gaiverruksia

CRYING Edellisen sarjiksen kokkikeikka jatkuu... The cooking started in the previous comic is continuing... "I know how you feel. I've been there in my life, too." (Onions, 1 kg)

OWLING 2: THE DAY OF A LITTLE OWL RESEARCHER Osa 1 täällä! // Part 1 here! Nämä pöllöjutut tapahtuivat jo keväällä, huhti-toukokuussa, mutta olen saanut sarjiksia aikaan vasta nyt. These owl things happened already in April and May but only now I've made these into comics.

OWLING 3: NOT SO FINAL FRONTIER "Hey, look, a deer!" // "There were three of them." // "Eleven ravens, a very nice thing to see!" // "This became quite a nature trip!" // "Well, let's go then."

OWLING 4: NATURE TESTS NATURE LOVER

OWLING 5: THESIS SUPERVISOR'S GOOD DAY "Eeek!" "I've got the female!" // "Everything ready?" "We're ready." // "420 grams..." "Copy that." // "Now, let's place a temperature logger under the skin of her belly." "Let's do it." // "But... this one ALREADY HAS a logger!" "She must be one of those two females we gave a logger two years ago! // "Well, look at that! I thought she'd be dead since we haven't seen her in a long time!" "Hey!" // "Today I got a grant AND found an old logger! This day will stay in my personal history records!"

OWLING 6: DON'T TELL ANYONE! "Here we go: four tawny owlets." "Good. Let's start by weighting them." // "Oh no! It wasn't hurt, was it?" "Hey little one, are you all right?" // "Sounds like it..." "Well, that's good." // "What are you laughing at now?" "Not... hihihi... a thing!"

OWLING 7: A COPSE BY ANY OTHER NAME Tämä tapahtui syksyllä, myyräpyyntien aikaan. This happened in the autumn when we were trapping voles. "So, here's the border now." // "Ditch." // "Valley...?" "Dale?" // "It's all the same thicket!"

OWLING 8: THERE ARE OTHER BIRDS, TOO "...blah blah blah-" "...blah blah-" // "-JAY!-" // "-blah blah blah... "-blah blah..." Pöllösarjikset loppuvat nyt tältä erää, katsellaan seuraavalla kenttäkaudella josko tekisin lisää. This is the last owl comic for now, let's see after the next field season if I'll make more.

SO THIS IS WHY I DON'T HAVE A MAN (Some cute guy) // "That's a really nice satchel you've got." "Oh, thanks." // (Totally not escaping the social situation.)

POINTS OF VIEW

PEACOCKS AND OTHER ANIMALS

FINLAND 100 "Finland has been independent for 100 years now. What does this mean to you?" // "Uh... That I missed the first 75 years of it?" // "No but seriously... Happy birthday!"

NERD'S REVENGE "Hey, I got a letter! How nice!" // "It seems to be from Romeo." // "?!? What on Earth does it say?!" // Akkadian - Constructed languages - Artistic languages - Mordor // "Hmm... It is the elf alphabet of Tengwar, made by J. R. R. Tolkien for The Lord of the Rings." // ... = greetings from Romeo. // "Hmm.. I think I need to write him back. But two can play this game!" Klingon alphabet - Search

ENVELOPE ART

IT'S ALWAYS LUNCH TIME SOMEWHERE "...and the tigers will be fed tomorrow." // "If I went into the tiger cage, would he eat me?" // "Yes, he might. Zoo tigers are no house kitties." // "Would he eat me all at once or would he leave half for tomorrow?" "Well, you just might be too big to be eaten all in one go." // "Wouldn't it be terrible to come to the zoo and there'd be a half-eaten human in the tiger cage!" "Where do kids come up with these things?!"

CHRISTMAS EPISODE 2017 Pahoitteluni niille, jotja eivät ymmärrä englantia tai sarjakuvan vitsiä (joka ei muuten käänny). My apologies to those who don't understand the joke (which doesn't translate, hence it's in English). Ilmeisesti äitini ja Yksitoista ovat jotenkin jouluinen yhdistelmä. Apparently my mother and Eleven are somehow a christmassy duo. Doctor Who by BBC

CHRISTMAS SQUIRREL

ASK ME QUESTIONS! "What's your favorite Doctor Who episode?" "Why are you always wearing a striped shirt?" "Who's the hottest guy in Star Wars?" "How do we stop the global warming?" "What's the worst grade you've ever gotten from a maths test?" // "Now, my dear readers, it is your turn to ask me the questions on your mind. You may ask whatever you want!" // "And I'll answer your questions in comic form!" // "I'd like to point out that I don't PROMISE to answer any and all questions and that I'll decide myself which questions I'll answer and how. So there." // "Please leave your questions in the comments of this article. You can do this by clicking the speech bubble in the upper right corner of this article."

SEVENTEEN BEST PIECES OF 2017 "Another year over and a new one just begun..." // "To celebrate that... Seventeen good moments of my year 2017! (Mostly those that haven't yet ended up in my comics.)" // 1. Night watch in the wilderness of Litokaira. // 2. Month of Heroes. "Others had great lists, too!" // 3. Mr Brony and I were the chefs on winter camp. "...and half a meter of ginger." "You don't say?" (#Ginger) // 4. My thesis supervisors didn't hate me when I destroyed some owl blood samples. "Oops." // 5. I watched bad Turtles-movies with Snowhorse. "These are so terrible!" "Yes they are!" // 6. This moment once I was cooking on a course: "We have creamy soup? How nice!" // 7. A Scottish train conductor. // 8. Role playing games! Three different kinds. 9. Going to Hangö by bike with Snowhorse, Mr Brony and Romeo... // 10: ...and sleeping outside the church of Snappertuna (= the graveyard). // 11. "It was easier to get the cart to the boat than the boat on the cart." // 12. I "looked after" some teenagers in an adventure park. (Or rather, the other way.) // 13. I found a badger's skull. "It smelled bad." // 14. Water wrestling with the camp crew. // 15. We dyed yarn on the autumn camp. "Fascinating yellow mushrooms..." "Do you think we could dye yarn with them?" "Let's try!" // 16. Dancing Macarena with some exchange students in the middle of the night. // 17. The cuties of the zoo

NEW YEAR'S PROMISES "I promise to watch my weight more closely in the coming year."

LANGUAGE MATTERS "Sometimes I wish I could speak Russian..."

ANSWERS 1: CAPTAINS Pahoittelen kammottavaa tekstimuuria, mutta jotkin asiat on tehtävä kunnolla. I apologize for this horrible wall of text, but some things have to be done properly. "The first question is from Julia. She asks me to rank Star Trek captains in any way I like." // "This is a fun question but it has a problem. From all the Star Trek series I've only watched The Original Series, The Next Generation and Voyager. Therefore, I know well only Kirk, Picard and Janeway." // "Sisko from Deep Space Nine, Archer from Enterprise and Lorca from Discovery are rather unfamiliar to me, so it is difficult to compare them with TOS's Kirk, TNG's Picard and Voyager's Janeway." // "I'll try to compare the captains so that this is not and advantage or disadvantage for different characters. I'll rank the captains based on their "captenic credibility" as this is based on external characteristics." // "I'll compare them in four categories: name, looks, uniform and quote. I'll give points from one to five in each category. 1 means "not impressed", 5 means "awesome". The one who gets the most points wins the title of "the most convincing captain. We'll see how this turns out. But first, a couple of notes." // "First off: I only take in the "main captain" of each series. Other characters seen as captains - such as Pike, Sulu, Riker, Chakotay or Kim - are not taken into this ranking." // "And secondly: movies don't count. Hence reboot-Trek is left out, as it would mess things for Kirk (and it's not canon)." ROUND 1: NAMES "On this round I give points based on how I like the character's name and how "cool" Starfleet captain name I think it is." // KIRK: Not a very special or super-cool name but it's short and easy to remember. Nickname for friends. Points: 3 PICARD: You can see he's French all the way from the next quadrant. That's about all I have to say. Points: 2 SISKO: Sisko. He he he he. (In Finnish, "Sisko" means "sister" and it's also a woman's name.) Benjamin is a nice name but too soft for a Starfleet officer. Not impressed. Points: 1 JANEWAY: Right way, wrong way, Janeway. Points from this alone. Extra points from spelling her first name Kathryn instead of Catherine. Points: 4 ARCHER: Archer is about the coolest family name you could ask for. Jonathan is also a nice name. I like. Points: 5 LORCA: Not a very catchy name - I had to check it about five times. Gabriel is a nice first name. Points: 2 ROUND 2: LOOKS "I give points based on how convincing "captain-look" each character has. No points for being a hottie, sorry. But I'll give extra for easy-to-remember looks." // KIRK: Hey, a neighbor boy from the countryside! Looks like someone who'd like to go and make out behind the barn. Points: 2 PICARD: A small bald man whose eye color I can't figure out. Doesn't normally have to give orders twice. Points: 3 SISKO: A guy with his looks probably NEVER has to give his orders twice. Points: 5 JANEWAY: This redhead puts her hands on her hips and gives you THE STARE. You'll do as you were told. Points: 4 ARCHER: I couldn't pick this guy from a police line. Nice smile, though. Points: 2 LORCA: A bit like Archer but with a shorter face. Trying to look like a samurai? Points: 2 ROUND 3: UNIFORMS (Doesn't require explaining...) KIRK: Dude. You're wearing a mustard-colored t-shirt and trousers that are four inches too short. Not cool. Points: 1 PICARD: From a too small uniform to a good uniform to a weird coat thingy. Make up your mind! Average points: 3 SISKO: I don't... like those shoulders. And what happened to all the colors?! Points: 2 JANEWAY: Pretty practical and stylish uniform, though the separate collar is stupid. Points: 4 ARCHER: Because... overalls? Thanks to the pockets probably very practical. Points: 2 LORCA: Nice boots. Too many little details and hard to tell the rank. Points: 2 ROUND 4: QUOTE "I searched for "Star Trek X quotes", where X is the last name of the captain, in Google Image Search. The first quote actually said by the captain in their series was then chosen." // KIRK: Didn't Jane Austen write a book about this? Sums up Starfleet ideals pretty well. Points: 4 PICARD: Picard doesn't give up. And Thinking outside the box is always good. Points: 3 SISKO: Jeah, but what do YOU say? (My search method wasn't good for Sisko. Sorry, Ben.) Points: 2 JANEWAY: Time to set Vulcans straight. Normally Janeway talks about coffee. Points: 3 ARCHER: Star Trek's lectures about humanity, part many. It's good to learn from your mistakes, though. Points: 3 LORCA: Dudes, look at me! I'm a depressed and mystical character! (Also: one of the two Lorca-quotes I found with my search method.) Points: 1 "I wrote down all the points in this table..." // "So congratulations, Kathryn! You are the most captain-ny captain in Star Trek!" "Say what?" // "I do think that Sisko, Archer and Lorca were the underdogs here despite my efforts, as I don't really know them. Lorca doesn't even have a full season out yet (in January 2018) so he has no good quotes, for example." // "Despite my rankings, I believe I'd like each captain if and when I get to know them. And I intend to! And, of course, these were juts my thoughts. Please tell me what you think! I just hope I've answered Julia's question in a satisfying way." Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry

