which are the brain cells linked to empathy, grief and intuition in humans.

Although we will probably never really know for sure what they are feeling, it is very likely that we are not alone in our ability to grieve over the deaths of those close to us. This understanding makes it all the more tragic when one thinks of all the deaths of these magnificent animals that man has caused and the grief their families must have felt.

In the beginning there was nothing at all except darkness. All was darkness and emptiness. For a long, long while, the darkness gathered until it became a great mass.

Over this the spirit of Earth Doctor drifted to and fro like a fluffy bit of cotton in the breeze. Then Earth Doctor decided to make for himself an abiding place. So he thought within himself, "Come forth, some kind of plant," and there appeared the creosote bush. He placed this before him and set it upright. But it at once fell over. He set it upright again; again it fell. So it fell until the fourth time it remained upright. Then Earth Doctor took from his breast a little dust and flattened it into a cake. When the dust cake was still, he danced upon it, singing a magic song.

Next he created some black insects which made black gum on the creosote bush. Then he made a termite which worked with the small earth cake until it grew very large. As he sang and danced upon it, the flat World stretched out on all sides until it was as large as it is now. Then he made a round sky-cover to fit over it, round like the houses of the Pimas. But the Earth shook and stretched, so that it was unsafe. So Earth Doctor made a gray spider which was to spin a web around the edges of the Earth and sky, fastening them together. When this was done, the Earth grew firm and solid.

Earth Doctor made water, mountains, trees, grass, and weeds made everything as we see it now. But all was still inky blackness. Then he made a dish, poured water into it, and it became ice. He threw this round block of ice far to the north, and it fell at the place where the Earth and sky were woven together. At once the ice began to gleam and shine. We call it now the sun. It rose from the ground in the north up into the sky and then fell back. Earth Doctor took it and threw it to the west where the Earth and sky were sewn together. It rose into the sky and again slid back to the Earth. Then he threw it to the far south, but it slid back again to the flat Earth. Then at last he threw it to the east. It rose higher and higher in the sky until it reached the highest point in the round blue cover and began to slide down on the other side. And so the sun does even yet.

Then Earth Doctor poured more water into the dish and it became ice. He sang a magic song, and threw the round ball of ice to the north where the Earth and sky are woven together. It gleamed and shone, but not so brightly as the sun. It became the moon, and it rose in the sky, but fell back again, just as the sun had done. So he threw the ball to the west, and then to the south, but it slid back each time to the Earth. Then he threw it to the east, and it rose to the highest point in the sky-cover and began to slide down on the other side. And so it does even today, following the sun.

But Earth Doctor saw that when the sun and moon were not in the sky, all was inky darkness. So he sang a magic song, and took some water into his mouth and blew it into the sky, in a spray, to make little stars. Then he took his magic crystal and broke it into pieces and threw them into the sky, to make the larger stars. Next he took his walking stick and placed ashes on the end of it. Then he drew it across the sky to form the Milky Way. So Earth Doctor made all the stars.


*The Pima (or Akimel O'odham) are a group of American Indians living in an area consisting of what is now central and southern Arizona. The long name, "Akimel O'odham", means "river people"

The revolution continues to march on in China step by step. This week a 600 year old dog eating festival in Qianxi, was banned after a huge social media outcry against it. Traditionally fifteen thousand dogs were killed and butchered at the festival. The festival commemorated a long ago battle where an invading army crept into town and killed all the dogs to keep them from barking once they invaded it. Afterwards the army ate the dogs to celebrate their victory.

Ever since that time, dogs have been slaughtered and butchered on the spot at the festival before being cooked and eaten. Then in the 1980's this practice was stopped but it had since slowly crept back into the festival. Photos from this carnage soon made their way to the internet causing many people to become upset. This year many of those people took to the internet calling for a stop to this. The Chinese government responded by issuing a ban against the festival.

The Chinese culture has become increasingly sympathetic to protesting against these types of dog eating situations. Pet ownership has steadily increased since the ban of pets during the Cultural Revolution and many Chinese have become totally against this. There were rumors of banning the consumption of dogs and cats earlier this summer in China. This recent action by the Chinese government might be a signal that it is ready to follow through on this ban in the near future. The rest of the world can only hope.

