That's right, woodchuck-chuckers
Kat Eschner's newsletter about human-animal relationships, Vol. 4 iss. 10
This week’s issue of The Quick Fox is brought to you by Shubenacadie Sam, Fred la Marmotte, Wiarton Willie and Punxsatawnie Phil, four of this great continent’s prognosticating rodents. Three of ‘em predict an early spring this year, although why we should put any stock in their predictions is anyone’s guess. Groundhog day is… just one of those things.
Also: I am prostrate with the ague as I write this, so please forgive its relative brevity and any linguistic lapses.
Image: A photograph of a groundhog in nature with moving text reading “Happy Groundhog Day” superimposed over it. I am not including a still from the movie or one of the Groundhog Day celebrations because 1. Bill Murray’s reputation is spotty af and 2. In this house we do not celebrate harassing large squirrels. (Credit: Nebraska Humane Society)
Roundup
Things I read this week, sorted by the amount of time I suspect it will take you to get through them.
Shortish
Rescued owl was ‘too fat to fly,’ Suffolk sanctuary says (BBC, Suffolk, England)
China temporarily bans wildlife trade in wake of outbreak (Associated Press, Sam McNeil, Penny Yi Wang & Elaine Kurtenbach, Bangkok, Thailand/Beijing, China)
Elephant hunt auction at Calgary trade show cancelled; to be sold directly instead (Calgary Herald, Sammy Hudes, Calgary, Canada)
Longish
Animals need digital privacy too (Wired, Rose Eveleth, New York City, USA)
The desire for friendship runs deeper in primates than we thought (Longreads/Norton, Lydia Denworth, Brooklyn, USA)
No plastics found in eastern Arctic seals (Nunatsiaq News, Dustin Patar, Iqaluit, Canada)
The worldwide shark attack summary for 2019 (Forbes, Duncan Madden, London, UK)
Old but good
Stuff that I just read for the first time. H/T Jane Hu’s Twitter for this week’s selections.
Duck Ramps Appear at U.S. Capitol, but Not Everyone Is Pleased (The New York Times, Liam Stack, Washington DC, USA) *2017*
‘NO EXCESSIVE BARKING’: A Chevy Chase dog park divides the rich and powerful (The Washington Post, Jessica Contrera, Washington DC, USA) *2019*
How a tiny endangered species put one man in prison (High Country News, Paige Blankenbuehler, Crystal, USA) *2019*
Where’s Willy? America’s favorite whale tries to make it on his own (The New Yorker, Susan Orlean, New York City, USA) *2002*
Please read me
My most recent work.
Strep throat is figuring out how to beat our go-to antibiotics
We’re still not sure where the Wuhan coronavirus really came from
Questions? Comments? Compliments? Complaints? Contact me at my email or on Twitter. If you enjoy this newsletter and would like to tip me, I am on Ko-fi.
All images in CREATURE FEATURE are used under Creative Commons licensing. Efforts have been made to ensure that photographs of living animals or natural scenes have been taken ethically, in responsible pet ownership conditions, at AZA-accredited zoos and aquariums or under safe, non-damaging conditions in the wild. If you see an issue with any image we share, please notify me.