ANSWERS 2: HERO QUALITIES "Katariina asks, 'Which powers/qualities/characteristics would you like to get from your favorite characters?'" // "I'm going to leave out such super-cool but unreachable things like the ability the fly and concentrate more on mental features." // I'l like SHERLOCK HOLMES' skill to not only notice details but also figure out what they might mean. (i don't want his smoking addiction, though.) // And MACGYVER's way of thinking that doesn't begin by asking, 'What is it that I don't have?' but by 'What is it that I do have and what could it be?' // As well as GUINAN's ability to always ask the right questions and be kind to those who really need it. // "And, well, it would be cool to be able to do the Vulcan nerve pinch. Maybe Mr Spock could teach me to do it?" "You do know that learning the nerve pinch starts the same way as learning how to use a stun gun? First you have to know how the victim feels like!" En ole muuten koskaan ollut missään tekemisissä etälamauttimien kanssa, mutta olen kuullut, että poliisikoulussa joutuu kokemaan, miltä tuntuu, kun sillä täräytetään. Mikä on mielestäni ihan hyvä asia. By the way, I've never been associated wit stun guns in any way. But I have heard that in police school you have to experience what it feels like to be tased with one. Which, I think, is not such a bad idea. Sherloch Holmes created by sir Arthur Conan Doyle MacGyver created by Lee David Zlotoff Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry

ANSWERS 3: PUNS "Mr Brony asks, 'Whose jokes are better, mine or Mudkip's?'" // "I assume that by jokes he mostly means puns, as they are an important part of the verbal communication of both Brony and Mudkip..." // "Now the thing is that I like puns as much as the next person - unless that person is Mudkip or Mr Brony in which case I like them a little less..." // "However, I have started to believe that these two gentleman - despite of never meeting each other to my knowledge - have a secret plan of drive me crazy. IN TWO LANGUAGES." // "So, as an answer to your question... Your puns are EQUALLY TERRIBLE!" // "And I wouldn't trade those puns of yours... or you guys... for anything in the world." Ja ihan vain näyttääkseni teille, mitä joudun kestämään: muutamia sanaleikkejä. Yllättäen nämä eivän käänny. Ensin herra Bronyn tyylinäyte. And just to show you what I have to stand: some puns. Surprisingly these don't translate. First one by Mr Brony. Seuraavaksi yksi Mudkipin monista sanaleikeistä siltä ajalta, kun opiskelin Skotlannissa: Next one of Mudkip's numerous puns from the time I was studying in Scotland: Ja no joo, kyllä minäkin joskus heittelen sanaleikkejä, tosin vahingossa... Well okay, I sometimes pun too, by accident... ...ja joskus tarkoituksellakin: ...and sometimes on purpose, too: Kiitos herra Bronyn kysymyksen sain viimeinkin aikaiseksi piirtää nämä vanhat ideat. Ja sanaleikkijuttujahan riittää. Ehkä saatte kärsiä niistä toiseenkin kertaan... Thanks to Mr Brony's question, I finally drew these old comic ideas. And I've got lots of puns in storage. Maybe you'll suffer more from them some other time... I think I should apologize to Jimothy because my comics always make him look like a really violent person with absolutely no sense of humor. He's not, you know.

ANSWERS 4: THE SKELETON DETECTIVE Kysymys tuli brittikaverilta, siksi vastaus on englanniksi. Suomenkieliset käännökset alla. The question comes from an English-speaking friend, hence the answer is in English. Finnish translations below. "Seuraava kysymys on Ezralta. Hän kysyy, ketkä ovat lempihahmojani Keplo Leutokalma -kirjoista." // "Niille jotka eivät tiedä, Keplo Leutokalma on varsin humoristinen kauhu-fantasiakirjasarja, jonka on kirjoittanut irlantilainen kirjailija Derek Landy." // "Minulla on kuitenkin pieni ongelma. Vain viisi ensimmäistä kirjaa on suomennettu, ja vaikka tarina jäikin aika jännään kohtaan, en ole vielä lukenut sarjaa loppuun." // "Minun pitää kuitenkin nostaa hattua kääntäjälle, koska hän on tehnyt loistavaa työtä nimien kääntämisessä. Nimet näissä kirjoissa ovat usein tosi hauskoja. Molemmilla kielillä." // "Koska en halua kuulla tarinan loppuosasta enempää kuin olen jo kuullut googlaamalla siitä, joten en voi tehdä mittavaa hahmovertailua. Sen sijaan teen (suurimmaksi osaksi) spoilerittoman esittelyn muutamasta lempihahmostani viidestä ensimmäisestä kirjasta." // "Yksi heistä on kallokaveri itse, eli Keplo Leutokalma. Hän on luuranko ja etsivä. Rakastan hänen nokkelaa puhetapaansa." // "Ja pidän muös hänen hatustaan!" "Anna hattuni takaisin." "En." "Niin, muita lempihahmojani ovat..." // Kammo Pukeva: Puoliksi räätäli, puoliksi kovis. Tosi hieno tyyppi, vaikka viettääkin aika paljon aikaa patsaana. (Kuvitelkaa, että tämä on TODELLA tyylikäs takki.) // Tanith Low: Puoliksi kovis, puoliksi aseita ja taistelutaitoja. Haluaisin olla hänen kaverinsa. En haluaisi olla hänen vihollisensa... // "Lempi"hahmoni" saattaa kuitenkin olla Keplon auto, vuoden 1954 Bentley R-type Continental. Koska se on mahtava." "Älä koske Bentleyhin! Ja anna minulle hattuni takaisin!" (Mitä on tämä? Piirsin auton? Minä en piirrä autoja!!!) // Useimmat autot eivät teknisesti ole ottaen hahmoja, mutta jotkin kulkuneuvot vain ovat elämää suurempia. Keplon auto on hyvässä seurassa... "Bonuskierros: eräs lempikohtani kirjoista..." // Mukana: Stephanie/Valkyria: teinityttö ja päähenkilö. Käyttää suurimman osan aikaansa taistelemalla pahan voimia vastaan Keplon ja kavereiden kanssa. // Peili-Stephanie: Alkuperäisen kopio, joka ottaa tämän paikan esimerkiksi koulussa, kun oikea Stephanie on taistelemassa pahan voimia vastaan Keplon ja kavereiden kanssa. // "Moi, olen palannut taistelemasta pahan voimia vastaan Keplon ja kavereiden kanssa. Mites koulussa meni?" "Ihan kivasti. Meillä on historiankoe ensi viikolla." "Okei." // "Minä myös suutelin tätä yhtä tyyppiä." "Mitääääh?! Sain ensisuudelmani?!" "Joo." // "Ensisuudelmani, enkä minä ollut paikalla?!?" "Aika lailla näin, joo." (Ainakin jokseenkin tällä tavalla.) // "He he he. Kun minä olin tuon ikäinen, ongelmani olivat vähän tavallisempia..." // "Kaikki vaatteeni ovat mustia. Miksi kaikki vaatteeni ovat mustia?" // "Tämä on laitimmainen kerta, että pyydän nätisti." "Äh, olkoon sitten." And just a couple of skulls. Because why not? Ja vielä pari kalloa. Koska miksipä ei? PS. I know that Skulduggery doesn't have facial expressions because he lacks such necessary things as eyebrows and lips and skin. But I gave him facial expressions in my comic, however, just for fun. PS. Keplolla ei tietenkään ole kasvonilmeitä, koska häneltä puuttuu sellaiset olennaiset ilmahdintään tarvittavat seikat kuin kulmakarvat ja huulet ja iho. Sarjiksessani hänellä kuitenkin on ilmeet, ihan huvin vuoksi. Skulduggery Pleasant by Derek Landy Doctor Who by BBC Back to the Future directed by Robert Zemeckis Star Wars created by George Lucas The Blues Brothers directed by John Landis Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry

ANSWERS 5: THE BOX AND THE MADMAN "Mother Viper asks: "If you could spend a week travelling in the blue police box, which Doctor would you most like to travel with and where and when would you go?"" // "Oh, how can I decide!" // "For some reason, I have a soft spot in my heart for the second Doctor portrayed by Patrick Troughton... So maybe him." "Would you mind if I played some music on the way?" // "Would ye mind if I played as well?" "And I could get to know the second Doctor's companion Jamie. He's Scottish and survived all his adventures wearing a kilt - even the ones including a space suit." // "But I'd be happy to have any one of the Doctor's incarnations as my travel guide..." // "I thought I was her favorite..." "But EVERYONE loves me!" "I've appeared in her comics more often!" "I said anyone of you would do just fine!" "I'd like to travel to some exotic planet so that I could study all the creatures there." // "Or then I'd just ask the Doctor to take me to see mammoths." // "Jamie, please don't play bagpipes now. The mammoths will think it's a competing herd." "Ach, fine." Because mammoths are AWESOME. Jos on tilaisuus piirtää kaveri kiltissä, niin se tilaisuushan käytetään. Myös: satuin kuuntelemaan Bruce Springsteenin biisiä "Two hearts" tätä sarjista piirtäessäni. If one has the chance to draw a guy in a kilt, one uses that chance. Also: I happened to be listening to Bruce Springsteen's song "Two hearts" while drawing this comic. Doctor Who by BBC

ANSWERS 6: THE UNIVERSE "Snowhorse asks, 'What do you think about the fact that the universe in infinite and yet it is expanding?'" "Snowhorse also asks, 'Which one wins, the child or the camp instructor?'" // "We-ell." // "After two rounds it's a tie between the child and the camp instructor..." // "But - what now? A third competitor enters the ring!" // "I choose you, Camp-Leader-Mon!" // Or something like that... Edellisessä ei ollut mitään järkeä, sori :P Korvaukseksi lisää autoja: The previous made no sense, sorry :P More cars to make that up: Pokemon owned by Nintendo (I think...)

