Crikey!

The creative ways of the Creator are of unending fascination to me. First, Ranger Rick and Zoobooks ushered me into pouched kangaroos and shade-shifting chameleons. Then, the (Crikey!) Crocodile Hunter brought crocodiles and snakes into the living room. Now, CNN is getting in on the action by reporting that over 1,000 new species of flora and fauna have been discovered. Here are some highlights:

- "A rat believed to be extinct for 11 million years, a spider with a foot-long legspan, and a hot pink cyanide-producing "dragon millipede" are among the thousand newly discovered species in the largely unexplored Mekong Delta region" I have no desire in seeing a rat. I have even less desire to see a spider with a "foot-span" half the size of my son.

- "Perhaps a more startling discovery than the rat was a bright green pit viper scientists spotted slithering through the rafters of a restaurant in Khao Yai National Park in Thailand." Given the recent 47 out of 100 health score for my favorite Asian restaurant in Bowling Green, this is troubling.

- "There are cultural obstacles to protecting rare species, too. Many restaurants serve them as food. Restaurants often have rickety bamboo floors that one can look through to see cages filled with exotic animals, Chungyalpa says. The more exotic the animal, the more status it often bestows on the person who consumes it." Can't they just look at a menu?

Thankfully, the McRib and the Fish Filet continues to be made without harming our endangered allies.