Not content with unveiling 16 Super-Earths earlier this week, astronomers at NASA’s Kepler Mission revealed Thursday that they have also discovered a first of its kind — a planet that orbits two suns.

The planet is officially known as Kepler 16(AB)-b, but even astronomers are informally calling it Tatooine, after Luke Skywalker’s desert homeworld in Star Wars. You may remember the scene where Luke gazes wistfully at two setting suns — and if you’re a real space geek, you may remember that when the movie was released, astronomers publicly doubted whether such a planetary system could exist. So if today’s news is a vindication for anyone, it’s George Lucas.

Indeed, by way of apology, NASA reached out to Industrial Light and Magic visual effects supervisor John Knoll to discuss the finding at today’s official press conference. Knoll repaid the compliment: “Science is stranger and cooler than fiction,” he said. “It’s possible there’s a real Tatooine out there.”

If so, it isn’t this planet. Despite being in a binary star system, Kepler 16(AB)-b is a gas giant rather than a desert world. Somewhat similar to Saturn in size, its surface temperatures vary between minus 150 Farenheit to minus 100 on a warm day. So if there is a “wretched hive of scum and villainy” hanging out there, it has found some way of keeping toasty.

If you feel like checking it out for yourself, you’d better get moving sooner rather than later. “Tatooine” is 200 light years away, in the constellation Cygnus.

This image provided by NASA shows an artist's depiction showing a world where two suns set over the horizon instead of just one. The planet, called Kepler-16b, is the most "Tatooine-like" planet yet found in our galaxy. Tatooine is the name of Luke Skywalker's home world in the science fiction movie Star Wars.
Originally published in Mashable

For centuries, lions have loomed large in our cultural imagination, not least because of their powerful symbolic meaning as icons of great strength, fierce courage and loyalty. 

And today, they badly need our help. Their wild nature is beautifully captured in a new National Geographic film entitled The Last Lions.

The story follows a single lioness fighting to defend her cubs as they struggle to survive in the Okavango Delta wetlands of Botswana. This film, created by Beverly and Dereck Joubert, reminds us that even lions live on a knife’s edge, and the threats to them are as severe as they’ve ever been.

It’s not just the lions in the Okavango Delta that face such threats. There are people who poison lions for predator control purposes. And while that poisoning is appalling and unacceptable, it’s even more infuriating that trophy hunters, mainly Americans, travel to Africa to kill these majestic animals and then bring home their heads, hides and other body parts.

For decades, the African lion population has been in a steady and dangerous decline. It has been nearly cut in half over the past 30 years. Lion habitat and prey species have diminished, forcing lions to retreat from much of their historic range. Although lions continue to live in 27 countries, many are in groups too small and isolated from other populations to survive.

During this period, the United States has emerged as the clear leader in importing trophies from sport-hunted lions. The number of lion trophies imported to the United States doubled from 1999 to 2008 (the latest year that statistics are available) — with parts of at least 3,600 wild African lions imported to our country.

This additional pressure — especially destructive for a social species, with tight family networks — is the last thing that lions need, especially with all of the threats they face. Some estimates put total lion numbers throughout Africa at just 23,000 — more than the number of tigers in the wild, but clearly in the danger zone for survival of the species.

Listing the African lion as endangered would significantly benefit this iconic animal by prohibiting the importation of African lion trophies into the United States, unless it serves a demonstrable conservation purpose.

It’s not too late to save the magnificent African lion, but we must act now. And that’s exactly what we did by filing this petition.

In the town of Gedinne, in the province of Namur,Belgium a wolf had been sighted this summer. This was the first time a wolf had been seen in Belgium in more than a century. The last wolf was slain in 1898 in Virton, Belgium.

It happened in July of this year that eight sheep near Gedinne were killed. At first it was suspected that a lynx was responsible for the killings. A television crew from the program, " Animals in trouble " wanted to catch the wild animal in the act so they set up a hidden camera near a sheep that was to serve as prey. A few days later when they returned they were able to see on film how a wolf like creature had eaten the sheep and then dragged it into the woods.

Initially, the television crew doubted whether it was a wolf or a wolf dog that did this. But according to the French wolf expert, Eric Marboutin, there was no doubt that this was a wolf. According to him, the animal had all the typical characteristics of a wolf. He was quoted as saying, "You can see well the typical white mark on his face, which is shaped differently than for example a Husky or a German shepherd dog. His coat is dark gray on the back and brighter on the sides and bottom. His tail is typical wolf short and drooping. This is a wolf. Without a doubt."

