vulturegroove

[vulturegroove]

wow 150 of you guys already! thanks for joining me as I dive into this new old hobby 🤠 and thank you again @collection-bundle for the inspo to start this blog

I have a lot of items to clean from the last couple weeks that I’ll be posting soon, but in the meantime wanted to share some pictures of my freshly sorted collections!

and my seashells that I finally brought back from my parents’ place…

excited to share more with you all soon~

#collections #shells #this blog is so fun

[vulturegroove]

Nika Danielska Design

#fashion

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look at this super cool washi tape

#it was $8 so i didnt get it but. how cool #washi tape #vulture culture

[vulturegroove]

Do you consider brachycephalism in cats as serious as in dogs? I'm in veterinary medicine but I don't encounter many brachy kitties and would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Brachycephaly is a problem.

Schlueter et al (2009) categorized brachycephalic head shapes into four categories randing from mild to severe.

Moderate brachycephaly is where we begin to really see problems and profound or severe brachycephalic cats are going to have a real issue.

The British Shorthair (left) is a breed where mild brachycephaly is part of the standard compared to an Exotic Shorthair (right) where profound - severe brachycephaly is desireable.

On the left with have a British Shorthair, in the center an Exotic Shorthair and on the right a Persian.

One of the problems we see with brachycephalic breeds is stenotic nares, which are narrow nostrils. You can’t even make out the nares on the Persian shown above and, as one may expect, this affects how much air they move through them.

We can see similar obstructive effects in cats with nasopharyngeal polyps, masses or reconstruction due to scarring from chronic rhinosinusitis problems.

Due to their inability to breath normally through their nose these cats tend to be heat and exercise intolerant and can run into trouble more quickly during high stress events.

Stenotic nares can be surgically corrected but I don’t think this is as common in cats as it is in dogs, at least I haven’t encountered many cats who’ve undergone the procedure. I don’t know if it’s not as necessary, if cats don’t respond as well or if cat owners are less likely to seek treatment.

Or maybe it is as common and my lack of experience is the outlier.

Brachycephaly is also associated with malocclusion and dental disease, chronic epiphora, facial dermatitis related to the chronic tearing and ocular issues such as conreal sequestrum or entropion related to the protruding eye structure.

I know globe proptopsis is a problem in some brachycephalic dog breeds like pugs but I haven’t heard of this specifically happening in brachycephalic cat breeds.

Exotics and Persians are obviously the worst when it comes to brachycephaly in cats but the Bombay and (American) Burmese are also offenders.

There are other breeds which don’t call for a brachycephalic head shape (or even default it) or call for only a mild version but certain breeders are selecting for extreme typeing anyways because even though their cats might not win any shows they can sell them as designer variants for more.

On the left we have a Sphynx and in the right we have a Devon Rex both with an extreme head type contradictory to the breed standard.

So yes, unfortunately the brachycephalic head type is a problem in cats. Some try to argue that brachycephalic animals often live long lives which means the abnormal structure isn’t a problem… but longevity is only one measure of a breeds ethical soundness, quality of life and history are also important in my opinon.

#branchycephaly

[vulturegroove]

diaphonized sphynx twins

#WOW #fav #animal death #cat death #cat vc #diaphonization

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it’s crazy how much diversity there can be in one species…these are all pictures of the same bird species (red-tailed hawk)

#birds

[vulturegroove]

two dead turtles just floatin around in the park.. yucky

#weird to see. also horrible smell

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"oh neat, there's an antler at the bottom of the creek!"

"weird how much resistance there is pulling it out, maybe it's caught on a root?"

"OH SHIT OH SHIT OH SHIT"

[vulturegroove]

what animals are you looking for submissions of for the skull index?

Hi Anon!

We're looking for ANY vertebrate species! If there's a specimen that's already listed on the website, we happily still accept duplicates, as multiples of one species on the educational site pages are great to compare against other individuals! See our Striped Skunk page for example.

But yes, if you collect skulls and are happy to provide some photos and measurements / data of your specimen to help grow our public resource website, check out the 'Get Involved' page, and either email our team (contact information on the website) or join the Discord (when you become a collaborator you get a role as well as access to the collaborator channel!)

#the skull index #:3 #references

[vulturegroove]

Barn Owl, Spotted Eagle Owl & Razorbill

#skulls #bird skulls #bird vc

[vulturegroove]

Stillborn African Lion (Female, Captive bred) and a little 4-month-old Domestic Kitten (Skull and skeleton I am cleaning and will be articulating!)

#fav #skulls #side by side comparison

[vulturegroove]

small section of the collection

[vulturegroove]

More birds have been added to The Skull Index, including a Common Buzzard, Hamerkop, Black-browed albatross, and an Eastern Rosella!

#bird skulls #bird vc #skulls

[vulturegroove]

Introducing The Skull Index

Hi all! Now that we are in the early launch phase of the project I’m really excited to share the Skull Index! This is a project a team of friends (led by @birbbones ) have been working on over the last several months; our goal is to provide a high quality free to use anatomy resource. This is meant to be used by anyone from scientists to artists to students. Feel free to check out the website, and if you’d like to stay up to date on the project join our Discord!

The Discord is 18+ for privacy and safety. We hope to see it become a hub for people who are either interested in or currently work in museums, education, and the natural sciences. It is of course open to anyone interested in and enthusiastic about the topic as well. And if you’re interested in collaborating on the project as a please feel free to contact us!

The website is a work in progress though we have a goal of completing it Q1 of 2024. Over 200 mammal species have been logged so far!

#super super cool #skulls #the skull index #fav #references #links

[vulturegroove]

So I'm not the one to ask for help so I've been very hesitant on sharing, but got some news last week that I will be homeless by June (and no, this is not an awful april fools joke, I am panicking here).

Some of you in the vulture culture community know last week and a bit ago I had an accident resulting in losing consciousness, breaking my neck, and experiencing a seizure for the first time. I've been having ongoing brain issues (we removed a lot of cerebral fluid in December that was causing increased pressure and testing the fluid to rule out infection, diagnosed with IIH), and last month I've been having heart issues.

Referrals have been made to a cardiology specialist, as well as the first fit clinic. But it's looking like I will probably have to go private to get listened to / get the care I need ASAP. Couple with the fact I will be homeless by June, it's a really terrifying situation. I have contacted local councils, independent living schemes, shelter, private landlords etc and feel like I've been let down. I'm awaiting a doctors appointment with a NHS advisor on the 10th, where I'll be showing them my list of resources I've used, and to see if they are able to help find anything.

I reluctantly made a justgiving page, on the advice of my friends, and while I hate asking for help, I am honestly quite scared and uncertain about my future.

If anyone can share the link, reblog this post, or even donate some change. It would mean a lot.

Thank you for your time, I'm sorry for posting this here but I don't know what else to do. I will be continuing to work on the skull index, as its such big passion project of mine along with the help of my team. Its a great distraction.

#Lauren is a sweetheart and a fav artist of mine #literally has a broken neck rn. #mutual aid

[vulturegroove]

“Freak Deer. A piece i just did. Conjoined parts from 2 mummified deer heads.” -Richard Difeo

#rogue taxidermy

[vulturegroove]

Last mount of the week!

This mannequin series is my favorite for whitetail wall pedestals. It just looks so handsome <3