Friday, February 3, 2012

Pier 39 And A Texan Zebra!

Nope: there's nothing even remotely paranormal, supernatural or Fortean about these two pictures.

But, I figured: Why not post them?

They are, after all, and in their own way, kind of odd.

The first shows a zebra.

So, you may well ask, what's so odd about that?

Well, I happened to see this stripey chap standing in a field in - of all places! - West Texas about 12 years ago when I was driving to Roswell, New Mexico.

I guess if Britain can have big cats on the loose, and there are alligators in the sewers of New York (perhaps...), then why shouldn't the wilds of the Lone Star State be home to a zebra or several?

As for this second picture, taken by me in the summer of 2001, it shows the resident sea-lion population at San Francisco's now-famous Pier 39.

Indeed, it's quite a sight - and a very weird one too! - to see so many large and lumbering animals sprawled mere feet from you!

2 comments:

  1. I reckon some rich rancher likes to play Safari once in a while... disgusting.

    The second reminds me of Acapulco during holidays' high season ;)

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  2. The ecological reality of North America still holds the capacity to support large and diverse populations of equine animals; horses, asses and zebras in the wild would do quite well in their niches and would open niches for other animals, both grazing animals and predators, and would be far better from a trophic point of view than the current way the range is managed for domestic cattle...not to mention the appeal for tourism in an area that today is seen as being all but devoid of interest. Imagine the visitors who would come to the all but unvisited great basin, or the dry grasslands of Nebraska if instead of a few cows they could witness what would be roughly equivalent to East Africa's Serengetti, or the Ngorongoro Crater...we would be wise to manage our vast western landscapes for their true potential and natural legacy.

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