Pets, Burkina style

One of Mam'es escargot. She keeps a little bowl of water out for them. This one is about 6-8 inches long. They are pretty big there.

The lizards. They are everywhere. They are like squirrels here in the US. They don't bother anyone and they keep the bugs under control. They are funny to watch.

I have posted a couple of pics of pets Burkina style. Well, I don't think the lizards are actually pets but they are everywhere and everyone just gets along with them. The lizards kind of make their homes in each compound and lizards and humans are able to coexist without bothering each other too much. This pic is of a gecko. They are pretty fun to watch. There is another kind that lives in the houses and eats bugs in there. They make a funny noise that sounds like the Nextel walkie talkies. Mostly they hang out behind pictures or other dark things. I did have a little one that got emotionally attached to Matt's big camouflaged duffel bag I took. We tossed him out a few times. Luckily he didn't make the journey back to the US.
Don't worry about them crawling in bed with you or anything. That would be as yucky to them as it sounds to you. I am not a reptile lover and I was very ok with them.
The other pets I saw were assorted livestock-donkeys, a few horses, chickens, rabbits, turkeys-I'll be posting on all of them .
There were some dogs. Most looked alike. They are about 30 lbs and have short hair and have a kind of a jackal or greyhound look. I did see cats too. In fact the neighbor has one and it patrols the tops of the walls of the compounds looking for mice and stuff. Pretty cool.
The last thing I want to mention is this little shrew that lives a Grandma's. Shrews are these mole looking things. Anyway, they are pretty harmless. They eat bugs and worms and are nocturnal. This one lives Grandma's garden and seemed to have gotten lost one evening. They communicate the way bats do so the noise was a little weird. But it was a cute little critter.