Pets/Wildlife

Zander is a 1 year old Nebelung cat that was abandoned in a box on the side of the road as a kitten. The Eurell family took him in and he’s been a wonderful addition to their home. Zander is very friendly and loves reading The Laker. He lives with Owen Eurell in Land O’ Lakes.

A little bit of afternoon sun brightened up this cardinal that was chewing on a sunflower seed in Steve Vinik’s backyard in Lexington Oaks, Wesley Chapel.

Winston is an English mastiff and is 1 ½ years old. He loves to play in the water, particularly with the hose or sprinkler, and playing with his doggie friends at Courteous Canine. After a long day of playing, he enjoys napping and lounging at home. He lives up to the meaning of a ‘gentle giant.’ He lives with his ‘paw’rents, Erika and Jason Adipietro, in Lutz.

Jen McConnell snapped this photo of a red rat snake, also known as a red corn snake, at her home in Lake Padgett East in Land O’ Lakes. These snakes are found throughout Florida in virtually every terrestrial habitat from forests to agricultural lands and suburban neighborhoods. The diet of the red rat snake primarily consists of small mammals, lizards, birds and bird eggs. This species kills its prey by constriction, as they have no toxic venom or fangs.

Izabella, left, and Olivia are on squirrel patrol. Olivia joined the household in 2022 after another family pet passed away and she has blended in seamlessly. Izabella and Olivia live with Carol Scharfeld in Lutz.

Rebecca Cullen, of Land O’ Lakes, captured this beautiful portrait of a buck in the Grand Oaks community.

Mr. Pepe is an 18-year-old Quaker parrot. He has an incredible vocabulary and greets his owner, Judith DelValle, in the mornings with, ‘Good morning, Judi. How are you today? Did you sleep good?’ Mr. Pepe has lived with Judith since he was 4 weeks old. They reside in Wesley Chapel; Judith adores Mr. Pepe and cannot imagine her life without him. They occasionally converse throughout the day.

Joel Jackson captured the image of this limpkin at Lettuce Lake Conservation Park, a 240-acre park in Northeast Hillsborough County. Jackson last year was honored to have the nature center at Lettuce Lake Park renamed the Joel E. Jackson Nature Center for his conservation efforts over the last 50 years. These leggy birds seem to limp as they walk across uneven wetland surfaces — hence the name, limpkins.

Violet is a 4-month-old Basset hound; her nickname is ‘Loop.’ She is a fun, shy, loving, happy-go-lucky pup. She loves to play with her brother, Rusty, a beagle/whippet mix. Violet lives in Zephyrhills with her owner, Joseph Yingling.

John Oddo lives in San Antonio and enjoys taking photos of the wildlife in his area, as is evident in this incredible snapshot of a reflection of a gator in a pond. Oddo lives in the Tampa Bay Golf & Country Club community.