Wildlife in Shanghai

This week I thought I would write about the wildlife in Shanghai.  Those of you who know me well will be very clear on why there are not many pictures this week.  I am very wary of anything that has more legs than I do!  (Luckily I have not seen any spiders - yet!)

I mentioned the cicadas earlier.  They have died down somewhat and now very seldom begin their chorus.  However, there are plenty of other beasties to notice.  

Frogs?  Toads?  Whichever, there are plenty about and as you can see, they swim in the canal on occasion.  On land they are often around in the evening on the sidewalk, jumping swiftly into bushes as you walk by.  Unfortunately they are also  to be found very flat on the road as I walk to school!  Not pleasant - very dried up and very froggie.  

Speaking of canal swimmers, the other day Katrina was telling me she was walking home from school and she saw something swimming frantically in the canal.  At first she thought it was a cat, so she looked again and then thought it was a small dog.  Upon further inspection it turned out that it was the biggest rat she had ever seen.  Needless to say we are now very cautious walking at night with bushes either side of the sidewalk!

Mosquitoes are a fact of life here and I brought some strong repellant with me, which I have not even used.  I found that everyone I know has been bitten to death and they haven’t touched me!  Until yesterday, that is, and even then they don’t seem to do any damage, unlike the others who have big, red welts.  I am not sure what I have done to deserve the hiatus (because New Zealand sandflies eat me alive!) but they don’t seem to like me.  

In the evenings, all you need to do is walk outside to see the little bats flitting here and there.  They seem very friendly and sweet - only tiny, really.  As long as they know their place is in the sky and mine is not!

Wally

There are cats everywhere!!!  Many are tiny - only a matter of a week or two old and others a bit older, but by then generally thin and mangy-looking.  My friend was handed a tiny kitten by a little girl who then ran off.  She had taken it home and her mother would not let her keep it, so she was desperate to find a home for it.  Needless to say my friend could not bring herself to turf it out, so it has become “Wally” and a part of their family.  It took 3 adults, a child and an iPhone to find a vet for Wally’s first checkup, but that is another story!

There are a lot of pet dogs here in the compound but it is not a good idea to pat them as rabies is quite rife here.  

Last but not least I must sneak this in as it is not strictly wildlife.  I BOUGHT MY SCOOTER TODAY!!!!  It’s beautiful, isn’t it?  I must say I even went down to the basement tonight when I got home from a party, just to say good night and make sure it was still there.  It is electric and on full charge will go up to 70 kilometers in distance but until I feel more confident about the roads (and that could take years!!!!) I will only ride it to school and back or early in the morning before there is much traffic.  Traffic here is hectic and everyone turns on red lights every which way.

So, there you have it for this week.

xx,

Shanghaisuz