News and photos from Inquirer.net

A 42-foot long Bryde’s whale was found dead at a beach in Barangay Tagdon, Barcelona, Sorsogon.

I tried to find more information about this incident, but only found the same info on a couple of sites. Apparently, the whale died after it beached. The report also mentioned that the locals wanted to eat the meat of the whale, but the authorities buried the mammal according to the provisions of an administrative order of the Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources.

I’ve also read an article in a recent issue of Reader’s Digest about a man who found a whale beach on shore and how he managed to maneuver it back to the sea. I don’t quite understand why they do that in the first place.

The Natural History Museum website has the following explanation…

Did you know every year in the UK between 350 and 800 whales, dolphins and porpoises (cetaceans) wash up on British shores? Most are already dead, but some are still alive.

Dead on arrival

The majority of whales that come to our shores are washed up, already dead. There are a number of reasons why they may have died.

• disease – caused by parasites, viruses or a suppressed immune system (pollution, stress and starvation can make an animal’s immune system weaker and more vulnerable to diseases)
  
• natural mortality – death from old age, death of mother or calf during birth (calves still dependent on their mother’s milk can become separated and starve)
  
• pollution – the deadly effects caused by chemicals from industrial, agricultural or domestic sources (factories, farming and home waste).
  

Alive but not well

You may have seen news stories of live whales stranded on a beach, when efforts have been made to get the animal back into the water, occasionally with some success.

What makes a live whale beach itself?
Most cetaceans use their own form of sonar and are sensitive to the Earth’s magnetic field – they use both of these to navigate and find their food. Several things can affect these otherwise amazing skills:

• Navigation error – whales and dolphins sometimes get lost as they use the Earth’s magnetic fields to navigate the seas. There are a number of things (that we don’t yet fully understand) that may cause the animals to become confused, causing them to mis-read these magnetic lines and become lost
  
• Noise pollution – anthropogenic (human-made) noise from drilling, dredging, shipping, offshore developments and seismic surveys can cause disorientation and distress
  
• Naval sonar – the effects of sound waves from submarines used by the military (for detecting other submarines, ships etc) can disorientate whales and dolphins.

Some species of cetaceans are very social animals and travel in family groups following a dominant leader. Tragically, if the group leader is sick and swims into shallow water, all the others may follow and become stranded together.

Fishes Royal

A law was enacted in 1324 that all whales, dolphins and porpoises found in English waters belonged to the King (or Queen as we have now) and were to be known as ‘Fishes Royal’. The Natural History Museum was given the responsibility for investigating all the strandings since 1913 and runs the UK Whale and Dolphin Stranding Scheme. There have been more than 11,000 strandings so far.

I’m so excited to go diving soon! My friends mentioned that they had a very pleasant and unexpected encounter with a whale shark at my favorite and closest diving area; Batangas, just 3 hrs away from Manila. According to her, the current was very strong so she and her friends were drifting with the current when all of a sudden, they sa something huge! They couldn’t believe their eyes! The whale shark (locally known as Butanding) was spotted near the Mainit school in Mabini, Batangas. The curious whale shark stayed with them for a good 20-30 mins and they have the video to prove it!!

Prior to this encounter, some members of the camera club I belong to has mentioned seeing a whale shark at the Cathedral dive site as well but they didn’t have video of it. We are not sure if it’s the same whale shark.

It seems like the change in the seasons and climate has affected our marine life tremendously. Whale shark sightings are a major tourist attraction in areas like Donsol and Dumagete in the Visayas region. In fact, a trip to those areas to see the whale shark was in my to-do-list-before-i-die. Areas like Batangas never had sightings of Butandings before.

Recently, there’s been news of more sightings around Puerto Princessa in Palawan of a whale shark as well. BBC Wildlife photographer of the Year (2002) Duncan Murrell was there and was amazed by the 20-foot long whale shark! Have a look at this great picture!

Got the picture from Inquirer.net. Read the rest of the article about the whale shark in Palawan here.

Here’s another site by Sergey Parinov which features great photos of whale sharks. Photos were taken in Donsol.

It’s been a rainy/stormy few days here and I decided to give Koffee back his old blanket. He’s been sneezing lately and might be getting a bad cold, with the cooler weather and his new shorter fur cut and all. I took it away from him when he was pup because he kept gnawing on it which had small tassle-like ends.

Does’t he look cute with that banket? Made me think about getting him a nicer looking outfit for his walks. That’s when I happened upon this interesting bit - there’s a Pet Fashion Week ‘07 on Aug. 18 - 19, 2007 in New York! Have a look at Pupstyle.com; the official online sponsor for PFW ‘07. They show a preview of cute outfits for your pets for PFW!

I don’t t think any of the outfits on Pupstyle would look good on Koffee because they seem more suitable for winter or colder climates. They also cost a bundle!! The search for the best Koffee outfit continues!

My pet dog Koffee has recently learned some new tricks! Contrary to what I’ve read that shih tsus are a bit difficult to train, Koffee has learned how to sit, down, play dead, fetch and come towards me. He learned how to sit and come even without food as motivation! I am quite proud of him.

