Amber & Peppy Penguins

I'm not the only one greeting the new year with optimism.

Amber & Being Tiggy

Ever wonder what it is like to be Tiggy Winkle?  I took this video of her Saturday morning spent with her baby brothers so you could get a better idea.



Poor, poor Miss Winkle.

Amber & Boys

Did I mention it was the birthday of these guys?  Ginger and Pickles.

Sigh.  They are so photogenic.  Look at this one!

Ginger is a little light-colored in that shot.  Must be the sun glare.

Amber & Investigative Journalism

We here at Amber & take our commitment to quality journalism very seriously.  This may be the Internet, but we believe in fact-checking and proper sourcing.

So, you can imagine my frustration when Nick lobbed this adorable bomb at me last week, a really solid effort to wipe me out with cuteness, and I had no idea what kind of animal it was or where it came from.

So, I put on my Hercule Poirot mustache and got to work.

You'll note that on the white board behind what is very clearly a zoo-keeper, it says "S. A. ORYX."  But the hind legs of our little buddy were definitely not oryx legs.  But, he was definitely some kind of African hoofstock-- I recognized his distinguishing characteristic properties from my class at the National Zoo in Cheetahs and Their Food.  So, I looked at a bunch of pictures of different grassland hoofstock, looking for one decidedly small in stature.

And aha!  It was a dik-dik.

Once I knew it was a dik-dik, it was as easy as Googling "baby dik-dik zoo" to find out that this little guy lives at the Chester Zoo.

And that is the story of how my quest for journalistic integrity and thoroughness lead me to kill myself with cuteness.  Look at that tiny hoof.  Look at it!  I dare you.

Amber & Cute Quest June 2010

I am trying to convince Kevin to take me with him to Detroit so I can meet this guy.

He's ready to meet me!

Amber & Four Friday Things

1.  I love this song.  I have been singing it all day.  Luckily, I have been alone in the office.



Ohhh ohh.  Ohhh ohhh ohhh ohhh, ohhh ohhh.  The beginning is the best ever.  And: "I guess we'll just have to adjust."

2.  What's this little gal doing on the label to my bath salts?

3.  What's not to love about a new coworker when one of the five things on his desk is a Ganesh statue?

I mean, what are the odds?

Two Ganeshes, one office?  ("Probable, yo. The odds is probable.")

4.  Baby capybaras.  (Hat tip, Alison.)

I want to go to there.  And, I love you, Terri Beth.

Amber & Earth Animals

I celebrated Earth Day this morning by petting the cats (who, after all, are part of the wonders of Earth) and reading this article in The New York Times non-paper edition.  It chronicles something I have only experienced on an airplane: the newly hatched oeuvre of animal reality shows.  The author draws this questionable, although likely tongue-cheeked, conclusion:


Sure, you could argue that we humans have abused nature far more than nature has abused us. You could also argue that these portentous nature shows are merely playing on the secret desire we all have to feel that there is still some danger, some life-or-death excitement, left in this sterilized, seat-belted, stay-on-marked-trails world.


But while you’re making these arguments, a bear may be breaking into your garage, your neighbor’s pet boa is probably making its way into your closet, and a flatworm could be laying eggs in your blood vessels. So sure, on Earth Day, all hail nature for its beauty and wonder. But remember that, as that volcano in Iceland reminds us, it’s also violent, and hungry. Very hungry.


I've only ever seen those animal rescue shows and the one where the British lady wears a jumpsuit and always figures out that it's the owner who is the problem, not the dogs.  So, I could only wish the article had been better illustrated.

Here without delay, I fulfill my own wish, providing one image for each category of show he discusses.


1.  ANIMALS ARE ADORABLE.

Really, I could have gone with just about anything from the heroes over at Cuteoverload.com where they document this category, one ridonkulus animal at a time.


2.  ANIMALS ARE WEIRD.

Remember this guy?  Aye aye, captain!


3.  ANIMALS ARE JUST LIKE US.

They eat in restaurants and sometimes get served the wrong dish.  Only they can't spell.  Oh wait, that is just like us.  (Maybe we were better spellers before LOLcats?  Chicken or the egg?)


4.  ANIMALS WANT TO KILL AND OFTEN EAT US.




Yo, nobody should dance with the bear.  DANGER ZONE!

Amber & Cows

I love cows, especially the fuzzy ones.  Once when I was visiting the nature center across from my parents' old house, I was licked by a cow.  And it was so magical and special that it made me cry.  God bless, cows.

Amber & They Just Keep Googling

My favorite here is clearly "kinkajou dancing."  Who knew it was a dance craze?

