If only animals could communicate with us. Maybe they do, in subtle ways that we understand only if we are sensitive enough to notice.
For as long as I lived in my home country, we've always had an animal of some sort taking refuge in our house, along with the abundance of children who would act as the care takers (myself and two other pals). They came in all sorts of sizes and colours and from all sorts of backgrounds, the animals I mean. And they always found plenty of love, attention (perhaps too much), shelter, food, warmth and safety in our home.
Tragedy hits not only humans; it happens in the animal kingdom too. The monsoons and winds wash away nests of birds and squirrels, while alarmed parents watch helplessly. Some cats and dogs get hit by vehicles and are left by the road side either to be run over again or to die slowly in pain. Some kittens and puppies, only a few days old, are snatched away from the warmth of their mothers, tied in large bags and thrown in the river. Some luckier ones are either thrown in dumpsters or are abandoned stealthily in backyards like ours. Some badly wounded animals are rescued from the tenacious grips of predators. Some orphaned baby animals cry their guts out for their mothers, who have fled out of helplessness and fear of humans. Others are rescued from the misery of physical abuse caused by my fellow human beings. This world is often too cruel to them.
Thalaya
One sunny afternoon, I was doing my usual rounds of garden exploration during a school holiday, when I saw a curious face pop out of a snake hole. Must be a snake, I thought, as it had a pink forked tongue. But I was curious so I stayed on to watch quietly from a distance. After a trying game of waiting, which 'he' lost, he came out of his hidey hole. He turned out to be a clouded monitor lizard. Our area was not known for this species of lizard so we can only speculate as to where he came from. Over the next few weeks, he and I got friendly, although progress was very slow. At first, he would only let me stroke his head, then slowly he would drink water out of my hand and finally, he let me pull him out of his hole and carry him. The slightest sound would send this dirt dweller in a scurry back into the hole and his sharp nails would leave me with scratch marks. Sometimes he would be gone for a long time, like a week, but he always returned. I would wait eagerly for him to pop his head back out. Eventually, he was no more. Maybe he relocated, or a dog killed him or a human killed him. There is a running myth that eating this lizard's tongue would make a person very smart and increase memory retention immensely. Maybe it was just another way of saying, nothing can cure stupidity.
Pepe
This orange shaded cow was named after a corn snack we used to like eating. Parallel to our housing scheme was a very remote village. Many villagers would trespass into the housing scheme we lived in, and bring their cattle to graze. These untied cattle would raid into our gardens and destroy entire plants, leaving many of the residents unhappy. While this was going on, we made friends with a little boy who used to bring his cattle to graze. We dubbed him 'Cow Boy”. He was not much older than we were and we enjoyed asking him a lot of questions on what he did. He used to give graphic details of how his female cows gave birth, among other stories. We also made friends with his cows. My mom was not too happy when we fed bananas (meant for us to eat) to the cows. Pepe was one of those cows, who seemed to remember us very well, even many years later.
Furball
One fine day, we were playing badminton on the road. Our pet cat was hunting for small prey nearby and the next thing we know, she had a wild rabbit's neck lodged between her jaws. Back then, I was against letting nature take its course and allowing a predator savour its prey. We jumped in, strangled the cat, tried to pry open its jaws and managed to pull out a shocked rabbit bleeding from its neck. The neck wound was not too deep and after a few days of care at our place, he recovered. We released him back to where we found him. It was a joy to see him hop away into the wild.
Barbie, Goony & Wooly
My sister used to work in a very beautifully landscaped five star hotel in an area renown for its wildlife. Once, the staff found an orphaned baby squirrel and handed it over to her as she was known for her kind ways. Barbie, went to work with my sister everyday, either hiding inside her hair or sometimes, sleeping shamelessly in the pocket-like spot inside her bra. She loved to eat muffins from the breakfast buffet spread. Sometimes, when my sister came over for the weekend, she would bring Barbie along so we can play with her. Soon after, my sister was called to another rescue mission. This time, two more baby squirrels were found abandoned inside a vehicle (the mother must have given birth in a hurry and fled when she realised there were too humans in the area) and they were handed over to my sister. She sent the two of them to us as she had a full time job to keep and already one squirrel to look after! Goony and Wooly grew up fast from a state of pinkishness to having pretty fur with their distinct markings. They fancied yogurt, rice and fruits. Our house looked like a mini-jungle, with branches and leaves fixed for their comfort and enrichment. Doors and windows were always shut so our two cats couldn't get in. The duo would steal my hair bands and handkerchiefs and try to make nests out of those. They loved to play hide and seek when we read the newspapers. They had the most adorable way of yawning and lifting its front foot when we stroked the chest. One day, in a freak of carelessness, a door was left open and they got away. We can only hope they eventually adapted to the wild.
