Faithful: New research shows how a pair of Magellanic penguins were loyal to each other for 16 years

● Penguin couple stayed together for 16 years, smashing all previous records
● New research shows incredible loyalty in spite of the epic distances travelled by the bird

As the UK divorce rate continues to soar, a new study has today shown how marital harmony is thriving in the penguin world.

Research has revealed a pair of Magellanic penguins as among the most faithful in the animal kingdom.

The couple have remained loyal to each other over a 16-year period, in spite of spending thousands of miles apart during their winter trips.

Loyal: A pair of penguins can track each other down among hundreds of thousands of other birds using a distinctive call

The findings come after a 30-year study of the breed where researchers placed metal identity bands on the flippers of 50,000 birds on the southern coast of Argentina.

Previously penguin relationships were believed to span a maximum of just 10 years, with many cut short by the unexpected death of birds during migration.

Loving: A Magellanic penguin stays loyal to the same mate, in spite of long periods apart

‘Divorce’ is also a possibility as couples who fail to hatch chicks will split up and find new mates.

But according to The Sunday Telegraph, biologists have been surprised by the longevity of the relationship between a particular couple.

‘The bond they have is incredible really,’ lead researcher Dr Pablo Garcia Borboroglu, of the National Research Council of Argentina, told the newspaper.

‘It is unbelievable how far Magellanic penguins swim – and each breeding season they come back to the same nest and to the same partner.’

The research was revealed during a lecture to the Whitley Fund for Nature in London, and Dr Borboroglu will set out his findings in a book to be published next year called Penguins: Natural History and Conservation.

Magellanic penguins can only be found around the Falkland Islands and South America.
Argentina has the highest population, with 900,000 breeding pairs in Argentina, while there are 800,000 couples in Chile.

But their numbers have dropped dramatically since the turn of the century due to oil pollution and falling fish numbers and there are thought to be around 1.2 million left in the world.

Dr Borboroglu’s project also used satellite tracking to identify the movements of the birds, showing the enormous journeys they travel each winter to the warmer waters of Brazil.

Every year, the penguins arrive at their summer nests in the southern hemisphere and find their partners using a distinctive call.

After reuniting and mating, the female usually lay two eggs, which each partner takes turns guarding while the other goes out to sea.

After they hatch, the parents spend a month caring for their young before heading off to their wintering area.

The penguins join a roll call of other animals that undertake loyal relationships, including the albatross, French angelfish and black vultures.

Mates for life: In spite of long distance flights, albatrosses always return to breed with the same partners

Jealous: Like the Magellanic penguin, black vultures are strictly monogamous

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Murder most fowl: The seagull successfully securing a first course

A murderous seagull that gobbled up a duckling got more than it bargained for when it returned for another helping.

It swooped on the ducklings as they swam with their parents in Herbert Park, Dublin, last week.

But the mother duck, who initially had eleven ducklings in tow, finally forced the gull away by aggressively flapping her wings.

Photographer Paul Hughes said: ‘I was taking pictures in the park and saw this gull watching the young family.

‘This is the time of year ducks raise their young, so predatory birds like gulls are always on the look out for an easy meal.

‘The gull was waiting for one of the ducklings to stray from the group and when it finally spotted one it swooped in for the kill.

‘The gull was able to grab hold of a duckling in its beak.

‘But when it came back for a second helping mum was ready and fought the gull away until it had to turn tail and fly off.

‘The chick ducked under the water. There was a lot of quacking and squawking going on.

‘It was a stressful moment for the mother, but in the end she saved her family.’

