Happy New Year

 Happy New Year!  It has been 11 months since I started my adventure in Alaska.  I am still visiting family in Texas; but I have still managed to find some animals in Texas to play with.  These 3 dogs on the left are some friends of mine.  Christmas day I dog sat these three.  Thor is the Black lab in the front.  Duke is the dog on the back right.  Sadie is on the left. 





When it came to bed time Duke seemed to think he could use my bed!

 Before I took the internship in Alaska I was an intern at TGR Exotics in Spring,Texas.  It is basically I privately owned zoo.  In order to apply for the internship in Alaska they wanted the applicant to have some training experience.  Fortunately, I was training a camel named "Cookie" at the time.  Cookie seemed to remember me...or she was just not a fan of my camera. 

 I was very excited to return to TGR and visit the animals again.  I was also excited to meet the new animals.










Here is one of the newest additions to TGR.  I have never worked with a Water Buffalo before.  This is "Buffy".  She was so sweet.  She is basically just a big puppy dog.  She loves people and when you scratch her she lays down. 

 Also, another new addition was Walter.  Any ideas what Walter is...I will give you a hint.  He is in the movie the Lion King.  He has a friend named Timon.  Walter is a Warthog!  He is only 4 months old.  I can't imagine how crazy he is going to be when he is fully grown!

This is "creature".  Do you know what creature is?  They come from Africa.  They are very good diggers....Aardvark!  Creature was sleeping.  They are nocturnal animals so I imagine he is very active at night time.   

 Scarlet AKA Scar was one of my favorite animals that I was able to work with while at TGR.  Scar is a Binturong.  They are sometimes called bearcats.  Yes they do exist.  They are found in asia.  Scar was an attention hog.  She is very vocal when she wants to be let out of her enclosure.  I was able to hold her for a short time until she decided to hide under Creatures bed.  Binturongs have a very unique smell.  They smell like popcorn or fritos.  No really!  If you ever get within smelling distance of one you will understand.  They also spend most of their lives in tress.  Their tails are what helps them balance in trees.  Scar had her tail wrapped around my neck to help herself balance. 

You can see here just how important their tails are for balance.

Ahhhhh another 2 animals I missed working with. 
Meet Clairece and Lector.  I know...their names are awesome.  These 2 are called African Crested Porcupines.  They look a bit different than Snickers from alaska don't they.  They have a few differences in their adaptions.  For example, these are found in Africa.  Also, you may notice that their quills are much longer and thicker than Snickers'.  However, their quills do not have barbed ends like Snickers does. 

This animal is also another type of rodent.  In fact this is the largest rodent in the world.  Thay are called capybaras.  They are found in South America. 

And que the Darth Vador theme music.....THOR!!!! One of the only animals that has not really taking a liking to me.  Thor is a Kune Kune pig.  They originate from New Zealand. 

 Buffy is very photogenic.  I had to stop by and say bye to her before I headed home. 

Goodnight lower 48, .......upper 2 in this case.....
ErIn