Pages

▼

Saturday, June 18, 2011

In Japanese folklore, tapirs can eat people's dreams. Who's eating YOUR dreams? Or, who's LIVING in YOUR dreams? Anyway...I show you The Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus), also called the Asian Tapir. WWF Maximum cards / maxicards / dorincards from Vietnam


"The Malayan Tapir (Tapirus indicus), also called the Asian Tapir, is the largest of the four species of tapir and the only one native to Asia.[2] The scientific name refers to theEast Indies, the species' natural habitat. In the Malay language, the tapir is commonly referred to as "cipan", "tenuk" or "badak tampong"".

Why not camouflaged by stripes, like a tiger?
What's up with this giant panda style of black and white?
"The animal is easily identified by its markings, most notably the light-colored “patch” which extends from its shoulders to its rear. 
The rest of its hair is black, except for the tips of its ears which, as with other tapirs, are rimmed with white. 
This pattern is for camouflage: the disrupted coloration makes it more difficult to recognize it as a tapir, and other animals may mistake it for a large rock rather than a form of prey when it is lying down to sleep."

"The females are usually larger than the males. 
Like the other types of tapir, they have small stubby tails and long, flexible proboscises. 
They have four toes on each front foot and three toes on each back foot. 
The Malayan Tapir has rather poor eyesight but excellent hearing and sense of smell."

Men! 
When women ask you a serious question, DON'T give them 
the flehmen response!
"The proboscis of the tapir is a highly flexible structure, able to move in all directions, allowing the animals to grab foliage that would otherwise be out of reach. 
Tapirs often exhibit the flehmen response, a posture in which they raise their snouts and show their teeth, in order to detect scents. 
This response is frequently exhibited by bulls sniffing for signs of other males or females in oestrus in the area."

Women!
When you wear your favorite perfume (natural or not),
and you are near a TIGER, let's say,
what organ of the tiger you think you are addressing?
.
.
.

No, guess again.
.
.
.
It's the Jacobson's organ.

"The flehmen response (English pronunciation: /ˈfleɪmən/, German: [ˈflɛːmən]), also called the flehmen position, flehmen reaction, flehming, or flehmening (from German flehmen, meaning to curl the upper lip), is a particular type of curling of the upper lip in ungulates, felids, and many other mammals, which facilitates the transfer of pheromones and other scents into the vomeronasal organ, also called the Jacobson's organ."

" Therefore while the presence of a structure in adult human beings is debated, a review of the scientific literature by Tristram Wyatt concluded, "most in the field... are sceptical about the likelihood of a functional VNO in adult human beings on current evidence.""

Tapir, under the pink/orange sky of Vietnam (see the above stamps again).
====================
Happy Pink Saturday! (still open on Sunday!)

Please visit "Pretty in pink"/ "Show us your pink" [objects, that is :)] meme here:
http://howsweetthesound.typepad.com/my_weblog/


at 1 comment:

Friday, June 17, 2011

Monkey business, but no grease monkeys: The red-shanked douc (Pygathrix nemaeus), and The black crested gibbon (Nomascus concolor) - WWF maxicards from Vietnam. Also, a new idea for marital counseling therapy. Weining!!!


Upper-left and Upper-right:
"The red-shanked douc (Pygathrix nemaeus) is a species of Old World monkey, among the most colourful of all primates. 
This attractive monkey is sometimes called the "costumed ape" for its extravagant appearance [MY NOTE: no, we're not talking about celebrity X]. 
From its knees to its ankles it sports maroon-red "stockings", and it appears to wear white forearm length gloves. Its attire is finished with black hands and feet. 
The golden face is framed by a white ruff, which is considerably fluffier in males. 
The eyelids are a soft powder blue.[MY NOTE: Cosmeticians Anonymous] 
The tail is white with a triangle of white hair at the base, males of all ages have a white spot on both sides of the corners of the rump patch, females don't have these. 
Males have red and white genitals.[MY NOTE: no cloak of invisibility is needed; on the contrary...]

The word ‘douc’ (pronounced ‘dook’) is an ancient name of  Vietnamese origin.[citation needed] 
The douc is an arboreal and diurnal monkey that eats and sleeps in the trees of the forest."

"This monkey communicates using facial expressions. 
It has a specific play face with the mouth open, teeth partially bared and chin thrust forward. 
Sometimes, it closes its eyes and paws blindly towards one another with remarkable disregard for the hazards of doing this when up a tree. [MY NOTE: Douc of Hazard]
Its fixed stare is a threat display. [MY NOTE: A stare: way to hell]
A grimace with the mouth open and the teeth exposed is a submissive gesture given in response to a stare." "[MY NOTE: people, don't just sit with your mouth open...]


Lower-left and Lower-right:
"The black crested gibbon (Nomascus concolor) is an endangered species of gibbon found in India, the Malay archipelago and Indochina. There are 4 subspecies."


"Black-crested gibbons live in small family groups consisting of a monogamous male and female and their offspring, there are also reports that groups may contain additional mature females [My NOTE: no, they don't keep in touch with The Male by his explicit tweets. In fact, the black crested W said "Stop staring at my tweets!"]

