#  >  > Living And Legal Affairs In Thailand >  >  > Farming & Gardening In Thailand >  >  > Thailands Zoos and Animals >  >  Napping in the mid-day heat

## Sumocakewalk

Here's a few snap shots of the menagerie taking a break during the heat of the day.

Starting with Soda, the miniature pincher who has been my wife's companion for 14 years. That's quite old for a dog of this small size. She likes to park underneath the computer desk and gets the occasional foot massage to make sure she's still with us.



Next there's Val, a 2 year old Thai mix. We found Val one evening while riding the motorcycle to dinner. She was only about 3 months old and was sitting in the middle of the main highway in the dark barking. This road is a death trap for dogs of all ages, and it would not have been long before she would have been the next victim. My wife suggested taking her to the parent's farm as one of their dogs had just passed on. We spent the next 45 minutes chasing her around a cane truck trailer as she was reluctant to be nabbed. By that time about 15 Thai locals were involved and she was finally scooped up by a young man with a bath towel. Val acquired her name since she was found on Valentine's day. As it turned out, back at the farm they didn't want a female dog, so she ended up with us. Val is what the Thai people would refer to as "ba", quite crazy and high strung. If she manages to get out of the yard, it takes us a lot of chasing and coaxing to get her back. She went missing for 5 weeks one time after we had brought her to the farm for a change of scenery. It was a big mistake to let her off the rope. She was found roaming a nearby field and was still in good shape and happy to see us.



Now here's Bonnie, a 7 month old Soi dog that has taken to us and spends time in the yard with the other pets. She's very easy going and gets along well with all. Unfortunately, Bonnie's brother, whom she used to spend all her time with, got too adventurous and was flattened by a truck on that same highway that Val was found on about 50 meters down the Soi just one week ago. So I think she appreciates the company of Val now in her brother's place.



This brings us to Becky, an American short hair cat we have had for about 4 years. Becky decided to wake up from her nap for a little grooming. She is very easy going, and as long as the dogs are not trying to play rough, she's quite OK being around them.



Lastly, there is poor Irving, who I'm afraid is on a permanent nap break. I found Irving one evening on our bathroom wall. I was amazed at the size of this mosquito and hadn't seen anything like him before. I quickly grabbed an empty peanut butter jar from the kitchen and managed to scoop him up before he flew away. He sounded like a small airplane buzzing when he tried to take flight. I attempted to keep Irving alive for as long as possible, putting succulent leaves in the jar in the hope that he might draw fluids. He put up a good fight and lived for about a week in captivity. I still have not been able to identify what type of mosquito this is. I suspect it is male judging by the large size of the antennae. If anybody has any info that would help identify this insect, please share. That's a one baht coin to give an idea of the size.



Missing from the photo set is a tokay gecko I've named Gertie, who inhabits the kitchen of our house. I've assumed it's a female because of her size, which I think is smaller than a male. We usually hear Gertie several times a week, and I occasionally see her parked around the ceiling beams at night. I know where she sleeps in a notch in the wall and sometimes see her poking her head out as she gets ready for the evening rounds. On a couple of occasions I have found large insects in the kitchen area and I've tossed those up to the crevice where Gertie hides, and much to my amusement she's jumped out and snapped them up.

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## david44

Tnahks great pix
We had a Tannoy level male (according to locals) tokay under wooden stairs in the old hhouse it was over a foot long ,lovely colours and eau de nil droppings.In mating season was like a boom box around 2am seemed the peek time curfew or not,loud enough to wake if sleeping lightly !

I love watching ginks and despite the droppings they hoover up the insects

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## Necron99

Who ties up a cat?

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## Yasojack

stop the cat from attacking the dogs :Smile:

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## Sumocakewalk

> Who ties up a cat?


For the cat's safety and that of all small animals, insects, anything that moves, etc., we've been tethering her with a rope since she was a kitten whenever she is outside. She is OK with that as she is used to it.

I'm afraid the life span of a cat roaming freely here would be cut short by road traffic, Soi dogs that are not the friendly kind, poisons used carelessly, and so on.

I've seen the effects on the dog population as in the span of 4 years, several neighborhood dogs, pets and Soi, have died from various mishaps, and this is a small Soi with only a few houses.

