Archive for the 'Animals' Category

I’d prefer not to be that close.

Lately, however, the 53-year-old has been nervous to step outside, because on Sept. 21, she was attacked by a bear.

That’s for sure.  Dogs will go after bears, and usually dogs are too agile for the bears, but you’re not.  But I’d rather have the dogs with me to alert me to bear presence.

Because of this, the bears tend to travel along wooded ridge tops, like the area near Rum Springs Road.

“That is a natural funnel that the bears tend to come down,” Spiker said, adding Maryland’s healthy forested areas and plentiful food sources have likely led to an increase in the bear population since the mid-20th century.

DNR officials have set a trap in an attempt to catch the bear or others. Spiker said it’s unlikely the bear would be put down if trapped because it would be difficult to know if it was the one that attacked Levow.

Both Steve and Renee urged people who bike or hike in the area to be alert for bears, and not to approach them if they see one. Steve thanked DNR for bringing up some cans of bear mace for protection.

Yea okay.  You keep your bear spray.  If I’m out and about in the bush, I’ll carry a large bore handgun, thank you.

Patch.com.

This is a criminal investigation because he is a criminal and guilty of animal abuse.

The most surprising thing about this report is found in a link at the article to a Facebook report on the horse.

What an amazingly crazy weekend! We have a brand-new appreciation for the term “going viral,” and cannot thank you enough for all the supportive comments, messages and calls. This photo is of Chloe, one of NuNu’s new barn mates who would like to thank you!

When NuNu’s GoFundMe went up late Friday night, the expectation was it might generate enough money to pay for some extra care that goes above and beyond anything the farm might be reimbursed for while she is the custody of CACC, being housed at FVF. (One example of this is teeth floating.) The original $5000 goal was, in our opinion, hugely aspirational. WELL, we were absolutely blown-away by your generosity.

As the fund exceeded the $10,000 mark, it was decided to stop accepting donations for NuNu at this time. To be very clear – she will need specialized care for the rest of her life, and the money already raised will go for that. Once the court case has come to its end, there might be additional fundraising efforts for her long-term care.

For those asking to see the vet’s reports to “prove” her injuries, NuNu is currently part of a criminal case. The only publicly available information on her health is in the State’s Attorney’s report. We also appreciate everyone that reached out to ask about visits, adoption or care packages. NuNu is not receiving guests at this time …

You read that right.  Some jerk, or in the case, jerks, are asking for a report to “prove” the extent of the horse’s injuries.

I had initially figured that the people demanding such reports were just imbeciles, and was prepared to rehearse what I had said earlier on this.

True horsemen know how to care for horses.  I am a horseman.  You teach them, train them, ring ride them, teach them voice commands and leg commands and reign commands, brush them, bath them, feed them, keep them in well-constructed stalls, clean their stalls, medicate them, shoe them, and get them seen by professional Ferriers.  This man is an actor – he is no horseman.

The mayor of Chicago is a thug.  The man who did this to this animal is a thug.  He rode the horse without shoes along roadways until the horse was lame and injured beyond repair.  The hooves were probably cracked and not trimmed before the ride, and the horse should never have been taken on this ride.

And by the way, Hollywood movies that show horses galloping endlessly are stupid, fake, farcical, and lies.  Riding horses that way will kill them.  You don’t gallop horses for hours on end.  No one does that.  Horses can cantor, lope and trot.  They can gallop for very short distances.  Not long distances.  They will come up lame, their hearts will explode, they will break bones.  They will exhaust, they will die of dehydration.

The man who did this to an animal is wicked.  I know this because I once trained quarter horses.  And because I wouldn’t do this to an animal.

And then I was prepared to point out that I would trust the initial report of a Ferrier in lieu of a vet any day (not to disparage vets).  Ferriers see and doctor horses literally every day.  It could be followed up with a formal report from a vet.

But that’s not the point.  It dawned on me that the people demanding to see a report don’t care about any of that.  They just want to see a criminal exonerated, as long as the criminal is doing the work of the progressive state.

It’s the same way criminals associated with Antifa and BLM are being treated in Portland and Seattle – as long as they tear down the system, it doesn’t matter who gets hurt or how badly.  They are to be freed to do it again.

The people demanding to see a report on the horse’s health are awful, terrible people.  The good man cares about the life of his beast, and the bad man does not.  And the people who do not care about beasts won’t care about you or your family either.  Never forget that.

As for those among us who care but do not know, I will repeat myself, as I have stated about police officers who indiscriminately shoot dogs.  Give me five minutes with any dog and I’ll almost always get the dog to play with me in the backyard.  There is never any excuse for shooting dogs, and if police raids are a root cause of that, then end them.