Moreover, he said "the animal moved and acted like a wild wolf. He behaves cautiously, uncertain. It took an adult sheep at least 45 to 50 kilograms in its mouth and drags it without any difficulty. This demonstrates great power and strength and that indicates that you are definitely are dealing with the facial and tooth structure of a wolf," Marboutin said. Of course to be really 100 percent sure, a DNA test would have to be performed, but unfortunately no hair or scat was found was found in the area.

According Marboutin this is not the same as a wolf predator that was spotted this month in the Veluwe in the Netherlands. "The Veluwe is at one end of the Ardennes, but this wolf travels up to 40-50 kilometers in a night. Theoretically, therefore if it was the same animal it would do this also. But from the images I've seen, it seemed the wolf in the Netherlands did not do this."

Marboutin suspects that this wolf comes from France, possibly from the Alps or maybe Italy. It has long been known that French wolves are north and the return of the wolf in our region is "very likely", says Marboutin.

The animal has since disappeared and is possibly hundreds of miles away. There has since been no dead sheep found or any other wolves sighted or filmed. Still this does not mean that it wouldn't be possible within five years that the wolves are back in Belgium. "The fact that the wolf shows up in Belgium, would certainly say that such a return to our country is very possible," says Marboutin.

Abandoned from the herd, a confused, blue-eyed baby seal with red fur wanders alone on the beach of the island Tyuleniy, Russia. A Russian photographer Anatoly Strakhov, age 61, went to the island to photograph him . "When I saw him, he was hiding under trees waiting for the arrival of his mother," he said. Unfortunately,
Ginger's (the name given to the baby seal by Strakhov) mother will not be returning to her baby. The cub was abandoned by the herd because it looks differently. Reddish fur, pink nose and fins, blue eyes: according to initial analysis of the rarity of it's appearance this unusual appearance is linked to a combination of albinism and a concentration of iron in the fur. "Ginger has a color that is very strange and different from that of his fellow seals who are all of a dark color." adds Strakhov.

However, Ginger will not end up dying all alone on the island. Following in the footsteps of another well known and unfortunate sea animal, Happy Feet the penquin, little Ginger was rescued by a man who occompanied the Russian photographer to the island of Tyuleniy. He is the owner of a marine park where little Ginger will be taken to live out his days without worry and loneliness. It may not be the perfect situation, which would be acceptance from his mother and herd, but in this case it is the only solution that little Ginger has in order to survive.

original story written by Di Benedetto PERILLI

Blue Whales are the largest animals on planet Earth. They can weigh up to 200 tons and grow to be the length of a basketball court about 98 ft. Their tongue alone weighs about 2 tons. If left alone in the oceans they can live up to 90 years. Blue Whales tend to live alone or with one other whale however if there is a high concentration of food there can be as many as 50 Blue Whales scattered over a small area. The first published description of the Blue whale comes from Robert Sibbald's "Phalainologia Nova" in 1694 after he found one washed up on a beach in 1692. They were also mentioned in Melville's famous novel, Moby Dick.

Sadly these wonderful creatures were almost hunted to extinction mainly for their blubber. Blue Whales were abundant in nearly all the oceans on Earth until the beginning of the twentieth century. At one time it was estimated that in just the Antarctic waters there were around 239,000 Blue whales. Then for over a century, these magnificent animals were hunted almost to extinction by whalers. In 1966 they were protected by the international community and they were put on the Endangered Species List. They have now made a comeback since then and it is estimated that there are around 10,000 Blue Whales worldwide.

Blue Whales love to feed on Krill which is a small shrimp like creature that thrives in really cold water. For the last several years the water in the Pacific ocean has been unusually cold and this has cause the Krill to multiply greatly. The upside to lot's of Krill is that it is drawing in lot's of Blue Whales for excited whale watchers on the California southern coast to view. The whales tend to feed there from May until early autumn. Recently in September there have been lot's of wonderful sightings of these beautiful creatures. This year alone there have been up to 500 sightings of them. They are very graceful whales who are also friendly and curious and kayakers have been able to paddle right up to these whales. The biggest threat these days for the whales is getting in the way of ocean liners since they are feeding in the path of these huge ships.