Foiled: The seagull scoops the chick out of the water, but drops it when the mother swoops in

In a flap: The angry mother proved she was no sitting duck and chased the attacker away

Brave: The fearless mother is not deterred by the seagull's size advantage

Taking flight: The seagull is in no mood to hang around

Happy family: The ducklings with their protective mother

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特列宁·晃子《请照顾我女儿》

晃子已於2008年2月25日离开人世，走时只有36岁，那一年尤莉亚只有2岁，今年已6岁。

晃子是在2006年诞下精灵可爱的尤莉亚。但命运捉弄她，一边迎接新生命，一边却要面对自己生命的终结。

万般不捨也不能改变命运，她將对女儿的无限牵掛化成文字，写成了“遗书”《请照顾我女儿》，这本书日前更翻译成中文版。

纵然化疗令身体虚弱的晃子连提笔的力气也没有，她仍竭力口述录音，將生命里各种课题――朋友、吵架、恋爱、金钱等娓娓道来，要教女儿人生智慧，教她如何做一个女生。

口述录音教女儿生命课题

晃子在每段录音，都充满元气地跟尤莉亚说早安，每句话都充满关爱和思念，她把握一分一秒向女儿做最后告別，希望留下这书作女儿的礼物。这份礼物，母爱满泻。

晃子希望女儿將来读起妈妈留给自己的书，知道妈妈的爱及面对的痛苦抉择。

晃子在怀女儿时腰痛得厉害，初时以为是普通孕痛，到一天痛得无法走路，才发现脊髓有恶性肿瘤。於是，在保住自己还是孩子之间，她面对痛苦选择。因为分娩后才治疗將有生命危险，但她最终选择保住孩子。

晃子死前的遗愿，就是希望读者看了她的书后可以写信给尤莉亚，照顾尤莉亚，给尤莉亚力量成长。

妈妈想用各种方式，陪伴未来的你……

写给我的亲亲尤莉宝贝，妈妈要用笔写下给你的话，用声音录下对你的叮嚀，妈妈的生命已经接近终点，但妈妈想用各种方式，陪伴未来的你……妈妈每天看你一天天的长大，你的笑容像天使一样，脸蛋像花儿般灿烂，但妈妈的生命却一天天的削减，在病房独自面对孤独与恐惧，有甚么办法可以让时间走慢一点，陪在你的身边久一点？如果你看了这本书，能够知道妈妈在甚么样的心情生下你，时时刻刻为你？想写下这些话，那么妈妈就感到非常非常幸福了……

2月6日妈妈剖腹生下你

妈妈从2005年秋天开始生病。那年夏天，妈妈才怀了你，所以发现时，你还在妈妈子宫里……10月之后，腰突然很痛……医生都说“你是孕妇”，既不为我做检查，也不做任何治疗，只说“等你生完孩子再治疗……”

进入12月后……双腿开始发麻，排尿困难，走路都开始有问题……医生说脊髓出现肿瘤，要马上动手术切除，妈妈嚇坏了！

因为在怀孕状態下不能接受癌症治疗，如果以妈妈的治疗为优先，就必须让你早產，这代表你无法像普通的小宝一样出生的可能性很高……然后，妈妈向爸爸保证，一定会带给他一个健康小宝贝。妈妈问爸爸：“Do you really want this baby？”爸爸哭著说：“Yes，对不起，I want both。”

2月6日妈妈剖腹生下你。

尽可能和喜欢的人在一起，好好享受人生！

尤莉亚，你是女生，所以我相信你不至於和別人打架，但可能会常常和別人吵架，和爸爸，还有朋友……人不是单独活在世界上，必须和很多人產生交集。一样米养百样人，当然可能遇到合得来或是合不来的人，在和这些人相处的过程中，难免会发生爭执。

吵架不是坏事，但更重要的是，吵架后要言归於好。和好的秘诀在於“隔一夜”……隔了一夜，双方心情平静下来后，就可以冷静思考。

活在人世，要尽可能和喜欢的人在一起，好好享受人生！

要记住，绝对不能先有后婚

在瞭解对方的心意之前，整天都提心吊胆，心神不寧，对方的一举手、一投足都会让人的心情跟著一喜一忧（笑）。学生时代有很多时间，也有很多对象，可以谈很多恋爱，和同学一起分享恋爱的点滴也很有趣。

再长大一点之后，就要展开一场寻找人生伴侣的漫长恋爱旅程……这时候的恋爱和以前那种只要不喜欢，马上就分手的恋爱方式不同，可以花更长的时间观察对方。

不要忘记“即使再亲密，也要注意应有的礼节……”

