A few months ago, I was coming home on a country road that leads to the suburbs in Niagara Falls.

It was about 3:00am, pretty cold, and what do I see? A mountain lion (also called cougars or pumas) that had just crossed the road in front of me.

It was on the left side of the road on the shoulder going into the brush. I happened to be on the phone with a friend and told them what was going on.

The big cat just looked over it’s shoulder at me as I drove past it slowly.

It was definitely a surreal moment in my life, as I had never seen one of these majestic animals in the wild before.

Well, not many people believed me that I saw a puma running around right near our suburbs about 5 blocks away. This is because it’s certainly a rare occurrence to see a cougar in our area, although these creatures were indigenous in our area prior to the urban sprawl.

A lack of food, and a growing coyote population probably pushed them out even further into the shadows.

I say all of this to tell you what I saw this morning. Large cat footprints in the slushy snow along our home’s walkway and our front porch.

The size of the prints is large, and it’s certainly not a dog-type of footprint, such as those of a coyote, which have been pushed further into the burbs to survive off small pets, animals and anything they are able to scavenge. In fact, they are a commonality of everyday life in a town close to here called Niagara-on-the-Lake.

These prints were large, and the spread between the legs goes to show how large a cat this really was.

This is rather frightening to me since we have so many trees and darker corners on our lot and the homes around us. Not only that, I have small dogs that go outside for a pee at night. Keep your wits about you out there…

This should be a reality check for those of us all over the world, that not only have we pushed these large predators into endangerment, but now we are frightened when they encroach on our paths. I wonder how they feel…

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I hope you enjoyed this Big Cat post on Exotic Animal Lover. Until next time…

Live Exotically!

художник на икониИкони на светци

Cougar in Niagara Falls, Canada is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

I was watching a show on Animal Planet the other day and they had to do a hysterectomy on a polar bear.

The intriguing thing about the surgery was that when they shaved her fur to prepare her, her skin was completely black.

This makes complete sense and is an amazing adaptation for these bears.

Why?

Because their black skin absorbs heat from the sun. Their fur isn’t actually white…it’s clear – this allows the sunlight to penetrate their thick coats and allow their black skin to absorb this heat!

Huh! Who knew?

Nature is such a marvelously designed thing! There is a reason for every feature an animal has, whether we know it or not.

FYI: Did you know that the Polar Bear is a highly endangered species?

Check out this: Polar Bears Mostly Extinct by 2050

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I hope you enjoyed this Bear Information on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Be sure to check out the Exotic Animal Lover Store!Подаръци

Polar Bears Have Black Skin is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

Opossum

It’s 12:45 am in Dallas, Texas right now…

I just took our kitchen garbage out to the trash can and noticed one of our neighborhood stray dogs laying in the middle of the street.

As I focused in and started approaching, I noticed that it was sitting next to another animal, also in the middle of the street…I thought it could have been a run over cat or something like that…

…As I came upon the dog, I took a look at what kind of animal was laying there and lo and behold, it was the opossum I’ve been noticing walking through the neighborhood some nights, playing dead – completely still, eyes open and all.

The dog, who’s usually quite skiddish when you come near him, wanted to hold his ground even though I was very close and clapping him away to go home.  He even growled at me.

I’m sure he was deciding whether he wanted to eat his catch or play with it for a while before eating it, but he finally took off down the way to his house – I don’t know what’s up with his owners.

Anyway, now I’m outside in my pajamas waiting on our street corner for this opossum to “wake” back up and get off the road to disappear into the night again.

I’m telling you, I had to wait 10 minutes. I didn’t want to leave for fear someone would run him over at our intersection…so, I waited to protect him.

Sure enough, about 10 minutes later, he cautiously got up and scurried off into the bushes of the nearest house.

I know it was “just a possum”, but did you know that the opossum is only modern marsupial of the “New World”, carrying it’s babies in a pouch? The rest of the infraclass, Marsupialia, are native to Australia.

The thing is, we’ve encroached on it’s habitat and now, we think they’re expendable. They’re not – they’re an important part of our world.

They may not be the “cutest” mammal of them all, but they deserve to be here too, nonetheless.

