Saturday Surprise almost wasn’t again this week … I thought I couldn’t find a smile, couldn’t find any humour.  But a voice inside my head kept whispering … “You got this.  Your readers depend on you to help them smile.  It isn’t all about just you, y’know!”  And finally, after the voice, one of my two alter-egos, invaded my thoughts one time to many, I set aside what I was working on and went in search of … something fun.  Actually, it didn’t take me long to find several things and the hardest part was deciding which was the most fun!

Now, most of you who have followed Filosofa’s Word for any time know that if I’m looking for a pick-me-up, it’s almost certainly going to involve critters, and today is no exception.  Living in a world populated only by the human species would be, to me, the worst nightmare imaginable!

Remember I told you a couple of weeks ago in a Jolly Monday post about Tucson the dog, who kept hanging around a Hyundai dealership until finally they adopted him and gave him a job?  Well, in Richmond, Australia, a similar thing happened, only this time with a cat … Elwood, the cat!  He hung around the Epworth Hospital so long that they finally gave him a job as a security guard, complete with his own badge!

According to his co-worker, Chantel Trollip …

“He is lovely and friendly, but not overly affectionate. He enjoys a good pat, but likes to keep things short and move around a fair bit. He is on the security team, after all, has to make sure everyone coming and going gets checked. I think any potential criminals are thwarted by his sweetness when passersby see him! He has a very sweet chirp of a meow and I think anyone with any ill will would automatically change their plans upon hearing it and so I assume this is his way of getting the job done.”

I bet most of you have never heard of the Somali elephant shrew!  In fact, I hadn’t until last night when I was digging around for fun critter things.  This little guy has been considered extinct for the past 50+ years, since 1968, and was just found safe and sound in Djibouti, a country in the Horn of Africa, by a group of scientists.According to Steven Heritage, a research scientist at the Duke University Lemur Center …

“We did not know which species occurred in Djibouti and when we saw the diagnostic feature of a little tufted tail, we looked at each other and we knew that it was something special. This is a welcome and wonderful rediscovery during a time of turmoil for our planet, and one that fills us with renewed hope for the remaining small mammal species on our most-wanted list.”

In order to catch these Somali elephant shrews, researchers set up more than 1,000 traps at 12 locations. To lure these cuties in, they used a mixture of peanut butter, oatmeal, and yeast.

At first sight, it looks kind of like a mouse. But there’s also this tiny trunk-like nose that resembles an elephant’s. Apparently, some of the Somali sengi’s closest living relatives are the aardvark, elephant, and manatee.

Foxes are known for being friendly and curious, and they aren’t above paying a visit to people’s homes and gardens on occasion.  I came across some fun pictures of such fox guests, invited or not …

Snack Time!!!

Our Humane Officer Was Called Out To Ocean Beach Yesterday Because A Resident There Reported A Critter Had Gotten Into Her House. The Resident’s Dog Was Playing With An Unknown Animal, Who Ended Up Running Into The House

Well, folks, that’s all I’ve got for this Satur …

  What, Jolly???  What are you doing up this early on a Saturday?  Huh?  Oh … that’s right … I can’t believe I almost forgot the cute critter video you picked out last night!  One of the cutest animals in the world is the quokka …

Okay, now we’re finished!  Have a happy weekend, my friends!