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January 3rd, 2009
A Strange year
60 seals were treated by the Sanctuary in 2008, making it the first time for many years that numbers have dropped. Grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) came down from 46 to 28 ~ mainly because the problem of very high tides washing away new born pups did not repeat itself this year. Seals getting entangled in [...]
July 28th, 2008
Animal Rescue reviews
52 animals were admitted in the first 5 months of 2008. Thankfully, seal arrivals fell slightly when compared with the same period as last year; 16 of the 22 cared for were grey seals (Haliochoerus grypus) and 6 were common seals (Phoca vitulina). 2 of the grey seals were badly tangled in netting and one [...]
Degus, Chinchillas and Genets
At about the time when the last dinosaur became extinct the mammals diverged into the groups we know today. One of the first to split away was a common ancestor to both the rodents and the primates. That means you are closer to a rat than you are to a seal, a badger or a pony! The degus, chinchillas and porcupines are all members of that immensely successful rodent family. Most only come out at night but degus are different: by living in groups they share in the task of watching out for trouble and so can be active in the day.
The last common ancestor of seals, badgers, wildcats, lynx and foxes lived about this time. If you want to know what this early carnivore looked like, study thegenet because its appearance has changed little in 50 million years.