Amber & Web Amusements

Dear readers, are you bored and just itching for the weekend? Fear not! Here is tons of stuff that will waste at least twenty whole minutes of your Friday.

First, we have this fun site from the GENIUSES at the Minnesota Zoo.


Trust me, it is incredibly fun. Let me know how you do. I got this to print out and write my name on.And then there's also this site from everybody's favorite fantasy-writer/philosopher Ronald Chevalier.

Sadly, this one requires a printer up front for the trick to work (vs. printing out your certificate afterward), but I greatly enjoyed thinking about doing this somewhere that there is a working printer....

Anyhow, Happy Friday, everyone!

Amber & Gorilla Boogers

James had a friend who tweeted (twat?) about eating gorilla boogers. Now, when I was an apprentice ape keeper at the National Zoo, I was interested in all aspects of my gorilla friends. I loved them so much, I was willing to pick up their poops with my hands (in gloves, sometimes double-bagged). In the interest of finding out what their food tasted like, I once ate a piece of gorilla biscuit, but I don't know that I would ever have carried it so far as to taste their nose crud.


James did a bit of research and discovered that Gorilla Boogers...


... are actually sweetened dried black bean candies.
The folks over at Candy Addict think this sounds unpleasant. I don't know. Maybe because I had such a vivid image of real life gorilla boogers in my head and this is so much better than that, I think I might eat them after all.

[Update: check out the official site. Update 2: bad links fixed.]

Amber & Slow Lorises

The clever folks over at Cuteoverload brought this video to my attenshuns. I watched it at work on Monday and nearly died from, well, cute overload.



Kevin pointed out that maybe slow lorises are really endangered beasts and maybe these people shouldn't have one in their bed. This is, apparently, a real issue. I sure hope folks won't see this slow loris getting tickled on Amber & and try to get one for themselves.

Also, I learned from Wikipedia that they are actually venomous animals who mark their territory with pee all the time. That's a pretty compelling argument for leaving their cuteness in the wild if you ask me.

Amber & Temple Grandin

While I was eating my vegetarian chili, I just read this really nice review of the new book Animals Make Us Human: Creating the Best Life for Animals and then placed an order for it on Amazon. I love Temple Grandin as much as she loves animals, but maybe not as much as I love animals.


If you haven't heard about her, Temple is austic and has theorized that the experience of being austic is much like experiencing animal perceptions and emotions. I've read everything she has ever written (some things in bound proof form) and I take very seriously her opinions on how to make sure my cohabitating beasties have full, happy lives.

I can't wait to write a book review to share with you all.

Moo!

Amber & Kinkajous? No, kinkamoi.

Kevin asked, with seeming urgency, in the comments below...

What is that Tiggy!?

At first, I was confused because everybody knows that Tiggy is a magnificent animal: a cat. But, I figured out that what Kevin was asking is...

What animal does Tiggy resemble in this week's Tiggy of the Wink?

The answer, dear readers, is a kinkajou. This little guy is an arboreal rainforest mammal, and is also known as the "honey bear," which happens to be my nickname for my sister and Woody. And of course, Pooh. The Bronx Zoo has one of these little buddies. I wonder if he works in the Membership ofice with my friend Gale.

You can get kinkajou wallpaper here at National Geographic, or you can read about a real old Hawaiian kinkajou here. I don't advise getting one as a pet, not because I don't think you'd be a loving kinkamomma, but because they're not really domesticated animals and won't really be happy-- even if you buy them a carpet tree, it won't compare to a real one. And, as Paris Hilton will tell you, they bite.

They sure are cutie, though.

Amber & News Items

I have sooo many news items to report.

1. Ginger and Pickles have had their manhood stolen from them by Dr. Schaubhut.
And, while he was at it, he also removed a polyp the size of a nickel which was blocking Ginger's throat. Ginger still has conjunctivitis--and it was boogers, not glue sealing his eye shut as CRD falsely reported. Pickles is taking the loss of his manparts pretty hard; he's sleepy and mewy. But, Ginger is back trotting around the house and biting everything in sight.


2. Mandara had a baby! It's a gorilla!
You may, or may not, remember Mandara from my time volunteering at the National Zoo. She and Barack, the Zoo's silverback, had a tiny, tiny baby. They don't know yet if it's a boy or a girl, but they are 100% it is cute. You need to see the video here. Keeper Becky, who totally remembers me, sent this photo.


3. I am getting my hair did today and may abandon my six-hairs plan.
Medium hair is just so hard and medium seeming. I may need to go back to short and abandon all hope of puffs. But flips are nice, right?


