Archive for Animals
Nutria teeth
Posted by: | CommentsWe headed out to the bayou on a day that was supposed to turn sunny but never did, and on overcast days, particularly early in the morning, everybody and everything tends to sleep in.
Except for this family of nutria who were out foraging. And yes, with nutria, ‘foraging’ means ‘destroying everything in sight.’ Nutria are just eating machines, gnawing their way through the ecosystem, causing ungodly amounts of damage- it’s estimated that they are currently impacting 20,300 acres of marsh.
They look very much like beavers, but with a rat tail and bright orange chompers.
The beasts were intentionally introduced to the area in the 1930s as a source of fur, but the public didn’t like its feel and it never caught on. Their meat is bitter and unpalatable*, so nutria have no natural enemies and they breed like rabbits, in litters of 3 or 4. Hunters had no reason to bother to go after the animals until a bounty was instituted in 2005, paying $5 per nutria tail brought in to prove the kill, though it’s hard to know if the program has really helped very much.
So, yeah, they’re awful. Except, you look at the babies, and they don’t look like evil incarnate:
There’s a new movement afoot to try to make nutria fur fashionable. After all, there are those who’d like to wear fur, but can’t justify the cruelty- here you get to have your fur and feel like you’re helping the environment, too.
* Recipes for nutria meat tell you that you must soak the meat in brine a minimum of 24 hours to make it edible at all- and recommend 3 days in the salt solution if possible. How many people are going to be bothered?
Even Pratchett’s got “Who Dat” fever
Posted by: | CommentsSorry, couldn’t resist.
Pratchett stole a Saints clapper and went to town on it pre-game on Sunday. I can’t say he gives a damn about football, but he’s a big fan of anything that makes noise. After the Herculean task of hauling the thing up to his veranda, he got pissy. He thought it worked like a bell and when he couldn’t get it to work he decided to break it instead.
Still. How ’bout dem 6-0 Saints!?
They’re well known for breaking our hearts, but the feeling around here is optimistic. Half the city’s hoarse from screaming on Sunday, and it’s only going to get more intense.
White tigers at Audubon
Posted by: | CommentsRex and Zulu, Audubon Zoo’s white tigers, have about the cushiest jobs in the place, whether they’re relaxing in the grotto on a hot day:
Or just striking a pose while semi-hiding in the bamboo and bananas.
It’s clear they’re well named- Rex and Zulu rule over Mardi Gras Day, and these two clearly rule the roost.
Egret taking flight
Posted by: | Comments
We went out last week, walking in Jean Lafitte park, having realized it’d been way too long since we’d done it. Many (many many many) photos were taken, but these were the prizes, I think- caught by Charlie who very patiently took photo after photo of this bird, waiting for it to do something.
Finally, it obliged, taking a short but glowing flight, and he was there to get it.
Baby Alligator
Posted by: | CommentsThis little guy was sunning himself just beside the path in Jean Lafitte Park, so close that we could have reached down and touched him, had we wanted to lose a finger or two.
After dreaming about them last night, I have gators on the brain.
And so we begin…
Posted by: | CommentsAt great risk of loss of limb we began training Zulu this week. In the same packet that held his beloved caterpillars (only 3 left!) was my secret weapon- a clicker and training book!
Very dutifully I read it cover-to-not-very-distant-cover and felt fairly confident at trying this.
It came with a handy-dandy lucite stick to start with, and it was clear from the outset that he was a pro. Somebody, somewhere, has started this program with him. The first step is to get him to gently nip the end of the rod, click the clicker and give him a treat.
Well, clearly, he belongs in this household. He’s a praise whore who already knew all about grabbing the stick. But the food can disappear for all he cares, just sweet talk him (“Who’s a good boy? A very very smart boy?? Well, YOU are, of course!”) and he’s all yours.
All of this comes, however, at a point where his clipped feather wings are growing in, sparking great debate within the household. There are resources that say birds are happier, calmer, being in their natural state and able to fly.
Then, naturally, there are those who say the first group are crazy, and it’s far far better to keep them calm and clip their wings.
So we’re at an impasse on that one, and at the same time ready to move on to our hands being much closer on an ongoing basis. I have bandages and peroxide at the ready.
I know I cannot show fear.
I am firm and resolute.
Perhaps a small glass of wine before we begin…
Zulu Streeeetches Out
Posted by: | CommentsSo our vet suggested this site to keep the lad occupied. I wasn’t sure at first, but put in an order that just had to include the toy they swore every Grey loved.
Sure enough, here he goes, one second after it was put in the cage:
Somebody better tell him to be careful extending his neck with Thanksgiving around the corner.
And THEN he found the caterpillars. Read More→
Snit fit
Posted by: | CommentsZulu has all kinds of foraging toys to keep him occupied, and usually they take him a day or two to figure out, but then there’s this treasure chest.
Damn that treasure chest. Two ‘keys’ have to be turned and then pulled out keep it ‘locked.’ It’s a clear yellow lucite, so he can see the nuts and things in there, taunting him. Once the bird’s pulled the keys the bottom drops down, allowing access to the goodies locked up inside.
Well, sorta. As it turns out, it’s made for a bird with a smaller head than Zulu…he can’t fit his beak in there to get at the treat. He tried valiantly for quite some time, stubbornly not allowing me to get my hands in the cage to try and help. HE was going to do it.
But if the beak don’t fit, you must submit. With a mighty PEEP! He came barreling out of the cage, and over to the outer door of his food (making sure I was watching, of course):
Ripped open the door, and flung the entire dish out, onto poor Kassie, asleep by the cage. Not that she cared much, she started eating it up straightaway.
Mission accomplished, he swung the door shut again as if it’d never happened and feeling much better about the whole episode.
Time to start thinking Halloween…
Posted by: | CommentsFirst off, how the hell can it be almost October? Wasn’t it just New Year’s, like a week ago?
Yeah, I know, isn’t aging great, blah blah blah.
Anyway, Charlie is a Halloween baby, and this year we’ll be having the 2nd annual costume/birthday party, theme tba.
This pic is from last Halloween’s decorations; it’s our most evil cat, Sixie, snuggling down with her soulmates.
Is it wrong that my bird has a pet of his own?
Posted by: | Comments…and while it’s true that he’s not likely to clean up after it, neither does my daughter, so six of one, half a dozen of the other, right?
Anyway, I’ve learned that Zulu being bored is a bad thing. The more he has to occupy him the better. He’s happier, and less nippy so I get to keep more of my blood on the inside, which I’ve come to appreciate is a good thing.
