Help a Lonely Iguana with a Shidduch!

Several readers of this blog live in Ramat Bet Shemesh and enjoy looking at all the animals in my Pinat Chai. Everyone's favorite animal is Mary Jane, my large iguana. She's a magnificent creature, but somewhat lonely. Large male iguanas are hard to come by, but right now somebody in Israel is selling one, five feet long, for $130. However, my wife has pointed out to me that I have already exceeded my animal-buying budget for this year and about 150 years into the future. So, if any readers would like to watch a huge male iguana cavorting around my garden and swimming in the pond, please feel free to donate via the link below! No donation is too small!

Live Internet Classes - Free!

I am thrilled to announce the launch of several series of live online Torah classes! One will be on "Zoology and Torah," the other will be on "Science and Torah." These will be interactive classes running with the latest videoconferencing software. The classes are free; you just need to register. For details, including information on several other fascinating courses that will be of particular interest to readers of this blog, see http://torahinmotion.org/virtproglib/e-tim/index.htm. It's a unique opportunity for in-depth learning on these topics, so register now, and tell your friends!

Blue Whale Washes Up in California

This the tragic sight of a member of the largest species ever to have existed - the blue whale - washed ashore after being struck and killed by a passing ship.

Read more here.

Best Wild Animal Picture of 2009

"The Storybook Wolf"

From National Geographic:

This nighttime shot of a wolf leaping into a farm in northern Spain has been named overall winner of the Veolia Environnement Wildlife Photographer of the Year 2009 competition.

The picture, by Spanish photographer Josi Luis Rodrmguez, was selected from more than 43,000 entries. Iberian wolves--a subspecies of the gray wolf--are extremely wary of humans after centuries of persecution. Rodrmguez captured the photograph using motion sensors and an infrared barrier to operate the camera.

"This wolf jumping over the farmer's enclosure with the supposed intent of killing his livestock speaks for itself--thousands of years of history are frozen in this masterfully executed moment," competition judge and nature photographer Jim Brandenburg said in a statement.

(see the runners-up here)