Vancouver 2010 Olympic Mascots & in Olypic Actions Competition

Vancouver 2010 Winter Olympics is just around the corner. Introducing the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic animal mascots, plus some animals competing in Olympic games.

Meet the Vancouver 2010 Mascots, browse below for their small profiles.

Sumi the animal spirit

Sumi is an animal spirit who lives in the mountains of British Columbia. Like many Canadians, Sumi's background is drawn from many places. He wears the hat of the orca whale, flies with the wings of the mighty thunderbird and runs on the strong furry legs of the black bear.

Sumi’s name comes from the Salish word “Sumesh” which means “guardian spirit.” Sumi takes his role very seriously. He works hard to protect the land, water and creatures of his homeland. Sumi is a great fan of the Paralympic Games. He’s determined to learn all the sports, so he can play and race with his animal friends all winter long.

Transformation is a common theme in the art and legend of West Coast First Nations. Transformation represents the connection and kinship between the human, animal and spirit world. Revered animals, such as the orca whale, the bear and the thunderbird, are depicted in transformation through masks, totems and other forms of art. The orca is the traveller and guardian of the sea. The bear often represents strength and friendship. And the thunderbird — which creates thunder by flapping its wings — is one of the most powerful of the supernatural creatures.


Quatchi the sasquatch

Quatchi is a young sasquatch who comes from the mysterious forests of Canada. Quatchi is shy, but loves to explore new places and meet new friends.

The sasquatch is a popular figure in local native legends of the Pacific West Coast. The sasquatch reminds us of the mystery and wonder that exist in the natural world, igniting our imagination about the possibility of undiscovered creatures in the great Canadian wilderness.

Mukmuk the marmot

Mukmuk is a small and friendly Vancouver Island Marmot who always supports and cheers loudly for his friends during games and races. Mukmuk gets his name from the word ‘muckamuck,’ Chinook jargon for ‘food,’ because he loves to eat! (Interestingly, Chinook jargon was a First Nations trading language.) He’s passionate about the many different types of food found in British Columbia, and is particularly fond of berries and mountain flowers.

The Vancouver Island Marmot is an extremely rare and endangered species unique to the mountains of Vancouver Island. Learn about Vancouver Island marmots and other endangered species at www.marmots.org.


Miga the sea bear

Miga is a young sea bear who lives in the ocean with her family pod, beyond Vancouver Island, near Tofino, British Columbia. Sea bears are part killer whale and part bear. (Miga is part Kermode bear, a rare white bear that only lives in British Columbia.)

The sea bear is inspired by the legends of the Pacific Northwest First Nations, tales of orca whales that transform into bears when they arrive on land. The Kermode bear is a rare white or cream-coloured sub-species of the black bear that is unique to the central West Coast of British Columbia. According to First Nations’ legend, Kermode bears – also known as Spirit Bears – were turned white by Raven to remind people of the Ice Age. Orcas are also honoured in the art and stories of West Coast First Nations, as travelers and guardians of the sea.


Now check out this animals in action competing in olympics.

Animal Archery Onlympic

animal track and field

chameleon in table tennis game

hamsters in table tennis - ping pong

animal swimming olympic competition

kayaking animals

fencing animal olympic action

animal olympian cyclists

Animal boxing

and bears boxing too!

it's hamster versus monkey in weight lifting competition

Man fired for bringing dog to work

PetSmart eventually offered Eric Favetta his job back

By Courtney Rubin
updated 11:24 a.m. CT, Fri., Jan. 22, 2010

"We love to see healthy, happy pets" is PetSmart's motto — but apparently the policy doesn't apply to pets belonging to employees.

Eric Favetta, a 31-year-old PetSmart employee, was fired for "theft of services" after bringing his dog to work during an overnight shift he'd picked up as a favor to his manager, according to the Newark Star-Ledger. (The Secaucus, N.J., store added an overnight shift in order to prep the store for a visit by officials from Martha Stewart's company, who wanted to discuss selling products at PetSmart.)

Favetta — a former military dog handler who'd worked at PetSmart for 18 months — didn't want his 3-year-old Belgian Malinois, Gizmo, to be home alone all day and all night. So he put Gizmo in the store's doggie day care facility. The store was empty, and Favetta checked in on his pet every 15 minutes.