Although it cannot be said that the Blue whale is thriving, since they have been protected internationally they definitely have a fighting chance to live out their natural lives. Maybe someday they will swim again in the numbers of their long ago past.



 

The Chinese demand for Rhino horn has become outrageous. It is medically useless as it is made up of the some material as our fingernails - keratin. But their superstitious and ignorant beliefs that it will cure everything from a hangover to impotence is raising havoc in Africa and around the world. Rhino horn even though it is useless is commanding such high prices that even Rhino horns from museums are being stolen now. It currently commands a higher price than diamonds, gold, cocaine or heroin.

A very real, sad and tragic consequence of all this poaching is that many baby Rhinos are having to witness their parents being killed. They are then having to grow up without the natural guidance of their parents. Recently a baby Rhino in South Africa had to be rescued from the wild after it's mother was killed when poachers hacked off her horns with a machete. What was particularly evil about this attack was that the little baby Rhino with no horns yet was also hit with the machete. Machetes and chainsaws are the tools that are used to take the horns and as you can imagine they can be and are very deadly to the Rhinos. Many Rhinos go into shock or bleed to death. The baby Rhino has fortunately survived however thanks to it's rescuers and a veterinarian who saved his life.

In an attempt to educate the people of China, the President of the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine (ACTCM) and President of Council of Colleges of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine (CCAOM), Lixin Huang has come out and said publicly said that rhino horn is no longer approved for use in traditional Chinese medicine. This is just one of the strategies being tried in order to stop this horrendous onslaught of poaching on a species that could very well become extinct if something doesn't stop the Chinese people soon. Millions of dollars are being wasted by them and hundreds of Rhinos are dying in the meantime. There have been almost 300 Rhino deaths this year alone in Africa.

Once again until China has stopped this cruel and worthless cultural custom, it is imperative that we as concerned citizens of the world continue to boycott their products. China is the leading manufacturer of inexpensive goods in the world. The quality and safety of their products has been called into question many times. In America, many brands of dog and cat food contained a toxic ingredient in it from China several years ago and many pets died from it. Baby toys from China also contained high levels of lead.

These are just some examples that have been discovered because of the dire consequences to the consumers from buying products from China. So if you still think that saving a couple of dollars or euros (or whatever currency) is worth it still, then picture in your mind the heartless actions that poachers are taking on an innocent species of animals, the Rhino, as they are being hacked to death. Also picture that of their babies who are having to grow up alone and who will someday most likely face the same fate.

Brother armadillo has a passive style of defense and its medicine comes from its own body. The 'digger' is called the "Little Armored One" because of thick bony plates and horns that covers its back. It teaches protection and ways to move through dimensions.

The armadillo rolls into a tight ball when threatened to cover its vulnerable underside. Brother Armadillo's medicine is to teach ways to expose your inner-self and allow natural defenses to protect you. People who are too paranoid, 'hard-shelled' or cover their feelings unnecessarily may need the spirit of the armadillo.

Armadillos are territorial and regularly patrol their boundaries to sniff out intruders and potential threats. If the armadillo comes to visit you, it may be time to examine your boundaries, or artificial limits placed on your abilities, time, or space. Is someone invading your space?

Medicine from Brother Armadillo is strong and tenacious. It teaches how to protect yourself from potential threats.

The armadillo is slow but persistent in its daily tasks and ignores most non-threatening activities around it. These traits will help one who follows the armadillo medicine to realize when they may be negligent of a persistent problem or avoiding issues.

Brother Armadillo is a solitary dweller and does not have many friends. Pay attention to the shell of our armored friend when he enters your meditations and find new ways to join with others in social activities.

The armadillo digs for its food and makes burrows to sleep and have its young. The digging aspect of its behavior indicates that you may need to work harder at finding the morsel of sustenance in your life to bring more spiritual awareness.

Brother Armadillo understand the necessity of spiritual purification and loves water. He is a good swimmer, floats very well and can swim under the surface for long periods. Armadillo readily crosses any stream or river with ease. These traits give people of the armadillo spirit an understanding of the power of spiritual cleansing and ability to move with fluid easy movement between dimensions.

