Archive for the ‘Wild Animals’ Category

What would you do?

As Michael Schuler went up Deer Mountain, he did have a bit of a scare. At first he wasn’t quite sure of what he was seeing. He was approaching the summit of Deer Mountain when he spied what he thought to be a human possibly frozen in the snow, possibly dead. I am sure he felt quivers of fear of what he could be finding once he reached the object in the snow. As he did get closer, he realize that it was not a human he was seeing. It was an animal. Now his main concern was what type of animal was it. The hair was matted with snow and the head of the animal was caught in a jar.

Michael Gets a Closer Look

Michael could tell the animal wasn’t a marten. His next thoughts were that it was a wolverine or a bear cub. He was hoping for the last mentioned. A wolverine once released would be life-threatening, but a bear cub would only be frightened. If it was a wolverine, it may well lash out at him once he pulled the jar off.

One Lucky Bear Cub

Luckily it was a bear cub. The cub was lucky in two ways even though it was unlucky at getting its head caught in the jar. Michael needed to go up on Deer Mountain that day to observe and do some avalanche tests. Since it was such a beautiful day, he had decided to venture further up the mountain to the summit. His dog Josie was running along with him. He was only about 10 feet from the summit of the mountain when he found the bear cub. He then pulled the plastic jar off the small cubs head and the lucky baby was given more time to roam this earth. Had Michael not found the cub, it would have frozen to death. No idea at this time how long the cub had already been lying there or if it’s mother was somewhere close by. People who hike the mountains or live near where animals roam, need to rinse out empty jars so as not to attract the wild animals. Peanut butter jars are ones they really like to try and lick out the tasty leftovers from. More than likely this is what the baby cub had been doing. Trying to get a snack. A snack that almost took its life.

The Pride awaits

The lions quietly awaited the buffalo to approach along the side of the lake. They blend in with their surrounding. Watching the unknowing buffalo walking right into their pride. It all happened in the Krugar National Park located in the southern part of Africa.

The Capture

As the buffalo approach, one sees the lions and turns about to run. The lions are geared up and ready for the fight about to come. They are hungry and food has arrived. A baby buffalo is amongst the herd. As the herd is running from the pride, the baby proves to be an easy catch. They always seem to capture the weaker of the herds. The babies are often caught. The baby is defenseless against the pride of lions. It falls into the water only then to be attacked from behind by a crocodile. How much pain must this poor baby endure upon its death. The lions then play tug of war with the crocodile which eventually looses as the lions pull the baby upon the ground.

The Unexpected

The lions crowd around and start doing the death kill on the baby who has managed to still be alive. As the lions are so absorbed in the kill, they don’t notice the herd of buffalo returning to save the baby. I have never experienced such a amazing effort by animals to prevent the death of one of their own. They catch the lions attention. Then they began to attack the lions. One actually picked up a lion with its horns and threw it. The lion had to be hurt a bit. The rest of the herd starts chasing at the lions. They are determined to get that baby back. One lion seemed to be still intent on trying to kill the baby, but also is chased off by a buffalo before it can do the final kill bite. The baby returned to the herd. It isn’t known if it survived or not.

 Baby Japanese Macaque Monkey

What a sight, a baby Japanese macaque monkey that loves to ride on the back of a wild pig. The babies name is Miwa-chan. He is being raised by the workers at the Fukuchiyama Zoo located near by Kyoto in Japan. His parents both rejected him after birth and he has been being raised by the keepers ever since. Miwa-chan holds onto the back of the wild pig. He sometimes rides him backwards. Miwa-chan loves riding on the back of Uribo, a wild boar at the zoo. In fact, there has been over 11 million people that logged onto the website to view Miwa-chan riding on the back of Uribo. They are being recorded at the zoo. When Miwa-chan rides on the back of Uribo, it resembles how a baby monkey grips tightly to its mother in the wild.

A book about Miwa-chan and Uribo

There has been a book written about Miwa-chan and Uribo. It is highly unusual to see such a sight and it made very interesting reading. The book was written by Akihiro Nihonmatsu, the vet at the zoo. The book has now been read by millions of children in Japan. Akihiro talks about how loney Miwa-chan was and so was Uribo. The idea of letting them grow together turned out to be the perfect thing. The entertained each other and were much happier.

Best friends

Even as Miwa-chan is growing into an adult size monkey, Uribo has no problem with him riding on his back still. They are very attached. Miwa-chan was injured by a raccoon last year. The injury required 30 stitches and he could not ride on Uribo’s back while he healed. It was noticeable how much Uribo missed his friend. Once Miwa-chan was healed and given the okay, he was right back on Uribo’s back again riding around having fun. It all goes to show, animals do have feelings, they need attention and love just like us human beings do. These two need each other even though they are different, they are best friends.

Deer are getting braver it seems.

