Creature Feature: Spotted Seal.

This blog has a lack of pinnipeds for no apparent reason.  Plus, I felt bad about delaying yesterday's entry, soooo....

Source.

...have a spotted seal. :)

The spotted seal (Phoca largha) is the quintessential 'seal.' It eats fish as an adult and smaller crustacean sas a pup. It is native to the north Pacific Ocean, including Japan, Russia, China, and Alaska.Althogh very similar to the harbor seal in appearance, the main distinguishing factor of the spotted seal is its irregular spots.

The spotted seal is one of those "puppy dog cute" animals. Excepting the carnivore teeth, this seal has no sharp parts. Sure, it weighs anywhere from 180-240 pounds and gets over two meters long, but that doesn't stop it from being adorable. It's even got a pointed face like a dog. What's not to like?

Source.

When they aren't swimming, spotted seals spend almost all their time on ice floes. They are usually solitary, but gather in huge crowds during mating season. They are among the few animals to temporarily exhibit a nuclear family (mom, dad, and baby) while rearing a pup. Otherwise, they are off on their own, diving up to 1,000 feet (300 meters) for their fishy prey.

Normally, the spotted seal is not endangered. It's so common that its There is an exception in China, where the seals from South Korea gather to breed. Not only are they China's only pinniped, but spotted seal meat and, umm, genitalia supposedly have medicinal properties. What? Were you expecting the Chinese not to eat seals?

Yes, that is a seal in a race car. OH JAPAN- copyright the folks at Digimon.

Of course,  since these seals are native to Japan, they have been Japanified. Japan takes anything remotely cute (or not) and turns it into colorful toys for all. The spotted seal, or gomafu azarashi,  is no exception; there are plushie spotted seals that one can hang from one's cell phone, a pet mamegoma video game, and other doses of KAWAII that overload most circuits. Most of us probably know Gomamon, the Digimon character, a lot better than anything else spotted seal-related from Japan. If it's weird and wonderful enough to wind up as part of the main cast in Digimon, it's weird enough to be on this blog, right?

Who Let The Dogs Out?: Wolfdogs.

So, maybe after pugs, you're thinking that we humans have gone too far. Hell, it feels like society has forgotten that dogs are, in fact, carnivores. Maybe we should take a step back and introduce some wolf into the dog.

 Oh, wait. That's a thing.

When a dog happen to meet at the right time of month, they make a wolfdog. There is no "one size fits all" description for a wolfdog - every one of them will be different. It's just like with mixed breed dogs. In fact, wolf dogs are almost the exact same thing as mixed-breed dogs, with all the unpredictability and hybrid vigor therein.

First off, a reminder: The scientific definition of "species" is based on "can this thing get it on with this thing?" It has absolutely nothing to do with the human perceptions concerning dogs and wolves. To science, if something can mate and produce 100% fertile offspring with something else, those two things are the same species. There may be behavioral difference between wolves and dogs, but that doesn't stop them from doing it like they do on the Discovery Channel...successfully.

STILL look adorable.

As the silver fox study shows, most of the traits that we treasure so much in domestic dogs come from breeding just for docility. That includes floppy ears, wagging tails, and general obedience. The wolf is not bred at all - rather, it undoes a few stitches of whatever breeding went into the dog. Even with all the variability wolfdogs have, the tendency is toward timidity, not aggression. That does not mean you should keep one without doing your homework.

Let's look at some testimonials from people with wolfdog experience:

 "I have a friend that has three. Not judging, just fact.

He got a puppy last year to go with his two older dolves..

His puppy chewed up his cabinets. Like, not a little bit that you could cover up with some trim. THE SIDES.

His puppy RIPPED UP HIS HARDWOOD FLOORING in his kitchen, which was her area while he was at work or whatever. He lets his dogs out at regular intervals, and other than his preoccupation with wolf/dog hybrids, he's a great pet owner.

His puppy has not one but TWO genetic defects, too (something about intestinal adhesions and her kidneys aren't in the right spots)."


"high (wolf) contents are often very difficult to handle and actually tend to fare BETTER as mostly outside dogs. they need a lot more everything all around. get a real high content hybrid and its an average 14 or 15 year commitment riddled with high insurance, expensive fencing, oftentime an animal who HAS to be fed raw, little to no travel(traveling with a wolfdog is practically impossible), the threat of your dogs being seized, and a lot of concerns that go above and beyond just owning a dog." 


And finally, someone found this helpful little sheet on determining whether a wolfdog is right for you or not. This was honestly the least biased thing I could find about wolfdogs. I'm not necessarily advocating wolfdogs, but the behavior there seemed chillingly different to anything I have ever found when asking about reptiles. Call it a vibe; I could tell some people there just hated wolfdogs. I don't, but you should know what you're getting into.

