Lions and tigers and honey bears

Nice weather has finally arrived! In a little over a week, the temperature went from the 100s down to 60s-80s. Perfect! On Sunday, we went out to the Austin Zoo. It's not so much a zoo as a "rescue ranch" of sorts, so it's not one of those pretty, touristy, corporate-looking places. They are limited in what kind of critters they will accept there, a lot are turned down for various reasons. A lot of the animals are exotic pets that didn't quite work out. Well, duh, people! Did you really think that Bengal Tiger was going to be OK chained in your backyard? One of the Bengals was purchased at a truck stop!! (a truck stop?!!) The other was rescued from a roadside zoo, so both native Texans. Here I am getting deer spit on my hand. Very tame animals and I am giving him approved feed. I can see why people would want to keep those honey bears (kinkajous), what a cute little pooh-bear, about the size of a cat. (...still not a good pet... and there are a million animals waiting at the shelter for good homes before people start carting home families of bears)

Several of the animals were rescued from what they called a "religious circus". Now what the hell is that? Trying to recreate Noah's Ark, are we? What a stupid idea at the expense of some creature who are more deserving of a nice life that the people who thought that one up. Here's a cougar that came from that place. He's chattering at a fox in a nearby cage. Here's a link with more info on some of the specifics, including some dirt on places like "Noah's Land" and other places where animals are cruelly kept, along with some mention of the Austin Zoo and other rescue ops.

The turtles are all from pet rescues. They are HUGE! This guy was determined to get out, but of course it's not possible. Fascinating looking guys. There are lots and lots of parrots, and we got a good strong "HELLO" out of one of them. A couple of people bred dogs with wolves (jeebus cripes!! what are these people thinking?), and the results are now kept at the zoo. Those guys were actually available for adoption with a long list of qualifications needed for the new parents, hopefully being childfree will be one of them.

- Austin - Animals -