What the hell, thought I may as well do more books before getting back to animals. Here is part of the 'mostly mammals' section of the library. Dan will be pleased, as there is a Carrington and a Swinton in there. Also L. Harrison Matthews, Hans Hvass, Kingdon, Guggisberg, and C. J. Harris. Spot the Hellboy compilation, Macdonald's The Velvet Claw, Thorburn's Mammals, Alcock and (ahem) Bagemihl. And here is where I went today...
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On to more of my thoughts about the TV series The Velvet Claw (part I is here). In the previous article, I discussed the art and animation used in the series, all of which was really quite good and very interesting in often featuring fairly obscure creatures...
There's one really important thing…
Those of us interested in the same subject often tend to have experienced the same sort of things. If you share my interests (as you probably do, given that you're here), you've probably watched a lot of Attenborough on TV. You've probably been to at least one of the bigger natural history museums…
Of course - sorry - it was not a living thylacine, and I'm both impressed and dismayed that the real answer - Zebra duiker or Banded duiker Cephalophus zebra - had been posted within 20 minutes of publication [adjacent photo of C. zebra from the Zebra duiker page on the outstanding Ultimate…
They sit there, mostly curled up, mostly asleep, high up in tree-tops, sometimes chewing on bits of plants. But little known is that, deep within their furry little heads, they harbour an unknown desire: to take over the world...
Pet peeve # 113 concerns pandas: it's the generally held notion that…
"(ahem) Bagemihl"
If nothing else, its one of the largest compiliations of mammal and bird gender and sexual reality in one book.
IIRC, its been used in several court cases in defense of people's rights.
Personally, I loved the description of the "Velvet-horns"
and how they may make up as much as 90% of a local population of white-tailed deer.
The PG Tips Prehistoric Animals card album gives me a nostalgic moment. I was 7 (I think) when they came out, I persuaded my mother to change our tea brand to get the cards and harrassed numerous relatives so that I got the whole set. I think I still have the album somehwere.
Some of the pictures were good, though many were very 'stiff' - and the Lystrosaurus looked like a mutant!
They have pictures of all the cards here: http://whom.co.uk/squelch/bbprehis.htm
So Bagemihl is about the birds and the bees?
I reviewed Bagemihl for a highly prestigious magazine :) so know it well. If you haven't read/seen it, do get hold of Ricky Gervais Live: Animals (2003) first...
I'd love to see your Bagemihl review!
Nice to see another fan of "The Velvet Claw".
(if I may ask, you have it on tape or DVD too?)
I'm going to take a wild guess...that's not the Forest of Dean.
:D
'Plitdown - a scientific forgery' by Frank Spencer is presumably subtitled
"Some palaeoanthropologists do 'ave 'em"
(Apologies to non-UK readers, 1970s TV sitcom in-joke here!)