Happy Halloween!

Aquarium Battles Drought

Aquarium Conserves Water During Drought
By GREG BLUESTEIN, Associated Press Writer
Tue Oct 30, 4:51 PM ET


ATLANTA - With drought conditions intensifying across the Southeast, efforts to conserve water are popping up everywhere — even at the aquarium. In the name of conservation, the Georgia Aquarium, home of the world's largest fish tank, has emptied some of its watery displays.

The downtown Atlanta attraction has drained a lake in an atrium, turned off a waterfall and nearly emptied a moat at an exhibit, refilling it with sand. The aquarium isn't alone: A water salute to retiring pilots at the Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport also has been put on hold.

The efforts are some of the most unusual as the state contends with one of the worst droughts in its history. Georgia already has banned virtually all outdoor water use and ordered public water utilities to cut back water use by 10 percent.

The aquarium also is installing waterless urinals and low-flow faucets, banning pressure-washing of its building and requiring all employees and volunteers to take a water-conservation course.

None of the drained exhibits contained fish, aquarium spokeswoman Meghann Gibbons said. Exhibits with fish continue to operate normally, she said.

"We've tried to do anything we can internally," said Gibbons. She estimated that changes at the aquarium will save more than 3 million gallons a year.

Along with saving water, the measures have had a financial bonus: Pennies that visitors toss into a pool once brimming with water are now easily accessible. "And they've been turned in to the bank," Gibbons quipped.

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On the Net:

Georgia EPA

Georgia Aquarium

you know it's a monday when....

Another Death Rocks the Whiskers Clan

Death Strikes 'Meerkat Manor' Again
By EDWARD WYATT,The New York Times
Posted: 2007-10-27 15:26:06
Filed Under: TV News

LOS ANGELES, Oct. 27 -- Another tragedy has befallen the meerkats.

Mozart, the troubled daughter of Flower, the late matriarch of the Whiskers clan on the popular Animal Planet series 'Meerkat Manor,' died at the end of Friday's episode; it was the second death to shake fans of the show's lovable but hard-luck stars in a month.

After Flower's death -- from a snake bite -- in the Sept. 28 episode, fans flooded the Internet with tributes in poem, picture and song. Early this week, as news of Mozart's demise leaked out, similar tributes began to crop up online.

For the uninitiated, 'Meerkat Manor' traces the lives of the members of several colonies of meerkats in the Kalahari Desert of southern Africa as they procreate, fight for territory and scarce resources and race around looking as cute as all get-out. The Whiskers clan is part of a 13-year study that was originated by Cambridge University and has been followed on camera by producers from Animal Planet for the last three years.

To the dismay of the show's more fervent fans, the life span of a Kalahari meerkat turns out to be not much different from that of the average soap opera villain. Despite calls from some fans after the death of Flowers for the repeal of the Darwinian laws of the desert, the producers have no such refinements in mind.

But they did learn something from the uproar created after the first season, when Shakespeare, a lovable scamp of a meerkat, disappeared and was presumed to have died. The producers place radio collars on each family's dominant female, the better to track the families' movements, but because Shakespeare, a male, simply went missing, there was no visual evidence of his demise. When Flower succumbed to snakebite, the radio collar let producers track her movements closely and provide viewers with visible closure.

With Mozart, the cause of death was uncertain -- it was likely that she fell prey one night to a passing jackal, the show's narrator intones -- but viewers are shown her lifeless body, if from a tasteful distance. Although one meerkat looks much like another, the producers mark each animal with a strategically placed spot of hair dye to tell them apart.

All is not lost, however. Fans of the show are likely to see more of Flower, and perhaps Mozart, in a feature film, 'Queen of the Kalahari,' tentatively scheduled for release next year.


Copyright © 2007 The New York Times Company

The world's most lovable animals

If you're enjoying the images used for the background, then you may want to check out more of Rachael Hale's work. One of my favorite pet photographers, her work pushes the lovableness and cuteness of our animal friends to the max.

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JK Rowling Adopts Retired Greyhound

New Pet for JKR No Mere Padfoot

Posted by: Sue
October 08, 2007, 06:41 PM

There is a new addition to the Murray family to tell you about tonight, as author J.K. Rowling has now adopted a four year old former race dog. The Herald reports that Jo and her family visited the Greyhound Rescue Fife agency in Scotland, and chose the female dog, making a generous donation to the business in the process. The owner of the agency said:

It was only when she asked for a £30 donation to Greyhound Rescue Fife, which the 61-year-old runs with her husband, Jimmy, near Kirkcaldy, that she realised she had been dealing with the world’s most famous children’s author.

At the bottom of a cheque for £1000 was the signature millions of Harry Potter fans would die for. “When I looked at the cheque I couldn’t believe it. The first thing I noticed was the amount she had made it out for,” Mrs Fernie said yesterday.

“Then I spotted her name and realised who it was. I just said Oh, I didn’t recognise you,’ and she just smiled politely. She was a lovely woman – the whole family were very nice.”

The new member of the family, named Sapphire (no word if she is a Ravenclaw ;) joins their other pet, a Jack Russell named Butch, at the Murray home in Edinburgh, Scotland. The owner of the dog rescue center said that she “always ask a person a bit about their lifestyle – what size their house is, do they have a garden and quite importantly does it have a wall at least 6ft high, because I would hate for the dog to get out and run off,” Mrs Fernie recalled…I could see Sapphire was going to a good home. Now I know just how good,” she said.”

You can see photos of JKR and her new addition, here in our galleries courtesy of Greyhound Rescue. Congratulations Jo and family!

I Do Dog Tricks

Here's a neat little site that gives a great excuse for avoiding any type of work. It's called I Do Dog Tricks and features a little Yorkie that obeys any commands you type in the text box at the bottom of the screen.

This dogs vocabulary consists of commands such as sit, roll over, down, stand, sing, dance, shake, fetch, play dead, jump, circle, and even kiss! Sneeze is also very cute.

Play around and find out what else this little guy can do!