More favorites to be added...
Factors for inclusion on this page include:
cuteness, deadliness, creepiness, resemblance to dinosaurs, resemblance to humans.
"The greatness of a nation can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
- Gandhi -
My most frequent contact with animals at 5000 ft: goOse, feral cats, dogs, squirrels, and prairie dogs.
Now, living at 9000 ft. ...moOse, goOse, black bear, fox, crow & raven, etc.
...If reading about squirrel, or prairie dog behavior bores yoU, just skip over this next section...
<> Squirrels.org ....now the story of fuzzr the squirrel...assuming fuzzr is female....
... she lives out back here in a big old cottonwood tree.
...a close friend...fuzzr awakens, goes about stretching...
...recognizes me and comes down for raisin bread, or Cracklin' Oat Bran.
Heard a racket one day....incredible high speed chase with another slightly larger squirrel (a male?) in progress...in deadly earnest....
a dead baby at bottom of tree (about 20cm head/tail) ....I saw Mom brooding over baby...
and ran to get camera for a sad, but great, true life adventure photo....
...when I got back, baby and squirrel #2 were gone....fuzzr was back up in the nest.
I don't know if fuzzr took the baby back up into the nest, or squirrel #2 got it.
My questions:
Is fuzzr up there with baby in a very unhealthy pattern of grief related squirrel behavior?
The last time I saw her...I squeaked and she came down to see me...
...but I was all out of anything squirrels like...so I closed the window.
...is she mad at me?....
I haven't seen her for several days now....has she lapsed into squirrel depression?
....aRe there more babies up there?
I haven't seen fuzzr for a week...I envision her with a napsack of squirrel possesssions
slung over her shoulder...dodging kats and crazed male squirrels....
I feel that not having raisin bread that day her little one was killed, threw her into a terminal depression....I'm sad...
I'll write if she shows up again.
4.12.2008: Fuzzzr is back and having raisin bread....all seems well....
I have determined that Fuzzr has one healthy baby....
....Fuzette (M or F?) is staying close to the nest and learning to climb, and is very cute....
5.5.2008: I reeally enjoy watching pre-teenage squirrel antics...
Sometimes Fuzette jumps up&down&around on branches very fast...marvelling at her/his? own ability.
There was almost an inverted aerial!
She(he?) tests how small a branch will hold squirrelbodyweight....
It is this time of year when this old cottonwood tree comes alive and the sprouting leaves
block out my view of the snow capped Colorado high country....
It will be early December before I'll be able to see it again.
<> PrairieDogs.org
I interact with p.Dogs with sound...return every squeak of their "alarm / barking" sound.
...they just sit there for as long as I do...squeaking back and forth....they must like it...
...I have actually squeaked the melody to "Born Free" to prairie dogs for a few minutes...they loved it...
they even stopped their own barking to listen...
...of course, this behavior ceases when someone else appears on the bike trail.
Chipmunks at the top of Douglas Mountain Rd., CO.
An Animal Visitation 2.4.2008 in the Realm of Fuzzr....
I don't have a positive ID on this fellow.
Does someone recognize it? .....the size of a turkey.
Feral katz in Longmont, CO.
L to R, that's Bonehead1, 3 & 4...BH 2 in the distance.
These wild animals are quite elegant...and as goofy as cats get.
Cats tested for goofiness with laser pointer.
I encounter a fox or 2 here & there...love the wild canines.
DogBreedInfo.com - ALL the breeds here....I truly love wagglers....I was raised with them...I am one...
OrcaWatching/Info! Great WebSite by the first whale watching company in British Columbia, founded in 1980, operating out of Telegraph Cove, B.C. - RealAudio files of pods foraging, resting, socializing.
Praying Mantis :> :> :> My Favorite Insect! Always fun to have an encounter with this guy! Place your finger near and he may or may not step on...look into those giant eyes and watch his face move as he watches you....Check out the Mantis personality!
Jumping Spiders! - m51.com management LOVES all creatures...but spiders and scorpions R just TOO creepy. This webauthor finds Jumpers the MOST tolerable of the arachnids....sort of sensitive, cute, creepy, fuzzy little thingz. They will turn and watch you when you touch your finger down near them - TRY IT! Sometimes they will jump on your fingerrrrr, or change their body angle and look right at your face...
Funnel Web Spider - For some reason, Australia has THE most poisonous creatures on EaRtH!
American Zoo and Aquarium Association -
m51.com is concerned about the size of cages and compounds in many ZOOS and ZOO like structures - though zoos are necessary for maintenance of species. M51 Management is vehemently opposed to ALL of Earth's CIRCUS operations...it is my opinion that they are staffed and managed by people that do NOT truly love animals.
Observation should be in the native habitat. Videotape the faces of the
animals at your local zoo and have a close look when you get home - I recorded over the tape of the
Norfolk, Va. zoo, it was so sad...it shows in their eyes...soon...I will photograph the animals at Denver zOO....
