Denizens of the Desert - Slithery

As soon as we got our tickets to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum my grandson was itching to visit the reptile and amphibian exhibit.  Isn't that just like a 12-year-old boy!  The next thing you know, he'll be wanting to check out girls!

This coachwhip snake was one of the prettiest of the museum's specimens.  Growing up to six feet in length, it's known for its terrific speed.  Although nonvenomous, they are fierce and known to bite.

The Desert Museum is not only a zoo but a botanical garden, an aquarium, a natural history museum, and a research facility.  The rare and endangered San Esteban chuckwalla, or desert iguana, occurs naturally only on the island of San Esteban in the Gulf of California.  The Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum has had a successful captive breeding program in place since 1977.

A Respite from Flowers and Churches and Historical Objects

I think this is an emu but I'm not positive.  My cousin accompanied me on this latest trip.  We grew up together, lived on the same street for a while, but then the world intervened and we went our separate ways and have only had occasional contact since.  So I decided to ask her to accompany me on this trip and we had a great time.  Or at least I did.  Our first evening out we arrived at our destination, Victoria, Texas, a bit early so I suggested we visit the Texas Zoo.  I had read some good things about it on line.

Unfortunately, none of those good things were true.  It was by far the worst zoo I have ever visited.  It stunk.  Every where.  The few animals we saw were very stressed and simply paced back and forth in their enclosures.  There was quite a bit of construction going on so maybe some of the physical improvements will help.  I only took this and a couple other photos.

But this one was special.  There were one or two large birds in an open enclosure with one of those gumball-type machines where you can deposit a quarter and get a few pellets of something that looked like cheap dog food.  My cousin obliged and this emu came running.  She couldn't get the food out of her hand soon enough.  I was afraid it was going to hop right over that railing and attack her.

The condition of this zoo made me sad but happy that we have a small-town zoo near us where people can take their children and see happy animals in clean enclosures with well-manicured grounds.

Lioness

Ellen Trout Zoo

Lufkin, Texas