Animals, zoo stories and things to share

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 5:54 pm

Oh LuLu, we are not bored at all! We all enjoy these stories, and learn alot from them!

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:08 pm

I have a photo which I know you'd like to see....it's downloaded on my computer and it's a .bmp -type file. Does anyone know how to post it here? I can't even think of how to link to it on a flickr-type site.

TRUST ME...you'll be really, REALLY glad you saw this....if I can only get some help getting it posted.

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:10 pm

Open the BUMP on your computer, and save it as a JPG or GIF, then you can post it.

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:13 pm

I don't know what you mean. sorry. sorrysorrysorry:(

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:17 pm

Oh, do you have paint on your computer? Click on the bitmap, and let it open. Go up to file, the go to Save As...............and make sure it is a jpg.

Or send it to my e-mail here as a bitmap, and I will send it back to you.

chonsigirl@forumgarden.com

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:21 pm

Check your email....of course, I don't know how to post a jpg, either. Would YOU post it? And I'll describe it?

Love,

Dora Dimwit

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:25 pm

Holey Moley!

Attached files

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:27 pm

THANKS, FRIEND!

Male snakes have a hemipenis and this is a photo of one! Isn't it colorful? :wah: Many snakes breed in groups (HUBBA HUBBA) and the hemipenis allows him to theoretically breed four females at once...each of the two tips has two openings.

I just LOVE to tell men about this, when they're looking at a "lowly" snake!

(Standing by to FAN anyone who FAINTS!)

(Chonsi...? You ok? Put your head between your knees....drink a brandy!)

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 6:52 pm

:wah: I almost fainted when I read what it was!

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 7:02 pm

I found this little clip today and was reminded of one unusually cold day last winter, when I was scooping dog poop in my back yard. (I live a VERY glamorous life, ya' know.)

I tried to scoop what I THOUGHT was a pile of poop, only to realize it was a toad! He was stiff as could be, half-way across my lawn. My first thought was that he was dead, but then I remembered torpor. This happens when the animal's body temperature drops to/nearly to that of the surrounding environment and there's a great reduction in the metabolism, heart rate, etc.

So, I put the little toad under my shirt and held him against my skin. After a few minutes, I felt him stir! I put him into a terrarium I had and let him warm up along with the day, and when it was warm outside, I put him under a bush.

I've never seen him again, but it pleases me to know he's out there, eating bugs and worms and sharing "our" space.

You've got to love them..they're the first vertebrates to crawl out of the water and figure out how to live on land. TWO HUNDRED FIFTY MILLION YEARS AGO, amphibians were a rominent group among animal life!

Today they've declined throughout much of the world to about 5,700 living species and this is terrifying, because they're what's called an "indicator" group...they're among the first to die off when the environment goes bad.

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 7:05 pm

Oh, that was sweet. I had a lovely bullfrog for five years, he passed away this summer. He was my classroom pet, and I retired him and brought him home. He was a happy critter, and the students delighted in trying to put him down the sub's back once..................:wah:

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 7:17 pm

HAH! I suppose there's a chapter in the TOAD HANDBOOK which discusses little boys who want to put you down the backs of other children or unlucky substitute teachers!:wah:

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:05 pm

NO :-3 that's not a Snakes wanker is it...YIKES that is something else. :p

So I can't have a Hedge Hog for a pet, darm they are so cute..

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 9:50 pm

Carla, I don't think that hedgehogs or ferrets are legal here, at least not yet. There's a real concern about ferrets getting loose and breeding here, the way the mongoose did in Hawaii. A LOT of danger's been done there to ground-dwelling birds...it's always dangerous to unleash a non-native predator.

CARLA · Post by **CARLA** » Mon Oct 02, 2006 10:47 pm

I know I couldn't have one, just think they are so cute..

cherandbuster · Post by **cherandbuster** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 2:48 am

Lulu2

I check this thread every day

Because I enjoy it so much :guitarist

Accountable · Post by **Accountable** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 3:57 am

Me too. :-6

As for ferrets, I saw the cutest wild one in Utah once when I was stationed there. The little white fur ball came bounding across the parking lot .... and pounced on a different kind of cute little fur ball (I won't say what kind, in deference to Chonsi :-3 ). There was lots of cute fur flying and, um, noise. The big tough construction guys I was with all agreed then and there that a ferret is not a pet for kids.