HOW TO PAINT A TIGER Ensimmäinen värikerros luonnoksen päälle. A light sketch and the first layer of color. Toinen värikerros vahvistamaan ensimmäistä, ja vähän yksityiskohtia. A second layer of color to strengthen the first one, and some attention to details. Kevyttä varjostusta ja vähän taustaa. Some shading and a little something in the background. Yksityiskohtia! Siis rakennetta turkkiin. Details! Or some structure for the fur. Luonnostelu raitoja varten... Sketch the stripes... ...ja sitten lisää ne raidat. ...and then add the stripes. Luulitko, että siinä oli kaikki? Lisää raitoja! You thought that was all? More stripes! Kuonon viimeistely ja varjostusta. Details of the muzzle and some more shading. Viimeiset yksityiskohdat: viikset ja silmät. Final details: whiskers and eyes. Serkkuni lapsi pitää siis tiikereistä, ja maalasin tämän hänelle syntymäpäivälahjaksi. My cousin's kid likes tigers so I made this for him as a birthday present.

ANSWERS 7: A DOCTOR, NOTHING ELSE! Lääkäri (substantiivi): ihmisten sairauksia tunnistava ja hoitava, siihen koulutuksen saanut ja lääketieteen lisensiaatin tutkinnon suorittanut terveysammattilainen (Wikisanakirja). Samankaltaisia sanoja: muurari, mekaanikko, sukkulankuljettaja, insinööri, taikuri, ihmeidentekijä. Doctor (noun): A physician; a member of the medical profession; one who is trained and licensed to heal the sick (Wiktionary). Similar words: bricklayer, escalator, mechanic, moon shuttle conductor, engineer, magician, miracle worker. "Jimothy kysyy: "Mitä muuta tohtori McCoy on kuin lääkäri?"" (Luin kysymuksen ensin väärin, siksi vastaus on mitä on.) // "No... Minusta monet Tähtilaivaston lääkäreistä olisivat aika hyviä baarimikkoja." // "Mitä sinä haluaisit, muukalainen?" "Teetä. Tuplana." // "Mikäs sinua sitten kalvaa, ystävä?" "Ei mikään. Kaikki. Anna toinenkin." // "Eikö sinun kannattaisi vähän hidastaa tahtia?" "Ei." // "Jaa, minusta sinun kannattaisi." // "Se olisi mahtavaa!" "Minä olen lääkäri, en baarimikko!" Star Trek created by Gene Roddenberry

SNOW ANGEL "Me emme lopeta leikkimistä koska vanhenemme, vaan vanhenemme, koska lopetamme leikkimisen." - George Bernard Shaw "We don't stop playing because we grow old; we grow old because we stop playing." - George Bernard Shaw

PERFECT TIMING

A RELATIVE OF THE OTTERS "Hey, mate, there's something very wrong with your style..."

HOW I MET MY FRIENDS A note to my non-Finnish friends: in Finland, Valentine’s Day is known as ystävänpäivä, friend’s day. It’s a day when you can celebrate your friendships, not just your romantic relationships. “Right, it’s that time of the year again…” // “According to the theme of the day I’m going to tell you…” // “…how I met my friends. About, the way I remember it. Some of the people mentioned here I haven’t met in years, others have been my friends to this day. I’ve changed the names in this comic.” // “First off, I’d like to apologise to those friends of mine who don’t appear in this comic. You are important to me but I don’t remember how we first met!” // “And then to the point.” // I met my first friend Elli when I was a couple of months old and she was a couple of hours. Our moms are old friends. And no, I don’t actually remember this! “The first time I really remember making friends was in kindergarten. I was maybe five...” // …and I had just gotten into a new group. (My hair started to curl when I was something like ten.) “Are you new in this group?” “Yes.” // “My name is Katja.” “Kati.” “We have almost the same name!” // “I guess we have the same name day, too.” “Yes! You want play with me?” We were the best friends for years. // “The there was this boy, Ben, from the neighbouring house…” // I don’t remember how we met but I do recall we didn’t get along… // “This went on for some time, until one day…” “Boo-hoo! Why did you bump into me?!” “You ran there yourself!” // Our mothers came by: “Enough with that bickering!” “Indeed! Behave and be friends.” // “Well, then…” “All right.” // It led to other good things, too. “This is Mikaela from my building. Is it okay if she comes to play with us?” “Yeah, sure!” // “Some of my best childhood memories are my adventured with Ben and Mikaela, and Mikaela and I were the best of friends for years…” // “I don’t remember the first time I met Wiivu. I’ve been told we’ve met in some club when we were but toddlers…” // “…but I remember very well how we really got to know each other on third grade, the first day after Christmas holidays.” “Locked?” // “Hey, get in from there!” // “You can get in from the backyard in the morning, so you have to go there.” “Oh, okay.” // “I didn’t know, I’m new in this school.” “Yes, you must be that Wiivu who’s coming to our class.” // “How did you know my name?” “It says so in your bag.” “Oh.” // “Wiivu and I ended up in the same middle school, too, and there we got to know new people… The first day I was still feeling a bit shy…” // “That girl is sure good at drawing horses…” // …but then, on about day four: “What are you doing, Snowhorse?” “This is Wiivu’s friend book.” // “”—and kill all the bad guys with the light sword.” Shouldn’t it be lightsaber?” “It’s a different thing but it could be lightsaber, too. Do you like Star Wars?” “Sure, Star Wars is the best!” // “What other movies and books do you like?” “At least A Tale of Redwall…” “I like Redwall, too!” // “Some of the greatest stories begin with other great stories. Then I went to high school.” // And made quite a few new friends. “Were you on that concert?” “Yes, I was.” “Me too!” “Cool!” // During my first week in high school I also got to know Mr Brony (who, at the time, had short hair). // “You’ll pay for that!” “I know this guy. He means what he says.” “Oops.” // So, I let him push me into the lake. // “Mr Brony still claims that the threw me off the dock as a revenge, but believe me when I say this: I LET him do it!” // “The most unbelievable meeting happened in the summer of 2011 in a workshop where we made owl dolls. I started talking with the person next to me…” // “What was the next step again…?” “I think you need to glue that…” // “Have you seen many owls in the nature?” “No, just a couple of tawny owls.” “I’ve seen an eagle owl once.” // “But maybe I’ll see more of them soon as I begin studying biology at the university.” “What? You’re starting in biology at the university this autumn?” “Yes, how so?” // “Because I’m a biology fresher, too!” “No way! Awesome!” // “That really was the craziest occurrence ever – and that we started to talk about out studies! A couple of years later I went to St Andrews as an exchange student, and I really didn’t know anyone.” // On the first night… “They said there’d be free pizza here…” // “Hi, I’m Rikku. Who are you?” “Huh? I’m Kati, an exchange student from Finland.” “Cool! This is Ezra, we just met each other, too.” “Hello.” “Hi. (All I wanted was to get some pizza and then go to bed…)” // “Luckily though, I met Rikku and Ezra again later on when I wasn’t quite so tired…” // On the second night… “The word is there are free hamburgers on the backyard today.” // “Should I try and get to know people? I don’t really know anyone yet, and I’ve forgotten the names of the people I met yesterday…” // “These people behind me look like they don’t really know each other… Maybe…” // “Hi, I’m Kati, an exchange student from Finland and I don’t know anyone.” “Awesome! We’re exchange students too. I’m Sunshine, from USA.” “And I’m Whale, from Germany. We just met each other.” // “We talked and went to see stars together – there is a comic from autumn 2015 about that in this blog.” // I met Mudkip a couple a days later when my corridor had a kitchen meeting. “Hi, I’m Topi.” “I’m Mary.” “My name is Mudkip.” “I am Kati.” // href="https://cdn.sanity.io/images/ofa9xfc4/production/04ae9d8a3388e6eb0f1bc6b7fd540e9bf207fbe8-595x841.jpg"> Nothing very special happened there – maybe the fact that we both were nerdy biologists just drew us together. “This guy has a nerdy aura…” “Do you like sci-fi?” // “And then there was Jimothy. I think he was a friend of Mudkip’s first, they had started talking on some lecture or something…” // We had been sitting in the same table over meals for weeks without really paying attention to each other until one day… // “Thanks to whoever said the magic words! If there’s anything I’ve learned it’s that a friendship can begin almost anywhere…” // “To all my friends, both those who appeared in this comic and those I can’t remember how we met… Happy friend’s day! And THANK YOU for being my friends. Without you there’d be something very, very, very important missing from my life.”

