Sharktivity #22: Leopard shark makes some origami animals

Leopard shark definitely has more patience than me when it comes to doing origami. I attempted a crane but gave up when my crane did NOT look like the foldings even though I followed exactly what they said.

Anyway, the leopard shark (Triakis semifasciata) - NOT to be confused with the Zebra shark (Stegostoma fasciatum) - is a species of houndshark. They're really cute and are currently listed as least concern on the IUCN red list. Let's leave it that way.

Was that a Leopard or a Zebra?

I come across pictures of Zebra Sharks (Stegostoma fasciatum) wrongly labeled as "Leopard Sharks" and hence this attempt at an infographic. I understand why people make the error - after all, adult Zebra Sharks have no stripes, let alone any resemblance to a zebra. But it was named as a child and the name stuck.
The Leopard Shark (Triakis semifasciata), on the other hand, doesn't really lounge around on tree branches nor is it found in the Asian/African region. It does have some beautiful markings though.

The two sharks look different enough and they are easy to tell apart. One just has to remember that the ridged, spotted, nurse-shark-look-alike is a Zebra shark.

I taught my 2-year old nephew to identify them and when he saw a Zebra shark at an aquarium he said "Zebra Shark". My sister ignorantly told him it was a Leopard Shark. Luckily one of the workers told her she was wrong and he was right. Another proud aunt moment.

364 Sharks of Christmas

I didn't have time to do a Christmas sketch sooner and I was trying to doodle something when I got the idea for the 12 days of Christmas. I didn't get to finish the rough drawings but somehow managed to do all these in about 4 days. I cheated on a couple of them by using old drawings. It's feeling lesser and lesser like Christmas every year around the holiday season - probably because it's getting more commercial, probably because it isn't being encouraged as much in some parts of the world (being a religious holiday) or probably because a lot of people have gotten too cynical to be inspired by the Hope & Joy this season is supposed to bring.
It's times like this that I wish the world could step back a bit and bring back the simple joys of the season - homemade goodies without the stress of them being perfect, thoughtful gifts without a zillion options including the option to return them,  fellowship at church in the morning and peaceful evenings with family. Well, perhaps we'll enjoy some sharks and remind ourselves that Christmas is about this world being loved in the best way possible.


I don't want to type the entire song for each day so I'll break the twelfth day down.

On the Twelfth day of Christmas my true love gave to me:

Twelve Hammers drumming

Eleven Spinners spinning

Ten Leopards leaping

Nine Lemons dancing

Eight Makos sledding

Seven Saws a swimming

Six Epaulettes Walking

Five Rays that Sting

Four Cookiecutters

Three Quagga cats

Two Birdbeak dogfish

And a Porbeagle in a pear tree