UFOs
A couple of months ago, a former Pentagon official testified to a House Oversight Committee that “We are not alone,” in reference to the existence of UFOs. I will admit I was very confused by this pronouncement, because it made it seem as if there was a question of the presence of UFOs… Of course there are, and they are everywhere. The confusion may have something to do with humans’ perception and their severe limitations with sight, smell, and hearing.
SIGHT: Since many UFOs only come out at night when there is little to no ambient light, human eyes may not be able to see them, especially when those objects are obscured by vegetation. The folks at the American Kennel Club attribute the superior night vision we canines have to thousands of years of our preferring to hunt in dim light (like at dawn and dusk) and at night.
SMELL: According to bornforpets.com, dogs have a nose “that’s 100 times stronger than the average human and can remember an exceptional number of smells over the course of their lives.” So, while my HC might walk right by a bush that has an opossum behind it without knowing it’s there, I can smell it yards before I get to the bush.
HEARING: In her article for Dogster.com, Nicole Cosgrove concluded, “Dogs have much more sensitive hearing than humans, hearing some sounds up to four times further away than we can. …They have better high frequency hearing.”
For those human companions who could never figure out how we dogs knew that the USPS worker was on the block or that an Amazon Prime package was about to be delivered before you got the alert on your phone, it’s our keen sense of hearing that tips the scales in our favor.
With all the interest in UFOs, I thought I would provide some images to show you the most common unidentified furry objects found in Alameda.
In order of appearance are raccoon, skunk, red fox squirrel, house mouse, Norway rat, roof rat, opossum, and pocket gopher.
I would like to give a big high four to the naturalists and staff over at the Doug Siden Visitors Center at Crab Cove and the Alameda County Vector Control website for their contributions to this report.
In other news, my HC is continuing his physical therapy and is now walking almost two miles every day. But there’s still no date on when he will be ready to take me back out for our walks.
Saint Patrick’s Day was last Monday, and the folks at Feel Good Bakery recognized the occasion by decorating their tip jar with an Irish theme featuring the world’s greatest beagle.
March 20 kicked off the first day of spring. So, I am closing this report with a “Happy Spring” greeting to you all.
Mouf, Roving Reporter
Bear’s-Eye View of Alameda
Mouf and his human companion can be reached via [email protected]. Their stories are collected at AlamedaPost.com/Jeff-Cambra/. All photos and videos by Jeff Cambra.