They are even seen wandering around neighborhoods. There have been times they have been seen walking on the street of a subdivision. If you live anywhere near a river, it’s possible you could wake up to one in your backyard eating your flowers.Early Saturday morning, there had been 5 deer out in the parking lot of the Goodwill store. They must not have appeared dangerous, there is no mention of anyone chasing them away. They were probably lost, having wandered in too far from the wooded area and were trying to find their way back.

Deer crashes through window

One of the deer must have either seen its reflection in the store window or thought there was something in there of interest. Suddendly the deer just crashed through the store window. It sounded like a car had crashed through the doors according to the manager, Victor Santucci. He told how it was such a loud noise. The first thoughts of the employees were to get the shoppers in the store into a safer area. You never know if a deer will attack or not. They got the shoppers inside the store moved safely outside. Once the customers were safe, they started trying to corral the deer. The deer seemed ok, and they corralled her in order to get the deer to leave the store.

Was she protecting herself?

The store isn’t in front of a wooded area that may have confused the deer. They have no idea why she would crash through the glass into the store. It’s possible seeing her own reflection that she may have thought she was being attacked by another deer. She may have only been protecting herself. The store is a Goodwill store in Southern New Jersey. It is located in the Woodbury Heights which is around 15 miles away from Philadelphia. Repairs have been already made at the store and it was noted that no customers were injured. Hopefully the deer has found its way back out to the woods with the rest of the deer.

The monkey, a simian, doesn’t really understand the borders between India and Pakistan. When it crossed over into Pakistan territory recently, they captured it and placed it in a zoo. The simian is being treated well and is well liked by visitors to the zoo.

India feels it is not right to put animals into zoos. They feel the animals should be permitted to roam freely and are asking Pakistan to please release the monkey.

A monkey in  a reserve in India plays with someone’s drink container. He is free to roam.

At this time, the monkey who was caught by wildlife officials on December 5th, 2011 is being kept in the Bahawalpur zoo. They gave it the name Bobby. His living quarters are right next to a Pakistani monkey named Raju.

The animal rights group in India is hoping that Pakistan will agree to release the monkey. They are pointing out that animals don’t know what borders are. They just wander around and visit areas of interest to them. Placing him in a cage is unfair treatment. They are asking Pakistan, that if any future animals are captured, to please rehabilitate them outside a prison type center. They are asking that the monkey become a messenger of peace and freedom between the two countries.

I know monkeys and apes are considered to be rather intelligent. They are in fact capable of learning to read and relate to words for things they want, such as an apple or a hug. I am sure they are actually able to do more than that. They are also very loving parents to their children. But is it possible for one living in the wild to know the difference between India and Pakistan? Are they able to recognize the fact they have crossed a border and are not wanted in the other country? If they are not able to comprehend the difference, is it fair to place them in a zoo like a prisoner instead of returning them to their own country.

That may be yet to be decided as India and Pakistan are looking into what to do in this particular situation where Bobby, a monkey from India is currently being kept in a zoo with Raju in Pakistan.

In Cambodia, during the flooding of South East Asia, a fisherman found 3 tiny newborn leopard cubs. They were hiding in a hole in the Kien Svay district of the Kandal province. Their mother was no where to be found. It is possible that during the flooding, that something happened to their mother. She may have lost her life, or she could have been swept away to a different area and unable to find her cubs. The babies are lucky to have been found. They would have died if they had not been found by the fisherman.

One of the three babies did die. The other two, both little girls, are alive and doing better now that a zoo worker has been caring for them and feeding them bottles of milk by hand.

The zoo worker, 25 year old Sar Roeun, treats the babies as if they were his own. He instantly fell in love with them once he saw them at the zoo. Sar requested that the director of the zoo to permit him to be their care giver. He also requested that he be taught how to properly care for them. How to bathe and nuture them.

Sar gets to take the babies home with him every night so that he can continue giving them the care they need. Giving them bottles as they are needed and bathing them. He will care for them as if he would his own child until they have reached an age and size to be placed with 6 of the centers other leopard cats. They have also been rescued and are being kept at the center.

Leopards are small wild cats. They are smaller than the tiger or other wild cats. Their size is comparable to a house cat. Leopards are found in the areas of South and Eastern Asia.

Snake Island is found near the coast of Sao Paolo in Brazil. There is no one that lives on the island which contains close to 110 acres of forest. It is prohibited by the Brazilian navy to even travel to the island. Why is is so off limits, the island the living quarters of the golden lancehead snake. There are hundreds of thousands of them living on the island. The golden lancehead is only found in Queimada Grande. They are usually about 2 feet in length but can grow to be twice that size.

The Lancehead, is a cousin of the golden lanceheads. They are so poisonous that they are the cause of 90% of the deaths from snake bites in Brazil. The death rate from a bite from the lancehead snake is 7 percent if the wound isn’t treated. It you do seek treatment, the death rate from the bite is still 3 percent. A person being bitten can experience kidney failure, gangrene of the muscular tissue, bleeding in the brain and in the intestines. All this is if you had been bitten by the Lancehead, but not the cousin the golden lancehead.

