RICHARD MUIRHEAD: Is this the first Canadian porcupine fish?

A rare poisonous fish, usually found in tropical waters, was found earlier this month washed up on shore near a Vancouver Island community. 

The tissues of the spotted porcupine fish contain tetrodotoxin, which can cause paralysis and eventually asphyxiation, according to Gavin Hanke, the curator of vertebrate zoology at the Royal B.C. Museum. 

It's the first time the species has been found in B.C., he said. It's been preserved as part of the museum's collection. 

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/porcupine-fish-jordan-river-1.5338474

RICHARD MUIRHEAD: From the archives

The Belleview Times

May 31st 1912

Alberta newspaper

Burmis is a community in Alberta

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RICHARD MUIRHEAD: Very rare bird in Vancouver

VICTORIA - Bird enthusiasts have flocked to Vancouver Island from all over the world to catch a glimpse of a rare bird that has touched down.

Kirsten Mills was one of the first to spot the yellow-browed warbler in Panama Flats on Friday and since then her phone has been ringing off the hook.

https://vancouverisland.ctvnews.ca/extremely-rare-bird-spotted-on-vancouver-island-1.4646596

RICHARD MUIRHEAD: Strange howls in the Ontario wilderness

TORONTO -- Does Bigfoot exist? And if so, is it Canadian?

Ontario hunter Gino Meekis recorded videos of strange, loud, echoing howls in the woods that have left biologists scratching their heads.

He’d never “heard anything like this before,” he told CTVNews.ca in a phone interview. “It was more bass-y than anything I’ve heard scream before.”

https://www.ctvnews.ca/canada/hunter-captures-strange-howl-in-northern-ontario-woods-1.4686394

Sad news

I have some sad news for you all. Robin contacted me the other day. She is seriously ill, and will not be able to run CFZ Canada for the foreseeable future. She was going to resign, but I told her that she is much loved and very appreciated member of the CFZ family, and that Richard Muirhead, Richard Freeman, Carl Marshall and I would act as placeholders until she returns.

In the meantime we are all sending her our love and healing vibes. Bloody hell I sound like an old hippie…..

My Name is Daryl

There's a very cute insurance advertisement on tv right now.  At the end of the ad, the woman is chatting with Sasquatch, and calls him "BigFoot".  He replies, "My name is Daryl" and that is a facet of the study we don't often talk about-the psychology of the beast.

If we accept that Sasquatch, or in this case Daryl, is significantly human, we have to consider that he also has emotion. Without good evidence of interaction between multiple animals, or even interaction with humans, it's hard to gage what sort of emotional capacity this big guy has. Most often, we compare him to either gorillas or humans. Both of these have the capacity to feel and express emotion.

Given those things, what can we infer about Sasquatch? Gorillas in the wild have been well

documented to show affection. Dian Fossey’s work in the field, along with Jane Goodall who studied chimpanzees, and Birutė Galdikas, who studied orangutans, not only document habits like food gathering or confrontation. All three extensively documented the interactions between the animals, and often the interaction between the researchers and the subjects.

In 1959, American zoologist George Schaller carried out a yearlong pioneering study of the mountain gorilla. In the field at Mt Mikeno in Congo. Recognized by many as the world's preeminent field biologist, he studied and lived with the mountain gorillas of the Virunga Volcanoes along the northern edge of Rowanda. It wasn't until the publication of The Mountain Gorilla: Ecology and Behavior in 1963, that the general public was introduced to how profoundly intelligent and gentle gorillas really are. Until then most believed they were considered not only dangerous when provoked, but dangerous all of the time in interactions with all species.

Shaller and Fossey were not the only field researchers to admire (and to provide valid, important information), but they are excellent resources for understanding the emotional side to gorillas. These creatures have individual personalities and rich social lives. Gorillas communicate through at least 22 distinct sounds, and a variety of other ways, including facial expressions, sounds, postures and gestures. They communicate feelings from playful laughter to frightened screams. They even belches in contented bliss after a particularly good meal.

In gorilla families, there is a distinct pair of parents and up to about 28 other individuals of both sexes. Like humans, they show loyalty, compassion, and protection of those who are younger or injured or in some other way not fully functional at an healthy adult level. Also like humans, gorillas often greet each other by touching their noses together. They are also known to give a reassuring embrace. Their reaction to challenge from other adults is also similar to human, although more guttural. It's not unusual for a dominant male gorilla to fight to the death to protect his family, but it is also common for the dominant male to kill the children in his family to get the attention and reproductive needs met.

