Our weekend started off, just like every other weekend... all of sleeping in a little later, breakfast around the table, followed by a few cartoons before we head outside to adventure, swim, or play with our animals. Today, something different happened. Something we never expected. The kids and I had our swimsuits on, we were headed for the pool. Naturally, my son had to be the first one there and raced as fast as he could. "I'll beat you all there!" he said, as he sprinted. The next thing I heard, not only make me laugh but at the same time I was concerned! My son YELLED at the top of his lungs, "There's a RACCCOOOOOOON in the pppppoooooooool!!!!!!!" "A WHAT?" I yelled back, "are you sure?". After sprinting across the yard, I get to the pool.. cautiously I slowly walk up to the side, and peek in... At this point I'm expecting a live animal to come thrashing at me. At which I would have had no choice but to run and save myself, the pool cleaning net wouldn't have stood a chance! Well, that wasn't the case for this poor unsuspecting animal. It didn't realize that we have #PoolSafety rules, and the ladder is far away and on its side, not anywhere near the pool. The poor animal couldn't get out. I say animal because at this point I had no idea what it was. My son said raccoon, and this.... this wasn't a raccoon. This wasn't like anything I had ever seen before. I honestly thought it was a mongoose or something. It had large sharp claws and teeth, and frankly it was really terrifying. Dead or not. After I consulted with my best friend Google, I found out that this was a Coatimundi ! A what? I had to figure out what it was so I browsed a few websites and found some facts about Coati's I'd love to share with you (Don't worry, my family is NOW very well educated about this particular animal... haha). Oh! and guess what? My son was close because The Coatimundi is a member of the raccoon family! See more facts below: Here are some Coati Facts I found here: http://a-z-animals.com/animals/coati/ Kingdom:Animalia Phylum:Chordata Class:Mammalia Order:Carnivora Family:Procyonidae Genus:Nasua Scientific Name:Nasua Nasua Type:Mammal Diet:Omnivore Size:33-60cm (13-24in) Weight:3-8kg (6-18lbs) Top Speed:24km/h (15mph) Life Span:8-15 years Lifestyle:Band Conservation Status:Least Concern Colour:Black, Brown, White, Grey, Red, Tan Skin Type:Fur Favourite Food:Fruit Habitat:Forests, grasslands, desert Average Litter Size:4 Main Prey:Fruit, Nuts, Small mammals and reptiles Predators:Wildcats, Birds of Prey, Crocodiles Special Features:Elongated snout and long, bushy tail Finally all settled down, I got my husband on the phone and told him he's never allowed to leave home again without a throughout look around the entire yard. 5 acres. OR ELSE! I was the lucky one who had to get the poor thing out of the pool. I then called animal control and had him removed. The moral of this story is, always check your pool before you decide to haul off and jump in feet first. ;)
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Lisa B
Life is too short, learn to let it go, learn to laugh & learn to have fun. ArchivesCategories |