Category: Animals

Red Touches Yellow Kill A Fellow

There at least 105 species of snake in Texas, the most of any U.S. state and 15 species are significantly venomous and four more are mildly venomous. The most venomous is the Texas coral snake, which has enough venom in one bite to kill six adult men. However, the milk snake and the king snake are harmless snakes that look very similar to the coral snake. The way to tell the difference is to use the rhyme “Red touches yellow, kill a fellow; red touches black, friend to Jack” or alternatively “Red touch black, safe for Jack. Red touches yellow, kills a fellow”.

Look at the two pictures below. One is my daughter with the critter man, and she is holding a milk snake. The other picture is of the deadly coral snake. Can you tell them apart by using the rhyme?

My daughter on the left is holding a milk snake. It has red, white/yellow and black bands | Red Touches Yellow Kill A Fellow
My daughter with a milk snake. We hired the critter man for her birthday.
A Texas Coral Snake, Mircrurus tener, isolated on a white background | Red Touches Yellow Kill A Fellow
Photo of a Texas coral snake. Stock Photo ID: 2018440949 by Scott Delony

The Green Mamba

When our kids were young, we frequently visited Dinosaur State Park near Glen Rose, Texas. On one occasion I was carrying my four-year-old son on my shoulders. Suddenly he shouted, “Dad you almost stepped on that Green Mamba”. I looked down and between my feet crawled a green snake. It was a harmless green grass snake, but I did not even know there were green snakes in Texas.

On another occasion I was showing a whipsnake to my daughter. It was at a girl scout camp, and I had taken the snake out from its glass jar located in a room where they stored nonvenomous snakes. I was holding it in my hands. The whipsnake was pretty strong and decided to crawl under my shirt sleeve. I had to fight it to get it out from underneath my shirt sleeve and back into its glass jar. I probably looked like a clown juggling a snake. Whipsnakes are thin but very strong, long and stubborn.

We’ve also seen all kinds of water snakes as well as the dangerous water moccasin or cottonmouth as it is also called. We’ve seen rat snakes and snakes in our yard. I’ve seen a lot of snakes in the wild here in Texas and I typically don’t know what kind they are. That’s why I needed The Lone Star Field Guide to Texas Snakes by Alan Tennant.

Lone Star Field Guide to Texas Snakes by Alan Tennant

The goal of this blog is to create a list of what I call super facts. Important facts that we know to be true and yet they are shocking or disputed among non-experts. Super facts are important facts that people get wrong.

However, I sometimes create posts that are not super facts but contain other interesting information, such as this book review and book recommendation of the Lone Star Field Guide to Texas Snakes. This book features 105 snakes and includes hundreds of photos, information on prey and reproduction, habitat information, geographical distribution, and more. I bought the paperback version of the book.

  • Paperback –  Publisher : Taylor Trade Publishing; Third edition (December 28, 2005), ISBN-10 : 1589792092, ISBN-13 : 978-1589792098, 352 pages, item weight : 1.15 pounds, dimensions : ‎ ‏ 7.1 x 0.81 x 8.46 inches, it costs $43.46 new on Amazon, but you can buy used copies much cheaper. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
  • Kindle –  Published : Taylor Trade Publishing; 3rd edition (January 27, 2006), ASIN : B00IUFI1K8, 352 pages, it costs $10.99 on US Amazon. Click here to order it from Amazon.com.
Front cover of Lone Star Field Guide to Texas Snakes by Alan Tennant | Red Touches Yellow Kill A Fellow
Front cover of Lone Star Field Guide to Texas Snakes. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the paperback version of the book.

Amazon’s description of the book

The State of Texas not only boasts the largest snakes in North America, but also the largest number of species—105. This guide describes in detail each and every one of them, from the benign Texas long-nosed snake, to the venomous Western Cottonmouth. Facts on the biology and behavior are given, plus the latest findings on abundance, reproduction, prey, sizes, and habitat.

In addition, introductory chapters describe the physiology and diet of snakes, and an all-important section on “Venom and Evenomation” debunks the many myths surrounding what to do when bit by a venomous snake. 128 color plates of species and subspecies aid in identification.

This is my five-star review for Lone Star Field Guide to Texas Snakes

The review I posted below is a copy from Amazon, but I’ve improved it a bit. For example, in my original review of 2008 I called snakes poisonous. Snakes are not poisonous, they are venomous.