FAREWELL TO MAYA Korkeasaaren eläintarhan nuori myskihärkänaaras Maya sairastui yllättäen ja piti lopettaa. Tämä on hyvin surullista, koska Maya oli geneettisesti arvokas yksilö, joka oli kovalla työllä saatu Venäläisestä eläintarhasta. Kaipaamaan jäivät puoliso Isak ja eläntarhan väki. Korkeasaari Zoo’s young female muskox Maya got suddenly ill and had to be put down. This was very sad especially as Maya was a genetically valuable individual and getting her from a Russian zoo was a difficult task. Maya will be missed by her spouse Isak and the zoo staff. Hauskaa tietoa myskihäristä: myskihärät eivät ole härkiä, eikä niillä ole myskirauhasia. Oikeasti ne ovat vuohieläimiä, ja myskimäinen haju johtuu niiden virtsasta. Fun facts about muskoxen: they are not oxen and they don’t have musk glands. Muskoxen are related to goats, and the musk-like odour is caused by their urine.

LOST IN SINGULARITY Sarjakuva on englanniksi, koska se sisältää kauheita anglismeja... Tilastotiedettä // "Parametreja ei voida määritellä singularitettien takia." // "Mitä... tuo edes tarkoittaa? Mikä on singulariteetti tilasto-ohjelmassa? Tarkoitan... eikö singularitetti eli tapahutmahorisontti ole se osa tai juttu mustassa aukossa, joka aiheuttaa päänsäryn kun sitä vain ajatteleekin?" // "Tuolla se musta aukko on." // "Hei, singulariteetti, miksi sinä sotket minun tilastoanalyysini?" // "En tiiä. Sinun kiusaamisesi on tavallaan mun juttu." "Se ei ole kovin kilttiä, eihän?" // "Se on ihan näkökulmakysymys." "Hei!" "...tai ehkä minä vain kysyn tilastotieteen opettajalta."

OWLS Jos kirjoittaa gradun, niin tarvitseehan siihen kansikuvankin. If one writes a thesis, one needs a cover picture for it.

THE OWL MAFIA Graduohjaajani pyysi minua piirtämään ryhmäkuvan pöllötutkijoista. Älkää tehkö päätelmiä tekemämme tieteen tasosta tämän kuvan perusteella... My thesis supervisor asked me to draw a group picture of owl researchers. Please don't think this is the way we do science...

ACTUALLY I'M PRETTY TALL Olimme talvileirillä kokkeina herra Bronyn kanssa. Mr Brony and I were the chefs on a winter camp. "Hey, Kati, do you have any more soup plates?" "I think we're out of them." // "What about those on top of the cupboard?" "Oh yes, there were more up there." // "I don't think either of us is tall enough to reach them, though." // "Luckily, we have this..." // "...compensating devise for the vertically limited."

Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling

MOTIVATION "After a camp like this you surely have new enthusiasm for school work."

PLAGUE TO THE RESCUE! Rutton ja Kuoleman sekä heidän "omistajansa" Lumihevosen seikkailuita löytyy täältä The adventures of Plague, Death and their "owner" Snowhorse can be found here "Seriously with my thesis now." // "I should be going on a field station in a couple of days to "finish" my thesis but the statistical analysis is not yet ready..." // "...because i don't understand statistics. To get the analysis done, I would need to meet my supervisor which I don't have the time for as I need to go to the field station... which is no good if the analysis is not done." // "SURPRISE!!!" "Eek!" "I don't have the time to be ill NOW!" // "Except..." // "...now that I've got the flu, I can call the field station and move my thesis-writing week for next week. And I'll have time to meet my supervisor and get the analysis done before I head to the field station." // "Perfect. Now I'll just go home to drink some hot blackcurrant juice." // "That... wasn't exactly the reaction I was looking for." "Hey, for once someone appreciates."

MAGPIE-FOX "What are you wondering?" "These fox tracks here." // "What's so weird about them?" "Well, you see, first they're here..." // "...then they disappear... and re-appear several meters away." // "Maybe the fox was FLYING there." "Like a fox-griffin of some sort? That would be a funny creature." // "Yeah, except the head of a fox griffin wouldn't be of an eagle's but of a magpie's!" // "Ooh! A magpie-fox-griffin! I so wanna draw that!" "My idea! Made it myself! Do not steal!" Pakko sitten varmaan sanoa, että kettuharakan keksi herra Brony. Mutta minä sen piirsin. Älkää pöllikö. I guess I have to say that magpie-fox was invented by Mr Brony. But I drew it. Do not steal.

Eli tilastotieteen ihmeellinen maailma, osa monta. Aka. the wonderful world of statistics, episode many. "I don't know what's wrong with it." "Do you think someone here could help?" // "Emil might. I'll go and ask him." "Awesome!" // "What seems to be the problem?" "This..." // "Well, now I'm interested as well!" // "I wonder how many Finnish Swedes with beards are we going to need to solve this?" Kävi ilmi, että kolme riitti. Kiitos heille kaikille! Turns out that three was enough. My thanks to them all! Hämmentääkö otsikon huono englanti? Sivistä itseäsi täällä . Puzzled by the terrible English in the title? Learn its origins here .

STRIPES Pahoitteluni aatelinherran nimen väärinkirjoittamisesta. My apologies for misspelling the name of a noble gentleman. "My long-time readers might have noticed that I mostly wear a striped shirt in my comics. In reality, I own and wear other clothes, too. But I DO have quite a few striped shirts!" // "When I draw comics I tend to imagine I'm wearing this red shirt." // "In real life it doesn't exist anymore as it fell apart when I was in Scotland." // "I stuffed lord Finn K. Snidget-Cauliflower, the mascot of the quidditch team with it." // "So my shirt lives on in my comics and in the mascot of St Andrews quidditch team!" Punainen paita? Ollakseen sinipunainen, se paita oli yllättävän punainen... Red shirt? It was a surprisingly red shirt considering it was red and blue... Kuka on lordi Finn K. Snidget-Cauliflower? Who is lord Finn K. Snidget-Cauliflower?

POINTY-EARED BUDDIES "Happy birthday!" // "You said you wanted your own Vulcan for birthday... so I made you one!" // "I'll place him here next to my Spock figure." // "I hope the Vulcan boys don't start fighting." "Neh, that would be illogical." // "I am taller than you." "But I am more three-dimensional!" "I am more colorful!" "I have a behind!" Star trek created by Gene Roddenberry

"You know the stereotype that women can't tell one car from another? Well, when it comes to me, this is actually true. Here are all the different types of cars I recognize." // Red car // Blue car // Volkswagen Bubble // My thesis supervisor's van (aka. the Owl Mobile) // Bus Combine harvester // Millennium Falcon Jaa, ilmeisesti "Millenniumissa" on kaksi N-kirjainta. Enpä tiennytkään. Ja kuka muka väittää, ettei sarjakuvista voi oppia mitään? Apparently there are two N's in "Millennium". I never knew that. And who says you can't learn things from comics? Star Wars created by George Lucas

TIME TO MAKE A WISH "According to an old belief you can make a wish if you see the Sun, the Moon and two white horses at the same time." // "I wonder if the Sun, the Moon and one blackbird would do?"

HAIR "I don't understand what they mean by "bad hair day"."

IMPORTANT EVENTS Hannibal has crossed the Alps. // The Eagle has landed. // Kati has handed in her master's thesis. Ihan totta puhuen lähetin graduni proffalle sähköpostilla istuessani yöpukusillani keittiön pöydän ääressä. Enkä ole siis valmistunut vielä, mutta gradu on proffalla syynissä, joten sinne päin mennään... To be quite honest, I sent my thesis to the professor by e-mail while sitting by my kitchen table in my pyjamas. I haven't graduated yet, but the professor is grading my thesis, so getting there... Suuret kiitokset mahtaville graduohjaajilleni! A million thanks to my awesome thesis supervisors!

A CHILD IS HEALTHY WHEN IT'S PLAYING... ...mutta sen housuntakamukset on märät, jos se ei lopeta. ...but its trouser butt will be wet if it doesn't stop.

I'm sorry, this doesn't translate. But trust me, you're not missing anything.

ENT-ISH FEELINGS "Monet näistä puista olivat ystäviäni." "Niin minunkin." The Lord of the Rings written by J. R. R. Tolkien

FORGETFULNESS "So I never pressed the play button..."

AHVIS 1: THE PLAN "Oh, hi, Kalla!" "Hello, Kati and Brony! Mind if I join you?" "Not at all." // "So, what's up with you?" // "I'm trying to find myself a team for Ahvis." "Ahvis? What's that?" // "Åland's bird watching competition." "Biology students have it every year." // "It's in mid-April but I still don't have a team." "Hmm..." // "It sure sounds like fun. Can non-biology students attend, too?" "Sure!" // "I've always wanted to go Ahvis but there has always been something else... And now I'm about to graduate so this might be my last chance..." "What do you say - would the three of us make a good Avis team?" "Why not!" "Brony has a telescope too, don't you?" "Yes, and I can borrow my dad's tripod." "Awesome!" // "But are we going to be a bike team or a car team? It's easier to move around with a car but I don't have one." // "Neither do I, and I wouldn't want to drive, either." // "I don't have a driver's license." // "Bike team it is." "Hmph..." // "I don't want to ride a bike. I'm just not fit enough." "How about renting a tandem bike?" // "I really don't want to pedal!" "What are we going to do then?" // "Guys. I have an idea that will solve every problem we have. Alternatively, it will kill my legs. Maybe both." TO BE CONTINUED...

AHVIS 2: THE BOX "Mankind's best invention since the wheel: cargo bike. Kalla can travel in it." // "Where are you going to get a cargo bike from?" "Friends of the Earth, Nature League and 4H have one you can borrow for free." // "Just sign there, and here are the keys." "Thank you! I'll bring it back next Monday." // "Let's go!" "Ow, my butt." // "Well, let's try again!" // "Now we're talking!" // "I could go for lunch..." // "...and buy some food." // "And now home." "Wait a second..." // "...there's a hole in my trouser butt. And blood." // "I probably got a wound and tore my trousers when I fell over. ...and then I went for lunch and to the grocery store wearing bloody and torn trousers." // "How am I always this elegant?" // "The ship to Åland leaves from Turku. So I have to get the box bike first from Helsinki to Turku. I can't take a bike this big to a train." // "Bus company, hello." "Hi. Can I take a cargo bike into your bus?" "Uhh... Yes?" TO BE CONTINUED...

