A kangaroo, happily munching away at some fruits and leafy greens
I was back in Bradenton for the weekend today, and ended up going out to Majical Miniatures animal sanctuary with my dad, sister, and girlfriend. My dad’s been running a pet shop lately, and some way or other ended up meeting the woman who runs it, who offered to take in our prairie dog, who’s getting rather old, and hasn’t been handling pet-shop life particularly well (she was sort of a display animal, just there to hang out and play with the customers). So Annie the prairie dog went away to their shelter, and today we went out to see her, and the rest of the animals. The interesting thing is, the shelter is next door to the house and land where my family used to live out in Parish: driving back onto the property, we actually saw the old chicken coop that we built oh-so-many years ago. Dad had told us that they had kangaroos and wallabies, and sure enough, just as soon as we walked through the door there was a kangaroo eating his lunch (or was it supper?) I just had to bring the camera along, and got some nifty shots, albeit with only a single on-camera strobe to work with.
My sister Steffi petting a rescued deer
On the way in, there was a parrot who loudly accosted—and, of course, amused—us with alternating shrieks and eerily well-pronounced phrases. On the inside we found the aforementioned deer, along with assorted dogs, a caged raccoon, a very large guinea pig and rabbit, and our old prairie dog, now housed in a nice luxurious cage. We went out onto the porch and met a rescued deer, who apparently had her lower jaw disfigured when she was young. She can’t eat like normal deer, but they feed her pellets and whatnot like the rest of the animals, and she’s grown up to be a big, healthy, and insanely friendly animal (no, my sister isn’t screaming in terror in that photograph). There were also some assorted birds and cats, and I believe a dog out on the porch, as well as a baby kangaroo that was awfully shy.
My girlfriend Danielle, petting the deer
After that, we went on out to part of the yard around the house, where we saw a whole bunch of assorted critters. There were three really large (and by really large, I mean a couple of feet long from head to tail) tortoises, which I believe were Sulcattas, milling around. The biggest one went after a smaller one (which was apparently a newcomer), in what was quite possible the most amusing display of animal agression I’v ever seen. Both tortoises were, as tortoises tend to be, encased in armored shells, pretty much preventing any potential for damage to either tortoise. This didn’t discourage the larger tortoise, however, which made a great show of yelling (or the tortoise equivalent thereof) and shoving the other tortoise along like a hockey puck.
An albino wallaby, munching away on some foliage
There were also some intriguing looking llamas and alpacas hanging out beyond a fence, but we never got to see them. There were a bunch of chickens milling about, which reminded me of when we used to live out there and kept some: chickens are absolutely joyous birds to have around as pets. I also saw a white turkey, which is a sad bird. They have a story on their website about one, Tom the Turkey, who died about a year ago, and I’m guessing this one will be a similar story. The white turkey, apparently, is completely a contrivance of humans. They’re bred solely for use as meat, to the point where the things grow so freakishly large that they can’t even naturally reproduce: the birds’ muscles prevent them from physically mating. So what we have is an entire species created and maintained solely through artificial insemination, which can’t breed, and when not butchered shortly after birth can’t survive long at all on its own. Even if freed from the factory farms, the turkeys suffer all kinds of nasty problems due to their freakish size. For instance, bone fractures are common simply from normal activity, as their skeletons can’t cope with the massive weight they put on. In any case, it’s good to see one living as comfortably as possible, but sadly enough, there isn’t much comfort for them to find.
A wallaby, hanging out in the yard
After that, we went on to the other part of the yard, where the wallabies live with some cats, chickens, goats, baby pigs and deer. The wallabies don’t seem to be domesticated like the others, and they roam around on the fringes of the yard on their own, generally staying away from visitors, it seems. Quite possibly the most amusing thing I saw, or at least up there on the list, was a baby pig wandering up to a pseudo-sleeping cat and trying to bore into the cat’s belly with its nose. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a cat spring up more quickly.
The deer trying to untie Danielle's shirt
Then it was time to go, after one more fun encounter with the deer, which just loved to sneak up on and nibble us. It even took a shot at untying Danielle’s shirt, which didn’t accomplish much, other than getting a pretty great deal of deer saliva on the shirt in question. Altogether, it was an amazing trip, and it was absolutely wonderful to see what had become of our old neighbors’ property. Short of a zoo, I don’t think I’ve ever seen more animals living together, and these all managed to cohabit without killing each other: something I’m not sure even humans could accomplish in such a large number. The trip was enjoyable, and I look forward to perhaps returning some day.
Tags: Animal Rescue, Birds, Cats, Chickens, Dad, Danie, Deer, Dogs, Kangaroos, Majical Miniatures, Pigs, Steffi, Toirtoises, Turkey, Wallabies
Great pictures!
Where is this place… I must go there sometime!
I love your blog and the pictures very nice!