每个女生都希望有朝一日可以和喜欢的人结婚……尤莉亚，要记住，绝对不能先有后婚。

The post 请照顾我女儿 appeared first on juesatta (CJ Photography).

untitled (by Tracy Martin)

我读过许多文章，多数是写妈妈，很少写爸爸。

我爸住在山村，靠双手割胶，养活我们9个兄弟姐妹，爸妈辛苦一世人，穷了一辈子。

记得我在就9岁那年，生了一场病，看医生要到四五公里的市镇，所以就没有前往。三更半夜时候，身体突然发冷，冷得牙齿颤抖，爸给我喝了一杯热水，紧紧抱住我，让他的体热温暖著我，可是，我仍然不舒服，放声痛哭，爸一双手轻轻拍著我。现在想起来，当时爸一定很伤心、焦虑，泪水一定落了下来。后来怎样好起来，已经记不起，我能活到今天，算是菩萨保佑了。

在我年轻的时候，心头有一股翻身改政的理想。

不想却在1969年，三更半夜就被人带走，离开了爸妈，兄弟姐妹，放逐到石象城的高墻內。一夜之间，爸就失去一个儿子，可以想象，爸会有多伤心，多痛苦呢！这种痛苦，只有做爸爸才会感受到。现在我当上爸爸，才体会到，爸爸对孩子的爱，是无条件，是永永远远的……爸七十多岁时，我的孩子还小，身边只有一辆70CC的电单车，每天忙著生活打拼，从不会想载爸到较远的地方走走看看，但爸没有半句怨言，守著家，看顾孙子。我知道爸有一个心愿，一直想回去中国乡下探亲，看看他哥哥的孩子们，可是，我的经济无法让他成行，就连吉隆坡和新加坡都没有到过。84岁那年，他很平静的闭上眼睛离开人间，不知爸心中有带著掛碍，遗憾吗？希望他不会，但我却有著对他深深的遗憾，层层的內疚。

当生活上遇到不如意事，我耳畔就会响起爸的那一句：“一个人穷没有关系，最重要誌不能穷”。

当我的经济面对困难时，就会记起爸说的话：“一个人千万不能去偷、抢、骗”。当我在欢乐时，心头就想起爸一句：“人千万不要学会吹（吸鸦片）、喝、嫖、赌”。

爸往生时，甚么也没有留下，只留下了一个叫他早起早睡的闹钟，还有一支红烟斗，清清白白一生人。

送著爸走最后一程时，我双手扶棺木，心痛得发不出声音，眼泪掉不出来……老爸，在人生的路上，我永远记住你的话……

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Loving: John Baillie with his wife Lorna in hospital after her miraculous recovery

The Baillie's with their daughter, Leanne Porteus, who kept telling her mother to 'come pack' while she was unconscious

A woman declared dead after she suffered a massive heart attack astonished doctors and her grieving family when she suddenly came back to life.

Relatives of Lorna Baillie were devastated when a team of medics withdrew treatment after spending three hours trying to revive her.

The family gathered around her hospital bed to say their goodbyes after doctors told them the 49-year-old grandmother was ‘technically dead’, being kept artificially alive only by a combination of adrenaline, electric shocks and CPR.

It was then, 45 minutes later, that Mrs Baillie’s disabled husband John, 58, whispered ‘I love you’ to his wife.

As John, his son and three daughters sat beside Mrs Baillie, they were surprised to see her colour gradually improve.

A nurse present in the room assured them this was a normal side effect of prolonged emergency treatment.

And when Mrs Baillie’s eyelids flickered and she appeared to squeeze her eldest daughter Leanne’s hand, the nurse again assured the family that ‘involuntary movements’ were to be expected.

Unconvinced, the family demanded the nurse call in a doctor, who found a pulse and rushed Mrs Baillie to intensive care.

Daughter Leanne Porteous, 31, said: ‘I asked the nurse if it was normal that she squeezed my hand and that she had opened her eyes and she said it was.

‘We are so close as a family and we are not the kind of people to just give up. We were telling my mum to be strong. I kept saying to her, “Come back, Mum, come back”.’

‘At one point my dad said, “Lorna come back, I love you,” and then –just like that – she was there again.’