The African Golden Cat is a very reclusive animal and little has been known about it's behavior in the past. It lives in the rainforests of central and western Africa and loves the dense forest areas with thick undergrowth where it can remain unseen. It also tends to locate near rivers. It is a small wild cat only about twice the size of the domesticated cat weighing in at an average of 28lbs. Although their lifespan is unknown in the wild, in captivity they can live up to about 12 years.

The African Golden Cat is a solitary animal and they are also nocturnal. However, depending on the availability of local prey they have also been seen hunting during the day. Although they are quite agile and can climb most of their hunting is done on the ground. They hunt and feed mainly on rodents, but they will also eat birds, bats, small monkeys, giant forest hogs and small antelope. If wild game is scarce they have also been known to prey on domestic poultry and livestock.

Because they are so reclusive they have only been captured in still photos in the past or when one was found deceased. Their behavior has not been studied much at all. Recently a video camera was set up by the organization Panthera and rare footage was taken of the African Golden cat preening and hunting in the rainforest of Gabon. This is believed to be the first publicly released videotape of this wild cat. Because the African Golden Cat is on the verge of becoming endangered, Panthera is hoping that this will spur more interest in studying this beautiful but elusive cat.

The spirit bear is a unique subspecies of the North American black bear in which approximately one in every 10 bears is white or cream-colored. Some have orange or yellow coloration on their backs. Other Kermodes are all black. The scientific name is Ursus americanus kermodei, named after a naturalist and museum curator named Frances Kermode of the British Columbia Provincial Museum. The term "Spirit Bear" is possibly attributed to First Nations tradition, which held that the white bears were to be revered and protected. Today the Tsimshian people call it "moskgm'ol," which simply means "white bear."

Kermode bears may have evolved on the coast in the last 10,000 years from black bear stock that became isolated from interior black bears more than 300,000 years ago.

The white color may be due to inheritance of a single gene for hair color, but other more complex mechanisms may be involved. Further genetic research is needed.

Where Spirit Bears Live

The spirit bear is a unique creature. It lives only on the Pacific coast of British Columbia, in Canada. The spirit bear is what scientists call an "umbrella species," that is, if a large enough suitable habitat can be protected for the spirit bear, many other species sharing the same ecosystem will also be protected under this umbrella; for example, salmon, birds, wolves, deer, grizzly bears, insects and many others. Rarely, a white bear is reported from other black bear populations elsewhere in North America but these are from different subspecies.

Much of the spirit bear's historic territory is already logged, from River's Inlet at the south end of its range, to the Nass Valley in the north, and east up the Skeena River as far as Hazelton. On the mid-coast, large areas of the islands where the Kermode bears live – Princess Royal, Gribbell, Roderick and Pooley – have already been logged. The spirit bear's traditional home is already much diminished. The logging industry has extracted substantial commercial value from the range of the spirit bear even as the provincial government planning process was proceeding!

How Do Spirit Bears Survive in the Rainforest?

Spirit bears thrive in their lush rainforest home on a diet of green plants, berries and salmon. In the winter, they hibernate in dry cavities inside giant old trees, protected from howling winter storms. The hibernating bear slowly digests its stored body fat. One amazing thing about spirit bears (and grizzly bears) is that their young are often born in the middle of winter, while the mother bear is still in hibernation. The tiny bear cubs, born blind and defenseless, stay in the den until spring, when the mother wakes and takes them on their first foray into the larger world of the rainforest.
Source


Video: A seven minute film documenting the rare white Spirit Bear of BC's Great Bear Rainforest. The Kitasoo Xai'xais First Nation in partnership with environmental groups and the BC Government created the world's only Kitasoo Spirit Bear Conservancy.

The Red-tailed Hawk is a beautiful bird of prey with it's magnificent red tail feathers being it's trademark. Sometimes it is referred to as a chicken hawk although it rarely feeds on chickens but it is a very capable hunter. It has been used frequently in the U.S. in the sport of Falconry. In the wild it lives in a wide range of habitats throughout North America including Alaska. It is also known to mate for life. The Red-tailed Hawk has significance in Native American culture where it's feathers are considered sacred by some tribes and are used in religious ceremonies. It is currently legally protected in Canada, Mexico and the United States by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.

