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Poems and Thoughts by Frank Maurer

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Zoology

The Wolf Captured opus 28

Humans have genetically captured the wolf
To create the myriad number of dogs.

We love to live together and depend on each other,
But what of the future for each of these life forms?

Clothes opus 35

How interesting to think that the human animal
Can change its demeanor by donning different bits of cloth.
To go from one mood to another,
Just by zipping up another style or color.

Of course one knows of the octopus as a change artist
And the chameleon fading from brown to green.
But with greater external effort, humans have mimicked
Fellow creatures to blend in or stand out,
By using cotton or denim; attracting the other
Or, in a uniform, to raise feelings of fear or admiration.

Bonobos and Humans opus 36

Two primates which share the blue ribbon,
By utilizing sex to bond, more than any other of that group.
The difference between the two species
Is that humans use sex to bond, juxtaposed with occasional violence,
While Bonobos use intercourse to bond and just simply reduce aggression.

Oh, the vagrancies of the outcome of random evolution.

Cuisine and Shame opus 37

Do you know that, strangely now,
Early Atlantic slaves were fed the then, undesirable lobster?
Now, so desired as a special, tasty food,
Captured by the millions--such a profusion of buoys,
Attached to a jungle of lines and traps;
So many, that the entangled Right Whale's survival
Hangs in the balance of a tipping scale
Between wanted cuisine on the one hand and the shame of
Needlessly destroying yet another fellow species on the other.

Entomophagy I opus 38

Do you know that, strangely now,
Early Atlantic slaves were fed on the then, undesirable lobster?
Today, with ever-reduced grazing areas on the planet
And fisheries that are pressed with over exploitation,
Humans are now contemplating returning to
A once ancestral desired cuisine of termites and their kin
Which at present are, by many, considered as absolutely horrible.

Bizarre how food choice is determined by
Fashion or need or revulsion;
What's different between a shelled sea creature
And terrestrial beings with an exoskeleton?

Entomophagy II opus 39

Oh dear! Why would one wish to ingest bugs?
Besides more humans continually needing protein
And efforts to reduce CO2 and methane,
Insects are a very desirable food source
Which fulfill all of the above.

For instance, on one acre during one year
A cow will produce 192 pounds
And chickens will produce 265 pounds
And 1,500 pounds of soy can be produced
And 7,700 pounds of algae per acre,
While crickets produce 65,000 pounds
And grubs produce 1,000,000 pounds!

Concerning space, cows need 20 square meters,
Pigs, 5; chickens, 4.5,
While crickets as a group require only 1.5 meters squared
And the lowly grubs need a tiny 0.1 square meters!

Insects as a superfood? Let's see.
They have three times more protein than beef,
Two times more iron than spinach,
With all essential amino acids.
Insects have 10% more vitamin B12 than salmon,
And a perfect omega 6:3 ratio!

With such credentials,
How could a challenged human population
Not heed what nature offers and, indeed, demands,
To save us from great hunger and malnutrition
In an ever hostile planet, pressing all
To eventually migrate polar north and some south,
Where temperatures will be more tolerable?

Get over it folks and learn to love
That source which enticed and, when found, delighted our ancestors--
Giving us our present day large brain and canine reduced morphology.

News Flash!! opus 44

News flash!! (NPR) "Species of bird which are more specialized
Will be more vulnerable to extinction, resulting from climate change."

Duuh! Compare a specialized warbler to a generalized crow or jay!
So this is why the 'generalized' human,
With its opposable thumb, super brain, and upright posture,
Can cause the imbalance of our Earth's climate,
And, if lucky, might be able to repair it?!

(Written on the anniversary of Darwin's publishing his
'On the Origin of Species', 24 November 1859.)

Dialects opus 47

Are we really so different--creature and human?
We laugh at or admire the Scottish dialect.
We diminish or romanticize the Southern dialect.
We swoon or feel inferior to the English dialect.

How do we react to the dialects uttering the danger calls of Prairie Dogs?
How do we evaluate the evening chorus of the Red-winged Black birds--
Vocalizing with differing dialects among flocks habitating the East or the West?

Differing dialects; differing tones; different speed of utterance;
Our Reptilian Brain crys: "Us and them".
Even our vocalizations delimit us
Just like "those creatures"!

Who Really Makes the Choice? opus 48

So, you think the 'Man makes the choice'.
Really?
The human female evaluates the best she can
To judge that male who might 'offer the best offspring' (as well as love).
But the females of other species do the same.
Birds of Paradise males are judged by their counterparts,
Evaluating the practiced year-long results of vocalization and/or dance.
The hen Sage-grouse sees who is best on the lek
And submits to the male acceptance to couple.
Remember, that mammals are basically female (XX)
And that birds are basically male (ZZ),
But no matter the genomic composition, the female is the one
Who, often, seems to decide the ultimate coupling for the future.

Fundraising: Raising Remunerations for a Good Cause opus 53

How many years I have toiled raising funds--
Telling many about the plight of this and that:
A myriad of creatures, their habitats, and needy students who study them.
How does one go out there and ask?
What makes one wish or dare to do such?

The Cause; -- of course the Cause.
If chosen well, there is no shame,
But rather joy that another sees what I see
And feels what I feel and offers something towards the goal.

If one strives for something positive
And is able to bring another along,
There is no shame, no reluctance, no hesitation.
And in the end, I hear an angel gently crying "bravo"!

Pheasants on a Swedish Lawn opus 58

Living in Sweden, I was traversing a large city lawn,
And to my astonishment several (Mongolian--their origin!) pheasants grazed.
I knew my birds and which had been introduced where,
But this unexpected visual gave me a start--
A start--manifested in this poem--that would never leave me:
Pheasants calmly grazing on a Swedish lawn!
Does Uppsala really glory in all of its inhabitants?

Campangol (Campanyol) opus 64

My study creature of choice in graduate school
Was the ubiquitous Meadow Vole, Microtus pennsylvanicus.
My base study area at Cornell was an open field laced with hay bales.
To be really efficient, in addition to the use of traps,
Was to quietly approach a bale and suddenly flip it.
Then there was a dive and a scramble,
Scooping up whatever was moving.
Proper mothers and offspring were often collected together,
Preserving the accurate genetic line in one fell swoop!

Many years later, I find myself in California,
Surreptitiously meeting a professor studying the large Microtus of the West.
We hit it off, friendship wise, as biologists often do; with us, the binding Microtus!
And, of course, as I have learned in my now home of 45 years,
Our belov-ed tiny mammal in Spanish is Campangol (Campanyol) (the mouse of the field)!

Out Of Africa opus 66

I am a human, Homo sapiens, whose phylogeny is out of Africa.
After I lived several decades in the Northern Hemisphere,
I "returned" to Africa, Lesotho (Le su tu), to teach biology.
I viewed, often, the great remaining herds of migrating creatures,
The valley villages in the early morning, with a hovering cloud of smoke over the huts,
And remember the breeding of my Basotho mare with a local magnificent Appaloosa stallion.

We rode from Roma, Lesotho, to a Ladybrand farm in South Africa,
To leave the mare for breeding on the Amm's place for a few days.
Weeks later, back in Roma, a beautiful foal emerged
With a Nez Perce (Ney Pair say--French) blanket of white, scattered with black spots on her rump:
Perhaps the first of such a gene recombination in Lesotho!
The transport of a North American horse breed (bred by the Nez Perce),
Combined with the 'blood' of the African bred Basotho pony:
Such a sweet, lovely creature to be created on the continent of our human origin.

The Elephant and the Tree (1977) opus 67

I was leaving my belov-ed Africa completing five years of teaching.
From Lesotho (Le su tu) I flew for a last stop in Malawi.
I had the choice of a hotel and walking the town,
Or rent a car in which I would sleep and see some sights!
Hard to guess which I chose--------.

With the car, I needed food for my travels.
Coming upon an outdoor market, I purchased a huge hand of plantains
With several bags of tangerines--both easy to peel.
Then I was off down the dusty road to where?
Gave someone a lift for a while and chatted country politics.
(Banda had killed perhaps one person in every Milawan family!--so he said.)
Then went on and found a national game park.
Signed in and settled into my cabin.

Explored out in the bush for a time, with wondrous fascination.
(I kept my white flannel shirt on, covered in red African dust.)
Ate a bite from my stash of plantains and tangerines,
Then wandered out again near dusk for good wildlife viewing.
Walked along a lake's shore to my right, probably full of crocs and hippos.
Passed further on to discover a huge bull elephant now in sight.
I watched him feeding on branches for several minutes.
It was becoming darker.
Suddenly I heard a trumpet and saw the ears out and the trunk up!
Wind shifted. I knew I needed to leave--fast.
Crocs now to the left and a long open slope to the right.
One lone tree far ahead--my only hope.

I ran as I had never run before--my high school records were all shattered.
MADE IT, with a huge pachyderm just behind.
The tree's root mass, from past flooding, was wide, like a giant bonsai.
The elephant rounded to the right,
I rounded back to the left.
Then the other way for both of us in our opposed motions.
Two or more semi rotations and then a pause.
I had my foot uplifted on the tree root
And it trembled beneath my body in exhaustion and exhilarated fear.

Suddenly nothing--no sound--and I wondered where we were.
Slowly creeping around to see if the huge animal was there.
Not a thing------.
Then the sudden crack of a branch and I realized it had silently left to feed.
I slowly and carefully slunk out and back to my cabin,
Still so full of adrenalin, but quieter,
I lay down on my cot and left the world in excited slumber.

Dinosaur Bone opus 68

I collected a piece of a dinosaur bone while in Wyoming.
I am quite sure it was part of a large creature's leg.
One could see the small pocking of tiny cells.
There were no rings, so surely not petrified wood.
Small riverlets of blue wended their way across the surface--
Certainly indicating the remnant from a once living animal.

How haunting and mind-blowing to be holding such a rock;
A part of a former being, dating back many scores of centuries.
Just holding it, put my own existence into exact perspective;
Truly, I have existed for only a speck of time
During our wondrous earth's geologic history.

Kalahari and the Termite Mound (1975) opus 69

We were immersed in the Kalahari Desert of Botswana, which surrounded us.
From our Lesotho base south of us,
Many miles had passed to reach this"idyllic" place.
Among us from the University, were an English retired District Governor, John.
His wife, a German intellectual, Shirley,
A Dutch demographer, Gerhard Schmitz,
And the wonderfully naive Librarian (I forget his name)
From New England, who wished to tag along.
I was resident biologist, there to observe and collect.
So many events unfolded during this expedition.
Perhaps after some time, I might be able to relate a few.

