Archive for the 'Animals' Category

Watch the video, but here is my analysis (the comments on YouTube are idiotic).

The caption says, “wild horses.”  Eh, maybe so.  I don’t know.  There’s a salt/mineral block in the video, so it isn’t completely a wild herd.  No commenter points this out.  In any case, this is their neighborhood.  They know their way around.

Second, the horses are barely at a lope.  I know.  I have trained horses.  They can keep this speed up – and much faster than this – for far longer than the bear.  The bear is heavy.  A large portion of the musculature of the horse is dedicated to doing just what they’re doing.  The adult horses are in absolutely no danger.  They just chose to run rather than fight because that’s the easiest thing to do.  It’s all instinctive.  There was no calculus.

Third, the reason they’re loping is twofold.  They won’t waste energy if they don’t need to, and they’re probably protecting the foal.  That foal is likely in danger, but that’s the only horse in danger.

The bear is in danger too.  If the horses decide to make a fight of it with the bear (assuming the bear catches up with the foal), one strike from a rear hoof will crush the bear’s skull.  Even a glancing blow would break his jaw (killing him) or cause internal injuries (causing organ failure).  A horse kicks much faster than a rattlesnake strike, and delivers 2000 psi pressure.  Don’t ever underestimate a horse’s ability to kill.  I know cowboys who were centimeters from death from a potential head blow.

I repeat.  The herd is in no danger.  The foal is in danger.  So is the bear, so that bear must be very hungry.

Anyway, that’s my analysis.

Outdoor Life.

Hiking with kids can be a unique experience, especially when there’s a black bear following your family up the trail. Last week, Brighton Peachy, her husband, and their three young children were hiking a popular trail in British Columbia when a black bear started following them, according to KUTV News.

While the bear appeared to be more curious than aggressive, it blocked the way back to the parking lot so the family of five—with kids aged one to six—had to keep walking up the trail as the bear lumbered along behind them. Peachy was able to record a video of the encounter with her cell phone.

Video at the link.

He has his wife and children on a hike through the wilderness of British Columbia, and he had bear spray.

I think you know what I think.

Dean Weingarten.

Cynthia had been dropped off by helicopter.  She was hiking along a narrow path on a ridge a few miles from the Salcha River, about 60 miles southeast of Fairbanks, Alaska. A “small black bear” startled her with a crash in the brush. It appeared to her, staring at her, from about 10 feet away. She yelled at it. She pounded a rock with her hammer to make noise. The bear was not intimidated.  Cynthia took a step back, which was also higher on the rock.

The bear moved out of her sight, then struck her from behind and knocked her down. She had been told playing dead was the best strategy, so she did. The bear proceeded to drag her for nearly half an hour. During that time, her right arm was disabled as the bear tore and chewed on it. She was able to get her radio out of her pocket with her left arm and signal for help.

The bear managed to eat and destroy much of both her arms before help arrived. She did not resist the bear.  If she had a firearm, she could easily have shot the bear. At 10 feet, standing still, even a small pistol could have worked.

[ … ]

Marti Miller was working for the Geological Survey as a cook when she met Cynthia, two years before Cynthia was attacked. They had become close friends. Marti visited Cynthia in the hospital and was well aware of the details of the predatory bear attack.

In 1981, Marti joined the Geological Survey full-time, after she finished her college degree. She had her own encounter with a predatory black bear after she became a project leader, sometime before 1995. In January of 1995, she was interviewed by Larry Kaniut, the well-known author of Alaskan bear books.

Marti Miller’s experience was similar to Cynthia’s in many ways. One difference was she was the project leader when her event happened. She was dropped off by helicopter in a very wild area, to work on a geological survey …

[ … ]

Marti decided to climb fast to get above the bear, to a place where she could see it approaching her.  She chambered a round in her rifle.  When she had gained elevation and space, she tried the radio again. Still no contact.  Then she saw the bear again. She moved directly upslope of the bear, and in her best command voice, yelled: “Get outta here!”

The bear was about 100 feet away. It looked at her and purposefully started walking toward her. When it was 70 feet away, she fired, aiming at the bear’s nose. The 180-grain Nosler bullet broke the bear’s neck, killing it instantly.

Dean is the king of bear attack reporting.  I’ve left a number of details out – go visit Dean’s article.  And never go into bear country without a firearm.

I would rather never be in a position like this.  That bear closed fast and had ill intentions.

