Freedom Flight

Throughout history and across many cultures, Eagle has been seen as a symbol of strength, ferocity, vision and endurance. Mythology abounds with tales of Eagle, from the Native American's Thunderbird to Eagle which tore at the liver of Greek Prometheus. The bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus), our national bird, is the only eagle unique to North America. The bald eagle's scientific name signifies a sea (halo) eagle (aeetos) with a white (leukos) head. At one time, the word "bald" meant "white," not hairless. This great bird has also come to be the symbol of several nations, such as the Double-Headed Eagle of Poland and the American eagle. (Over the objections of Ben Franklin, who supported the Turkey as the national bird.)

Eagles are renowned for their superior vision. The wedge tailed eagle can see twice as well as a human. The rods and cones of their eyes are concentrated in the top portion of their eyes, so that their best vision is from above, looking down. They must actually turn their heads upside down to view the sky above. As with other raptors, a protective shelf above their eyes helps to shadow their vision from the sun.

Attacking in a swift dive, which can reach speeds of up to 100 M.P.H., eagles grasp their prey in long talons. Bald eagles subsist mainly on fish and waterfowl, while the golden eagle's diet tends toward rabbits and other rodents. Generally their prey is smaller than they, however a South American harpy eagle was seen carrying a 13 lb sloth, and a bald eagle was once recorded as carrying a mule 15 lb mule deer fawn. Bald eagles will also steal food from ospreys and other birds.

Eagles are not social animals, and the main family group is generally the breeding pair. They build nests high in trees or on the edges of cliffs. Bald eagles return to the same nest every year, adding sticks each time. The largest recorded nest was 9.5 ft wide, 20 ft deep and weighed over 2.9 tons. Although eagles usually lay a clutch of 2 or 3 eggs, often only one is raised. Hatching over a couple days time, the smaller, younger chicks often starve, or are killed by their larger nest mates. Because of this, eagle populations are slow to grow, and slow to bounce back from ecological threats.

Many species of eagles are presently considered threatened or endangered. The bald eagle population was nearly wiped out (down to 700 known breeding pairs in 1974 in the contiguous 48 states). Since the ban of various pesticides including DDT, and severe laws concerning poaching and nest disturbance, they have climbed to a present number of 4,500 breeding pairs. Presently the Harpy Eagle of South America and the Philippines eagle are considered extremely endangered as well.

Size: 5 x 7 wooden plaque

The item sells for $45.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock

Lost and Found

New-born elephants are born with an incredible mass of 77-113 kg. But they weight only 4% of an adult female's weight and only 2% of an adult male's.

New-borns may consume 11.4 litres of milk a day. Young calves commence weaning from the first year of life until the tenth year of life

The brain of new-born elephants are 30-40% of the size of that of an adult. Mothers allocate care and interact differently depending on the baby's sex.

Infancy is a fascinating time for all species. In the case of the elephant life cycle, it is early childhood that is most captivating. The new-born enters this world at an incredible mass of 77-113 kg, with a height of about 91 cm at the shoulder, and unbelievably may consume 11.4 liters of milk a day.

The young calves are tended not only by their mothers, but also by other females of the herd. There are many eyewitness accounts of the females in the herd gathering around to welcome the new-born. Within minutes of the birth, the mother and other females trumpet, rumble and scream, oozing temporal secretions down the side of their faces. During these initial minutes the mother also attempts to help the new-born rise to its feet. This is a matter of survival since the new-born must stand to drink its mother's milk. Without this necessary food, the calf is sure to perish.

The elephant is an amazingly social creature. This particular period in development can be viewed as extended social contact. Also, it is clear evidence of the well documented fact that it plays an important educational period for elephants while their brains develop and they learn important survival and cultural knowledge.

Size: 5 x 7 wooden plaque

The item sells for $45.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock

Look Out

The Toco toucan is at home in South America's tropical forests but recognized everywhere. The toucan's oversized, colorful bill has made it one of the worlds most popular birds.

The 7.5-inch-long (19-centimeter-long) bill may be seen as a desirable mating trait, but if so, it is one that both male and female toucans possess. In fact, both sexes use their bills to catch tasty morsels and pitch them to one another during a mating ritual fruit toss.

As a weapon, the bill is a bit more show than substance. It is a honeycomb of bone that actually contains a lot of air. While its size may deter predators, it is of little use in combating them.

But the toucan's bill is useful as a feeding tool. The birds use them to reach fruit on branches that are too small to support their weight, and also to skin their pickings. In addition to fruit, Toco toucans eat insects and, sometimes, young birds, eggs, or lizards.