Two weeks later, the former auxiliary nurse from Prestonpans, East Lothian, has even managed some ‘high-fives’ after sitting up in bed and communicating with her family.

Mrs Baillie, a keen gardener and dog walker, collapsed at her home at 4.30pm on February 10.

Paramedics battled to resuscitate her before taking her to Edinburgh’s Royal Infirmary where, at 8.45pm, a doctor told the family she had died.

Leanne said: ‘His words were that she was technically dead, but they had to wait until she had stopped breathing before they could pronounce her medically dead.’

Mrs Baillie’s miraculous signs of recovery followed, but medics warned that her chances of survival remained slim because her kidneys had failed and she was in a coma.

The family were still so worried that her daughter Charlene, 23, asked the hospital chaplain to obtain a special licence to allow her to get married by her mother’s bedside.

But Mrs Baillie’s condition continued to improve and last week she was moved from intensive care to a medical ward.

An MRI scan yesterday revealed no obvious brain damage.

The family are now seeking an explanation from NHS Lothian and senior doctors have assured them staff will receive ‘extra training’ as a result of the incident.

Dr David Farquharson, medical director of NHS Lothian, said: ‘Mrs Baillie’s family were told to prepare for the worst but when she was checked again her vital signs had returned.

‘This type of recovery is extremely rare and she is continuing to make progress.’

The post Miracle ‘I love you’ brings ‘dead’ UK woman Lorna Baillie back to life appeared first on juesatta (CJ Photography).

mother deliberates from the top of the river bank whilst the cub calls for help and hangs on tight (photo by Jean-Francois Largot)

Clinging on for dear life to the side of a vertical cliff, the tiny lion cub cries out pitifully for help.

His mother arrives at the edge of the precipice with three other lionesses and a male. The females start to clamber down together but turn back daunted by the sheer drop.

Eventually one single factor determines which of them will risk her life to save the youngster – motherly love.

as the cub loses his grip he's snatched by the scruff of the neck! (photo by Jean-Francois Largot)

Slowly, agonisingly, the big cat edges her way down towards her terrified son, using her powerful claws to grip the crumbling cliff side.

One slip from her and both animals could end up dead at the bottom of the ravine.

Just as the exhausted cub seems about to fall, his mother circles beneath him and he is snatched up in her jaws.

and she beats a powerful and hasty retreat up to safety (photo by Jean-Francois Largot)

She then begins the equally perilous journey back to the top. Minutes later, they arrive and she gives the frightened creature a consoling lick on the head.

motherly love: The mother gives her son a lick to say that all is well in the pride following the drama (photo by Jean-Francois Largot)

The dramatic rescue, captured by wildlife photographer Jean-Francois Largot, was played out in Kenya’s Masai Mara game reserve.

Despite the presence of wardens to deter poachers, day-to-day life for the lions is not without its dangers … as the cub learned the hard way.

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Just the two of us: This romantic pair of penguins hold hands as their buddies congregate in the distance in Port Lockroy, a natural harbour in the Antarctic Peninsula (photo by Silviu Ghetie)

It might be chilly outside, but this snowy snap of a penguin couple holding hands is enough to melt even the coldest of hearts.

The perfect pair enjoyed a romantic clinch, opting for a moment of solitude while dozens of other penguins gathered nearby.

In fact, as one interloper approached the penguins, who looked almost like humans holding hands, appeared to give the freezing cold shoulder – and he continued trudging by.

The heart-warming display of affection took place in Port Lockroy, a natural harbour in the Antarctic Peninsula. It was captured on camera by professional photographer Silviu Ghetie.

'What are you two up to? Oh, holding hands again': Lonely heart approaches the couple and seeing they are only interested in themselves, moves switfly on (photo by Silviu Ghetie)

The pair stand hand in hand appearing to stare out at the dramatic vista of the frozen Antarctic landscape. Their heads tilted slightly toward one-and-other, they look as if they are feeling the quiet drama that love brings to inner life.

Then, still holding each other, they wander down to the icy waters and the rest of their friends.

