April 15, 2010

One million euro to research eating bugs

Filed under: Animals,Science by Orangemaster @ 8:25 pm
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Our current governement is on its way out, and there are elections in early June. This means no major decisions can be taken, and it’s more about tying up loose ends and cleaning out desks. But hey, let’s stir things up and give one million euro for research into eating bugs. Nom!

For the next three years, the Wageningen University & Research Centre gets to research which insects are worth eating. And then, the clichés: scientists say they’re just as good for you as meat, it’s good for the environment, and also my favourites, people in Asia and Africa eat them, they’re good with chocolate (bye bye health argument) and so on.

Why not just ask the Asians and Africans for recipes and/or their research instead of throwing all that money out the window? No, wait, why not start a marketing campaign to eat bugs? Wait, we don’t eat bugs, and unless we totally run out of food, we’re not going to consider eating bugs any time soon.

I grew up near one of the only, if not the only place where you can gawk at insects and then eat some: the Montréal Insectarium. If only they did that at the farm with burgers. Or maybe fast food chains should sell bug burgers. Nom!

(Link: telegraaf.nl, Photo of Worms by Wahj, some rights reserved.)

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April 6, 2010

White rhinoceros born in Arnhem zoo

Filed under: Animals by Orangemaster @ 4:02 pm

A white rhinoceros (also called ‘squared lipped rhinorecos’) was born in the the Burgers’ Zoo in Arnhem. It’s a male rhino and he is called Dozer. The zoo is very happy since they rarely breed in captivity. According to them, some three rhinos are born every year in Europe in captivity.

Is it just me or does every zoo say that animals don’t breed easily in captivity? I wouldn’t expect anything less, really.

(Link: rtl.nl)

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March 16, 2010

First peewit egg of the year found

Filed under: Animals,Nature by Orangemaster @ 4:53 pm
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In the province of Friesland, it is a tradition to be the first one to find the year’s first peewit egg (‘kievitsei’, in Dutch). Unlike other birds who lay their eggs in nests, the peewit (aka Northern Lapwing) lays its eggs in the ground. There are wide open fields in Friesland where people go ‘egg hunting’.

Over the years, there has been much commotion about picking these eggs, as many Dutch people see it as unnecessary and what have you. As well, following a ruling by the European Union, harvesting these eggs is now forbidden — except in Friesland where a cultural exception was made. After much lobbying, the province of Friesland is now allowed to look for peewit eggs between 1 March and 9 April. I believe the difference is finding them is one thing and picking them (stealing them?) is another.

According to website Expatica.com, “It is a Friesland tradition to give the first lapwing egg of the year to the province’s royal commissioner. Originally, it was given to the sovereign.”

The finding of the first egg is a symbol of spring and always makes the news. The eggs in the picture are different and from Australia, albeit of the same bird.

(Link: blikopnieuws.nl, Photo of eggs by wiccked, some rights reserved)

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March 12, 2010

First ever Dutch beaver tunnel opens

Filed under: Animals,Architecture,Dutch first,Nature by Orangemaster @ 5:08 pm
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Driving down the Dutch highway I have seen overpasses for deers and I have heard of frog overpasses and tunnels, but this is a first for me too: the very first beaver tunnel in the country.

Yes, as of today, the wee village of Panheel (189 villagers) in Limburg has opened a 30-metre-long tube, 70 centimetres in diameter so that beavers don’t wobble down a busy street and get turned into road pizza. Not only have many beavers died, but they damage cars when then do because they are bigger and bulkier than they look.

The people and animal lovers involved believe that other small woodland creatures will use this tunnel as well. It cost 40,000 euro and was paid with contributions as well as tax money.

I have only respect for beavers, and OK, this one is darn cute. I spent part of my youth at summer camp tearing down their dams only to see them fully rebuilt days later. It was either portaging (carrying a canoe over your head because of lack of water or obstacles), with two 9-year-old girls lifting an aluminium canoe of 45 kg over their heads with backpacks for 2 kilometers through the woods being eaten by mosquitoes or tearing down a beaver dam that grows back like weeds and canoe on the water like normal kids.

(Link: nrc.nl, Photo of beaver by stevehdc, some rights reserved)

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March 1, 2010

Online bird watching with webcams

Filed under: Animals,Nature by Orangemaster @ 9:42 am
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The Dutch bird protection society (Vogelbescherming) has webcams on the birds of eight nests so people can watch the birds from a safe distance and maybe catch a glimpse of eggs hatching.