On this particular morning, the Librarian and I set out on foot to view large game;
There was a lion kill we must visit to check the consumption from that past night.
The day was bright and full of all that Africa could offer.
As we moved through the beautiful tall, lush grasses,
Farther and farther from our parked Land Rover,

We saw aways away a bull elephant, slowly grazing quietly in our direction.
I scrutinized the area just to have a good 'lay of the land'.
Near the grassy opening, amongst the trees
Were a large number of giant termite mounds.
(Termites, of course, were the impetus during our human evolution,
Offering, once discovered as a food source, that pulse of protein,
Which allowed the extra energy source to feed our ever-increasing brains!)
I grabbed the Librarian's arm and commanded him to run with me
Towards the waiting pillars of insect- constructed soil.
As we ran, I directed, when by the mound,
To jump straight to the right, behind it.
I followed, also abruptly shifting to the right, out of sight.
The huge pachyderm thundered past us,
Not detecting our quick moves, because of poor eyesight!
Saved from destruction by a beast with poor eyesight.
We watched as it plunged onward into the bush
And we, much relieved, turned back towards our vehicle,
With yet another adventurous episode under our fragile belts.

The African Bee (1969-1973) opus 75

In Lesotho (Le su tu), Africa, I was a biology professor.
Of course I taught regular science classes,
But in a country such as Lesotho,
One was obliged to give more back to this poorer society.
I thus decided one of my projects was to develop beekeeping.
Africans are basically terrified of the native, very untame bee.
For good reason. The African bee was always plundered and exploited;
Unlike the European bee, which was selected over time for gentleness.
Once again evolution--selection and mutation--play a major role.

At any rate, I travelled to Ladybrand, South Africa
To learn the art of African beekeeping.
I learned how to completely dress with several layers;
I learned the flowering sources for this species;
I learned the whole art of collecting and extracting the comb honey.

My first encounter with a swarm was in a garage.
Box ready. Smoker lit and in I went.
All were collected and confined in the cardboard boxes.
Everything went like clockwork--I had learned the art!

One works with bees often at night when they are grouped and calm,
But no matter when, a smoker is always needed.
I remember bundling Pierre, my one year old son, into the VW bus,
And driving out into the night with boxes, smoker,
Plus a plastic rounded hair curler to confine the queen,
To collect a nearby swarm and transfer it into one of my hives.
No problem. The child slept and I collected and delivered!

One incident I will never forget--so naturally profound.
A lovely, soft, quiet African afternoon'
As I tore open the corrugated wall of a trading post,
Behind which was a gigantic hive,
A Mosotho mother, baby on her back,
Stepped away from the crowd,
Squatted, let her stream of urine flow,
Got back up and walked away.
Such a beautiful sight of a natural human function.

At times, I collected whole combs to deliver to a local Holiday Inn.
The idea came to me that they serve the combs, Sundays, on silver platters.
They were delighted with the thought and combs were then delivered.

So, that was the beginning of my introduction to yet another fellow creature.
Beekeeping can be heavy work,
But such a sweet, calming way to pass one's time and life experience.

Nicholas, the future Zoologist opus 82

Well, Nicholas is a 14 year old boy who wants to be a Zoologist.
His mother called me to ask if I might be interviewed.
(She had chatted with me on the 'phone, while making a doctor's appointment.
I guess I said enough that she thought I was an able zoologist!)

The day arrived when Nicholas and his parents came for the interview.
We started, Nicholas with pen in hand, by the non-native eucalyptus trees.
We talked together about how there was little life stirring up there--
Introduced plant species are the same as constructing a parking lot for wildlife.
Next on to a stand of Elymus glaucus, the Blue Wild Rye grass.
Here, one would be much more likely to see native fauna amongst the stems.
Then on by the plug-in hybrid car-- a small positive step, slowing climate change for all of us.
We passed by my little pond, explaining the necessity of water for life.

Around behind the house, Nicholas viewed and talked about antlers, horns, and tusks;
All as a result of parallel evolution, manifesting uses for defence and aggression
And just plain, obvious secondary sexual characteristics!
More subtly, we viewed a fluorescent rock,
Demonstrating the added ability of birds to see in wavelengths beyond ours.

Finally, some real vertebrates: a Whiteface Angus steer,
And three emu--ratites (flightless birds) from Australia.
The steer licked Nicholas' hand, showing some of his (its) dentition--
Flat and gently ridged, adapted for a grazing life,
And the emu with greatly reduced wings and huge legs,
Demonstrating a life which evolved from flight to bipedalism.

As we concluded, I asked Nicholas if he had any further questions.
He concluded with a smile, "Nope, you've covered it all!"

The Termite Feast opus 84

Remember that photo of Jane Goodall;
The chimp using the stick tool to draw out termites?
The use of the tool was an incredible break through of knowledge,
But what of the saga of the termites?
When discovered as a food, the termite was the protein impetus of evolution.
Human brains evolved with the added protein to flourish ever larger.

I lived and taught at the University of Lesotho, Africa.
One afternoon, winged termites began to emerge from our lawns!
Amazed, I watched as these delicate creatures pushed up into the air.
I remembered the gustatory history of humans and termites;
I suddenly cried out--'bring out your large salad bowls'.
'Place them over the holes and capture these potential protein morsels.'
As our ancestors lept to snatch up as many as possible--
So we moved fast to capture our entemorphagical tidbits.

Immersed and gently fried in hot butter with a bit of water,
These insect protein packets fed us for a meal,
Drawing us back in mind to our ancestral past
And the continual, perpetual human search for reliable protein sources.

Encountering a Cobra while on Horseback. (Lesotho, Africa) opus 85

Horses are a vital means of transport in Lesotho (Le su tu).
I had refined, more and more, my equestrian skills.
By owning a horse, as a foreigner, it creates a job of care for a Mosotho.
The mountainous terrain of Lesotho is a dream for those who love riding.
Lesotho is home and the origin of the Basotho Pony--
A horse which has been bred to Triple--
A smooth gait somewhere between a trot and a cantor--
Pull back, push forward, both simultaneously!

One day, when concluding a ride on my wonderful Pony,
I entered the University residential area for faculty,
When I noticed a cobra crossing the dusty road,
Moving slowly towards a house and its children playing nearby;
Together with a chicken coop, harboring the quest for any respectable cobra--
Many nest boxes where hens have left their ovulated prize--eggs!
I called out to the children to take cover in the house,
Then rode quickly to the Science Building, harboring its now very needed implements:
Goggles to shield the eyes from a very--several meter--accurately spitting cobra
And a pole to knock the dangerous snake senseless!
A gallop back to the spot, snake's position immediately determined,
Then a quick, smooth, humane interaction, and it was done:
Children safe, eggs conserved and a new specimen for the biological collection.

Now, somewhat overwhelmed, I walked my horse to restable,
Unharnessed it with uneasy hands in the quiet equestrian shelter.

My Brother John opus 87

My brother John was two years younger than I
And two years older than my sister, Susan.
The two, being part of an odd number of siblings,
Would often form an alliance, leaving me the third one out.
I was often in some brotherly combat where I thought I might harm him.
There were times,when a conflict would become too aggressive,
And therefore I would run and hide in the locked bathroom,
So as not to cause a possible injury.

John was a very good looking boy.
He was very popular and behaved as a cool kid.
I would ride my bike everywhere,
Carrying a briefcase in high school and wearing a trench coat.
John would have none of that by walking and carrying a bookbag.

I listened to and played classical music,
While John was a 'pop guy'--the Top Twenty.
I went to college (Antioch) and he became a walking postman.
John married a young woman--I forget her name.
He 'rescued' her from a family struggling and aspiring to be 'upper class'.
The parents were forcing her to come out as a debutante.
She wanted none of it; John and she married;
I was not there, but my parents were the only guests at the wedding.
If there were other reasons, I do not know of them.

Later I had an Antioch Co-op job in the San Francisco area--Richmond--
Working as a biologist, collecting whale specimens
In the last of whaling in the United States.
John and Ann--her name I now remember--
Came to visit me at my co-op job area, meeting me in Chinatown.
Marriage had matured John and we three had a wonderful time:
I remember taking several photos--
One of John standing up on the base of a lamp post.

Back to work, I was sampling whale vitals as they were brought in for slaughter.
One night about 2 AM, as I remember,
The payphone in the hallway rang--
I thinking it was notice of the boats once again arriving.
It was my father, saying John was hunting and had been killed by a stray bullet.

My knees weakened with confusion, but a determination came over me.
I wandered through the streets of Point Richmond,
Ending up at Gretta Tedrick's house (at 2 AM)-- a family I had befriended.
They let me in and I listened to Bach's B Minor Mass on their record player.
After which, I flew to Pacific Palisades and the funeral.
I talked a lot with Ann's sister and walked with her
Through the chaparral in the neighborhood.

At the chapel, I remember requesting some music by Bach;
I had, thus, prevented some schmaltzy, 'nothing' music to be played.
There was a reception perhaps, or some get together at the house.

Life went on and flowed into all the kaleidoscope of events that have followed.
Do read my several written thoughts and be informed of other remnants of my life.

The Aardvark Hole opus 91

Once again, we are in the Kalahari of Botswana.
A convoy of three Land Rovers slowly moving through the grassy Kalahari Desert.
We moved and camped; one inch of water per day in a basin
For washing of socks and/or parts of the body!
It was on an afternoon, moving towards Drotsky's Cave.
Suddenly the lead vehicle collapsed
With the left front wheel, falling into an Aardvark den-hole.
It was towards dusk and far from our camping destination.
The hole was deep and proposed a challenge, indeed!
Pulling with another vehicle alone proved fruitless.
A log was scrounged, a jack balanced thereon,
And, with the heightened level and great, skillful driving,
The vehicle was relievedly freed.

This moment was a renewed reminder to us all,
As to how precarious were our movements through this land,
Far from civilization and always near unaided catastrophe.
But how could one, when challenged with such,
Not partake in these wonderful but dangerous adventures?

My Dream of the Golden-haired Microtus opus 94

In my dream, which I wondrously recalled upon waking,
Students divided up, some collecting normal brown-haired Microtus,
While I and others sought out the beautiful and fanciful, golden-haired specimens.
Is there any 'meaning' to this, (or to most others), only as a bizzare recounting--
Perhaps a mental culmination, after so many years,
Rewarding my love for this creature with which I mingled my Ph.D. student years,
By imagining a beautiful semi-fossorial and important Microtine,
Donning it with a mantle of golden hair?

Little Dinosaurs at my Window opus 103

Little dinosaurs fly onto my birdfeeder,
Reminding me of our Earth's past.
How the wonders of Evolution
Have rendered those present.
Giant reptilian creatures,
Now small (for the most part).
Feathered, hollow boned--pneumatic--
Enchanting and delicate creatures
Of our now world.

Telah, the Basotho Pony opus 104

One afternoon in the hills above the University (Roma, Lesotho),
I was driving along the smooth rock-based road,
Looking for a horse to buy to fulfill my equestrian desires.

