Animal Symbolism in Dreams: Baby Elephant

I visit What's Your Sign.com now and then and thought I'd share a link about animal symbolism in dreams: Animals In Dreams - What Animals Symbolize in Dreams.

I was particularly interested in the above because it seems I've been having animal dreams lately. Like yesterday's silly and enigmatic Penguin Moons dream.

Last night, a very disturbing dream about a baby elephant that I was keeping as a "pet" (something I would never do, and I am adamantly against keeping exotic animals as pets, or even in most zoo like situations/captivity.) Jim reminds me that the elephant hasn't been fed for a long time, and it's really hungry. This surprises me because I thought he was fine. He's in the backyard. So I go out to check, and feel bad I hadn't realized he would need to eat elephant food, and he follows along my side but then starts to nip at me like a dog would, and the elephant is pissed. Again I'm surprised, for the baby elephant is so cute! But he's behaving very aggressively. He's really hurt me by bumping into me and nipping at me.  Somehow I try to get him over a wall or something -- where food is-- but it ends up tragically and he falls from pretty high and crashes to the ground. He's bleeding, hurt, really injured. I feel terrible, just horrible, I'm crying. I try to feed him vegetables, things he might like. He feels better but it's temporary, he's dying. And in pain. I also worry about the neighbor's, because he landed in their house, and there's blood and a mess everywhere and how do I explain that? Jim hands me a gun and tells me I have to kill the elephant, put him out of his misery, it's the only right thing to do. I know it is but I just cannot bring myself to it. I am so miserable, so sad, and feel so bad that I've created this by thinking I could take care of a baby elephant in my backyard in the city and nothing would happen.

 What's Your Sign has a lot about elephants, animal meanings and symbolism connected with chakras, totems. I found interesting insights regarding elephants but not baby elephants specifically and obviously the fact the elephant in my dream was a baby is significant. I'm thinking this has something to do with health and life changes on one level but I need to explore this more.

But if you are curious about dream imagery and meaning in the context of animals, have fun exploring the site, which offers a lot of information on many symbols from different cultures and systems.

Invasion of the Hairy Crazy Ants

Report on the "hairy crazy ants" invading the southeast and south west regions in the states. From Florida to Texas, these small "hairy" ants that move very fast have caused a lot of problems. 'Hairy crazy ants' invade from Florida to Texas :

And they're on the move in Florida, Texas, Mississippi and Louisiana. In Texas, they've invaded homes and industrial complexes, urban areas and rural areas. They travel in cargo containers, hay bales, potted plants, motorcycles and moving vans. They overwhelm beehives — one Texas beekeeper was losing 100 a year in 2009. They short out industrial equipment.

If one gets electrocuted, its death releases a chemical cue to attack a threat to the colony, said Roger Gold, an entomology professor at Texas A&M.

Thousands more ants rush in to defend their fallen kin. The ants have caused a lot of damage to computers, beehives, industrial equipment, etc. They live in areas where there is moist debris (rotted tree trunks, leaf and wood piles, etc.) and "...eat just about anything -- plant or animal." They're very difficult to eradicate and seem immune to conventional pesticides.

Artist ordered to paint over mural beaver - UPI.com

I wasn't sure where to post this (maybe I'll post it at Pulp Jello which badly needs to be updated anyway) but since it has to do with animals, in a round about way, sort of, I'm posting it here. It seems art has offended bureaucrats in Martinez, Calif who commissioned an artist to paint a mural for the city. They demanded the artist, Mario Alfaro, paint over a beaver he included in the mural: 

Artist ordered to paint over mural beaver -Martinez officials said they had artist Mario Alfaro paint over the beaver because the animal, while beloved by city residents, does not belong on the downtown mural alongside images of Martinez natives including John Muir and Joe DiMaggio, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Friday.
"Everyone's saying we hate beavers, but this is not about liking beavers or not liking beavers," Public Works Director Dave Scola said. "We went through a lengthy planning process, and never once did anyone ask for a beaver. Not one person said, 'Hey, I have an idea, let's put a beaver in there.'"

Understandably, the artist is upset and has painted over his name on the mural.