Want to get an obedient pet too? Check out this site - I do dog tricks (idodogtricks.com) and see a cute terrier (?) do the tricks your own pet would do! Try the usual: sit, up, down, play dead, jump, dance, Make sure to type “kiss” and see what he does.

I’ve been having a lot of bad dreams lately which has been keeping me from getting a good night’s rest and making me feel tired. Lately, I’ve been having bad dreams about moving to a different house, ghosts moving slippers and shoes, big fish (like monsters really) and witnessing killings . So I thought to go ahead and search for what these might mean - though I don’t actually believe that these interpretations are real, they might also be because of some subconcious thoughts which needs to be realized.

According to smartgirl’s dream dictionary and dreamlover inc (not sure how reliable my sources are though)

Moving
If you dream of moving in or out of a house, important changes are about to take place in your life.

Kill
To dream about killing is not necessarily negative. It often means the dreamer is letting go of old habits and attitudes in order to go on to a new stage of life. To dream that you have been killed suggests that your actions are disconnected from your emotions. Also, it may mean that there are drastic changes occurring in your life.

Fish
Fish are lucky in dreams, representing spiritual growth and transformation. To see fish swimming in your dream signifies insights from your unconscious mind. To dream of catching a fish represents important insights about yourself and your life which have been brought to the surface. To dream about eating fish symbolizes your beliefs, spirituality, luck and energy. To see a dead or dying fish signifies disappointment and loss of power or money. Also see Aquarium.

Fish from dreamlover inc)
Some people believe that when you dream about fish you, will soon find out that you or someone you know is pregnant (water of the womb). Others believe that if you see fish in your dreams, it is a forecast for sickness and poor health. In Christianity, Christ is at times represented by the fish symbol (spirituality). These water dwelling animals may represent messages from our unconscious and indicate to us how well we navigate through our emotional waters. They could symbolize body and soul nourishment and navigation through the unknown depths of ourselves.

Ghost
In general, seeing ghosts in your dreams symbolizes aspects of yourself that you fear. This may involve a painful memory, guilt, or some repressed thoughts. You may be anxious about your ability to achieve something in real life. Or, you may be afraid of death and dying.

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It’s interesting that dreaming of fish is suppose to be a lucky thing! I’ve always been facintated with the sea and the creatures that dwell in it. When i go swimming or diving in the open sea, I feel adventurous, free and it’s almost liberating. So I can understand why it could mean “representing spiritual growth and transformation” Overall, it seems like my dreams interpret to having growth and changes…and I’m looking forward to it!

How about you, any interesting dreams about animals lately?

I recently read about a pet-sharing-ownership-rental company in San Francisco called FlexPetz, “a company that contracts out dogs by the day to urbanites without the time or space to care for a pet full-time.” They have a set of 10 socialized and trained dogs who are “rented-out” on a similar “time-sharing” basis as with some hotels and rest houses. Basically, you pay an annual fee ($99.95) , a monthly fee ($49.95) to cover expenses like insurance, training, healthcare of the doggies as well as a per visit fee ($39.95 a day) which should cover the packaged food for the rental period as well as accessories such as bowls, etc.

I don’t frown at the whole pet-shared-ownership idea completely. I understand it would just be cruel to have a pet and neglect them completely. I don’t know how much profit the owner of FlexPetz is actually making from this – perhaps the charges are just enough to cover her fixed costs, but that the pets are well adjusted and bring others joy – you can’t argue with that.

You guys have heard my pet Koffee’s recent or indifference towards me because I haven’t been spending time with him – which was one of my concerns before I got a pet in the first place. However, after a few hours or a day of “bonding” we were back on track. He would be a good candidate for the pet-sharing thing since he’s very friendly and adjusts well to different kinds of people.. I don’t mind sharing him with friends and such… but to rent him out for profit maybe not.

Hi Everyone! It’s been a while since my last post. I’ve just been really busy with a lot of things: work, studies, health issues, etc. I also haven’t spent much time with my pet shih tzu; Koffee. Since I’m not home most of the time and usually too tired to spend much play time with him when I get home (around 10PM), I noticed that he’s being indifferent towards me. He still gets excited when he sees me, but he does not come when I call him nor does he hang around with me much.

My first few attempts at cutting fur- see his mustache? teehee..

I had planned to get Koffee groomed last Saturday. Some of his fur had become matted… and I had given him a nice fur-cut … but only on his head! LOFL. So he had a small trimmed head… on a fluffy body. He looked a bit weird.

Just as I was rushing to the pet-grooming center to drop him off before going to work, all the shops were still closed! I had to get to work for a meeting so I had to bring him to work. He seems to have enjoyed the change in scenery. He patiently waited for me while I spent almost the whole day in the office. I was quite proud of how he behaved.

On the way home, I dropped him off at the pet-grooming salon where he got bathed, cleaned, nail cut and a nice puppy cut.

Tada! He looks proportioned now and seems quite happy with his new cut. He is more active now and also seem to have overcome his indifference towards me after the “quality time” last weekend.

Tired after running around the whole day