Philippines: A rare mule-footed hog

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Rare pig with solid, non-cloven hooves found in Nueva Vizcaya
FLORO TAGUINOD, GMANews.TV
03/09/2010 06:53 PM


BAYOMBONG, Nueva Vizcaya - A rare pig with mule-like hooves is being raised in a farm in this landlocked province.


The mulefoot is the rarest of American swine breeds because of its distinctive solid hooves.


An article from the American Mulefoot Pig Association & Registry has confirmed that the pig is unusual.

Mulefoots are a breed of domestic pig which is named for its solid, non-cloven hooves.

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Shown is a mulefoot hog raised by William Ongto Jr. in Bagabag, Nueva Vizcaya. The breed is known for its distinctive solid hooves Floro Taguinod, GMANews.TV

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These pigs are typically black, on rare occasions having white spots, and reach a weight of 400-600 pounds by the age of two years.

These hogs likely originated with those brought by the Spanish to the Gulf Coast.

Articles from the internet show that the said hog breed flourished during the early half of the century, but by 1985, it was said that only one herd of mulefoot hogs has remained and these belong to a hog raiser from Louisiana, Missouri.

Mulefoot hogs are considered by the American Livestock Breeds Conservancy to be critically rare, as there are now fewer than 150 documented purebred hogs of this specie in existence.

William Ongto, a wild hog raiser from Bagabag town and the owner of the said mulefoot, said it was a gift from a friend who lives in the mountains of Nueva Vizcaya.

In the meantime, provincial veterinarian Crisanto Seraspi confirmed that the mulefoot pig being raised by Ongto is definitely one of a kind.

Theres no question about it, Mr. Ongto is in possession of a very, very rare hog specie," he told GMANews.TV. - RJAB Jr., GMANews.TV

From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.

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Puppy survives after 'flush' with death

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06/16/2009 | 10:57 AM

LONDON – A British pup had a narrow flush with disaster after his 4-year-old master decided to give him a bath in the toilet.

Daniel Blair was quoted as telling Britain's Daily Mirror tabloid that he tried to clean the muddy 1-week-old cocker spaniel because he was muddy, and he flushed him down the drain.

His mother Alison was quoted as saying she thought the dog was dead, but a drainage firm was able to locate the beleaguered animal in a pipe 20 yards away from the house using specialist camera gear.

Pictures of the wet, frightened-looking puppy trapped in a pipe were posted to the firm Dyno-Rod's Web site and broadcast on British television Monday.

The company says the dog is now fine. – AP

From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.

Puppy survives after 'flush' with death

Image via Wikipedia

06/16/2009 | 10:57 AM

LONDON – A British pup had a narrow flush with disaster after his 4-year-old master decided to give him a bath in the toilet.

Daniel Blair was quoted as telling Britain's Daily Mirror tabloid that he tried to clean the muddy 1-week-old cocker spaniel because he was muddy, and he flushed him down the drain.

His mother Alison was quoted as saying she thought the dog was dead, but a drainage firm was able to locate the beleaguered animal in a pipe 20 yards away from the house using specialist camera gear.

Pictures of the wet, frightened-looking puppy trapped in a pipe were posted to the firm Dyno-Rod's Web site and broadcast on British television Monday.

The company says the dog is now fine. – AP

From GMANews.tv; see the source article here.

A bright future

SOLAR TEST-BEDDING

ESTHER NG, estherng@mediacorp.com.sg

A personnel surveying the solar photovoltaic and solar thermal system on top of the newly-completed Tampines Grande. TREVOR TAN

GRID parity — when solar power prices cost the same as retail electricity — may still be far away, but Singapore is already positioning itself as a solar test-bedding hub for when that day arrives.

Yesterday, five private sector projects were given the Solar Pioneer Award — under the $20-million Solar Capability Scheme (SCS) — for investing and integrating solar energy solutions in building design and test-bedding.

The awards were given out by the Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) to City Developments Limited’s Tampines Grande, Lend Lease Retail’s 313 at Somerset, Robert Bosch’s regional headquarters building at Bishan, Lonza Biologics’ manufacturing facility at Tuas, and Applied Materials’ manufacturing facility at Upper Changi.

These were chosen for their innovative design and effectiveness. For instance, Tampines Grande combined building materials with solar photo voltaic cells and is the first commercial property in Singapore to use solar thermal panels to power its air-conditioning system. Though not enough to generate electricity for the entire building, it is enough to cool the atrium and two lobbies.

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Out of the $37-million fund from Cert and SCS, $8 million has been given out to 14 projects — nine from Cert and five from SCS. These projects complement the Housing Development Board’s $31-million solar test-bedding project which aims to fit solar panels in 30 HDB precincts by 2015. With these new projects, Singapore’s installed base of solar systems will increase five-fold from 200 kilowatts last year to about 5 megawatts.

The performance and climatic impact data from these test-bed sites will be captured by the newly-launched National Solar Data Repository — jointly set up by the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore and Singapore Polytechnic.

The cleantech industry is expected to generate $3.4 billion in value-added and create 18,000 jobs by 2015.

From TODAYOnline.com, News – Friday, 22-May-2009; see the source article here.

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A bright future

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ESTHER NG, estherng@mediacorp.com.sg

A personnel surveying the solar photovoltaic and solar thermal system on top of the newly-completed Tampines Grande. TREVOR TAN

GRID parity — when solar power prices cost the same as retail electricity — may still be far away, but Singapore is already positioning itself as a solar test-bedding hub for when that day arrives.

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These were chosen for their innovative design and effectiveness. For instance, Tampines Grande combined building materials with solar photo voltaic cells and is the first commercial property in Singapore to use solar thermal panels to power its air-conditioning system. Though not enough to generate electricity for the entire building, it is enough to cool the atrium and two lobbies.

Four public sector projects have also been added to the existing five in the $17-million Clean Energy Research and Test-bedding (Cert) programme. These are Ngee Ann Polytechnic, Changi Airport Budget Terminal, National Environment Agency’s Meteorological Station and Khoo Teck Puat Hospital.

Out of the $37-million fund from Cert and SCS, $8 million has been given out to 14 projects — nine from Cert and five from SCS. These projects complement the Housing Development Board’s $31-million solar test-bedding project which aims to fit solar panels in 30 HDB precincts by 2015. With these new projects, Singapore’s installed base of solar systems will increase five-fold from 200 kilowatts last year to about 5 megawatts.

The performance and climatic impact data from these test-bed sites will be captured by the newly-launched National Solar Data Repository — jointly set up by the Solar Energy Research Institute of Singapore and Singapore Polytechnic.

The cleantech industry is expected to generate $3.4 billion in value-added and create 18,000 jobs by 2015.

From TODAYOnline.com, News – Friday, 22-May-2009; see the source article here.

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