tdierikx

Hugs to you RMS... T.

It's a "thing" I have - I love getting photos of animals sticking out their tongues... Birani will sometimes yawn or stick his tongue out if I call to him and tell him how handsome he is... I know he's reacting to me because he'll open his eyes and stare at me a bit while I'm telling him how gorgeous he is and what pretty pictures he's letting me take... lol! Seriously, he's a big ham... T.

I doubt that I'd pay $1000 for a fussy resource guarder with sharp teeth - regardless how cute it was. Cute wears off - then you will have a nasty little yappy snappy IMHO. T.

14/2 - Birani the Malayan Tapir at Taronga yesterday... hamming it up at my request... 13-02-2014-taronga 268 by tdierikx, on Flickr Seriously - so many animals recognise me now and will do things for the camera... *grin* T.

Stunning shots grizz... I remember they used to have a TV show on about Monkey World... riveting stuff! T.

The puppy presschools I've attended in the past used to be fun events where owners were given information about the various diseases and ailments out there, and the teaching of very basic commands like sit and drop. It also used to be dirt cheap - like $20 (total) for 4 one hour sessions over 4 weeks. Nowadays, everyone is running them, charge a fortune, take in too many pups for the effective running course, and the result is usually disappointing for everyone except the clinic that is raking in the dollars for the course. I'd be spending the time you'd normally be at the puppy preschool just home schooling your pup yourself until it's old enough to join in some proper dog training classes. Maybe even spreading that 1.5 hours out into 10-15 minute sessions over the whole week. Google will give you all the information you need about vaccinations, diseases, general doggy first aid, etc... The next fun exercise for you and your pup will be finding a group training club that doesn't teach a one size fits all method of training... because the Cesar method of correction is thoroughly frowned upon by most of the touchy-feely brigade.. not to mention the use slip or check collars... (I prefer a check chain myself) I found Hurstville Dog Training Club were pretty good at tailoring their training to the dog's needs - they train at Tempe on Sunday mornings. T.

What about a young adult Westie from rescue? http://www.allwestierescue.com/ T.

Harper and Trouble take up pretty much the same amount of space though... but I think they may have put Trouble in a smaller enclosure, as she's come home with "happy tail"... grrr! I was covered in tail wagging blood this morning... vetwrap has seen to that for now, but it's a bitch to keep on a constantly wagging tail. T.

100-400mm is fine for birding when you've got it mounted on a crop sensor camera... lol! I get the equivalent of 640mm reach out of mine mounted on the 60D... *grin* There are some very nice shots coming out of the 150-600mm - but there are also a lot of people who seem to have gotten a dud copy so far... T.

Harper (Staffy/Dane - 28kg) was billed as a "large" dog when boarded recently... and Trouble (Labrador - 26kg) was billed as "medium"... I think it was because Harper's legs are longer... *grin* T.

Ooooh! I do love a big blonde in trunks... *grin* Seriously though - the PJ's definitely made much more of a fashion statement... in a positive way... T.

The Tamron 150-600 is getting mixed reviews CC... may I recommend the Canon 100-400 L instead? 02-02-2014-symbio 099 by tdierikx, on Flickr 01-02-2014-featherdale 1011 by tdierikx, on Flickr 01-02-2014-featherdale 912 by tdierikx, on Flickr 01-02-2014-featherdale 761 by tdierikx, on Flickr 01-02-2014-featherdale 681 by tdierikx, on Flickr 01-02-2014-featherdale 018 by tdierikx, on Flickr 26-01-2014-symbio 099 by tdierikx, on Flickr 27-10-2013-taronga 858-dixie2 by tdierikx, on Flickr T.

13/2 - Jalur hamming it up at Symbio 02-02-2014-symbio 552 by tdierikx, on Flickr T.

Remember how you handled Bonnie when she first came to you? I'd be doing exactly the same now, as it's already been proven to be effective for Bonnie in the past... T.