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## mingmong

You can come too Our Village anytime and rescue the Cats, We lived in Dad's old wood House next to the Temple.the Monk had 20+ cats He was proud of, 1 a Burmese color lived in our roof, entertainment for the dogs below!

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## Sumocakewalk

> You can come too Our Village anytime and rescue the Cats, We lived in Dad's old wood House next to the Temple.the Monk had 20+ cats He was proud of, 1 a Burmese color lived in our roof, entertainment for the dogs below!


Thanks for the invitation, but one cat is more than enough. Having all these pets certainly puts a crimp on your lifestyle as any time you want to get away you need to make arrangements for care. Fortunately the extended family is nearby to offer some assistance with that.

The situation with temples and using them as a dumping ground for unwanted animals is quite interesting here. I thinks it's better than dumping them off in the countryside where they might have little to no chance of survival. 

Unfortunately one of the attitudes that I've come up against here is that the animals can be left to their own fate, such that if they become another roadkill victim, it's their fault for being stupid. That's a common Thai way of animal birth control instead of having the animals spayed or neutered to prevent them from multiplying. For Bonnie the Soi dog, we went to the local vet and bought medicine to keep her from going into heat for a few months.

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## Latindancer

I think Irving was a midge. Definitely not a mosquito :  Insects Commonly Mistaken for Mosquitoes

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## Davis Knowlton

If those critters were people, it would look like my house has looked all day. Sweltering - 35 degrees, 75% humidity - day after day..............

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## Sumocakewalk

> If those critters were people, it would look like my house has looked all day. Sweltering - 35 degrees, 75% humidity - day after day..............


I should be thankful to be here then, as even though it's 38 degrees, the humidity is about 50% according to the cheapo hygrometer on the wall. It shows the green "comfort" zone for humidity as being up to 70%.

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## Dillinger

Do you ever exercise these pets ?

Those canines look a bit chubby

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## Sumocakewalk

> I think Irving was a midge. Definitely not a mosquito :  Insects Commonly Mistaken for Mosquitoes


Nope, definitely not a midge. When Irving is right side up, he looks just like a mosquito, only B-52 size. I'll have to try to get another shot of him and post again.

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## Sumocakewalk

> Do you ever exercise these pets ?
> 
> Those canines look a bit chubby


Bonnie the Soi dog is normal in girth. It's just the way the photo was taken that isn't flattering.

Val on the other hand is a bit on the porky side. She's was spayed and following that she started to put on some weight. She get's daily walks and does some spirited running around the yard, but I'm sure could do with a bit more exercise. We also try to limit the food intake and the quality of the food is considered. I wish we could let her run around on her own more, but due to her crazy behavior we have to keep her on a leash when out of the yard.

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## Dillinger

I wouldn't fancy owning a dog in Thailand, too bloody hot to walk them, plus all the stories of poisonings. I brought a kitten back home the other night and put the whingeing thing back on the street when I sobered up the next day  :Smile:

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## Sumocakewalk

Here are a couple of photos of Irving right side up. Hopefully this will help in the identification.

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## FloridaBorn

> That's quite old for a dog of this small size


Actually small dogs live longer.



> I think Irving was a midge. Definitely not a mosquito : Insects Commonly Mistaken for Mosquitoes





> Nope, definitely not a midge. When Irving is right side up, he looks just like a mosquito, only B-52 size. I'll have to try to get another shot of him and post again.


Irving's most likely a crane fly, it has no proboscis, let alone a long one used by mosquitoes. The male proboscis is generally longer  :mid:  then the females. It would probably be male were it a mosquito given the males are larger and they don't bite. The females bite to produce eggs mostly, in normal times they suck nectar from flowers except when they are producing eggs.  




> Crane Flies, Family Tipulidae
> Although a crane fly might look like a giant mosquito, it doesn't bite.
> 
> Flickr user edans (CC license)
> This is a crane fly. People often think these are giant mosquitoes. Admittedly, many crane flies do kind of look like mosquitoes on steroids, but they're completely harmless, just like midges. They're called crane flies for their incredibly long legs, like those of the similarly long-limbed birds. Many members of this group dwarf the typical mosquito, but not all crane flies are giants.
> 
> Look for these clues to differentiate a crane fly from a mosquito:
> 
> long legs - A crane fly typically has very long, slender legs in comparison to its body length.
> ...