Shelter dog realizes he’s being rescued.

Alaskan Malamute protests going to the Vet.  Yea, I don’t like doctors either.

This Tibetan Mastiff has courage.  See the comments for details of what was going on.

Kids play with a deer in the sprinkler.

This Otter’s got some brass.

We can do tricks.

Dog chained to car and dragged 100 yards is rescued and was still wagging her tail.  Don’t do that to dogs.

Special forces dog abandoned by Russians joins Ukrainian forces.  Why would anyone abandon the dog?  How dumb is that?  Don’t do that to dogs.

Mountain lion wanders into classroom in California.

If you have cats, this is one way to keep them interested.

3-legged dog rescues a baby Otter.  In my neighborhood there lives a 3-legged dog who sometimes goes for walks with his owner.  He has the most spunk and spirit of any dog in the neighborhood.

Wolves kill more than 100 sheep near Boise.  They’re going to have to get some donkeys.

Moose vs Grizzly pic.twitter.com/ZefPYT28L9

— Cozy Cowboy (@cozyCowpoke) May 29, 2022

I know when I adventured in the Weminuche Wilderness in Colorado, I was told by a professional trail maker in that area to watch out for the Moose.  They will stomp you, and they’re very aggressive towards humans.

I guess towards bears too.

All my buddies have to get fed too.

In the post, which has so far had 57.7k likes and generated almost 1700 comments, “Bennett the Hound” can be seen carrying his stuffed animal toys to his feeding and drinking bowls, and a caption that says: “Anybody else’s dog make sure their toys are fed and watered or is it just mine…?”

Who’s the good boy?

Hey, can I get a hand here?

Guard Donkey.  And guard donkeys were sent to protect a Northern Colorado herd from wolves.  I predict the wolves won’t be a problem as long as the donkeys are around.

Sometimes animals are violent.

Yellowstone National Park tourists witnessed a heart-breaking scene Sunday involving a subadult male grizzly bear that was savagely attacked by an adult male bear that was courting his mother.

Moments beforehand, the mother bear also attacked the subadult, perhaps in an attempt to scare him away from the boar.

During the subsequent attack by the male grizzly, estimated to weigh more than 500 pounds, the 148-pound, 3-year-old subadult sustained severe injuries and was later euthanized by park staff.

The incident has been discussed widely via social media. Park aficionados have expressed sorrow and struggled to grasp why this occurred. Some blamed tourists for crowding the roadside bears, perhaps altering their behavior.

Anger also stemmed from an incident the previous week, during which tourists illegally tossed food to the subadult bear.

But the presence of tourists does not appear to have been a factor in causing the attack. Adult male grizzly bears hoping to mate with female bears will attack and sometimes kill nearby cubs or young bears, even in the deepest wilderness.

“The subadult is confirmed to be a male, which is not going to be tolerated by another male in the territory,” Trent Sizemore, a veteran wildlife photographer from West Yellowstone, Montana, told FTW Outdoors. “No humans pushed any of these bears to cause this specific incident.”

What sort of dummy has to be told this?  What sort of dummy thinks this is somehow not representative of how wild animals behave?

This lady has Sandhill Cranes knocking at her door all day every day.  Hey, if there’s food there, they’ll come.

Raccoon visits.  WiscoDave, you out there?

This dog went for a very long swim.

This goat walks again.

This dog can perform tricks.

Lifelong cowboy gets his final wish of being with a horse again.  I miss riding myself.

I WILL NOT leave my friend.

Report from Dallas, Texas.

Lots and lots of Coyote attacks, lots of pets killed, lots of stalking.  This quote nearly floored me.

At the meeting, many of the residents wanted to know why the city didn’t already have a plan for managing coyote behavior. They have been a part of the ecosystem for decades, and are often spotted in residential areas throughout the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area.

“Where the city is on its response is in the exact same place where every other community that has a wildlife problem starts out,” Henry said. “That’s how government works, any government. We’re always behind the curve.”

“So White Rock Valley is the first community in Dallas to ever have this problem?” asked Kristy Feil, who has lived in the neighborhood for 19 years. “I mean, we’re the first?”

The truth is, yes. The city officials couldn’t say definitively that in all of Dallas’s history there hasn’t been an attack, but violent coyote interactions are so incredibly rare that it’s not surprising it took so long for them to form a plan. Urban coyotes are, the vast majority of the time, out of sight and out of mind.

