Spectacled flying-fox

Spectacled Flying Foxes have a very sensitive sense of smell, and very good eyesight.

Their favorite roosting locations are in the canopies of trees in rainforests, such as mangroves, eucalyptus, or paperbark while in the sun, and colonies can number in the hundreds.

Threatened Species (in Australia), Least Concern (in the rest of the world’s populations).

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Gaur – the tiger killer

The Gaur is the largest known wild cattle on the planet – in fact they are bigger than bison, water buffalo, and the Cape buffalo.

They are found in south Asia.

There are more cases of tigers being killed by Gaurs, than of Gaurs being killed by tigers.

Threatened.

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Bear with me while I stroll down memory lane for awhile.  When I was a very young child, Zippy the Chimp was all the rage.  I had my own stuffed Zippy, whom I dearly loved and toted with me everywhere.  I also had the Zippy the Chimp Golden Book, well loved, well worn and well read.  I don’t remember if the Cowboy Zippy pictured above was in the Golden Book, but I do remember seeing that picture a lot.

Fast forward a couple of decades.  I was in Missouri visiting the St. Louis Zoo.  I happened to be in The Monkey House (or whatever it was called at that time) and witnessed a baby chimp in diapers in his glass cage playing peek-a-boo with a human toddler.  This game went on for quite awhile, much to the entertainment of all the human folks in the area.

Fast forward to a few weeks ago.  I was watching the news when a story came on, complete with video, of an elderly lady whose pet chimp attacked a friend.  The chimp blew up, attacked the friend, sending her to the hospital.  His human companion was stabbing him with a butcher knife and attacking him with a shovel before calling 911.  The 14 year old chimp, Travis, was eventually shot and killed.

Not a pretty story.  Certainly this was not MY beloved Zippy the Chimp I grew up with.

Later I read a commentary in the local StarTribune Paper written by British anthropologist Jane Goodall.  The title?  “Sorry – Not A Pet.”  The New York Times also did a piece about this.  It was in the Home and Garden section of the paper, Living Together, and entitled “My Monkey, My Self.”

My question for you: how the heck did we get to the point where The New York Times writes a piece entitled “My Monkey, My Self?”  Or that a grown chimp lived with a widow, wore human clothes, ate ice cream and lobster at the dinner table, played with a computer and watched TV?

Did my beloved Zippy the Chimp have something to do in bringing us to this place of being?

I find it quite interesting that in the opening paragraph of this post I used the term “all the rage.”  I never use that phrase.  Could it be that the chimps/primates/animals are enraged that we humans think we are connecting with them when we take them from their natural state and attempt to turn them into human clones?  What does that say about our own humanity when incidents like this occur?

I’m an animal communicator.  I Talk2theAnimals.  They are animals, not humans.  They are animals who have their own code of existence, their own way of being, their own law of nature, their own Circle of Life.  I respect that and honor that as much as I can.  They are animals.

Perhaps the world would be a different place if we humans met the animals where they are in their existence, instead of expecting them to become “civilized” into our existence.  Perhaps the world would be a different place if we humans began to learn from the animals, instead of expecting them to always “learn” from us.  Perhaps the world would be a different place if we humans had the courage to look deep inside ourselves, get to know ourselves and be willing to grow and change ourselves for the better, instead of expecting Zippy the Chimp to make us better.

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Recently I have been working with Elephant and her energy, and have shared posts with you about how we joined forces and what she has been teaching me.  I’d like to give you an example of how an animal can work with you energetically.

Earlier this week I spent a large part of the day doing detailed stuff, crunching numbers and dealing with automated phone systems, which, quite frankly, I consider to be a part of Dante’s 9th Circle of Hell.  (By the way, it is named Treachery.  I think Mr. Dante must have experienced automated phone systems himself.)  I was so infuriated I actually slammed the phone receiver down at one point during one of the pre-recorded inane statements.  I had no patience left to deal with what I considered imbecilic voice systems, structured to keep me from talking to someone about matters that needed to be addressed.

Elephant showed up.  Here’s how the conversation went:

JR:  I have had it, I CANNOT take any more of this stupid detail stuff.  It’s a total waste of my time and it’s driving me crazy.

E:   But look at how much you have done this morning.

JR:  Yah, right.  Look at how much I have left to do (literally pointing to the stack of paperwork I had finished, just needed filing.)