Lesotho (Lesootoo) is renowned for its Basotho (Basootoo) Pony,
A horse which could be taught to triple--
A combination of an 'urged trot' and a 'restrained cantor'.
This 'pony' is one of the few breeds in the world,
Which is able to manage such a gait--
A gait which, when controlled well, is as smooth as glass!

So, that was my goal: scouting for an animal,
Which would also fulfill my aesthetic desires.
I had seen and checked out several that day,
But nothing had struck my fancy that was available.
Time was passing on towards mid afternoon,
When suddenly a rider approached on the road,
Mounted on a brilliant, muscular, red pony.
I stopped the old VW van and quickly descended to the dirt road.
The Mosotho rider stopped, dismounted and we shook hands.
He was wearing his conical, woven Basotho hat
And wrapped around his shoulders was the so-called Basotho blanket.
I explained that I was looking for a horse
And this one certainly struck my fancy.
He explained where he lived and asked that I return tomorrow.
I agreed, we shook hands once again
And I drove off with a pounding heart--
A beautiful pony indeed!

The next afternoon, having taught my biology lessons for the day,
I drove back up the smooth rock face above the school
And headed on towards the appointed group of rondavels--
The circular houses in which most Basotho dwell.
There was the red pony, as gorgeous as I had remembered.
We conversed for an hour, back and forth,
And finally decided on a price, agreeable to us both.

In anticipation of a possible fulfilled agreement,
I had a backup driver to return with the van
And I, with not only the horse, but also a fitted saddle,
Rode back down to the University horse barns.
The trip took two hours and the ride was magnificent.
Telah (Taylah) was strong with a determined will.
(That will, would, sadly, be his later undoing!)
Back then, home, I was at last the proud owner of a Basotho Pony.

Telah and I would have many happy rides together,
Through the open Lesotho valleys and mountains.
However, the next episode will divulge the sad departing
Of my beautiful Telah from me forever.

Telah's Sad Undoing. Part 2 opus 105

Ah, Telah (Taylah) my beautiful red Basotho (Basootoo) Pony.
How I loved your magnificence and strength.
We trotted, tripled, and cantored across the face of Lesotho;
This startling red pony caught the eye of all we passed.

In Lesotho (Lesootoo), the tenth (?) poorest country in the world,
Anyone with means, as we expatriate teachers had,
Hired a man or woman to work around or in the house.
I, being a biologist, had several animals in the yard,
Including a rescued maccac from an experimental lab.
I also had a garden which required maintenance as well.
Then of course, there were two horses--
Lots to keep a hired person busy and earning a relatively nice wage.
During the day the house animals and the garden
Needed feeding, watering, and special care.
The two horses were tethered out to graze each morning,
Moved for better grazing at noon and led back to the barn each evening.

One evening our 'hired hand' came rushing back to the house.
He had been leading Telah and his companion, a lovely mare, back to the stable,
When, suddenly, it was explained, Telah bolted and broke free.
Down the road he raced and was maneuvering a small bend to the left.
His forward momentum overcame the need to gallop left--
Over the right edge of the raised road and straight into an electric pole.
His right shoulder caught the pole and he instantly dropped.

I called the Maseru vet, who arrived quite quickly.
(Quickly for Lesotho that is--there was always 'African Time'.)
The diagnosis: no chance of repair--
Must be put down--such a decision.
I told the vet to proceed as soon as I had left--
I could not bear to witness such a thing.

Before I left, my hired man approached:
"If it were alright, may we butcher and take the meat?"
These people were the poorest of the poor.
I pondered, wondering what to do.
A neighbor South African family of a mother and three daughters
Heard what was transpiring and came to me.
"This horse should be buried properly and not butchered!"
Oh, goodness. Horse lovers versus semi-starving people.
Whatever I did, I would have to live with it!
I was a guest in a country of desperately poor people.
I decided to allow the dividing up of the body--
My beautiful Telah; energy passed from horse to human.

I never lived it down with the family.
Once again, Human philosophy colliding,
By acting with an attempt, trying to result in a 'Rightful' outcome.

The Wonderful Horseshoe Crab opus 118

The Wonderful Horseshoe Crab's existence is being torn between two worlds.
Our American Horseshoe crab, Limulus polyplemus,
(Which has been extant for 200 million years--a fossil for 480 million!),
Arrives each year to lay its eggs on our eastern shores--
Masses crawl up the beach, dig holes to lay; eggs fertilized in situ.
The egg laying timing coincides with the migration of the Red knot, Calidris canutus,
Flying, and requiring added 'egg' energy for its voyage from South America to the far north.
Both species thus coincide--except now for climate change,
When the egg laying and birds' arrival time are slowly shifting out of sync
The FIRST pending calamity manifesting from human activity.

Now come humans, with all their enquiring and invention;
The blue blood of the crab is desired and harvested.
Whatever for?
When added to tested medications, clotting occurs,
If and when impurities obtain in any otherwise desired result.
Millions of crabs are harvested and bled,
Some are returned to the wild to assuage the human conscience,
But most ultimately, surely succumb and are no more.
The crab population needlessly and tragically dwindles
Even though there is now a less expensive manufactured replacement,
Less used, but perfectly ready to be substituted!
Why? Perhaps the gatherers of the crabs, being shielded, will lose employment;
So let's just continue with the status quo.
This, the SECOND pending calamity manifesting from human activity.

The Crab's welfare versus Human welfare--a certain dilemma in an ever-complicated world.

The Octopus opus 121

A creature with incredible intelligence.
Eyes that rival those of many creatures in the world:
The ability to recognize different human faces;
Acrobats, with the "dexterity" to escape through small outlets;
Possessing small pigment sacks, allowing complex color changes.

But the profound and sympathetic question is--
Why with potentially toxic bodily hormones,
Must these fascinating creatures die within one year?
If octopuses were to live to 80 years as we do,
Might they be able to take over the world
And possibly improve the place of our constantly conflicted species?

The Bumblebee; a California Fish? opus 127

Under certain circumstances, a California court
Has ruled bees can legally be considered fish 'under specific circumstances'.
So, does the bumblebee, for instance, a terrestrial invertebrate,
Fall within the definition of fish (Endangered Species Act 2062)?
The Act itself protects "native species or subspecies
Of bird, mammal, fish, amphibian, reptile, or plant."
Invertebrates are conspicuously absent from that list of protected species!
But there is a lucky loophole for insects, mollusks, and other spineless creatures,
Falling under the umbrella term "invertebrate":
The actual act defines a "fish" as a "wild fish, mollusk,
Crustacean, INVERTEBRATE, amphibian or part, spawn, or ovum therefrom.
So, this expansion of the definition of fish to include invertebrates,
Allows them for greater protection from the Fish and Game Commission,
And just in time for several species of endangered bumblebee!

No wonder the 'law' can do almost anything!
It is just those germane, ferreted-out words and phrases.

Herding Geese opus 131

Herding geese is definitely not like herding cats.
I should know because my little farm produced 600 geese annually.
(And I also had unherdable cats on the farm, thanks to Nora, my now late wife.)
These were not 'water birds' as one might suspect,
Rather they were pasture-raised Embden Geese, A large, handsome, agile-on-land, white bird.

To work with geese, one manipulates them to move anywhere,
Simply by walking near them, raising one's arms--left or right or both,
 And the mass of white, cloud-like life bunches,
Then turns to the left with a right arm signal,
Obviously, turning correspondingly with a left arm raised,
And straight ahead with both arms raised above one's shoulders.
To split a smaller group off from the larger body,
One merely holds both arms raised and walks quickly forward.

Such a wonderful feeling, being able to gently control
Such a large group of fellow farm creatures,
Almost the same as conducting a Brahms symphony,
Leading an orchestra of one hundred!

The Pacific Pond Turtle opus 135

Most people in California have no idea
That they are sharing territory with the Pacific Pond Turtle--
The only freshwater turtle in the state.
(There may be a possibly extinct Mud Turtle
Originally recorded from the Imperial Valley.)
This species is struggling now, competing with introduced species.

Certain ethnic grocery stores freight in the Southern Painted Turtle and the Elegant Slider.
They are imported for human consumption,
But, sadly, many are kept as pets, only to be released or are escapees.
Other ethnic groups buy many to be part of a religious service and are then released.
People often feel 'sorry' for captive creatures and good-heartedly 'let them go'.

As with all unwanted (by the knowing) introductions,
The 'culprits' have no idea the huge harm they are causing
To the long established native species,
Resulting from the generally unequal competition by those introduced.
There is no good judgement nor proper evaluation
Of these innocent acts which cause this basic biological chaos,
Because the majority of us do not take the time nor care
To learn the flora and fauna of our own ecosystem,
Thus allowing these thoughtless acts to occur around us.
Humans formerly knew well their surroundings
In order to gather and hunt food, collect materials to construct or build,
And knew what was safe and what was dangerous to their lives.

There are so many stories of visitors hiking and resting in a patch of poison oak,
Or swimming in an unknown river with a dangerous current,
Or consuming a mushroom that causes a fatal end,
Or bringing in foreign plants, because of homesickness or because 'it looks nice'.
To learn one's surroundings takes time and patience,
But the joy of understanding one's 'place' and its inhabitants,
Is boundless and is helpful for one's own being
And the protection of fellow creatures (including plants!).

I. Human-caused Evolutionary Changes - Tuskless Female Elephants in Mozambique opus 138

Wars cause many changes, but tuskless elephants?
The 15 year war in Mozambique, caused culling for ivory.
Almost all (90%) of the elephant population was destroyed in
Gorongosa Park, just to finance senseless human warfare.
Half of the surviving females were tuskless;
Before the war, fewer than a fifth lacked tusks.
The tusks are used to dig for water, strip bark, and joust.
Now tuskless individuals feed mostly on grasses,
Whereas those remaining with tusks eat legumes and tough woody plants.
This is a major change in food preference!

The dominant gene for tusklessness is carried on the X chromosome,
So only one X chromosome needs to carry the gene--
And remember that female mammals have two X's.
But when the affected X is passed to a male with one X and one Y,
That single X is basically lethal and may be the one
To affect male development and thus early embryonic death.
The general thought is that evolution takes a long time,
But here we see major relative change within a 15 year time span!
The tuskless surviving females gave birth to daughters, about half being tuskless.
And because of the lethal gene on the X, two-thirds of their offspring were female!

These results show how human activity
Can have a major influence on the evolution of other life forms.

