I actually had a different multi-page comic prepped for today, but over the weekend I got a wild hare to do something on topic right now. So if you’ve ever wondered how a disease can jump from other animals to us, now you know!

Species portrayed: Rabies virus (Rabies lyssavirus), SARS-CoV-2, Lyme disease (Borrelia sp.), Ebola (Ebolavirus sp.), human (Homo sapiens), domestic pig, (Sus scrofa domesticus) domestic chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus), domestic dog (Canis lupus familiaris), domestic cow (Bos taurus), masked palm civet (Paguma larvata), Chinese pangolin (Manis pentadactyla), large flying fox (Pteropus vampyrus), domestic cat (Felis catus), Senegal parrot (Poicephalus senegalus), bearded dragon (Pogona sp.), domestic rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus domesticus)

(Just a reminder that I have stickers and other fun merch at my Redbubble store, and you can also tip me for my work at my Ko-Fi! Like many people, my income has been pretty badly affected by current circumstances, so every little boost will help.)

In honor of the 40th anniversary of the 1980 eruption of Mt. St. Helens, I am going to be creating a series of comics about the events leading up to the eruption itself. This will be in addition to my regularly scheduled comics. Keep your eyes on this space for more over the next couple of months!

Also, I really should have had more snow in the picture since March is still pretty cold around that area. Just imagine it, y’know, icier.

Species portrayed: Noble fir (Abies procera)

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I’ve been excited for spring to arrive here, even if it is showing up worryingly early. To take my mind off of current worries, I drew up a coloring page with some of my favorite animals, plants and fungi that I get to see this time of year. You’re welcome to print it off and color it yourself; enjoy!

Species portrayed: Red alder, western skunk cabbage, salal, yellowfoot, Pacific banana slug, bonnets, Pacific tree frog, Oregon beaked moss, thallose liverwort, Cascades torrent salamander

Technically we’re halfway through National Invasive Species Awareness Week, but it’s good to get a reminder partway through. Everyone gets super excited about things when they start, and then the excitement tapers off as time goes by. So consider this a mid-week boost! Also, don’t forget about the multi-page comic on invasive species I did last year, which you can read here. And now: relevant links!

NISAW website – NISAW.org

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service FAQ on Invasive Species – http://www.fws.gov/invasives/faq.html

USDA National Invasive Species Information Center – http://www.invasivespeciesinfo.gov/

Species portrayed: Zebra mussel (Dreissena polymorpha), kudzu (Pueraria sp.), feral pig (Sus scrofa), Scotch broom (Cytisus scoparius), European starling (Sturnus vulgaris), purple loosestrife (Lythrum salicaria), Burmese python (Python bivittatus)

This is where I get into some of the history elements of natural history. I love the stories the land tells as I walk along its contours. Whether it’s the basalt formed by massive lava floods, or the hollows left in forests where the roots of blown-over trees once grew, or the temporary tidepools carved in the sand by the ocean along my coastline, the land tells me what has been, what is, and perhaps what may still come to be. 

Species portrayed: Canada goose (Branta canadensis), North American river otter (Lontra canadensis), red fox (Vulpes vulpes), common cattail (Typha latifolia), American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), American hazelnut tree (Corylus americana)

This topic came up in a conversation I had some time back, and since there’s still plenty of confusion about what a horn is vs. an antler, I drew up this handy-dandy one-page guide! Also, as a side note keratin horns degrade relatively quickly when exposed to the elements, which is why you don’t really find fossilized horns (other than the bone cores attached to the skull) whereas fossilized antlers are common. 

A couple of notes on common names of the species I chose: first, mountain goats aren’t actually goats! They’re the only living member of the genus Oreamnos; the only other member went extinct at the end of the Pleistocene, about 13,000 years ago. Also, pronghorn antelope aren’t true antelope. Not only is the pronghorn the only surviving member of its genus, it’s the only surviving member of the family Antilocapridae. So both mountain goats and pronghorn are the last remnants of groups that were much more numerous during the last Ice Age, and we are fortunate to still have them in part because they help give us some idea of what their extinct cousins may have looked like, something we don’t always have with extinct species.

Species portrayed: Columbian black-tailed deer (Odocoileus hemionus columbianus), mountain goat (Oreamnos americanus), pronghorn antelope (Antilocapra americana)