Thinny, Swordtail & Fatty
After much begging and pleading, our mom finally allowed us to keep fish. The three of us visited the aquarium and picked one each. There was Fatty, Thinny and Swordtail. If I recall well, Thinny was mine. They lived in a big glass jar for quite a long time. Swordtail died and the other two made little fish and went on to eat them. We learned later that the small ones had to be separated from the adults till they were big enough not to be bullied. All went well, until the school holidays came and my friends went home for the vacation. I was admittedly careless, the jars might have been too dirty and all the fish died. It was hard to explain that to my friends when they returned.
Froggie
There once used to be a small frog that would hop all the way from our indoor toilet, up the stairs and to the outdoors in the mornings. He would then, in the evening, make his way from the outdoors to the inside toilet, on the same route down the stairs, almost like he were a tenant of the house. We were amused by how piously he made his journey everyday. Sometimes he would stop at the stairs to entertain us, while we examined him closely or stroked it. He had the smoothest (and icy cold) frog skin ever! And those bright black eyes and the wide mouth... it was almost as if he were smiling at us!
Sumudu
This log squirrel (also known as a giant squirrel) was rescued by one of my uncles, again by chance. This little guy and his mother were captured off a plantation (they are considered pests and a delicacy in most areas) and taken to be someone's dinner. Sadly, the mother ended up in someone's plate, but the little one after a some convincing (as he was probably too small and not meaty enough) came to live with my uncle. My uncle in turn, handed him to us. Although a wild squirrel, we could not release it outside as it had not learned enough skills from its mother for survival. Several attempts to teach coconut-tree climbing failed when it succumbed to gravity he fell flat on the ground. We came up with the most natural habitat we could build inside a bedroom; bridges, obstacles and play things made with branches, twigs and leaves. Every day, we would find different fruits and flowers for him to feed on. We were all a happy family until a new Wildlife Act was passed in the country, prohibiting this type of species to be kept as household pets. So we had to give him away to a monastry, where I was promised he would be better off. Parting with him was a very hard thing to do to, we had shared so much of warm memories together. Many months later, I heard he was mauled by the dogs in the monastry.
Keli & Benzi
One evening, I was on the way to the nearby grocery store when I noticed a dog lying on the side of the road. Asking around, I found out she was hit by vehicle and unable to move. We would regularly take milk and food to feed her, as she lay on the side of the road. A few days later, she (Keli) started to limp around and made her way to the nearest house, one belonging to a 90+ year old grandma (a very tough cookie, who loved to chit chat) who was living on her own. We would still visit Keli afterwards with food and she grew very fond of us. Later, she had one fat pup, which she was happy to come show off at our place. She was ever so loyal to us for many years, it was almost as if she remembered that we once cared for her. I heard recently that Keli died, probably of old age. I still meet Benzi, her pup (now the size of a small cow) when I visit home for the holidays and she remembers me too.
Pini & her legacy
This pretty calico cat was accidentally discovered one rainy day, while a shabby old man was emptying her from a sack into a dumpster! My mom says she was only a few weeks old then. Pini came to live with my mom, who was living alone at the time, as all the other family members were scattered in faraway countries. She became the only companion my mom had for a long time. She had four generations of offspring; the fourth died out, the first and second generations grew up and left our home for greener pastures, as did Pini, although she still pays the occasional visit. She is fat as a pig now, thanks to a friendly neighbour who overfeeds her and lets her laze all day on their couch. Her daughter, Kitty from the third generation still lives with our family.
Fawn (yet to be named)
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| Dad with fawn |
Those were a few stories that left lasting impressions. There were many other birds, bats, rats, tortoises, cats and dogs which came into our lives and left.
Looking back, I'm thankful my family supported us in every adoption, rescue and rehabilitation mission we undertook, regardless of its outcome. Some missions failed miserably and we ended up learning to deal with sadness and loss. But all lessons learned and experiences gained have been golden.
Photographs (resembling actual characters) courtesy of Google Images.
