Month: February 2026

Save the Animal Kingdom! #10

This is installment #10 from my blog thread describing what to call groups of animals, more and more of them in danger of extinction … See how many you can guess. Answers listed at the bottom of the page.

  1. He parceled out food to the parcel.
  2. The bob bobbed.
  3. I added an herb bouquet to the cooking bouquet.
  4. The pack thinks this part of Australia should be called the Outpack.
  5. The pace set a slow pace.
  6. How the charm charmed me!
Parcel, Chin village, Myanmar
I’m a pack member, mate!

Answers:

  1. Parcel of pigs
  2. Bob of seals [1]
  3. Bouquet of pheasant [2]
  4. Pack of dingos [3]
  5. Pace of asses
  6. Charm of hummingbirds [4]
Parcel part
Bob, protected sea life islands near Woody Island, Esperance, Australia

I’m beyond dismayed – I am furious. The Trump administration is gutting environmental protections. Volunteer. Take action. Speak up! Write letters, make phone calls, donate to organizations like the Environmental Defense Fund and Greenpeace.

NOTES: [1] The gray seal flourishes, while other species need protecting. The Japanese sea lion and the Caribbean monk seal have not had confirmed sightings in the past 50 years and are considered extinct. The Galapagos fur seal, Hawaiian monk seal, Caspian seal, and Mediterranean monk seal are all endangered. The Mediterranean monk seal is currently considered the most at risk seal species. Seals World, IFAW [2] According to earthlife, pheasants are one of the most endangered groups of birds in the world. [3] The Australian dingo may become extinct. Bush Heritage [4] Ditto many hummingbird species. Hummingbird Society © Jadi Campbell 2025. All photos © Uwe Hartmann. To see more of Uwe’s animal photos and pics from our trips go to viewpics.de.  Fun animal names from www.writers-free-reference.com, Mother Nature Network and www.reference.com.

I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. Recent awards include Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award for The Taste of Your Name and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story Contest.

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Rocks Like Aliens

or stones from the moon.

I’m in love with New Zealand. These are the Moeraki Boulders, mysterious rock spheres on an east Otago beach. The spheres are 60 million years old. Similar round rocks can be found in a few other places: Kimmeridge Clay and Oxford Clay in England, and North Dakota, USA.

Maori explain these boulders on New Zealand’s South Island as what remained when calabash squashes, sweet potatoes, and eel baskets washed ashore after Āraiteuru, a large sailing canoe, capsized. According to the legend, “the rocky shoals that extend seaward from Shag Point [are] the petrified hull of this wreck and a nearby rocky promontory [is] the body of the canoe’s captain. Their reticulated patterning on the boulders, according to this legend, are the remains of the canoe’s fishing nets. [[1] 

It was early morning when we visited. The beach was mostly deserted and deeply mysterious. Sixty million years of existence lend objects the gift of magic, and the Moeraki Boulders were unlike any rock I’ve ever touched.

As I say: Rocks like aliens, or stones from the moon.

NOTES: [1] wiki/Moeraki_Boulders © Jadi Campbell 2025. To see Uwe’s pics from our trips go to viewpics.de.

I am a Best American Essays-nominated writer. My books are Broken In: A Novel in Stories, Tsunami Cowboys, Grounded, The Trail Back Out, and The Taste of Your Name. Recent awards include Finalist for the 2025 Compass Press Book Award for The Taste of Your Name and Finalist for Greece’s Eyelands 11th International Short Story Contest.

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