El Diablo Pequeno y Los Otros Animales de Mazunte!

Domestic and wild creatures abound in this town… contributing to my amusement and fascination at times, yet more than a little exasperation at others! 

Let’s start with “El Diablo Pequeno” (the little devil), the name I have christened Carlos’ pet cat, fondly known to him simply as “Kitty”. 

El Diablo Pequeno, mistaking me for her mother?? Kneading my leg with vigor...darned sharp claws...ouch!!!

She has earned this designation from me because of her mischievous nature: one moment being infinitely affectionate and purring away madly, and the next, swatting or taking a nip at me with her razor sharp teeth! Additionally, I am perpetually appalled by the number of hapless creatures that she captures just to play with, mangling their little bodies but NOT killing them so that they might be put out of their misery! I intercede and rescue as many as I can… though rarely in time to save them from a certain, prolonged death. Carlos is quite defensive of the cat, claiming that it is in her nature and I just need to let her be. Well, it is in MY nature to practice ahimsa--non-violence--and to stop such acts of others whenever possible--even if it be the acts of an unconscious feline. In fact, the most heated argument between myself and Carlos is around this topic. I don’t back down...neither does he! (Though a meditating yogi, he is NOT a vegetarian like myself, so is not sensitive, apparently, to the plight of these poor little creatures.)


Yep...about to pounce on some poor, innocent little creature...every type, from  crickets to gorgeous lizards to an astounding variety of insects...


And yet how docile and harmless she can appear...don't be deceived! Today I stopped her from killing a beautiful bird that flew into our outdoor patio...I have read that domestic cats kill about a billion wild birds every year. I say, time to stop these cats from breeding!!!! See why she lives up to "El Diablo Pequeno"?! 


Moving on, we have the infernal rooster, apparently iconic to Mazunte in much the same way as the tortuga is. Granted, they are beautiful--displaying an amazing variety of colors--but unquestionably a royal pain in the you-know-what! 








They crow frequently and loudly during the day, but that is nothing compared with the volume and multitudes of them belting out their raucous noise in the wee hours of morning, WAY before daybreak! The record? 12:30 a.m.! Not even a hint of light in the sky, so what gives?! Totally blows all my previous misconceptions about roosters crowing in order to herald in the dawn. So as to NOT have my sleep disturbed, it is necessary to sleep with earplugs, 3 fans whirring loudly close to my head, and the heavy shutters closed. NOT fun at all!!!


(Images NOT included: any one of the legions of loudly barking dogs, so prolific everywhere in Mexico, it seems... not cared for properly, forever disturbing the peace, driving me completely nuts! Day and night they bark, for no reason I can discern whatsoever...as bad as, and often worse than, the noisy roosters!)


Other domestic animals include the ones you see below:


The neighboring farmer's bovines, just down the road. Sadly, I heard some unpleasant squeals wafting up to mi casa the other day... later saw that two of these sweet little guys had disappeared. Undoubtedly taken to the slaughter, as Mexicans do love their pork...breaks my heart, truly. 


The "black sheep", indeed! Newly sheered, or too young to be woolly?


This sad little burro was tied up outside a gate up a road I explored, high in the hills. All alone... I was happy to give him/her some ear-scritching love!


Finally, some images of the assortment of small insects I managed to rescue before El Diablo could do her dirty work:


Wolf spider, I believe.... totally harmless. I rescued one from Carlos, whose  intention was to stomp out its life...and this man is a self-proclaimed "yogi"?! Go figure...no wonder he has no problem with the cat's destructiveness...

The lovely June Bug, attracted to the screen of the patio by the light, I suppose. I am constantly rescuing these little animals from the screen before El Diablo can attack them!


Leaf Insect, aka Walking Leaf. Amazing, how much its wings really do resemble leaves!


One of the many butterflies that fly inside the patio and get trapped... it gives me immense satisfaction to rescue them and set them free outside!



One of El Diablo's outdoor conquests.... I got it away from her but not sure the poor thing managed to live....


These amazing crickets are everywhere, and are, sadly, one of El Diablo's favorite play things. Their chirping is so lovely in the night!


Next blog post: more scenes of the colorful towns and mis casas favoritas!




Comments

  1. Valerie StoreyOctober 8, 2020 at 1:43 PM

    Such amazing creatures, really interesting to see all the insect life--I never really thought about the different varieties that lived in the area, I'm guessing this is just a small sample. As for Ms. Kitty, I must say she is a very beautiful cat, no wonder Carlos spoils her so--I would too! Hope she doesn't get too mad at you, LOL!

    ReplyDelete
  2. JeanneOctober 10, 2020 at 7:30 PM

    I love crickets chirping at night too. But the rooster crowing at 12:30 a.m. is crazy! Wish Carlos would agree to put a bell collar around el diablo pequeno but I have heard that is dangerous too if it gets caught on something. May all beings be happy and all suffering quickly cease 🕉
    Met any other gringos in Mazunte? Are you taking those pictures with your phone? They are super good!

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