If you don’t know and understand how animals work, think and play, how to communicate with them through voice inflection, timbre, voice commands, and touch, if you don’t know at least a little about doctoring animals, if you don’t know anything about the care and feeding of animals, then your father was a failure in your life, and you can tell him I said so.

Spend some quality time volunteering at a local farm or ranch feeding horses and cattle, doctoring farm animals, raising dogs, chickens and goats, cleaning stalls, and feeding animals.  It will be time better spent than spending it with humans, and it will teach you something about life, including the value of hard work.

Report via WiscoDave.

Jerk.

The census cowboy whipped the horse repeatedly when it was in pain and tried to slow down. pic.twitter.com/qkA1c6j8Nt

— Ian Miles Cheong (@stillgray) September 25, 2020

The horse ridden for 7.5 miles on the Dan Ryan Expressway during an impromptu protest Monday by a man known as the “Dreadhead Cowboy” would not have survived without immediate treatment and may still be euthanized, according to Cook County prosecutors, who said the treatment of the horse was the equivalent of forcing an 80-year-old woman run a full marathon.

Adam Hollingsworth, 33, was held on $25,000 bond during a court appearance Wednesday after he was charged with a felony count of aggravated cruelty to an animal, as well as misdemeanor counts of reckless conduct, trespassing and other traffic offenses. He must pay 10% of that amount, $2,500, to be released from jail.

Hollingsworth has also been dubbed the “Census Cowboy” for his work with Mayor Lori Lightfoot to boost census participation in Chicago. He said he rode the horse on the expressway during rush hour in support of the #KidsLivesMatter movement — an initiative that aims to raise awareness and motivate residents to fill out the census to help communities receive better funding.

But Cook County Assistant State’s Attorney Kevin Deboni said the horse was ill-equipped for this ride and was run almost to death.

Hollingsworth allegedly rode the horse onto the Dan Ryan at the 35th Street feeder ramp at around 4:30 p.m. Deboni said the horse spent most of the ride galloping, but it did not have on proper shoes for the pavement, which caused bleeding and “extensive damage” to its health.

Listen to me.  Listen to me.

Needless pain and suffering.  People who live according to God’s law don’t cause it to humans or animals.  The hunter cares about the ethical kill, and eats what he kills, or kills in self defense or defense of family, home and hearth.  He doesn’t trophy hunt, or kill for the sport of it.

True horsemen know how to care for horses.  I am a horseman.  You teach them, train them, ring ride them, teach them voice commands and leg commands and reign commands, brush them, bath them, feed them, keep them in well-constructed stalls, clean their stalls, medicate them, shoe them, and get them seen by professional Ferriers.  This man is an actor – he is no horseman.

The mayor of Chicago is a thug.  The man who did this to this animal is a thug.  He rode the horse without shoes along roadways until the horse was lame and injured beyond repair.  The hooves were probably cracked and not trimmed before the ride, and the horse should never have been taken on this ride.

And by the way, Hollywood movies that show horses galloping endlessly are stupid, fake, farcical, and lies.  Riding horses that way will kill them.  You don’t gallop horses for hours on end.  No one does that.  Horses can cantor, lope and trot.  They can gallop for very short distances.  Not long distances.  They will come up lame, their hearts will explode, they will break bones.  They will exhaust, they will die of dehydration.

The man who did this to an animal is wicked.  I know this because I once trained quarter horses.  And because I wouldn’t do this to an animal.

Ever.

With all the focus on two-legged threats recently, don’t forget about the four-legged kind.

Jennifer Stokya was visiting her mother in Arbor Vitae, north west of Fort Frances, when she was confronted by a bear in her backyard during a garbage run. Stokya said she lives in B.C. and just came down to visit her mother and help her with house chores.

“I stepped on the door step with full hands and fighting with trying to close the door behind me, I turned my back without looking up,” Stokya said. “Suddenly there was a loud hissing noise and a large paw whizzed past my head and it was a bear on his hind legs swiping at me.”

Stokya said she was trying to keep her dog, Dexter, from getting out the door. Although Stokya said Dexter is professionally trained to be off leash, he had been acting strange for several days and randomly growling at trees.

“Little did we know,” Stokya chuckled. “His swipe missed me and hit the garbage bag. He actually had me cornered, but thankfully the door hadn’t yet closed all the way, and Dexter pushed his way through the door and leapt into the air at the bear and successfully chased the bear up a tree about 20 feet away.”

Stokya said even while being chased by Dexter, the bear still managed to grab the garbage bag and a random loose coffee pod that had fallen out before running up the tree.