E:   But that’s nothing compared to what you started with this morning.

Elephant then showed me a picture of a big path being cut through the jungle, representing all the work I really had accomplished.  There was much more of a clean path than there was of the path that needed to be finished cleaning.

JR:  That’s what you say.  You know, if you’re here to help me, why don’t you just push your way through this crap and then it would be all done. And then I could do something different. (Not one of my more spiritually-enlightened moments, I admit.)

E:   If it was cleared faster than what you are doing, you would not be able to handle it.  You are doing it at the exact pace that you need to do it.

JR:  Try me.

At which point, Elephant politely caught me up in her trunk, lifted me in the air and proceeded to trumpet and forge ahead through the uncleared path.

All I can say is, when you decide to work with animals, be careful what you ask for.  Even though I was physically sitting at my desk, my body experienced being tossed in the air and carried away.  I literally became nauseous and had to sit back in my chair to recover.

JR:  OK, you can put me down now.  You have made your point.

E:   I’m glad you understand.  Now you need to go back to where you were and finish cleaning the path.

Elephant helped bring perspective to what I was doing, understanding that the pace I was doing the work was just the perfect pace for me, and she also brought my patience – or lack thereof – into focus.  I am grateful for her lessons and appreciative of her help.

If you have experienced anything like this, please share!

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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I love the New Year, any New Year, I’m not particular.  The holidaze is over and my birthday is fairly soon after the New Year.  Out with the old, in with the new.  I have always resonated with that kind of thinking.

One of my yearly traditions is to ask the animals for their help in the upcoming year.  I do this using Ted Andrews’ Animal Wise Tarot cards.  It’s very fun and simple to do, yet the wisdom I receive is astounding.   Each month has its own animal, and that animal is my guide for that month.  During that month I also take time to learn more about that particular animal.

For instance, my animal guide for the month of January is Lion.  Lion represents strength, patience, fearlessness and gentleness, and they work in a community.  Because the females do most of the work within the pride, the feminine is also associated with Lion.

Here are some questions I’ll be asking myself this month and some ways I’ll be seeking Lion’s help and guidance:

• What is the significance of Lion guiding me during my birthday month?
• Am I trying to do everything myself?
• Do I have a community that can help me with my needs, be they business or personal?
• Am I trying to force things?
• How do I find the balance between asserting myself and being patient?  (Just for the record, patience is not necessarily one of my strong suits.)
• What is Lion’s lesson of the day for me?
• How can Lion’s strengths help me in my life?
• What are Lion’s weaknesses that I need to be aware of?

I always find it fun to explore fictional characters of the animals.  This month I can explore The Cowardly Lion from the Wizard of Oz; Aslan, the lion from Narnia; Snagglepuss, the Hanna-Barbera character; Disney’s The Lion King, Kimba the White Lion and the MGM lion.

I invite you to ask the animals to help you in this new year.  I think you will be astounded at the ways they help and the depth of their help.

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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One of the interesting things I’ve discovered in working with animals is that sometimes the animals pick me to work with them, instead of me choosing them to work with me.

Recently, I was chosen by Elephant to be one of her students.  Now, it’s not like a real elephant came trumpeting up my driveway and knocked on my door; no, nothing so simple and obvious.  Instead, Elephant has been leading me on by appearing to me everywhere via pictures, readings, videos, and most insistently in a deep need within myself to learn more about these majestic creatures.  The result of Elephant’s call is that I’ve been spending some time reading up on elephants, exploring YouTube and visiting different sites to see what I can learn.

Humankind has maligned elephants in the past.  We have hunted them and enslaved them, used them cruelly and as targets of ridicule.  Perhaps it is their size that intimidates us and it is fear that has caused us to act so inhumanely.  Perhaps we haven’t taken the time to learn about them.  Perhaps we have divided the world into them and us.  When we divide creatures into groups of them and us, it can without difficulty turn into them vs. us, where it becomes easy for us to abuse them.  Our conscious is salved, because we are “only” hurting “them.”  This segregation does not encourage, or even allow, a rapport with the animals and it creates a spiritual separation.

