July 23, 2012 by Mindy the Monkey
My friend Pokey is a North American Porcupine with her own built-in defense system. She has very sharp quills all over most of her body that protect her from predators and attackers. The quills are really spiny hairs with barbs on the end, like a fish hook. If you have ever gotten stuck by a fish hook or a quill you know that those barbed tips make it very difficult to get out of your skin!
If Pokey feels threatened, she makes all her quills stand up on end, which makes her look huge and bushy and scary. That is enough to make most people and animals run away and leave her alone. No one wants to get stuck by those quills! If something tries to attack her anyway, they will be very sorry because it is very painful to get a hand or face full of porcupine quills.
Obviously it is not a good idea to try to pet a wild porcupine. But my dad and his friend Mark taught me a secret way to pet Pokey without getting stuck by the quills. They teach lots of other people how to do it too, at the animal shows we do at parties, fairs and festivals. So lots of different people have had the wonderful experience of petting Pokey and feeling her wiry hair and spiny quills. Pokey likes to be petted, but you have to be very calm and gentle when you do it so that you don’t startle her. She is a very sweet porcupine but she scares easily.
Have you ever gotten to pet a porcupine? Would you like to?
Category: Animal Rentals Tags: animal, animal shows, animals, fairs, festivals, north american porcupine, parties, pet a porcupine, porcupine, quills | Comments Off
July 17, 2012 by Mindy the Monkey
It’s hardly ever quiet at my house. Dad says he never gets any peace and quiet with me and all of my other animal friends around. But I think that the noisiest ones in the whole house are the parrots. Birds are loud! Luckily they are very funny too, which makes them great company for me and dad.
One of my friends that lives and works with us is a Scarlet Macaw named Piwackett. He is a big, beautiful bird with a really long tail. He always looks like he is dressed in fine jewels, because his feathers are red, green, blue and yellow. One of his special jobs is in the parrots and pirates show, where he gets to stroll around on the shoulder of a pirate and talk to all sorts of interesting people at parties and fairs and other events. He even gets to ride on a pirate ship, which is really cool!
Piwackett is really funny and he talks all the time. In fact, sometimes I wish he wouldn’t talk so much! But people love to hear him talk and laugh. Some people think he is very snooty, because he laughs in a very snobbish “ha, ha, ha” way. But he is actually very friendly and he really likes when people pet and hold him. He loves attention, and if you ignore him he will keep talking until you talk back to him.
Piwackett also likes to dance. When he really likes a song, he will lift up his wings, bob head head around, and shuffle his feet from side to side. He is a very good dancer and sometimes he makes us all jump up and dance around with him. It’s really fun! So even though he is loud, sometimes it is really great to have him around.
Have you ever talked to a bird? What did you say? What did he say?
Category: Animal Rentals Tags: animal, animals, bird, birds, events, fairs, macaw, parrot, parrots, parrots and pirates, parties, pirate ship, scarlet macaw | Comments Off
July 9, 2012 by Mindy the Monkey
How many of you think that snakes are slimy? I’ll bet a lot of you do!
One of the great things about being an animal ambassador is showing people the truth about animals and how they live and what they are really like. It’s always surprising to me how many people raise their hands when my dad asks an audience “How many of you think that snakes are slimy?” Some of my best friends are snakes, and I can promise you that they are not slimy at all. In fact, they feel really cool and smooth and soft to touch!
One of my friends is Casper, a Burmese Python who is ten feet long! Casper is a special snake because he is albino, which means that his skin doesn’t have the same dark coloring that other pythons have. He is a beautiful bright yellow and white color, and his skin is silky smooth. He is very friendly and anyone can touch and hold him. One of his favorite jobs is to work with the snake charmer, who strolls through the crowd at parties and events wearing Casper draped around her shoulders so that people can meet him and touch his beautiful skin. Sometimes when people touch him they say “Well, he’s not slimy at all!”
After hearing people say this, I asked Casper one time if it hurt his feelings that people think he is slimy. After all, I think it would hurt my feelings if people thought that about me. But Casper is a very wise snake, and he told me that there is no point getting your feelings hurt about something that isn’t true. “I know I’m not slimy,” he said, “and after people touch me they know it too.” I’m glad Casper is so smart and that he likes his job so much!
Have you ever touched a snake? What did you think about it?
Category: Animal Rentals Tags: animal, animals, burmese python, events, parties, python, snake, snake charmer, snakes | Comments Off