Interesting Critters All Around Us in Mazunte

As I am getting to the end of my stay in Mazunte, I am realizing the number of animals I have encountered, and was inspired enough to take a photo of them. Sure, after a while one can get iguanad-out but I believe there is the one or other creature I have not presented before. So let's see, which kind of wildlife I got to meet over the last nine weeks:

This large black iguana lives in our kitchen tree. Apparently it's a male, and he has been living there for a few years. Though the cat claims at least one large lizard as its daily victim, this one may be too large - or too clever for it. But even though it's been around this long, no one has thought about giving him a name. Never mind, the cat is also just known as "la gata" (and not even "Agatha")!

Though most would see her as a pet, she is nothing like a house cat. She came to the property one day, looking for a place to have her kittens. She did, and then she decided she liked it enough to stay - even after her two pregnancies and the subsequent neutering. She even stays on the land in the off-season when there is no one else around. Of course she is fed, though she is pretty good at fending for herself.

Spiders and Other Arachnids

Let's continue with large furry beasts, such as this huge tarantula climbing around on our kitchen "wall". Since the whole kitchen area has been covered in mosquito netting, we've been able to cook, eat, and hang out without having to perform the obligatory mozzy dance of slapping your legs and back on a regular basis. As a neat side effect, we get to see all the things on the outside that have not managed to cross the barrier.

Not all spiders are nice and fluffy, but they can get quite big. This guy I spotted inside one of the yurts. The human occupant had no problems sharing the space with it, though sometimes its webs got in the way. I love the bright yellow spot on its back. As for its web, when fully extended, it measures a good 70-80 cm (34-37 inches), as you can see here:

Other than spiders we have these other impressive looking arachnids, the scorpions. This one features the black-and-tan color combo, which is pretty common around here, but there are other kinds of scorpions too. However, they are in general pretty shy, so I felt lucky to get a pic of this one.

Interesting Insects

Extremely large but totally harmless is this giant cricket (or maybe a grasshopper?) I found on the mosquito net above my bed. Unfortunately I did not have a banana to place next to it for scale, but you can believe me, it was gigantic. Maybe not to the point that I could successfully mount one, but I would certainly need two hands to catch it.

Is it a simple stick? No, it's a bug that looks like one! A fresh green one at that, though most stick bugs (and most sticks in fact) are brown. What I love most about this creature is how it walks with a certain dance, tipping forward and backward a few times before taking a step. Previous encounters have resulted in useless photos, since the bug is so good at blending into its background. But here, finally, on the yurt wall you can finally see it pretty well.

These caterpillars (or at least that's what I think they are) are funny. They like to follow each other blindly, so to speak, as they link up directly to the one walking in front of them. And yes, I know, you can probably direct them to form a circle, and have them move around it for hours, before realizing that they are not getting anywhere...

Beautiful Reptiles

Let's continue with some more photogenic animals, such as this green lizard (or iguana?) hanging around on the wall of one of the restaurants in Mazunte. I love his bright green color. On our property I have only seen them in dismembered states, or trying frantically to escape from the cat, without a chance of course...

Another beautiful reptile is this red snake who managed to escape the cat. Is it poisonous? Honestly, I have no clue. Our attempts at identifying it left us in the limbo of uncertainty, as there were a number of possible contestants, some of them are, others not.

"Is this snake real?" came the question of a visitor at Julia's house in La Boquilla, seeing this light colored serpent, rolled up in a neat bundle. Of course, if you see a snake around here, chances are it's quite real.

Eating and Being Eaten

The eternal circle of life... In this pic you can see a squadron of ants carrying away pieces of our tortillas. They are too big for one ant, so it takes a good amount to teamwork to haul it all up the wall, following the trail to their nest... only to be intercepted by a gecko, who keeps snatching them up as they pass by. The unfortunate ants seem to be completely unaware of this trap they are walking into, but the gecko may even get some crunchy tacos along with its food of insects.

This gecko has just swallowed a moth, and the wings hanging out of its mouth look like some napkin, or tablecloth, it gobbled up with its food.

And while everyone gets to eat most of the time, almost everyone has to face the other end of the food chain, and become someone else's food. That is exactly what is happening to this gecko, making its final encounter with a snake ... right in our shower cabin!

While the gecko is still hanging on to dear life (in its last moments), what impressed us far more was the agility of the snake, holding its prey while climbing onto the shower wall and then a nearby tree. Its thin shape actually looks a lot like the strings holding the structure together, so yes, it startled the person discovering her quite a bit at first.

Behold, a Puffer Fish!

While all of the critters so far have been alive (even the ones being hunted and eaten), let me finish my post with something dead: a puffer fish we found discarded on the beach. I suppose it was caught together with other fish, but deemed useless. We took it home, cleaned out the inside, and covered it in salt. Then we hung it up to dry in the sun. No idea what's going to happen to it, but it's been hanging here for almost two months, with seemingly minimal decomposition. Honestly, I would have expected swarms of flies and a strong smell, but none of that has happened. Still, its final destiny is anyone's guess...