by Grania & Jerry
Good morning everyone, Sunday is upon us. Commiserations if this means back to the office tomorrow.
Out in Winnipeg, Gus is flummoxed by the new Christmas tree, but, being an olfactory cat, he likes its smell:
From reader Charleen, a walrus doing situps with a human:
https://twitter.com/LaurelCoons/status/940816181174337537
Capybaras, the world’s largest rodent, in parade:
A Rodent Of Unusual Size
The Capybara:Is it a beaver without a tail?
A hairy pig without a snout?📌Largest rodent in the world
📌Have a barrel-shaped body covered w/ brown wiry fur
📌Found on Central and South American riverbanks
📌Closely related to cavies and guinea pigs pic.twitter.com/cuSNq4kYvB
— Laurel Coons 🧬🧬🧬 (@LaurelCoons) December 7, 2017
And finally on to Hili who appears to be nonplussed by the juvenile of the species.
Hili: What is this?
A: Jola’s baby.
Hili: You mean, a human?
A: But of course.
Hili: Kind of tiny.
In Polish:
Hili: Co to jest?
Ja: Joli niemowlę.
Hili: Czyli człowiek?
Ja: Jak najbardziej.
Hili: Jakiś malutki.
I notice that Jerry’s posts on language usage and grammar are very popular – sometimes generating hundreds of responses. So what are we to make of Hili being “nonplussed”? Is he surprised and bewildered by the baby? Or is he unfazed?
😉
If we are to get the language correct, try she, not he.
Hili is a she? Well, color me nonplussed.
Yeah, davidintoronto, Ms Hili, pronounced
HeeLee, has been female since her weest
kittenhood.
And google states that the color of
‘nonplussed’ is, as of some o’Ms Hili
herself, … … black and white ! Thus !
Blue
ps For Her and for Us All ? a darling and
a m a z i n g ( yeah … … .that. word ! )
Solstice – message: https://twitter.com/dodo/status/942106565070413824 !
I would say the baby is the bewildered nonplussed and Hili is the unfazed definition.
So odd to see a walrus doing that!
Yes! A great success with my young children.
Wonder if it is a more or less spontaneous type of imitation or meticulous training.
I expect it is training. Like other Pinnipeds, they are trained to do specific gestures for fish, and sometimes the cue is the same gesture by their trainer.
I thought for sure it was a hoax and must be someone in a walrus suit; then found numerous videos of walruses doing workouts with their trainers, sit-ups, push-ups, etc.
Wonder why this walrus looks so human there, of course there is the basic anatomy common to mammals, but could it be the subcutaneous fat? Found both in humans and aquatic mammals (one of the stronger arguments of Elaine Morgan’s ‘aquatic ape’ hypothesis).
I was lucky enough to get to cuddle with a 4 month old, and 200 lb. baby walrus in Alaska. Walruses need constant physical contact and this one was abandoned in the wild, then rescued and cared for by veterinarians. They are so well insulated that I felt no heat at all from it. It was like snuggling a cold, wet, leather sofa.
A cold wet leather sofa? I’m still envious!
Who puts pants on a baby? Makes me crazy.
“Gentle giants”? I’m not too sure about that. Maybe one reared in captivity.
I’ve read much about Arctic exploration and walrus were notoriously dangerous to humans.