This is the season when bear sightings are most common. They are looking for food to add an extra layer of warmth before hibernating in the winter.

After calling the Ministry of Natural Resources, Stokya said they advised her to watch for the bear to come down and make noises to scare it away and make it feel unwelcome. However, the same bear came back wandering around the yard again.

“My mom spotted him first,” Stokya said. “She yelled and made noise and it didn’t even look at her. I came out and started yelling too and it at least momentarily stopped and looked at me and sniffed the air a little, recognizing me I guess. It wasn’t until my dog started growling and barking that the bear slowly ran off. I haven’t seen the bear since, but occasionally can smell that he is in the area.”

Stokya said a neighbour stopped by to warn them that he had spotted the bear behind the house when he he was driving by, so it’s still around.

“The next day the bear was back. But definitely not scared of us. I haven’t seen the bear, but definitely randomly could smell him so knew he was close by,” Stokya said.

“I was pretty shaken up for quite some time after, thinking of the close call, and how the whole situation would have been a lot different if I didn’t have my dog with me.”

Dexter’s treat for rescuing Stokya was steak for supper.

Who’s the good boy?  Dexter is the good boy.  That’s right.

Dexter is actually quite fortunate to have been a sole dog chasing a bear and to not only get away unscathed, but win the standoff.

More than one dog would have been even better.  If I lived in this neck of the woods, I’d carry a large bore handgun every step outside (and most of the time indoors).

But given enough of them, there isn’t an animal in North America who won’t run from a pack of dogs.  Even large predators will eventually give way to African dog packs.  In large enough numbers, they are an apex predator.

And our best friend.  At least, Dexter was.

Dean Weingarten.

On 29 July, 2020, Daniel Schilling went to clear trail about a mile from his cabin in Alaska. His dog returned home without him. His wife was very concerned. Searchers found his body, killed by a bear, where he was working. An empty can of bear spray, with the safety off, which had been discharged at the site, was also found.

[ … ]

How much of his decision to take bear spray, and not a revolver, was made because of the claims of bear spray effectiveness?

Prior: Black Bear Kills Unarmed Woman In Unprovoked Attack; Bear Spray Fails, Gun Works.

Don’t listen to the “experts.”  Dean is an expert you can listen to.  And listen to your common sense, sometimes no so common among men.

Carry bear spray if you want.  I don’t choose to.  But always carry a large bore handgun, and keep it within reach.  If it’s in your backpack, you won’t have time to get it.  If it’s near your encampment, you won’t have time to go back and get it.

The same thing goes for big cats, feral hogs and coyotes.

Dean Weingarten at Ammoland.

The father said he was talking to her when he heard a gurgling noise, and was no longer able to communicate with her. Nine minutes later, his son-in-law, Stephanie’s husband, Curtis Blais, called him and told him of the attack. Curtis had tried bear spray, but it did not work, so he got a gun and shot and killed the bear. From cbc.ca:

After waiting two minutes, Esquirol disconnected and called back. No one answered. Seven minutes later, he got a call from his daughter’s husband, Curtis Blais, who had been in the cabin’s kitchen about 30 metres away.

“Curtis called advising me that a bear attacked her, that he sprayed the bear with pepper spray, and the bear got more angry.”

Esquirol said his son-in-law told him he got a gun and shot the bear twice before it went down.

“So by that time, Stephanie had no pulse. He gave her mouth to mouth, but she was injured beyond the point of recovery.”

[ … ]

The bear was not starving. Its stomach was full of blueberries. From foxnews.com:

He said a conservation officer told him the bear was unprovoked in the attack and that the bear wasn’t hungry. It had a stomach full of blueberries.

We do not know how much time was consumed by complying with the Canadian government laws on firearms and ammunition storage.

Free men don’t follow unrighteous laws when those laws put themselves or their loved ones at risk.

When in bear country, always have a large bore firearm within reach.  Or be at increased and unnecessary risk.  The choice is yours.

And no, bear spray isn’t a large bore firearm.

News from Colorado. (via Insty)

Wolves and the rapid urbanization and exploding population of Colorado could test all of us to our limits. Ranchers already deal with a more crowded world on a daily basis, moving cattle on public roads and sharing trails with bikers and hikers. Nothing will hold back the tide of people moving to the Western Slope or the recreationalists escaping the Front Range.

Adding wolves to this crowded landscape could harm elk and deer populations. Mule deer have been declining since the 1970s. There have been serious declines in the elk cow/calf ratio in Southwestern Colorado, concerning Colorado Parks and Wildlife. Wolves prey on elk. As such, wolf reintroduction should not take place until studies, specific to western Colorado, can assess if deer and elk can survive the combined threats of wolves and humans, prior to a vote on reintroduction.