Although some breeds, such as the Czech Wolfdog, deliberately have wolf infused into them, bad things happen when wild wolves cross with stray dogs. The resulting hybrids might have no fear of humans - y'know, one of the things that had to be bred out of the domestic dog. You have domestic dogs to thank for pure black wolves, by the way.

For those of you curious, Balto, the most popular wolfdog ever, might not have been a wolfdog. He was most likely a purebred Siberian Huskie. Rumor has it, however, that Iditarod racers are contemplating breeding wolf into their stock to give their dogs more endurance, speed, etc. That's what wolves are slowly becoming: Dogs on steroids.

Who Let The Dogs Out: Komondor.

You may have noticed a trend for this week: Small dogs tend to be weird. Versatile as the canid genome may be, abusing it is not without its faults. The weirdest dogs also tend to be from China, but that's beside the point.

As if to prove that not all weird dogs are small, we have the Komondor. This guy looks similar to the Puli, another Hungarian dog with a mop for fur, but is quite a bit larger. The breed has been recognized by the AKC since 1937. Although not quite Chinese, the Komondor's ancestors do hail from Tibet.  It's still cool enough to be one of Hungary's national treasures.

The Komondor's coat consists of white cords that look like albino dreadlocks. This was originally used to prevent bites from wolves that would attack sheep flocks; no matter how cool wolves are, they just can't bite through an organic mop. The moppy coat can only be white in a Komondor, so if you want black or grey, try a Puli. No, they do not come in pastel pink or any other color that would suggest that they can be treated like Crimp n' Curl Cabbage Patch Dogs. Even the Puli would be slightly offended by that; Komondors are even more serious business.

They look more like poodles as puppies. Laugh while you can.

Komondors are guard dogs. They do not even need to be told to guard sheep and cattle. There is a saying that a Komondor might let an intruder into the house, but will never let them out, leaving the helpless soul pinned under the dog's weight (which can be upwards of 80 pounds). They are always wary of strangers. That said, early socialization of these dogs is a must.

Aside from their protective temperament, Komondors have very few health problems compared to every toy breed ever. The main problems are with the eyes, including cataracts and inversion of the eyelid. Bloat is a problem in all large dogs. Due to the heavy coat, parasites are common. That coat also requires a lot of maintenance. Budget accordingly. 

Komondors may look silly to us, but they are not goofballs. The breed has the ability to think independently and has been praised for its strength, valor and courage over the centuries. They are still pretty popular today, especially for shows and livestock hunting. Don't let the haircut fool you; this dog will not back down from wolves.

Who Let the Dogs Out: Pekingese.

Domesticity aside, dogs are usually considered masculine animals. You rarely, if ever, see puppies on birthday cards intended for girls. Dog meat contains a lot of yang (masculine) energy. "Bitch," the term for a female dog, denotes a woman acting like a man. No matter how cute a dog is, it's still masculine.

There are still some dogs that would make people question that perception. Toy dogs with long hair, like the Pekingese above, tend to be seen not as fully feminine, but definitely effeminate in American culture. This is not so in China, where the Pekingese is associated with royalty and, umm, this:

Pekingese dogs are based off of the Chinese perception of a lion (also called a Foo Dog or shishi). Not a real lion - a creature the Chinese made up out of every awesome animal on the planet after hearing stories about lions. China has never had lions, but they heard that whatever a lion was, it was the king of beasts. They also presumably had to get in the car - err, rickshaw - if a lion ever came around. 

The Chinese soon began breeding dogs on their idea of "lion." The "lion" had poofy hair; check. The monkey face, well, they improvised by making the Pekingese's face as flat as possible. (British show standards later outright said, "muzzle must be apparent." Good show!) Other origin stories say that the Pekingese was a cross between a lion and a monkey (or some other small animal). Whatever the case, the Pekingese was treated as a being so sacred that it could chase away demons - and foreigners.

RAWR! >:3

For the longest time, Pekingese could only be owned by members of the Chinese Imperial Palace. In particular, the Empress Dowager Cixi was very fond of Pekingese and kept several in her palace - supposedly, one for every outfit she could manage. For those of you who do not know Chinese history, Cixi was one of the many reasons China hated female rulers; she was basically their Marie Antoinette. As if building a giant jade boat instead of giving her country a decent military was not enough of a slap in the face, she also set the standards for the Pekingese breed. Charming. 