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 7:11 am

We have had various ferrets in our education programs and I would NEVER allow one near a child! They've realized how smart they are and how well ARMED they are!

BUT--I'll say that it was incredibly amusing to watch them race around through flexible clothes dryer hoses and wrestle and snoop in boxes and paper bags! Those same qualities are what let them race around through prairie dog towns and do what they do so well!

There's a huge group in California which constantly lobbies for ferrets to be legalized as pets. Meanwhile, a trip to any pet store will show you ferret foods, toys, vitamins, accessories, etc. It's an open "secret" that there are thousands of them here.

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 7:31 am

Ferrets are legal to own in many states, they are here. My neighbor has them. Needless to say, my bunnies are house rabbits, nice and safe inside. I know they are illegal in California.

*oh, I closed my eyes for AC's story*

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 7:39 am

Another thing which bothers me about ferrets is that they're almost little "cancer factories." Every single one that we've had has died of some form of that disease. They don't live long at all.

Did you know the black-footed ferret was essentially exterminated in the Dakotas when ranchers decided prairie dogs were a bother to their cattle, to their "towns" were destroyed? The little ferrets, who preyed on the prairie dogs, had nothing much to eat and they died off, too.

Once again, captive breeding programs have brought the little critters back!

Sheryl · Post by **Sheryl** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:09 pm

Thank you for posting all this Lulu, I loved reading all the stories. I was wondering what you knew about bearded dragons. i watched a show the other day on finding the perfect pet. The lady on the show recommended snakes or lizards as pets for children. And I've always been fond of lizards and have been thinking of getting a bearded lizard for my son and (me

)

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Tue Oct 03, 2006 10:26 pm

SHERYL...our curator of reptiles says that bearded dragons are the GOLDEN RETRIEVERS of the reptile world! They do seem to be relaxed, accepting of people and willing to do just about anything we want to do with them.

Good pet for your son? I'd say yes...just make sure he uses the opportunity to research on the web and learn how to feed/water/provide a habitat for/handle a lizard like the bearded dragon.

I don't mean to preach to the choir here....but please make him understand that this animal IS a "LIFE".,..and deserving of all the respect he can give to it.

As far as other possible reptile pets go...if he can find an alligator lizard, that'd be cool! If they've got something else in the pet store, please....ask me and I'll tell you what's fair to the animal. Some lizards sold in pet stores are TOTALLY UNSUITED for "pet" trade.

Thanks for asking...

Accountable · Post by **Accountable** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 4:35 am

I used to get that alot.

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:25 pm

You have a hemipenis, Accountable? My, my....must make you very popular at the old swimming hole....:wah:

Sheryl · Post by **Sheryl** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:25 pm

Thanks Lulu

If we do get a lizard (still trying to convince the daddy, big wussy) it will be kept in the den or my office. I'm not a huge fan of kids having pets in their rooms just yet. Espicially since my brilliant idea of a fish tank in my sons room as a night light backfired.

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:27 pm

There's a story, I think! :wah: Want to share it?

Sheryl · Post by **Sheryl** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 12:36 pm

Let's just say between a 2 year old who coul dclimb like a monkey and cats the poor fish never had a chance.

dubs · Post by **dubs** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 4:55 pm

Have you worked with Howler Monkeys Lulu? When I used to pick my son up from the zoo, I'd hang around for when the Howlers kicked off! The sound they make is Awesome....And Gentlemen Howlers definitely prefer Blondes...LOL!:)

Accountable · Post by **Accountable** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 4:56 pm

SnoozeControl wrote: What, did it shrink or summat?Nah. She knows what to expect now. :rolleyes:

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Wed Oct 04, 2006 7:44 pm

DUBS..one of my favorite animals of all time was a female howler named Bianca. Everyone who ever met her was just enchanted by that monkey!

