AboutJonathan Wright Expertise I can answer questions about wild mammals, as well as other wild animals. I can also answer questions on extinct animals and zoos.
PLEASE DON'T SEND ME ANY QUESTIONS ABOUT PETS. IF YOU ARE REALLY WORRIED, YOU SHOULD CONTACT A VETERINARIAN. PLEASE DO NOT ASSUME THAT UNPAID PEOPLE ON ALLEXPERTS ARE AVAILABLE 24 HOURS A DAY AND WILL PROVIDE YOU WITH ADVICE THE MOMENT YOUR ANIMAL GETS ILL. Find out how to look after a pet before you get it. It is unfair to keep an animal in inappropriate conditions and give it the wrong food. If you can't keep an animal in good conditions, please don't bring it into your home. I'm not a vet and I don't have any expertise in animal medicine and care. I don't agree with people taking animals out of the wild and then expecting other people to give free advice on how to look after them. It is cruel to take animals away from their parents, who are able to look after the babies and may look for them, while putting their other babies at risk. You may need a licence to look after some animals. You may be breaking the law by keeping wild animals; please check with a local wildlife organisation.
IF YOU FIND AN INJURED ANIMAL, PLEASE CONTACT A WILDLIFE VETERINARIAN OR CHARITY AND LET TRAINED STAFF LOOK AFTER THE ANIMAL. DO NOT TRY TO LOOK AFTER AN INJURED ANIMAL IF YOU DO NOT KNOW WHAT YOU ARE DOING.
Please do not remove eggs from nests. The mother birds will know the right temperature for the eggs and will not sit on them if the temperature is warm enough for them to develop naturally. It is illegal to remove eggs of some species and, unless you have an incubator or a broody hen, the egg may not develop. If you are allowed to touch the eggs, you can candle them (check details on websites) to see if the eggs are fertile. If the eggs are not fertile, they will not hatch.
I do not agree with fights between different animals. Please do not ask me questions about them.
Experience I have a zoology degree and have been interested in animals since I was two years old. I am a zoo volunteer at London Zoo. I have appeared on a BBC Radio Quiz, 'Wildbrain'.
Organizations World Wide Fund for Nature. Zoological Society of London. London Bat Group.
Publications Newsletters of London Zoo volunteers and the London Bat Group
Education/Credentials BSC degree in Zoology. 'A' levels in Zoology and Chemistry. 'O' Level in Biology.
Question So I woke up to my dog barking around 4am and figured he needed to go outside to do his business, well when we went out the back door he immediately bellowed staring out into the darkness and I told him to hush and go use the bathroom, I put him on his run line and sat down for a smoke to give him time but he acted a little afraid to do so, he was glancing around the yard listening closely, I felt like something was watching me also, like that hair on the back of your neck standing feeling. Anyways I started listening closely and heard a strange almost purring sound that would last for maybe a second then a second of nothing and a little chatter, like weird chatter, sci-fi chatter even. It was pretty strange and it kept going on for about 4 minutes, all the while the dog was listening very closely and glancing around anxiously, I couldn't see anything at all, it was dark and the backyard is pretty big and at the end is a shallow creek bed, any clue as to what it could be? I live in central Texas in kind of a suburb, a lot of wooded areas and not very many houses.
Answer Dear Jonathan
Thanks for your question. I also wish to thank the authors of the websites I used.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Texas_mammalsCats (Felidae) says that the following cats are found in Texas: the bobcat, margay and puma, as well as the endangered jaguarundi and ocelot. I think the bobcat is the most likely culprit, as many of its calls resemble that of a cat.
Wild Cats of the World by Melvin E. Sunquist and Fiona Sunquist (http://books.google.co.uk/books?id=hFbJWMh9-OAC&pg=PA192&lpg=PA192&dq=bobcats+pu...) says that the bobcat's varied calls include purring and chattering, with the bobcat being one of the few wild cats to make chattering calls. The bobcat's calls are more powerful than those of a domestic cat. I think the bobcat is the most likely of the Texan cats to have made the sounds you heard.