I just couldn’t fathom letting him be a chew toy for the stray dog or road kill…Plus, the stray dog is completely black in color and he wasn’t giving up his position laying in the middle of the road either – it was dangerous for all parties.

Yeah for playing opossum! They do this in order to disinterest their predator because they’re already dead. They virtually paralyze themselves and you would honestly think they’re dead. However, I knew better – it was just a clever trick! I’m glad he’ll live to see another night!

Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Infraclass: Marsupialia
Order: Didelphimorphia
Family: Didelphidae

Opossums are nocturnal animals and omnivorous – they’ll eat plants and meat, and may even scavenge for food.

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I hope you enjoyed this Marsupial Info on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Check out this great story about Lucy, a Virginia Opossum:

Lucy: A Virginia Opossum Lucy spends her first months in her mother’s pouch. Soon she is facing outside dangers–animals, cars, and humans

Technorati Tags: opossum, Virginia opossum, possum, North American marsupial, nocturnal animals, playing possum, playing dead, playing opossum

Playing Opossum in Dallas: Saving Our Wildlife is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

Last night, I had let 4 of our pooches outside for their last “outside time” before bed.

All of  a sudden, I heard them barking out of control. It wasn’t the usual “far off” bark when they see a cat in another yard…

It was of imminent danger and upset!

I ran outside to see them encircling this poor little animal behind a flower pot.

I quickly scolded them enough to get them into the house.

I realize they were just protecting our yard, but I wanted to save this poor, little soul.

Isn’t he cute?

Well, I believe he’s a muskrat and this photo doesn’t do him justice. His fur was more caramel in color than what is shown here.

He was so cute, and obviously, well fed. He was plump and his coat was in great looking condition.

Here’s the other side of him showing his rope-like tail, typical for muskrats.

Apparently, we have a number of them in our neighborhood, come to learn on Facebook, as one of my friends’ brother has a dog that attacked and killed one in their yard in our area.

I was worried they may have hurt him, as you see his little paw up and out on the first photo, but he literally froze for at least 1 hr. He didn’t move an inch.

However, when we turned all the lights off, he was sure to sneak off. Not that I wouldn’t enjoy seeing more of him, my dogs wouldn’t. So, I hope for his sake he learned not to come into our yard again.

This is the first time I’ve ever seen a wild muskrat.

I was trying to figure out why they would be over here in our area, and came to realize we have a pond a few blocks away and a overflow pond less than 1 block away, that I didn’t know was there…So, I suppose it makes sense they may be in our area here.

Such a shame that human encroachment is such a problem for so many animal species…

What wild animals do you have around your neighborhood?

Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Rodentia
Superfamily: Muroidea
Family: Cricetidae
Subfamily: Arvicolinae
Tribe: Ondatrini
Genus: Ondatra
Species: O. zibethicus

Muskrats are not an endangered species…Awesome!

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I hope you enjoyed this Mammal post on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

Technorati Tags: muskrat, mammals, Canadian animals, rodent, marine animals

A Muskrat in our Yard is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

I just found out that one of my newest friends, Dani, had a Canadian Lynx as a pet…Not only that, it was an indoor cat!

I asked her to fill us in on having a Canadian Lynx as a pet.

This is her account:

Firstly, his name was Snaggletooth, and I rescued him from a breeder in Iowa. I found his information online and called him to find out more about owning a lynx.

I had always thought how wonderful it would be to own a big exotic cat. I went with a lynx because he would mature around 65lbs., which is equal to that of a medium sized dog.

With a smaller cat there are a lot of advantages. First off, the amount of food involved…I fed little Snaggletooth Zoopreem, a Purina dry pellet food, mixed in with raw turkey. This cost me less than $10 per week to keep him fat and happy.

Also, a cat of that size is not considered a lethal cat. Since I was new to exotic cat ownership, I certainly didn’t want to jump off and get something that would chew me up in the middle of the night. I did my homework before I picked up little Snaggletooth from the airport.

I made sure he had a large litter box (2) in each room of the house and removed anything from the shelves/tops of tables or cases that I didn’t want knocked off and broken. I also made sure to provide him with a fully enclosed outside run where he had access to trees and grass and plenty of space to play.

