Playing Opossum in Dallas: Saving Our Wildlife
September 16, 2009 by Kimberly · 2 Comments
Opossum
It’s 12:45 amмаси и столове 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
Yup, that's right! I have always wanted to start an animal refuge of my own...If you would like to help me start my animal refuge, please Click Here! Live Exotically!Popularity: 4% [?]
Mock Chameleons in Texas
August 25, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
I have a little lizard friend that comes by my window and walks along the fence running the length of our home in Dallas.
Mock Chameleon
He’s a cute little guy – maybe 10 cm from nose to the end of his tail and is a khaki color.
When he sees me looking through the window, he starts showing off by forcing this rounded fan-like piece of skin out from his throat area. It turns a beautiful bright, ruby red color surrounded by sunshine yellow.
Now, I think he’s showing off to me. He’ll bob his head then thrust his beautiful fan out, walk a few inches and repeat, all the while peaking to see if I’m looking.
I think he thinks he’s a tough guy! LOL…
I don’t know if the showing off is because he feels threatened or he fancies me!
Today, just as I was Read more
Yup, that's right! I have always wanted to start an animal refuge of my own...If you would like to help me start my animal refuge, please Click Here! Live Exotically!Popularity: 1% [?]
Keeping a Horny Toad as a Pet in Dallas
August 16, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
Well, as we all know, TCU’s (Texas Christian University’s) mascot is the horny toad. Actually, it’s also called a horned lizard.
They are ridiculously adorable and are great, placid pets, that are even great with children.
The problem with the Texas horned lizard, native to Texas, is that their food supply is waning. Even as a lizard owner, it’s gotten tougher and tougher to find natural sources for their food.
What Do Horned Lizards Eat?
A typical horned lizard should eat between 20-100 harvester ants per day. This is necessary because harvester ants provide this horned lizard with the formic acid it needs to survive.
You’re thinking, “Well, just find some harvester ants outside and be done with it!”
Problem: Harvester ants have been displaced by the fire ant in Texas, especially Dallas. So, you need to be educated and knowledgeable when looking for harvester ant nests.
Also, you certainly don’t want to capture fire ants for 2 reasons:
1. Their bite can be very painful to a human and they can swarm you quickly.
2. Horny toads will Read more
Popularity: 2% [?]
There Are Bats in Dallas
May 24, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
That’s what I said!
I’ve been noticing a lot of bats this season in Dallas and to me, that’s a blessing…
That’s right!
I am so shocked every time I point out a bat to someone in the evening or night time and they nearly panic and run…
Bats aren’t the rabid, blood sucking, scary animals horror movies would have you believe they are.
In fact, they would love to stay away from you and have nothing to do with you! LOL…
They’re your best friends if you’re tired of all the darn mosquitoes biting you at night or during activities in the evening or on the weekends!
Why? Because bats love to Read more
Yup, that's right! I have always wanted to start an animal refuge of my own...If you would like to help me start my animal refuge, please Click Here! Live Exotically!Popularity: 4% [?]
Sad Day for an Owl in Dallas
April 28, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
We play sand volleyball every weekend in Dallas, and often go to Yucatan in Coppell, Texas, but went across the street to Lone Star on Saturday.
They were having a collegiate sand volleyball tournament, so we set up our games on a back court.
They have some nets on the sides where the fences are to keep the volleyballs in, so they don’t go into the industrial stuff next to it – it’s got dense bush and a stream, I think…You’d never get your $50 volleyball back!
What was sad to me was that there was a large owl that apparently got stuck in the net and died. It’s feet were so badly wound in the net and it’s wing feathers were stuck too.
It must have Read more
Yup, that's right! I have always wanted to start an animal refuge of my own...If you would like to help me start my animal refuge, please Click Here! Live Exotically!Popularity: 4% [?]
Owls in Dallas
We were out at Yucatan’s Sand Volleyball on Monday night in Dallas and it was really cold out…
I was just watching them play, and in between plays I would look off into the trees in the distance, or see if I could spot a bunny or two running around behind the back courts.
After seeing a few bats I noticed a very large bird flying…
It was certainly an owl – a large owl at that – and such graceful flight!
I have no idea what kind of owl it was as it was in the distance, but I watching it fly for quite a distance with elegant flaps of their wings – not even flaps but smooth glides of it’s wings.
Just beautiful!
I tried to look up owls in Dallas in a search to see if I could give you more information, but since sports is so prevalent in Dallas, all I got were sports teams called the “Owls” for pages and pages.
Then, I looked up Texas wildlife sites and didn’t get much further either…
There’s only one other time I have seen an owl in Dallas – in fact, the Read more
Yup, that's right! I have always wanted to start an animal refuge of my own...If you would like to help me start my animal refuge, please Click Here! Live Exotically!Popularity: 3% [?]
Outraged at Ignorant People Who Are Blind to See the Destruction
February 25, 2009 by Kimberly · 12 Comments
I have a rant today…
The Reason?
I joined a group on Facebook today called “Stop the Massacre of Dolphins & Whales”.
