THE HISTORY OF BLOODLETTING
The practice of bloodletting began around 3000 years ago with the Egyptians then continued with the Greeks and Romans, the Arabs and Asians, then through the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. It reached its peak in Europe in the 19th century but subsequently declined and today in Western medicine is used only for a few [...]
GOING BANANAS
When Gutelius Spooner woke up one morning, he knew something was wrong. His head felt heavy and [...]
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS — PART TWO
IGUANAS: The iguanas arrived on the Galapagos Islands millions of years ago from Central or South America and at some point split up into two main types: marine iguanas and land iguanas. The marine iguanas are well adapted to sea life and feed on algae and seaweed. However they cannot control their body temperature so [...]
GALAPAGOS ISLANDS — PART ONE
SEA LIONS: There are 7 species of sea lion but the Galapagos sea lions are the most social and the most numerous. Their length varies from 60 to 100 inches and weight from 110 to 900 lbs with the males being much larger and darker than the females. Sea lions have streamlined bodies with well [...]
GUAYABILLAS ANIMAL RESCUE CENTRE — PART FOUR
Coatimundi are a member of the raccoon family, sharing the ringed tail and the inquisitive nature. However, the raccoon is nocturnal and the coatimundi is diurinal. The Coatimundi are native to Central and South America and southwestern North America. Females generally live in large groups, called bands, consisting of 15 to 30 animals. Males, on [...]
GUAYABILLAS ANIMAL RESCUE CENTRE — PART THREE
WHAT ANIMAL IS THIS? It’s a sloth, a tree-dwelling medium-sized mammal found in the jungles of Central and South America. I find these animals quite fascinating and had never seen one up close until I visited the Guayabillas animal centre. Sloths have “fingers” on the front paws and “toes” on the back paws. All sloths [...]
GUAYABILLAS ANIMAL RESCUE CENTRE — PART TWO
A day before we arrived at the centre the mother llama had a baby called a cria which was great timing for us! Unfortunately the two male llamas had to be constantly tethered to a tree stump so they couldn’t harm or kill the baby. LLamas can live for 20–30 years if looked after properly [...]
GUAYABILLAS ANIMAL RESCUE CENTRE, IBARRA, ECUADOR — PART ONE
In November my wife, Halina, and her sister, Reesa and I went down to Ibarra, Ecuador – about 1 and ½ hrs drive from Quito the capital – to work at an animal rescue centre called the Guayabillas Centre for Wildlife Management. HALINA FEEDING A GIANT GALAPAGOS TORTOISE. Spread over a few acres are [...]
PIONEERS IN MILITARY MEDICINE – PART THREE
Virginia-born Walter Reed was appointed Assistant Surgeon in the US Army on June 26, 1875. In his early career he served at frontier Army outposts in Indian territory such as Arizona where he looked after Geronimo and other Apaches, and in the Sioux territory of the Dakotas where he treated survivors of the massacre [...]