Two Invaders, Meeting opus 159

I walked out back, behind the house, where I feed my steer and emu,
Going slowly through the motions in the shade of the trees--it is 100 degrees F today.
Two large wild, 'invading' male turkeys were nearby.
I do not harass them here and we co-exist, quietly together.
(They were transplanted to California from the East,
Where T. Jefferson and B. Franklin argued over which bird
Should be the National Symbol.)
I fed grain to the emu and cow as tidbits to their daily grazing,
And I had an urge to pass on some feed to the nearby turkeys.
I called out quietly and threw the food in their direction.
One responded and slowly walked over to the suddenly produced cornucopia.
I chatted quietly and urged him (it was indeed a great 'bearded' him),
To continue eating in my presence without fear.
The other male partner was most reluctant and continued grazing its farther grass.
(Later, after I departed, the reluctant one too, joined its brother
To peck away at the remaining grain.)

This all reminded me of the beginnings of the dog--
Probably children near middens piles encouraged those wolf pups,
Brave enough to remain near these little human creatures,
To be rewarded with special tidbits from an outreached hand,
And slowly joined the ranks of that bipedal creature who was to soon dominate the planet,

They, the wolf-becoming-dog, being now in the ranks of the other invading myriads!

Temporal 'Fight or Flight' opus 163

There is a critical physical distance
At which a creature 'fights' or takes 'flight'.
Temporally, there is an equivalent 'time distance',
Where one party wants sooner discourse ('fight'),
And another wants much more temporal space between discourses ('flight').
Sooner or later interaction is equally painful, respectively.
The trick is to work out a temporal compromise
So that the 'sum of the pain' is the least possible.
If the two parties are not able to understand this principle,
Then unnecessary agony shall simply remain ceaseless.

The Veterinarian's 'Hippocratic Oath' opus 170

I had a brother-in-law who, urged by his mother, became a veterinarian.
The rest of his sibs, as well as his father and mother
Were in the human medical field.
After a time, he concluded that because he was able
To decide which animal would live or die,
He was personally obliged to forsake animal medicine and shift to humans.

I pondered this decision for many years and decided to investigate
The so-called Hippocratic Oath vs the Veterinarian's Oath.
Such a profound difference, dealing with a dog or cat or cow vs a human!
I invite you to research the two oaths,
But I would like to point out some variations of each.

For vets: 'I solemnly swear to use my scientific knowledge and skills
For the benefit of society through the protection of animal health and welfare, etc'.
'I will practice my profession conscientiously, with dignity, and in keeping
With the principles of veterinary medical ethics.' Etc.
Veterinarians fulfill different roles: dealing with pets, dealing with herds for food,
And dealing with animals that are part of terminal scientific research.
The responsibility to prevent and relieve suffering
Can look significantly different in these varying situations.
Did you know there was a variation of the USA oath used in Canada?

So now for the Hippocratic Oath, the original of which has been modernized.
There have been many modernizations--including a change for 'I will not use the knife...'
No surgery in the early period around AD 275!
Did Hippocrates actually write that first document? Several scholars question that.
Many variations obtained and several 'original' authors have been cited.
In Nazi Germany, medical students did not take the oath,
Although they knew the ethic of 'nil nocere'--do no harm.
In the 1960's the Hippocratic Oath was changed to require
'Utmost respect for human life from the beginning', making it more secular,
Not in the presence of any gods, but before only other people.
'I will remember that I remain a member of society,
With special obligations to all my fellow human beings,
Those sound of mind and body as well as the infirm.'

For veterinarians, their oath is to take care of animals,
But the serious 'human obligation' is obviously missing.
The many variations of the Hippocratic Oath dealing with humans,
Necessarily, are 'our-species-focused obligations and duties'.

I guess, as my brother-in-law did many years ago,
One has to consider the absolute obligations towards creature-animal vs human-animal.
How 'pure' is the decision that one must make towards the life of another?

Our Mother Seas opus 171

CO2 has been spewed into our atmosphere.
Our oceans have benevolently attempted absorption.
By doing so, the great water masses are warming,
But more, the acid levels are ever-rising,
Atmospheric CO2 has been buffered--so far,
However, increasing ocean acid is committing the slow death
Of many of its shelled inhabitants,
With mass movements of its piscine denizens,
Causing starvation of dependent higher trophic levels.

The Joy in Shape opus 173

Just contemplate the varied and beautiful morphology of African horned creatures :
The shapes and gracious curves of those protuberances
Make one wonder just what was the creator--
Imagination elicits the gods, until the rational mind
Draws in selection, relatedness, and the challenging chance of survival.

Two Declarations for Freedom opus 174

As most of us are aware, T. Jefferson was the main author of the Declaration of Independence.
But from where did he ferret out his material?
He used several old documents, including the Magna Carta
and the Scottish Declaration of Arbroath of 1320.
The latter was an attempt by the Scots to demonstrate to Pope John XXII of France
That Scotland was a 'pedigreed' nation, wishing to be free of the English yoke.
(B. Franklin gently chided Jefferson as to, 'Why he used so many old documents?'.
Jefferson replied, 'Well they worked, didn't they?'.)

One can peruse the two documents, side by side, and compare a logical sequence.
There is a point of conflict and need for protection in both:
'He (George III of Britain) has excited domestic Insurrections amongst us,
And has endeavoured to bring on the Inhabitants of our Frontiers,
The merciless Indian Savages, whose known Rule of Warfare,
Is an undistinguished Destruction, of all Ages, Sexes and Conditions.'

A bit more distant, but still with the same sort of conflict in mind,
The Scots are bargaining with the Pope for recognition,
By volunteering for a next Crusade against the Muslims (ie., the heathens).
Both documents declare the need for quelling heathens or savages for various reasons :
'This truly concerns you, Holy Father, since you see the savagery of the heathen raging
Against the Christians,. . . and the frontiers of Christendom being pressed inward every day.'

In today's world one sees anti-Muslim retoric in the one, and anti-Native American in the other.
Today, both statements are 'uncomfortable' in a world attempting tolerance,
But in the reality of those past times, when things were more 'black and white',
Statements were bold and crisp and 'self-evident'!

(Do remember, though, Roger Williams' friendship with the native people,
And the eventual founding of Rhode Island,
As well as the founding of Pennsylvania with William Penn's attempts to be peaceable and fair;
Leading to the State of Penn--sylvania--'Penn's Woods'!)

Tachymenoides harrisonfordi opus 176

Yet another new species has been discovered--this time a snake in Peru.
So many unknown species still roam our planet.
This snake has been named after Harrison Ford,
A great supporter of environmental issues.
It was 'discovered' in a helicopter-only remote National Park in Peru.
When Edgar Lehr, a US-German biologist, was asked how he felt
About the plight of species diversity by A. Rascoe of NPR,
He answered with the usual 'biologist's reply' of great concern,
But then all abruptly ended with no further interview!
We are becoming complacent as to our biological, future concerns.
I guess that is just what is going to happen--
As long as we humans continue our chaos.
The massive, present Sixth Extinction must be viewed
As our 'canary in the mine'.
The disappearance of our more sensitive fellow creatures,
Is screaming at us that sooner or later, we may be next!
(I conclude it might finally be humans vs cockroaches!)

Is Juvenile Play Useful? opus 179

The pandemic has sadly shown us the result, when human children are isolated--
Undeveloped social skills, lesser science and math abilities, and often depression.
But what occurs with social play in juvenile Belding's ground squirrels? *
Those juveniles engaging in more social play,
Had a greater increase in caution when responding to a potential threat,
Demonstrating, as with our human children,
The benefits of 'play' which seems in the squirrels,
To promote refinement along the caution-boldness continuum.

When one investigates, the result helps depict
So much similarity with all us mammals!

* Urocitellus beldingi

The Plight of the Hellbender opus 186

The Hellbender is a neotenous* form of the largest US salamander.
Its range covers 15 states, but its numbers are decreasing.
Climate change, pollution, and habitat loss,
Challenge the existence of this fascinating creature,
Which must live in cold, clear flowing water.

Please Mr. Trump, et al, our changing climate is not a farce!

* Retention of juvenile characteristics in the adult form of a species.

The Enigma of the Florida Key Deer opus 187

The diminutive Florida Key Deer lives only on small, low-lying islands.
Because of habitat loss and human population expansion,
The deer were down to a very low population number.
Thanks to the Endangered Species Act legislation,
The population of Key Deer dramatically increased.
But now, with the climate crisis, sea levels are rising--
No legislation will be able to change this trend in time;
The deers' living range will completely disappear under the sea.
The Enigma is such: Are the deer to be moved and allowed
Inbreeding with mainland populations, their genetics lost forever?
Or moved to other isolated environments with no certain results?
Or allowed just to drown and be done with under the rising sea?

Compare the Key Deer's island fate to that of the Pika,
Living in high mountain ranges with no further 'up' to go.
The Enigma reaches so many, many of our fellow earth-inhabitants.
Remember--humans are and will also be continual and vulnerable climate-nomads!

Whaling out Names! opus 188

There are adumbrations of data which suggest whales
Might call out 'codas' by means of identifying each other.
Only three individual Sperm whales have been spied upon,
Listening to their 5R coda placed at the beginning of a call,
But researchers are confident they may be on to something.
The 5R has distinctive timing and seems to be consistent with each individual.
And to think the more we learn of these special animals,
We slaughtered them (and still do!) oblivious of their personalities.
Shame that we were so ignorant of these 'non-human persons'.

The Rewilding of Humanity opus 189

A dear friend, after listening to a book lecture by Jessica Carew Kraft,
Sent me a copy of Kraft's book--'Why We Need to be Wild'.
The friend raved about the talk and thought of me immediately.
Kraft spoke of how humans have become so disconnected from nature,
And how to rewild ourselves back to health.

I do live on a small farm, harvested food gardens, raised fish,
Free raised turkeys and geese, and even worked with the African bee.
I have worked with raptors and the art of falconry which went with that.
And on and on, so I guess it was not a surprise she sent me the book.

Specifically, my thoughts homed down to one day in the Botswana, Kalahari Desert.
I was on a university safari in that wonderful desert.
One day I broke away from the group to wander and observe on my own.
No roads, no overhead planes--only silence accented by inhabitant creature sounds.
Late in the afternoon I came across an abandoned Bushman encampment.
Circled huts (three or four) with a central fire area.
I realized I was in lion territory, so I immediately began to gather fallen firewood
To later be used to burn all night, warding off these magnificent creatures.
Darkness fell and sure enough, the roar of lions commenced.
The marvellous repetition of roar after roar in a series of crescendoed bursts of sound.
The calls alternated back and forth, one to another.

I ate, stripped down and lay down on a grassy mat left by the original builder.
I fell asleep, dreamed, and suddenly awoke, imagining a lion approaching the hut.
The fire had died down and, indeed, I believed a lion to be nearby.
More wood on the fire and moments of thought,
Before returning to a soft state of slumber.

This experience was temporary, but I was truly partaking in time 10,000 years ago.