Now, most domestic cats learn to use the litter box by following what their moms do. Since Snaggletooth’s mom was an outside lynx (outside in an enclosure) and taken from her at 2 weeks of age, he never had a mother lynx showing him where to use the bathroom.

It is natural for a cat to want to dig and bury their eliminations, however a lynx doesn’t mind urinating on your floor or couch and doesn’t feel the need to dig and cover anything up. This was the case for little Snaggletooth.

So…I went and purchased a special clay cat litter that has an attractant in it to lure cats to the litter box. He got the idea almost immediately when I replaced the litter. This didn’t mean he never had an accident after that point, but in general, he knew where to go when he needed to eliminate. I had to provide him with 2 litter boxes (side by side) because it is normal for an exotic cat to want to defecate in one and urinate in the other.

He had a favorite toy and I used that toy to get him to come when called and as a reward for when he was being good. I never fed him treats as a reward since he had a tendency to be too interested in food and very possessive of it. When I would feed him, I would have to place his food down in the room and close the door and leave him alone. If I didn’t, he thought I was going to steal his food and would hiss and growl at me.

We had a system that worked well and we just stayed with it. Now I did try different things to get him to be less possessive with his food but each one of them failed. Trust me, an exotic cat acts nothing like a dog or domestic cat. So…he taught me a lot on how to be patient and compromise.

Snaggletooth is no longer with us, and of course I miss him quite a bit. If I had to pick again for an exotic cat to own I would own a Canadian Lynx again hands down. They are very personable. Snaggletooth would lay on the couch with me and watch TV. He also followed me all over the house during the day.

He had moments of boundless energy and would literally run on the sides of the walls. He also tested out the curtain’s strength, several of my free standing lamps and of course anything I left out for him to get to. I learned quickly that if I wanted to drink anything I had to put it in a bottle with a lid. Otherwise I could expect to find it all over the floor just minutes after setting it down.

Lynxes are not raised to be pets for the general public. Mostly, they are bred for the fur trade. This means that there are a lot of breeders out there who do not care about the health of these cats, since they are just interested in a nice fur for later use.

Some have serious health problems and don’t live past 1 year. So, you need to do your homework if you are looking for a breeder to purchase a lynx for yourself.

Some points to also consider before you run out and get a lynx for yourself is do you have other pets?

Snaggletooth got along with my large Akita and my Great Pyrenees, but a domestic cat he would have killed. In fact, any pet smaller than him was prey…This also includes small children. So, if you have children, or small pets, a lynx isn’t for you.

If you have heirloom furniture in your home you don’t need a lynx. Trust me they love wood furniture to scratch on. We purchased a large cat tree complete with scratching areas. It looked like a jungle gym covered in swizzle rope. Well he did enjoy scratching it, but he still managed to find furniture he liked just as much to kill.

You need to check with your state or province to see if you are even able to own a Lynx. Once you do, you will need to contact your state Vet to see what requirements are needed to keep a lynx. Some states require permits while others not only require permits but also a double fence system to keep your lynx from getting loose.

Also, you need to purchase insurance just in case your exotic cat does get loose and hurts someone.

In conclusion, if you think you would love to own an exotic cat, please think it through very carefully.

Owning an exotic cat isn’t like owning a dog or domestic cat. As you can see, there is a lot of homework that you need to do before you settle on a lynx to own. I actually advise most people not to purchase an exotic cat.

Several rescue organizations are overloaded with exotic cats that people saw and thought, “Oh man, I would love to own a lynx or tiger.” They either weren’t honest in their abilities or they didn’t do their homework. This isn’t fair to the pet, nor is it fair to the rescue organization that you will expect to clean up the mess you made.

Actually, if you want something exotic, I would recommend a Savannah cat. These are Serval (exotic cats) crossed with domestic cats. They are large cats and have beautiful exotic cat looks. They are a recognized breed by TICA and there are several reputable breeders out there who produces healthy Savannah cats. These cats do not require permits or any restrictions on ownership.