4. Cranberry won.
You, my dear readers, picked cranberry as the preferred color for my yarncraft accessories. A victory for the bitter berry despite Diana's best efforts.

5. Day Four Schedule
Here we are on day four of my vacation. Day One was spent in a lump on the couch, Days Two and Three were spent bringing cats downtown for vet visits and then tending to said cats. Today is laundry and hair appointment and socializing in the evening.

6. John Berry, National Zoo Director, has accepted an Obama Appointment.
You may remember Mr. Berry from my volunteering at Zoo Lights. We talked long johns and I found him to be very personable. Maybe he needs an Assistant Director of Kittycat Management?

Amber & Grinches

One thing that is different about the Plantbuilding Show vs. Zoo Lights, aside from the disgraceful lack of orang utans and gorillas, is that the attendees of the Plantbuilding Show are mostly grinches. Now, maybe you thought there was just the one grinch, the Grinch, but I am here to tell you that he was one of many, many. And, apparently, his peoples love Plantbuildings.


It's a good thing I slept all day yesterday (except for the parts where I took a rest from napping to eat or pet kitties) because dealing with grinches is exhausting! There are definitely some Who's mixed in, and most of the grinches are my co-gardeners.

I am tired and demoralized. And I miss the apes.

Amber & Animal Friends

Apes are alot like people--and not just because people are apes. One way that people are like our other ape cousins is that we all enjoy kitty friendships.

Meet 49-year-old Tonda. A couple of years ago when her mate, Yakut, died, Tonda got very depressed. I imagine she was lonely and didn't find any satisfaction in buying or chewing shoes. And maybe, unlike Lucy, she just isn't a handbag-type of girl? And maybe didn't really have a reason to look forward to coming back to her empty yard after a hard day at work entertaining zoo-goers.



So, inspired by Koko and her series of kitten buddies, Tonda's keepers decided to get her a kitty friend, which they helped her name T.K. Just having the fuzzy little beast around seems to cheer her up.

Says the New York Post, a surprisingly good source for animal news...

T.K., has brought Tonda back to her own self, providing her with a much-needed friendship zookeepers worried she might never again experience. The orangutan and cat eat together and sleep side-by-side; even when they aren't playing or cuddling, Tonda always keeps a watchful eye on her friend.

Be sure to check out the video on that page.

What is it about cats that makes us apes love them so, so much? Interspecies friendships are beautiful, fuzzy things. I sure love orangs. And cats.

Amber & Déjà Zoo

So, it turns out that my job in the Bronx is actually very much like my old volunteer work in D.C. Of course, there are a few small differences, but there are also many similarities. Let's examine them.

Instead of greeting visitors when they enter and thanking them for coming when they exit at Zoo Lights in extreme winter weather, I am greeting and thanking at Garden Plantbuildings in an cold spell. (Sure there are trains, but really the historical and landmark buildings made entirely of plants are really the main attraction.)

At both, hotdrinks are key to staying warm.

At both jobs, I face the challenge of 8-hour hat hair. And, at both, I have an indoor job where I have to take off my hat. Only, at the Zoo I didn't worry so much about what my colleagues thought.

Photo by James

At both, I face the challenge of dressing appropriately for spending an excessively long time standing around outside. At the Zoo, though, I could dress more casual style. But, at both I wore name tags.

Photo by James

My Zoo tag was way cooler because it said I was friends with apes and lemurs.

I miss gorillas. Zoo Lights wins.

Amber & the Merry More

I simultaneously want to sing out in joy but also am a touch sad.

So, although Amy knew and was keeping it secret, Nick tipped me off that the Wildlife Conservation Society (the Bronx Zoo folks to you and me) discovered more than 100,000 Western lowland gorillas in a swamp in equatorial Republic of Congo.

There's a really fantastic CNN video here and the full details of the amazing and hope-giving discovery. Be warned: the video contains images of young gorillas trying to spin themselves sick and one young fellow who is practicing for Cirque du Soleil.

This is all amazing, happy news. But, as Kevin said, it would have been nice if the gorillas could have remained hidden in peace. I definitely agree. If a gorilla leads a happy life in the swamp, it still makes a joyful sound even if there are no humans around to hear it.

And, Amy says that was the point of her keeping it secret.

Amber & Babies Named Hazel

I now know TWO young lassies named Hazel. It's easy to tell them apart, though.

This is Young Miss Hazel. She likes monkeys and singing Eee eye eee eye yo. We are buddies.

This is Baby Hazel. She likes being held in a swaddle by Harmony, with Owen and the Pee and Poop dolls Nick gave her looking on. I have not yet met her.

What a beautiful name for two beautiful, but very different, little girls.