The Struggling Polar Bear opus 192

Polar Bears wander in a warming autumn.
No food intake all summer.
Seals in iceless water taunt the white giants.
Males fight with restless anger alone--
No females present to raise their testosterone--
Only tension, no ice from which to hunt,
And a longer hiatus with no food.

As the earth increasingly warms each year,
The bears must seek out cliff nests for eggs.
The Snowshoe Hare is still in a white mode,
Maintaining its lingering white phase,
While traversing on a brown substrate.
Easy to see but far too quick for the bear.
Balancing on cliff edges, seabird eggs
Are a small nutritional substitute.
Our human activities, releasing ever more CO2,
Have a great bear
Balancing on cliffs to ferret out a diminutive bird's egg.

The Darkening Arctic opus 193

With the climate crisis, Arctic trees are migrating 130 feet north per year.
The darker trees absorb more heat than the white snow.
The habitat is warming quickly with the invading, woody marchers.

Now add Reindeer to the Arctic recipe,
With their constant nibbling; the trees are held at bay.
Nibbling may seem trivial, but with enough mastication,
The earth's rising temperature may be ever so slightly, favorably manipulated--
Nature's response of repair, countering the folly of the Naked Ape.

The Tusk opus 212

When I was a young boy in Newton, Massachusetts,
My neighbors on one side were an elderly Armenian couple.
Harry Adalian and his wife, Lucy, spent their early lives in Turkiye.
One of his stories, 
Was how a Turkish soldier had swung his sword
Reaching to his left ear,
And sliced off the edge of his ear--
I did not know then, but he had been a part of the Armenian Genocide.

Harry came often to visit, 'consulting' on various family projects,
Like when we dug our little fish/turtle pond--
A summer project for me and my younger brother, John,
Which we dug in two days!
Harry suggested to my father that it should be named "The Little Sip",
Contrasting to an ocean, "The Big Drink".

At any rate, I was later told that Harry was dying,
And I was asked to come visit to say goodbye.
We talked together--I was precocious and had many adult friends.
Harry then pointed to a long, spiralling tusk in the corner.
He said it was a narwhal tusk, brought back by Admiral Byrd
And had been presented to Mayor Curley of Boston,
Who then passed it on to Harry, a prominent local rug dealer.
Harry then said, "I want to give this to you,
Since you are a budding young naturalist,"

The tusk travelled with me as a prize and loved possession
Around the world from MA to OH to NY to Turkiye to Africa to Sweden,
And then returned to California, where it stayed.
One day on my farm in Davis, California,
I walked by my door, where the tusk always stood
And it was gone--my heart literally sank.
I was then much older--80--and this was to be passed on to my two sons.
I had invited only two or so people to come into my house,
As I had been ill for a while,
So its disappearance was mysterious, but suspicious.
I had not realized how much I had cared for that tusk;
Its beauty, its history with dear Harry, and indeed,
Its very own history, coming from so far away.
I wait for its return--perhaps its new owner will grow tired
And realize it truly belongs to its rightful owner.
I have a few years, perhaps, to wait and anticipate its return.

Trees and Turkeys opus 217

Displaying a DC Christmas tree each year from a different state,
Is far superior than pardoning an innocent turkey at Thanksgiving--
One, the death of a tree in its prime,
The other, life for a domesticated totally innocent bird,
Which is a genetic corruption of a magnificent wild creature.

(Remember the feud between Jefferson and Franklin
to name the national bird--the eagle vs the turkey!
I guess it is best we are not mass slaughtering
our national bird for human consumption,
celebrating a mythical (?) dinner with those whom
we would soon annihilate.)

So, Who Has Suffered Most? opus 245

Is the tragedy in Gaza today
The equivalent to the Jewish Holocaust--
Or to the gypsies annihilated alongside the Jews--
Or to that of the early Christians thrown to the lions--
Or to the genocide of the Armenians--
Or to the terrible Clearances of the Scots
From their bucolic pastures--
Or to the cruel transport of Africans to the New World--
Or, indeed, to all slavery throughout history--
Or to the religious fury of Sudan
With its new South Sudanese neighbors--
Or to the punishment of the Bretons
By the French government--
Or to the persecution by the Puritans of MA
Of Roger Williams who then became the founder of RI--
Or to the extermination of Russian dissidents by Stalin--
Or to the victims of the Alamo who were
'Defending' territory stolen from Mexico--
Or to the mass Agent Orange killing of
The Vietnamese by the American bombers--
Or to the subtile psychological takeover of the world
By those who no longer support the fair,
But cumbersome methods of Democracy------

Is it the number involved or the general cruelty?
Is this all due to our species, who (which) evolved
Parallel to the Chimpanzees rather than to the Bonobos?

Okto Mom--A Devoted Mother opus 248

Okto Mom has been sitting on a rock outcrop,
Guarding her clutch of eggs for four years!
Once she started brooding her developing offspring,
She remained still, eating nothing.
Over the years, she became emaciated,
Her color fading further and further to a complete paleness
In spite of that, she warded off, especially prowling crabs,
Constantly perusing the area for an opening.
After the four years--the longest incubation
Known for any creature--
The hatchlings scampered out of their encasements
And moved away in all directions,
While she succumbed to the awaiting scavengers.
Such devotion--to be noted--
And a demise to be recorded and eulogised.

Obsolete Hormones? opus 250

Testosterone evolved to give males
The ability for aggression to protect.
Estrogen gave females the desire to create new life.
In our modern world unneeded Testosterone
Results in male rapes, murders, and male prison terms.
In our modern world Estrogen has generated desire for a birth,
Except when a 45 year old wants a child
And later realizes that the 20 year old offspring
Is overwhelming the aging mother!

Our Tree Shrew Affair opus 254

So far, biological studies have shown
All life on earth is related to a single DNA system.
Life shares its connectedness,
Demonstrating the relative closeness of our related status.
Clues of relatedness are also derived
From skeletal bone and tooth fragments.
In that light, the primary ancestor of primates--including us,
Was an arboreal, insectivorous tree shrew!
This is Purgatorius, from 65 million years ago, weighing 3.5 ounces.
The best fossil from 55 million years ago is Dryomomys.

It was always thought that these creatures were solitary.
Good science, with additional evidence
Now demonstrates that our primate ancestors
Appear to have lived as pairs--
Increasing their ability to protect each other,
To increase the success to forage food,
And to more competently raise offspring.
So now, as you snuggle with your partner,
Realize that this genetic behavior may be owed
To an arboreal, insectivorous tree shrew!

Roadkill opus 261

Human deaths and roadkill involving deer
Are continually occurring with our invading highways
Into the unbounded wilderness which once reigned.
Many warning signs increased, declaring 'Deer Crossing'.
One woman in Michigan, who had collided with several deer,
Vociferously opposed these signs saying,
"The signs are only instructing deer to cross at a specific place,
And therefore should be removed to lessen these accidents." (!)

Oh, dear god, why can our early education
Not be more logically inclusive??

(Read 'Crossings' on roadkill by Ben Goldfarb.)

How Wonderful to be so Royally Goosed! opus 266

I woke on 7 January as usual, ready for the day.
As always, I gazed out the large window,
Overlooking my smallish pond.
Many mornings, there are no waterfowl to excite me,
But this day, twenty Canada Geese were gliding here and there,
Swimming, interacting, and feeding,
Necks disappearing under the surface.
Suddenly, I realized there were three similar, but smaller individuals.
A shot went through my heart, as I recognized that different species!
Although moderately rare in my Davis area,
These were indeed the smaller Cackling Geese,
Intermingling, unopposed with their larger cousins.
For a naturalist, such minor observations of our modern dinosaurs
Give one a jolt of joy, just to behold such a wonderful encounter.

I do wonder, if we could introduce all of our leaders
To ornithology and nature-observation thereof,
Might peace and caring then reign throughout the world?

Canada Goose (Branta canadensis)
Cackling Goose (Branta hutchinsii)
    {Only 'recently' split off.}

What Would Jesus Do? opus 274

"A group of any ilk of people, reclaim 'their' land
From many eons in the past":
Humans are genetically territorial,
So why would one not expect
Some reaction from such an invasion?--
Conflict between 'historical reclamation'
vs 'present inhabitation'?

Which brings up an interesting question:
Did the 'invading'--migrating--Homo sapiens
Rape the Neanderthal or simply,
Now and then, fall in love?
Even today, various Caucasians and Blacks
And Asians are enchanted with 'something different'.

(It is common scientific DNA knowledge that Europeans
and groups from the Northern Hemisphere incorporate
Neanderthal and Denisovan genes, resulting from the
'new wave', northward migration of Homo sapiens.)

The Right-Handed Warthog opus 280

As I was perusing my recently acquired African Warthog skull--
Sustainably harvested from South Africa,
An old male with fairly worn tusks--
I noticed something noteworthy with both upper and lower tusks:
The normally long, sharp right tusks were both rounded,
Shorter, and somewhat dulled.
There was a clear differentiation between left and right.
I thought for a moment and realized that pigs root,
Especially with large tusks.
The animal had literally worn down the enlarged right teeth,
Rooting and searching for food over years of a lifetime!
Dentition of mammals is a utilized taxonomic character
And they evolved to function in each group,
Enhancing their specialities.
Consider our teeth, an omnivorous species,
Are very similar to--wait--those of bears and pigs!
Have fun thinking!

An Upper Trophic Level opus 281

I was comfortable with catfish as a product, raised in a hot summer environment. (Now after 40 years, summers are ever hotter--I remember at least three winters when all ponds would freeze over and the kids even skated -- not any longer.). While selling fish, customers had many questions, as is the wont in a direct Farmers Market. One, of course, was, 'Don't these fish feed on the bottom?' I quickly solved that one for a good reply, as well as for a better product: I used floating fish food, which created a wonderful feeding frenzy as well, which the many visiting school children immensely enjoyed! The nutrition of catfish flesh is quite complete and very healthy. But the 'haupt' subject which greatly worries me is the fact that we are fishing out our wild stocks, and, of course, most people wish to consume salmon and tuna and trout, all of which are on the top of the food chain--the highest trophic (feeding) level.

It worries me to see customers in a grocery store, ogling over salmon, when there are so many other, environmentally better fish species to be consumed. Captive salmon create their own problems such as antibiotics loose in the ocean near the floating pens, let alone the dissolving artificial food and fish waste. But most, the escape of domesticated varieties of salmon into the wild populations. Pond raised fish are isolated and do not create such problems. In general then, we must all be aware of the trophic levels from which WE feed as well!

Damming the Damning opus 286

I lived with an African Gray parrot for several years
And was witness to its incredible ability to imitate.
The Lincolnshire Wildlife Park in England has had to isolate parrots
Which, within public earshot, started imitating risqué vocabulary.
The decision was eventually made to remove these individuals
Back to the major flock, where it was anticipated,
That the eight offenders would again utter
'Normal' African Gray vocalizations--
Amusing, if the vocabulary had switched in the reverse order!

