Like good ole flying Dumbo the elephant, i imagine if i had these ears, my travels would entail no fossil fuels, no greenhouse gas emissions. i wandered across info about this endangered little creature at a website called EDGE. The EDGE of Existence program focuses on threatened species that represent unique evolutionary histories. The long-eared jerboa of Mongolia, like that desert's Bactrian camel, bears the uneasiness of fitting the criteria. This intriguing rodent is the only member of its subfamily, Euchoreutina. A shout out here to Russian photographer Valeriy Maleev, a CNN Wildlife Photographer of the Year (2019), whose work inspired me to 'travel' the web for news of this little planetary companion, so far away.

At the Edge website, i also 'met' a conservationist named Madhushri, or Maddie, currently studying an Indian dancing frog with an EDGE fellowship. She promotes the many values of travel, with an emphasis on ethical ecotourism. She blogs at Girl Gone Birdzz, and i was inspired--out of the blue--to write her, a small recognition of her passion and its worth to the world. On this day celebrating 'love' one choice is to connect with a stranger whose values you honor and whose work you can help ripple into this one world we all love, together.