Exotic horned animal spotted in Oregon park

Erin Walter was hiking in Forest Park when she snapped a picture of the Oryx, Oct. 24, 2015 (KOIN)

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A horned, antelope-type animal spotted in Forest Park Saturday morning is back home with its owner after being tranquilized around noon Sunday.
Owner Reed Gleason said Yellow Nose the oryx was tranquilized and taken by trailer back home. A veterinarian shot the animal with a tranquilizer dart. In total, Gleason spent around $2,000 to get Yellow Nose home.
Rick Swart with Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife says it’s not illegal to own a non-native animal in Oregon, like an oryx, but it is illegal to let them into the wild. An oryx is part of the antelope familyand is native to Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
Gleason says he owns 11 of the animals at his Skyline Drive residence. He says oryx are typically desert animals, but they became extinct in their native region of northern Africa.
Two years ago, Gleason says he started with 2 oryx but the herd grew as they continued to reproduce.
Yellow Nose reportedly got out of his enclosure when a contractor left the gate open. Gleason says the oryx was likely spooked by a passing car or dog, and ran a mile and a half away to Forest Park.

Gleason says he owns 11 oryx on his property on Skyline Drive. (KOIN)

“He’s always been a pretty calm antelope but he is second oldest, so he’s not the dominant male and occasionally the dominant male chases everyone around to let them know he’s dominant,” Gleason said. “That might have encouraged him to leave the property, maybe then something scared him.”
A KOIN 6 News viewer was able to snap a few pictures of the oryx on Saturday. Stephen Clark says he saw the animal in Forest Park on Leif Erickson Drive.
People flocked to Forest Park to see if they could get a glimpse of the animal. One couple told KOIN 6 News they saw the oryx sitting on the path, looking nervous. It seemed to be scared of the couple’s dog.
The couple also saw Gleason who was trying to herd the oryx back home.

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Veterinary student finds her calling with exotic animals

Practicing veterinary medicine internationally became a reality for Valparaiso resident Samantha Miller when she volunteered in Thailand through the Boston-based Loop Abroad program.

Miller, a pre-veterinary student at Purdue University, spent a week at the Elephant Nature Park in northern Thailand in July. The sanctuary provides refuge for 60 previously abused or injured elephants.

“Many of the elephants now living here had been previously abused through illegal logging, trekking, circus performances, street begging, etc.,” Miller said. “Through illegal logging, many elephants step on land mines and their feet are blown to pieces.

“At the Elephant Nature Park, the elephants are given the care and treatments they need and can finally live the rest of their life in peace.” Miller was tasked with cleaning wounds and treating abscesses, as well as feeding and bathing the elephants.

She also volunteered at Thailand’s Animal Rescue Kingdom dog shelter and treated dogs for skin issues and ear infections. “Many dogs had previously lost a limb or ear due to dogfights, car accidents, etc., but were all extremely well cared for.

“On two of the days we were there, we helped assist in 16 neuter surgeries. This was by far my favorite part of our week at the ARK dog shelter,” Miller added.

Miller is a 2013 graduate of Valparaiso High School and has wanted to become a veterinarian since she can remember. “After years of involvement within this profession, shadowing veterinarians and being employed at Arbor View Animal Hospital, I’ve come to terms with the fact that this is what I am supposed to do with my life,” she said.

Besides eventually working at a companion animal clinic, Miller hopes to practice internationally with exotic species. “I think my trip to Thailand has made me realize that what I really want to do with my career is spend time practicing international veterinary medicine. I think it would be an amazing opportunity and I’m excited to someday get to do this as my career.”

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8 Exotic Animals that can be kept as Pets

When it comes to pets, some people think the common house cat or dog is too boring or common. Home owners are able to keep exotic pets, and there are so many to choose from. Some cities and towns will need these animals to be registered but some places are very lenient when it comes to people keeping exotic animals for pets.

Here are 8 exotic animals that you can legally own as a pet.

Capybaras

If you think hamsters and guanine pigs are too small, get a capybara. This animal is the world’s biggest rodent, reaching a weight of 150 pounds and a length of 4 feet. Unlike their smaller relatives, these rodents can live a pretty long life, spanning from 8 to 10 years. They do share similar traits with hamsters and guanine pigs, like their being very social, playful and smart. Capybaras will need fresh grass or veggies to eat and some water to swim in.

