Unutterably Silly Next great animal?

[Madam Broshkina]

I wanted to vote for a pushmepullyou but could not because of the blatant anti-pushmepullyou bias on this site. Dr. Dolittle is probably crying right now.

[Justy]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Rodents? Don't make me pull out my Encyclopaedia Pedantica.

I stand corrected, a bat is a mammal in the order chiroptera, rodents are mammals in the order rodentia. I was told by my Strata that a bat house wasn't a good idea as we wanted to keep rodents away and bats were rodents, I'll have to let them know too!

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Also, as above, there's a reason that Fruit Bats are also sometimes called Flying Foxes. "Little" is another word I wouldn't use to describe them (which makes that little ringtail possum all the braver for charging the Fruit Bat crash-climbing around our palm trees for their fruit).

I have to agree that the fruit bat is pretty big. In BC, Canada some of them are very small. What I like best about our local bats is "All Canadian bats eat insects exclusively. On a summer night a bat may consume half of its body weight, eating as many as 600 insects an hour ". Here is a picture of one of our local bats, the Townsend's Big-eared Bat.

[Dylrob]

Originally Posted by Justy

I stand corrected, a bat is a mammal in the order chiroptera, rodents are mammals in the order rodentia. I was told by my Strata that a bat house wasn't a good idea as we wanted to keep rodents away and bats were rodents, I'll have to let them know too!

A lot of people seem to be under the impression that basically any small mammal that isn't a cat or dog is a rodent. It's rather silly.

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by Madam Broshkina

I wanted to vote for a pushmepullyou but could not because of the blatant anti-pushmepullyou bias on this site. Dr. Dolittle is probably crying right now.

Those polycephalaphobic bastiches! I hate them! When will people understand how much pain and division is caused by their irrational and exclusionary bigotry towards the multi-headed?

Originally Posted by Justy

...
Here is a picture of one of our local bats, the Townsend's Big-eared Bat.

Oh, my, they are lovely. I googled more too. We do have a variety of the small ones too, but, well, as you'd know, we don't "see" them much, especially when the rambunctious fruit bats are about. We had a massive colony down on the river (I'll have get a photo of the traffic sign near the bridge that warns you about them) that'd darken the skies of an evening if they chose to head our way to the National Park (mostly they went across the Noosa north shore). They've moved though, I'm not sure where, when TC Hamish passed by. Probably somewhere a bit more sheltered.

Anyway, I love bats too, the little ones as much as the big ones.

Originally Posted by Dylrob

A lot of people seem to be under the impression that basically any small mammal that isn't a cat or dog is a rodent. It's rather silly.

I wonder what they make of these cute, little rodents:



Now there's an idea for "Next great animal": the capybara.

[Sparrow]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Anyway, I love bats too, the little ones as much as the big ones.

There'a a lovely poem about bats by Vicki Feaver at
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...b-1161658.html - it's called 'Bats' and you have to scroll down a bit to see it.

(Should mention that cat lovers may want to avoid reading another poem on that page 'Constellations' - a great poem, but potentially distressing.)

[YGG-]

Not all bats are big : : 5 cm (2 inches) / 8 grams ! This one goes by the charming name of "pipistrelle"!
We had some living in a cave near my parent's place when I was younk(been conversing too long with ravenne got a German accent now!) young; lovely animals.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Lady Blue

We had a female skunk named Petunia when I was a kid. She made a great pet once she learned to sleep at night like the rest of the family.

ha, that's funny ! one of my ex-boyfriends had a pet chicken when he was a child, called petunia. he said at night when everyone went upstairs to bed she would stand at the bottom of the stairs clucking sadly until someone came and carried her up, because she couldn't climb them.

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Platypus - well, they're poisonous. Are poisonous animals acceptable. If so, I submit Irukandji. Not a lot of personality, but you'll remember when you met them, even if they just brushed you as they passed by.

sure, poisonous, but so cute nonetheless ! and what a ridiculous name !!! (even more so in french, i think).

