loving animals

A passion that came late in life for me is one that pertains to animals. This came when Meeza as a toddler would swoon as she sees a cat crossing by and when it became obvious that she loved to linger in pet shops. I was curious and completely enamoured at how my little angel at the age of three would not sleep because a kitty was stuck in some hole in our old garage.

My own childhood differed in a sense that we were not attracted to cats and rabbits as much as our children, nephews and nieces are. Our idea of having pets was staring at lovebirds in small cages and waiting for those pecking moments to happen. And, I would not count those times when we had bats which to me looked like half bodied humans; and the baby python which we found dead after it was provided a rat for food. Apparently, the rat was more of the predator than the prey. We caught frogs and toads and in one attempt, my sister fell down a ditch and broke her arm.

Well, back to this passion found late in adulthood. Though I have never been served foie gras or seen one, I shudder at the thought of ducks being fed through tubes in their necks just for their much prized livers. I lament at the ugly deaths of those stray animals lost on our roads. This passion also comes with awareness of children's books portraying violence to animals. One book which has a deceptive book cover, shows animals being cruel to other animals. This is one part of the book:

Knock, Knock.
"Who's there?", bleated the goat.
"It's me.", said the donkey.
"Off with you, I'm a fighting goat. My two big horns will rip your coat!"

I suppose that teachers would unlikely explain the act of skinning a donkey. My old pre-teaching, pre-parenting self would gladly play with the semantics of it but Meeza would have despaired. The old adage - parenthood changes you - is for real!

hurtle turtle

As a child, I was smitten by turtles. However, I could not keep them as pets because of some myths that have in some ways creeped into my childhood. Old folks say that in captivity, they give bad luck. They crawl out and hurtle to a way out of man-made bondages and take their revenge. In the old days, when children got sick, the folk healers would direct family members to free the kept turtles. I've seen several incidents of turtles bringing bad luck and just last week a hurtle turtle caused a head injury that required seven stitches.

Did you know that turtles are bestowed divinity in some places? The Chinese believe that turtles are sacred because they carry the burdens of the world on their backs. The Hindus revere them. No turtles for pets. You can save them too by leaving them in their own habitats.

handsome toads gone extinct

Because of changes in world climate, notably warming, a lot of animals are in danger of becoming extinct and going with them, are the tales of old - the stuff that made childhood a magical place. In a forest in Costa Rica, the orange toad have not been seen since 1991 and is feared gone for good. In 1987, there were 1500 of them. It has been noted that the clouds over the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve have gone higher, drying up the toad's breeding places. Global warming is something that does not jolt you until when the consequences affect you - imagine that you were there when Katrina or the Tsunami happened. Also, it's kinda sad when our grandchildren can't tell the story of the toad that a princess kissed and went on to live happily ever after -- because they don't have a memory of a living toad.

kindness of heart

There's not a day that I don't see something mangled and bloody on the roads of Brunei. It could have been a puppy looking for a sanctuary; or a kitten traversing the highways, lost and vulnerable. I don't blame the drivers for these accidents. But, I do lay the culpability on the owners for not keeping their pets safe. The kindness of hearts should be bestowed not only to people but to all the animals of the world especially to those that have lost their homes.

the claws of summer

pretty in pink

This bird lives at the Currumbin Sanctuary at Gold Coast in Australia. It is sooo pretty it resembles the pink sorbets of summer.

unfortunate bunnies

The second pair of rabbits we had lived for over six years. They were named Maxi and Daisy. They never had babies. This year, Maxi passed away a few days after Daisy. So as not to upset Meeza too much over the death of the rabbits we surprised her with another gorgeous pair, who I called Whitey and Blackie. Meeza refrained from naming the rabbits this time, I guessed she did not want to be too attached to them. So, I named them according to their colours. Easy does it. Two months ago, Whitey gave birth to triplet bunnies who died just a few hours after. Apparently, Whitey bit them to death. Of course, Meeza was devastated so I asked her and Aunty Cathy and Uncle Dennis (ever dependable duo) to take Whitey to the Vet in Gadong (for psycho evaluation?). It did not surprise me that mother bunnies may actually like to eat their babies. My childhood saw gorier details of carnivorous pets eating their own. My, what a shocker for Meeza.

Yesterday, Whitey gave birth to quadruplets and immediately Uncle Dennis took them away from her to avoid another catastrophe. Here they are away from their unmaternal mama, and, as of today, Aunty Cathy has been spoon feeding them with milk from (sadly) the tin. They are so ickyyy but I really wish for them to survive.