If you were on snake island, you would be surrounded by the golden lancehead snakes. It is literally a death trap. There are no official reports of snake bites from the island, but it is off limits to all. It is possibly the reason why there are no reports on record of the snake bites. They have taken a samples of the venom, ran test on it, and have found it to be even more dangerous than the lancehead’s venom. It is also quicker to start causing reactions and has a bigger punch.

If you go anywhere near a golden lancehead snake, you are risking your life. It has been calculated that on the island, there is at least one snake for every square meter of land and may be as many as 5 snakes. If you were to visit the island, chances are you would always be within 3 feet of one of the most venomous snakes in Brazil. Visiting the island could be considered suicide.

Chhouk, is now 5 years old. Back in 2007, he was found in the jungles of Cambodia. One of his legs was missing. It is assumed that the bull elephant lost his leg in a poachers trap. Chhouk was very young. His injury was serious and he was sick. He was alone, possibly abandoned by other elephants when he was in the trap, he was weak and near death.

The Director of Wildlife Rescue and Care at the Wildlife Alliance, Nick Marx, was one of the first people to arrive to help out Chhouk. He stayed with Chhouk out in the jungle for a week. He stayed with him day and night. Fed him by hand, trying to keep him alive. Then Chhouk was taken to the Cambodian government’s Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center where he was well taken care of. Chhouk had lost 6 to 8 inches off his left front leg.

Chhouk has now received a new chance to be as close to normal as he can be. He has been built a prosthetic foot. Nick who has been concerned about Chhouk ever since he was found admits he never thought that Chhouk would live. Thanks to the good care he received from his rescuers and now this prosthetic foot, he has survived where others would have perished.

Chhouk is now full of energy. He runs around the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center proudly wearing his artificial leg instead of a short leg. He use to tire easy trying to get around much and on his walks. He would sleep a lot. Now Chhouk never wants to stop. He has a whole new outlook on life. He is happy.

Chhouk is actually wearing a fourth prosthetic leg. He does put a lot of wear and tear on it along with growing. He has become the most known resident at the rescue center. He is a symbol of resilience.

A baby gorilla born at the Twycross Zoo was found to be very undernourished and near death. His mother had been feeding him and taking care of him, but her milk just didn’t have enough nutrients in it to enable the baby to grow. After finding the baby in such a sad state, they sedated his mother, who would have gone crazy at seeing them remove her baby, and quickly took him to the vet at the zoo.

The baby has been named Okanda. He was put under 24 hour care to ensure his complete recovery. The vet is staying with him around the clock to ensure he is eating and being well taken care of. The zoo’s staff was concerned with the vet being the main care giver to Okanda, and fearful that he would adapt too much human behavior. They asked her to not cuddle him as you would a human child and to talk to him with grunts. This would all be more natural to him.

Okanda is doing pretty good. At first he was so weak he could not be bottle fed. He had to be attached to a stomach tube so they could pump nourishment into him. Once he was stronger and could suck on a bottle, they started giving him powdered baby formula. He had to eat every three hours and he was constantly being checked out.

Now that Okanda is doing so much better, they are trying to take him off the bottle. He needs to start eating solid foods like the rest of the gorillas such as bananas and a type of food pellet. Once he is strong enough and eating good on his own, they plan on placing him back with his mother. It shows him with his mother in the picture at the top of the page.

It was a rather frightening morning when I got up at 5am and turned on the news. Here not far away, an owner of an exotic farm had set all his animals free. He had opened their cages and then shot himself. It had all begun the night before. The man, Terry Thompson owned 73 acres in close to Zanesville Ohio. He was housing lions, tigers and bears, plus baboons, mountain lions, cougars plus more. There were at least 56 animals set loose that night.

Terry and his wife had separated recently. Not sure if this was his motive, but I would be certain Terry wasn’t thinking straight. I don’t believe he wanted to put the children going to school, waiting in the dark for buses to pick them up, to be attacked by these animals he had been caring for. School was canceled that morning. People were told to stay inside their homes. These were dangerous animals.

Police armed with assault rifles went to the farm to begin trying to stop what could turn into a deadly incident. They found most of the cages open. An indoor cage that had monkeys and apes that lived in it was still secure and the animals were in it. It was decided at that time that any vicious animals leaving the farm area were to be shot. There was fear for public safety. It the animals appeared that they were escaping the area, they had to take them down.

48 of the animals were killer. Some were shot, some got hit by cars. There were 18 tigers, 9 male lions, 8 female lions, 6 black bears, 3 mountain lions, 2 grizzly bears, 1 baboon, and 2 wolves killed. 6 of the animals were able to be caught alive, they were 1 grizzly bear, 3 leopards and 2 monkeys.

It’s hard for me to think that Terry wanted it all to end this way. Neighbors had always feared some of the animals may get away and were concerned for the welfare of their children.

Terry had just recently been released from jail. He did have some troubles with the law. We will never know why he did it. Why he would put others lives at risk. It was a tragic end for his exotic animals. One they didn’t deserve.