“Among the birds being monitored are various owls and birds of prey, a stork and a coal tit. It is the fourth year in a row that the bird society has installed webcams close to nests.”

Pick a webcam here.

(Link: dutchnews.nl, Photo: beleefdelente.nl)

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January 27, 2010

Famous retired bear dies unexpectedly in zoo

Filed under: Animals by Orangemaster @ 12:45 pm

The zoo in Emmen, Drenthe found male Kodiak bear Mato dead last Tuesday night. Nobody knows why the 23-year-old bear died, it wasn’t sick or anything. The zoo is hoping a necropsy will give them some indication.

As a young cub, Mato ‘played’ in the film L’Ours (The Bear) by Jean-Jacques Annaud back in 1988.

(Link: rtvnoord.nl)

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December 11, 2009

Not so merry Christmas yet

Filed under: Animals,Food & Drink by Orangemaster @ 11:50 am
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Every year around the holidays some of the same complaints rear their ugly heads and every year nothing is ever resolved except for the papers having something to polarize readers about. Although many people do celebrate Christmas in the Netherlands, the real gift-giving was last week, and as one person mentioned on Twitter, it’s time for lists of the best this and that and counting down until 2010.

Back by popular demand, animal activists whining about foie gras in restaurants. Ah yes, the decadent French and their foie gras. They mistreat animals and not serving it in the Netherlands is taking a stand. Why isn’t it banned then? Get on with it. And then list all the other bad things we do to animals and move on and leave Christmas alone!

Not being sure about putting up a Christmas tree in the lobby of a higher vocational school in The Hague because that’s not the best choice for a multicultural society. Excuse me? Nonsense. And it was nonsense, and misinterpretated and the Minister of Education, Ronald Plasterk apparently has time for this nonsense, too.

And in regional news, how about the city of Nijmegen digging a big hole to plant Christmas right in front of your store for Christmas as a recession gift? I can imagine that the big store is not amused with the city’s idea of decorating the square in front of it. The store found out in a letter sent on 3 December that was not even addressed properly.

Companies are apparently going to keep their Christmas parties cheap and I bet the traditional Christmas packages employees receive (I get people’s leftovers, I’m self-employed) won’t have anything special in them, never mind some employees having to drive to their office headquarters (!) to pick up the orange-flavoured powdered hot chocolate and the tuna with tomato and veggies in it.

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November 30, 2009

Bear costume or sleeping bag?

Filed under: Animals,Design,General by Orangemaster @ 11:52 am
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Eiko Ishizawa, a Japanese designer living in Amsterdam designed this fun sleeping bag that doubles as a bear suit or maybe it’s the other way round, I can’t tell. If you do get attacked by a bear — surely not in the Netherlands — you can’t sue him, he explains. “Leave your bear sleeping bag in the tent and don’t turn the light on for the bear’s sake”.

I think someone’s been watching too many nature films, but inspiration is inspiration. I can see before me an entire cool collection of fun sleeping bag for kids if someone hasn’t picked up on this idea already.

(Link: idealize.nl, Photo: eikoishizawa.com)

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November 27, 2009

Some pigs are more equal than others

Filed under: Animals by Orangemaster @ 12:32 pm
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After giving birth to a total of 170 piglets, breeding sow ‘Fokzeug 1281’ (‘fok’ means ‘breed’ in Dutch before anyone asks) is getting a proper retirement instead of being turned into pork roast. Pig breeder Edwin Snoek from Heerhugowaard has decided that 1281 gets to spend the rest of its days at Het Beloofde Varkensland (The Promised Pigland) in Amstelveen with its last piglet, 170.

The picture here is of Caesar, a pig who had its own webcam at Promised Pigland.

(Link: vleesmagazine.nl, Photo: varkensgeluk)

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November 16, 2009

Giant Ashera cat dies in custody

Filed under: Animals by Orangemaster @ 2:31 pm

Way back in January 2008 we wrote a story about Shin-Chan, a giant Ashera cat (pic) that had been caged up at Schiphol Airport and not allowed to enter the country. The cat had been bought by a couple from Eindhoven for EUR 14,695 (US$22,000) from Lifestyle Pets in the United States.

According to Dutchnews.nl, owner Jeffrey Borrenberg told newspaper De Telegraaf he had never been allowed to know where the cat was and if it was being cared for properly. “This is what we were always afraid would happen,” he said. “Don’t tell me this is not an easy way to get rid of a difficult problem.”

The cat has been in custody for almost two years and just died.

(Link: dutchnews.nl)

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