AHVIS 3: THE JOURNEY The drivers at the bus station looked at my bike in a weird way... "Please don't come into my bus, please..." // ...but the driver of my bus was just the best: "What is that tank?" // My aunt who lives in Turku accommodated me for the night. I also met one of my cousins after a long time. // "I wonder how I'm going to get the cargo bike into the ship?" // "Apparently the same way all the other bikes get there." "What shall we do for the next six hours?" "We could get something for lunch." "And take a nap. We won't be sleeping that much next night." // "Three tickets to the lunch buffet, please." "Will you pay separately?" "Yes, we will." // "I don't think we're as stylish as all the other restaurant customers..." // "Excuse me, there are plates for only two in our table but there are three of us..." "I see..." // "It might be because one of you is a child." "!" // "Oh, no... I think you're an adult after all." "Where are we going to meet Kalla?" "At the Sports Center. She gets a ride from some friend of hers." // "It's 16 kilometers... that way!" // "Hey, it's five o'clock! The competition begins!" "Let's watch some birds!" TO BE CONTINUED...

AHVIS 4: WIND AND BIRDS "Hey, it's those box bike people!" // Royal waving "Wake up, it's half past four. Time to go bird watching again." // "Brrr, it's cold!" // "Look, two white-tailed eagles!" "Again?" "I never thought seeing white-tailed eagles might get boring but, apparently, that can happen, too." It was windy on Åland. "Can we please go down? I'm actually a bit scared." "Wait... A northern shoveler." "Yes, I see him too." // "I need to keep pedaling so that we won't stop." "But... we're going downhill." // "I know!" // "My trash!" "My pizza!" // "Hey guys! We saw 76 different bird species, one of which was an ace species!" "So no-one else saw that (probably) lesser spotted eagle!" "Neither did I... But good job, we!" TO BE CONTINUED...

AHVIS 5: RETURN HOME (Åland's pancakes) // "What shall we do during this ship journey?" "I'm tired, so I could go for a nap." "Me too." // "I'm not tired, so I'm going to see the ship. See you later!" // "Damn it's boring to hang around a ship all by myself..." // "I rather lie awake in a dark room." "I'm going to get a ride back to Helsinki from a friend of mine. How are you going to get back?" "I'll spend the night at my aunt's and come by some bus tomorrow." "I'm just trying to figure that out. All trains are full-booked." // "And there's only one bus tonight - fifteen minutes after this ship comes to the harbor!" // "It's about a kilometer from the harbor to the bus station so you just might make it. I'll come to show you the way." "Thanks! It would be nice to get home for the night." // "C'mon! These are the seventh red lights within a kilometer!" // "I missed the bus by one minute. Thanks a lot, traffic lights." "I guess my aunt would let you stay at her house." // "I really don't..." "Take off your hat and beg." // "I don't have a hat." "Take off your helmet and beg." "...so that's what happened." "Sure you can both stay here for the night. Come on in." // "Sorry, I don't think I can take two bikes in this bus." "No problem, we'll wait for the next one." // "Yes, I think we can fit those bikes in here." "Great, thanks!" // "Bye bye!" "Buy, then!" // "Ahvis was a pretty nice adventure after all." "You're right. By the way... can I get the recipe for those rosemary biscuits of yours?" // "Of course. First mix 50 grams of butter with 50 grams of sugar..." "I don't remember it if you just tell it to me!" "Oh." THE END Bonusluku - Bonus chapter "Sorry for the bumpy ride." "That's what he said!" // "Hit me." Ottaen huomioon, että tämä oli 15-sivuinen arjakuva lintubongaamisesta, se kertoo yllättävän vähän lintubongaamisesta. Myös: polkupyörien piirtäminen on kamalaa. This comic tells surprisingly little about bird watching considering it was a 15-page comic about bird watching. Also: drawing bikes is terrible.

THESIS "Because my thesis is 40 pages of scientific text I made a more easily digestible version. The topic is the effect of color morph on the habitat selection of tawny owls." // The brown and black colors of birds are caused by melanins. Their amounts are genetically coded. Light feathers have little melanin. Dark feathers have lot of melanin. // Some species are color polymorphic which means that there are differently colored individuals. Color morphs are often different from each other. For example, darker individuals are more aggressive than lighter ones. // "Coloration affects behavior, too. On exothermic species, such as vipers, pale individuals have to bask in sun longer than darker individuals. // Differently colored individuals may also prefer different environments: dark barn owls nest on more open areas... than lighter ones that prefer more forested environments. // "Tawny owl has two color morphs, darker melanistic brown morph and lighter grey morph." // "Even though tawny owl is a widely studied species, little is known about their nest site choice. Therefore I studied it in my thesis." "Tawny owls have been studied in Finland for decades so there is plenty of ringing data. One year I assisted with the field work, too." // "In addition to the ringing data I needed data on what kind of places tawny owls nest." // "Nowadays there's plenty of electronic map data so I could make myself a map that suited my needs. From it I could see forests, fields and water bodies among other things." // "In the end I had an electronic pixel map... and tawny owl ringing data from South Finland from 2006-2017." // "After that I hit my head in the desk." // "I mean... made different statistical analyses to find out possible interactions between owl coloration, number of eggs and chicks, timing of nesting and the surroundings of the nests." // "And here's what I found out:" "First: tawny owls prefer to nest in places with plenty of open and urban areas in the surroundings." // "Secondly: brown females prefer old forests and open areas more that grey females. There were no differences between differently colored males." // "And thirdly: the surroundings of the nest site did not affect the number of eggs or chicks or the timing of nesting." // "So that's what I found out. By why are things like that?" // "according to one hypothesis, animals should choose to live in a place where they get as many offspring as possible. Tawny owls, however, do not seem to do so. Possibly they favor open areas because there is more prey there than in the woods which may help them survive the winter." "Brown females may prefer old forests because they have a better camouflage there. All in all, tawny owls like to have open areas in their territory, perhaps because there in plenty of prey..." // "...but also lots of human-caused noise. Brown females may stand it better than grey ones!" // "But why are there no differences between grey and brown males when there are differences between differently colored females? This remains a mystery." // "Many other things are still unknown, such as how tawny owls survive winters in different environments." "Why don't you just go back to the woods and find out?" // "It would also be interesting to study how owls actually use their territories. It would have to be done with some sort of a radio-tracking device. But despite of all the new questions that arose, my study brought up new information on the nest site choice of tawny owls!" "Many people have helped me with the making of my thesis, and I'd like to thank them..." // My thesis supervisors, who guided me with patience and kindness through the whole process. // The owl doctor, who gave me lots of good advice and told me to go to talk to my supervisor in the first place. // The map maker, without his help I could never have made the map. // The statistics teacher, who helped me with statistics so that I didn't hit my head in the table too badly. // "And of course I'd like to thank all differently colored tawny owls. Thanks to them we ecologists will have a lot to study in the future!" Onko joku yllättynyt, jos kerron, että tieteen popularisointi on minusta kiinnostavaa? Is anyone surprised if I say that I find popularizing science interesting?

SORRY! En halua vahvistaa stereotypioita tai mitään, mutta tämä on havaintoni maailmasta. Tuntui hyvältä idealta julkaista tämä vanha sarjisidea vihdoin nyt, kun olen jälleen käymässä Skotlannissa. Not to strengthen stereotypes or anything but this is what I've observed. This is a good time to publish this old idea for a comic as I'm visiting Scotland again. "Here we see what happens when someone bumps into someone else with a cart in a Finnish grocery store." // "Here's the same situation in some other country." "Sorry!" // "And this is what happens when the bump takes place in a British grocery store." "Sorry!" // "And in this scene we have a bystander - a Finnish student who has lived in the UK for eight months." "Sorry!"

SPRING FASHION "Stripes seem to be in fashion this season."

KEY CONCEPTS Question 1. Describe some key concept from your field of study. // Answer 1. // One of the most important concepts in ecology is... // ...Voldemort. // One of the most important concepts in ecology is... // ...genetic diversity.

THAT TIME OF THE YEAR "Sex on public places is just not acceptable." "Say what now?" // "Ah wish sobeone wudd dell dat to birdches, doo." "Ah, pollen allergy."

TO EUROPE! PART 1: MAPS AND BUSES "This is my travel plan." "My travel plan includes a LOT of bus travel - three nights in a bus! But why so? Practicality, money and climate are of course important reasons." // "But frankly, I also thought about westerns." // (Tex Willer, to be exact.) "Let's go to see our friends in Mexico!" "Yes, let's!" // First they write for two days to the nearest train station. // Then they travel by train for four days. // Then they take a ship. "How long does it take to get there?" "A week, if the finds are good. If not, then two." // "If there's a storm, we'll all die." "Okay." // "Even though I do appreciate modern day conveniences like indoors toilet and Wi-fi, the fact is that travelling is nowadays "too" easy. And, because I have the time, I want to TRAVEL - to be on the way, not at the destination. Even bandits don't attack that often anymore." Tex Willer created by Gianluigi Bonelli and Aurelio Galeppini

TO EUROPE! PART 2: OBSERVATIONS AND SUPER POWERS Observations from the world: "Oh, you can see our camping island from the plane!" // "The floor of Arlanda airport in Stockholm is made of stone with orthocone fossils." // "You can find that kind of a floor in for example the Ateneum art museum and the entrance hall of Viikki library." // After sleeping two nights in a tent and then wake up at half past four, even the most devoted tea drinker starts to think about coffee. // "(Shouts instructions with broad Scottish accent!)" "That accent always makes me laugh. It doesn't give him much authority, though..." Location: St Andrews, Scotland. "Yay, my friends from St Andrews!" "Yay, our friend from Finland!" // "Oh, a dead blackbird." // "The earthly remains of a dove." // "This has probably been a guillemot." // "There's a gannet carcass down there." // "Is noticing dead birds your super power or something?" "Uh... Yes, I guess."