Fennec Fox

One of the cutest fox species around, there perky, large ears give them an innocent and childlike look. Originating from North Africa, these foxes can love to around 10 to 16 years and have recently become popular as exotic house pets. Having one is like owning a dog and a cat. They’re playful, loyal and protective, but they spend most of the day sleeping and have the same temperament as cats. Expect these guys to run around or jump on your couch because of excitement.

Kinkajou

This adorable little animal is actually related to the raccoons. They come from the forest of South and Central Africa, and can live up to 20 to 25 years. They’re also called “honeybears” and are incredibly sociable and affectionate. Kinkajous get along well with other animals and humans since they love to play and are docile in nature.

Serval

Servals are definitely not your usual house cat. They originate from south and central Africa and can live up to 19 years. They can grow to about 2 feet tall and weight at 40 pounds, which is about the same size of a medium sized dog. Many serval owners say that they’re cat acts more like a dog. they even take them out for walks in leashes.

Wallaby

Kangaroos are definitely too big to keep as pets, but wallabies are the perfect size for a home with a lawn or backyard. They can weigh in at 53 pounds and grow to about 40 inches. People who love the outdoors will love the wallaby since they prefer to spend more time outside. They’re also fuzzy and cute, love to hop around and are extremely friendly and social.

Squirrel Monkey

Originating from the forests of South and Central America, squirrel monkeys may just be the most lovable exotic pet anyone can have. They can weigh to around 2 pounds when fully grown and are energetic, playful and a lot of fun. These animals are also very intelligent, affectionate, and social, much like a child. Their brain to body ratio is the biggest amongst the primates, so potty-training is going to be a breeze.

Hyacinth Macaw

If you’re into birds, the hyacinth macaw might just be your pet. Coming from South America, these birds can grow to a whopping 3 to 4 pounds with wing spans reaching 4 feet. Keeping these as pets means you’ll need a big space and a sturdy cage since their strong beaks are known to be able to break their cages apart.

Chimpanzee

The most exotic pet of them all, chimps are prized by exotic pet lovers because they’re very similar to humans. Although endangered, some cities and countries will still let you keep them as pets. They’re very expensive and require a high upkeep. They act like a 3 year old child and are very affectionate to their owners. 

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Quoll

The quoll is a medium-sized marsupial, natively found in parts of Australia, Papua New Guinea and Tasmania. The quoll is often known as the native cat, due to the cat-like appearance of the quoll.

Quolls are found occupying woodland, shrubland and grassy habitats across Australia and New Guinea. Although quolls have been seen climbing trees, the quoll tends to live life on the ground.

The quoll is a nocturnal animal meaning that it spends the nights hunting and the daytimes hours resting. Unlike many other nocturnal mammals, the quoll enjoys to spend the sunlit days basking in the heat rather than hiding in a crevice or underground.

There are six different species of quoll, found across Papua New guinea and Australia. The Bronze quoll and the New Guinean quoll are natively found on the tropical island of Papua New Guinea. The Western quoll, the Northern quoll and the Tiger quoll are all natively found on the Australian mainland. Although the Eastern quoll was originally found on the Australian mainland, they are more commonly found on the island Tasmania.

Although the quoll is an omnivorous animal, the quoll is has a predominantly meat-based diet. Quoll hunt during the darkness of night, searching for small mammals, birds, small reptiles and insects. The quoll also feasts on nuts, grasses and fruits when they are available.

The quoll (particularly the tiger) quoll is an apex predators in it's environment as they are one of the largest species of carnivorous marsupial in the world. The main predators of the quoll are generally human hunters, large snakes and crocodiles.

The quoll is a marsupial, meaning that the female quoll has a pouch on her tummy for her young to develop in. The baby quolls are born after a gestation period of just a few weeks, when they crawl up into the mother's pouch. The baby quolls are nursed in the pouch of the female quoll for about 2 months but are not fully independent until they are nearly 6 months old.

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Echidna

Echidnas are known better as spiny anteaters, although they are not related to them, besides that fact that both anteaters and echidnas eat ants and termites. The echidna is found in parts of New Guinea and Australia.

The echidna has a long tongue around 18cm long that can whip in and out of its mouth at incredible speeds. This helps the echidna to forage for ants an termites.

The echidna was named after a monster in Greek mythology! The echidna can dig incredibly well due to its long claws, meaning that echidna are able to escape danger by digging straight down.