You almost stepped on that green mamba

“Dad, you almost stepped on that Green Mamba”. That is what my 4-year old (sitting on my shoulders) told me when we were walking in Dinosaur Valley state park. Using the second edition of this book I was able to identify the snake as the “Rough Green Snake” when I got home.

I am glad there are no Green Mambas in Texas (in the wild), but there are still some very poisonous snakes to watch out for. Seven species of rattle snake, two species of Massasauga, and a pigmy rattle snake, cottonmouth (water moccasin), three species of copperhead, and the Texas Coral snake. The Texas Coral snake is the most venomous of the snakes in Texas (but it is not aggressive) and the poison from the Mojave Rattle Snake can kill six adults (lives only in West Texas). There are 105 species of snakes in Texas.

This edition (third edition) has essentially the same pictures and information as the second edition, but the third edition is organized better, is a little bit bigger, and more updated. What I really like about this book is that for each of the snakes it has a map of Texas showing the distribution of the snake.

The book is also well organized, and the photos are good. It is also an interesting book to read, it contains a lot of facts about the various snakes. Once you start reading about the various snakes, and looking at the pictures and the distribution maps, you just can’t put it down. The book tickles your curiosity. Compared to other Texas snake books that I have seen this one is the most interesting and the most well-organized of them all. If you quickly need to identify a snake this is the right book.

Back cover of Lone Star Field Guide to Texas Snakes By Alan Tennant
Back cover of Lone Star Field Guide to Texas Snakes. Click on the image to go to the Amazon page for the Kindle version of the book.

Western Diamondback Rattlesnake Crotalus Atrox

One of the most common venomous snakes in Texas is the Western Diamondback Rattlesnake. It is fairly big, 3 to 7 feet long. Nearly all of the most serious cases of snakebite treated in Texas hospitals are inflicted by Crotalus Atrox, the Western Diamond-back. Deaths are uncommon but the loss of limbs is more common. There are 10 species of rattlesnake in Texas.

A diamond-backed rattle snake raising its rattle and preparing to strike.
Western Diamondback Rattlesnake, crotalus atrox. Stock Photo ID: 2494534895 by Clint H

To see the Super Facts click here

Do You Ever See Wild Animals

Yes, I see wild animals every day despite living in a large city (Dallas). I see squirrels, rabbits, coyote, bats, birds of all kinds, crows, owls, hawks, pelicans, blue jays, mockingbirds, rats and mice, and I see snakes every now and then. Not too long ago we had a rat snake in the sink. I live in Texas and here we have 116 snake species.

Daily writing prompt
Do you ever see wild animals?
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I guess insects are animals too, and we have cicadas and crickets, wolf spiders, spider wasps of various kinds, including mud daubers and tarantula hawks, and sometimes I see them inside the house. We also have a lot of coyotes in the neighborhood. A few years ago, a coyote ran up to me as I was walking my two small dogs, a pug named Daisy and a Japanese Chin named Ryu. I was worried about my dogs, so I stared him down, and he ran off.

A coyote walking in the grass | Do You Ever See Wild Animals
Wild Coyote – (Canis latrans) Stock Photo ID: 1629174541 by Tory Kallman

Every now and then we leave the city and there’s plenty of wild animals in the countryside. Two days ago, we visited a dark spot in Oklahoma. A dark spot is an exceptionally dark place intended for sky watching. I saw a skunk in the middle of the night. But we’ve seen foxes, coyotes, deer, antelope, wild turkeys, turkey vultures, wild pigs, bobcats, eagles, fish of all kinds, and many other types of animals. In the past we’ve also gone fishing and hunting and we’ve seen many wild animals that way.

We’ve also visited national parks, for example, Yellow Stone and Grand Teton where we’ve seen grizzly bears, black bears, cinnamon bears, wolves, bison, elk, moose, prong horn, big horn sheep, marmots, whizzle pigs, and much more. I can add that sometimes we also visit other countries where we’ve seen more exotic wild animals, kangaroos, crocodiles, sharks, koalas, lynx, dolphins, etc.