TO EUROPE! PART 3: OTTERLY SUCCESSFUL Varoitus: tämän sarjakuvan täydellinen ymmärtäminen vaatii perustietämystä roolipelaamisesta. Warning: full understanding this comic requires basic knowledge of role playing games. Sijainti: St Andrews, Skotlanti. "Ilmalaiva on syöksymässä mereen. Mitä teette?" / "Nappaan sen aiemmin viettelemäni naisen ja vien hänet pelastusveneeseen." "Selvä, te molemmat olette turvassa." // "Minä pelastan sen kapteenin, jonka viettelin aiemmin." "Hän on edelleen toivottoman rakastunut sinuun, joten hän seuraa sinua mukisematta." // "Entäs kaikki ne 170 viatonta ihmistä sillä laivalla?" "Voisimme yrittää laittaa heidät siihen ulottuvuuslaatikkoon..." // "Oletko sinä edelleen kissamuodossasi, Rikku? Ja Kati, oletko sinä yhä saukko?" "Kyllä." "Joo." // "Olette saaneet ulottuvuuslaatikon kannelle. Mitä teette?" "Minä yritän selittää kaikille, että heidän tulisi mennä laatikkoon." // "Edelleen saukkona?" "Juu." "Heitä 20-sivuista noppaa." "...heitin 20!" Sinä... nouset takajaloillesi ja alat selittää asioita käyttäen saukkojen viittomakieltä. // Piirrät myös useita kuvaajia selittääksesi, mitä haluat ihmisten tekevän. // Muutamat lukutaidottomat henkilöt osaavat yhtäkkiä lukea. // Onnistut saamaan kaikki 170 ihmistä laatikkoon mukavassa ja siistissä järjestyksessä... // "...ja teet sen kaiken kolmessa minuutissa. Kaikki selviävät mereensyöksystä." "Jesh!" "Noin sitä pitää!" // "Huomaatko? Tämän takia me olemme hyviä ja sinä olet paha." // "Minä en ole paha, olen kaoottinen neutraali." "Sinä olet paha ja huora."

TO EUROPE! PART 4: ZIIING, PIUU, PZZZ! Sijainti: St Andrews, Skotlanti. "Hyvää syntymäpäivää, Jimothy!" "Vau, mini-laseraseet! Kiitti, Rikku!" "Jimothy valitsi ne itse, tiedäthän..." // "Antaudu heti!" "En koskaan!" "Lapset!" // "Lapset!" "Aaargh, minuun osui!" "Sainpas!" // "Te ette voi ampua minua! Sallikaa minun toistaa, te ette voi ampua minua, olen lääkintäupseeri, ette voi tehdä sitä! Te ette voi tehdä sitä." "Minä en ole täällä." "Minä olen vain kassi. Josta tulee laseria." "Lapset...!"

TO EUROPE! PART 5: THE ENDING OF ONE CHAPTER IS THE BEGINNING OF ANOTHER Oli laskuveden aika ja vuorilla satoi, kun lähdin St Andrewsista sinä keväänä...

TO EUROPE! PART 6: HOW TO PASS TIME Location: A bus from Dundee, Scotland, to London, England. "Sometimes when I'm in a bus I play this imaginary game." // "What would happen if the bus suddenly re-appeared in some wild place?" // "I look at the passengers and wonder who'd become the leader..." // "...who'd be the first one to be eaten... who'd be a hero and who a useless diva. In this bus this game is going to be fun because of the passengers:" // We've got the token wheelchair guy... a mother with a small baby... and this elderly Spanish gay gentleman sitting next to me. SO EXITING!

TO EUROPE! PART 7: PARIS IN THE HEAT Location: Paris, France. "I don't like Paris." // "It's too big.." // "...too crowded..." // "...too dirty..." // "...too rich... and too poor at the same time." // "And my bus only leaves in three hours!" // "They do make really good pizza in here, though!" // "Okay." To be continued...

TO EUROPE! PART 8: PARIS IN RAIN Location: Paris, France. "Paris isn't really that bad when it rains a little..." // "I would only be wetter if I had jumped into the Seine!" // "I can't even go to women's toilet to change clothes." // "And I refuse to go there. Yack!" // "I came all the way from Mexico, and now my bus is gone!" "Well..." "I only speak Russian." "Uh..." "If this wasn't for real this would actually be an almost funny situation." Ajatukseni sateessa oli, että ainakin tästä saa tehtyä sarjakuvan. Paras komedia syntyy tragediasta. In the rain I thought, 'at least I can make a comic about this!' The best comedy comes from tragedy.

TO EUROPE! PART 9: GERMAN HOSPITALITY Location: Bielefeld, Germany. "Whale! It's been too long!" "Kati! You got soaked in Paris, then?" // "This is my girlfriend Goldfish." "Nice to meet you." "Likewise." // "Here, dry your clothes here." // "Here, take a warm shower." // "Here, have some breakfast." // "Here, have a walk around the sunny Bielefeld." // "Here, see our fine castle!" // "Here, let's take an ice cream break." "Here, let's walk in this lovely forest." // "Here, have some elder lemonade." // "Here, have some cheese cake, too." // "Here, watch birds in the park." // "Here, let's play the train game!" // "Here, let's have home-made pizza for dinner." // "Here, have a non-moving, warm and horizontal b-" // "...ed."

TO EUROPE! PART 10: A FAMILY DAY Location: Bielefeld, Germany. "It's my father's birthday, and he'd like to celebrate by spending a day in the zoo with the family." // "I hope you don't mind coming along?" "I hope you don't mind me telling you interesting animal facts all the time?" // "These people will come: Goldfish... my father and mother... my big sister... her husband... and their two children." // On the way to Münster. // "Coffee?" "More juice?" "Yes please." "Could I have a spoon, please?" "Strawberries?" "This is the most chaotic and the most fun breakfast I've ever had." // "I've been accepted into the family." "He hee!" "Don't run away from me, my friend's sister's toddler!" // "Oooh! They have a secretary bird!" // "Did you know that octopuses have three hearts?" "They do?" // "Bye bye, Whale and Goldfish!"

TO EUROPE! PART 11: FAMILIAR FEELINGS Location: Graz, Austria. I met my little brother after quite some time. Yes, I have a little brother too. // "...when people ask, 'where in Austria are you from?'..." // "...and I say that I'm actually from Ireland. And that I spend quite a lot of my childhood in France." // "And those people look at me like a million dollar bill. Like this." // "It probably doesn't help if you tell them that you have Finnish siblings." // "Not a bit. Those who had followed thus far always get lost at that point." // "I should just write the whole thing down and give printed copies to all the new people I meet!" "Great idea!" // "But trust me, bro, I know how you feel."

TO EUROPE! PART 12: NOT AGAIN! "Shall we go for a little hike on the mountains today?" "Yeah, let's go, dad!" // "Yeah, let's not!" "How am I going to get to the airport?" "I'll take you, of course. How else?" // "You could just put me in bus." "Yes, there are about six every day..." // "And them back home..." The end.

HERON

ROLL BEFORE USE "Kati, why does it say 'crushable' in your hat?" // "Because you can for example roll it and it doesn't mind." // "And don't you dare to crush it!"

TIGER BOOK Uuden päiväkirjani tunnuskuva. The logo of my new diary. (The stripes form words that mean "Tiger book" in Finnish.)

ALL THIS STUFF... "As a zoo guide I have to keep a lot of things with me every day." // Maps (there's always someone who doesn't have one), a microphone and a speaker, radiophone, first aid stuff, work phone, ice cream coupons, my own phone, zoo's pins, a water bottle, a pen, Swiss Army Knife, canvas bag, snacks, key card, staff card, three sets of keys. // "Luckily they gave me this extra pocket..."

NOT IN MY BACKYARD WOODS! "This is my evening walk forest! Go play your war games somewhere else!"

ANIMAL AUGUST - WELCOME! "Well hello! Welcome to the zoo! Please, come in. // "I work in a zoo at the moment, and since you, dear readers, probably can't come there every day, you'll get to know animals here in my blog." // "In August I'll introduce you to one animal nearly every day - one critter for every letter in the alphabet! (Including the Finnish Å, Ä and Ö.)" // "Many interesting animals are waiting for you. Come along now! The first one is just around the corner..."

ANIMAL AUGUST - A AKSOLOTLI – AXOLOTL ( Ambystoma mexicanum ) Aksolotli on monin tavoin erikoinen otus. Tämä lohikäärmettä muistuttava mutta salamantereihin kuuluva pieni vedenelävä ei nimittäin koskaan kasva aikuiseksi. Sillä on koko ikänsä kidukset, jotka muilla sammakkoeläimillä katoavat yksilön aikuistuessa. Tästä huolimatta aksolotli kykenee lisääntymään. Ilmiötä kutsutaan neoteniaksi. Usein näkee kuvia albiinoista aksolotleista, jotka ovat suosittuja lemmikkejä, mutta kuvan aksolotli on ruskeanharmaa, kuten Meksikossa asuvat ja hyvin uhanalaiset villit aksolotlit ovat. The axolotl is a curious creature in many ways. This dragon-looking aquatic creature is actually a salamander that never really grows up. It has gills all its life even though on other amphibians they disappear when an individual gets older. Despite of this axolotls become able to reproduce. This phenomenon is called neotenia. You often see pictures of albino axolotls that are popular pets but the one in this drawing in greyish brown like its endangered wild counterparts that live in Mexico.

