Wildlife in Ray Roberts State Park

Last week when I went to Ray Roberts Lake for a hike and swim I chanced upon some wildlife like Deer, Possum, and Weasels. I could only capture pictures of the Deer, the other creatures were too fast for my reflexes. It appears that the deer are quite used to seeing humans so they don't scamper into the bushes but just keep a safe distance from hikers/ walkers. One of the bigger deer actually walked a short distance away and stood as if posing for pictures even as I clicked away. Here are a few pictures I was able to capture...

Images from Indiahoma, OK

I visited Indiahoma several months ago and here are some pictures I had not posted on my blog. So today for lack of new stuff to blog about I decided to post some of these pictures that I hadn't. Each picture has a caption below it for further information.

This picture shows the board/ plaque of construction inscribed into the rock. Similar to the ones we see everywhere British engineers built anything

A view of the Lost Lake in Indiahoma. This body of water appears small but in reality is quite large and spread out. Definitely worth Kayaking in...

A Chameleon changing colors even as I capture its image

Wildfires Burning Across thousands of acres!

English: San Diego, CA, October 26, 2007 -- Northern California fire crew works into the night clearing fire line and monitoring the back burn that was set to stop the Poomacha fire from advancing westward. Currently the fires in Southern California have burned more than 355,000 acres. Andrea Booher/FEMA (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Wildfires have been consuming thousands of acres of forests, several thousand homes have been evacuated. This has become an annual phenomenon, unfortunately the authorities are not able to prevent the fires because most of them are not due to natural causes. I have heard many reports that most of these fires are due to arson, mischief by people who camp in the forests, etc.

I don't know what the reason for the fire is but it is time the forest protection service and fire marshals took up the task of fire prevention more seriously. The acreage burned in the fires is increasing every year, this is not good for America, not good for the world.

Urban Wildlife Sighting

Image via Wikipedia

Today I had the opportunity to sight a Opossum or Possum one of the most commonly found house critters in Texas. The animal was sitting on the entrance arch of our apartment's maintenance and leasing office. It scared the heck out of the staff members and of course it was my first time sighting and I was quite excited. The picture in this post is not of the animal I saw but one I found online on google. I was not carrying my camera so I couldn't capture the animal. I wonder what the apartment guys will do about the animal. If it were India it would have been promptly killed, but here there are laws against harming wildlife and hence killing this marsupial is out of question.

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Indiahoma, OK

I took this picture in Indiahoma, OK, while visiting the Wichita mountains wildlife refuge. The beautiful exhibit at the visitors center in the park features this sculpture along with several stuffed animals.

I sometimes wonder how the animal would have felt when it got killed and if its soul was hovering around when the taxidermist was preparing its pelt/ skin for stuffing. What would its thoughts be as it observes the latex glove-clad hands ripping out the visceral parts of its body? Washing the remaining skin with chemicals to retain softness and at the same time making it sterile so no bacteria can survive and destroy the skin.

Even thinking about it makes me sick. I wonder what people think when they mercilessly slaughter animals just because they want to eat their meat.

Some Memories of Mineral Wells

It has been over 3 weeks since I visited Mineral Wells State Park, but the memories of its vast green acres continues to haunt me. The rugged rock formations, myriad flora and fauna, vast lake and interesting landscapes beckon me to return and explore further. Here are some of the pictures that I have not posted earlier.

More Images of India-homa

The swank, and sprawling visitors center-cum-nature museum is a great spot to visit at the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, OK. The building is built of wood, metal and drywall and of course it is centrally air-conditioned and heated. The natural history museum/ visitors center was one great documentation of the park's history, flora, and fauna. There were two huge stuffed wild bison's welcoming the visitors into the display area. There are numerous other stuffed creatures displayed in almost their natural settings. The museum is pretty interactive and simulated, the small theater showcases films on the night creatures of the park.

Wild Bison grazing in Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge

A giant mural at the visitor's center

Stuffed animals on display

Stuffed animals on display

After spending about 45 minutes (short, we need at least 2.5 hours to see the museum thoroughly) we moved to do a short hike at the Lost Lake area. More tomorrow.

Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, Indiahoma, OK

The visitors Center

It has been several months... almost years since I touched a rock with an intention of climbing it. There are no rocks or hills in Dallas area, which is in the heart of the Panhandle Plains of Texas. Last Sunday I was lucky enough to visit a place known as Indiahoma in the neighboring state of Oklahoma. This small town is home to the Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge.

The sprawl of Wichita Mountains Wildlife Refuge, India-homa

This is a 59,020 acre refuge and is protected habitat for several native species including the American bison, (We saw many of these gentle giants) Rocky Mountain elk, white-tailed deer, Texas longhorn cattle, 50 mammal, 240 bird, 64 reptile and amphibian, 36 fish, and 806 plant species thrive here.

Rocky Terrain

I will talk about the short hike we took in the refuge in my next post. For now I have to get ready and get to work... enjoy the pictures.

Smuggler the Big Cat!!!

I have been a sleeping volunteer of Insync Exotics, a dedicated rescue center for large cats such as tigers, lions, cougars, leopards, and bobcats. Time, distance, and job constraints have prevented me from spending as much time as I would like to volunteering at Insync. But I am still on their volunteer mailing list and get updates of the happenings out there. Recently I received a mail that informed about how a new tiger cub named Smuggler had arrived at Insync and adapted to life here. The mail also had some great pictures of Smuggler which I thought it best to share online here and encourage you all to visit Insync's website or better still if you are located in the DFW Metro area, visit Insync's shelter at Wylie, and believe me you will enjoy it a lot.

Interior Design with Live Corals

One of the most common ways of enhancing the beauty of an indoor space is by installing an aquarium full of colorful fish, plants, and other exotic aquatic life. According to Chinese traditions having an aquarium with fish in a particular location brings prosperity and happiness to the owner/ occupant of the building. I recently came across an aquarium with awe inspiring live coral of various hues. These rare and exotic aquatic creatures enhanced the ambiance of the entire space.

The visit to that space proved to be a great life changing experience for me. As I watched these beautiful creatures of the sea I wondered about the wonders of nature. Something that most people have begun to take for granted. Corals are rare exotic species and need to be protected. It is not like one species is of greater importance than the other. Every life form on earth has a particular duty to perform and its absence will impact a variety of processes.

I realized that the managers of this space were actually doing a public service by keeping the live corals in the aquarium. It served to create awareness about the wonders of the world, educate people about rare species of corals, and provide a pleasant ambiance to visitors and employees alike. Thoughtful indeed. I will think of doing something similar in the future.

Takin the National Animal of Bhutan

Bhutan is one of my favorite places in the Indian Subcontinent. This mountainous country is one of the few places where one can find nature at its pristine best without any interference from humans. This is one of the nations that has not gone to war for several centuries. Perhaps it is too small to fight either of the giants nations surrounding it. I admire the country for its natural beauty and the way the government and people respect nature and strive to preserve it.
The national animal of Bhutan is the Takin, a pretty docile herbivorous creature of the goat-antelope family. The gracious animal is protected ardently in the former mountain kingdom. Here are some pictures of the Takin that I captured when I visited the stamp-sized nation few years ago.

Small and beautiful animals

I have been an animal lover since childhood. I am not one of those who wishes to own and control animals. I would rather watch them strut around free of fear and enjoy watching their antics. Back in India I would simply watch and enjoy the sight, but here in the US I started photographing them. Here are some pictures of small animals busy in their day-to-day lives.

Wildlife in America

America ranks among the world's largest polluters, no doubt. One would expect to see rampant deforestation and decimation of wildlife species, but that is not the case in the US. Here the authorities are highly protective of their wildlife species in most places apart from hunting areas, where people are allowed to kill wild animals. I have come across wild animals, mostly deer, on hiking trails, at parks and other open areas. It would be difficult to see so much wildlife in public areas at such easy access in other parts of the world.