A different species of crane fly, but most likely a crane fly..

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## david44

What camera looks better than my smartphone output.

As for dumping animals 
Unwanted daughters Falang
Unwanted sons army
Unwanted politicians sandpit

They've palace for everything in the best of all right-thinking hubs

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## Kurgen

To me, Irving looks like he's got a drink problem.

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## Sumocakewalk

> Originally Posted by Sumocakewalk
> 
> That's quite old for a dog of this small size
> 
> 
> Actually small dogs live longer.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you for the clarification on the longevity of small dogs. There is a vet here that told us it is common for this kind of dog to last about 12 years, so we figure that Soda is doing pretty well to be in the shape she's in at 14. She's deaf now and her eyesight is not so good anymore, but she can see well enough to recognize hand signals.

About Irving, there is a proboscis, it's just bent up a little bit. In the second of the right side up photos, you can see three appendages at the end of the snout, and the one in the middle is the proboscis.

The other aspect that contrasts with the crane fly description is the lack of a straight appearance. Irv most definitely has the humpback manner of a mosquito.

So far I have not found any information on giant mosquitos that are native to Thailand. I did find a page that showed a giant variety of mosquito found in Brisbane, which looks very similar to Irv. When Irv was alive, he held his legs in exactly the manner in these photos, as most mosquitoes I have seen do. Could this be an accidentally introduced species from somewhere else? Or, perhaps some endemic but relatively uncommon type? I wish I knew of an entomologist here in Thailand to contact. 

Here's the link to the page on the Brisbane mosquito:

Predatory Mosquito - Toxorhynchites speciosus

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## mingmong

[QUOTEI've seen the effects on the dog population as in the span of 4 years, several neighborhood dogs, pets and Soi, have died from various mishaps, and this is a small Soi with only a few houses.][/QUOTE]

 I witnessed the neighbours Thai dog die of poisoning last year, really sad, Locals said it was a Band of Thieves in the area, we have our Suspects but!

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## FloridaBorn

> The other aspect that contrasts with the crane fly description is the lack of a straight appearance. Irv most definitely has the humpback manner of a mosquito.


Irving is humped back because Irving is bent over dead, his body is bending from the head area.

Actually it's true that much of the reason you Min pin is a bit of an exception is because she's a down sized version of a larger dog through breeding, so yes in that case she is getting up in years as that breed has not been around for dozens of generations like many other downsized breed dogs have or just plain naturally small breeds. By the way recently they came up with some new formula for determining a dogs age based on size and so forth now but it's like trying to figure out the Chinese calender. Mathematically it's some convoluted equation but no longer do they determine all breeds to age the same ratio as humans of what used to be 7 human years to 1 canine year.

Anyway good luck on your research on the rare and unusual Mosquito you seem to think you have, It could be I admit it does seem to have several characteristics of one, maybe you've discovered one of those mutant mossies that were exposed to the nuclear waste from Japan?

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## mattrauen

dogs life

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## FloridaBorn

> I wouldn't fancy owning a dog in Thailand, too bloody hot to walk them, plus all the stories of poisonings. I brought a kitten back home the other night and put the whingeing thing back on the street when I sobered up the next day


That cat's a real cutie, too bad you dumped it again, it's certain it was just scared and disoriented it would have calmed down or am I being duped here and you still have it?  :mid:

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## FloridaBorn

Frig!!  :Doh:  I just realized my post above has a big mistake. I meant 7 dog years to 1 human year..

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## Derk

Irving might be introduced with specific work permit

Bye,
Derk

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## Sumocakewalk

> Irving might be introduced with specific work permit


Thank you for the link. It seems relatively certain that Irving is one of the mosquito species from the genus Toxorhynchites, also called an "elephant mosquito". There is some information on this genus in Wikipedia, but it doesn't give details about the origins of the different species. I had read in a couple of other places how these are being used to reduce the occurrence of dengue fever, due to their predatory behavior towards other mosquito larvae.

Here's the Wikipedia link for anyone interested:

Toxorhynchites - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Here's another link to a scientific paper that talks about the biology of Toxorhynchites mosquitoes and their potential as biocontrol agents:

http://www.cabi.org/bni/FullTextPDF/...0003030873.pdf

This paper indicates that Toxorhynchites mosquitoes inhabit most of the tropical regions of the world.

