A beautiful Owl

Today we got a visit from this masked owl. He is a great bird with soft feathers. Again, the villagers threw rocks at it in the trees until they damaged one of the wings and then chased it down.

I think this bread is called an Australia masked owl. Because of the colors of his feathers. Or maybe a Tasmania masked owl.

 His condition was in bad shape. Besides the injured wing, toxins were already in his blood stream which caused his talons to be paralyzed. I tried in vain to let him fly away, but he just flew about 20 yards then flopped back down to earth.

I don't expect him to last the night. So I just placed him in a secure place where he can pass in peace.

After exotic Animals are gone, Go Domestic!

I love cats, they are fun to play with and they keep the mice and rat population down. Our cat chie, does just that. She moves around hunting like a lion deep in our garden at times. But she mainly stays in the house or in our bathroom storage area. She was bought for $1 from a villager when she was just a little thing. Now she is all grown up and a little bulgy. Am I over feeding her or is she pregnant? Hmmm. I felt her underside but didn't feal a thing. I guess I'll wait.

  Today I heard a lot of noises coming from the back of the orphanage. A mixture of dogs barking and young teens. So I quickly rushed over to the edge of our fence line and yelled out to the people what was happening. They then replied that they were hunting, but now have meat to eat. Hmmmm.  Meat hmm. What kind of meat? I told them to bring it to me. Four teens and three dogs came out of the brush holding a black and white animal. I didn't have my glasses on so it looked like a large rabbit as I keep them in this area and in the past, a few escaped which I never recovered. But as they neared, I saw that it was a black and white cat! A large one at that. They had speared it through its neck and blood was gushing everywhere. As they showed me the cat, he was still quivering. Maybe it was the nerves. But I felt sad and ashamed that man has come down to this. They have killed so many of the natural exotic animals in this area, that all is left is a few domestic animals. I got a sick feeling in my stomach. I had to turn away. They mentioned that they caught another cat a few days ago in the same place and it tasted good. I said that they should be careful what they eat as they could carry diseases like rabies etc. But they didn't care. It was for free!      

Nile monitor

Today a few villagers came to the gate with a Nile monitor lizard that had been caught in their hooks down at the lagoon. Instead of releasing it back in the water, they tied a small rope to its leg and beat it to keep it from fighting. By the time they gave it to me, the lizard was almost dead. I gave another lecture to the villagers that if it happens again, to just let it go and not try to sell it in the markets. Sadly, he passed away after a few hours.

This is a great picture of his claw hand with a powerful gripping claw. When eating, he uses his claws to rip open his prey.

Another picture of his front claws, reminds me of the dinosaurs in Jurassic Park!

  Nile Monitors can grow to about 9 ft (2.7 m) in length. They have muscular bodies, strong legs and powerful jaws. The teeth are sharp and pointed in juvenile animals and become blunt and peg-like in adults. They also possess sharp claws used for climbing, digging, defense, or tearing at their prey. Like all monitors they have a forked tongue, with highly developed olfactory properties.

  Their nostrils are placed high on the snout, indicating that these animals are highly aquatic, but are also excellent climbers and quick runners on land. Nile Monitors feed on fish, snails, frogs, crocodile eggs and young, snakes, birds, small mammals, large insects, and carrion.(Wikipedia)

Goat House Project

Here are my simple plans for making a goat barn.
First we stacked and cemented 3 cinder blocks for the foundation. Then with the local wood called teak, we wired them secure. This was done because of the infestation of termites. Teak wood is so hard that termites leave it alone.

  Then we got pine 1 X 6 and planked the deck. Then with 2 X 4 made all the walls.

Here you can see me with the outside frame almost done. Note: the roof has not been done yet due to time restriction. But since we are in the rainy season, I had to temporarily put some off cuts and plastic up to prevent the rain from getting on the goats as they must be dry at all times.

You can see a canoe on the right which I use for a feeder.

I finally got some iron sheets and tacked them on the 2 X 4s. This was easy and fast. In the summer time we will stuff the sections between the 2 X 4s with straw.

The side wall was more of a challenge as it is on a slope and I had to cut the iron sheets with a grinder.

Here is a shot of the finished inside. I took a 55 gallon drum and cut it in half and welded some re-bars on the sides for a stand. This was made for a drinker.
  A short wall was constructed in the center to separate the two different types of goats we have.

We put straps with bells around the goats neck to let us know when and where they are at all times.
  These goats are dairy goats which can produce up to 5 liters of milk per day.
  They must be milked twice a day.