New pet cemetery graces Eugene - Breaking News, Local News, Local Weather, Local Sports

Just down the road from me about five miles: New pet cemetery graces Eugene - Breaking News, Local News, Local Weather, Local Sports

Frontiers of Zoology: Chupacabras SOLVED

In-depth, insightful, and very interesting, and goes way beyond the pop culture, pedestrian, and  non-esoteric attempts by skeptic Benjamin Radford:Frontiers of Zoology: Chupacabras SOLVED, by Dale Drinnon.

There's much there, and this is just a little bit from Drinnon's post:

For the most part, the traditional creatures later being CALLED chupacabras in Mexico are referred to under the blanket terms of 'Nahual' or 'Nagual.' This was originally the name of an Aztec magical practitioner and healer but more usually means the same thing as witch or demon any more. The term 'Brujo' is also used. The idea behind Naguals originally was that they had certain animal totems, which granted them powers and allowed the practitioners to assume animal form - any of a number of different forms. I suppose even hairless coyote would count. So more recently the term includes shapeshifters in general AND the totem power animals as well. The name also has a more positive meaning of protective spirits in animal form. In the case of the reptilian chupacabras, I am not certain as to what the native name of the totem power animal supernatural lizard originally was, but different recent references call it the King Lizard or King Iguana, Dragon or Dragon Lizard, Cipactli and possibly Chan. 

I chose the above because it resonated with me: totem animals, Naguals, shape-shifters. Note Dale's remark about shape-shifters: "...allowed the practitioners to assume animal form ... I suppose even hairless coyote would count." Interesting take, given the number of hairless canine creatures seen, and all too often killed, that fit this description. I've always looked at the two types of chupacabra from a more social-folkloric perspective concerning the way language (names and labels) change. But Drinnon's theories go further, and deeper, presenting us with a parallel esoteric, or living myth via symbolism in the shape of a chupacabra.

Flesh Eating Equines?

Came across this book listed on Amazon.com: Deadly Equines: The Shocking True Story of Meat-Eating and Murderous Horses .

Haven't read the book, don't anything about the premise. Here's some from the blurb:

There is widespread belief in a warm and comforting story which states the horse is a gentle herbivore. What if a Rosetta Stone had been found to unlock the dark secrets of the horse's past? An international multi-million dollar industry serviced by horse whisperers, glossy magazines and popular culture preaches that horses are meek prey animals who fear predators. What if evidence demonstrated horses have slain lions, tigers, pumas, wolves, hyenas and humans? Contemporary writers have successfully airbrushed murderous and meat-eating horses out of literature. What if Shakespeare, Sherlock Holmes and Steve McQueen provided artistic evidence to refute that claim? Thanks to global equestrian amnesia, the crucial role played by horses in recent history has been lost to mankind. What if testimony revealed meat-eating horses had been used to explore the Poles and photographs had been discovered of Tibet's blood-eating horses? Deadly Equines is a revolutionary departure from equestrian romance. It is a fact-filled analysis which reveals how humanity has known about meat-eating horses for at least four thousand years, during which time horses have consumed nearly two dozen different types of protein, including human flesh, and that these episodes have occurred on every continent, including Antarctica.

I don't know much about horses -- I'm not a horse person and while I think they're beautiful animals and I wish them no harm in any way, I admit I'm afraid of them. The book seems almost like a put-on. Yet a brief bit of searching does reveal some interesting things about meat eating horses. Like here. But mostly, searching revealed more links to places that insist horses do not eat meat, or sites discussing the ethical and health pros and cons of humans eating horse meat.

On Binnall of America: White Haired Guardian, Animal Ally

My new Trickster's Realm column is now available at Tim Binnall's site:White Haired Guardian, Animal Ally.

Baptizing the Animals

The other night elements in the dream shifted a bit. I’m on a hill and decide to shoot at a bottle on top of a tree stump that’s sticking up out of the river. I aim a rifle, shoot, and hit it right off the first time. I’m pretty surprised I hit it, and even more surprised I wanted to in the first place. I kind of wonder, what am I doing with this gun? I don’t like guns! Then I see a man enter the water and hold down what at first I think is a cat, but becomes a black panther. Beautiful animal, but silent and moving so gracefully. I worry it’s dead, or drowning, yet the man’s intent doesn’t seem to be of harm. More like he’s performing some kind of ritual. Then the black panther turns into a large black and brown dog. Again, very very beautiful, and large, and I worry about it’s safety but the man doesn’t seem to be about harm. It’s some kind of message; some sort of ritual.

