A burglar caught in the act

[A very short story]

 

Some time ago, when Verbascums were in full bloom,

I went to Mt. Hymittos, parked my car on the side of the road

and started looking for a Verbascum to take a picture of.

 

  

IMG_2528 [Verbascum]

 

 After having taken the photo above,

I returned to the car to pick up something I had forgotten there.

 

 

804_0820 [Vulpes vulpes]

 To my great surprise,

I saw an animal curiously looking into the car

through the half-opened window.

Was it a burglar looking for something to steal

or was it “a poor empty stomach”

desperately looking for something to eat?

 

 

804_0821 [Vulpes vulpes]

Frightened by my unexpected arrival, it jumped off my car…

804_0822 [Vulpes vulpes]

and rather disappointed, it slowly walked away…

804_0835 [Vulpes vulpes]

 sniffing the ground for traces that would possibly lead to food.

IMG_4441 [Vulpes vulpes]

Quite some time later, on my way home,

I saw an animal lover

offering the poor hungry animal a rich evening meal!

 

Well done, my friend!

👍👍👍

IMG_0851 [Vulpes vulpes]

The last photo seems to show just an animal.

It surely does so, but it also shows something invisible:

gratitude!

This fox is just one of the various foxes

that the animal lover fed on each of his visits to the mountain

before he went home.

In spite of being hungry,

when she realized that the man was leaving,

she stopped eating and kept looking at him with deep gratitude

until he was out of sight at the end of the road!

 

Love for animals and Gratitude:

Two lessons we may need to learn,

no matter whether they originate from a human being

or from an animal!

Nasua nasua

_MG_3036 [Nasua nasua]

 

_MG_3038 [Nasua nasua]

 

Nasua nasua are medium-sized mammals

commonly known as South American coatis.

They are pretty similar to raccoons as they belong in the same family.

They live in groups of up to 40 and keep together

even when they look for food on trees or on the ground.

They eat fruit, vegetables, insects, eggs, etc.

 

I have never seen them live, except in the Attica Zoological Park

where they were incessantly playing on the branches of a tree.

 

 

Cervus elaphus

802_6745 [Cervus elaphus]

 

A male Cervus elaphus, proud of its antlers

 

By the way, 

• “Antlers are shed and regrown each year and function primarily as objects of sexual attraction and as weapons in fights between males for control of harems.”
• “They start growing in the spring and are shed each year, usually at the end of winter."
• "Antlers typically measure 71 cm (28 in) in total length and weigh 1 kg (2.2 lb.), although large ones can grow to 115 cm (45 in) and weigh 5 kg (11 lb.)”. [Source: Wikipedia]

 

Photographed on Mt. Parnitha on September 05, 201

 

 

Fountain of the Lions

302_1280 [Fountail of the Lions]

The head of a lion.

 

Figures like this, pouring water through their mouth, decorate fountains in numerous parts of the world. Curious to know where this one was found? Follow your imagination to Italy, … to Rome, … to Plazza del Popolo, … to the Obelisk in the center of the Plazza, … and look at the base of the Obelisk. Four similar lions stand there, each one on a small pyramid and constitute the Fountain of the Lions: A piece of work designed by the Italian architect Valadier in 1823. 

 

For a nice view of the Plazza itself please click here (Wikipedia).

 

Photographed on August 17, 2009

 

Communication

303_9818 [Communication - dolphins]

Photographed in Athens zoo on September 19, 2012

Podarcis muralis

802_9233 [Podarcis muralis]

Did you know that …

     • It usually reaches a length of 20 cm of which about 14 are the tail?
     • It has acute vision and hearing?
     • It can walk even vertically on walls?
     • It can swim but it systematically avoids water?
     • It is mainly fed with insects, worms, bugs and various fruits, with a particular preference for strawberries, oranges and plums?
     • It goes into hibernation?