Two weeks later, store and district managers requested a written report of his overnight shift. He complied — and promptly was fired for "theft of service."


“I was shocked,” Favetta told the Star Ledger. “It makes me sick that because I brought my dog to work with me when the store was closed to do the company a favor, I was called a thief and terminated.” He argues it was just a convenient excuse to ax him because he didn't get along with his manager, noting that he opened the store and handled money without incident.

PetSmart spokeswoman Jessica White defended the company's decision, saying the doggie daycare service is a huge part of PetSmart's business. Access to the store's doggie daycare facility is "viewed as sale items the same way items on the shelf are," she told the paper. "To use the facilities and not pay for it — it falls under the same lines."

PetSmart eventually offered Favetta his job back and a transfer to another store. He accepted — but then he was offered a job at a company that uses animals to search for hazards. Favetta took it.

No word yet on whether that business will allow Favetta to bring Gizmo to work.

NZ Govt looking at adopting animal cruelty bill

Tougher sentences for animal cruelty may be one step closer to becoming law with Prime Minister John Key announcing the Government would consider the issue at Tuesday's caucus meeting.

National MP Simon Bridges is drafting a private members bill, which would increase maximum sentences for animal cruelty from three to five years.

The issue has been prominent, with the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals investigating charging two men who slaughtered 33 dogs near Wellsford, north of Auckland, this week.

A spokesman for Key last night said the prime minister was "appalled" by recent animal cruelty cases, the Sunday Star Times reported.

"The government supports ensuring we have appropriate measures to deal with these issues," he said.

"The Simon Bridges member's bill will be considered for adoption as a government bill at an upcoming caucus."

If the government did not adopt the bill, it would not be considered by Parliament until being drawn from a ballot - which could take years.

Labour, Act and the Greens had indicated support for the bill.

Labour leader Phil Goff said on Saturday the party would support it to the committee stage.

"I'm the owner of two dogs and have had pets all my life. There is a human obligation to treat animals humanely and we need to do everything we can to stop these appalling acts," he told the paper.

"We know that there is a link, that people who are capable of committing acts of cruelty against animals are also capable of behaving in a similar manner against human beings."

Summer Camps with Animals

Animals at Summer Camp? Say Yes to Letting your kids play with animals this summer as a part of the fun they can have at summer camp, visit SwiftNatureCamp.com. Find a science camp, or a more broadly defined summer camp that includes animals as a part of their program offerings.

Connecting with animals in a natural setting can put a child at the beginning of a lifelong sense of relationship with nature. A deep respect for nature as an adult often starts with experience as a camper.

Swift Nature Camp best known as a Science Camp has pond aquarium that offers a unique way to see the world from the perspective of another animal: pond life from a frogs point of view. This Wisconsin camp also maintains a live animal collection they call Natures Neighbors. Campers can bring their own small animals to camp with them where the animals can live in the camps Nature Center and be available to all the children

Swift Nature Camp offers campers wider experience to understand animals and how we coexist with them by arranging field trips to a fish hatchery, goose banding projects and butterfly counts. And what child will ever forget a close up visit with a live owl?

Animals are a part of Swift Nature Camps voluntary merit program, in which campers can earn special patches by learning skills in categories such as insects, bird watching, pet care and giving pet treats, and horseback riding. Acquiring skills is never separate from the fun and play that is a part of being a camper.

Todays children grow up too fast and need time to play. The summer camp you are looking for should challenge your child to try new things, but not in a stressful way. Camp is not school! Interaction with animals can be a perfect way for a child to learn by the natural discovery of play. Besides all the fun and excitement of a traditional camp, the kids have the joy of discovering Nature and the world we live in.

Every camper is an individual and benefits from his or her own particular mix of play and skill development. Swift Nature Camp has found a way to accommodate that range with a voluntary merit program that includes experience with animals. A camper’s interaction with animals can be refined into skills involving horseback riding, insects, pet care and bird watching. These opportunities never come at the expense of fun!

Discovering nature and the world we live in. Living in a natural environment Like camp is a perfect way for kids to play and grow. When children play with animals rather than just receiving information, they learn. Camp is more about fun and has far less stressful than school.

Swift Nature Camp is a completely nature and animal friendly camp with complete facilities and supplies for animal needs like bird supplies & food, animal treats, animal fences, pet toys and animal health care.