RascalRiley Loc: Somewhere south of Detroit

My ‘dog days’ came to an end when I moved into the city. I have only been the caretaker of dogs who lived outside and never knew a leash or chain.

son of witless

When I did telephone work I spent a lot of time in rural areas. They are not so rural anymore. People think nothing of dropping their unwanted pets off near farms and small rural businesses. A lot of my customers were stuck with them. More cats than dogs. Cats can live more semi independent than dogs can.

The problems is that over time your herd of stray cats can become huge. Most are not spayed or vaccinated and some are quite nasty. Exotic pets are an even bigger can of worms. One of my younger brothers was hardcore into snakes. He could tell you instantly what you had if you brought him one.

I cannot remember all of the weird animals he had, but the prominent one was a python. Then he developed a brain tumor which eventually killed him. Over time his ability to care for his animals deteriorated. A python can go a long time without food, but eventually they need to eat. Those of us who cared had a hard time finding a home for the python and the other critters.

We got lucky because close by a couple had alligators and other exotics and they agreed to take my brother's animals.

RascalRiley Loc: Somewhere south of Detroit

Your python going a long time without food reminded me the story of a lady and her huge pet snake. She slept with it.

She noticed that it had not feed for a very long time and so took it to her vet.

He told her that her snake was getting ready to eat her.

Big dog

Alligators gotta eat too 🤣

Big dog

Snakes gotta eat too 🤣😂🤣😂

RascalRiley Loc: Somewhere south of Detroit

Puts new meaning to homegrown food.

Knightlady

My 1st husband had a dobbie that ran with him in the fields. He unfortunately got in front of a swather.

son of witless

They are pretty cool. My brother raised it from a baby. I think he fed it lab rats. I knew a different person from the one who took my brother's snake, who had a quite impressive facility with American Alligators. She had to keep the heat and humidity high. It tended to rot the telephone wires, so I was there frequently doing repairs.

She was missing a leg, and I was afraid to ask her if one of her pets was responsible, but I believe it was cancer. The woman told me she was the dominant female to the gators. " If you say so Maam. " I said.

Then there were at least 2 other customer's who kept lions and tigers and bears, oh my. This one guy had a male lion in a cage with a female tiger. He said " yes they breed, but every time she gives birth, the male eats the babies. We have not been able to separate them in time to save the babies when she gives birth, yet.

slatten49 Loc: Lake Whitney, Texas

I have heard/read that about male lions and their babies.

lindynduff1

I wonder if that lion ate the babies whatever they were because he thought something wasn’t right or because he didn’t want a crowded cage for his whole life or maybe because he was hungry. You have to wonder.

RascalRiley Loc: Somewhere south of Detroit

The something wasn’t right caught my attention. Primal instinct possibility.

son of witless

I have watched more nature programs on TV than I care to confess to.

Male lions like all males are preprogrammed by millions of years of evolution, to exhibit behavior that maximizes getting their genes into future generations. All other males are their competitors and the enemy.

In the wild male lions are kicked out of their birth pride by their fathers as soon as they show signs of sexual maturity, such as growing a mane. The next few years are the toughest of their lives. Males are constructed to fight, not hunt. Females are better built to hunt. The young males must somehow survive a few years until they are powerful enough to take over a pride of lionesses. They largely keep from starving by scavenging and stealing food from other predators like leopards and cheetahs. As I said they are poor hunters.

The few who survive these lean years will sometimes ally themselves with other males. Two, three, and rarely four males will form a coalition. When they find a pride they sense is vulnerable they will challenge the reigning male lion or lions and either evict him or kill him. The next order of business is to find all of the existing cubs in the pride and kill and eat them. Brutal yes, but from an evolutionary perspective it is logical.

The new males instinctively know that their time with the pride of females is short. One or two years at best until they are destroyed by younger, stronger males. Killing the cubs brings the lionesses into season quickly. The cubs are from the old males. The new males do not have time to wait for the cubs of the old males to be raised. They need to get their posterity going as fast as possible.

Generally the males recognize the cubs that they and they allies have sired and do not harm them. In fact they will defend them against other males with their lives. It is what they are designed for. They are actually too large and heavy to be good hunters. The lionesses bring home the food and the big males eat first because they can, but it is a shorter life than the females enjoy.

I can only guess that captivity short circuits the captive male lion's instincts that he eats his own babies. Unless he is super horny and prefers sex over seeing his kids grow up. As soon as the cubs are eaten, the female tiger quickly goes back into season.

BIRDMAN

🤪🤪🤪🤪

Knightlady

lindynduff1

Wait a minute. Are you saying I’m a bigot? You say this because I asked for a separation in topics? O K keep em together, but it does have a dumbing down effect on the conversation.