ANIMAL AUGUST - B BAIKALINHYLJE – BAIKAL SEAL ( Pusa sibirica ) Baikalinhylje on yksi maailman pienimmistä hylkeistä ja lisäksi ainoa, joka elää pelkästään makeassa vedessä. Järvissä elävät saimaannorppa ja laatokannorppa ovat nimittäin meressä elävän norpan alalajeja. Baikalinhylje on luultavasti myös enemmän erillään muista hylkeistä kuin mikään muu eväjalkainen – jokea pitkin matkaa Siperian Baikaljärveltä Jäämerelle kertyy yli 5500 kilometriä! The Baikal seal in one of the smallest seal species in the world and also the only one that lives solely in fresh water. Saimaa ringed seal and Ladoga seal that live in lakes are considered to be subspecies of the sea-living ringed seal. Baikal seal is also probably more isolated from other seals than any other pinniped – by river it is more that 5500 kilometers (3400 miles) from Lake Baikal to the Arctic Ocean!

ANIMAL AUGUST - C CHILENFLAMINGO – CHILEAN FLAMINGO ( Phoenicopterus chilensis ) Flamingot ovat tunnettuja vaaleanpunaisista sulistaan. Vaaleanpunaisen värin muodostumiseksi flamingon täytyy saada karotenoideja ravinnostaan, joka muodostuu pääosin erilaisista pienistä äyriäisistä. Mikäli flamingo ei saa tarpeeksi karotenoideja, sen väritys haalistuu. Tutkimus on osoittanut, että kirkkaan vaaleanpunainen väri on myös suosion tae flamingoparvessa. Kannattaa siis syödä terveellisesti! Flamingos are known fror their pink coloration. To form pink coloration a flamingo has to get carotenoids from its food that mainly consisit of small crustaceans. If a flamingo does not get enough carotenoids its pink color will fade. Studies have also shown that a brightly colored flamingo is more popular among its kind than a faded one. It sure pays off to eat healthy!

ANIMAL AUGUST - D DUGONGI – DUGONG ( Dugong dugon ) Dugongeja ja niiden sukulaisia manaatteja ei turhaan sanota merten lehmiksi. Ne nimittäin laiduntavat meriruohoa matalien lahtien pohjissa samaan tapaan kuin lehmät maalla. Dugongit ovat kuitenkin järkeviä ja säästäväisiä eläimiä. Ne eivät koskaan syö kaikkea meriruohoa samalta alueelta, vaan jättävät sinne tänne laikkuja, joista uusi niityllinen meriheinää voi kasvaa. Kestävää laidunnusta siis! Dugongs and their relatives, manatees, are not called cows of the seas for nothing as they graze sea-grass in the bottoms of shallow bays the same way cows do on land. However, dugongs are reasonable and economical animals. They never eat all the sea grass from an area but leave un-grazed patches here and there from which a new meadow of sea grass can grow. Sustainable grazing indeed!

ANIMAL AUGUST - E ERAKKORAVUT – HERMIT GRABS (Paguroidea) Erakkoravuilla on pehmeä takaruumis, joka on alttiina saalistajien hyökkäyksille. Siksi se etsii kotilon kuoren, johon se voi piilottaa takamuksensa. Osa erakkoravuista myös koristelee kuorensa esimerkiksi merivuokoilla. Ravun kasvaessa sen on etsittävä isompi kuori suojakseen. Mikäli sopivaa ei ole saatavilla, takaruumiin pelastukseksi kelpaa vaikka vanha limsatölkki. Tästä huolimatta meriin ei ole sopivaa heittää roskaa, sillä siitä on eläimille enemmän haittaa kuin hyötyä. Kuvassa bernhardinerakkorapu ( Pagurus bernhardus ) Hermit crab’s abdomen is soft and hence vulnerable to predators’ attacs. Therefore a hermit crab finds a seashell in which it hides its behind. Some hermit crabs decorate their shells with for instance sea anemones. When a crab grows it has to find another seashell to protect itself. If a suitable sized one is not available, a hermit crab can use even an old soda can to safe its backside. Despite of this soda cans and other trash cause more harm than good to sea creatures. In this picture you see the common hermit crab ( Pagurus bernhardus ).

ANIMAL AUGUST - F FREGATTILINNUT – FRIGATEBIRDS ( Fregata sp.) Fregattilinnut eli kaapparit ovat tunnettuja paitsi koiraiden komeista kurkkupusseista myös niiden tavasta ryövätä kalasaaliita muilta linnuilta. Tämä voi tuntua epäreilulta ja ilkeältäkin, koska fregattilinnut osaavat kalastaa vallan hyvin itsekin. Eläimet eivät kuitenkaan elä samojen moraalisääntöjen mukaan kuin me ihmiset. Varsinkin lisääntymisaikaan kalojen ryöstely muilta linnuilta auttaa fregattilintuja kasvattamaan poikasensa vahvoiksi. Ja tärkeintähän useimmille eläimille on oman suvun jatkaminen. Kuvassa keisarifregattilintu ( Fregata magnificens ). Frigatebirds are known for the males’ red gular pouch and also for their habit of stealing fish from other fish-eating birds. This might seem unfair and even mean as frigatebirds are well capable of fishing themselves. Animals, however, don’t follow any moral codes the same way we humans do. Especially during breeding season stealing fish helps frigatebirds in bringing up strong offspring. And the most important thing in most animals’ life is to raise as many offspring as possible. In this picture you see the magnificent frigatebird ( Fregata magnificens ).

ANIMAL AUGUST - G GILALISKO – GILA MONSTER ( Heloderma suspectum ) Gilalisko ja sen kanssa samaan Heloderma -sukuun kuuluvat neljä muuta liskoa sekä komodonvaraani ovat maailman ainoat myrkylliset liskot. Terveelle aikuiselle gilaliskon purema ei yleensä ole kohtaloksi, mutta kiinni purrutta gilaliskoa on lähes mahdotonta saada irti. Gilaliskon myrkkyrauhaset sijaitsevat alaleuassa toisin kuin myrkkykäärmeillä, joiden myrkkyrauhaset ovat yläleuassa. Gila monster and the other four species of the genus Heloderma , with the Komodo dragon, are the only venomous lizards in the world. A gila monster’s bite is normally not fatal to a healthy adult but getting a gila monster to let go when it is biting into something is nearly impossibel. A gila monster’s venom glands are located in its lower jaws whereas snakes’ venom glands are in their upper jaws.

ANIMAL AUGUST - H HIETADOLLARIT – SAND DOLLARS (Clypeastroidea) Hietadollarit kuuluvat samaan piikkinahkaisten ryhmään kuin meritähdet ja merisiilitkin, jotka ovat säteittäissymmetrisiä eläimiä – niillä ei siis ole etu- tai takapäätä. Kaikki maailman eläimet polveutuvat alkeellisista säteittäissymmetrisistä eläimistä. Meritähtien ja merisiilien esi-isät ovat kuitenkin olleet kaksikylkisiä, joten nykyiset meritähdet ja merisiilit ovat sekundäärisesti säteittäissymmetrisiä. Hietadollarit ovat kehittyneet sekundäärisesti säteittäissymmetrisistä eläimistä ja alkaneet jälleen kehittää itselleen etu- ja takapäätä – ne ovat siis sekundäärisesti kaksikylkisiä! Vaikka evoluutio ei ”tähtää” mihinkään eikä se voi kulkea taaksepäin, se tuntuu välillä sahaavan paikoillaan! Sand dollars belong to the same group of Echinoderms as star fish and sea urchins that are radially symmetric animals - this means that they don’t have a front side or a back side. All animals descent from radially symmetric animals. The ancestors of star fish and sea urchins were bilaterally symmetric, so the present-day starfish and sea urchins are secondarily radially symmetric. Sand dollars stem from secondarily radially symmetric animals and they have started to develop themselves a front and a back again – hence they are secondarily bilaterally symmetric! Even though evolution is not ”going” anywhere and cannot go backwards, it sometimes feels undecided!

ANIMAL AUGUST - I ISOMUURAHAISKARHU - GIANT ANTEATER ( Myrmecophaga tridactyla ) Isomuurahaiskarhu (joka ei ole mitään sukua karhuille) syö nimensä mukaisesti vain muurahaisia ja termiittejä. Se onkin täydellisesti sopeutunut tähän erikoiseen ruokavalioonsa. Sen etujalkojen suuret kynnet, joilla se repii auki muurahais- ja termiittipesiä, eivät kulu, sillä eläin kävelee rystysillään. Muurahaiset tarttuvat muurahaiskarhun pitkään, tahmeaan kieleen, jolla se vetää ne sisään pikkuisesta suustaan. Muurahaiskarhuilla ei ole hampaita, mutta ei hätää - muurahaiset tulevat jauhetuiksi sen vatsassa. The giant ant eater eats only and termites like its name suggests. It is perfectly adapted to its curious diet. Ant eater uses its big claws to tear open ant and termite nests, and they don't wear because the animal walks on its knuckles. Ants get stuck in the ant eater's long, sticky tongue with which it pulls them into its tiny mouth. Ant eaters don't have teeth, but not to worry - the ants are minced in its stomach.

ANIMAL AUGUST - J JÄTTILÄISKALMARI - GIANT SQUID ( Architeuthis dux ) Jättiläiskalmarit ovat kolossikalmareiden ohella maailman suurimpia selkärangattomia eläimiä. Nämä syvien merien asukit voivat kasvaa pyyntilonkeroineen jopa 13 metrin pituisiksi. Näillä jättiläisillä on myös maailman suurimmat silmät: niiden halkaisija on noin 30 cm! Jättiläiskalmarit ovat maailman nopeimmin kasvavia olentoja. Kuoriutuessaan ne ovat vain muutaman millimetrin pituisia ja ne saavuttavat valtavan kokonsa noin viidessä vuodessa. Kauempaa nämä jätit eivät eläkään. Giant squids and colossal squids are the largest invertebrates in the world. With their tentacles these deep sea creatures can grow to be 13 meters in lenght. These giants also have the largest eyes in the world – their diameter is approximately 30 cm! Giant squids are the fastest growing animals in the world. When they hatch they’re only a couple of millimeters long and they reach their huge size only in about five years. These giants don’t live longer than that.

