great-and-small - Tumblr blog

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forgot to post these magpies i doodled yesterday .

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I don’t typically get fomo but this weekend is going to be rough

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good news chat.. the devil's hole pupfish population was counted in april and 191 pupfish were observed, which is the highest spring count recorded since 1999 :D

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Great reminder to microchip your pets ❤️

I could think of no better way to share the news than this!

So when I was 17, my cat went missing and I'd given up hope of ever seeing him again.

Until on Monday, 27th of May, 2024, my friend sent me a FB post asking 'isn't that your mother?' about the person named on the microchip.

Here he is! 16 years old, and found safe, twelve whole years after he went missing!

Yesterday (Tuesday the 28th of May, 2024) I went to the rescue that had him, and I reclaimed my boy, renaming him Artie! (He'd originally been called 'Cat' because my mother and I couldn't decide on a name)

He's home safe with me now, currently inhabiting my bathroom and purring up a storm every time someone goes in there!

I'll be doing slow introductions between him and my current cat to give them the best possible chance of living in harmony!

Here's some pictures of Artie once we let him out of the carrier:

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palestine sunbird

e-sims for gaza | palestine children's relief fund | call/email your reps

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Pulled off the highway when I saw something in this pond; imagine my delight at finding four river otters! On national otter day no less! I love this planet

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Apparently national alligator day and national otter day are both today (May 29th) this year

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Apparently the local university’s undergraduate entomology course sends students to catch insect specimens at the same place I like to go birdwatching, which explains why I saw three enormous frat looking dudes with tiny bug nets and overheard one emphatically say “bro BRO I told you we already have enough lepidopterans”

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I work in a big box store in Aus with a vet practice attached. About a month ago my self proclaimed bird lover manager recently got in an Eclectus parrot to sell. I'm super against it for obvious reasons, but I was speaking to one of the vet nurses about it. we were saying it's a bit sad that it'll be hard to find a place suitable for him, so i said yeah they probably shouldnt be in the trade and then they say "oh yeah I'd take him but I already have three (3!!!) Indian ring necks at home" I really hate working in this industry sometimes

It’s particularly difficult in the world of veterinary medicine and animal care because many of our colleagues do keep birds like this as pets and genuinely move heaven and earth to give them as good a home as is humanly possible. But even while acknowledging that fact it can be hard to find a way to express my opinion that psittacines don’t make good pets, without seeming judgmental.

I tend to not bring up the topic unless someone asks me my thoughts as a veterinarian or bird enthusiast. At the end of the day, a majority of the bird keepers that I meet are incredible owners always striving to do the best for their bird, and I think keeping focus on that is more productive than getting into my concerns about psittacines in the pet industry as a whole. But yeah I think the world would be a way better place if people couldn’t just walk into a pet store and buy an Eclectus 😞

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Look who’s eating from my hand now 🥹

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Today’s journey involved driving several hours to get this little raptor into the hands of a licensed avian rehabber. He was found by a civilian and fed dog food for a few days before being surrendered to my clinic. Fortunately he has no injuries, so off to rehab he goes, though many nearby facilities are currently at capacity and were not able to take him. Thank goodness for the awesome place a few towns over that was able to help me out today! I’m hoping he can be rehabilitated and released into the wild, and I’m very glad he is now safe and in good hands. My guess was Buteo sp. but the rescue was leaning more towards a Mississippi kite, which would be neat.

If you ever find a wild baby bird, there are a couple of things to keep in mind. First, is that for birds of a certain age (fledglings) it is normal for them to be on the ground and these birds should be left to their business. For younger birds like this little guy the first priority should always be getting them back to their parents, assuming they are not injured. Replacing baby back into the nest is the best option. Bird parents are better suited to raise a baby bird than humans, and there is enormous margin for error especially in socially complex raptor species.

Don’t be a kidnapper! Reach out to local wildlife authorities BEFORE you take any wild animal, unless there is immediate danger present (like an outdoor cat).

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if theres anything ive learned about science communication both online and offline its that people love unusually large or small versions of a creature. nothing really reaches across the barriers of age, education, or language like that does. if it has another interesting factor that seems mildly upsetting or surprising but not offensive to broad human cultural norms, that is a plus but its not required because even then for a single moment everyone is like damn, yeah, thats pretty big or small, and then even if they remember nothing else they might remember that the creatures are coming in Sizes. you know

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Thats the bitch whos violating the migratory bird treaty act kill her

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ER veterinarian: *reviewing patient's history* "and what food does your dog eat?"

client: "he eats yams."

vet: "... yams?"

client: "yeah, yams."

vet: "just yams? nothing else?"

client: "yeah."

vet: "the only food that you feed your dog is yams? no supplements?"

client:" "just yams."

vet: *increasingly distressed* "you cannot feed your dog only yams, ok? you NEED to feed something else. that is a very unbalanced diet and could be what's making him sick."

client: "well what should i be feeding?"

vet: "dog food! kibble, canned, anything from a pet store!"

client: "but that's where i buy the yams!"

vet: "what?"

client: "you mean i have to feed a bunch of different brands??"

vet: "what?"

(it was discovered, much to the vet's relief, that the client was mispronouncing the brand name "Iams")

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please welcome: Brood X!

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Cuddling. don’t mind the claws of the beast