A Bison is standing in a handicap spot | Do You Ever See Wild Animals
Bison in Yellowstone National Park
Elk in in Yellowstone National Park, photo by me
My daughter is wearing a pink rain jacket. She is holding a rainbow trout.
My daughter caught a rainbow trout in Jackson Lake in Grand Teton National Park, photo by me.
A big grizzly bear is coming out of the forest | Do You Ever See Wild Animals
Grizzly bear in Grand Teton National Park, photo by Gabriel Goncalves, a fellow traveler.
One grizzly bear cub is looking through a window of a blue car, the other is on the ground.
Grizzly bear cubs in Grand Teton National Park, photo by Gabriel Goncalves, a fellow traveler.
A whistle pig is sticking his head out of a hole in a wood floor.
A whistle pig in Yellowstone National Park. Photo by me.
A marmot is standing on its back legs looking into the camera | Do You Ever See Wild Animals
A marmot in Yellowstone National Park. Photo by me.
A grey wolf is standing sideways but looking into the camera.
A grey wolf in Yellowstone National Park.
A dark male moose with huge antlers.
A moose in Yellowstone National Park.
Tarantula and a Tarantula Wasp | Do You Ever See Wild Animals
A tarantula hawk (wasp) is stinging a tarantula and then dragging it. This was in Oklahoma. Photo by either me or my friend Mark Segal.

To see the Super Facts click here

Neutering or spaying a dog at 6 months old can be dangerous to their health

Superfact 21: Neutering or spaying a dog at 6 months old can be dangerous to their health depending on breed. It is often recommended that you should neuter or spay your dog by the age of 6 months even as early as 8 weeks. This may be OK for some smaller breeds but is dangerous to the health and longevity of many larger breeds.

Many dog welfare organizations, SPCA, ASCA, etc., recommend that dogs are neutered or spayed by the age of 6 months, or even as early as 8 weeks. It is also a common advice in dog books.

In addition, some veterinarians still hold onto this belief. It is easy to understand why. Dogs running loose and causing unwanted pregnancies resulting in puppies having to be euthanized is a sad problem we don’t want. 

Unfortunately, research has shown that neutering or spaying a dog at 6 months old can be dangerous to their health depending on the breed. You may need to wait 18 months or two years, and some breeds should not be neutered at all. In addition to the scientists in the relevant fields, professional and certified breeders, AKC and dog breed clubs and veterinarians who kept themselves informed on this issue are all aware of this.

In other words, we know this to be true, it is an important fact since so many of us own a dog, roughly half of all US households do, and yet this information is highly surprising to many. This is why I consider it a super fact.

Our yellow lab Baylor is on the left. Our brown-black German Shepherd Baby is on the right | Neutering or spaying a dog at 6 months old can be dangerous to their health depending on breed
This is our Labrador Baylor and German Shepherd Baby. Too early neutering and spaying can severely harm their health.

This less than a year-old article from the AKC states that “an age of six to nine months of age may be appropriate for neutering or spaying a toy breed puppy or small breed puppy but a larger or giant breed may need to wait until they are near or over 12-18 months of age.” The article also provides the following interesting information.

Research conducted by the University of California – Davis reveals that for some dog breeds, neutering and spaying may be associated with the increased risks of certain health conditions such as joint disorders including hip or elbow dysplasia, cranial cruciate rupture or tear, and some cancers, such as lymphoma, mast cell tumor, hemangiosarcoma, and osteosarcoma.

The research conclusions are not surprising. Sex hormones are important in the development of any animal.  We know they affect psychological development as well as the musculoskeletal, cardiovascular, and the immune system.

I believe this is the University of California – Davis article in question. It is from 2020. Notice that the suggested guidelines for age of neutering is beyond 23 months for several of the giant breeds in the table featuring 35 breeds.

Bronco, our Leonberger puppy is looking straight into the camera. He is wearing a red bandana | Neutering or spaying a dog at 6 months old can be dangerous to their health depending on breed
Our three months old Leonberger Bronco. The Leonberger is a giant breed you can neuter when they are older than two years old.

Recommended Ages for Neutering and Spaying

Below is a list of recommended ages for neutering and spaying for selected dog breeds.

  • Australian Shepherd, for neutering and spaying it is your choice.
  • Bernese Mountain Dog, you should neuter beyond the age of 23 months, but for spaying you have a free choice.
  • Boxer, neuter and spay beyond the age of 23 months.
  • Boston Terrier, neuter beyond 11 months, but for spaying you have a free choice.
  • Doberman Pincher, never neuter, and you need to spay beyond the age of 23 months.
  • German Shepherd, neuter and spay beyond the age of 23 months.
  • Labrador Retriever, neuter beyond 6 months and spay beyond 11 months.
  • Corgi, neuter beyond 6 months, but for spaying you have a free choice.
  • Great Dane, despite being a very large dog you have a free choice for both neutering and spaying.
  • Rottweiler, neuter beyond 11 months, but for spaying beyond 6 months.
A mini-Australian Shepherd puppy is peeking out behind a sofa chair.
Our mini-Australian Shepherd puppy Rollo. You can neuter this breed at an earlier age.