As the Pekingese became even more popular outside of the court and spread to other countries, another disturbing trend came into fashion: "Sleeve Pekingese." Pekingese were bred to be extra-small so that they could fit inside the flowy sleeves of the Chinese nobility. Thus concealed, they could be used for assassinations. Given how bitey a small dog can be, that should not be a surprise. Breeding for these mini-dogs of mini-dogs was eventually outlawed by another Chinese empress; this act alone makes her more palatable than Cixi.

Some dogs were born too late to directly benefit from Empress Tzu Hsi's kindness.

In general, breeding for small size in dogs is not the best idea. Toy dogs in general die from trauma more than anything else. Both the cardiovascular and neurological systems are at high risk. Flexible though the wolf genome may be, it has its limits.

The Pekingese also has some specific health requirements. The fur needs daily combing. The same coat that makes Pekes attractive can also lead to overheating. The flat face comes with its own issues, such as major eye problems and a high risk of respiratory disorders. There is virtually no way to screen for any of these.

You wanna know something really disturbing? Pekingese are one of the oldest breeds of dog. They go back at least 2,000 years. Genetically, they have more in common with wolves than Huskies. That just goes to show you how versatile the canine genome was before we started playing with it...and how easy it was to play with. The question is not, "can we do this?", but "should we?"

Creature Feature: Caracal.

The average human psyche has exactly two images in mind in regards to felines: big cats, like lions and tigers, and domestic cats. The small- and mid-sized wildcats are often overlooked. That's a shame, because a lot of them are really neat.

Enter the caracal, one of the most striking of the little cats. If you took a lynx and exaggerated its ears and tail, you would get something that looks like a caracal. Caracals are native to much of Africa and the Middle East, and the name derives from a Turkish word meaning "black ear." Although it looks related to lynxes, it is closer, genetically-speaking, to the African Golden Cat and the tabby cat down the street.

The ears are the most noticeable part of the caracal. They have long tufts that make lynxes jealous. Although nobody knows the exact purpose of those tufts,we have several theories as to why they exist. On lynxes, the ear tufts function almost like radio antennae, helping the cat to hear. They might also help break up the outline of the caracal's head.

There's more to caracals than just the ears. Their paws have stiff hairs that probably allow them to walk on the sand, sort of like snowshoes. The caracal is also known for snatching birds in mid-flight - sometimes many birds at once! They also get most of their water from their prey, and domesticate surprisingly well.

Caracals have been in human company since ancient times. India and Iran both have a good history with these cats. The Persians were fond of using them to hunt pigeons. They can kill up to ten pigeons in one hunt! Yes, these cats have been exotic pets for a very long time, and remain pretty popular today.

Keen observers probably noticed a while back that caracals look a looot like house cats; yes, the two can make babies.The Moscow Zoo tried it, and caracal-cat hybrids can be found in captivity as well. "Caracats" have many of the same traits Savannah cats do - larger size (12-14 inches at the shoulder, 25-30 pounds) and fertility issues in the males. (For those curious, yes, servals and caracals can breed, too.) They usually use Abyssinians as a domestic base. F2 (second generation) caracats still have the attractive ears of their wild relatives and make better pets than F1 hybrids. Above is a caracat kitten for your squeeing pleasure.

That said, this month's Theme Week is going to be a doozy. I'm a cat person,  darnit!

"They Actually Eat That:" Cat.

But it isn't like this. No, this was a lucky photo I snapped with my phone. Styx conveniently decided a frying pan was a good place to try and take a nap. We did not intend to make her into kitty bacon, she just so happened to be in the pan for it.

That said, there are places that eat cats as food. No, it is not just restricted to China. It looks like quite a lot of people enjoy cat meat, even in "civilized" places. Unlike dog, this is a taboo food that a lot of people eat. Let's look at a list, shall we?

THIS is what cat meat looks like. Or, well, it's not nearly as cute as Styx in a frying pan.

For starters, yes, cat is a common food in the more rural parts of China. You will not find it by going into restaurants in Beijing or any other major city. Supposedly, cats are illegal to sell as food, but the laws are not as strict in the countryside. Guangdong is particularly notorious for a dish called "dragon tiger phoenix," which contains snake, cat, and rooster meat, respectively. The dish is, as with most Chinese food, medicine.If the name Guangdong sounds familiar for another reason, it's because a billionaire was poisoned by the cat meat there. Ceiling Cat was watching him twitch in agony.

Eating cat is also not limited to China. Cat was legal in Japan until the 19th century. We like to think that Hello Kitty helped make it even more disliked after that point. Korea still eats cat as they do dog. All three of the major "WTF food" Asian countries are slowly moving away from eating cat as more furballs find their way into homes, however, so expect it to be restricted to rural areas by the end of the decade.

