Puppies and penguins
Nov. 14th, 2008 01:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
todayiamadaisyToday at work I drafted a letter that I will send out in May next year. How is it that I can be so organised at work and so aimless at home?
There's a rocky island (to be honest, it's more of a rocky rock) within wading distance of one of the local beaches, and on it lives a small colony of fairy penguins. And I mean a 'small' colony: while the island may seem like a jolly place to be a penguin, its proximity to the mainland means that the penguins are vulnerable to some of the less aquatic predators (e.g. foxes and stupid people). There was much hand-wringing a few years ago when the penguin population dropped to just four.
Then a chap came forward with a bright idea: he breeds maremma sheepdogs, which are apparently used in mountainous regions because of their hardiness and ability to care for baby lambs, and suggested that it might be worth putting a couple of the dogs on the island to look after the penguins. After a brief setback when the puppies on the island played with the penguins a little too vigorously, the idea seems to be working: in three years, the colony has increased to 51 penguins. So that's all very nice. Anyway, the local paper has made a short slideshow showing the maremmas (two pups and one adult) being taken across to the island earlier this week, where they will spend the summer looking after the penguin chicks. So if you like puppies or penguins, enjoy!
There's a rocky island (to be honest, it's more of a rocky rock) within wading distance of one of the local beaches, and on it lives a small colony of fairy penguins. And I mean a 'small' colony: while the island may seem like a jolly place to be a penguin, its proximity to the mainland means that the penguins are vulnerable to some of the less aquatic predators (e.g. foxes and stupid people). There was much hand-wringing a few years ago when the penguin population dropped to just four.
Then a chap came forward with a bright idea: he breeds maremma sheepdogs, which are apparently used in mountainous regions because of their hardiness and ability to care for baby lambs, and suggested that it might be worth putting a couple of the dogs on the island to look after the penguins. After a brief setback when the puppies on the island played with the penguins a little too vigorously, the idea seems to be working: in three years, the colony has increased to 51 penguins. So that's all very nice. Anyway, the local paper has made a short slideshow showing the maremmas (two pups and one adult) being taken across to the island earlier this week, where they will spend the summer looking after the penguin chicks. So if you like puppies or penguins, enjoy!