We are most familiar with human emotion, of course. This is largely because we have them, and we can be empathetic with others of our species. While we usually don't kill our children out of jealousy, we do often have the emotion behind it. We also easily see those among us that have personality "flaws" like addiction or psychosis. Similarities between the emotional development of the bonobos and that of human children suggest that great apes regulate their emotions in a human-like way. Research by Zanna Clay, PhD, and Frans de Waal, PhD, showed that bonobos recovered quickly and easily from their own emotional upheavals. Clay notes that bonobos more often gave body comfort (kissing, embracing, touching) to those in distress. They show hints at emotion regulation, such as the ability to temper strong emotions and avoid over-arousal. In some cases, they do this better than humans.

If we accept that Sasquatch is a composition of the evolution of apes and humans, it follows that Sasquatch, like Daryl, would have these emotions. Field research has shown that they are definitely curious. Reports of the animal visiting campsites and going through the items there, as well as reports of them standing in the distance or some sheltered space and observing human researchers are common. Humans have a fascination with the divide between their species and animals, so it follows that bigfoot would be equally fascinated with the similarities and differences between their species and humans.

No documentation exists of how Sasquatch feels about us, or even about others of the same species. It is logical to assume they have families, with times that are both loving and challenging. All animals show fear in some way. But what about the more complicated emotions like grief and a sense of humor? Dr Gary Stanley's work with Koko (the gorilla who could communicate with American Sign Language) has given us insight. Koko's trainer and long-term companion, Penny Patterson, thought Koko signed in novel ways and showed complex emotions. Patterson documented that when a cat that Koko loved was killed in an accident, Koko signed: “Cat, cry, have-sorry, Koko-love.” Linguists and experts in sign languages disagreed with some of Patterson's conclusions. Sign language has complex grammars, like spoken tongues in expressiveness. Koko’s ability fell short of a fluent human signer, and Ms Patterson was Koko's interpreter. This invited the question of how much she was inferring what Koko “must have meant”.

Despite the disagreements between researchers, it is abundantly clear that gorillas and humans both have extensive emotional capacity. It follows, then, that sasquatch would have this as well. In fiction, like "Harry and the Hendersons" and the more recent " Missing Link" it is clear how much the missing "stars" connect and express feelings. In the similar "Smallfoot" offering, the roles are reversed. The sasquatch in that film sees humans as mythical creatures in the yetis’ imaginations. Across the board, the "beasts" are shown to have not only empathy, but also the ability to feel lonely. This may not be too far from reality. Given the relatively small number of living sasquatch, it is reasonable to imagine feelings of loneliness, and even fear that the loneliness will not end.  Perhaps if we consider this as we do our fieldwork, it will bring us closer not only to answers, but also to a connection with the beast.

More Reading:
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/nature/the-gorilla-king-gorilla-family-dynamics/735/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dian_Fossey
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/3374268-the-mountain-gorilla
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Schaller#Mountain_gorilla_research
httphttps://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/06/21/bigfoot.psychology.monsters/index.htmls://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/10/131014155739.htm
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/germany/2609440/Mother-gorillas-grief-shows-emotion-is-not-only-human.html
https://alumni.berkeley.edu/california-magazine/just-in/2018-10-26/so-why-do-people-believe-bigfoot-anyway
https://www.koko.org/research-care/730/are-gorillas-emotionally-aware/
https://www.filemaker.com/solutions/customers/stories/the-gorilla-foundation.html
https://www.economist.com/books-and-arts/2018/07/05/what-koko-the-gorilla-could-and-couldnt-do
https://www.washingtonpost.com/goingoutguide/movies/missing-link-is-a-visually-stunning-story-about-a-lonely-bigfoot-but-its-missing-something/2019/04/09/29984f3c-5108-11e9-88a1-ed346f0ec94f_story.html?arc404=true
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2018/06/21/koko-the-beloved-gorilla-that-learned-to-communicate-using-sign-language-has-died/

This is Real

Last night, I re-entered Canada.  I was given a pamphlet and told to self isolate for 14 days, simply because I had been in the United States.  This is common among all of our countries, and it does affect this study.

I would suggest that all research be done at home, online for now.  There are volumes of work on unusual animals and this is an opportunity to learn about them.  It's also a great time to learn basics like biology, climatology and all the other "ologies" that affect the living world.  Many universities offer online learning, and it's wonderful even if you don't get the credit or the degree. Doing it online keeps you safe from this virus.

Stay out of the field.  We don't know if this bug will spread to the animals around us.  Additionally, one should never go into the field alone and right now isn't the time to hang out with others.

We are always asking others to take our study seriously.  We want to be respected as researchers.  Let's take this latest challenge seriously as well.  You may feel great, not know anyone exposed, and find it difficult to understand what the big deal is.

I assure you, it's a big deal.  It's probably the biggest deal of your adult life.

What it isn't, however, is something to panic over.  We've weathered, MERS, SARS, H1N1, the AIDS epidemic, and more.  We will weather this as well.  The way to do that is to be kind, be patient, and to help others, even if they are strangers.

Help others.  Stay away from rampant, unsupported rumours.  Don't let social media panic take over.

Be well, physically and mentally.

Just do it.