This week a webcam has been set up in Fresno county, California to watch a Red-Tailed hawk nest. People throughout the world will be able to follow the central California hawks as they prepare the nest for next year's egg laying, hatching and rearing. The webcam will continue to roll throughout the whole time. The nest is located on a ranch owned by former Pelco chief executive officer David McDonald. Pelco became fascinated earlier this year watching the eagle's nest webcam set up in Decorah, Iowa which ended up getting over 200 million hits.

David McDonald decided to work with Bob Anderson (in setting up the falcon webcam) who is an expert on birds of prey. He also works for Minneapolis-based Xcel Energy, serving eight states from Minnesota to Texas. In the 1980's Anderson started the 24/7 observation of falcons as he was helping to restore their population. In 1988 he set up a large nesting area for falcons at an Xcel plant and the falcons began using it. Then around 1990, he installed a camera and started getting a black and white feed. From there the idea of the bird watching webcam was hatched.

Check back frequently for a glimpse of these beautiful birds on the webcam. You will also be able to enjoy the wonderful sounds of nature which are always abundant on here. As with the eagles, once again - Enjoy!




Broadcasting live with Ustream

We hear quite often about how animals, especially dogs and cats, have tried to alert their sleeping owners when their house was on fire. Barking, clawing, meowing and jumping on the owners are some of the many ways that they have done this. This shows considerable love and compassion on the part of the animal because usually when one is in danger the first thought is to flee for the safety of oneself. But to put that fear aside and try to save someone else is truly a heroic action.

Recently in Alaska a woman and her daughter were saved by such a heroic deed. But the pet involved was a little bit more unusual. Not a dog or a cat that we usually assume has the intelligence and sense of love to do this. This time it was the pet rabbit that took the action to alert her owner to the fire.

The woman was awakened early Tuesday morning when her pet rabbit began scratching frantically at her chest. When she opened her eyes she saw immediately that her house was filled with smoke and was on fire. The woman immediately found her daughter and both of them made it out of the house alive. Sadly in all the confusion of the rapidly burning fire, the little rabbit was left behind and did not survive due to smoke inhalation . So the rabbit ended up giving it's life for the lives of 2 people.

People always assume that rabbits aren't very bright, thus the term, "dumb bunny". But don't tell that to this woman and her daughter. They are very grateful to be alive and kicking. And they are very glad that their little "dumb bunny" was smart enough and loved them enough to save their lives. They will never forget that day and the gift of life from their best friend.

Lupine is poisonous.When this plant was named, people thought that both the wolf and the plant killed livestock.

Although lupine is poisonous, it is an important part of a healthy habitat. After a forest fire, Lupine grows rapidly and puts vitamins and nutrients back into the soil. This helps the forest grow!




The yellow legume seeds of lupins, commonly called lupin beans, were popular with the Romans, who spread the plant's cultivation throughout the Roman Empire; hence common names like lupini in Romance languages. The name 'Lupin' derives from the Latin word lupinus (meaning wolf), and was given with regard to the fact that many found that the plant has a tendency to ravage the land on which it grows. The peas, which appear after the flowering period were also said to be fit only for the consumption of wolves. Lupin beans are commonly sold in a salty solution in jars (like olives and pickles) and can be eaten with or without the skin.

Lupini dishes are most commonly found in Mediterranean countries, especially in Portugal, Egypt, and Italy, and also in Brazil. In Portugal, Spain and the Spanish Harlem they are popularly consumed with beer. In Lebanon, salty and chilled Lupini Beans are called "Termos" and are served pre-meal as part of an aperitif. The Andean variety of this bean is from the Andean Lupin (tarwi, L. mutabilis) and was a widespread food in the Incan Empire. The Andean Lupin and the Mediterranean L. albus (White Lupin), L. angustifolius (Blue Lupin), and Lupinus hirsutus are also edible after soaking the seeds for some days in salted water.Lupins were also used

by Native Americans in North America, e.g., the Yavapai people. Lupins are known as altramuz in Spain and Argentina. In Portuguese the lupin beans are known as tremoços, and in Antalya (Turkey) as tirmis Edible lupins are referred to as sweet lupins because they contain smaller amounts of toxic alkaloids than the bitter lupin varieties. Newly bred variants of sweet lupins are grown extensively in Germany; they lack any bitter taste and require no soaking in salt solution. The seeds are used for different foods from vegan sausages to lupin-tofu or baking-enhancing lupin flour. (Source Wikipedia)

Remember! Spare a flower, share a flower! If you pick a flower, no one else can enjoy its beauty.

