Editor's Corner

Oh my. It’s been a few weeks of heavy grammar in Editor’s Corner and a lot of constant work on the Jack Henry Connect conference materials. It’s still summertime, so I wanted to lighten up a little bit. I was just looking at the Merriam-Webster (M-W) page, and I think I found the solution: animals!

M-W actually provided a quiz with names and photos (I’ll share it with you next time we meet.) I’m going to provide you with a little more information about a few of them today.

Capybara

Its claim to fame is that it is the earth’s biggest rodent. The San Diego Zoo just welcomed four new capybaras. They generally live near the water, they are excellent swimmers, and are native to South America. These relatives of the guinea pig get up to two feet high (at the shoulders), four and a half feet long, and weigh between 77 to 143 lbs. I think they’re pretty darn cute.

Wombat

When I was a child, I remember kids rhyming combat and wombat (okay, there was an insult to people’s grandmas and combat boots were involved). I don’t think we junior Seattleites had any clue of what a wombat was.

Wombats, unlike capybaras, are a solitary animal. They are marsupials, so when they are born, they still have some growing to do, and they do it in a pouch, like kangaroos. Also, like kangaroos, baby wombats are called “joeys.” Wombats are native to Australia and grow to be about three and a half feet long, 45-75 lbs. I think they’re kind of cute too.

Pangolin

Now this critter is one I’ve never seen or heard of, but apparently there are several different types of pangolin in West Africa, Central Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. They look like dinosaurs to me, but their nickname is “scaly anteater.” They grow 50-55 inches long and weigh up to 70 pounds. The protective scales on the pangolin are made from the same material as our fingernails. They are solitary animals that come out of their burrows at night to eat. Unfortunately, these animals are on the endangered list. Following is a pangolin walking, and another balled up to protect itself.

That’s it for today!

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