The Little World

In Autumn, you can hear them in the sky as they fly south: ” Honk, Honk, Honk “.

In Spring you hear them flying north. ” Eh, Eh, Eh…” You sportsmen and sporting gals get to gun them down on the journey south but the Mounties’ll arrest you if you do the same on their northward flight.

Illogical – they’re better fed in the southern states of the USA than ever they are in the Northwest Territories or Yukon. They taste better. And there are fewer people out on the marshes. You just need to use a net, rather than a Mossberg.

But back to the topic – national animals on aircraft. Canada has a proud tradition of celebrating anything wild. The De Havilland people made the Otter, Beaver, and Caribou famous. They probably did an Elk, a Moose, and possibly a Trudeau – if anything with that name could ever get up off the ground. Perhaps I am thinking of the Loon…

Australia has done as well: CAC made Wallaby and Kangaroo aircraft. Presumably an Emu at some stage, though that might have been a bus…

The Eagles of the world have featured in Germany, the United States, and many other nations. Condors, Hawks, Skuas, Rocs, and even the common Dodo have all been used to promote national pride. If Antarctica ever has an aircraft factory, I know what the first plane will be named…

What is it about we humans? Why do we need to tag our creations with the names of perfectly innocent animals – beasts would not the bad things we do, all their lives.

Why does an innocent Sea Slug have to bear the name of an anti-air missile. The real sea slug has never even seen air…