Cool Sighting This Morning!

Its been wonderful weatherwise lately, so I am able to leave at 5 am. and get home within 35-40 minutes. Great. No one has trashed anything lately, so no messes to clean up. I was walking to the back of the property that I feed at spot #3 and I thought I saw an odd looking animal, so I went closer to it, and lo and behold, it was an opossum, with around 10 babies clinging to its back! That was SO cool! At first I thought there was something wrong with it, but when I focused, and thank God its lighter out in the morning, I could see around 10 tiny babies hanging on to it. I did not have my camera, but found this picture on the internet and it shows exactly what I saw. Very cool.







At my own home, I continue to struggle with my cat Scooter who is aggressive towards Boris, and now Sonny, who is still at my home healing. The only thing I've been able to do to keep the peace is 'time out' for Scooter. I wish I had a better answer as to why he picks on the weaker kitties that show fear. The others could care less so he doesn't bother with them. Animal behavior is just so funny. I read this article and thought it was interesting -
Animals are so much smarter than we think: "Scientists studying animal behaviour believe they have growing evidence that species ranging from mice to primates are governed by moral codes of conduct in the same way as humans. Until recently, humans were thought to be the only species to experience complex emotions and have a sense of morality. But Prof Marc Bekoff, an ecologist at University of Colorado, Boulder, believes that morals are "hard-wired" into the brains of all mammals and provide the "social glue" that allow often aggressive and competitive animals to live together in groups. He has compiled evidence from around the world that shows how different species of animals appear to have an innate sense of fairness, display empathy and help other animals that are in distress. His conclusions will provide ammunition for animal welfare groups pushing to have animals treated more humanely, but some experts are sceptical about the extent to which animals can experience complex emotions and social responsibility."



Take elephants for example: Elephants are intensely sociable and emotional animals. Research by Iain Douglas Hamilton, from the department of zoology at Oxford University, suggests elephants experience compassion and has found evidence of elephants helping injured or ill members of their herd.In one case, a Matriarch known as Eleanor fell ill and a female in the herd gently tried to help Eleanor back to her feet, staying with her before she died.In 2003, a herd of 11 elephants rescued antelope who were being held inside an enclosure in KwaZula-Natal, South Africa.The matriarch unfastened all of the metal latches holding the gates closed and swung the entrance open allowing the antelope to escape.This is thought to be a rare example of animals showing empathy for members of another species – a trait previously thought to be the exclusive preserve of mankind.



Very very cool.