If you go there, you’ll see a photo of a whale, bloodied, being pulled out of the ocean, upside down up to a large ship (shown here to the right). You’ll also see a great write-up about the massacre.
It’s disturbing because we really don’t need to harvest them for anything!!!
I left a comment on the group page, @ 1:41 pm today, that said:
“This is so very horrendous to have to look at…even more horrendous that it is actually happening…
It’s not a movie with serious graphics…It is really happening…Thousands of whales are being slaughtered, most of which are endangered, critically endangered or threatened…
Unbelievable!!!
Kimberly @ ExoticAnimalLover.com”
No word of a lie…@ 3:22 pm, I was rudely emailed by an angry person, which I won’t name here, that said,
“tha whales that are endangered are protected. it is illegal to hunt them. also Humans have also brought tha population of Gray whales back from endangered to a healthy population. Dont come to conclusions after hearing one persons biased side of tha story. As Humans, yes we kill animals, but we protect them more then anything. which is more than I can say for tha whales. do you think that if tha whales were running out of food they would start to conserve? do you think that if whales noticed a population dying, they would care? 100% not. they would wait to realize and die slowly anyways. they should be thanking us for our protection considering they are to inferior to do so themselves.”
How Did I Respond?
Honestly, this is the wrong week to feed me lines of rudeness and ignorance…I’ve had enough, in many areas that I’m passionate about.
I guess, I’ve been pushed to the brink of “I Can’t Take Stupidity Any Longer”!
Here’s what I wrote back:
“Wow…you sound like an angry person…
Take a Read more
Yup, that's right! I have always wanted to start an animal refuge of my own...If you would like to help me start my animal refuge, please Click Here! Live Exotically!Popularity: 7% [?]
Portuguese Man O’ War – Even on the Gold Coast of Australia
February 4, 2009 by Kimberly · Leave a Comment
The Portuguese Man O’ War is found all over the world, including every warm water seas, but especially in tropical or subtropical regions of the Pacific and Indian oceans, as well as the Northern Atlantic Gulf Stream.
What’s very interesting about the man o’ war is that it’s not just 1 animal.
It’s actually 4 different animals with different abilities and disabilities, which makes each part of the man 0′ war absolutely dependent upon the others.
They like to hang out at the surface of the ocean, due to the air-filled sac or air bladder that they use as a sail and to float - that’s why it’s sometimes called the blue bubble or blue bottle.
The sail is tinged blue, purple or Read more
Yup, that's right! I have always wanted to start an animal refuge of my own...If you would like to help me start my animal refuge, please Click Here! Live Exotically!Popularity: 4% [?]
Harpy Eagle Near Threatened
Scientific Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Falconiformes or
Accipitriformes
Family: Accipitridae
Genus: Harpia
Species: H. harpyja
The Harpy Eagle is a carnivorous raptor. In fact, it’s the largest and most powerful one found in the Americas.
This eagle particular inhabits tropical lowland forests, where it stays in the upper canopy, presumably for a better viewpoint for prey.
Males and females having the same coloration, they are slate black on the back and back of wings, and white underneath including their bellies. Their head is a pale gray color.
Although the same in color, males are almost half the size of the female.
They boast talons up to 5 inches long – WOW! Their wingspan can reach up to 6′ Read more
Yup, that's right! I have always wanted to start an animal refuge of my own...If you would like to help me start my animal refuge, please Click Here! Live Exotically!Popularity: 4% [?]
Help Save the Moon Bear!
November 4, 2008 by Kimberly · 2 Comments
The moon bear can also be called the Asian black bear, Tibetan black bear or Himalayan black bear.
The reason for it’s nickname is that it is a black bear with a cream or white colored “V” on it’s chest in the shape of a crescent moon facing up.
They are a medium sized bear and a close relative to the American black bear.
Adult females are typically half the size of the adult male, the latter weighing in at 220-480 lbs. Their lifespan is about 25 years.
They inhabit high elevations and lowlands alike, often sharing habitat with the larger and stronger brown bear, and the giant panda.
Although this bear is considered to be carnivorous, meat is only a very small part of it’s diverse diet of nuts, berries, grasses, fruit and other plants. They are actually omnivorous animals that eat both meat and plant-life alike.
This particular bear has been known to be quite aggressive towards humans with documentation of attacks and deaths, but although they have very few enemies in nature, the Siberian tiger has been known to target them as prey.
Conservation Status:
The moon bear is currently listed a vulnerable species. Deforestation and loss of habitat is the main aggressors in the endangerment of the moon bear.
However, the moon bear is also known as the “bile bear”, where they are held in captivity so that their bile can be extracted over and over again and sold as traditional Chinese medicine in Vietnam and China. It’s terribly painful for the bear and a terrible existence for them, as they can live up to 25 years and be kept in a cage where they can’t even move to acquire the bile. Terrible!!!
Methods of Extracting Bile: (as taken from Wikipedia.com)
“Latex catheter
In a crude surgical procedure, a latex catheter is Read more
Popularity: 6% [?]
