Animal of the Day!
Alpine Chipmunk (Tamias alpinus)
(Photo from Animal Spot)
Conservation Status- Least Concern
Habitat- Sierra Nevada Mountains
Size (Weight/Length)- 10 cm
Diet- Seeds; Berries; Fungi
Cool Facts- Bears and chipmunks have more in common than you might think. They both experience torpor rather than hibernation, meaning that they can wake up during winter if they really wanted to. The alpine chipmunk’s heart beats an average of 350 times a minute during summer as they feast on alpine seeds. They never drink water, instead getting all the liquid they need from the plants they eat. Once temperatures fall below 4 degrees Celsius, their heart rate falls to only 4 beats a minute. However, when an alpine chipmunk grows hungry, they can increase their heart rate enough to wake up and stumble to their food store before sinking back into sleep.
Rating- 12/10 (The true kings of Yosemite National Park.)
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Prompt - Cutting
@jegulus-microfic December 30 Word count 598
James was doing a very British thing. James was standing in a queue. It was very orderly, as they usually are. No one was pushing, shoving or complaining. To be fair it was a queue for a midnight release of a long-awaited book. The only people waiting in this queue were bookworms.
It was almost midnight. The shop workers had been setting up for the last quarter of an hour. He could see them through the glass shop front, placing copies of the book over two tables.
James looked down at his watch. One minute to go. He felt someone brush past him, and when he looked up from his watch, there was a man in a long black coat in front of him who hadn’t been standing there before.
“Excuse me! There is a queue, no cutting.” James said, perplexed at the man’s audacity. The man looked over his shoulder. Then, turned a bit more once his eyes had raked up and down James’s person.
“Dinner?” He said.
“What?” James didn’t think he could have heard him correctly.
“You let me cut, and I’ll take you to dinner.” The man raked his eyes over James again.
“W-w-what?” James stuttered. He was struggling to make the connection between queue cutting and dinner.
“Do you have a boyfriend, girlfriend?” He asked, eyes narrowing.
“Erm, well, no. No, I don’t.” The clerk came to the door and tried to wrestle the key into the lock.
“So dinner then?” The man repeated himself. The clerk unlocked the door and pulled. It didn’t open.
“I don’t understand?” James said, trying to ignore how the man was leaning towards him.
“Ignore my cutting in, and I will take you to dinner.” The man said, his eyes glittered, daring James.
The clerk shot the top bolt holding the door shut.
“Ok.” James gulped. He heard the clunk of the bottom bolt being dragged out of the ground and the tinkling of the bell as the door opened.
The queue moved forward into the shop. James followed the black-coated man to the tables, selected his copy of the book and headed to the till.
He paid and waited for the man to finish paying for his, and they exited the shop together, weaving their way through the crowd.
“Thank you.” The man said as they stood outside the bookshop. “I was running late, or else I would have been first here. My brother wouldn’t shut up, and I lost track of time. By the time I arrived, the queue was wrapping around the street.” He tucked his book safely into an inside pocket of his coat. “I’m Regulus, by the way,” Regulus said, holding out his hand to James.
“James,” James answered, taking the proffered hand and giving it a quick shake.
“Well then, James, where would you like to eat?” Regulus asked. James hadn’t realised that Regulus meant they’d go to dinner now.
“Oh, er, it’s a bit late for dinner, isn’t it? I mean, it’s past midnight. I’m ready for bed.” He laughed awkwardly, rubbing the back of his neck.
“Oh, darling, it’s a bit soon to be inviting me to your bed. We’ve only just met.” Regulus purred, his eyes glinting wickedly. James went bright red and started stuttering out that he hadn’t meant it like that.
Regulus seemed to take pity on him.
“Why don’t you invite me back for a nightcap? And we can arrange dinner later.” This did sound like a good idea to James, so he nodded, and they set off down the street back to James’s flat.
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On This Day in Cryptid History
December 30th: In 2016, a large puma was shot and killed near southeastern Idaho that was described to have large horn like growths embedded in its head. It was determined that the growths were second formed teeth coming between its ears and eyes, a deformation that could explain sightings of horned cats in the US.
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Animal of the Day!
Galapagos Land Iguana (Conolophus subcristatus)
Photo from Galapagos Conservation Trust)
Conservation Status- Vulnerable
Habitat- Galapagos Islands
Size (Weight/Length)- 14 kg; 91 cm
Diet- Cacti
Cool Facts- Being one of the largest lizards in the Galapagos, the Galapagos land iguana has its pick of cactus. Prickly-pear cactus is a favorite. The iguana eats everything from the fruit and flowers to the pads and spines. Getting almost all of its water from cactus, these lizards only drink when it rarely rains. Almost going extinct in the 1950s from overhunting, mass breeding efforts have helped bring their populations to a relatively stable level. Despite there being plentiful land iguanas, some get frisky with marine iguanas and produce hybrid babies that can both swim and eat cactus.
Rating- 12/10 (Yellow lizards do be vibing.)
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