Cold, Hard Reality

So, I was driving home from work past the same little stretch of park I've mentioned before and at the very end, on a little strip of green sandwiched between a parking lot and the fast moving, 4 lane road I was on, I saw something black. And big -- about the size of a high top sneaker. Sometimes I spot moss in a bundle and think it's a squirrel until I get closer but there is nothing jet black like this in the park. I knew in a second something was off, and as I got closer it was confirmed: what I'd spotted was a large, back rabbit with very long ears, munching on greens sprouting out of a faded flower patch.

I was planning on hitting the treadmill at home, but instead I parked. I figured if I walked up to it slowly and it didn't spook, it had been owned by humans. He moved as I approached but didn't go more than one hop, or lose interest in the tender greens.

It was obvious someone had dropped their former pet off. I thought through the scenario of putting him in my carrier and getting him to the Wildlife Rehab Center, a few times. They were closed. Would I have to do this in the morning, then be late to work? I guess I could go on my lunch time. But, I'm terribly allergic to bunnies, and I'd be paying for a week to do this... BUT I remembered I knew a spot in the outdoor mews at the Center where I could place the carrier and he'd be safe for the night, so I could drop him off. I'd have to put lettuce and water in with him, so I'd have to go home and get that first. BUT that was OK. So I went back to the car, opened the carrier, got my large net, and went back.

Where the bunny had let me get very close before, now he was uncomfortable. He eyed me, stopped eating. I was not moving any faster or erratically, and had the net flush to my body so it was not poised above him; maybe I was emitting a different scent...

I waited for him to relax and start nibbling again, but when I got close enough he'd hop. Because of the lay of the land, I was in a pickle. If I positioned myself in front of the dense bushes that lined the parking lot (a perfect rabbit hideaway), his only choice was to head into traffic. If I kept him from traffic, he'd of course end up in the bushes, where I couldn't reach him. Torn between the two, I stood between him and the traffic and long story short, I eventually lost him to the leafy cover.

I could have sat down and waited much longer so he could get used to me again before I'd tried to reach out for him. I could have waited for him to come out of the bushes. But I figured the temps have dropped so he'd be comfortable by day and through the night. He had food nearby, and though there was no water, he'd be OK until I came back the next day to try it again.

I admit, some of why I didn't succeed in catching him is because I was grappling with doubt that crept into my head when I told about the duck or they see the carrier, net, gloves and all kind of food and water in my car. If I were on Animal Cops, no one would blink an eye. But without a badge you get a few, boarder-line- crazy animal-lady looks. As a result, I wasn't as patient as I could have been with the net, and I didn't wait at the bushes to see if he would come out. I tried to think about it like other people might -- he'll be fine.

24 hours later, I was driving back and didn't see him. I parked and went to the flower patch by the bushes. A quick visual scan made it obvious he wasn't there... but as I looked up into the road, I saw something flat and dark. I probably said aloud what I was thinking, as my steps quickened. It was too flat and seemed too big to be him. I was sure it was someone's hoodie crumpled and flattened by tires.

But I was wrong. He wasn't fine. I'll spare you the close up.

I try to keep it happy here but nature has many sides, and all aren't always happy or fair. I've had to take those things in, process and accept them in my own way, if I wanted to work and play in it. I even try to respect it. But this is one example of man's failure, though, not nature's.

Lessons learned:
1. I will never feel doubt again when I see an out-of-place animal and try to do something about it. I am a sub-licensed wildlife rescuer and rehabilitator.

2. People who can't take care of pets (not to mention those who only want bunnies or ducklings --whose feathers they dye in pastel colors --for a few weeks after Easter), should NOT take animals on. When they don't want it anymore, they should not drop animals off in the park and hope for the best. They aren't necessarily able to adapt to the wild. If folks are going to do it anyway, then at least drop them deep within, away from traffic.

Maybe they tried to find someone to take it, maybe they thought it'd get euthanized if they gave it to a shelter, maybe in these hard times they had to decide between pet care and food on their own table. Maybe.

Perfect

Any glimpse into the
life of an animal
quickens our own
and makes it so much
the larger and better
in every way.

--John Muir

Baby Aminals!

Yesterday at the Association of Zoos and Aquariums convention, which the Houston Zoo is hosting, I sat and chatted for a bit with marketing master and science whiz Andrew Bleiman and portrait painter (fall-off-your-chair talented) and photographer Chris Eastland, the creators behind Zooborns.com.

If you've never gone to this website, YOU NEED TO, immediately (well, as soon as you finish reading this of course). There you'll find a daily dose of pictures, videos and news of baby animals born in zoos all over the world. It's a great way to show the good work is being done in zoos and conservation, but it's also just good squee.

Not long ago, they featured the pictures of the Houston Zoo's 6 tiny meerkat kits.The only pics I've seen that were cuter were of the baby hippo (click link to see) and the baby otters (below), both found in these fabulous books.

Simon and Schuster made the smart decision to publish their material; as a result Zooborns have have two new books coming out. Zoo Borns!, a book for kids age 2 and up, on sale starting October 19th, and ZooBorns, a picture book with animal facts, available November 2. But, you can order them now, right here on Zooborns.com through Amazon.

10% of the sale profits go to the AZA's Conservation Endowment fund, which makes a good thing better. And they were so kind as to give me a signed copy of each to auction off at the Wildlife Rehab and Education Center's Open House in Houston, on October 15. Good Karma and great success is clearly in line for these two guys.

Look for the books --At $12.99 each (even less at Amazon.com), they are perfectly priced for all those kiddie birthday parties your child is invited to, for your Godkids, nieces and nephews, for holiday gifts, baby showers or sweet 16-- and it's not just for kids. As we well know, just about everyone swoons over baby animals. It will cheer a friend in the hospital or anyone you know who's blue; it could be a hostess gift or be an original way to say thank you, or just make any average day that much brighter...

I'll be stocking up on a few to keep in my gift arsenal.

You can also follow Zooborns on Facebook and Twitter.

Photo credits: Zooborns.com

Guess the Flea Circus was the First....

I have never seen something like this. It's amazing how the longer I study animals, the more I find examples of how those "things" have more consciousness going on than they are normally given credit for. We love our dogs, we love our cats. But chickens are just chickens, right? Lambs, cows, horses. I know, horse lovers know that horses are amazing, but non-horse people like myself, someone who has spent some time around them but just see them as big, unpredictable, potentially scary large muscled beings. Who knew this is how a horse would react to a big green ball:




Seems every few years we suddenly realize that dolphins are terribly intelligent and complex, then whales, then... what's next? Makes you wonder what other animal you've been underestimating!