But did you know that elephants and humans have a lot in common?  In his book Altruistic Armadillos, Zenlike Zebras, Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson cites many commonalities between humans and elephants:

1. We have similar life spans, 60-80 years.
2. Both species reach maturity in their 40s.
3. Like elephants, our brains are large, convoluted and richly folded.
4. Each species has complex social relations.
5. Elephants often sleep on bush-pillows, snore and dream like we do.
6. Elephants have a special relationship with their dead.
7. We humans share with elephants the deep feelings we have for our family.

I hope that as more people become aware of the shared attributes we have with these magnificent creatures, we will be able to enter into a relationship based on respect and understanding.

Please take a moment to enjoy this beautiful video from WildEarth TV.

Finally, I will keep you posted on what Elephant teaches me!

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Today’s Animal of the Day

Marsupial Mole

It is very rare, and is rarely seen

They only have small lenses where their eyes would be, and they only have two small holes where their ears would be

It’s an endangered species

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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OK, I confess I initially talked to Fiddler Crab because I’m a violinist, yet I was humbled by his words, and I believe we can all benefit by his wisdom.

JR: Fiddler Crab, what do you have to tell me about listening so animals will talk?

Fiddler Crab: “You humans are in too much of a hurry. It’s always rush, rush, rush for you. Rushing here and rushing there. And you insist on getting places the fastest way possible – in a straight line.

“How can you listen when you are in such a rush? The sound is there, but you don’t notice – you pass right by it. You run right past it, you run away from it.

“Listening is taking your time – it’s enjoying living in the moment – as I do!

“Listening is being there for the sound – not running away from it.

“A good question is why are you humans determined to move so fast – go in those straight lines – aren’t they boring? So not only are you running fast, but you’re doing it in a boring way? Where’s the grace in that? Where’s the Life in that?

“When you don’t listen, you miss what this world is composed of – the sounds this world is composed of. You don’t hear life. How can you go through life and not hear it? Isn’t that a primary way to experience life?

“You humans rush as if there is no tomorrow. You rush through the sound so much that it just builds and builds, gets louder and louder. One day the sound will call cave in on itself. Will you humans notice that – or will you be too busy rushing in your straight lines?

“Look at the way I move – side to side – taking it all in. My side to side movement slows me down, even if my motion is quick. In my slow movements, I have time to hear the sands shifting, the water rolling in – even the sound of the breeze and the wind.

“If I didn’t take time to listen, I would miss so much, those sounds are my home. In those sounds I can rest, I can grow.

“So, to listen to us, and to others, you need to slow down. Forget your hectic pace. Take time to slow down – slow down the pacing of your life, move with more deliberation.”

JR: Thank you for sharing your wisdom, Fiddler Crab.

How can you use Fiddler Crab’s wisdom in your life today?

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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Templeton: You’re a pig! Pig equals slop. The rat is happy!
Wilbur: My name’s Wilbur! Do you have a name or is it just ‘The Rat’?
Templeton: Did you say ‘just the rat’? For your information, pig: The rat rules! We were here long before your kind and we’ll be here long after. So, you just keep that in mind next time you feel like reducing me to just ‘the rat’.
Wilbur: You called yourself ‘The Rat’.
Templeton: I can call me that. You can’t. (From Memorable quotes for Charlotte’s Web, 2007, IMDB.com)

For some reason, today I’ve been thinking of Templeton the Rat, from the book Charlotte’s Web. So I thought I’d have some fun and do a little research – here’s what I found:

1. Rats are extremely clean animals
2. They are very intelligent and curious
3. Their long tails give them a great sense of balance, making them good climbers
4. The rat is considered good luck in China
5. Their lifespan is 2-3 years
6. Many rats enjoy swimming
7. They are very social animals and do better with other rat companions
8. Rats bond as much with humans as dogs do
9. Their natural curiousity makes them easy to train
10. A sign of a healthy rat is a well groomed one

Some quotes I found from people who have/had rats as pets:

“Rats are fantastic pets. I’d absolutely have one, but I fear the cats wouldn’t see it as a member of the household.”

“I’ve known people who’ve had rats as pets since I was a kid-what’s the big whoop?”

“Rats make lovely pets.”

“We never had a rat bite a kid, but did once have a 4 yo girl bite a rat.”

“Best little pet I every had. Very sweet and affectionate.”

Next time you’re looking for a pet, check out your local humane society for a pet rat!

Harmony,

Janet Roper

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