We have learned to coexist with bears, mountain lions, and coyotes, but even with coexistence strategies, wolves will be more challenging. Over time, wolves may colonize the entire state affecting many ranchers. Wolves could push us to the breaking point. As ranchers sell out, songbirds, raptors, and small mammals lose their homes. There is less local agriculture and important wildlife corridors are lost, further stressing elk and deer.

I have absolutely no intention of “coexisting with bears, mountain lions or coyotes.”  I will not learn to do anything of the sort.

When dealing with the awful reflexive tendency of cops to shoot dogs in SWAT raids and other times (e.g., a dog barks at them), I’ve said some pretty direct things to both cops and the survival community.

If you are a law enforcement officer and know nothing about animals, are frightened all of the time around them, and cannot assert yourself at the proper time and in the proper way, there are options for you.  You can volunteer your time at local farms, ranches and dog breeders, and you can purchase and raise your own dogs.  You need to become accustomed to being around cattle, horses, goats, dogs and other such animals.  If you choose to ignore this gap in your training and life experiences, and you choose to run around frightened of everything that moves, but you relinquish your badge and gun, then who am I to infringe on your rights?  Do as you wish, and leave me out of it.

But if you choose to be that kind of person, where you ignore gaps in your knowledge and experience base, but you continue to carry a badge and gun, I think you’re a panty waist.  You are an irresponsible person who should feel bad about themselves, and you’re dangerous to those of us around you, and especially dangerous to animals.  You’re unqualified to have your job, and you are basically a liability to the community.

[ … ]

Now a note to survivalists.  You might spend time, money and energy on being prepared to survive in the wilderness, or perhaps being tactically competent.  But if your planning, education and preparation doesn’t include a moderate knowledge of and mastery over animals, then your preparations are incomplete and your calculus is faulty.  There are animals out there who truly can harm you, such as (in the West) brown bear, cougar and moose, and (in the East) black bear if they’re badly hungry, or feral hogs.

I’m not telling people to do something I’ve never done myself.

I have fallen off, been thrown off, bitten, run over, kicked, and just about anything that can happen on or around a horse.  I have ridden horses all day long, and I do mean all … day … long, and gotten on to do it again the next day.  And the next day.  And the next day.  I have fed them, herded them, doctored them, and assisted them to mate.  If you’ve never witnessed horses mating first hand (and I’m not talking about watching the Discovery Channel), it can be a violent affair.  I’ve ridden with saddles and then also (in my much younger years) bareback over mountain tops along narrow trails while running the herd).  The hardest ride was bareback and (on a dare) without a bridle, only the halter.

From the age of fourteen and beyond into my early twenties, I worked weekends and summers at a Christian camp above Marietta, South Carolina named Awanita Valley (and Awanita Ranch in Traveler’s Rest).  We trained and trail rode horses, fed them and cared for them, hiked the trails and cleared them of snakes and yellow jacket nests (have you ever been on a horse when it came up on a yellow jacket nest?).

When we weren’t doing that, we were cutting wood, hauling supplies, digging ditches, and baling hay.  My boys did the same thing, and Daniel later (before the Marine Corps) worked for Joey Macrae in Anderson, South Carolina, an extraordinary professional horseman, breaking and training horses.  I have ridden in the rain, blazing sun, and snow.  I have seen my son Joshua and his horse buried up to his thighs in snow, and watched him ride the horse up from sinking in the drift and stay on him while keeping the horse and him safe.

Why is all (or any) of this important?  Because as I tried to convey in my earlier post, it is critical to have an understanding and mastery over animals [if you care about your life] …

The same thing goes for preening, smart ass little girls who get talked into doing something stupid.  Like this girl (courtesy of reader Ned in Horses in Austin).

A woke elite rich white girl tries to spook a cop’s horse from behind and… #AllLivesMatter #fearwomen pic.twitter.com/hCnqMhzZ1I

— Darrick Wilkins (@DarrickWilkins) July 2, 2020

So listen to me girl.  Let me explain something to you.

You survive around large farm animals like horses not because they love you or just like being around you, but because you make a deal with them.  Here is the deal: the horse will not kill you, and in return, you covenant to take care of the horse.  And you have to mean it – a horse knows if you’re lying.

You learn the horse’s language, from directional signals to foot pressure to voice commands to neck reining.  You learn the “warp and woof” of how the horse thinks.  You must learn what your voice inflections, timbre, volume and frequency do to the horse and how s/he will interpret them.  The horse will know if you’re unsure of yourself and don’t know what you’re doing, and despite what you’ve been told by your idiot college professors, there is no non-binary for horses.

