Animal Pictures

Hi Rob:  I don't remember seeing any, but that doesn't mean there aren't some.  They have a wildlife tour here, you have time to go thru about 4,000 pics.  lol

Last year, there was an email going around about a baby muntjac who'd lost it's mother.  This link is from that email and has some pics:

A friend who's a wildlife biologist sent me a picture of a muntjac skull.  Evidently they have canine teeth.  I'd never known that there was any deer species with canines.

Ruth:

Yep, muntjacs are deer with tusks--and they bark! The Reeves muntjac was introduced to Woburn Abbey from China in the early years of the 20th century, and from whence they made their inevitable escape into the wider English countryside! I understand that they are quite common now, especially in the Midlands. I've been told by several people in England, including one of my cousins in Wiltshire, that if you order venison in a restaurant or pub, chances are that it is muntjac, which is supposed to taste better than other venison.

 My wife and I encountered our first (and only) muntjac three years ago when she and I were strolling around the grounds of Stowe Gardens (Bucks). It was a lovely October day and we had the whole place nearly to ourselves. We were having a look at the Gothic Temple when this strange creature about the size of a medium-to-large dog slowly loped across in front of us no more than 20 feet away. Neither of us had seen anything like it before--it had strange straight antlers and when it turned to look at us the dark striped markings of its face made it look like it was wearing a mask. That's when we also saw the small tusks! The strangest thing about it, though, were its eyes--they were a weird, piercing yellow-brown, almost creepy. Both my wife and I swear to this day that it nodded to us as it passed by--I almost expected it to bid us "good morning!" Given the exotic setting, it was our own private Narnia moment!

Strange critters! Where did you grow up, Sue?