Photographer Mr Ghetie, 43, from Baia Mare in Romania, usually takes pictures of people but he couldn’t resist snapping this magic moment while on a polar expedition.

He said: ‘This is the first wildlife picture I have ever taken but it’s actually very apt because it just goes to show you can find the same patterns in both nature and people.

‘I started taking pictures primarily because I was amazed by the landscape. The light and the atmosphere was really interesting.

‘Then as I walked forward the two penguins came into view.

‘I always think penguins look very much like humans from behind anyway but this was particularly funny because they really did appear to be holding hands.

‘It looked like they were two lovers, hand in hand in front of a beautiful landscape and looking into each other’s eyes.

‘They were far far away from the rest of the group so it was easy to believe they were having a romantic moment alone.

‘They stood there for about two minutes before they were interrupted by another penguin.

‘It was at this point that they walked off together and made their way to the ocean. It was a very surreal moment.’

The post Romantic penguins holding hands appeared first on juesatta (CJ Photography).

abondoned bunny doll at the beach

How many can we help? Will it make a difference? These are questions which always asked. This reminds me of a story:

Thousands of starfish were stranded on the beach and a boy was picking them up one by one, and throwing them back into the sea.

“But there are so many of them. Would it make any difference?” an adult asked him.

“It would, to this one.” the boy answered, as he threw one more starfish into the sea.

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Novelist and wife - by CJ

法国小说家吕西安.里歇著书立说常常妙笔生花、浪漫情事多多，但他的家庭生活太平静、太单调了。

吕西安.里歇每天到图书馆去写作，他太太每天操持家务，并负责打印丈夫定期在《里昂晚报》上发表的短篇小说。

他每天回家的第一件事几乎是一成不变的：拥抱一下妻子，亲亲她的前额，说天天重复的一句话，“亲爱的，我希望我不在家时，你没有过于烦闷，是吗？”

太太的回答差不多也是一成不变：“没有，家里也是有这么多事情要做。但看到你回来，我还是很高兴的。”

结婚23年来，几乎天天如此！

但是万万没有想到的是，奥尔嘉.巴列丝卡以第三者的身份闯进了他们的家庭。这是一个刚离了婚的漂亮、奔放，甚至有点寡廉鲜耻的女人。她降服了小说家，并且提出要跟他结婚。

小说家毕竟是小说家，他想出个妙主意。他编了一个故事，把自己与太太的现实处境转托成两个虚构人物的经历。为了能被妻子领悟，他还特意引用了他们夫妻间以往 生活中若干特有的细节。在故事的结尾，他让那对夫妻离了婚，并特意写道：那个妻子对丈夫已经没有了爱情，一滴眼泪也没有流地走了，以后隐居在南方的森林小 屋，靠丈夫补偿给她的足够的法郎，悠闲自得地消磨着自由的时光……

他把这份手稿交给太太打印时，心里难免有些不安。晚上回到家里时，心里嘀咕妻子会怎么接待他。

“亲爱的，我希望我不在家时你没有过于烦闷，是吗？”吕西安.里歇的话里带着几分犹豫。

太太却像平常一样安详：“没有，家里有这么多事情要做呐。但看到你回来，我还是很高兴的。”

吕西安.里歇猜测，难道她没有看懂？或者她把打印的事情安排到了明天？然而，太太告诉他，故事已经打印好了，并经仔细校对后寄往《里昂晚报》编辑部了。可是她为什么一字不提文中的情节呢？毕竟心虚，小说家没有多问；他受着情感的煎熬。

直到故事在报上发表后，闷葫芦才打开。原来，太太把故事的结局改了：既然丈夫提出了这个要求，妻子只得强忍心中的悲伤，夫妻俩离了婚。可是，那位在结婚23年之后依然保持着自己纯真爱情的妻子，却在前往南方森林小屋的途中抑郁而死。

小说家吕西安.里歇震惊了，忏悔了，当下就和那个令他神魂颠倒的女人一刀两断。

太阳又升起来了，他们的生活还在继续。如同太太没有向他说起自己修改故事的结局一样，吕西安.里歇也没有向太太谈到自己的这段情事。

“亲爱的，我希望我不在家时你没有过于烦闷，是吗？”吕西安.里歇回到家时，一如既往地问道，不过比以往更加深情。

“没有，家里有这么多事情要做。但看到你回来，我还是很高兴的。”妻子一如既往地回答，不过比以往更加温柔。

那些似乎太平静、太单调、太不浪漫的家庭生活，往往正是最安宁、最朴实、最值得珍惜的幸福生活。

The post 纸上婚变 appeared first on juesatta (CJ Photography).