Almost 2,000 monitor lizards, and hundreds of turtles were captured by Thai authorities. Also twenty snakes and over forty civets were part of a large stash of wild endangered animals discovered hidden in a truck. The number of turtles was over 700, according to one source. It is the largest wildlife trafficking bust so far this year in Thailand.

Illegal trade in protected animals is a multi-billionaire dollar market and is driving many animals toward extinction, along with habitat loss. One estimate put the trading at US $10 billion per year or more. There is so much money being made that organized crime is involved, which is one of the reasons why it is difficult to stop. Organized crime has extensive social networks, and large amounts of money used to bribe officials and pay local people to poach animals.

The effects of the illegal trade are devastating. One estimate says 13-42% of Southeast Asia’s animal and plant species could be driven into extinction in this century. Don’t think illegal wildlife trafficking isn’t connected to drug and human trafficking also. The people who are buying illegal wildlife are handing their money over to crime syndicates that also illegally buy and sell drugs and prostitutes.

Recently forest rangers in Thailand participated in anti-poaching training exercises to help them prepare for conflicts with wildlife criminals. These criminals are not isolated individuals, often they are organized into gangs, that entice or goad locals into helping them pilfer tigers, snakes, turtles, bears, deer, elephant ivory. Also they go after aloe-wood, teak, and other valuable species.

If you want to do something constructive to help wildlife, never purchase any products containing animal products, and report any suspicious products or activities that might involve exotic animals to the proper authorities.


posted by Jake Richardson
Credit/Source: AFP - Kansas City

Read More: Wildlife Trafficking: A Global Threat

A long time ago the Mountain-Lion was a short, thick-set person. I am sure you didn't guess that. He was always a great thief like Old-Man, but once he went too far, as you shall see.

One day Old-Man was on a hilltop, and saw smoke curling up through the trees, away off on the far side of a gulch. "Ho!" he said, "I wonder who builds fires except me. I guess I will go and find out."

He crossed the gulch and crept carefully toward the smoke. When he got quite near where the fire was, he stopped and listened. He heard some loud laughing but could not see who it was that felt so glad and gay. Finally he crawled closer and peeked through the brush toward the fire. Then he saw some Squirrel-people, and they were playing some sort of game. They were running and laughing, and having a big time, too. What do you think they were doing? They were running about the fire - all chasing one Squirrel. As soon as the Squirrel was caught, they would bury him in the ashes near the fire until he cried; then they would dig him out in a hurry. Then another Squirrel would take the lead and run until he was caught, as the other had been. In turn the captive would submit to being buried, and so on - while the racing and laughing continued. They never left the buried one in the ashes after he cried, but always kept their promise and dug him out, right away.

"Say, let me play, won't you?" asked Old-Man. But the Squirrel-people all ran away, and he had a hard time getting them to return to the fire.

"You can't play this game," replied the Chief-Squirrel, after they had returned to the fire.

"Yes, I can," declared Old-Man, "and you may bury me first, but be sure to dig me out when I cry, and not let me burn, for those ashes are hot near the fire."

"All right," said the Chief-Squirrel, "we will let you play. Lie down," -- and Old-Man did lie down near the fire. Then the Squirrels began to laugh and bury Old-Man in the ashes, as they did their own kind. In no time at all Old-Man cried: "Ouch! -- you are burning me -- quick! -- dig me out."

True to their promise, the Squirrel-people dug Old-Man out of the ashes, and laughed at him because he cried so quickly.

"Now, it is my turn to cover the captive," said Old-Man, "and as there are so many of you, I have a scheme that will make the game funnier and shorter. All of you lie down at once in a row. Then I will cover you all at one time. When you cry -- I will dig you out right away and the game will be over."

They didn't know Old-Man very well; so they said, "all right," and then they all laid down in a row about the fire.

Old-Man buried them all in the ashes -- then he threw some more wood on the fire and went away and left them. Every Squirrel there was in the world was buried in the ashes except one woman Squirrel, and she told Old-Man she couldn't play and had to go home. If she hadn't gone, there might not be any Squirrels in this world right now. Yes, it is lucky that she went home.