I think I'll have the fish for lunch: Pet praying mantis tucks into goldfish after LIFTING it out of bowl | Mail Online

Praying mantis, dead goldfish, photographer's pics:

I think I'll have the fish for lunch: Pet praying mantis tucks into goldfish after LIFTING it out of bowl | Mail Online

Stephen Wagner: Skinwalker in Idaho

Stephen Wagner at About.com on a skinwalker story from Idaho: Skinwalker in IdahoAlso links to other similar stories.

I woke up some time between 3:00 and 4:00 a.m. to hear very deep breathing. At first, I thought it was my dad or brother, but then it got louder and closer. I finally got enough guts to get up and investigate, but I wish I hadn't because the mere thought still scares me. I saw the wolf 10 feet away from me eating the remains of a deer. When the wolf saw me, it sprinted into the bushes. I expected to see the wolf come out the other side, but instead the fur-covered Indian walked out!

Research on chimpanzees must end - TheHill.com

"The real question at issue here is not whether imprisoning and experimenting on chimpanzees is scientifically useful to humans or not; it is whether doing so is right to begin with.~ Justin Goodman; "Research on Chimpanzees Must End"

Chimpanzees are social creatures. They have culture, they have emotions, feelings, care for their families... the following is very difficult to handle (I cried when reading this) but neccessary to know in order to help change the U.S. practice of experimenting on chimpanzees. The U.S., as the article points out, is only one of two countries who do so.

As a result of having to endure the terror and pain of having their bodies routinely violated for experiments and the loneliness of their tiny, barren steel-and-concrete prison cells, many chimpanzees exhibit abnormal behaviors indicative of depression and post-traumatic stress. They suffer from symptoms including social withdrawal, anxiety and loss of appetite. They pull out their own hair, bite themselves and pace incessantly. I recently met a sanctuary-living chimpanzee who spent years being tormented at the U.S. Centers for Disease Control Prevention and other government laboratories. His medical records show that on several occasions, he almost died during experiments, only to be revived and tormented further. Years later, he still has violent screaming fits several times daily, during which he scratches and tears into the flesh on his head and chest. This is the real legacy of chimpanzee experimentation in the United States.

Research on Chimpanzees Must End

Texas Approves Aerial Hunting of Pigs and Coyotes | Care2 Causes

Wild and feral hogs are a problem in Texas, and that state has come up with a solution: legalizing aerial hunting killing of hogs -- and coyotes, as Care2Causes reports.:Texas Approves Aerial Hunting of Pigs and Coyotes | Care2 Causes

The language used (twilight language, subliminal controls, etc.) is interesting. Example: the bill, signed into law by Governor Rick Perry, is called the "pork chopper bill." Adding to the gratuitous innate blood lust factor is the annual "Get the Hogs Outta Texas”" event slaughter, in which "where the top five hog-killing counties win a total of $60,000 in grant money."


While this new law isn't exactly one that falls into the canned hunt category, it is interesting to point out that Texas has over 750 canned hunt sites, according to Advocacy for Animals.  


At least there are 20 states that either ban canned hunts outright, or have restrictions on them. Oregon, where I live, is one of those states. It bans canned hunts, but sort of. You can kill if you are "hunting" the animal in order to eat it as long as it's not an exotic animal.  Little solace, but it's something.



It is unlawful to hunt, kill, or attempt to hunt or kill, exotic mammals (as defined in OAR 635, Division 56) or game mammals (as defined in OAR 635, Division 45) held or obtained by private parties; however:
(1) Any person may slaughter such an animal for meat, leather, or fur production;
(2) Any person may euthanize such an animal for scientific, health, safety or other valid husbandry concerns; and
(3) The department's Wildlife Division Director may authorize any person to hunt or kill such an animal if the Division Director determines it would be in the best interest of sound wildlife management. The Division Director may impose conditions on such authorizations.
Stat. Auth.: ORS 496.012 & ORS 496.138
Stats. Implemented: ORS 496.012 & ORS 496.138
Hist.: DFW 26-1999, f. & cert. ef. 4-26-99
OAR 635-064-0010, OR ADC 635-064-0010

Giant red crabs invade the Antarctic abyss

Three years ago, scientists predicted that giant red crabs (King Crabs) would invade the Antarctic within a hundred years. Their prediction was too conservative; the crabs are already in there:

Giant red crabs invade the Antarctic abyss - environment - 07 September 2011 - New Scientist: They are laying waste to the landscape. Video footage taken by the submersible shows how the crabs prod, probe, gash and puncture delicate sediments with the tips of their long legs. "This is likely to alter sediment processes, such as the rate at which organic matter is buried, which will affect the diversity of animal communities living in the sediments," says Craig Smith of the University of Hawaii at Manoa, whose team discovered the scarlet invaders.