Another tale I have heard involved a murder case.
The Gray had witnessed the killing of its human companion ('owner').
It imitated the voice and words spoken during the murder.
The prosecution attempted to use the parrot as a witness,
But because the parrot 'was an animal',
The judge overruled the employment of the bird to nail the murderer!

Of course you have heard of groups attempting
To classify chimpanzees as sentient beings,
Who would be treated on a human level.
Perhaps someday, African Gray parrots
Might be included within the human domain!
(Chimps still are also on the waiting list.)

Yet Another Biological Team opus 290

Because of our ravaging, 'convenient' technology,
Our planet is warming faster than any past 'naturally' documented process.
As a result, oceans are rising and, by the way, are becoming more acidic.
Long before large human invasions, most predator/prey duos were stable.
Then came the Russians, French and others as fur trappers.
The Sea Otter was one victim because of its lush fur.
This species, now threatened, no longer has the numbers
To control the Asian Striped Shore Crab which burrows in the creekbank edges,
Which weakens the soil, causing whole chunks of marsh to calve off.
Specifically, the Elkhorn Slough, a coastal wetland,
Connected to the Monterey Bay area, once lost all its Sea Otters.
But now, with their return, they are ravagingly consuming the crabs,
Resulting in stronger marshland soundness and reduced erosion.
The otter's recolonization controls the crab population
And strengthens our shoreline to battle with the new impending threat.

As a footnote: Sea Otters control sea urchins, which destroy the kelp beds.
Concerning top predators, reintroduced wolves into YellowStone National Park
Are controlling elk and moose populations which consume tree saplings,
Thus alleviating the erosion-effect along riverbanks.

Each time we inadvertently destroy another creature,
We are weakening our own existence.

The Synergy of Human Girls and Their Dogs opus 292

It has been documented that as girls age,
Their physical movements decrease
When compared with that of young boys.
When a girl lives with a dog,
Her movements are faster and more intense.
When a dog dies, a girl's activities once again decrease.
The conclusion, at the moment, appears to be
That a girl, companioned with a dog,
May manifest greater activity and health.
Of course, we must again remember our coevolution with dogs
And this data perhaps increases
The empirical importance of our millennial relationship
With this once ancestral and wild canid, the wolf.

The Egyptian Vulture opus 297

My first university teaching job was in Turkiye (then Turkey).
At Robert College (now Bogazici Universitesi) in Bebek,
On the Bosphorus, north of Istanbul.
The Science Building was quite new and my classes were on the first floor.
I had a laboratory of my own in the 'attic'.
There was a large enclosed, depressed area
Along the whole building on the south side.
During my entire life, even now at 82 in Davis, California,
I have always lived with and studied tortoises.
In Turkiye I worked with two species of Testudo--
T, graeca and T. hermani, observing them in the large depression.
Specifically, my studies included electrophoresis of blood types,
As well as diurnal behavioural movements of the two species.
To be terse, T. hermani's activities began earlier and lasted longer
Than those of its sympatric fellow species, T. graeca.
Thus, their daily movements divided their feeding times, reducing competition!
The appearance of the two is fairly similar.

I collected specimens both on the European
And on the eastern Anatolian territories.
As I moved through the wilder area of Anatolia,
I noticed that a number of the tortoise carapaces (upper shell),
Had large, healed cracks across much of the curved surfaces.
Upon queries and studying, I learned the cause was the Egyptian Vulture.
Tortoise flesh was one of their sources of protein.
I never actually saw this occurring, but the evidence was plentiful;
The vulture simply found a tortoise, flew up in the air,
Grasping the reptile's body with its talons and dropping it from a height
Which, perhaps after several attempts, cracked the shell enough
That the bird could pry it open and consume the protected body!
(In Africa, this vulture would 'fling' rocks with its beak
At ostrich eggs to break them open.)

I began to wonder what phenomenon
Caused the weaker, curved carapace to be cracked
And not the flat plastron, covering the tortoise underside.
North of Bebek, Ahmet the Conqueror had constructed the Rumeli Hisar
From which, paired with a fortress on the eastern side of the Bosphorus,
He could control, using cannons, the movements on the waterway.
(From here he later moved his boats on rollers over the hill,
Ending inside the protected, chained Golden Horn of old Constantinople,
Surprised the Greeks, and conquered the city!)
At any rate, I used that Hisar (fortress) with my students,
To drop preserved, dead tortoise bodies from the high parapets,
Observing how they would fall and land,
Imitating the hunting behaviour of the Egyptian Vulture.
As suspected, the aerodynamics of the curved carapace
Caused the tortoise body to rotate in the air and collide with the ground,
Making vulnerable, the weaker upper tortoise carapace.
From this experience and from so many more,
Turkiye taught me abundantly the enigmas of life.

Intraspecific Conflict opus 298

Charles Darwin in his 'On the Origin of Species' (1859),
Observed that speciation and subspeciation result from geographic isolation.
All organisms on earth appear to follow this hypothesis.
Of course this mainly pertains to adaptation to a varying environment
And reduction of competition for food and needed territory.
With humans, we have varied superficial morphology,
Resulting in varying skin color, nose shape, eye color, height, etc.
But humans, more than other species, have culture and religion,
Which results, to the human mind, in a huge differentiation of the 'other'.
As a result, the human intraspecific or population competition
And conflict forms a new dimension,
Compared to other specific life on our planet.
Evaluating these differences, humans have a more complex level
Of Darwin's concept of isolation and adaptation to a new environment.
Culture, ideology, and religion result in greater potential 'intraspecific' conflict,
Which we are all observing and living through every single day!
With humans, geographic isolation seems not to reduce competition,
But because of other factors mentioned, may increase that population conflict.
Might our wonderful minds actually lead us to our own
Potentially peaceable intraspecific downfall?

A Surprise Visit! opus 301

My feeder awaits its visitors.
I, being a voyeur, await as well.
So many White-crowned Sparrows this year!
Where are the Golden-crowns?
I continue to wait and write by the window.
Suddenly two smaller strangers
Arrive for a second, grab a few seeds,
Then quickly flit off to the hedge.
Contemplating my bird ID repertoire,
I just indeed had two Yellow Warbler visitors--
Such a treat for an ornithologist--
Well, at least for a bird watcher.

Eleven Primaries Allow Flight opus 303

For many decades I have taught children (and some adults)
That the first flight feathers (primaries) on the wing of a bird
Number eleven in most birds, with another eleven or so,
Comprising the secondaries on the rear of the wing.
Could there be a tertiary? Yes, rarely, but they exist.
The Mandarin Duck of Asia has such a feather
Poking up towards the rear of the wing!
Our Wood Duck, the only member of the genus, Aix,
And 'cousin' to the Mandarin, is devoid of this extra ornament.

Studies of dinosaurs and the phenomenon of flight
Has been studied by paleontologists,
And nine to eleven feathers appear crucial for flight,
Enabling those later dinosaurs which evolved to birds.
The full story is more complex, but there is no doubt
That some dinosaurs really were able to fly.
So, as you observe a bird flying past you,
Take a moment to pause and realize the special sight before you,
Which binds our present time with the wondrous history
Of the ever-evolving life on our Blue Planet.

Our Marijuana Dogs opus 313

As most states did, Ohio declared the use of marijuana illegal.
As most states did, they trained police dogs to sniff out the stuff.
As many states have, recreational marijuana use is now legal.
What to do with these steno-olfactory, well trained dogs?
The attempt to retrain these dogs with a very exaggerated specific sense,
Proved to be too difficult--were they too habituated like their human counterparts?
At any rate, the only fate for these dogs is complete retirement,
Just as we retire our protective military and police dogs.
Thankfully, there are human activists who attempt to maintain
A just end for the lives of these canine coworkers (do they have a choice?).
Yet another example of the ever-closer coevolution of humans
With our wolf-descendent-dog companions.

Floating Beauty opus 327

Suddenly a green irridescent head
Appears on a once empty, still pond.
The glowing color is paired
With a camouflaged, brown partner.
Watching patiently, a crested,
Magnificient head glides into the open.
This one is also accompanied
With a brown partner,
But, different, with large, light eye rings.

What has been revealed
Are a wonderful pair of Mallards,
Accompanied with perhaps
The most beautiful of all ducks,
A pair of our Wood Ducks in the genus Aix,
Related only to the alternatively
Incredible Mandarin of China!

Why are Men Deciding These Things? opus 334

New abortion anti woman laws--
Politicians versus medical doctors.
What are we doing to ourselves?
To abandon good science
For antiquated religious myths?
In spite of all empirical edification,
We are returning to our reptilian brain.

Dig Your Canines into this One! opus 364

It is interesting to contemplate
As to what might have caused
The difference between canine morphology
Of us--the hominids--and our fellow pongids
(Including Chimps, Bonobos, Gorillas, and Orangutans).
The dentition of the human mouth
Was really our manipulating third hand.
Then came the invention of tools,
Rendering the lesser utilization
Especially of our large canines.
Thus with tools, combined with the opposable thumb,
Our canines evolved to a 'respectable' size',
Unlike the more exaggerated canine morphology
Of our 'brotherly' pongid hominoids.

They 'Otter' get it Right - Another Dentition Story opus 367

Dentition in mammals is not only important for survival,
But also used to determine the relatedness of the various mammalian groups.
Sea Otters in the Monterey Bay area have been studied for many decades.
The interest in mammalian tool users is now more focussed research.
Abalone and softer shelled creatures are first choices for otter food,
But with more than 200 otters feasting in a concentrated area,
The use of rocks, bottles, and other harder scavenged materials
Are needed to crack snail shells and other more difficultly-opened armaments.
Using tools have allowed smaller individuals as well as females to successfully compete.
In addition, tool use has enhanced better tooth condition,
Which also has increased the successful survivability of otherwise vulnerable individuals.
Contrast this with how tool use in humans
Has caused the hominids to maintain otherwise larger hominoid canines!

See Dig Your Canines into this One!

Playful Orcas? opus 371

For a number of years now
Orcas have been ramming smaller boats,
Often targeting the rudders, which are demolished.
Some have even managed to overturn a boat or two!
The question has always been as to why this occurs?
Is it an action of revenge for climate change and the diminishing food supply,
Or possibly the invasion of boats with their terribly disruptive motor sounds?
After some study by marine biologists, a conclusion has been formed--
It appears to be young animals, which are merely being playful!
Hitting these boats is all in a day's hunting technique
And nothing more than roughing up their normal prey.
Remember that cetaceans are intelligent and, like their fellow humans,
Play is part of the way of gaining skills to be used in 'serious life'.

(Orcas avoid jellyfish, so a successful remedy
Is to paint jellyfish on the hull and rudder!
Might it work? We'll see!)