ANIMAL AUGUST - K KIIVI - KIWI ( Apteryx sp.) Kiivi on Uudessa-Seelannissa asuva, noin kanankokoinen lentokyvytön lintu. Se painaa pari kiloa. Kiivin muna voi kuitenkin painaa jopa 450 grammaa eli neljänneksen itse linnun painosta! Kiivi muniikin kokoonsa nähden suurempia munia kuin mikään muu eläin. Ennen munintaa naaras ei pysty pariin päivään edes syömään, ja sen kävely on hyvin hankalaa. Mahtaa olla naaraalla onnellinen olo, kun se voi jättää munan koiraan huolehdittavaksi munittuaan. Kuvassa eteläsaarenruskokiivi ( Apteryx australis ). Kiwi is a flightless bird about the size of a hen living in New Zealand. It weights a couple of kilograms. Kiwi’s egg, however, can weight up to 450 grams which is a quarter of the bird’s weight! Kiwi’s eggs are indeed larger compared to its size than on any other animal. For a couple of days before laying the egg the female can’t even eat and walking is very difficult. She must feel releaved when the male takes care of the egg after laying. In this picture you see a southern brown kiwi ( Apteryx australis ).

ANIMAL AUGUST - L LAISKIAISET – SLOTHS Sanotaan, ettei vierivä kivi sammaloidu. Laiskiaiset ovat kuitenkin niin verkkaisia liikkeissään, että ne alkavat kasvaa sammalta ja levää. Lisäksi niiden turkkiin muuttaa koko joukko pieniä selkärangattomia, joten laiskiainen on kuin (hyvin hitaasti) liikkuva ekosysteemi. Levistä ja sammalesta on sille kuitenkin hyötyä: ne värjäävät sen vihertäväksi ja näin piilottavat sen saalistajilta. Tässä kuvassa on sierainlaiskiainen ( Choloepus hoffmanni ). They say that a rolling stone gathers no moss. Sloths, however, are so slow, that there is moss and algae growing in their fur. Small invertebrates also move to libe in a slotht’s fur, so a sloth is like a (very slowly) moving ecosystem. Algae and moss are still beneficial to sloths: they color it green and keep it hidden from predators. In this picture you see a Hoffmann’s two-toed sloth ( Choloepus hoffmanni ).

ANIMAL AUGUST - M MERISAUKKO - SEA OTTER ( Enhydra lutris ) Merisaukkojen suosikkiruokaa ovat merisiilit. Saukko rikkoo merisiilin kovat kuoren lyömällä sitä vatsansa päällä pitämäänsä kiveen, joka toimii kuin alasin. Oikein hyviä työkalukiviä ei kuitenkaan löydy ihan helposti. Onneksi merisaukko voi pitää hyvää kiveä helposti mukanaan. Merisaukon löysä nahka muodostaa nimittäin taskun otuksen etukäpälien alla, ja siinä suosikkikivi kulkee mukavasti mukana. Sea otter’s favorite food is sea urchins. The otter breaks sea urchins’ hard shell by hitting it against an anvil-like rock it keeps on its belly. Good tool rocks are not easy to find, however. Luckily a sea otter can easilly carry a good rock with it. Sea otter’s loose skin forms a pouch under it front paws, and an otter’s favorite rock is easily carried around in it.

ANIMAL AUGUST - N NELISILMÄKALA - FOUR-EYED FISH ( Anableps anableps ) Nelisilmäkalalla ei ole neljää silmää, vaan kaksi, kuten muillakin kaloilla. Mistä sen nimi sitten tulee? Nelisilmäkalan silmät ovat jakautuneet kahteen rakenteellisesti erilaiseen osaan. Kala ui aivan veden pinnassa niin, että silmän ilmassa näkemiseen sopeutunut yläosa on vedenpinnan yläpuolella, ja vedessä näkevä alaosa on vedenpinnan alla. Näin nelisilmäkala näkee yhtä aikaa sekä vedestä että vedenpinnan yläpuolelta uhkaavat viholliset. Four-eyed fish doesn't have four eyes but two like all other fish. Why is it called that, then? Four-eyed fish's eyes are divided into two anatomically different parts. The fish swims right under the surface of water so that the upper part of the eye, adapted to seeing in air, is above water, and the lower part, adapted to seeing in water, is underwater. This way a four-eyed fish can see all the dangers lurking both under and over water.

ANIMAL AUGUST - O OKAPI - OKAPI ( Okapia jonstoni ) Keski-Afrikassa elävä okapi on kirahvin metsissä asuva sukulainen, joka "löydettiin" vasta vuonna 1901. Paikalliset olivat toki tienneet eläimen olemassaolosta aiemminkin. Okapilla on 45 cm pitkä sinimusta kieli, jota se käyttää kasvinosien vetämiseen suuhunsa. Pitkällä kielellään tämä kaunis eläin yltää puhdistamaan myös silmänsä ja korvansa! Okapi is giraffe's forest-dwelling relative living in Middle Africa. It was only found on 1901 though local people of course knew of it before this. Okapi has a 45 cm (18 inches) long blueish black tongue that it uses to pull leaves into its mouth. With its long tongue this beautiful animal can also clean its eyes and ears!

ANIMAL AUGUST - P PORTUGALINSOTALAIVA - PORTUGESE MAN O' WAR ( Physalia physalis ) Portugalinsotalaivalla on yksi eläinkunnan erikoisimmista nimistä - mutta erikoinen on itse otuskin! Portugalinsotalaiva ei nimittäin ole yksi eläin, vaan monesta yhteistyötä tekevästä eliöstä muodostuva kokonaisuus. Osa toimii pyyntilonkeroina, jotka pyydystävät pikkukaloja ruoaksi, toiset käsittelevät ravinnon, ja yksi kelluttaa koko komeutta. Myrskyn iskiessä tämä hauras eläin vajoaa pinnan alle suojaan aalloilta. Mutta jos otus hajoaa, ei hätää: osista kasvaa uusia portugalinsotalaivoja. Portugese man o'war has one of the weirdest names in animal kingdom - but the creature itself is quite curious, too! Portugese man o' war is not one animal but it consists of several cooperating individuals. Some work as praying tentacles that catch small fish to eat, others digest the food, and one keeps the whole gang above water. If a storm hits, this fragile animal sinks underwater to escape the waves. But in case the creature breaks in peaces, no need to worry: new Portugese men o'wars will grow from the pieces.

ANIMAL AUGUST - Q QUEZALCOATL Quezalcoatl (tai quetzalcoatl) eli sulkakäärme on mayojen ja asteekkien mytologiassa esiintynyt lohikäärmemäinen olento. Erilaisia lohikäärmeitä on esiintynyt taruissa ympäri maailman, Etelä-Amerikasta Eurooppaan ja Kiinaan. Voisiko näin laajalle levinneen tarueläimen taustalla olla jokin todellinen otus? Kyllähän sarvivalaiden syöksyhampaita kaupattiin aikakausia mereen kuolleiden yksisarvisten sarvina, eikä vesinokkaeläintä uskonut oikeaksi otukseksi alun alkujaan kukaan. Joten kuka tietää... Quezalcoatl (or quetzalcoatl) or the feathered snake is a dragon-like animal from the Mayan and Aztec mythology. Different kinds of dragons have been a part of many stories around the world, from South America to Europe and China. Could there be some real creature behind a mythological animal known worldwide? After all, narwhal tusks were sold as horns of unicorns drowned in the sea for ages, and no one believed that platypus was a real animal at first. So who knows...

ANIMAL AUGUST - R RAUSKUT - RAYS (Batoidea) Rauskut ovat erikoiden mallisia litteitä kaloja. Liekö niiden luurankokin erikoinen? No kyllä - ja kuitenkaan ei. Rauskut kuuluvat rustokaloihin kuten haitkin, joten niillä ei ole luutunutta luurankoa. Lähes koko niiden "luusto" on siis joustavaa rustoa. Tämän takia haista ei esimerkiksi museoissa ole näytillä kuin leuat. Luiden puutteen takia rustokalojen punasolut syntyvät pernassa toisin kuin muilla selkärankaisilla, joilla punasolut syntyvät luuytimessä. Kuvassa paholaisrausku ( Manta birostris ). Rays are weirdly shaped flat fish. So their skeleton must be a curious sight, too? Well, yes - and no. Rays belong to the class of cartilaginous fish or Chondrichtyes like sharks, and these fish don't have a bony skeleton. Almost all of their "bones" are flexible cartilage. That's why you never see a shark's skeleton in a natural history museum, only its jaws. Because cartilaginous fish don't have bones, their red blood cells are formed in their spleen unlike in other vertebrates whose red blood cells are formed in the bone marrow. In this picture you see the giant oceanic manta ray ( Manta birostris ).

ANIMAL AUGUST - S SIRKKAÄYRIÄISET - MANTIS SHRIMPS (Stomatoboda) Sirkkaäyriäisillä eli mantisravuilla on kenties eläinkunnan hämmästyttävimmät silmät. Ensinnäkin niiden silmät sijaitsevat tappien päissä, ja eläin voi liikuttaa niitä toisistaan riippumatta. Toisekseen kummassakin silmässä on kolme pupillin kaltaista rakennetta, joten sirkkaäyriäisillä on syvyysnäkö jo yhdessä silmässä. Kolmannekseen sirkkaäyriäisillä on jopa kahtatoista tyyppiä värejä aistivia tappisoluja siinä missä ihmisillä tappisoluja on vain komenlaisia. Miten värikkäänä maailmamme näille otuksille näyttäytyykään! Kuvassa Odontodactylus scyllarus -lajin sirkkaäyriäinen. Mantis shrimps, or stomatobods, have maybe the most amazing eyes in the animal kingdom. First off, the eyes are on mobile stalks can be moved independently. Seconly, both eyes have have three pupil-like structures, so a mantis shrimp has depth perception even with just one eye. And thirdly, mantis shrimps have even twelve different kinds of color-sensing cone cells whereas humans only have three types of cone cells. Our world must be unbelievably colorful to these creatus! In this picture you see a peacock mantis shrimp ( Odontodactylus scyllarus ).