Mares can be handled, geldings are a little more difficult, and studs are very hard to tame and usually dangerous.  Oh, and walking up behind a horse and surprising it will inevitably lead to a kick, and that in the superlative for running up to the horse.  To the horse, you are a threat and s/he will treat you as such.

A horse can stomp you, bite you, throw you off, run over you, and (here’s the worst part), kick you.  When a horse decides to kick, if the horse lands a hoof on your forehead, you’re likely going to end up dead or with severe and permanent brain injury.

That kick was merely a warning, and it was glancing at best.  You’re very fortunate to be able to stagger away from that with minor injuries.  So here’s a suggestion.  Drop out of college, it’s probably not doing you any good anyway, and it’s running up a mountain of debt you can never pay off.

Go volunteer at a local farm or ranch, and get some real like experience working for a living and learning to handle animals.  And don’t ever do anything like that again.

Then again, if you actually learn to work, you may not want to be out among those idiot protesters anyway.

Bear news from Colorado.

Chernosky realized that the bear was now between him and the cell phone in his room, so he couldn’t call for help. But he knew he had to try to coax the bear toward the door where it had walked in unannounced (yes, bears can actually open doors and cars).

Chernosky said he calmly talked to the bear, ushering it away from the stairs to where his kids were sleeping. According to the National Park Service (NPS), once a bear has noticed you, it’s important to talk to it so the bear can identify you as a human. Remember, humans are not their typical food choice. You should also make yourself look as large as possible, and back away sideways.

This method worked for Chernosky—initially. “The bear slowly backed away and opened the garage door. It went into the garage and the door shut behind it. I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that the problem was solved,” he says. After waiting a few minutes, Chernosky cautiously opened the door to the garage and hit the button to open the garage door so the bear could go outside.

“The garage door spooked it, and it ran back toward where I was standing. I ran down the hall and hid in the corner, and it came back inside,” he continues. “I couldn’t see it because it was so dark, so I came back to the hallway to look, and when I came around, I realized it was standing right in front of me. It was a total shock to the both of us.”

The 400-pound black bear instantly hit Chernosky in the head so hard that it spun him around in a full circle. “It felt like a brick smacking you in the side of the head and instantly tore the skin off my forehead, my right eye, and sliced my ear in half. I was bleeding immediately and crawled back behind the counter thinking, ‘This thing’s about to have me for lunch,'” he says.

I guess the thing I don’t get is this.  Why would you hear someone or something trashing your home, and go out to meet that someone or something without a gun?

Tennessee.

SULLIVAN COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) – The Tennessee Wildlife Resources Agency is investigating after a man was reportedly attacked by a bear on an island on South Holston Lake.

TWRA spokesperson Matthew Cameron told News Channel 11 on Tuesday that officers were investigating after a man reported being dragged from a hammock while camping on the island.

TWRA reports that victim Matt Marvin was camping at an “undeveloped campsite” across from the 421 Access Area.

Marvin was asleep in a hammock early Sunday morning when he woke up to a bear biting his foot.

Marvin told investigators he defended himself by shooting at the bear.

Later Sunday evening, TWRA says that Marvin reported the incident to Washington County, Virginia 911 and told TWRA about the encounter on Monday.

TWRA reports that Marvin gave them a photo of the injury, which showed “a small wound to the heel of his foot.”

A dead or injured bear was not found at the campsite, nor did investigators find any sign of one.

TWRA reports human food was left behind at the campsite, and a warning of bear activity has been left in the area.

Connecticut.

A man who was walking three dogs on a trail in Simsbury was attacked by a black bear Sunday morning.

The incident happened at approximately 7:30 a.m. in the McLean Game Refuge off Firetown Road, police said.

Police said the attack happened about 20 minutes into the Eddy Loop Trail.

The man was walking three dogs on the trail when a bear came out and bit one of the dogs, according to Sergeant Brad Chase. The man tried to intervene and help the dog when he himself was bitten in the leg.

The man sought medical attention and is doing fine, police said.

The police department said they are working with the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection who is handling the bear aspect of the incident.

One of the three, Lucy, a golden retriever who weighs about 50 pounds ran away when the incident happened. Simsbury police announced Monday morning that Lucy was found safe at the McClean Game Refuge.

At least the Tennessee camper had a pistol.  I don’t even think that’s allowed in Connecticut.  The first article recommends cooking far away from your camp site.  That’s hard in most instances, but it’s a good practice to elevate food in a tree, and camp with a dog, or multiple dogs.