Savannah Cat at Daggerwing Nature Center

On Friday I spent my work day at Daggerwing Nature Center since Green Cay is closed for boardwalk repairs. On arrival I found the two staff members excited by a recent wild cat sighting. We went to the tower and looked for it but it was gone, either hiding in the nature preserve or it had continued down the canal area and on towards the Loxahatchee Widllife Refuge.  Once back inside they were able to deduce that the cat in question was a Savannah Cat or Servial.  Savannah Cats are a hybrid between a Servial and a domesticated house cat.  The cat they saw was either a large Savannah Cat or a Servial itself.  I wish I had seen it myself!

You never know in Florida what kind of exotic you may encounter.  I had already seen a Basilisk and a Curly-tailed Lizard that morning on my drive to Daggerwing.  What exotic is next to take over South Florida?

Caught

A few weeks ago after work a stray cat ran by my car. A week later I saw it again in the middle of the parking lot. So we decided before it became a problem that we would try our luck at catching it. After borrowing a Have-a-Heart trap my boss baited it with food and left it with me for the weekend. Upon arriving at work I just knew that some wild animal would be caught. Sure enough, there was a very young raccoon inside.

The best part about catching this guy was watching his behavoir. When I approached the cage he was laying on his back, all four paws in the air. Somehow he had scraped together enough pine straw to make a little bed. He really looked like a happy tourist lounging by the pool. When my co-worker opened the door he didn't even move. He actually moved farther away from the door and toward us to give a closer inspection. After a few minutes we tried to tip him out but he wouldn't have any of it. Only when my co-worker tried to grab the handle of the cage, that was beside the head of the raccoon, did it finally give a bark and a growl. After the little aggresive move we left it to its own devices to escape.

Later in the day we finally noticed that he had escaped. And I resigned my duties at cat-catching to someone else.

The New Animals Of My Life

Now that I'm all settled into my new home I thought I would introduce the new animals of my life. First we have Carlos, a mutt that apparently found my roommate and decided they should be friends. Carlos is a quiet, mild-mannered boy and a pleasure to have around.

Carlos on the hunt for lizards.

Next we have Mookie, a very large male cat that slinks about unnoticed most of the time. Mookie spends his days mostly outside, which I have major problems with, but he's not my cat and therefore, I can't make those decisions for him. I have always had outside cats in my life (as a child) but now I know the harm they can do to the songbird population. I would love to build a bird friendly yard but I don't want to attract any birds for Mookie to eat.

Finally we have the unnamed kitten. This little character showed up the night before I moved into my house. Nathan has become attached to it and I think it will stay. I find the kitten to be quite the noisemaker but it is cute nonetheless.