Friday Rat.

This is Rune (roo neh), my sweetest little boy. He’s not so little anymore, but always sweet. He’s recently been accepted into the Hades & Hellquin club, and it’s not easy to get accepted by those two elders. I have four boys who are an odd mix of Rex and Hairless. Rune has been getting more hair as he ages, but he still doesn’t have full coverage. The others are Ingo, Inigo, and Balthasar. I got photos of Ingo and Inigo, but Balthasar is not a social guy, and he’s bloody huge and very fast, so no photos of him. Rune likes traveling on the top of my head.

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© C. Ford.

Assuming the Pity Position.

A young squirrel noted the feeding stations being filled, and I noticed young squirrel. Told him no, because dinosaur photo day. I was back inside, where I normally am to shoot birds, with the window open. Young squirrel looks at me, I say no again. Young squirrel opts for the pity position, curling one hand in against the chest, a signifier of just how effing cold it is, have pity! No is reiterated. Young squirrel goes the full court pity position, with both hands curled in, it’s really really really really freezing cold! I remarked to young squirrel that he should not have chosen a day with the sun shining and the temp a very unseasonable 54 F.

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© C. Ford.

Rat Cordery.

People who have small animals know they have a special love for electrical cords. Chez Caine, there are always those rats who are looking to jack on. Part of setting up Athena (the new computing machine), is to deal with cord. For the very fine cord, which runs from the machine to the adapter is a favourite for jacking on. So, that part: slice open black aquarium tubing, place over the cord, secure with electrical tape. This impairs their ability to sense the current running through. For the rest, I cut lengths of cotton cloth, and wrap the cord, followed by a quick wrap of shiny wire, because rats are easily distracted by shiny metal, and will chew on that and forget about jacking on. Got Athena all fixed up, and Hades tested for me – yep, boring. That’s a good thing.

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© C. Ford.

Naked Owls.

Anan Kaewkhammul / Shutterstock.

Anan Kaewkhammul / Shutterstock.

Owls are, of course, amazing. They can rotate their head almost 360 degrees, they have lopsided ears – all the better for hearing you with, my dear – and are collectively known as a parliament.

The Internet, however, is freaking out at what they look like naked.

Twitter user Dana Schwartz is obviously of curious, and brave, mind as she googled the now immortal words “what owls look like without feathers”, which produced this image that you now cannot unsee.

People had all manner of fun in the tweet stream, happily obliging with photos of other naked beings:

A hairless hedgehog. That’s something to curse about!

Via IFLScience!

I can sort of add to the nekkid animals. This is Rune, (pronounced Rooh neh) who has been hairless most of his short life, and just now has developed a very fine, sparse coat of sorts. There are two others like him, but Rune grabbed my heart from the start. He’s a sweet, shy boy, with a penchant for perching on top of my head, much like his grandmother, Grace. Somewhere in that line, there was a hairless rat or two.

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Territory.

‘Shit, the monkeys are here…’

The Rock of Gibraltar is an imposing limestone monolith, towering 426 metres over the Mediterranean Sea on the southern coast of Spain in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar. Its prominent place in European myths and its impressive views have long made it a draw for tourists, as has the population of Barbary macaques inhabiting the Gibraltar Nature Reserve on the rock’s upper reaches. However, the macaques aren’t bothered by human-imposed borders, frequently venturing off the reserve and into town, where they wreak mischief on tourists and residents alike. Subtly and playfully observed, Eleanor Mortimer’s amusing short documentary Territory puts us on the ground in the ongoing, low-key turf war between the people of Gibraltar and the clever primate cousins who are utterly indifferent to their will.

Via Aeon, where you can see the video full size.