Research for Fun! by Terry Spear

Since I write about jaguar and wolf shifters, I've been to a wolf reserve to learn more about the wolves, not in their natural habitat, but heard them howl, one of the wolves was mourning the loss of its mate, and they were pacing.

This wolf had finally left its house to come to the fence. He lost his mate 3 weeks earlier and it was the first time they said he'd left his house.

 

The wolf below was a total beta.

 

This was one of the wolves that they walked when we were at the St Francis Wolf Sanctuary.And here she is scent-rolling, gathering all the nice smells before she was returned to her pen.

 

So seeing their behavior does help to get the story right.

At the zoo, they had no wolves, but they did have jaguars. So I wanted to share some of the pictures that I took that help with my research. I caught the jaguar snoozing at first, but he was playing later. I'll share some of those pictures on the 19th. :) I really went to the zoo to make sure that no jaguar shifters had been caught. And you know what a fan said to me? That some are really just jaguars! LOL But you see...there were signs all over for red wolves and gray wolves, but only coyotes remained behind.

And you know what that means, don't you? They WERE shifters, and someone freed them before I got to them! :)

One of the things I do when I write my stories is to compare animals with others. Jaguars with other big cats and with house cats, because more are familiar with a small cat's behavior.



And here is a view of those BIG paws! They are huge. Imagine getting a swipe from one of them! In Savage Hunger, I mention how powerful a jaguar's paws are and one swat can either stun or kill its prey. Jaguars are the third largest cat. This lion is the biggest! :) So if a jaguar can do that, can you imagine what it would be like to get swatted by a lion???



Do you ever wonder why the cats are all so different? Why most run alone, but the lions have a pride? Laziness, maybe? I mean, the ladies catch his meal, and he doesn't have to go far for dessert afterward!

And remember I mentioned comparing the big cats to house cats? Well, I didn't expect to find a common house cat at the zoo, but this one was hunting in the grass between zoo exhibits! Some behaviors are just natural for cats, no matter their size!

One of the things I talked about in Savage Hunger was Connor crossing a dark pond like this, carrying Kathleen, and her worrying he's going to fall of the tree trunk bridge and what if the dark water contained caiman? They are crocodile like and smaller than crocodiles. But here in this pound is a HUGE alligator. Can you see him?

When I took the picture of him, I could see his massive body, but with the trees reflected, he disappears. Yet his massive head is resting on top of the water!

It's by the sand bank. Do you see him? How would you like to go swimming with him?

Here's the rest of him hidden underwater. He doesn't look very big from this distance, but he was huge and his head massive. If he got a hold of you, he'd say, "Hmm, doesn't taste like fishy chicken at all to me." Interesting how his body was reflected so there's two of him! One of them is wicked enough!

Do you see his head? It's to the left of the white sand bank. If you didn't see him already, it's too late for you, I'm afraid!!!

Have a super great Sunday!!! More fun zoo pictures to come!

 

Savage Hunger

Book 1 (Oct 2012)

nookbook

Savage Hunger

 ******************************************************************************
 If you read Savage Hunger....is that what you envisioned? A log floating in the pound with big teeth and yellow rimmed eyes???

Terry
"Giving new meaning to the term alpha male where fantasy IS reality!"
www.terryspear.com