More exotic snakes seized in Longview

One city in Washington state is coming down on people who think snakes are pets. Boa constrictors, alligators, etc. considered exotic animals and you need a license to keep one. Many of the "pet"owners in the article are males in their twenties, thirties, who, according to the article, would normally have had pit bulls in the past. In one instance the snakes were removed from the home because there was a five year old child in the home.

How happy can an animal be that is kept in a large glass box? And it wants living food for, not a frozen rabbit. Yet feeding it live animals is also abhorrently gratuitous. Snake, young males, hmmm. Calling Dr. Freud.

More exotic snakes seized in Longview

Cougars in the Park

Local news reports a cougar sighted near Spencer's Butte park, a popular hiking area (and, local lore goes, somewhat of a UFO hot spot) -- there are rattlesnakes up there, and the occasional cougar report. I can see the Butte if I walk to the corner of my street... not far from me at all. With video and photo.

Giant crocodile captured alive in Philippines - Yahoo! News

They say it's 21 feet in length. Plans for the animal: the "star attraction" in an ecopark.

Giant crocodile captured alive in Philippines - Yahoo! News:

Elorde said the crocodile killed a water buffalo in an attack witnessed by villagers last month and was also suspected of having attacked a fisherman who went missing in July.
He said he sought the help of experts at a crocodile farm in western Palawan province.
"We were nervous but it's our duty to deal with a threat to the villagers," Elorde told The Associated Press by telephone. "When I finally stood before it, I couldn't believe my eyes."
After initial sightings at a creek, the hunters set four traps, which the crocodile destroyed. They then used sturdier traps using steel cables, one of which finally caught the enormous reptile late Saturday, he said.

Image source: French Factrice (visit this site, it's full of vintage goodness, including a film clip from the 1940s of a children's alligator farm.)

Fish-catching trick may be spreading among dolphins - Yahoo! News

PERTH, Australia (Reuters) - Dolphins in one western Australian population have been observed holding a large conch shell in their beaks and using it to shake a fish into their mouths -- and the behavior may be spreading.

Researchers from Murdoch University in Perth were not quite sure what they were seeing when they first photographed the activity, in 2007, in which dolphins would shake conch shells at the surface of the ocean.

Fish-catching trick may be spreading among dolphins - Yahoo! News

(Warning; dead rat pic) Giant rat killed by pitchfork in Marcy Houses is believed to be Gambian pouched rat

I don't want rats, especially giant ones, running around my place, who does? But there's an air of old fashioned exploitation and titillation in this report on a giant rat killed -- by pitchfork, no less! -- in New York: Giant rat killed by pitchfork in Marcy Houses is believed to be Gambian pouched rat.The article gladly shows the color photo of killed, giant rate hanging from the prongs of the pitchfork. The article describes the rat's tail: "... [which is] hideously dangling." The rat is, specifically, a Gambian pouched rat, illegal in the U.S. since 2003, because the rats carried monkeypox which affected humans.

The rats are, as anyone who's had rats as pets knows, very intelligent, and sweet. These rats can be "... trained to sniff out landmines or even tuberculosis." That's as pets. In the urban wild they're not . Another sad contrast and fact of animals and humans living in the same space.

Raven Flocks Killing Lambs

Very sad, weird and even scary news from Europe, of ravens killing sheep, calves, and other animals: Attack of the killer ravens: Flocks are suddenly slaughtering lambs - what is going on? 

. . .  instead of hanging around for a few discarded bones or a forgotten carcass to pick and claw at, they've started killing live farm animals - by pecking them to death, in horrific scenes reminiscent of Daphne du Maurier's The Birds, turned by Alfred Hitchcock into one of the most chilling movies of all time.

Throughout Britain, traumatised farmers have reported a sudden and disturbing rise in the number of livestock being attacked by ravens.

