THE WOLVERINE
The Wolverine is tough and mean,
Thank Heaven for this glass between -
A comforting security
From Owens-Illinois or P.P.G.

THE PANGOLIN
The Pangolin is fond of ants
As are his uncles and his aunties
His nose is long and prominent
And very much like James Durantes’ -
To public eye he’s not aspiring
For unlike James, he’s quite retiring.

THE KINKAJOU
The Kinkajou is sometimes called the Honey Bear,
Nocturnal, he is not a Sunny Bear,
And he is not a Funny Bear, the Kinkajou
All he does is sit and blink at you.

THE NINE-BANDED ARMADILLO
The small and scaly Armadillo -
Does he shine his scales with brillo?
His Dossier describes him as nine-banded
But I would rather ask “Is he left-handed?”
Or other things about as silly -
“Are his plurals Armadilly?”

THE KIT FOX
The Cute Little Kit Fox
Will just about fit socks -
If he were from The Panama Isthmus
I could rhyme about getting me one for Christmas.

THE PRAIRIE DOG
The Prairie Dog he gophers round The Prairie,
Pops in and out of holes because he’s scary
His home of course is always in a burrow -
He was not interviewed by E. R. Murrow.

THE PACA
I would love to pet The Pretty Little Paca
But for this glass I’d feed him with a cracker.

THE BINTORONG
I did not see The Bintorong
Behind a rock he was residing -
Was he short or was he long
Was he right or was he wrong
In hiding?

BLIND CAVE FISH
All these Little Fish are blind -
Why should The Lord be so unkind?

BATS
I would dream of Bats in Belfries
In my troubled sleep o-nights
Now I find my frightened self re-
sisting Bats and Stalactites.
There are those who want a Bat Cave
And I say “Well let them have it!”
I care not just which or what cave,
Don’t ask me, ask Whitley Cavitt (he designed it)

THE PORCUPINE
The Porcupine has thirty thousand quills,
So says the latest I.B.M. Computer -
How do the Porcupine-ing Jacks and Jills
Discover who’s the suited or the suitor?
I think it is amazing as I write these lines
That still we keep on having porcupines.

THE AARDVARK
A park these days without an Aardvark is no park -
We have a park where Aardvarks double park -
So Park Director Templeton in all conjecture
Should be doubly happy with his Aardvark-itecture.

THE BURROWING OWL
I’m intrigued by the Burrowing Owl
As he hops from his underground nest
A charming and bright little fowl
With his feathery coat and his vest
Does he screech, does he hoot, does he howl?
Or his circumscribed status protest?

THE OCELOT
And here we see the Ocelot
He lurks in twigs and moss a lot -
He daily eats five rounds of meat -
I wonder if his breath is sweet.
A second cousin to the Lynx
He holds the secret of the Sphinx
And if we’d lose our Ocelot
I’m sure we’d feel his loss a lot.

THE BEAVER
How charming is our little friend the Beaver!
How swimmingly he swims about the water!
A family man, he’s not a gay deceiver
To play with other beasts he knows he shouldn’t otter -
May you have many Progeny to fill your Aqua-Pram,
Felicitations, Sire, and faithful Beaver Dam!

THE CAPYBARA
Is he happy, this strange Capybara
Because he’s the largest of all
Of the rodents from Rome to Samarra
Or from far-off Australia to Gaul?
He’ll never get Kudos from me -
I know lots bigger rodents than he.