“I’m starting to understand why we’re having more of an issue recently,” Feil said after the meeting. “There’s no one to blame. We’ve just got to figure out how to handle it.”

Sure there’s someone to blame.  Society is to blame.

You don’t manage Coyote behavior.  They will do what they do.  They are pests.  They are a nuisance.  There isn’t a school of rehabilitation to send them to.  What a silly and childish notion.  Manage Coyote behavior.

Ridiculous.

You shoot them.  If discharging firearms within the city limits is illegal, then they need to look at changing the law, or begin to carry crossbows, hunt them down, and kill them all.

Dean Weingarten.

According to the Taylor County Sheriff’s Office, authorities received a report of a bear attack at a home on Castle Road in the Township of Medford Friday around 11 p.m.

In a press release, authorities report a husband and wife noticed the bear eating from their bird feeder, opened the window and yelled at the bear to scare it off. The bear then turned and charged at the home, breaking through the window and began attacking the couple, while their kids were asleep in their bedrooms.

This correspondent was able to talk with Larry Woebbeking, Sheriff of Taylor County.  While Sheriff Woebbeking was not at the scene of the attack, he had talked to an investigating officer who was. Larry had interesting information to add. He was sure of his facts.

The bottom of the window was about three to four feet above the ground. The bear had to jump up to get through the window. The window appears to be a typical northern Wisconsin type which slides vertically up and down, with an insect screen on the outside. The screen is gone on the picture from the sheriffs office, so the bear probably clawed the screen out as it came inside.

After the wife yelled at the bear, the bear forced its way through the window and attacked the wife. The husband came to the aid of his wife, interjecting his body between them. The bear attacked him. He suffered severe bites to the neck and may have had an arm broken.

The wife, freed from the bear attack, accessed a knife and attacked the bear mauling her husband. The bear turned its attention back to the wife, which allowed the husband to escape momentarily. He was able to access a 9mm Sig handgun. He quickly returned and killed the bear.

Dean goes on to make interesting points about female black bears not displaying strong maternal instincts, and that 9 out of 10 times a female black bear will abandon cubs rather than face danger.

This bear had something else in mind.  Perhaps food.

I would never have allowed my wife to open the window and scream without having a firearm nearby.  And this is yet another instance of the need to carry inside the home.

A defense of love.

A dog in Northern California was critically injured earlier this week after saving its owner from an attacking mountain lion. The dog is still recovering from its injuries, according to a recent Instagram post, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife says that wildlife officers are still working to trap the lion.

Erin Wilson and her Belgian Malinois, Eva, were walking along the Trinity River near the White Bar picnic area on Monday afternoon when the big cat attacked, jumping on the woman from behind and scratching her left shoulder. Eva, who was out in front, heard Wilson scream, and the dog immediately jumped in to defend Wilson.

“I think it’s safe to assume that dog probably saved her life,” CDFW’s Patrick Foy said in an interview with the Sacramento Bee.

At some point during the battle, the mountain lion bit into the dog’s head and wouldn’t let go. After multiple attempts to get the cat off her dog, Wilson ran up to the highway to get a telescoping baton from her to car to use as a weapon. She was also able to recruit some additional help as she waved down a passerby, Sharon Houston, who was driving down CA-229 at the time.

“About 2:45 p.m., I was driving on 299 from the coast to Weaverville when I saw a woman trying to wave someone down,” Houston told the Redheaded Blackbelt, a local media outlet that originally broke the story on Tuesday. “She was frantic about it.”

After hearing what happened, Houston decided to help. Wilson had an extendable baton, and Houston had a portion of PVC pipe and some pepper spray. They found the lion, which had the dog by the neck at that point, and they began hitting it repeatedly.

“I thought, ‘Here we go,'” Houston said. “So, I started hitting it on the head, trying to get it to let go…I was just trying to get that thing away.” They eventually managed to free the dog, which ran toward the highway.

“[The mountain lion] swiped at us and bared its teeth,” Houston said. “I opened up my pepper spray and just hosed its face. It was the longest 5 to 10 seconds…I begged, ‘Please work, please work, please work.”

” … the dog immediately jumped in to defend Wilson.”  Of course she did.  “I think it’s safe to assume that dog probably saved her life.”  Of course she did.

A pistol would have worked better to get rid of the cat.