The echidna is a small mammal and the echidna has a long snout that acts as both the mouth and nose of the echidna. The echidna has no teeth and the echidna feeds by tearing soft logs apart and then using its long, sticky tongue to feed on the ants and termites that inhabit the log.

The echidna is a very special mammal and, along with the platypus, the echidna is the only other egg-laying mammal in the world. The echidna lays eggs that have a soft shell and are kept in the pouch of the female echidna until the eggs hatch in a couple of weeks. The young echidna remains in the pouch of the female echidna for around 50 weeks, when the baby echidna has grown spikes. The mother echidna then transfers the young echidna to a nursery burrow and returns every few days to feed the baby until it is around seven months old.

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Asian Palm Civet

The Asian palm civet is a smaller species of civet found throughout the jungles of Asia, and easily recognisable by its dark, coarse hair and large eyes. The Asian palm civet is also known as the common palm civet and the Toddy Cat is areas where the Asian palm civet is natively found.

The Asian palm civet is found inhabiting the tropical jungles and rainforests throughout much of Asia. The main populations of the Asian palm civet however are found in southern India, Sri Lanka, South-east Asia and southern China. Unfortunately, Asian palm civets have been drastically affected by increasing deforestation (and therefore habitat loss) in their native regions.

The Asian palm civet is widely spread and fairly commonly found throughout much of Asia and despite their cat-like appearance and behaviours, Asian palm civets are not felines at all but are in fact more closely related to other small carnivores including weasels and mongooses. Unlike other civet species the tail of the Asian palm civet does not have rings, but the face of this species is banded like that of a raccoon.

The Asian palm civet is solitary animal that only comes out under the cover of night to hunt and catch food. These nocturnal animals are primarily ground-dwelling and highly terrestrial as they mark their ranges by dragging their anal glands along the ground. Despite being predominately ground-dwelling though the Asian palm civet is known to climb up into the trees either in search of food or to hide from approaching predators.

The Asian palm civet is a carnivorous animal, and like other species of civet, it survives on a meat-based diet, supplemented by the odd plant or fruit. Small animals such as rodents, lizards, snakes and frogs make up the majority of the Asian palm civet's diet, along with insects and other small creatures scuttling through the under-growth. Asian palm civets are also known to eat the fruits and flowers of palms, mangos and coffee in their natural habitats.

Despite being a secretive yet relatively ferocious predatory animal, the Asian palm civet is actually preyed upon by a number of predators within their natural environment. Large predatory cats are the most common predators of the Asian palm civet including tigers and leopards along with reptiles such as large snakes and crocodiles.

The female Asian palm civet usually gives birth to up to 4 young after a gestation period that lasts for a couple of months. The babies are weaned by their mother until they are strong enough to fend for themselves. Asian palm civets can live for up to 20 years, although most rarely get to be this old.

Today, the Asian palm civet is under threat from deforestation and therefore drastic loss of much of its natural habitat. The main reason for such extensive deforestation in the area is either for logging or to clear the land to make way for palm oil plantations.

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Too Close for Comfort

We all have that dream, where we get to casually hang out with Tigers, treating them as though they large scale versions of their domestic feline cousins.

But as we dream, we are all quite aware of how different Tigers are from domestic cats in the real world, with one swipe from them resulting to more than just a skin-deep scratch.

An undercover Human Society employee was also quite aware of this fact, upon discovering that workers of an Oklahoma-based wild animal park allowed children to come in close contact with some of its tigers.

Based on reports from USA Today, the said undercover representative of the Human Society saw the unsafe handling of wild animals in the GW Exotic Animal Park, Wynnewood, Oklahoma.

The organization has filed a number of complaints against the wild animal park, citing instances of animal abuse, and the unsafe security/safety practices implemented by the park, defined by how children were allowed to come close to its tiger cubs. The organization has also noted the death of five tiger cubs in the past, which if proven to be true, will leave the park with a lot to answer for.

GW Exotic Animal Park owner Joe Schreibvogel is convinced that the Humane Society is intent in creating noise, in an effort to generate more donations. Given that the park stands to be one of the largest of its kind (exotic-animal parks) in the United States, Schreibvogel claims that the park’s status makes it a target for organizations like the Human Society.

As investigations and inquiries are still ongoing, it is too soon to note if the park or the Humane Society are exactly in the wrong, but we’ll be featuring pertinent updates over here, once they come out.

 

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