Domestication opus 396

Have you ever noticed the multicolored coat of reindeer (caribou)?
In addition, if you conduct deeper research, how about Fallow Deer?
Both these species have been semi-domesticated
Over centuries of human manipulation.
The Sami have herded reindeer forever
And Fallow Deer were transported from Turkey to Britain in 1100 AD.
When an organism is 'protected' by humans over a long period of time,
Evolutionary parameters fall away because coloration is irrelevant to survival.
The domestication of wolves to dogs is another example--
Reduction of dentition and snout, floppy ears,
And a curled tail manifest themselves.
The Russian experimentation of foxes revealed the same phenomena.

Humans became 'domesticated' with the advent of cooking.
A large heavy jaw with large teeth has now manifested into a finer jaw
And smaller teeth, with some, the molars, becoming obsolete!
Many of us have crowded teeth--tooth size is changing
Slower than a diminishing jaw!
From ingesting grasses and leaves to tearing apart raw meat,
To masticating cooked food--we are the only animal which does so.
It is interesting that all other primates, when given the choice,
Prefer cooked food--it is just that the brainpower is not there
To associate cooking and the need for fire!

Friday Night! (An 83-year-old's Perspective) opus 409

A long day today with chores and calls.
Just finished shopping in town--all on electricity (plug-in hybrid!).
Now I am back home and spacing out.
Thinking about what Friday nights used to be--rushing here and there--
For pleasure or some sort of entertainment.
Now, at 83 this month (!), I am content to relax and think:
Of my children and grandchildren and our future--
Just picked up a book 'The Heat Will Kill You First' (Goodell).
My house is 82 degrees at 1800 Hours and AC is not on.
Ready tonight to do a letter or two--
More fundraising for my Quail Ridge Student Endowment.
Small tortoises ready to be brought back into the living room--
Raccoons out there at night!
Two hens guided into their little coop for protection.
TV news coming on--Kamala--a Boudican Celtic Queen!
Mail to sift through, sending out small donations here and there.
Had squid for lunch--perhaps now just an egg with a sip of Sake?
I am moderately content--wish for more family contact.
Oh, I just received in the mail a 'Sitting Liberty' 1860, 50 cent piece,
Retrieved from the famous SS Republic shipwreck (1865)--
I am enamoured with the history of our coins.
I used to put a tooth under my pillow, anticipating a dollar.
'Dollar' comes from our first using money from the Netherlands
Before our own mints produced 'homegrown' coins!
(Dutch 'Daalder' comes from the original German 'Thaler'.)

So much for thoughts--see how an experienced old man's mind works?

Our Preferences of Beauty opus 412

I was asked why some people consider butterflies beautiful
And not other insects or, indeed, many other forms of life.
Understanding beauty is the result of familiarity and appreciation:
This is a result of a good teacher--parent or other--who describes
The wonder of the evolutionary process forming an organism
And the complexity of the incredible detail of such subject.
Consider the huge group of Coleoptera (beetles),
Manifesting an amazing array of color and shape.
To the uninitiated, these 'bugs' could be considered ugly and dangerous.
There are others--snakes, bats, mosquitoes, crustaceans, bees, skunks--
And so many more, which make up a large list.
It all comes down to a complete understanding and admiration of function
And the necessary depth to which one might possibly be submersed
Into the complete and 'true' feeling of what beauty really means!

Time Slowed to Almost a Standstill opus 445

The Greenland shark may reach an age of up to 500 years,
Now recognized as the longest living vertebrate animal.
They grow as little as a few centimeters per year, up to five meters,
Reaching four meters and sexual maturity at 150 years old.
Because of the excessive fishing before WWII,
There appears to be no sexually active adults living.
The sampling so far has found only sub-adults,
Implying that it will be another 100 years
Before the population might start reproducing once again!
This is a severe example of how human activity
Can negatively affect another creature's well being
And a reminder of the delicate balance required
To sustain such incredible life forms.

Ancient Artists Proved Right! opus 459

We have all loved the beautiful cave paintings
Made thousands of years ago.
Deep in dark caves, illuminated by torches
To enable the artists to complete their works.
Of many, one stands out--that of the Wooly Rhinoceros.
An incredible, strong depiction, but with a hump,
Emphasizing a great arch on its back.
Was this created out of an artist's imagination
Or were these creatures endowed with such morphology?
Recently a Coelodonta antiquitatis
Was pulled from 10,000 year old permafrost.
It was in Yakutia, Siberia, and what do you know?
The body exhibited a shoulder hump,
Proving that the ancient artists were more than accurate.
The humps with their lipid stores
Did indeed aid the rhinos through rough,
Challenging winter months.

Zebra Stripes opus 460

Zebras have stripes not for 'normal' camouflage,
But to be more invisible to biting flies!
How do we know? It has been researched.
To jump to an 'obvious conclusion' only
Is not fulfilling the needed human empirical conclusions,
We must all need to study and follow--
In all things.

Did the Cave Artists Get the Hump Correct? (Another Glimpse) opus 519

Coelodonta antiquitatis is the name of the woolly rhinoceros,
Painted in the ancient cave art in France, among others.
They went extinct for several reasons 10,000 years ago.
The big question is, did the Ice Age artists
Take creative liberties by adding a nuchal hump?
Well, an ancient rhino was discovered
In the permafrost in Yakutia, Siberia--
And what do you know--it possessed a hump,
Which seems to have been an adaptation to cold.
It appears that these artists were uncanny
In their depictions of the important creatures around them.
I have viewed these paintings many times and with each gaze,
I have been overwhelmed by their accuracy and absolute beauty.

The Dog That Went Too Far--An Allegory opus 527

Our farm needed a replacement watchdog.
We viewed a homeless, nice looking German Shepherd cross.
We all knew German Shepherds had their reputations,
But we voted and made the choice to give him a chance.
We needed a guard dog, the position high in our farm bureaucracy.
All seemed to go well, but there were glimpses
Of the possible predatory instincts of our nominee.
True enough, one night we returned to find a large open pen
Of communal rabbits had all been thoughtlessly slaughtered.
With discussion, some said to shoot the dog on the spot,
While others said that it should be banished or removed from the farm.
Our rules and governance of the once stable farm
Had been completely crippled and almost destroyed,
Because so many innocent rabbits had been needlessly slaughtered.
We needed to decide quickly so that no more such acts would occur.
Being a humaine group, a nice isolated home was negotiated and found,
And our farm managed to recoup and continue thriving.
Even by running our farm in a procedural way,
We were misled by the initial behavior of this dog.
Our lesson learned was to be more prudent and careful
In making decisions, concerning such an important station,
Supporting the hierarchy of our democratically run farm society.

Indohyus Becomes a Whale opus 534

The Indian geologist, A. Ranga Rao, came upon
A few fossil fragments in rocky areas of Kashmir.
Some teeth and part of a jawbone made up those fragments.
In spite of their future significance, the collection lay unnoticed for decades.
Indohyus, the size of a domestic cat, resembled a mouse-deer,
A small, deer-like mammal with a long snout, a tail and hooved feet.
The skeleton, with heavy leg bones, indicated it walked
On the bottom of lakes and rivers, hinting at a semi-aquatic lifestyle.
Why a return to the water? Food, fewer predators, exploration?
With adaptation, these semi-aquatic mammals, over several million years,
Transformed to the adept, aquatic cetaceans of today--
Whales of the present actually arose from a small, deer-like mammal!
Who would have guessed without the conclusions of scientific enquiry?
(But there is also the story of the hyrax,
Ancestor of the elephant, manatees, and dugongs.)
Check out these most interesting transformations
Of one very different life form to another.

Elizabeth Vrba (1942 - 2025) opus 565

These are some thoughts of Elizabeth Vrba,
A great, but lesser known evolutionary biologist:
'Evolution is not always slow with incremental changes,
But, rather, evolution moves in bursts,
Or abrupt waves of extinction and speciation'--
According to her 'Turnover Pulse' hypothesis,--
'As a result of great climate upheavals.'
She also worked on 'exaptation', the process where traits evolve
For one function, and later are co-opted for another.
She studied 'stimulated paleontology' for a better predictive precision.
'The fossil record is not a static archive,
But a dynamic record of nature's upheavals.'
'Species are shaped by external forces,
Not by internal biological pressures:
Thus, as a result of environmental changes from shifts in climate--
Not always random, nor by gradual competition.'
'The survival of the generalist is greater than that of the specialist.'
Her advocacy of her thoughts and hypotheses will be missed,
But as time and knowledge increases,
More of her thoughts may be actually demonstrated.

Can a Monkey Really Read? opus 592

In Hong Kong, monkeys have been witnessed
Destroying something very relevant to their outreach--
Namely, signs which read: 'Do Not Feed the Monkeys!'

Radioactive Rhinoceroses? opus 622

The poaching of elephants and rhinos is done by those who have no reverence
For earth's ancient creatures--only for monetary ivory and 'aphrodisiac--horns'.

Yet another plan to cease this horrible murder--
Insertion of a radioactive chip, placed into the rhino's horn.
With this insertion, horns may be detected and origins traced.
It appears the radioactivity will not harm the bearer.
So much effort, just to attempt the survival
Of an incredible and ancient elder of the mammalian world.
But, another aspect of this whole situation,
Is that, there must be more of an effort
To involve the local citizenry to feel a part of things,
Thus having a stake in the preservation of these creatures.
Local care and efforts towards preservation
Is the only way this horror will ultimately be averted.

A Virtual Farm opus 663

After I got my feet on the ground with my small 37 acre farm,
I decided to do some community service work.
Between Fairfield and Sacramento,
There were about 20 convalescent homes for elders.
For each visit, I would pack several animals and some intriguing objects--
The list included chickens, a lamb, a kitten, a tortoise, a rabbit plus others.
The 'objects' included ostrich and emu eggshells, a small bundle of oats
And a skin pouch from Africa, in which a Bushman or San carried an eggshell canteen--
In other words, an ostrich eggshell used to stash water,
Left for the return trip out of the Kalahari central area.

Well, following one such session, I received a phone call.
The woman speaker said she was the daughter of one of the participants.
The daughter said she had received a call from her mother,
Who said she had just visited a real farm!
The daughter asked me whether or not I had led an actual farm tour.
She said her mother was adamant such a visit had actually occurred.
I had to tell her the truth that her mother had never left her wheelchair,
And we were continually present at the convalescent home.
She laughed and said she had thought so,
But her mother was so absolute that her visit had been real.
(After presenting my African pouch with the ostrich eggshell,
One woman stopped me and asked, "Are you a caveman?")