The other big area famous for cat meat is, supposedly, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Now, we aren't saying that this place serves cat in five-star restaurants - far from it. Street meat is commonly accused of being cat meat. There have been busts on Brazilian slaughterhouses selling cat and dog meat. We have reason to believe that the name "cat meat skewers" has some basis in fact, here. Nobody likes the concept, even in Brazil, so please don't jump to conclusions. Just sayin', if your barbeque tastes a little off...

Australian aborigines also hunt feral cats. Now, let's be fair in this instance; the domestic cat wrecked the Australian ecosystem. Remember, the rule of thumb with Oz is, "If it has a placenta, it's not from around here." Cats are no exception to that rule. In the case of Australia, turning cats into food is pest control. After all, what happened with rabbits was terrifying.

Basically, if there is a rural area, there is a high chance that someone, somewhere has tried to turn cat into cuisine. Europe has it. South America has it. The internet doesn't say that hicks in North America eat cat, but it wouldn't surprise me.

"They Actually Eat That:" Cat Food.

Maybe I was a little harsh on dog owners. After all, I've seen clothes for cats, too. It's not like cat owners don't have some deep, dark secrets as well....

Cat food is one of the less pleasant parts of having a cat. Regardless of whether one is a carnivore or not, it stinks. It is just barely food, containing various, miscellaneous animal bits with only dashes of whatever flavor is one the can. There are several tiers of quality in cat food, but unless you cook a gourmet dinner for your cat every night, chances are that canned food is mystery meat. It's like a hot dog without the wrapping - you don't know where most of the stuff in your cat's food came from.

Oh, and cat food is taste-tested by people. Yeeep.

There are no words.

Wait a minute. Let's go look at a cat food can label. Hmm...yep. "Not suitable for human consumption," right on the can. Isn't that also kinda backwards? I mean, humans aren't going to be eating this food. What's going on, here? 

Cats have extremely sensitive palettes. It's not possible to ask a cat's opinion on how something tastes, so we have humans test them, instead. Cat food companies have tried testing their formulae with cats. It's just really hard to record data from an animal that thinks it's better than you. We also know we're the cats' pitiful slaves already, so it is our implicit duty to taste their food like a servant would for a king in the old days.

Back to work, slave!

We may not know exactly what a cat is tasting, but we can guess. We know, for example, that cats cannot taste sweet, so the tasters will not be looking for that particular sense. Pet food connoisseurs have been given a few criteria -such as "burnt," "rancid," "bitter," and "prawny" - used exclusively to describe the taste of cat food. Interestingly, the "burnt" and "rancid" cans supposedly taste best to human palettes. Bear in mind that these taste testers have no idea where that meat is coming from.

Some people who are hopefully paid for this job actually wind up liking cat food. Some people who do this job even develop favorite flavors. That said, I would still not advise trying it at home.

Freak Week 3.5: Designer Raccoons.

Now, here's where we wander into that .5 territory. There are some things that aren't quite considered domesticated, don't have show standards, but are still considered pets by some people. They are slowly developing breeds whether fans of regular domesticated animals want them to or not.

Looking for something more unusual than a cat or dog? Look no further than designer raccoons:

Yes, people keep raccoons as pets. Someone was bound to do it eventually. After all, they adapt extremely well to human habitation and have been farmed for their fur already. It's not like this is an animal that people do not know about. Everybody in America knows what raccoons are capable of after a single trash raid.

Raccoons actually come in a surprising variety of colors. Some places have white raccoons so tame that they come right up to humans without biting. In captivity, one also sees subtle variations like cinnamon, chocolate and blond. If you were in the market for a red panda, the cinnamon raccoon comes pretty darn close (if a few shades too light).

 

Raccoons are intelligent creatures with dextrous hands. As one breeder put it, you have to child-proof everything. Keep them away from cat food; eating too much commercial pet food can lead to gout in raccoons. They like to play with toys just like people do (but avoid Beanie Babies; the PVC pellets aren't good for them). People say that having a dog is a lot like having a kid; given the intelligence of raccoons, the same advice applies.

No matter how cute they look, raccoons are not without risk. They come with a potentially nasty parasite, Baylisascaris procyonis, which can lead to neurological damage if the latrine of the raccoon is cleaned without breathing protection on. The presence of Toxoplasma in cat feces does not seem to daunt most people, so your mileage may vary.  (Read: Get experience with carnivorid mammals, first.) You may need to get a permit to keep a raccoon, so please check your local laws before purchasing one. Yes, we know they're almost too cute to resist.