Toco toucans live in small flocks of about six birds. Their bright colors actually provide good camouflage in the dappled light of the rain forest canopy. However, the birds commonly keep up a racket of vocalization, which suggests that they are not trying to remain hidden.

Toucans nest in tree holes. They usually have two to four eggs each year, which both parents care for. Young toucans do not have a large bill at birth”it grows as they develop and does not become full size for several months.

These iconic birds are very popular pets, and many are captured to supply demand for this trade. They are also familiar commercial mascots known for hawking stout, cereal, and other products. Indigenous peoples regard the bird with a more sacred eye; they are traditionally seen as conduits between the worlds of the living and the spirit.

Size: 5 x 7 wooden plaque

The item sells for $45.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock

Time Out

The white-tailed deer is an herbivore—it eats plants. Deer graze on tree leaves, broadleaved herbs, and berries in the summer and acorns, grass, and herbs during the fall. During the winter, deer munch on white cedar, twigs, nuts, fruits, and corn and in the spring deer eat grass, wheat, and alfalfa. Deer have a four-chambered stomach that allows them to digest these plant foods. They gobble up their food quickly and hardly even chew. Later as they are resting, they cough up their food and re-chew it—so much for table manners.

In the wild, white-tails, particularly the young, are preyed upon by bobcats, mountain lions, and coyotes. They use speed and agility to outrun predators, sprinting up to 30 miles (48 kilometers) per hour and leaping as high as 10 feet (3 meters) and as far as 30 feet (9 meters) in a single bound.

Size: 5 x 7

The item sells for $45.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock

Shepherd of Eternal Life

He lives under sky and stars. He abides in the fields and feels the dew of heaven like an animal, yet he himself must be watchful and aware. Like a ruler, who must represent both the one and the many, the shepherd is a threshold dweller with one foot in the human world and the other in the animal world. The Israelites were herders and their relationship to their flocks offered them a rich metaphor for God’s relationship to them. The shepherd also became symbolic of the ruler, at once powerful and humble. As the shepherd is wiser than the sheep, watching over them and seeing to their welfare, so should the ruler be far-seeing, because God, who is ruler of all, sees everything.

The shepherd preserves the flock.
The ruler preserves the nation.
God preserves God’s creation.

Because the Lord is my Shepherd, I have everything I need!

He lets me rest in the meadow grass and leads me beside the quiet streams. He gives me new strength. He helps me do what honors him the most.

Even when walking through the dark valley of death I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me, guarding, guiding all the way.

You provide delicious food for me in the presence of my enemies. You have welcomed me as your guest; blessings overflow!

Your goodness and unfailing kindness shall be with me all of my life, and afterwards I will live with you forever in your home.

-- The Book (Tyndale House Publishers)

Shepherd of Eternal Life

Size: 8 x 11
The item sells for $50.00

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock

The Enchanted One

This is from the RiverRock Critters Fantasy Collection. This has been hand painted on a 8 x 10 wood plaque. It sells for $50.00.

The unicorn is a mythical creature. Strong, wild, and fierce, it was impossible to tame by man. Plinie, the Roman naturalist records it as "a very ferocious beast, similar in the rest of its body to a horse, with the head of a deer, the feet of an elephant, the tail of a boar, a deep, bellowing voice, and a single black horn, two cubits in length, standing out in the middle of its forehead."

Powers

It was traditionally believed that a virgin who was naked sitting beneath a tree could only catch the delicate unicorn. The unicorn, who craves purity, would be irresistibly drawn to the girl and lie down with his head in her lap. While it slept, the hunter could capture it. If, however, the girl was merely pretending to be a virgin, the unicorn would tear her apart.

Throughout the stories of the unicorn, its horn, the alicorn, is said to have great medicinal powers. In Ctesias’ writings, the dust filed from the horn was supposed to protect against deadly diseases if mixed into a potion. Or, if you drank from the horn, you would be protected against any poison.

Symbol

Its white coloring made it a natural symbol for purity, chastity and virginity. The horn of the unicorn was the weapon of the faithful and of Christ.

The mythological unicorn was a symbol of chivalry with qualities befitting this status, proud and untamable.

Wherever else they may have come from,
Unicorns live inside the true believer's heart.
Which means that as we can dream,
there will be unicorns.

Pauline Libutti, RiverRock Critters.com
Copyright 2008 CraftyCritters Newsletter