For a minute or so Old-Man watched the fire as it grew hotter, and then went down to a creek where willows grew and made himself a great plate by weaving them together. When he had finished making the plate, he returned to the fire, and it had burned low again. He laughed at his wicked work, and a Raven, flying over just then, called him "forked-tongue," or liar, but he didn't mind that at all. Old-Man cut a long stick and began to dig out the Squirrel-people. One by one he fished them out of the hot ashes; and they were roasted fine and were ready to eat. As he fished them out he counted them, and laid them on the willow plate he had made. When he had dug out the last one, he took the plate to the creek and there sat down to eat the Squirrels, for he was hungry, as usual. Old-Man is a big eater, but he couldn't eat all of the Squirrels at once, and while eating he fell asleep with the great plate in his lap.

Nobody knows how long it was that he slept, but when he waked his plate of Squirrels was gone -- gone completely. He looked behind him; he looked about him; but the plate was surely gone. Ho! But he was angry. He stamped about in the brush and called aloud to those who might hear him; but nobody answered, and then he started to look for the thief. Old-Man has sharp eyes, and he found the trail in the grass where somebody had passed while he slept. "Ho!" he said, "the Mountain-Lion has stolen my Squirrels. I see his footprints; see where he has mashed the grass as he walked with those soft feet of his; but I shall find him, for I made him and know all his ways."

Old-Man got down on his hands and knees to walk as the Bear-people do, just as he did that night in the Sun's lodge, and followed the trail of the Mountain-Lion over the hills and through the swamps. At last he came to a lace where the grass was all bent down, and there he found his willow plate, but it was empty. That was the place where the Mountain-Lion had stopped to eat the rest of the Squirrels, you know; but he didn't stay there long because he expected that Old-Man would try to follow him.

The Mountain-Lion had eaten so much that he was sleepy and, after traveling a while after he had eaten the Squirrels, he thought he would rest. He hadn't intended to go to sleep; but he crawled upon a big stone near the foot of a hill and sat down where he could see a long way. Here his eyes began to wink, and his head began to nod, and finally he slept.

Without stopping once, Old-Man kept on the trail. That is what counts -- sticking right to the thing you are doing -- and just before sundown Old-Man saw the sleeping Lion. Carefully, lest he wake the sleeper, Old-Man crept close, being particular not to move a stone or break a twig; for the Mountain-Lion is much faster than men are, you see; and if Old-Man had wakened the Lion, he would never have caught him again, perhaps. Little by little he crept to the stone where the Mountain-Lion was dreaming, and at last grabbed him by the tail. It wasn't much of a tail then, but enough for Old-Man to hold to. Ho! The Lion was scared and begged hard, saying:

"Spare me, Old-Man. You were full and I was hungry. I had to have something to eat; had to get my living. Please let me go and do not hurt me." Ho! Old-Man was angry -- more angry than he was when he waked and found that he had been robbed, because he had traveled so far on his hands and knees.

"I'll show you. I'll teach you. I'll fix you, right now. Steal from me, will you? Steal from the man that made you, you night-prowling rascal!"

Old-Man put his foot behind the Mountain-Lion's head, and, still holding the tail, pulled hard and long, stretching the Lion out to great length. He squalled and cried, but Old-Man kept pulling until he nearly broke the Mountain-Lion in two pieces -- until he couldn't stretch him any more. Then Old-Man put his foot on the Mountain-Lion's back, and, still holding the tail, stretched that out until the tail was nearly as long as the body.

"There, you thief -- now you are too long and lean to get fat, and you shall always look just like that. Your children shall all grow to look the same way, just to pay you for your stealing from the man that made you. Come on with me"; and he dragged the poor Lion back to the place where the fire was, and there rolled him in the hot ashes, singeing his robe till it looked a great deal like burnt hair. Then Old-Man stuck the Lion's nose against the burnt logs and blackened it some -- that is why his face looks as it does today.

The Mountain-Lion was lame and sore, but Old-Man scolded him some more and told him that it would take lots more food to keep him after that, and that he would have to work harder to get his living, to pay for what he had done. Then he said, "go now, and remember all the Mountain-Lions that ever live shall look just as you do." And they do, too!

That is the story -- that is why the Mountain-Lion is so long and lean, but he is no bigger thief than Old-Man, nor does he tell any more lies. Ho!