4 | JUNE 8 • 2023
for openers
Alan’s Wild Kingdom
I
’m fascinated by videos
involving animals. If I’m not
checking emails or texts on
my phone, there’s a good chance
you might catch me watching
a video involving any number
of species. And
I’m definitely not
talking about the
videos people
post on social
media updating
the world on
their pet’s day-to-
day lives.
I’m captivated
by battles between species, sur-
vival-of-the-fittest heavyweight
matchups between animals of
the wild — a zebra trying to
escape the grasp of a lion, a
wildebeest fighting off a pack
of hyenas, or like the last one
I watched — an unsuspecting
gazelle, of blessed memory, who
made the mistake of taking a
drink out of a watering hole too
close to a lurking, submerged
alligator.
I can’t really explain this fas-
cination of mine, but perhaps
it has something to do with my
love for eating, my insatiable
appetite and the way I attack a
meal when it’s put in front of
me. (Note to self: Check with
my therapist about this.)
Meanwhile, it’s apparent the
invisible people who live behind
the curtain of social media algo-
rithms know that I’m an avid
animal video viewer because
they keep popping up on my
Facebook timeline. And that’s
OK because ultimately it dis-
tracts me from the pathetic bat-
tles humans have on Facebook.
While sitting and writing this
column at a local coffee shop,
I bumped into my dear friend
and former Purtan’s People cast
member Larry Lawson. I’m glad
I did because it immediately
reminded me of one of Larry’s
unique fascinations with ani-
mals in the wild, which he gave
me permission to share here.
Larry loves, while driving, to
take photographs of dogs with
their heads sticking out of car
windows. I kid you not. (Note
to self: Ask my therapist why
Larry does this.)
Larry has a huge collection
of these canine cameos that he’s
taken, often while glancing at
drivers’ pets in the cars next to
him at red lights. He’s kind of a
pooch paparazzi or should I say
“pup-arrazi.
” I’ve actually wit-
nessed him in action.
Larry has seriously consid-
ered publishing a coffee table
book of dogs, their tongues
panting and ears flapping in the
wind. Fortunately, he has yet to
photograph a dog texting while
driving.
I only just came to learn that
Larry’s delight in photographing
dogs with their heads hanging
out of car windows extends
internationally. He shared with
me a hysterical photo taken
on a vacation of a fido from
France. True story.
While driving a rental car to
Mont-Saint-Michel — what the
Normandy Tourism website
describes as one of Europe’s
most unforgettable sights that
dates back to the early 8th cen-
tury — Larry took the time to
photograph a dog with its head
out of a car window.
But that’s not what got me
laughing out loud. Larry admit-
ted that he delayed his arrival
at the historic landmark that
draws over 3 million tourists a
year to take yet another photo-
graph, only this time of cows
grazing in a pasture. He recalls
vividly three French men sitting
on a bench laughing hysterically
at him at what they no doubt
knew was one of those whacky
Americans.
I leave you with my most
recent and, by far, most mes-
merizing encounter with ani-
mals in the wild … and it’s a
video I actually shot.
A couple of weeks ago I hap-
pened to gaze out our front den
window and there before me, in
the middle of out garden, was a
mama deer who had just given
birth to triplets. I won’t go into
graphic detail, but there was
evidence I no doubt had missed
the actual birth by only a few
minutes.
My den window was now
like a giant flat screen TV tuned
into the Animal Planet chan-
nel. The fawns lay curled up
against each other while the doe
cleaned them off. It was mes-
merizing.
The second act was even
more impactful as one of the
newborns began trying to raise
itself up on its spindly legs.
Within minutes, it was taking
its first steps and stumbles. Its
siblings were not quite ready.
They remained huddled and
snuggled up against each, later
falling over each other in their
delayed efforts to find their
footing.
I kept my distance, only
viewing from my den window
and never approached the new
family from the outside, fearing
I would somehow disrupt this
natural awakening process.
The mother deer, the “Doe,
”
and her three offspring I affec-
tionally started referring to as
Re, Me and Fa, have not taken
up permanent residence in our
garden. As a matter of fact, they
were up and gone in only a
matter of a few hours, before I
even had time to plan a bris or
baby-naming. I never got that
close of a look to determine that
anyway.
I have every confidence that
this new family will soon return
and do what other visiting deer
have done for the last 30 years
… treat our garden like an all-
you-can-eat buffet, leaving us to
enjoy our beautiful flowers for
only a fraction of the summer.
It doesn’t make me angry.
And only a couple of times
have I felt like getting even. But
luckily for the deer, I don’t have
a taste for venison … yet. Oh,
deer!
Alan Muskovitz is a writer, voice-
over/acting talent, speaker,
and emcee. Visit his website
at laughwithbigal.com,“Like” Al
on Facebook and reach him at
amuskovitz@thejewishnews.com.
Alan
Muskovitz
Contributing
Writer
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Mama deer
and family