I have got to get back into taking care of myself! I miss the Loomites so much. Playing with my hair is practically the only thing I do for myself, I really need to get back into it. I haven't done any special treatments, even retouched my roots. The henna still is the best thing I've done for my hair in a looong time. Next paycheck I'm going to pick up some heavy duty conditioner. Kerry and M's hair looks so fantastic, then I look in the mirror...ugh. Two of the worst people in the world to compare my hair to. Several of Kerry's customers are making comments on his hair. One lady told Lynn "that nice young man with the long hair waited on me before, and I must admit, I had a serious case of hair envy." I could rent the guy out as a Pantene ad. If I could just STOP comparing my hair to his...apples and oranges, apples and oranges...so why do I feel like a lemon? Silly me.
M got in two sister lion cubs, about 14 wks old. They are Barbarry lions, the males have black manes. They are a little darker colored than the golden lions. At this age, Candy and Abby still have their beautiful spots. When I first met them, they were very vocal. They trilled and warbled to us, never shut up. Candy specially would crawl up, put her face next to yours and tell you all about it. I had no idea they could make those noises. We had an ice storm, so the cubs couldn't be picked up, so I got to see them again. They seemed to remember me a little. This time I camed armed with the camera and a tape recorder. Naturally, they had stopped trilling about two days before. Now they just do regular little lion sounds, chuffs and growls. M says when they get mad at each other they can actually roar already! Kerry took lots of great photos. M wanted a Babarry male, but after a week with these two, I think she changed her mind. They aren't any taller than a house cat now, but built square and it is all muscle and power. We may get them back for the show at the end of November...they will really be an arm full by then. I think lion cubs are sort of like grand children, it's great to get together with them, spoil 'em rotten, then go home! I really don't think they are worse than the lynx kits, but twice as big. And smart? Whoo! Candy just sits and figures things out. She'll be the most dangerous when she's an adult, but right now she is also the one who wants contact with the adults the most. Ever so often she'd come over to me and give me a lick, or crawl in my lap for a few seconds. They are much more aware of where we are every minute than other cats. You really get to watch the pride reaction. Like any good little child, they come and "check in" ever so often. They totally accept any humans as their pride.
Candy drinks a 2 bottles of formula, then fiinshes off what is left of her sisters bottle. Abby doesn't even finish one bottle now, she's into meat. She finished her bottle and went over to Candy and started washing her back. Candy looks at the meat like we are trying to posion her. The first vegetarian lion?
Zoom the sloth has been moved into the bathroom. M was just too upset about Shaazaams death to put Zoom in there for awhile. She even had a sign made that said "Bathroom Butler on Duty" with an outline of a sloth. But now Zoom has moved in and seems as happy as Shaazaam was. I keep forgetting to ask if she takes showers too. It's nice having her in there, she comes and goes as she wants, and it doesn't feel so empty. After Shaazaam died, it was just sad going in there and not having a sloth check you out. He had so much personality. Although I am going to miss Zoom begging a treat off of me every time I give one of the babies a bottle. She'll probably be even better at begging now though. Obviously the books I read saying that sloths were "shy and retiring" were not referring to house sloths. Come to think of it, nothing M has is shy and retiring for long.
I think the animal behaviour scientists have it wrong. They say that an animal that is being interacted with is not responding normally, because it not in a normal situation. How can it not react "normally"? Humans adapt to different situations, why do they think that animals are any less intelligent? Lion cubs behave like lion cubs. They play and chew on things, get in trouble, get loved and reassured. The real danger about living with "wild" animals is that we forget they are going to behave normally for themselves, which may not be "normal" for us. Abby is a pincher. She loves to run up to you, grab a tiny bit of skin and pinch. Wouldn't hurt another lion a bit. Turns us black and blue. She's not being bad or mean, she's just wanting attention and to play. Those cubs communicated very explicitly with body language and their eyes. You know exactly what they want.
Angel used to get this "heh, heh, heh" look on her face sometimes when new people were being shown around. She'd be sitting perfectly still at the back of the cage, but wth this look on her face. She would wait until they were off guard, maybe had forgotten she was there. Then she would race across the inclosure and pounce at them. She ALWAYS knew which ones she could make scream. She never did it with us, with us it was a different game. We were supposed to pretend we didn't know we were being stalked. She would peek at us from behind the house, or a toy. At last she would do this big rush and we would do this "Oh my, a great big cougar" act and fuss over her. She had us all very well trained.
1:30 am and I haven't done any thing yet. Better get to work.
WildCatDancer
My overnight miracle, thanks TLHL!
WildCatDancers Mane-My journal
http://www.network54.com/Forum/293257
My bottle babies--
http://img51.photobucket.com/albums/v157/WildCatDancer/?
My own furkids--
http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/wizwebgraph/album?.dir=/65bc&.src=ph&.tok=phEsICCBCXif.pyW
Original style very, very short, been growing out for 12 years off and on.
Original color, auburn, now multicolored grey, auburn & white. Hennaed red/auburn
1b to 1c with a curl around hairline underneath. Fii
Length 27" now trimmed to 24.5 April 24th
May 1st 25"!!!!!
Goal: Waistlength. Then we'll see.
I'm 5'6" tall