I didn’t, at least some of them, until I consulted a book on Zoology* for the purpose of this post!
* Εκπαιδευτική Ελληνική Εγκυκλοπαίδεια, Τόμος 11, σσ. 307-308, Εκδοτική Αθηνών 1983

Photographed on Mt. Parnitha on June 21, 2017

A lone rider

DSCN1576 [A lone rider]

Photographed in Acapulco on January 28, 2008

Cervus elaphus: A portrait

8021373 [Cervus elaphus: A portrait]

I was driving slowly along the road when I noticed this beauty standing by the road and looking at the car approaching her. I thought she would run away as I was getting closer but I proved wrong. I slowed down even more and eventually I stopped in front of her. To my amazement, she didn’t go. Instead, she kept staring at me through the open window. Was I a familiar face to her? Did she want to be photographed? I have no idea. I grabbed my camera [It’s always on standby] and took a couple of pictures of her as calmly as I could. When I finished, she was kind enough to accept a piece of cake I had put aside for an afternoon snack. An interesting encounter! 

Photographed on Mt. Parnitha on August 25, 2015

Panthera leo bleyenberghi

801_7689 [Panthera leo bleyenberghi]

Photographed in Attica Zoological Park on October 02, 2014

CCC_9702 [Panthera leo bleyenberghi]

Photographed in Attica Zoological Park on September 19, 2012

Did you know that:

• The roar of the lion can be heard as far as 5km away helping to demarcate territory?
• They sleep at least 20 hours a day?
• Females can reach a weight of 190 kilos, while males can reach 225?

Ichthyosaura alpestris

DDD3245 [Ichthyosaura alpestris]

An amphibian creature - relative to Salamandra - in a forest pond at an altitude of 1800m.

Photographed on Mt. Oiti on August 10, 2013

Trachemys scripta elegans

CCC_9761 [Trachemys scripta elegans]

This turtle of American origin spends most of its time in the water but it likes to leave the water and bask in the sun on a sunny day. It is usually found in slow moving rivers, streams and ponds.

Photographed in Athens zoo on September 19, 2012

Cervus elaphus

DDD_1914 [Cervus elaphus]

For life facts relating to Cervus elaphus and for a relative video posted earlier on this blog
please click here.

Photographed on Mt. Parnitha on April 13, 2013

“A New Kitten on the Block”!

DDD2640 [kitten]

This kitten,whose eyes were closed until a few days ago, is a new resident in our block of flats. Inexperienced of our world, she's curiously looking into something that people call "photographic lens".

Photographed in Holargos on May 24, 2013

A lion’s eye

CCC_9713 [A lion’s eye]

Athens Zoo:  19/09/2012, photo by Tony Taglides

Giraffa camelopardalis

CCC_9777 [Giraffa camelopardalis]

Athens zoo: 19/09/2012, photo by Tony Taglides

Dolphins

CCC_9582 [dolphins]

Athens zoo:  19/09/2012, photo by Tony Taglides

Click photo for a larger view.

An artist gets inspired

CCC_9419 [pop up, deer]

Please click on the photos for a larger view

In summer 2007 a raging fire burned out a vast area of forest on Mt. Parnitha leaving behind not only a depressing sight but also large numbers of homeless animals like Red deer (Cervus elaphus) among others.  

CCC_9404 WM

Today, Spyros Dasiotis (Σπύρος Ντασιώτης), a forest ranger on Mt. Parnitha and an artist, came up with the brilliant idea of giving life in his own way to some of the half-burned tree-trunks left behind after the fire. He is visualizing a park with wooden statues to be laid out next to a nearby deserted sanatorium where so many people have lost their lives. His works, although still lying on the ground unfinished, seem to express feelings that could be triggered off by a lost life or by a burned forest.

We would like to congratulate him on the idea

and we are looking forward to seeing his project completed soon.

Here follow a few pictures of his works, albeit still unfinished.  
 

CCC_9414 WM

CCC_9413 WM

CCC_9411 WM

CCC_9394 WM

CCC_9403 WM

Mt. Parnitha: 07/09/2012, photos by Tony Taglides