Our Coevolution with the Cat opus 703

Those in the Fertile Crescent perfected agriculture--
Organizing fields with seed saved from the previous year.
Random wandering to discover those tiny seed-gems
Became obsolete as a manner of food gathering.
Success of harvesting increased to a point
Where huge numbers of grain were amassed.
Methods of storage for the pending year challenged populations-- 
Those tiny rodents soon discovered that 'grain mine',
Slowly gnawing away at the food supply of the human suppliers.
Also arriving on the scene were wild cats,
Relishing the concentrated supply of those tiny mammals.
The humans realized the value of cat-presence,
Naturally combating and aiding in the control of those little munchers.
Soon, especially in Egypt, cats rose to the level of the sacred.
They were mummified and slipped into the sarcophagi of their owners.
Now, cats roam in many places uncontrolled,
Just like Rock Doves, which switched from cliffs to tall buildings. 
These days, human activities somewhat affect 
Most all other creatures' ways of life,
Except for bacteria, and more, viruses, which still hold power over us.
We cannot yet mold them genetically into the form we wish,
Except for ever-continued research, which medically wards them off!

Being Touched by an Elephant's Trunk opus 708

As a child, I adored animals of all kinds.
I studied the behavior, flight and silhouettes of the birds around me.
I had a worm farm in a big jar,
Watching as they created ever-more tunnels next to the glass.
I observed as my rabbits mated, the buck falling over in ecstasy.
(I did not know then, that the act of mating,
Caused the spontaneous ovulation of the female.)
I saw the female pulling her breast hair to line a soft nest.
So many things for a young biologist to observe and take in.

My mother knew of my love for animals
And would take us to the Benson's Animal Farm in NH;
Of course, there were myriads of creatures for a youngster to see--
Reptiles, lions, African antelope, owls and an elephant.
One time, I approached the young tethered Asian pachyderm,
And stood in front of it--only a small chain fence separating us.
I reached out and the youngster extended its trunk.
What occurred then is now a blur in my mind.
But I felt its trunk curling around my hand--
Just the prehensile end it used to grasp food.
It pulled me gently, but firmly towards itself.
I was awakened, but not fearful.
We held that position for a few moments,
And then it let go--the soft wet end falling away.
Was this lonely elephant pulling me in,
Telling me that it desired to be free,
To tear off branches and to shower itself with dust?
I am not sure, but my young self, after that intimate moment,
Always felt an affinity for the last two of the many elephant species
Which roamed our earth in past evolutionary times 
Will these two huge pachyderm species actually survive
The ravages of the ever-expanding Homo sapiens 
Across its diminishing  homeland?

The Mystery of Why Domestic Cats Have Vertical Pupils opus 729

Have you ever wondered why domestic cats have vertical pupils,
And in big cats like lions, tigers, jaguars, and pumas, the pupils are round?
The summary is this in the evolutionary story of various life cycles--

----Round pupils (humans, birds) give even focus across the entire
     depth of field during the day.
----Vertical pupils (cat, gecko) optimize depth perception, day and night.
----Horizontal pupils (goat, frog) optimize and give a panoramic
     field of view to detect predators.

These various pupil shapes are adaptations to their lifestyle.
Specifically, domestic cats are ambush predators 
And have a superior depth of field.
This allows them to better judge distance to their prey.
This pupil shape also helps cats to see side-to-side motions,
Making their small rodent prey easier to spot with their movements.
Unlike small domestic cats which are crepuscular actors,
Big cats which hunt diurnally and with round pupils,
Are capable of a clear focus across the entire long distance field of view.
Having vertical pupils, also gives its bearer camouflage,
As it breaks up the round shape of the eye,
And thus makes it harder for its prey to see the hidden predator.
There too, are geckos with vertical slits, having tiny round openings,
Cuttlefish with distinctive 'W'-shaped pupils,
And rays possessing crescent-shaped pupils.
Such aquatic species are benefitted by both round and horizontal pupils.
The other factors determining how an animal sees,
Are the number and distribution of rods and cones, 
Working in concert with pupil shape;
The shape of the lens is also important, for instance, 
In correcting chromatic aberration, resulting in excellent color vision.
So, wonder less about the different pupil shapes, because you now know!

Encounter With a Rattlesnake on the North Fork of the Yuba River opus 730

Being restless one California weekend,
I took the family, with the two boys, Pierre and Basil, east,
Into the Foothills of the Sierras and the North Fork of the Yuba River
To pan for gold, anticipating use of our new gold pans. 
Driving through lovely wooded roads,
We made it together to the river's edge.
Gold panning was fun and we even found
A few small nuggets amongst the deep black sand grains.
After panning for two or three adventuresome hours,
We decided to explore along the wooded shoreline.
Suddenly, I spied a large rattlesnake in the grass.
I called the others to come and check it out with me.
We slowly followed it, as it agilely glided along.
Sensing our presence, I am sure, it headed for a tree,
With an opening in between two large roots.
As the snake was half way into the hole,
I compulsively announced I was going to hold its tail !
This was all done quietly as I explained,
That I was able to do this because the snake could not turn around.
As they watched, I explained how the snake felt--
Strong body muscles, cool to the touch, and very soft skin.
Concluding this bizarre exercise, I slowly released the tail,
And the snake quickly disappeared down into its shelter.
This act was perhaps foolish, but my knowing animals
Made it very safe, and we all, in our own way, will remember
Our interaction with this dangerous, but now 'controlled' creature--
A creature of mystery and stories, giving us each a memory
To last until the end of our lives!

Dinosaur Footprint Hunting opus 731

While teaching in Lesotho, Africa,
I had my first child, Pierre,
Who at two, 'followed' me around the countryside,
Collecting bees at night 
And finding dinosaur footprints in daylight.
This, all between my biology classes at the University.
One spectacular trip was to a large valley,
Where there were myriads of tumbled sandstone blocks,
Strewn randomly throughout the area.
I slowly walked amongst these boulders,
When suddenly I found my first prints.
A large, three-toed series of impressions,
Spread across the flat surface.
I carried with me plaster of paris, a water container,
Strips of cardboard and a clutch of paperclips.
I made a cardboard border around the print,
Tied together at the ends, with the necessary clips.
Water and plaster were mixed to a soft-solid consistency;
Then poured into the void, the print primed with vaseline.
Several prints were cast and then the waiting time.
Each was pulled up and removed, now in a solid state.
These prints were made in the seventies
And many remain today (2026) on my farm to our delight.
The five decades of preservation here on the farm,
Equals nothing to the 60 million years of waiting in the sandstone,
To be admired by humans today--
They, nowhere to be found during this creature's long past reign.

The Airborne Turkeys opus 740

Wing beats, displacing the air.
My cohabiting wild turkeys
Are dispersing one by one
To their high roosting tree branches.
As they raise themselves into the air,
Powerful wing beats pull their bodies upward.
They rise over my narcissus flower beds
And, as they do so, displace air downward,
Inviting the white blossoms below
To momentarily dance in unison,
Delighting my eyes and my living core.

Defecation opus 750

One contemplates many things, while sitting on the John.
Pigeon pooh on my car; gull droppings on my picnic!
Disgusting, annoying, and just plain unclean.
With life, material must enter a body, willingly or not,
Is utilized and, unused portions must be excreted.
That is the pattern of life-maintenance on earth.
Comparing gull defecation to human waste dumps,
The gulls, though, lose in comparison.
With modern technology, humans 
Rarely contemplate their bodily waste.
Every modern child should really have a field trip,
Not just to a firehouse, but to a sewage processing plant, 
To view another vital profession.
Like the Romans, we today hide life's processes.
A farmer has no qualms about recycling his cow manure
To nurture his fields, spreading it from his 'honey wagon'.
('Honey wagon' was the term my New York grandfather used.
For the device that spread manure over his fields.)

Veronika, the Tool User opus 753

Jane Goodall, astounded the world by showing
That chimpanzees hunted termites with stick-tools.
More data among birds showed that crows and ravens were tool-users.
We must also consider the overlooked ability of rocks used by sea otters.
Incredibly, a new aspect concerning a cow has been observed!
Veronika, a 13-year-old Swiss Brown cow in Austria,
Living as a pet on a family farm, was observed
By researchers from the University of Veterinary Medicine in Vienna.
Veronika, with her tongue, picks up sticks, rakes, and deck brushes,
Manipulating these tools to scratch unreachable parts of her body.
She uses the bristled end of a deck brush for her thick-skinned back,
And switches to a smooth handle for her sensitive underbelly.
This cow does not make tools, but neither, always, does a chimp.
(There are similar undocumented accounts of goats also using sticks.)
Humans had to slowly learn technology and the use of tools;
Are the creatures around us, picking this up for their own benefit as well?
If Veronika were given a couple of 'pasture-mates',
Would she teach them how to do such manipulations?
The passing on of such behavior to others could also be really crucial.

New Avian Competition on My Feeder opus 756

I have inhabited my small farm in Davis, California,
Living, teaching, and farming since 1978.
Over the years, I have maintained various bird feeders.
In all those years, I have never seen a non-native sparrow,
Rather, only two native sparrow species, 
The White-crowned and Golden-crowned individuals.
This year (2026) in January, I was shocked by 
Observing two House Sparrows on the feeder.
This species is known for its aggressiveness.
Watching carefully, I calculated how often the House Sparrow
Displaced the other two species off the perches.
The House Sparrow most often succeeded.
Then, when the seed level got very low, barely reachable,
The House Sparrow, yet more rigorously, maintained the perch position.
This seems to be because at the end of the seed supply,
It must be defended more vigorously.
Moreover, the House Sparrow strongly defended its position 
Because of its bill size,
Which was heavier and slightly longer than that of the other two species,
Thus, it more easily reaches the remaining seed.
(This non-native species is also reported displacing others for nesting sites.)

It was instructive to document this aggressiveness close up,
And not just receive reports of this type of behavior.
Now I need to observe everything much more accurately!

Five-Year-Old MN Child Used to Lure Parent opus 757

So the story goes and reports expound,
Federal immigration agents used a five-year-old boy 
Liam Conejo Ramos, as 'bait', to lure a family member
Out of their home during an arrest in Columbia Heights, Minnesota.
The ICE agents approached Liam and his father
In their driveway, upon returning from preschool.
By one account, the child was used to lure out his mother.
The father told the mother not to open the door.
The scared mother thus did not take custody and is blamed.
Both the child and the father were transported for detention in Texas.
This sad story contains several conflicting claims.

However, as a biologist, I am reminded of other such historical incidents.
During the whaling period of our country and the world,
Whalers would use a similar tactic on another mammal.
They would harpoon the calf and wait for the mother
To get within range to easily kill her as well.
Female and often male mammals defend their young,
And predators in the know will use this behavior,
Starting with a tidbit and ending up with a complete meal.
It appears that both humans and cetaceans react similarly,
Much to the potential detriment of both generations.
Such, as judged by humans, is one of the cruelties
In the struggle for survival and political advantage.