If Bianca liked you, she wanted to GROOM you. I know they have fearsome teeth and was quite careful around her at first, but then, when I got to trust her, I'd let her groom my hair after I'd groomed hers. One day, she reached out, grabbed my nose, pulled me toward the cage bars and began to nibble on it! We were literally eye-to-eye and I'll admit I was concerned. But after awhile, she gained my trust (again) and after that, she'd often nibble my nose and treat me like another howler.

One day, I brought my cousin to meet Bianca. Gene has diabetic blindness and couldn't really see her, but he held out some grapes and she took them SO GENTLY into her mouth...I realized she understood Gene couldn't see.

Bianca was a very old girl when the vets realized her kidneys were failing and they made the heartbreaking decision to hasten her passing. There was a steady stream of people who went to the health center and were given a chance to hold her body. It was the first time we'd ever been able to really cuddle her and the vets understood that Bianca's many friends needed to say goodbye.

cherandbuster · Post by **cherandbuster** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 6:18 am

Another beautiful story

Beautifully told as well :-6

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Thu Oct 05, 2006 8:46 am

(Thanks, Cher. Writing that story put Bianca into my head and I was dreaming about her when I awoke this morning. It's hard to explain this, but she smelled like Fritos!)

Here are some photos of howlers. As DUBS said...even though they're named Black Howlers, the girls are always blonde!

http://www.honoluluzoo.org/howler_monkey.htm

The first time I heard one vocalizing, I thought someone was trying to shift gears in a truck without using the clutch! Howlers live in many of the Maya temple parks in Guatemala and it was such a joy to hear them when I was there. They have a beautifully prehensile tail which gives them (essentially) FIVE hands and they're fun to watch as well as to hear.

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 6:37 pm

I've been thinking today about reptiles, and how wonderfully diverse they are. Everyone thinks about Australia and their amazing reptiles...but, did you know that MEXICO is even more diverse....second only to Brazil? The Mexicans have managed to destroy almost as much habitat as their cousins in the States...but....still....they have areas of plenty.

What I'd like to tell you is this...zoos in the US are cooperating with the Mexicans to do a "trade/trade" which will make a HUGE difference!

Do you know about the pronghorn? It's an amazing antelope which is the fastest on earth! It can run (in brief spurts) for 60 MPH.

Look here: http://www.gpnc.org/pronghor.htm

This animal used to live in Baja California....but it was hunted out of existance. Now, areas in Baja are being set aside for the California Condor. If an area is set aside for one species....another or two or three, etc, might benefit.

So, our zoo is willing to cooperate with the Mexican government to return some captive-bred pronghorn (from our zoo) to the Baja peninsula, in the area where the condor flies. This would mean a return of a species which used to roam over that area....a return of the animal which can run faster than ANY antelope! (And why should it be that fast? Well, CHEETAHS used to live in this part of the world. It might appear that the pronghorn managed to outlive their predators.)

The Mexican government wants to have pronghorn and condors above Baja. Our U.S. zoos are willing and able to help. In return....we want the Mexican government to release some of their reptiles for breeding programs in our zoos.

Looks as if it'll happen! I'm encouraged.

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 8:13 pm

The "rules" about taking reptiles across national borders might be circumvented if it meant breeding opportunities. So, Mexican beaded lizards

http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&ie=I ... gle+Search

might have an oportunity to be left alone. If they're lucky.

Accountable · Post by **Accountable** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 3:11 am

If you ever run short of reptiles, you might try hunting the gator-eating pythons of Florida. :p

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:11 pm

This story was for CHONSI.

Cupcake was a HUGE rabbit and used to scare many of the people who used her for our zoo education programs. She lived in a large, "walk-in" cage and she'd hunker down into the corner and DARE you to pick her up!

There was a sign on her cage which said "KILLER RABBIT!" She'd bitten quite a few people.

Somehow, she never really scared me and we got along just fine. She was OLD. I think she was about 15! But zoo animals can live extended lives, since they're without stress of any kind.

One day, I was using her onstage, doing our "Animals and You" program. As I stood there, holding her and discussing all the adaptations rabbits have, I felt her entire body SAG against my arms.

