The Undesirables

A few more from the Zoo. I’m almost done with these. I’m still on the tail end of a bit brain fart/ creative block so I’m still milking things that I have that I know work. I’ve promised to myself that after I get through those photos that I already have I’ll be back to running ahead at full steam to learn more!

Now back to the present. These are a few of the photos I took of critters that are rarely call “pretty”, but more often referred to as “my pretties.” (By witches) I’ve decided that I’m going to talk about these only with the knowledge that I had as a kid. Which was still quite a bit because I was glued to the Discovery Channel half the day and reading about dinosaurs the other half.

First up is the Komodo Dragon. While not poisonous on its own, it is still regarded as one of the most toxic land animals on the planet due to all the rotting food in their mouths. They have an immune system that can digest weeks old rotten meat the same way that that you eat a Sunday brunch. All the more importantly, Holy Shit, they look like dinosaurs!

Next on the list is one indigenous to the North Western US. It’s the Turky Vulture. Like most vultures they have a featherless head to keep from getting gunk stuck on them as they dive in to carcasses. Though they are indigenous and not on any sort of endangered lists, they are still uncommon enough that if you see one on the side of the freeway and point it out, no one will believe what you saw. Or even know what it is for that matter. But did you see how much that Dragon looked like a dinosaur?! I bet Mark Shultz has used these as drawing references!

And the final and perhaps the most undesirable thing here. The Golden Orb Weaver. This is one of very few web making siders that is large enough that on rare occasions they have been seen to catch and eat small birds. Their body can get up to a couple inches long. Once you include the legs they can be up to the size of a grown person’s hand. Unfortunately, when hit with a boomerang, they don’t leave a Golden Skulltula Token. Also, they’re scary as hell because you know they want to attach them selves to your face!

Actually as a kid I was very interested in spiders. I wanted to be an entomologist for many years, right under space pirate and paleontologist. So it was a small leap for me to like spiders. This all changed one morning before school. It was in the summer and mosquito eaters were abound. I felt a gentle tickle at my face and thought it was one of these friendly flyers. After a casual brush with my hand didn’t make it fly away I went cross eyed to get a better look at it. Just in time to see a very large, and now panicking ground spider go for the closest cover around. My mouth. The next few minutes involved a violent dance around the kitchen that combined trying to spit without chewing and smashing my own face with a broom. Ever since then, I can do without spiders.

If you’ve made it this far, thanks for taking the time to scroll, or perhaps even read, all the way to the bottom!