If Marius' genetics were surplus to requirement, then it may also follow that if he were female the same may be the case... in that circumstance neither parent should have been bred together in the first place. Basically, if you don't have the room for surplus stock, then maybe you should be separating those who will produce that stock if they happen to mate successfully. Taronga Zoo has released 2 media statements this week in response to being asked what they do in cases like this... http://taronga.org.au/news/2014-02-10/taronga-statement-euthanasia http://taronga.org.au/news/2014-02-12/taronga-statement ... in effect they endeavour to make sure that it happens extremely rarely, and that they seek other alternatives for the animals not needed in their breeding programs if they should happen to be born. Let's face it... zoos are NOT a natural environment for any animal - and to allow populations of animals to procreate willy-nilly regardless of the need for offspring is simply not best practice if your efforts in that area are supposedly aimed at sustaining/maintaining a population of exotic animals that may be getting very scarce in the wild. I really don't have any problem with surplus stock being used to feed other zoo animals... but I DO have a problem with how/why this particular surplus stock issue came about, and was then handled by this zoo. I also feel strongly for the keepers who have raised and cared for Marius for the past 18 months - this would not have been easy for them at all. I have a few zookeeper friends and acquaintances, and I know how traumatised they can get if any of their charges passes away... this situation would be the worst nightmare come true for the keepers. It's not a case of comparing Marius to cattle (cows, sheep, etc) that are intentionally bred to be food. Generally cattle are not named, used as a drawcard for people to spend money to come and watch grow up, or slaughtered in a public manner. I'm sure that Marius wasn't initially conceived in order to be meat for the other animals - it just turned out that this was determined to be his fate once it was decided that he was surplus to the zoo's needs. It does set a precedent though... and I do worry that his case won't be the last of it's kind... in fact, I'm pretty sure he wasn't the first to suffer this fate either. It seems like they are testing the waters for public response to this use for surplus stock - because their "breeding program" is so successful, and allowing contraception (or separating males and females) seems to be out of the question due to some unfathomable "rule" they choose to follow in their keeping/breeding practices. T.

Pitties are all but banned here too ricey... but obviously as you have one, we can see how well that piece of legislation has worked... T.

I meant ancestors... I'm blaming the fact I had surgery a few days ago for the typo... *grin* T.

Marius became "more important" than a cow when his ancestors were taken from the wild to be used in breeding programmes supposedly set up to stop his kind from becoming extinct. T. Edited to correct idiot usage of wrong term - meant ancestors not descendants... *grin*

The fact remains that there was an offer to rehome this particular animal and allow it to live out its life being well looked after in another zoo... there was no real reason for it to have to be killed in the first place... except some inane "rule" that the people wanting to do the killing cited. There is no reason he couldn't have been desexed and allowed to live his life out somewhere else. T.

Do you think it's appropriate to milk the public for entry fees to see the cute baby animals they have bred - have the keepers name and form bonds with them - and then slaughter them for public "entertainment/education" a couple of years down the track? T.

Space needs to be a large consideration if you intend to breed/produce your own food for exotic carnivores... and many zoos just don't have the space necessary. If you are truly going to run a self sufficient zoo, I'd say you'd need rotating crop paddocks for the herbivores, plus plenty of room to breed and raise your meat stock for the carnivores... that means a shitload of space required, yes? Not to mention time and money to maintain same... T.

I also think it's going to take your OH longer to adjust to the fact that Hank hasn't got balls than it will for Hank... lol! T.

There's nothing wrong with losing your nuts - or wearing pink PJ's... I'm sure Hank is doing just fine with regards to both... except when you laugh and point at his pink pants... T.

I'd hate this to set a precedent of overbreeding in order to supply food for the carnivores... but I can see it happening under the current "rules" they are adamantly sticking to... Call me a cynic... Can you see them calling it "natural" food for the carnivores? Next up will be throwing live animals to the big cats so they can experience the natural instincts of the hunt... T.

Just remember to not feed him a full dinner afterwards... only top up what he hasn't eaten in treats already... Don't want a fat puppy now... T.