Looking down, I saw that her head was hanging and her ears were rather loose.

I thought she'd DIED!

:-3

OOOOOOOOOKAYYYYYY. GULP!

I tried to think of ways to get offstage without telling the children in the audience that I was holding a DEAD RABBIT! I'll admit, I got that clammy sweat on my back which signals FEAR!

Then, quietly, Cupcake began to SNORE! And I realized she was so happy with me....she'd nodded off.

"Killer Rabbit," indeed!:)

Accountable · Post by **Accountable** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:21 pm

AAAaaaaawwwww! :-4

I can go to bed with smile. Thanks for that one.

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 8:22 pm

Glad you enjoyed it.

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 8:26 am

Guess what animal this might be--it's carnivorous, mostly nocturnal and it kills with a "stalk and pounce" bite to the head or neck, using long, stabbing teeth. It's solitary and territorial and lives in low species density. It teaches its young how to hunt and it defends its territory by throwing its head back and emitting loud, piercing howls that can be heard over 300 yards away.

Did you think of a big cat? Perhaps a tiger or a leopard?

Guess again--its a grasshopper mouse!

This interesting little critter lives in the west/southwest of North America. It might be small, but it's ferocious and its diet is up to 90% animal prey--grasshoppers, beetles and other arthropods, but also small lizards, nestling birds, small mammals and, sometimes, one another!

Males usually breed with several females. Although some of them will live in mated pairs, almost always one of them (usually the female) will kill and eat the other. ("DAMMIT! I TOLD you to take out the trash!")

Remember I said they teach their young how to hunt? The little ones (usually a litter of one to six) are weaned at about three weeks. Before they're turned out on their own, they're taught how to capture the pinacate beetles ("stink bugs") which are their favorite food. Stink bugs have glands on their abdomens which release a noxious chemical as a defense.

The young mice are taught to stick the rear of the beetle into the sand, eat from the head down and leave those stinky glands behind!

(I heard you--you just said, "WOW!")

There are three sub-species, living in very different habitats, which means they have somewhat differing diets. But all have this in common....they're a small rodent which behaves very much like a large cat!

(The development of similarities in animals which aren't closely related is called CONVERGENT EVOLUTION. Bats and birds are a good example of this. Are you listening, Zinky?)

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 8:11 am

BUMPING for Zinky.

cherandbuster · Post by **cherandbuster** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 1:57 pm

Hey Lulu2 :-6

What are we supposed to read for fun when you go away on your trip? :-1

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 3:38 pm

The Wall Street Journal? :wah:

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 4:05 pm

Keep a real journal on your adventures LuLu, and tell us all about them.

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Thu Oct 19, 2006 7:25 pm

We're going to at least one nature preserve. Desert animals have interesting and unique adaptations. Did you know there's a little beetle in the dunes of Namibia who stands on his front feet in the morning fog and lets the condensation run down his body into his mouth, so he can drink?

Locals call this beetle "Tock Tockie." I don't know why.

Accountable · Post by **Accountable** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 3:28 am

Lulu2 wrote: We're going to at least one nature preserve. Desert animals have interesting and unique adaptations. Did you know there's a little beetle in the dunes of Namibia who stands on his front feet in the morning fog and lets the condensation run down his body into his mouth, so he can drink?

Locals call this beetle "Tock Tockie." I don't know why.It's the sound they make when little kids thump them and they skitter across the rocks. tock tock tockietockietockietockietock tock. :yh_glasse

Lulu2 · Post by **Lulu2** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 6:09 am

Thanks everso, Accountable! Since they were named by the San people (Bushmen,) I suppose that "Tock Tockie" REALLY means "toy of little kids who thump and skitter helpless beetles across rocks," in that amazing "clicking" language they use. Silly of me not to've thought of it.

chonsigirl · Post by **chonsigirl** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 6:22 am

I love the Sans language, I adore that movie about the Gods Must Be Crazy. I watch it for listening to their language, it is amazing. And the beginning part of the movie is good to show students how they live. (I know, the rest is a silly story, but it is funny)