Mainebiz

V O L . X X X I I N O. X I X 34 Fact Book / Doing Business in Maine P H OTO E S S AY im Neuger, a Cleveland native and Princeton graduate, worked as a print repor ter and bureau chief in Germany and Belgium for Bloomberg, covering economics (the rise and near demise of the euro), politics (remember Helmut Kohl?) and war and peace (from the relative sanctity of the NATO pressroom). He enjoys riding horses, and can name ever y Kentucky Derby winner since 1875. He and his wife Renee Cordes, Mainebiz deputy editor, live with their cockatiel Kori in Cape Elizabeth. Some of Jim's work is on display at www.jimletpix.com. J A s a rural state, Maine has inbred ties to the animal world. Moose roam the North Woods and adorn the state flag; lobsters grace dinner plates and license plates; chickadees, themselves long- time license-plate decorators, tough it out through the winter, unlike the human snowbirds who flee to the south. Maine is home to 56 species of wild mammals, at least 34 species of reptiles and amphibians, and 292 species of birds, according to the state's Department of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife. is photo series looks at some of the creatures — wild, domesticated and purely imaginary — that call Maine home. It omits Maine's 16,000 species of bugs and invertebrates. Creature comforts DONKEY BUSINESS: Animals are known for their competitive instincts, but some are more competitive than others. Here, Clover, a 24-year-old miniature donkey, resists the gentle urging of his handler, Lily Richards, to jump over a flower-bedecked obstacle on Donkey Day at Skyline Farm in North Yarmouth. Clover just happens to be "quite clever and mischievous," says owner Judy Ballantine. (His half brother, Barnaby, is more the laid-back "Winnie the Pooh" type.) Besides staging events like the donkey games and farm fests, Skyline Farm is home to an antique carriage exhibition, including a sleigh that ferried children to school — thus depriving them of snow days — in the early 20th century.

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