We used to own a male Leonberger dog, which is a giant breed. Our breeder told us to wait beyond two years before neutering him, for health reasons. This article from Hillhaven Leonbergers states the following “We recommend not neutering until at least 2 years of age…Some Vets would recommend from 6 months but this is NOT a good idea.” To read more about the neutering and spaying of Leonberger dogs click here.

Our Leonberger dog Bronco is standing on a red leather sofa. He is stretching to give me a hug.
Our Leonberger dog Bronco is giving me a hug. He was about one year old in the picture. That is still too early to neuter him.

This article from the Saint Bernard Club of America states that “above all, no giant breed puppy should be altered before the growth plates in the bones have matured and closed, usually between 15 and 24 months of age.” This Newfoundland dog magazine states : Currently, the recommended age that a Newfoundland dog should be neutered is 18 to 24 months due to the possible health problems that can arise from altering before that age.

A Saint Bernard dog carrying the typical cognac container. There are mountains in the background | Neutering or spaying a dog at 6 months old can be dangerous to their health depending on breed
According to the article above you should wait to neuter Saint Bernard Dogs until they are close to two years old. Saint Bernard Stock Photo ID: 1713912484 by fred12.
A dark brown Newfoundland dog standing on a stump in the forest.
According to the article above you should wait to neuter Newfoundland Dogs until they are between 18 to 24 months old. Newfoundland dog Stock Photo ID: 1925281937 by Marsan.

Even though the expert advice regarding the best age for neutering and spaying varies, it is clear that doing it at six months old is too early for many breeds and can harm their health.

To see the other Super Facts click here

There are flying Turkeys

Superfact 20: Domesticated Turkeys and Wild Turkeys are the same species, but Wild Turkeys can fly. So yes, there are flying turkeys.

I think this is a super-fact, because the Turkey is a very important bird to Americans and at the same time a lot of people, including Americans, do not know that Turkeys are not flightless birds.

Domesticated turkeys are flightless but wild turkeys are not flightless. Wild turkeys can fly distances of more than a mile, sometimes at speeds of 55 miles per hour. I’ve seen it with my own eyes on turkey hunts. I’ve seen turkeys fly and glide across the sky at the height of 30-50 feet. I’ve seen them flap their wings and then take off.

A standing male turkey with a white head, red neck, and fluffed up feathers | There are flying Turkeys
The turkey my oldest son shot when he was 11 years old.
My son is standing next to truck holding a dead turkey by the legs.
My son holding the turkey he shot.

The photo above is a Tom, a male turkey, that my oldest son shot when he was 11 years old. Male turkeys are called Toms and females hens. We took it to a taxidermist for preservation and mounting. I should add that we typically ate the meat of everything we shot. Taking a wild turkey to the taxidermist makes eating the animal more complicated but you can typically ask for the breast meat of the turkey.

Personally, I think that legal hunting is a lot more humane than eating meat from animals from factory farms.

A male turkey in the middle of flight | There are flying Turkeys
Eastern Wild Turkey Meleagris gallopavo flying over the snow in Ottawa, Canada Stock Photo ID: 1358163995 by Jim Cumming.

I should add that legal hunting is often encouraged for conservation and population management. For example, moose are hunted in Sweden (my native country) to manage their large population (400,000 moose), which can cause damage to forests and agriculture, as well as starvation among moose, if not managed. Illegal hunting, on the other hand, is something nefarious. Below is a video showing wild turkeys flying (video is about one minute long).

I wish everyone a very happy Thanksgiving

To see the other Super Facts click here

Grizzly 399 is dead

I just read the sad news 399, a female grizzly bear named after her tag number died on Tuesday October 22 at the age of 28. She was hit by a car. They are looking for her cubs. Grizzly bear 399 was arguably the most famous grizzly bear in the United States. Unlike the typical bear, Grizzly 399 regularly gave birth to triplets rather than twins.

She lived in the Yellowstone and Grand Teton national park area, near Snake River, and she was seen and admired by thousands of visitors. Her Instagram account has 55,000 followers, books were written about her and documentaries were made. She had 22 cubs throughout her life.

Grizzly 399 in the meadow. She is followed by her three cubs | Grizzly 399 is dead
Grizzly 399 with three cubs. Photo from Wikipedia by StevenPDeVries, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0&gt;, via Wikimedia Commons

She is special to me because we also encountered her and three of her cubs during a visit to Grand Teton national park in 2007. It was a school trip organized by the math teacher and each kid was accompanied by at least one parent to give the math teacher a break. Grizzly 399 gave us a very memorable experience.

