Tag Archives: Pliocene

The beast of the woods

Posted on October 12, 2018 by

I love a good walk in the woods. Breathing the clean fresh air into my lungs. Spotting a bird hop on a branch nearby. Listening to the almost silence as the wind gently rustles the leaves above. Feeling the crunch … Continue reading →

Posted in Eucladoceros | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

“Nice Beaver!” (redux)

Posted on December 1, 2017 by

Beavers! Majestic dam makers of Canada. Living on a diet of maple syrup and poutine. Probably. I don’t know. Much bigger in the past, North America had Castoroides ohioensis, the giant beaver. As big as a bear. With its razor … Continue reading →

Posted in Giant Beaver, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

The Lost Sheep

Posted on December 22, 2016 by

I don’t know about you, but I love the spirit of farmers during lambing season. Coming from a farming background, I know the farmers’ mingled emotions of dread and hope and joy as the wee lambs are born often in … Continue reading →

Posted in Giant Sheep | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Meet Long Tusk

Posted on April 29, 2016 by

Some of you may have been lucky enough to see these incredible animals in the wild. Others may have felt a strong tug at your heart seeing one in a zoo. Most, if not all, of us have seen these … Continue reading →

Posted in Deinotherium, Mastodon, Woolly Mammoth, Zygolophodon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Small but mighty

Posted on April 27, 2016 by

Our planet’s climate fluctuations move to the slow, almost imperceptible dance steps of tilts in our axis and wobbles in our precession around the star we call the Sun. These movements which cause natural global-scale climate changes are known as … Continue reading →

Posted in Horned Gopher | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

Doing the crawl?

Posted on April 25, 2016 by

The life aquatic has lured many animal groups back into its liquid embrace. Marine iguanas, penguins, whales and dolphins, sea-cows and manatees, seals and sea-lions all returned to the sea from land (and air!) adapted forms. It makes a lot … Continue reading →

Posted in Giant Swimming Sloth, Thalassocnus | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments

A Camel for Christmas

Posted on December 9, 2015 by

When I was a small child, it was traditional in rural Ireland to go round neighbouring churches and view their nativity cribs. The ones I was always more impressed by were the ones with huge plaster animals – the oxen, … Continue reading →

Posted in Gigantocamelus | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

The dreams of dogs

Posted on May 21, 2015 by

Late afternoon sunlight floods the back of my house, rendering the wide first floor landing a luminously golden Byzantine capsule, bathed in light-shafts of ruby, emerald and sapphire from the old Edwardian stained-glass window. I do much of my writing … Continue reading →

Posted in Xenocyon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

A Very English Panda

Posted on January 14, 2015 by

I was always rather glad that the delightful cartoon Kung Fu Panda gave suitable publicity to the Red Panda. Veteran actor Dustin Hoffman voiced the feisty little martial arts maestro of the film and I know from my own daughter … Continue reading →

Posted in Red Panda | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

An adorable goofy looking giant

Posted on October 6, 2014 by

There’s a legend in Australia of a shadowy creature called the bunyip which lurks at watering holes, swamps: places which are just a little removed from everyday life. It’s described as having dark smooth fur, tusks or large prominent teeth, … Continue reading →

Posted in Diprotodon | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments