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Dire wolf at my door

Discussion in 'Fred's House of Pancakes' started by cyberpriusII, Jul 4, 2020.

  1. cyberpriusII

    cyberpriusII Prodigyplace says I'm Super Kris

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    When I said leg, I am saying the lower hoof end. Not a lot of protein left on that. I do know that it is not safe to approach a cougar kill site, and I assume the same for wolves.

    But, me dawgs will be dawgs. At least they are a pack in themselves.
     
  2. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Kris I imagine your buddies are good at avoiding becoming dire targets. They would for sure put their lives on the line to protect you. So don't let that happen. Don't go out when devils howl and prowl.
     
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  3. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    (Fer real) dire wolves were bone breakers and marrow eaters.Their persisting juniors do less. But now deer (easy) meat is hyper available. No need to closely approach lit houses.
     
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  4. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Folks who have ~10 kilos of pets at risk can 'personally assert' and save them because threat won't chew on you. Folks with ~100 kilos of pets at risk are in a different situation. Intrude, and they go to defcon2 and they will effing die to protect you. Don't go there. Stay inside. These are (sufficiently) smart dogs. They know where you are.
     
  5. cyberpriusII

    cyberpriusII Prodigyplace says I'm Super Kris

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    Not exactly sure what you are saying, but it is around 10:30 p.m. here and fairly dark and the hounds and I have been playing fetch for the past hour. I can't see the balls, but they can see them.

    As I said earlier, I may get a bit of chill down the spine when I hear howls and yips, but I don't let that stop me from moving out into the woods. Stupid. Maybe. But rather be moving forward with a bit of fear, than shaking back at the house.I would rather hear wolves than traffic.
    kris
     
    #25 cyberpriusII, Jul 9, 2020
    Last edited: Jul 9, 2020
  6. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    While the local fetch game 'works', play it. If dogs exit for other stimulae, go inside.If you think they are stoopid, open a window and broadcast "I am staying inside and hope you will come back soon".

    I've been unclear, so only saying your dogs may respond poorly to a situation if they think you are at risk.
     
  7. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    It appears that the most recent human killed by a non-captive wolf in the Lower 48 was in 1893. Though Alaska and Canada have had much more recent fatal incidents. And non-fatal incidents in western Canada and northwestern U.S. have significantly increased since those 1990s re-population efforts.

    But these cases still remain exceedingly sparse -- significantly less frequent than big kitty incidents, and vastly less frequent than bipedal incidents, even in the comparatively non-violent rural outdoors. The folks in my old stomping grounds don't seem to have changed their outdoor precautions very much since the wolves have returned. The more customary no-splashy-headline hazards on the roads and streets and in the homes still seem to present far greater risk.

    I don't think one is going to get mountain folks out of the woods any more than one is going to get beachgoers out of the waters known to be prowled by the Great Whites.
     
    #27 fuzzy1, Jul 9, 2020
    Last edited: Jul 9, 2020
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  8. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Just so. It is not our @cyberpriusII at risk, but her defenders.
     
  9. cyberpriusII

    cyberpriusII Prodigyplace says I'm Super Kris

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    If you guys want my real fear....and I will say I don't really have much fear of it, either.

    Cougar. The deer population in my area is up significantly. And we have always had cougars. I have seen them twice over the years, but never any problem.

    So, MANY MORE DEER. I think that eventually means more cougars. Does that mean more threat from cougars for me and mine? Or, since there are so many more deer, less of an issue?

    I do not let it block my normal day. Hey, I survived a horrific accident. If God, or whatever sort of supreme being is out there -- and I do believe there is one of some sort -- wanted me to die, it would happened 18 months ago when I had my auto accident.
    kris
     
  10. ETC(SS)

    ETC(SS) The OTHER One Percenter.....

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    The deer leg may have been discarded by a 2-legged hunter.....UNlikely (cause it's like....JULY) but hardly unknown....and humans universally throw that part away since it's not as much fun for their kiddies.
    Could have also been left by a trio of wolves since that's not much of a 'pack'....but kris' pooches ain't talkin' much about it so we'll never know.
    @ Cougar. (the quadruped kind)
    Mountain lion, puma, cougar, panther—this cat has more nicknames than some POTUS' I know. but it's still the same feline....Puma Concolor.
    Depending on who you ask It's pretty small by 'big' cat standards, or pretty big by small cat standards.
    It's kinda one of those "Pluto-planet" arguments that amuse the intelligentsia.

    Mountain lions, like wolves, are REALLY REALLY good at being socially distant.
    Oregon has recorded ONE known death by non bipedal cougar, and there have only been a few dozen in the whole nation in the last 100 years. These tend to be very small curious humans wandering around loose in a non-urban setting or a smallish human...running, which to a cat is pretty much the same thing as a human floundering around in the ocean is to a shark.

    If you're one of those people whose dig nature but do not dig firearms, bear spray is extremely effective on mountain lion, puma, cougar, panther, and "probably" wolves and some bipedal attackers as well.
    I can report that wasp spray is also an effective substitute if you live in one of those overly oppressive nanny states that consider some food items to be a 'weapon'.

    As always....
    YMMV
     
  11. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    For quadrupeds, the term has been in use since 1774, and has been the primary name in my region for my entire life. (And the mascot of one of this state's Universities.) If you ask me, any feline of my own weight is close enough to 'big' cat. The in-betweeners would be bobcats and lynx.

    For bipeds, I see no history of that usage prior to 2002, long after I married what some folks would put into that category.
     
  12. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    The technical difference between big and small cats is in the hyoid bone. In big cats, a portion is flexible, which allows them to roar, though not all the big cats will roar.
     
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  13. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Somewhere along the line, I picked up an item suggesting that big-vs-small was determined by eye pupil shape, round vs slit. Cougars have round pupils, whereas housecats have slit pupils.

    But looking around, this doesn't now appear to be a common definition, and doesn't align well with the roaring definition.
     
  14. The Electric Me

    The Electric Me Go Speed Go!

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    First of all, let me say my Mother wasn't stupid. She was a very intelligent woman.
    BUT...
    Her whole life she loved animals, and especially cats. And her whole life she proclaimed that she wanted a "pet" cougar. Arguments that they were fearless predators, with the ability to stalk, prey and kill animals as big or bigger than humans, and sadly even sometimes including humans- did not deter her. In her mind, cougars were just big cats, and like Daniel heading for the Lions Den, they would never hurt her. One day she watched a documentary and heard that Cougars couldn't roar, but did purr, and that just convinced her more, that she could raise a Cougar. Hey, they purred just like a house cat.
    Luckily the possibility or reality of her ever owning a Cougar never came close to any fruition. Her "big cat" ownership was limited to Domestic House Cat strays rescued from animal shelters.
    I did actually live with some fear that IF she ever encountered a Cougar, she would endanger herself because of her unrealistic belief. I guess it was also lucky that her encounters with Cougars were also limited to television documentaries and Zoo's.

    I compromised with her saying it was OK if she wanted to "like" Cougars, but she could not HAVE a Cougar. But I could tell, I never really convinced her that it wasn't a good idea.
     
  15. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    As a pre-teen, I remember playing several times with a young bobcat that the local vet kept as a house pet, after treating it for road injuries when brought in as a kitten. Though it did enjoy some of the normal pet attention, it clearly behaved different than regular housecats, with a lot more pacing and no interest in any lap time.

    I don't know how long he was able to keep it, but seem to remember that it was eventually chalked up as a failed experiment. It entered captivity later than the age where the animal shelter kittens that we foster now really need to have serious human socialization. I don't believe Fish & Game would allow it today.
     
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  16. cyberpriusII

    cyberpriusII Prodigyplace says I'm Super Kris

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    Gosh, went outside a few minutes ago and there was a GIANT buck chewing the grass next to my strawberry field (400 strawberry plants). I have never seen one that big. I never did learn how to determine the "points," but I will say I have never seen that size antler rack on any of the displays various shops and neighbors hang on their walls.

    Of course, I sent the hounds out to chase him away.
    kris
     
  17. Trollbait

    Trollbait It's a D&D thing

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    One of the smallest cats(just under 10lbs), the Palla's cat, has round pupils.
    [​IMG]

    Traditionally big cat referred to the genus Panthera - Wikipedia which includes all the really big cats, who all have a round pupil. The hyoid bone ending up being the determination when people started putting the in-betweener sized cats in with the big.
    Seems there is debate about the purring thing in cats. Small cats have an ossified hyoid bone, which resonates to make a purr. However, big cats have been recorded purring. The debate is whether these are 'true' purrs.

    "In a 2002 review, 20 out of 36 cat species were found to purr, including some big cats like lions and leopards.

    In fact, scientists are still debating the results. Some claim that the sounds the lions and leopards made were not "true" purrs. They were only rolling, gurgling growls that sounded like purrs.

    Others argue that lion and jaguar purrs were only evident on the exhale and not the inhale, and therefore, they cannot be the same thing."
    Can Big Cats Actually Purr?
     
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  18. fuzzy1

    fuzzy1 Senior Member

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    Just count all the pointy tips. Western count is the number of pointy tips on a single side, Eastern count is both sides combined. (We won't get into unmatched sides.)

    And remember that you now live in the West.
    ... at least you are on the correct foot on "horns" vs "antlers".

    I see plenty of horns, but they are all on the cattle, not on the deer and elk.
     
  19. cyberpriusII

    cyberpriusII Prodigyplace says I'm Super Kris

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    My dear father made a point with us kids....and I will not try to repeat it here as it was a bit risque.

    But, something about the difference between having antlers and being horny.
    kris
     
  20. tochatihu

    tochatihu Senior Member

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    Clams of deer bucks with more than 50 points are often disputed.

    ==

    Related antelopes have permanent (prong) horns that are much less goofy (just an opinion). They excel at footspeed. Since the dire predators became extinct, nobody can really catch them. But go to the dry side of Oregon mountains and maybe get a lucky sighting.

    Pronghorn

    They are pretty good in the eyeball department as well, so bring binoculars to level the playing field.