Canada Day in Kobe

Happy Canada Day everyone! Yep, it's July first and Canada may almost be over here, but it's just getting started back home. Hope Canadians all around the world are having a great one. I also hope all of my good friends in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and various parts of Ontario are having a great day! May the suds flow freely and may you have fun.

Here's my You Tube Happy Canada message!





I read this news story last night and not only was surprised, but found it damn cool. I'm into Mother Nature and all of her critters. As a child growing up in rural Nova Scotia, catching salamanders was a summer diversion. A big one would have been a yellow spotted one and measured about 10cm. We felt like conquering heros if we ever found a salamander that large! A true King of Amphibians. OR so I thought.....til I found out about the Giant Japanese Salamander last night!

Giant salamander found walking along road in Kyoto
KYOTO —

A 105-centimeter-long giant salamander was found walking along a riverside road in Kyoto by a motorist Tuesday and was temporarily taken into protective custody by police. According to police, a man driving his car along the Kamogawa River that flows through the city spotted the salamander at around 5:50 a.m. and dialed the 110 emergency phone number to summon police, who rushed to the scene. The huge aquatic salamander was then brought to a police station in Kita Ward and held there for several hours in a water tub before being released into a branch of the same river. Kyoto University professor Masafumi Matsui told Kyodo News he was concerned to learn that the giant salamander in question, which resembles a hybrid, was released without proper examination and into a different waterway from the main course of the river along which it was found. The Kamogawa River, the amphibian expert explained, has a serious problem with hybridization between Japanese and Chinese giant salamanders, and there is concern the problem could spread to other habitats in Japan. Read more at Japan Today


Then I checked out the giant Japanese salamander on You Tube. I found this clip from a National Geographic show with Dr. Brady Barr....wow!