Jan. 28, 2010 - Since retiring as an elementary school teacher, Larry Munchrath has devoted himself full-time to running Munch Ranch Exotics in Van Zandt County. It's been a unique experience.
"It is a full time job, if one cares about the animals," Munchrath said. "There is not much time for the humans. The animals are totally dependent on us humans and we cater to their needs."
From exotic Australian birds and wallabies, miniature Brahman (known as Zebu) and the Russian Siberian cats -- it is all about the animals at Munch Ranch.
"We get up, often going outside before tending to ourselves, to be sure nothing has happened, like busted pipes, or a cow down with birthing problems, we keep an eye on everyone 24-7," Munchrath said. "If there are joeys (baby wallabies), I get up at 3 a.m. for their bottle. They eat every four hours for the first several weeks."
The list of duties seems endless on the ranch.
"We have to be sure that everyone is fed, watered, poop cleaned up, all the pens are in order, make special feeds for different animals, prepare medications for those that need it, do repair on anything that needs it, get the sprinklers started if it is in the summer, continue moving them around during the day..." Munchrath continued.
With so much work to be done, Munchrath relies on his brother and right-hand man to help keep things in order.
"My brother lives here and helps me quite a bit," Munchrath said. "Although he has Multiple Sclerosis, he is a great help and loves his 'jobs.' The animals know his schedule and wait for him to emerge from the house.
"He may fall several times during his time outside, but he just gets up and keeps on going," Munchrath said. "He says that is part of life, so no use in getting upset. Just get up and keep continuing to do what needs to be done. He cannot change or fix his condition, but he can make things better for the animals."
The raising and selling of the exotics is the brothers' livelihood, therefore they are very dedicated to raising healthy, quality animals.
"One must be willing to spend money when necessary and have a good veterinarian," Munchrath said. "I have two of the best in the state. Both vets keep me informed of any new things that come up when it comes to all my different animals."
Each of the animals is supplied with top-choice foods for their species.
"There is wallaby/kangaroo feed that we buy from our feed store," Munchrath said. "They all get free choice hay, and their own individual feeds each day. The birds get a mix of seeds that I buy in bulk and mix here. The cats get mostly meat since they are carnivorous, as well as the best vitamins I can buy. Each cat gets its own dish and there are plenty of dishes at the end of each feeding session."
Munchrath keeps a close eye on all the animals and pays meticulous attention to his breeding program.
"Nothing is allowed to breed freely except the wallabies," Munchrath said. "There is no reason not to let them do their thing as nature intended it to happen.
"The mini zebu bull and cows are kept separate, unless they have already been bred," he said. "They are put together so that they will not have a calf in the winter. These calves are tiny, like 16 inches tall at birth. They do not have the body mass to stand the cold we have here. They love to romp and play and kick up their heals out in the sunshine and open spaces.
"We plan the calves in spring, summer and fall. But, there may be an unexpected calf on occasion if she did not get bred when we thought she did. Then, we just have to keep mother and baby warm."
The Munch Ranch exotics are of such a high caliber that they have been sought out not once, but twice, by film crews. Once the ranch was featured in a German show, similar to the Animal Planet's "Growing Up Grizzly," and again to be in the film "Borat."
"A German film crew and a lady and her son flew over and filmed for a day," Munchrath said. "It was similar to our Animal Planet. They were doing a series on the lady getting one of my wallaby joeys that had been orphaned."
Munchrath said they had a great time.
"She even took the joey onto a talk show, bottle fed it, and made it poop," he said. "That was the funniest show and everyone was howling because they all were anxiously waiting for the little pea size poop to arrive. That is something you have to do every time the joeys are fed. That is what the mother does, so that is what we have to do also."
Munchrath was not quite as pleased with his "Borat" experience.
"If I had known, I could have made it really funny," Munchrath said. "I was basically amazed at how the film crew seemed not to notice how crazy and idiot-acting he was. They never cracked. They filmed for hours and only used me for about six seconds."
Through his brother and unique experiences with customers and visitors, Munchrath finds himself privileged to be able to lead the life he wants.
"I have learned to stop whining so much myself and just do what we have to do, and try to enjoy it," Munchrath said. "That is pretty easy when we see the tiny calves being born, or all the kittens running around the house and the puppies chasing us because of their uncompromising love. This is why we do it, as well as it helps pay our bills and keeps us out of the city."
To learn more about the Munch Ranch and their many exotic animals, visit www.munchranch.com .