These apes are predominantly arboreal and the group forages and sleeps amongst the trees. 


[Weining!!!]
[MY NOTE: here's an idea for W's marital counseling therapy:]
Led by the female, the breeding pair partakes in vigorous bouts of singing in the morning, which hauntingly echo through the forest. 
It is believed that these ‘duets' are essential in pair bond formation and reinforcement, but also serve to advertise the presence of the group within the territory."


The Red-shanked Redemption, 
after a horrible "Orange Revolution"...
"The main predator of the red-shanked douc is humans. It is threatened throughout its limited range by habitat destruction and hunting. Native people hunt it for food and body parts, which are used in traditional medicine. There is also a very lucrative and illegal wildlife trade for the red-shanked douc. 
During the Vietnam War, the douc habitat was heavily bombed and sprayed with defoliants like Agent Orange. 
Soldiers also used them for target practice, it is said."

=================

Happy PFF (Postcard Friendship Friday)!

Please visit: http://thebestheartsarecrunchy.blogspot.com/ (wait until Beth posts the today's Linky tool for the meme, then make your entry, if you want to join).


at 8 comments:

Thursday, June 16, 2011

Vietnam on my mind, for some reason...:)...They don't teach you in school about this mysterious viverrid: Owston's Palm Civet (Chrotogale owstoni). WWF maximum cards / maxicards / dorincards from the Socialist Republic of Vietnam / Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam



"Owston's Palm Civet (Chrotogale owstoni) is a civet that lives in the forests and wooded lowland river basins of northern Vietnam, northern Laos, and southern China.

The Owston's Palm Civet is a mid-sized palm civet at 57 cm (23 in), plus a tail of 43 cm (17 in). 
With its pointed face, it is sometimes thought to resemble a large insectivore, such as a shrew. 
It has a tawny buff-grey body with highly contrasted black markings on its back and tail. 
They usually only have 4 bands on their back. 
The last two-thirds of the tail is completely black. 
They look somewhat like the Banded Palm Civet, Hemigalus derbyanus, except for that the hair on the back of their neck are not reversed, and the Owston's has spots on its legs.
Next to nothing is known about their life history in the wild, though limited information has been gathered on captive animals. 
They feed mostly on earthworms and other invertebrates."




"Vietnam, sometimes spelled Viet Nam (Listeni /ˌviː.ɛtˈnɑːm/ vee-et-nahm; Vietnamese: Việt Nam, About this sound listen (help·info)), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (Vietnamese: Cộng hòa xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam, About this sound listen (help·info)), is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. 
It is bordered by People's Republic of China (PRC) to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea, referred to as East Sea (Vietnamese: Biển Đông), to the east.
 With a population of over 89 million, Vietnam is the 13th most populous country in the world."
Socialist Republic of Vietnam
Cộng hòa Xã hội chủ nghĩa Việt Nam
FlagEmblem
Motto: Độc lập – Tự do – Hạnh phúc
"Independence – Freedom – Happiness"
Anthem: Tiến Quân Ca
"Army March" (first verse)
Location of  Vietnam  (green)in ASEAN  (dark grey)  —  [Legend]
Location of  Vietnam  (green)
in ASEAN  (dark grey)  —  [Legend]
CapitalHanoi
21°2′N 105°51′E
Largest cityHo Chi Minh City


Formation
 - Đại Việt1054 
 - French annexation1853 to 1883 
 - Independence from France2 September 1945 
 - Reunification30 April 1975 
 - Current constitution15 April 1992 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam

Throughout history, the Vietnamese have defeated the Chinese, the French, the Americans...
"The Vietnamese became independent from China in AD 938 after their victory at the battle of Bạch Đằng River. Successive dynasties flourished along with geographic and political expansion deeper into Southeast Asia, until it was colonized by the French in the mid-19th century.
Efforts to resist the French eventually led to their expulsion from the country in the mid-20th century, leaving a nation divided politically into two countries. 
 Fighting between the two sides continued during the Vietnam War, ending with a North Vietnamese victory in 1975."

"Vietnam is one of Asia's most open economies: two-way trade is around 160% of GDP, more than twice the ratio for China and over four times India's"

"One of the most popular Vietnamese traditional garments is the "Áo Dài", worn often for special occasions such as weddings or festivals. White Áo dài is the required uniform for girls in many high schools across Vietnam. Áo Dài was once worn by both genders but today it is worn mainly by females, except for certain important traditional culture-related occasions where some men do wear it."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:%C3%81o_d%C3%A0i,_H%E1%BB%93_G%C6%B0%C6%A1m-crop.jpg

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vietnam

"The CIVETS (Colombia, Indonesia, Vietnam, Egypt, Turkey and South Africa)[1] is a grouping acronym for favored emerging markets coined in late 2009 by Robert Ward, Global Forecasting Director for the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU).[2] 
The term has also been used by HSBC's chief executive Michael Geoghegan. 
These countries are favored for several reasons, such as a dynamic and diverse economy and a young growing population"
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CIVETS

=============
Time for another stretch (of imagination)...
I see a black heart shape in the Upper-Right image of civet, to the left of its head, on the shoulder.

Please visit and join The Guest Heart Thursday meme!


at 1 comment: