Los animales de la ribera de Chapala

Simply “the animals of lakeside, ” if you’ve forgotten your high school Spanish.

Living in a relatively rural area, you become accustomed to the presence of animals. After a while. you don’t notice even the largest animals, or animals in the most unusual of places. So I made an effort to capture photos of the many animals I would otherwise not even notice because, well, they’re everywhere.

Horses (and donkeys) must be first on the list, as vaqueros  (cowboys) originated in Mexico and are still seen throughout the countryside and small towns. They handle the local traffic very well, and generally yield the right-of-way. Sometimes you’ll see distracted riding (with cell phone), but if you want to avoid driving under the influence, just ride your horse to the beer store!

Dogs show up everywhere. This little guy has been holding down guard next to my development for several weeks now. They also show up on local roofs, and of course in front of the meat market!

Goats make less regular appearances. Most often you find them grazing beside the road, but several times a year they are headed to (well, be) lunch (i.e., birria). 

Chickens here are really tough. There’s a flock out front of our development along the carretera (main road). They co-exist peacefully with the street dogs, who learned long ago that while a dog may win a one-on-one battle with a rooster, the prize isn’t worth the fight.

We have a large selection of literal snow-birds, in this case Pelicans. Thousands over-winter at the town of Petatán on the other side of the lake. This small pod (collective noun for pelicans) chose to stay at our club, which is less crowded and far more posh!

You can find more exotic birds, too. Here are some roof Peacocks: not very good as guard birds, but beautiful nonetheless.

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Finally, you see plenty of cows. Like NOB, they are generally behind fences, but the median strip and road sides are public right-of-ways, full of grass. So it is not uncommon to find cows adjacent to, in the middle of, or crossing busy roads. This is especially true in the early morning, and at night. Which is why the expat lore is “never drive at night in Mexico.” Some think that’s because of the danger of criminal or gang violence; au contraire, the danger is several tons of Mexican beef ambling across your lane in the dark!