Mother Teresa (image from http://trebord.wordpress.com/)

“We all long for heaven where God is, but we have it in our power to be in heaven with Him at this very moment. But being happy with him now means:

Loving as He loves,
Helping as He helps,
Giving as He gives,
Serving as He serves,
Rescuing as He rescues,
Being with Him twenty-four hours,
Touching Him in his distressing disguise.”

– Mother Teresa

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Lincoln and the helpless little creature - by CJ

“I could not have slept tonight if I had left that helpless little creature to perish on the ground.”
– Abraham Lincoln

In reply to friends who chided him for delaying them by stopping to return a fledgling to its nest.

Compassion is how a mother’s tender heart quivers at the pain and suffering of her child when the child is sick. A mother is willing to do anything to alleviate her child’s suffering. As with boundless love, we also develop compassion to all beings who suffer pain and despair. A compassionate person cannot possibly be cruel to any being.

Love is the greatest kindness of all is a mother’s boundless, unconditional and protective love for her child. If we can shower a mother’s love on all living beings, our love would be boundless, unconditional and non-discriminatory. It’s boundless because we are reaching out to all beings. It is unconditional because we do not love with conditions attached or expectations of rewards or reciprocation. It is non-discriminatory, and this means it is given to all and not through selective choice or to one more than the other.

If we realize that all beings are subject to same vulnerability and mortality where all of us suffer from pain and eventual death, and all of us also appreciate being loved and cared for, then it makes sense to extend our love to all beings boundlessly, unconditionally and without discrimination. Just as we love our family and friends, let us widen our circle of love and kindness, and extend these feelings of goodwill and caring to encompass all living beings.

by Chan Kay Yein, Ph.D.

The post Lincoln and the helpless little creature appeared first on juesatta (CJ Photography).

The chimpanzees continue to provide care for their deceased infants. (Credit: Oxford University, Dora Biro)

Recently at Discovery News we told you how chimpanzees confront death. They do so in ways that are very similar to our behavior toward dying friends and relatives.

On the surface, it might at first seem that chimpanzee mothers break from those noted similarities. When their offspring die as infants, the mothers will continue to carry and groom the dead bodies until the mothers are able to gradually let go of them. By that time, the infant’s body has usually mummified.

The behavior likely mirrors, at least to some extent, the biophysical reaction of human mothers when they too lose young sons or daughters. Right after birth, the mother’s body is hormonally, and in many other ways, ready to care for the infant. Even after a baby dies, the physical connection can take time to adjust. This isn’t even taking into account the emotional bond.

Chimpanzees go through this adjustment period in a very literal way, by continuing to provide care for their deceased infants.

Chimpanzee infant's mummified body shortly after it was released by its mother (Credit: Tatyana Humle)

I recently interviewed University of Oxford zoologist Dora Biro, who witnessed the chimpanzee behavior in the forests surrounding Bossou, Guinea. We often cannot include all of this information in our stories and video segments, so I’d like to share her comments with you now.

JV: Is it possible that the mothers did not fully understand their offspring were dead?

Biro: Yes – this is one of the key questions that our observations raise, I think. It’s probably fair to say that it’s very difficult to make a claim either way (ie. clearly for or clearly against their understanding that the infants were dead).  As observers in the field, we only have access to behavior, not to internal mental states – which makes it very difficult to speculate on the real extent of the chimp’s understanding. They did certainly seem to understand that the infants were immobile and unable to cling by themselves (clinging is something that all chimp infants, even newborns, are very good at – the mother usually does not have to support them at all during travel) – this is why they had to come up with special ways of carrying the bodies that we don’t see with normal live infants (although as the Current Biology paper mentions, mothers of disabled infants also adjust their way of carrying to accommodate the needs of the infant). But as for whether they understood from the start that this meant that the infants were dead, that they would never come back to life again – or whether they gradually, with time, came to understand it – or even whether they never fully understood… is extremely hard to say.