Rodents? Don't make me pull out my Encyclopaedia Pedantica.
that's my favorite encyclopaedia too.

Originally Posted by Madam Broshkina

I wanted to vote for a pushmepullyou but could not because of the blatant anti-pushmepullyou bias on this site. Dr. Dolittle is probably crying right now.

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Those polycephalaphobic bastiches! I hate them! When will people understand how much pain and division is caused by their irrational and exclusionary bigotry towards the multi-headed?

you're absolutely right, the both of you ! i'd like to change my vote to the pushmepullyou out of solidarity for their under-respected species.

Anyway, I love bats too, the little ones as much as the big ones.

in summertime, if you go walking along the canal at the end of the day, as the sun goes down, you can watch the swallows diving and wheeling through the sky catching bugs to eat. as it gets darker the trajectories become more jagged and erratic and you realize that now it's bats flying around, although i never manage to notice the precise moment of the transition.

I wonder what they make of these cute, little rodents:

Now there's an idea for "Next great animal": the capybara.

what is that thing ? from the sound of it i'd say a small horse...

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by YGG-

Not all bats are big : : 5 cm (2 inches) / 8 grams ! This one goes by the charming name of "pipistrelle"!
We had some living in a cave near my parent's place when I was younk(been conversing too long with ravenne got a German accent now!) young; lovely animals.

ygg, do you know what kind of bats are living in paris ? i've only seen them in the air and it's hard to get a good look at them...

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

...what is that thing ? from the sound of it i'd say a small horse...

The capybara is the world's largest living rodent. They have to be big to satisfy the appetite of the anaconda. I reckon they're like a guinea pig for grown-ups.

Cheers,
Marc

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

The capybara is the world's largest living rodent. They have to be big to satisfy the appetite of the anaconda. I reckon they're like a guinea pig for grown-ups.

Cheers,
Marc

australia : entirely populated by strange creatures from another planet.

in other news, the guy in that video looks a lot like one of my cousins in canada. i wonder if he's ever been to australia ?

[montsnmags]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

australia : entirely populated by strange creatures from another planet.
...

Oh, no, sorry if I gave that impression. They're not Australian. They're South American.

Still your comment probably stands (and you should see the animals! )

Cheers,
Marc ("on a hippie trail, head full of zombie")

[Wetdogeared]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

ha, that's funny ! one of my ex-boyfriends had a pet chicken when he was a child, called petunia.

This statement is probably grammatically correct but: on my first reading I thought your ex-boyfriend was called petunia; on the second reading I thought he was called petunia only as a child; and on the third reading I think I got it right that the chicken was named petunia.

It's only 5:30 AM here. My mind isn't processing at full speed yet.

WDE.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by montsnmags

Oh, no, sorry if I gave that impression. They're not Australian. They're South American.

ah, my mistake. it's fairly normal though, any time i see a particularly strange animal, i automatically assume it's australian.

Still your comment probably stands (and you should see the animals! )

i know !! just further evidence to confirm my theory.

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by Wetdogeared

This statement is probably grammatically correct but: on my first reading I thought your ex-boyfriend was called petunia; on the second reading I thought he was called petunia only as a child; and on the third reading I think I got it right that the chicken was named petunia.

It's only 5:30 AM here. My mind isn't processing at full speed yet.

WDE.

well of course you're confused !!! at 5:30 in the morning (also known as "dawn") no-one can be expected to have any sort of coherent thought process. which is why it's best to spend the entire period of "dawn" (which lasts until at least 9 or 10 in the morning) asleep. sheesh ! posting at 5:30... it's dangerous ! you could hurt yourself. you should go lie down, and come back in a few hours at a more civilised time when you're feeling better.

[YGG-]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

ygg, do you know what kind of bats are living in paris ? i've only seen them in the air and it's hard to get a good look at them...

They're bigger, probably Roussette[(French) fruit bat]... & you're gonna love this :http://www.paris.fr/portail/Environn..._directory_id= ; offered by Paris City Hall, a workshop (from 8 years old) where you learn how to build a "bed" for bats ??? C'est pas beau ça?