Well that is about it…I really want to stress to your readers that owning a Lynx isn’t for everyone, and of course to do your homework before you purchase one.

Running a rescue organization like the one you are thinking of would include getting exotic animals that were once thought of as a unique pet. Big Cat Rescue in Florida (I am a member there) has nothing but large exotic cats. 3 are retired cats from the circus (and they paid big bucks for these guys to keep them till they passed away) but the rest are cats that they rescued from breeders who didn’t provide proper housing or again, people who had illusions that an exotic cat made a great pet.

They have to turn away over 50 cats per year…Where do these cats go? Either to other rescue places or they are euthanized. Its a sad, cold fact of life, but it just shows you as humans, we need to be responsible and govern ourselves and not expect someone else to come clean up our messes.

BTW…I am not an animal rights activist. In fact, I do not believe animals have rights. I believe humans have rights, and with those rights comes the responsibility to do the right thing. LOL! You can never expect an animal to be responsible.

I donate annually to the ASPCA, however I never donate to PETA, who has made a mockery of what taking responsible care of animals is. (I’ll get off my soap box now)…LOL

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I hope you enjoyed this Unusual Pet post from Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Check out this beautiful Canadian Lynx Print from the 1899 Zoological Gardens:

Technorati Tags: Canadian lynx, lynx, big cat, exotic cat, unusual pet, exotic pet, Canadian animal, North American animal, mammal, cats

A Canadian Lynx as an Indoor Pet? is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

I watched on TV tonight that the deadly “Red Tide” algae is toxic and killing animals of all sorts in the St. Lawrence River system in Canada.

Belugas, birds, porpoises, fish, mollusks…you name it, it’s affected.

It moves up the food chain, and in the case of whales, like belugas, they feel it affects their brain and makes them slower and confused, making them more likely to collide with boats.

The red tide algae are common in this area, but usually wash away by this point of the year, whereas this year, it is lingering too long!

Why?

Well, it is believed that it’s lingering due to the serious rain we’ve been having in this region.

What’s Being Done?

Researchers are being diligent to figure out all of the particulars, and there has been a ban on all fishing of mollusks for consumption by humans to ensure local residents are not affected by the red tide toxicity!

Sheesh! What a shame!

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I hope you found this Exotic Animal Newsflash interesting from Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. If you are a whale lover, like I am, check out this great spot for amazing nature gifts:

Technorati Tags: red tide, red algae, algae, belugas, St. Lawrence Seaway, St. Lawrence river, ocean animals, environment, mammals

Red Tide Algae Kills Marine Animals on St. Lawrence Seaway System is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

Have a Safe and Super Canada Day!

Just wanted to keep those Canadian animals in the forefront of your mind today too…Check them out by clicking on that link!

I hope everyone will get to enjoy some R&R and the Fireworks tonight! Maybe some of you have hit up your local carnivals…If you’re from my area, you’ll no doubt be in Port Dalhousie tonight!

Either way…Have fun!!!

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Did you know that Canada Day was originally named Dominion Day? I bet you didn’t…LOL…

I hope you enjoyed this Canadian Animal post from Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Let us know what you do for Canada Day? What are your Canadian traditions? Or…just let me know what your favorite Canadian Animal is! Inform us in the Comment Box Below!

Technorati Tags: Canada Day, Canadian Animal, North American animals, Dominion Day, Canadians, Canada, national holidays, holidays, Port Dalhousie

Happy Canada Day to all of my Exotic Animal Lovers! is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

Ahhh…My favorite species of animal is the Red Panda…

Unfortunately, they are extremely endangered. However, thankfully, there are a number of breeding programs in the world that are doing their best to ensure the survival of this species.

Edmonton’s Valley Zoo just had the 2nd arrival of twin baby red pandas! Yeahhh!!! They were born May 26th in captivity, and were named Tai (female) and Pip (male).

The babies are no longer with their mother, as she began to groom one of the babies too aggressively, but are in great hands with surrogate, human caretakers.

At this point, their eyes are still sealed shut and they are very furry. Sleeping most of time curled up together, the twins are fed puppy formula by bottle, after graduating from stomach tubes.