JV: Although the letting go period was gradual, was there a point, do you think, where the mothers did clearly realize that their infants had died? If so, when did that happen?

Biro: No, I don’t think we can clearly pinpoint such a time. Having said that, we did not actually observe the exact moment of death in the case of either infant, so do not know how the mothers reacted at the time (and it’s possible that we would have seen some specific reaction, perhaps distress, anger, or fear, that would have indicated that they grasped, at that point, the transition between life and death).

Chimpanzees go through this adjustment period in a very literal way, by continuing to provide care for their deceased infants. (Credit: Tatyana Humle)

JV: It’s interesting that the infant “bodies’ intense smell and highly unusual appearance” didn’t repel the other chimps. If a healthy chimp smells or looks abnormal, due to an accident, illness or something else, do the chimps usually still accept that individual, if he or she was formerly in their troop? It sounds like mothers will accept handicapped infants, but I’m wondering about behavior towards previously healthy individuals who have changed. Among my cats, for example, if one has a surgical procedure and smells like medicine, the other cats will become aggressive and then stay far away.

Biro: Interesting question. I think in the case of your cats, the very “unnatural” (for them maybe “human”) smell of the medicine may be what scares them off. Among wild chimps, injuries and illnesses are quite common (unlike a surgical procedure in cats) so they will encounter such individuals often, and these individuals do not get ostracized. For example, we’ve seen a young chimp cradling his injured, bleeding finger – in that case too, the responses of other group members basically amounted to curiosity rather than any form of aggression or avoidance.

JV: How do you think this chimp behavior mirrors human behavior towards deceased infants?

Biro: This is a really hard (and sensitive) question. Certainly in humans the loss of loved ones is an immensely painful experience, and the loss of a child perhaps almost inconceivably so. (This is why i am slightly wary of direct comparisons). We can likely assume an emotional response in the chimpanzee mothers too as a result of the loss of their infants, but obviously the carrying of the infants’ remains is not something that happens in humans. At the same time, we probably experience feelings of a “refusal to let go” even if we don’t act on it in the same way as these mothers did. And yet, we might hold on to objects that remind us of the deceased person instead – we feel simply unable to throw them away, often for long periods after death – and these can be extremely emotive for us.

Another important point, important comparison, is perhaps in terms of the extremely strong mother-infant bond that exists in chimpanzees. Chimp newborns, much like humans, are completely helpless, and need full-time care from the mother. This is why chimp mothers (and humans too) have been shaped by natural selection to be very protective of their infants – to look after them, defend them, feed them, protect them at all times. The prolonged carrying may then be a by-product of this extremely strong bond – the same force that keeps the mother looking after the infant while it is alive can persist even beyond the infant’s lifetime.

Chimpanzee mother climbs a tree for food, with her mummified infant's body still in tow (Credit: Tatyana Humle)

JV: How might studies such as yours shed light on human behavior and attitudes toward death?

Biro: This is also an interesting question, and of course there are good evolutionary reasons why – if we want to understand the evolutionary origins of our own perception of death – we need to look first to our closest relatives.

JV: What else would you like our readers to know about your recent findings?

Biro: Perhaps something about conservation – the community we studied is extremely small, but it is one of the longest-running chimpanzee field sites in Africa, and has over the years contributed with a lot of interesting observations to our knowledge of wild chimpanzee behavior. Such communities are therefore extremely precious. The disease that killed these infants (as well as three other community members – in total, over a quarter of this small population) possibly originated in humans, and had a huge impact on the group in terms of its numbers and future survival.

Analysis by Jennifer Viegas
Tue Apr 27, 2010 10:49 AM ET
[source: http://news.discovery.com/animals/chimpanzee-mothers-carry-their-mummified-dead-infants.html]

The post Chimpanzee mothers carry their mummified dead infants appeared first on juesatta (CJ Photography).

