Well hello and welcome to another blog entry, today we are going to focus on something I'm sure everyone will love; animals and insects. To break things up a little I decided to give you all a brief look into the wonderful wildlife we have had the privilege of living alongside for the last few months and how they differ to what we have at home.
The Cow: Here the cow is king, they can go where they like and do as they wish as they are not restricted to large grassy fields, milking parlours and cow sheds like home. Instead you should never be surprised to round a corner in Kolkata only to be confronted by a unimpressed looking cow munching away on a pile of rubbish.
As for traffic it's like this: pedestrians give way to cyclists, cyclists to rickshaws, rickshaws to autos, autos to cars, cars to buses and trucks, and buses and trucks give way only to the cow....
The Dog: Kolkata is overrun by dogs, no matter where you go during the day there will always be 3-4 of mans best friends cooling himself in the shade. At night however you will be confronted by packs of roaming furry fighters, each looking out that nobody is moving in on their territory.
Best course of action here however is to just ignore them and they'll ignore you.
(what is difficult to ignore though is their great big grand-daddy balls swinging from side to side as they toddle off)
The Cog: Hailing from the dog family it's definitely in a category of it's own. This female canine has unfortunately bore a few too many litters and now resembles what looks to be a cross between a cow and a dog; hence the name. A common sight strolling about with it's udder like nipples inches from the pavement, the cog is generally accompanied by two pups far too old to be feeding from their mother!
The Puppies: Every week Kolkata is graced with hundreds of adorable puppies, each hailing from over burdened mothers. These little cuties can be great fun but beware, the older they get the more fun they have trying to nibble your toes.
The Ant: A moody creature - the ant, sometimes he won't leave for days while other times you won't see him for weeks. One thing is for certain and that's if you have something sweet that hasn't been closed properly he'll definitely come calling and he'll bring friends.
The Termite: Okay so I don't know for sure if these guys are termites or red ants but the live in the wooden door frames and are rather different looking, so for the sake of this they're termites. These guys, like the ants, show up when they like but when they do they bring the entire family to help raid the fridge.
The Cockroach: Ranging from the size of a small beetle to the size of a small rat, cockroaches are everywhere no matter what you do. We have been lucky that they rarely visit our flat but once I had to use a bucket and the top of a large Dominos Pizza box to get rid of one. It took a half an hour and I'm still having nightmares...
The Rat: Always within earshot you'll hear this little character scurrying about in the drains and rubbish heaps due to his less than stealthy size but he isn't shy either and will quite often cross your path in a bid to say hello.
The Spider: Surprisingly small the spiders here are harmless and very entertaining, these little guys are so fast you don't see their legs move so it seems like you're watching some very bad stop motion animation.
The Gecko: What a friend to have (when he's not shitting all over your kitchen) the gecko. This little peach will hang out on the walls all day and night, scurrying about eating any bugs that take his fancy - none to little and none too big. Disappeared as of late but I'm sure he'll be back.
The Chicken: Can be found wandering freely (but always within cooking distance) the chicken generally isn't one that you'll get to know second time round, as you'll probably be snacking on him the next time you see him.
The Pony: This poor emaciated creature can be found dragging about glamorous carts for tourists up by the Maidan. Even considering that the poor sod eats grass he is unfortunately still bottom of the food chain in Kolkata.
The Crow: Cocky little fellows who will nip in and steal you scrambled eggs and toast the second you turn your back! (just ask Elaine)
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| Oh and here is a lovely ugly fly I caught one day! |
Yet I'll be completely honest, although you can't help but see these things upon arriving, after a few weeks you'll hardly notice them at all. Hope you enjoyed the brief nature lesson and after some more travelling I hope to have more fun creatures to feature!
Patrick (14th of December 2010)
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