Farmer John Kirk, 50, from Nethybridge, near Aviemore, has lost more than 40 animals in the past few weeks.

"It's like something out of a horror film. They are horrible, horrible birds. They see the young lambs and just fly down and help themselves," he said.

"Sometimes you find a carcass with the eyes and tongue pecked out, but sometimes all you find is the skin. They peck away until nothing is left." And while some animals have been pecked to death, others have been left to die in agony after birds have feasted on their eyes, tongues and the soft flesh of their underbellies.

Signals; look to the animals as guides to what is happening on our planet. Warnings, to be sure.

Video of "Chupacabra" Capture

Another hairless, blue-gray hued creature that's become known as "chupacabra" has been captured. No one can say what the animal is, (at times it looked like a fox, or some kind of strange little fawn, etc.) Fortunately, no one took a shot at it and they let even let it go. Which annoyed the hell out of the highly irritating hostess on the clip, but typical MSM patter and trivializing of events. That aside, (what else can we expect) interesting to have film of one of these creatures: Chupacabra Captured? Recap - Yahoo! TV

Data Mapping, Cryptids, ET and Us: Nickell Provides the Answers

The ever disingenuous Joe Nickell, self-described "paranormal investigator" debunker, has discovered answers to all myths of a crypto nature in the following article by Ed Grabianowski:  Paranormal Investigator Joe Nickell Reveals the Truth Behind Modern Cryptozoological Myths. (All of them? Impressive.)

Regarding Bigfoot, Nickell combines finding patterns in sightings data, his theories, and the usual skeptic based psychology: us humans love to make stuff up. We create myth and don't want to solve mysteries -- well, you know the routine.

"Bigfoot is our stupid cousin from the past."

That's humans for you, projecting our fears and dreams onto made up entities. As far as ET goes:

"The alien is the future version of ourselves."

Which alien version would that be? Reptilian? Bug eyed gray? Gigantic praying mantises? Good looking long haired blond Nordic Space Brothers and Sisters? Lizard Men? Hairy dwarf? I don't know about you, but that's a future self I want nothing to do with. (Well, maybe the good looking Space Sister but I don't look good as a blond. And I prefer the swarthy types to Nordic guys.)

Nickell looked at "convergent iconography" which led him to the conclusion we've simply created Bigfoot and aliens out of our own heads; the two are modern living myths. We did the same with Santa Claus and Jesus:

"The same convergent iconography can be seen in artists' depictions of Jesus Christ and Santa Clause."

There is some truth in the idea that we shape our gods and heroes and they ultimately morph into a sort of set version dependant on the culture. To suggest to a religious person however that Jesus, the BVM, or angels are just in their head, based on agreed upon cultural imagery is both insulting and missing the point. And while I am not a Christian or believe in any sort of monotheistic god that watches over us like a somewhat authoritarian parent, using Jesus Christ and Santa Clause in the same sentence subliminally suggests they are one and the same in terms of fantasy.


Grabianowski asks Nickell about cryptids that don't look anything like human beings. Using  "data mapping" once again, Nickell finds that reports of water monsters coincided with otter activity.  People mistaking otters for a sea serpent: "It really happens," (I love that) Nickell says. Of course it "really happens" people mistake things all the time. Not every weird light in the sky is a UFO, not all strange creatures in the forest are Sasquatch and so on. 


Nickell distances himself from combative skeptics and says he treats witnesses with respect; they're not liars or insane, just mistaken.

The article ends with a dismissal of paranormal programming which is "like wrestling" Nickell says. I'll agree with much of that sentiment, to a point. All TV is "like wrestling" when you think of it. For his arguments on how he's treated by producers as a skeptic, UFO researchers and other paranormal investigators can cite the same. It's about ratings, and whatever angle the show wants to present. Researchers and skeptics both can be damned; it's not about the individual ghost hunters, UFO investigators or cryptid chasers, it's about the producers, the station owners and their own agendas. Skeptic, paranormal investigator, or witness: they're all just the talent. Fodder for the program.

For some reason, most programs that deal with fringe topics believe that having skeptics on is "balance." To me it's just annoying. But it's not balance they want; it is, indeed, "like wrestling." There's an innate belief that conflict and tension is necessary for entertainment. Like wrestling.