Our Bestial Neighbors With Sombreros
Melodie Langevin
©
Copyright 2024 by Melodie Langevin
|
Photo by Karl Hedin on Unsplash |
It
was on a warm, sunny afternoon when I was out shopping that I saw him
for the first time: Mister The President. From the top of his low
concrete wall, he looked at me coldly. I was in Mexico, face to face
with a medium-sized iguana, enthroned on the grayish concrete wall
surrounding my neighbor's house across the street. Originally from
Quebec, Canada, and accustomed to North American wildlife, I
discovered a new animal horizon while living in Mexico for just over
a year.
In
the region where I was staying, Playa del Carmen, Quintana Roo,
lizards, and iguanas are often seen basking in the sun as soon as you
pass by a tree or a patch of vegetation. As someone who had always
been fascinated by reptiles, but had only ever seen them in the
vivariums of friends who kept them as pets, it was a pleasure to be
able to see lizards on every street corner, simply by leaving my
house.
In
fact, I was surprised to find that there were even lizards in the
houses! But these were a different, smaller species: common geckos.
Adults can measure between 7.5 and 15 centimeters, while babies are
really tiny, just 2 to 5 centimeters long. At any time of day, they
emit a little sound similar to a kiss, but higher pitched. Cute,
small, and mosquito-eating, they were easy to welcome and cohabit
with.
The
"little" invasives
Another
little creature you have to get used to sharing your home with is
seen as somewhat less charming by some: cucarachas or cockroaches. At
night, in the silence and darkness, I could hear their restless
footsteps as they nibbled at any crumb of forgotten food, no matter
how small. There are cockroaches in Canada too, but they're only 1 or
2 centimeters long, while Mexican cockroaches can range from 4 to 7
centimeters, considering the length of their antennae and legs.
An
effective weapon against these swarming invasives is a cat. I used to
live in a house with my partner and we had recently adopted a kitten.
It was so charming how it hunted cockroaches, then brought us the
corpses as an offering...
After
the President, the King of the Heights
Accustomed
to my snogging roommates as much as to the nibblers, my next wildlife
discovery came on a cycling trip. Having ventured out on a country
road far from the city center, I saw him standing proudly atop an
electric pole.
(Photo
of the vulture - Image source :
https://unsplash.com/fr/photos/oiseau-noir-et-brun-en-gros-plan-GyCLvucS6Vs)
The
air was hot and dry. In the distance, I could see the warm-weather
mirage on the asphalt, like a damp wave dancing over the distant
horizon. No cars or trucks had passed by for several minutes. The
vulture stood on its pole, proud, cold, intimidating, and surveying
its surroundings. I stopped a few yards away, got off my bike, and
watched the graceful scavenger bird for a moment. It had a small red
head on a larger body covered with bushy black feathers. Motionless,
it seemed out of time.
I
set off again on my bike. The vulture glared at me as I passed him.
Fortunately, unless I was crushed under a truck and turned to
carrion, he wasn't interested in my flesh.
Hairy
legs
Vultures
pose no real danger as long as you're alive. Not so for another
dark-colored creature I came across.
It
was very early in the morning. So early that it was still dark at
that hour. I was a smoker in those days, so to accompany my morning
coffee, I'd go out into the backyard to have a cigarette. I don't
know if you could call the place we had behind the house a backyard.
From the kitchen, by opening the patio door, it opens directly onto a
space about two meters deep and five meters wide. All surrounded by a
low concrete wall, as is customary in Mexico. A tree outside was
adjacent to the wall, its branches intruding into our concrete
square, giving it a bit of greenery and a compacted mini-jungle feel.
Sitting
on an outdoor plastic chair, I was taking large, relaxing puffs of
cigarettes while sipping my coffee, when I saw movement on the wall
in a dark corner of the "backyard". Curious, I looked
carefully, trying to identify the moving thing two feet above the
ground, without success. My partner was not far away; inside, making
himself a coffee. I hesitated to share my observation with him. Just
as I stood up to take a closer look, the patio door, which was still
open by a few centimeters, let through our wild-tempered little cat,
who rushed at the source of movement.
I
shouted our little fur ball's name: - Lady! My partner heard and
rushed outside armed with a flashlight. That's when I could see what
it was: a tarantula! The cat was trying to jump at the animal, but it
was high enough on the wall to be out of reach. My partner handed me
the flashlight to illuminate the scene as he grabbed the cat and put
it back inside. We were so afraid that the cat would be bitten or
injured.
It
was during this brief lapse of time that the tarantula slipped away,
never to be seen again.
After
that day, I started getting up a little later so I could smoke my
cigarette and drink my morning coffee in the light.
The
fluffy family
Fortunately,
there are some cute furry creatures in Mexico too, and I was lucky
enough to see a whole family of them.
There
are gray, rainy days in the Caribbean, yet it was again on a bright
sunny day that I came across a small group of furry mammals. Given
the fine weather, I decided to go to the beach. To get there, I had
to take a dirt track through a few dozen meters of undisturbed
jungle, linking a street parallel to the beach. The path was
screened, but the vegetation was so dense that it didn't detract from
the sense of nature. In addition to trees, shrubs, and tropical
bushes, there were also small ponds in which one could imagine life
teeming.
As
I didn't go there during busy times, the path was practically
deserted, with only two other passers-by. I was halfway along when I
saw the family of fluffy animals. I imagined them conferring before
crossing the path, planning their moves like a small group of spies
leading an expedition. A coati passed by, running fast on its little
legs, furtively looking around. Then a second. Then a duo.
Like
little agents on a mission. Then a mother with her cub. In all, a
family of eight coatis passed before my eyes. Coatis remind me a
little of raccoons, which are in the same family in Canada. Amazed by
these hairy creatures, I continued on my way and spent a wonderful
afternoon at the beach.
Further
discoveries
Traveling
brings with it the sight of new landscapes, the discovery of new
gastronomies, but also the exploration of an entirely different
animal fauna. After becoming familiar with the creatures of Quebec, I
learned to love those of Mexico too. Planning to travel to Australia
next summer, the abundant and atypical biodiversity that exists there
is one of my main areas of interest for this destination. I'm
continuing my adventures and will soon be discovering, this time, our
bestial surfing and Vegemite-nibbling neighbors.
French-Canadian
and a lover of languages and linguistics, Mélodie Langevin
uses her mastery of words and languages to transport us into
incredible fictional universes. After a career in administration, she
quickly turned to writing and linguistics, unable to contain her
explosive creativity. Passionate about philosophy, personal
development, and protecting the environment, she includes these
themes in her stories, making us think while entertaining us.
I'm
an unpublished writer,
currently only writing online for free on platforms such as Medium or
on a voluntary basis (in French, with a community newspaper).
(Unless
you
type
the
author's name
in
the subject
line
of the message
we
won't know where to send it.)
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