There are roughly only about 2000-4000 wild red pandas in the world, but the cyclone in Myanmar greatly disturbed their habitat, and the numbers are now unknown.

There were only 4 red pandas born last year in captivity in North America, including these twins other twin brother and sister. In fact, the other 2 pandas were also born in Canadian zoos.

A total of 45 red pandas are in captivity in North America now, and every one of them is crucial to the species’ survival!

To read the original article @ Yahoo, click here.

Unlike the Giant Panda, the Red Panda is not a bear…It actually belongs in the same superfamily as skunks, weasels and raccoons.

Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Subclass: Eutheria
Superorder: Laurasiatheria
Order: Carnivora
Suborder: Caniformia
Superfamily: Musteloidea
Family: Ailuridae
Genus: Ailurus
Species: A. fulgens

There are 2 subspecies of red panda:
1. Western Red Panda
2. Styan’s Red Panda – somewhat larger

Interestingly, although they are in the Carnivorous order, they actually are mainly herbivores eating mostly bamboo, although are known to supplement their diets with other plants, berries, grasses, insects, fish, eggs, young birds and small rodents. In captivity, it has been shown that they will readily eat red meat.

Conservation Status:
As I mentioned earlier, they are considered Endangered.

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I hope you enjoyed this

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S.

Technorati Tags: red pandas, pandas, lesser panda, exotic animal, Edmonton zoo, breeding program, animal twins, animal news, mammals, Asian animals, herbivore

Furry Arrival of Twin Red Pandas is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

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Great video…such funny, little animals!

Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia???????? ????? ????????
Order: Carnivora
Family: Procyonidae
Genus: Procyon
Species: P. lotor

Conservation Status:
The raccoon is considered a species of least concern.

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I hope you enjoyed this North American Animal post on Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Check out this adorable Raccoon poster:

Barbara Von Hoffmann Raccoon Framed Art Poster Print – 20″ X 16″ “You are looking at a great poster, that comes with a fully pre-assembled frame, for easy set-up. Black frame is made of high quality painted wood, and comes with clear protective lens covering. This poster, which measures approx. 16″” x 20″”, fits right int”

Technorati Tags: raccoon, raccoon thief, animal video, animal humor, animal thief, mammals, North American animals, European animals, omnivore

Watch Out For Animal Thieves In The Night… is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover

I was not prepared enough for these random sightings, but I will tell you exactly what I saw.

Firstly, where our cottage is, is between a marsh about 2 blocks away and the beach about 1 block away. This provides great chances of sighting interesting animals any time of year.

It’s spring time, so the Canada Geese are nesting in pairs…They stopped all traffic on the streets next to the marsh, as they believe it’s their “right of way”…LOL…They even frequent the lawns of the neighbors and just “hang out” during the day. You can hear their honks all day and much of the evenings.

I had a deer cross the road in front of me one night, and it was “making it snappy”…LOL…By the time I got the the place where he crossed, I couldn’t see him in the bush anymore.

I also saw another animal, which I thought was a deer at first sight, but I think was a big cat of some kind…maybe a cougar/mountain lion??? Needless to say, I made sure to keep a good eye out when I let my puppies outside, and walked with them the entire time!

I saw so many birds…More blue jays and cardinals than I could count, not to mention red-winged blackbirds, and others I couldn’t even identify that I’d never seen before…Of course, you can hear the woodpeckers in the area as well.

A wild turkey even crossed my path! Neat!

There were a whole armful of bunnies frequenting our lawns at the cottage…the dogs were so excited!!!

There are always so many neat animals I see…I guess because I really pay attention! I love discovering a new animal I had never seen in an area before!

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I hope you enjoyed this installment of Exotic Animal Lover! Until next time…

Live Exotically,

Kimberly Edwards

P.S. Check out this fantastic Bird Watching Resource:

The Bird Watcher’s Bible

Technorati Tags: Canadian wildlife, North American animals, Canadian animals, Ontario animals, wild turkey, mountain lion, cougar, Canada goose, red-winged blackbird, deer

Ontario Wildlife I Came Across on Vacation is a post from: Exotic Animal Lover