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Saturday, 8 June 2019

Beautiful Batch The Bun

Beautiful Batch - July 2011 - June 2019

This is a special post for a special bunny called Batch. Batch was one of our rabbits at college and was a keen favourite with both students and staff. He was a bit of a mixed variety but had very soft long fur which was great for grooming.

Batch was the happy outcome of two rabbits we had at college called Peanut (mum) and Benjy (dad). Somehow Peanut and Benjy (who lived in separate enclosures) were accidentally left out together by some students and Batch was the product of this. Batch was born in our mammal room in the summer of 2011. It was really nice that Batch was born at college and had the genes of two well loved college buns. He was quite quiet and placid and never really minded being handled.


Peanut and Me 2014

 
Originally Batch was housed with Peanut and another beautiful bun called Snowball, but then he was on his own for a while until about 2 years ago when his new wife bun Jemima arrived. Jemima is very funny and extremely protective over Batch and despite the fact he was about 5-6 years older than her he did not mind being fussed over. I do not have any pictures of Batch and Jemima together but below is a fairly poor picture of Jemima but the only one I have without students in it. 


Jemima arrived at college 2017

Sadly due to his age Batch's health had detioriated in the last few months so I was mindful to check in on him every now and again. Last Wed. I happened to be near the mammal room so thought I would go and see how he was. He was sitting up in his hay bowl and seemed relaxed and okay. Two of the senior students fed him some greens which he wholeheartedly ate. I later found out that around about 2 hours after this one of the technicians went in to the room and found he had passed away.

I am very sad he has now gone but pleased that he went peacefully, in the enclosure next to the one he was born in.Jemima was there with him and it was nice and quiet. We are hoping to bond her with a new male over the summer if we can find somebun suitable.

As mentioned in previous posts I truly believe that God promises there will be creatures on the new earth and there is no reason why this is not the ones that we have had relationships with here on this earth.

We have the hope that we will see our pets in heaven. This is not sentimental but supported in various books of the bible - two key ones being Isaiah and Revelation. Isaiah in chapter 65:25 mentions the wolf and the lamb feeding together.

Isaiah 65:17-19

God is so good to us and gives us so many wonderful promises of what is to come and will be so overwhelmed by his love that eternity is more than we can begin to imagine. There is only joy in heaven and on the new earth so it makes sense we would be reunited with our animals and I hope this includes the ones I have loved over the years from the college collection as well as my own dearly departed ones. 



Monday, 3 June 2019

A-Z of Amazing Animals - Deer

Hart in Old English is "Heorot" meaning male Deer in their mature state -but this is a picture of fawn (young deer).

 

 

Whilst this well known verse of the bible refers to Hart in the KJV, more modern versions refer to deer. Deer as a whole and how they link to the bible will be my focus for this edition of A-Z of Amazing animals.

Deer are a ruminant animal (meaning they have a 4 chambered stomach), like camels, sheep etc. Deer chew the cud and also have cloven hooves making them in biblical terms a clean animal to eat as referred to in Deuteronomy Chapter 14, which specifically mentions deer in verse 5.


On the reverse of that in the same chapter it refers to unclean animals, those that we should not eat as they are not good for us and it  delights me to read that Conies (rabbits) are unclean. They chew the cud but do not have a cloven hoof. I  don't eat meat anyway not because of religious reasons but because of the animal welfare and health aspect, but even when I did eat meat I never ate venison (deer meat) or rabbit😊 .   



Deer can be found all over Europe, parts of Asia and the Americas, but not generally in Africa where Antelope are more prevalent. Deer differ to Antelope as they are from the Cervidae family rather than Bovidae which antelope & gazelles are part of. With deer the male antlers fall off and regrow unlike antelopes & gazelles who have theirs for life. Whilst you may consider deer to be gentle, scared creatures they are quite hardy and able to live in a variety of  temperatures and terrains and are a prey animal so need to be tough.

Deer are a group living species living in herds, usually you will find females (Does) and fawns in one herd and males (Bucks) in another. Males do separate during mating season in order to find a female. The size and strength of a Male's antlers will affect where it falls on the hierarchical scale and how they fair in their "Battle of the Antlers".


The only two native species of deer in the UK are roe and red deer, but the fallow deer has also been in the UK since its introduction in the 11th century. Other species of deer have been introduced in to the UK in the last 150 years but the roe, red and fallow are the ones you will most likely see in our countryside and parklands. The average life span for a roe deer is around 10 years but life span varies alot between each species of deer. The original Disney's Bambi was based on roe deer but later changed to a mule deer as they are  more common to the USA than the roe.  

Bambi and of course Thumper too.


The deer in some form or other is mentioned more than 25 times in various books of the"Old Testament", but does not seem to appear anywhere in the "New Testament". The references to deer/gazelles etc. is quite diverse so I thought I would put a table together to show how God's word refers to these beautiful creatures in so many different ways. When I consider the deer I always think of Psalm 42, however it may surprise you to know that the Psalms only refer to deer twice, whereas Song of Solomon has over 7 different references.    



Book
Reference to deer etc.
Genesis 49
Naphtali is compared to a hind with leaping beauty.
Deuteronomy – four different chapters
Clean food that was acceptable to eat.
2 Samuel 2
2 Samuel 22
3 sons of Zeruiah referred to as gazelles.
Feet like “hind’s” feet set on high places.
1 Kings 4
Part of Solomon’s provisions.
Job 39
Observation of calving deer.
Psalm 18
Psalm 42
Feet like “hind’s” feet set on high places.
Panting for water that is compared to David’s  soul panting for the Lord.
Proverbs 5
Loving and graceful doe being compared to a wife and her love etc.
Song of Solomon – 7 different references chapters 2-4,  7 & 8
Compares the 2 characters to both male and female deer’s in various forms to portray the love between them.
Isaiah 3 references
Compared to hunted antelope/gazelles.
Chapter 35: Lame leaping like a deer.
Jeremiah 14
Doe abandoning her young.
Lamentations 1
Princes becoming like deer.
Habbukuk 3
Feet like “hind’s” feet set on high places.

  
In conclusion God's word often likens deer to grace and beauty and our love for the Lord, despite the fact they are okay to eat.