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## FloridaBorn

Oh man kind screwing with nature once again.. Here in Florida they introduced the Asian wasp some years ago was supposed to be harmless to humans and so on as it destroyed fruit flies and ate the larvae, thus protecting our fruit industry especially the citrus but now it's a pest wasp and they do sting too.

Up in the great lakes they introduced the zebra mollusk to clean the water as they are very good at removing nitrates and other chemicals from the water and they have done a wonderful job.. Unfortunately they had so much food to fed on and reproduce that now they are blocking off hydro electric turbines and attaching so thickly to the bottom of ships and such that they are causing increased fuel consumption and many other problems.. Now they are inches thick on the bottom of the lakes and endangering other water ways. When will we ever learn? We're more of a threat to our environment then we ever protect it with our constant attempted manipulation of it for our own purposes..

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## Latindancer

I get the awful feeling we're going to do the same with some kind of genetically modified organism which hasn't been studied enough before it's released.

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## Iceman123

^
Too late - Two instances of where this has already happened - JamieJambos and ENT
Proof that the body does not need a brain to exist.

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## Sumocakewalk

Just wanted to post an update on the menagerie.

  Bonnie the former Soi dog has basically settled into a new life as a pet at our place. She's still young and although she's close to full growth size, she's still a puppy at heart. She likes to play a lot with Val and is constantly looking for things to chew on. Her personality is the opposite of Val's - easy going and quiet versus Val's manic behavior, which seems to balance things out.

  Speaking of chewing, when Val was still a puppy she was really into that too. We had to keep after her constantly to leave the shoes alone and she still slips up occasionally. One thing Val did back then that was a big no-no was to start chewing on the car cover. Fortunately we caught her at that before the damage was too severe. She managed to break the elastic band that kept the cover snug around the back of the car and we had to clip it with a couple of clothes pins after that to keep it from flapping in the breeze.

  Now along comes Bonnie who has been pretty good about leaving shoes and other items alone. She has chewed up a stick or two, which aside from making a fair amount of noise is no problem. I did notice on a couple of occasions that the clothes pins on the back of the car cover were out of place, but she seemed to be leaving the cover alone.

  Last evening as I was sitting at my computer engrossed in a Teak Door thread, I heard some kind of commotion outside the front door. At first it sounded like cloth flapping in a strong wind. My wife called out from the kitchen to check out, and just as she spoke there was a loud ripping noise, followed by another even bigger one - like a sheet being torn. By now I'm heading out the front door and moving fast, but it's too late. When I walk around the back of the car the damage is obvious. The cover is split up the middle and the edge is chewed to shreds. Bonnie apparently decided to tug and chew on the clothes pins, and in doing so got carried away and it became a full-on car cover assault. Bonnie was nearby wagging her tail as if nothing was wrong.

  Now normally I am quite gentle with animals and I take care to treat them well and cause them no harm. But when one of them crosses the line, I can quickly go into 'Mr. Hyde' mode. In this case, I grabbed Bonnie and pulled her over to the torn cover. A good scolding and a couple of healthy slaps on the hind quarters got her attention. My wife came out of the house to survey the damage, and gave Bonnie another couple of slaps to the muzzle. I think this was the first real disciplinary action that Bonnie has been exposed to, and she seemed quite taken back and subdued for the remainder of the evening.

  Today I spent a couple of hours mending the cover with duct tape. It seems to be patched together enough to make it work for a while - we'll have to see how long that lasts. I don't want to have to buy a new cover only to have that shredded as well. For now I'm leaving the clothes pins off, as that seemed to be the attraction that Bonnie was going after. I'll consider myself fortunate that I was able to mend the cover and still make use of it.

  We'll have to get creative about providing something for Bonnie to chew on. We'd like to give her something like a rawhide bone, but Val gets very possessive about those and will try to take it away and guard it obsessively. So Bonnie may have to be satisfied with chewing on sticks for the time being.

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## thaimeme

> Who ties up a cat?


Those who consider felines to be _their_ pets. Indeed.

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## Exit Strategy

Nice thread. Thanks. Like cats and dogs :Smile:

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