A story is told about a soldier who was finally coming home after having fought in Vietnam. He called his parents from San Francisco. “Mom and Dad, I’m coming home, but I’ve a favor to ask. I have a friend I’d like to bring home with me.”

“Sure,” they replied, “we’d love to meet him.”

“There’s something you should know.” the son continued, “he was hurt pretty badly in the fighting. He stepped on a land mine and lost an arm and a leg. He has nowhere else to go, and I want him to come live with us.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, son. Maybe we can help him find somewhere to live.”

“No, Mom and Dad, I want him to live with us.”

“Son,” said the father, “you don’t know what you’re asking. Someone with such a handicap would be a terrible burden on us. We have our own lives to live, and we can’t let something like this interfere with our lives. I think you should just come home and forget about this guy. He’ll find a way to live on his own.”

At that point, the son hung up the phone. The parents heard nothing more from him.

A few days later, however, they received a call from the San Francisco police. Their son had died after falling from a building, they were told. The police believed it was suicide.

The grief-stricken parents flew to San Francisco and were taken to the city morgue to identify the body of their son.

They recognized him, but to their horror they also discovered something they didn’t know, their son had only one arm and one leg.

Moral of the Story…

The parents in this story are like many of us. We find it easy to love those who are good-looking or fun to have around, but we don’t like people who inconvenience us or make us feel uncomfortable. We would rather stay away from people who aren’t as healthy, beautiful, or smart as we are.

Thankfully, there’s someone who won’t treat us that way. Someone who loves us with an unconditional love that welcomes us into the forever family, regardless of how messed up we are.

Tonight, before you tuck yourself in for the night, say a little prayer that God will give you the strength you need to accept people as they are, not as you think they should be, and to help us all be more understanding of those who are different from us!!!

Take time to think about this…….

Chinese version:

　　这是一个甫自越战归来的士兵的故事。他从旧金山打电话给他的父母，告诉他们：“爸妈，我回来了，可是我有个不情之请。我想带一个朋友同我一起回家。”

　　“当然好啊！”他们回答“我们会很高兴见到的。”

　　不过儿子又继续下去“可是有件事我想先告诉你们，他在越战里受了重伤，少了一条胳臂和一只脚，他现在走投无路，我想请他回来和我们一起生活。”

　　“儿子，我很遗撼，不过或许我们可以帮他找个安身之处。”父亲又接着说“儿子，你不知道自己在说些什么。像他这样残障的人会对我们的生活造成很大的负担。我们还有自己的生活要过，不能就让他这样破坏了。我建议你先回家然后忘了他，他会找到自己的一片天空的。”

　　就在此时，儿子挂上了电话，他的父母再也没有他的消息了。

　　几天后，这对父母接到了来自旧金山警局的电话，告诉他们亲爱的儿子已经坠楼身亡了。警方相信这只是单纯的自杀案件。于是他们伤心欲绝地飞往旧金山，并在警方带领之下到停？间去辨认儿子的遗体。

　　那的确是他们的儿子没错，但惊讶的是儿子居然，只有一条胳臂和一条腿。

　　故事中的父母就和我们大多数人一样。要去喜爱面貌姣好或谈吐风趣的人很容易，但是要喜欢那些造成我们不便和不快的人却太难了。我们总是宁愿和那些不如我们健康，美丽或聪明的人保持距离。

　　然而感谢上帝，有些人却不会对我们如此残酷。他们会无怨无悔地爱我们，不论我们多么糟总是愿意接纳我们。今晚在你入睡之前，向上帝祷告请赐给你力量去接纳他人，不论他们是怎么样的人；请帮助我们了解那些不同于我们的人。

The post A friend who lost an arm and a leg – 失去一条胳臂和一只脚的朋友 appeared first on juesatta (CJ Photography).

Mother Teresa smiled at a baby with love (photo from http://campusministry.georgetown.edu/)

“I am a little pencil in the hand of a writing God who is sending a love letter to the world.”
– Mother Teresa

The post I am a little pencil – by Mother Teresa appeared first on juesatta (CJ Photography).