Recently my Auntie Joyce sent me a newspaper clipping stating that 150 toad corpses had been found on the banks of a loch on the Isle of Bute, Scotland. After detailed examination it was decided that these were otter prey. What appears to have happened is that the otter has caught the toads (probably with his feet; whenever I've seen otters mouth toads they drop them pretty quickly because they can't stand the taste of his noxious skin) and then somehow managed to open the toad and turn it inside out to get at the flesh of the rear legs without having to mouth the skin. It must be a very tasty meal to repeatedly go to all that effort. This behaviour has been reported before but I think it is interesting. Clever otter eh?
Back to Cornwall and all is well here. We've four new Fallow fawns and two more on the way (judging by the stupendous size of two does).
The two adult bucks are still growing their first full set of antlers and they both look very regal whilst the yearling prickets have their first set of prongs. Even though they are only two thirds grown the prickets have very high opinions of themselves and are intent on pushing everyone else around and making sure they get noticed by everyone; this isn't always a good strategy as they sometimes pick on the mature bucks and are firmly put back in their place.
The Guinea Fowl are laying eggs everywhere and not sitting on any of them though we've managed to incubate quite a few along with several Silver Pheasants. The Peahens have shown no real inclination to pair off, mate, nest build or lay eggs which is very disappointing. The Peacocks seem to have given up on the hens and are losing their tails already (which does seem rather early for them).
All of the otters are fine although Thor, one of our Asian Short Claws, had to be taken out of his pen and isolated for a week due to an abscess in his mouth. He started looking a bit lethargic and then began to be excessively noisy when eating so we decided to take him out of the limelight and get him some medical help. He was quite unwell for a few days but then picked up quickly. We gave him as many toys and puzzles as we could find/organise but towards the end of his confinement he was getting quite bored with us and seemed very pleased to get back home with his girls. Its always a bit of a worry putting otters back together even if they know each other but all went well and he was made a real fuss of by the girls on his return.
We have a new Snowy Owl who is now just over 5 weeks old. He lives at home with us at the moment and I take him to work during the day. He's settled in very nicely and is starting to look a little more like an owl rather than a rather lost penguin. His appetite is huge and once fed he usually nods off and lies down on his front in a heap. Yes, he nods off first then goes down which explains the heap.
The Scottish Wildcats are becoming much more bold than they were when they arrived and have developed an unusual hunting method. They lie adjacent to the fencing and stay completely still. Wildlife, usually birds such as crows, hop up to the fencing and then the cats strike with their feet through the fence and drag the unfortunate victim in for tea!
Lets hope for some half decent weather.