Photo including a somewhat turbulent Snake River with the Teton mountain range in the background.
My photo of the Teton mountain range taken from Snake River.

Grizzly 399 frequently sought human company. She came down to the roads with her cubs and stayed with the passersby for hours. She did not beg for food. She just wanted to stay with people and this article describes her as a gentle soul.

Grizzly bears seeking human company is normally a dangerous situation and grizzly bears seeking human company are therefore often shot to protect the public. Grizzlies are dangerous animals. They can kill people both out of aggression and for food. However, the park rangers left Grizzly 399 and her cubs alone because they deemed her harmless. She frequently interacted with people without ever showing any aggression towards people.

Four cars that are stopped on the road letting the grizzlies cross the road.
A photo of Grizzly 399 and a couple of her cubs taken in June 2007 by fellow trip participant Gabriel Goncalves.

Her behavior was somewhat strange, but I was told by a ranger that male grizzlies sometimes kill cubs, and this was her way of protecting the cubs. Grizzlies tend to stay away from people, except her, so she used people as a shield to protect her cubs.

One grizzly cub is looking in the window of a blue car. The other one is right behind.
A photo of two of 399’s cubs. The photo was taken in June 2007 by a fellow trip participant Gabriel Goncalves.

One ranger told us a story about 399 that sounded a bit scary. A hiker, hiking alone (which you should not do) stumbled upon 399 and her cubs as they were in the middle of eating an Elk carcass. He had come out of a thicket and had not seen them until he essentially bumped into them. He screamed on top of his lungs because he was shocked and started running. 399, who was equally startled, pursued him. He laid down on the ground as he had read that he should do when pursued by a grizzly. 399, sniffed him but did not touch him. Her two cubs bit his behind but not hard.

After the grizzlies had left, he stood up, walked away and went to a hospital to check out the bites on his bum, which allegedly were not bad.

Shrubs, bushes and trees and a grizzly bear walking in the middle. There are cubs behind her, still in the bushes | Grizzly 399 is dead
399 is approaching the road. Her cubs are in the background. The photo was taken in June 2007 by a fellow trip participant Gabriel Goncalves.

As for us, we had a somewhat scary experience with Grizzly 399, but as it turned out, we were never in any danger. Someone that he had seen enough and decided to leave, so he drove his car, with a trailer in between 399 and her cubs. Someone rightly thought that was dumb and decided to improve the situation by angrily honking.

As a result, 399 started running towards us, the large group of tourists standing outside taking pictures. People started screaming and running, and unfortunately the math teacher who had organized the trip fell and got trampled by the panicking people.

Six cars a car with a big trailer and a grizzly mother and three cubs on the road | Grizzly 399 is dead
399 is crossing the road with her cubs. The photo was taken in June 2007 by a fellow trip participant Gary Weinstein.

A lot of other things happened during the panic. People ran back to their cars or to any car. A couple of my fellow trip participants found themselves blocked from entering their own car (on the side away from the bear) because a plus sized lady was stuck in their door.

By pushing her from behind they were able to get her inside and could then enter the car themselves. The kids were standing on top of the SUVs that we had rented and crawled back into the cars through the sunroofs. My son entered the car last by his own choice.

A grizzly bear is walking out of the thicket in a forest nearby the road | Grizzly 399 is dead
The math teacher, Frank Jordan, took this photo of 399.

As it turned out the panic was completely unnecessary. 399 was not chasing anyone and was not really running towards us. She was running to the end of the car with the trailer to get around it to get to her cubs on the other side. Below are a few more photos taken by my fellow trip participants. I did not get good photos of this event, so I am not including them.

Cars a trailer, and grizzly mother with her cubs on the road | Grizzly 399 is dead
399 and her cubs amongst the cars. The photo was taken in June 2007 by a fellow trip participant Carl Ondracek.
Grand Teton and a few other mountains in the Teton range reflected in a lake.
A view of the Teton Mountain range. The big mountain is Grand Teton. The photo was taken in June 2007 by a fellow trip participant Gabriel Goncalves.
The Teton range towering an island is reflected in a lake.
Jackson Lake, an island and the Teton Mountain range in the background. The photo was taken in June 2007 by a fellow trip participant Gabriel Goncalves.

To see the Super Facts click here