Author: Caitlyn Finton
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Meet the American black bear
My book club this month read “A Libertarian Walks into a Bear” by Matthew Hongoltz-Hetling. It tells the true story of how a bunch of libertarians moved to Grafton, New Hampshire, with the goal of making it a libertarian utopia. They somewhat succeeded? At the very least, they got rid of a bunch of government […]
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Meet the humpback whale
It was an exciting weekend here in Boston! I went with my partner and some friends to go whale watching and had a great time. The whale watching trip we went on took us down to Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. Stellwagen Bank is about 21 miles from Boston; it took us around 1.5 hours […]
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Meet the screaming hairy armadillo
It’s hot this week in Boston. And sitting in my hot apartment, sometimes the heat makes me want to scream. So what better time to introduce you to a screaming animal who thrives in the desert: the screaming hairy armadillo. The screaming hairy armadillo (Chaetophractus vellerosus) is the smallest of the hairy armadillos (there are […]
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Meet the fossa
When I was in 7th grade, I had to do a social studies project on a country. The country I picked was Madagascar. It was here that I learned about the majestic fossa, and I’ve loved them ever since. These mammals are exclusive to the island of Madagascar. Fossa look like small cougars – sleek […]
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Meet the platypus
Ah, the platypus. One of nature’s weirdest mammals, if I do say so myself. These small, roughly cat-sized mammals have a lot going on in their body: a duck-bill, a beaver-tail, and otter-feet. They honestly look like someone just taped a bunch of different animals together. And the first European scientists thought so too. Native […]
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Meet the Tiktaalik
Today’s animal (fossil?) started as a request from my partner. A guitarist from a band he likes just released a Tiktaalik-inspired solo album, and he wanted to know more. And then, just a few days later, we saw a Tiktaalik exhibit at the Harvard Museum of Natural History! So I obviously HAD to tell you […]
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Meet the red-cockaded woodpecker
You might have missed it, but a big conservation bill passed in the House of Representative this week: the Recovering America’s Wildlife Act. This bill is HUGE news for conservation. There are currently more than 1,600 endangered or threatened species living in the United States. The Endangered Species Act of 1973 provides protection for them, […]
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Meet the Japanese flying squid
I have something to admit: I think mammals are the coolest. I just really like mammals, with birds as a close second. But I really want to make sure that I give all cool animals their due, so I’ve been trying to make sure I mix in some non-mammalian or non-avian species on this blog. […]
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Meet the aurochs
This past weekend, I was in Vermont; my partner was taking part in a bike race up there. On our way back to Boston, we stopped at Billings Farm and Museum, a fully-operational dairy farm that also has many exhibits explaining the farming process. I learned a lot about dairy farming AND got to see […]
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Meet the goblin shark
I like finding freaky animals. I just think they’re neat. It’s so much fun to see the variety of animals that we have on this earth. So, when my friend asked if I had ever written about a shark, I took it upon myself to find the freakiest shark possible: the goblin shark (Mitsukurina owstoni). […]