posted on September 3, 2002 04:53:08 PM new
Saw this on the news today:
Please tell your kids. Especially bats, raccoons, skunks, foxes; if you see one that's sick don't pick it up. Because once it starts, it's over," says Jeff Watkins. He's the father of a 13 year old Winchester, Tennessee boy who learned that lesson the hard way. His son died last week of rabies. A disease the boy contracted more than two months ago, but didn't know it.
"He found a baby bat, loved all kinds of animals, wanted to show his brothers the bat, so he brought the bat home," says Watkins.
That was a mistake. The bat more than likely bit Jeremy but since it's teeth are so tiny, Jeremy probably never felt it. It wasn't until his parents took him to Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville that he was diagnosed; by then it was too late.
Watkins says, "When they first mentioned rabies I thought he could get shots and that would be it. But they said no. Once the symptoms start you have seven to ten days to live and there's nothing they can do about it."
Jeremy's symptoms included a severe headache, sore arm and face, double vision, a swollen throat. He told his father he felt no pain. That was before he went into a coma last Monday. His father never got to say goodbye. "I won't see him get married, go to college, get a job, it's tough."
Health officials warn if you come into contact with a wild animal, call your local health department or doctor, and get treated. They say once the symptoms of rabies start, it's too late for medicine.
posted on September 3, 2002 09:58:38 PM new
...livestock inspector told me recently that we have had 15+ rabid critters identified this summer in our county, a few more than normal....nobody bitten....bats are the worst as far as people go because they hold so much fascination, especially for kids...fortunately most of our cases have been skunks, and nobody wants to get close enough to one to risk getting bitten! Normal wildlife behavior is something that kids who grow up on farms and ranches learn as a matter of course, and they know not to mess with an animal that is acting abnormally, bats are everywhere however, and increasingly so are other kinds of critters, as suburbia moves ever outward in search of a breath of fresh air...people should educate their kids about what to expect when encountering any animal, wild or domestic......or we could just kill 'em all!
posted on September 4, 2002 09:04:30 AM new
Somewhere there is a balance between thinking that these complex animals are cartoon characters meant for our entertainment in a vast world wide petting zoo - and a indifferent distain for anything not human as without beauty or worth.
What scares me is that having such a balance requires a depth of knowledge that seems out of style among this sound -bite generation.
posted on September 4, 2002 04:15:06 PM new
There is a really interesting story here...WILD IN THE SUBURBS....
about a mans encounter with a mountain lion and Scientist's observations about the changing behavior of wild animals.
Exerpt from the Boston Globe.....
The scientists discovered changes in the cougars' diet as well. "We were finding scat deposits that had Purina Dog Chow in it, Alpo in it," Sanders recalls. The cougars were apparently eating pet food from backyards. Then the lions started eating pets. At the same time, lions were becoming more bold toward humans. In 1990, a woman was jogging outside of town when two lions chased her up a tree.
Sanders explained the findings this way: As Boulder grew, residents of new subdivisions planted lush lawns and gardens, which attracted deer. Suburbanization also brought an end to hunting in many areas. The deer - normally skittish and crepuscular - now had little to fear and began hanging out in yards throughout the day. Mountain lions followed the deer into town and mimicked the deer's habits, becoming active during daylight hours. The mountain lions then discovered pet food, and pets, providing additional incentives for living near people. At the same time, people gave the lions no reason to leave; whereas, in decades past, mountain lions near homes were routinely shot, the residents of Boulder merely stared in awe at the cougars among them.
In other words, Sanders concluded, the physical and social landscape of suburbanization was teaching the lions that humans were not to be feared. Some lions then began to view humans as prey.
Sanders and Halfpenny presented their findings at a symposium in Denver in 1991. The reaction? "There were a lot of skeptics to the stuff that we were saying," Sanders remembers. Critics found the data unconvincing. They argued that the growing number of human-lion encounters near town and during the day might reflect a change in human activity - as more people moved to the area and enjoyed Boulder's parks - rather than a change in cougar behavior. Besides, other cities and towns did not see similar trends.
Almost a decade later, Sanders's and Halfpenny's study appears prescient.
Morgan Wehtje - a wildlife biologist with the California Department of Fish and Game - sees the dynamics first identified in Boulder now occurring in Ventura County, just outside of Los Angeles. "At first, I was surprised," says Wehtje, "but right now, it seems to me that this is a commonplace behavior, that cougars are not too concerned about people."
Wehtje has received reports of cougars drinking from swimming pools and eating pets in dense neighborhoods in Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley. Less than 10 miles from where these sightings occurred - an easy one-day stroll for a lion - is Point Mugu State Park, where the two women hid in a toilet last year to escape a cougar.
The situation is similar in Missoula, Montana. New subdivisions sprawl north of town to the boundary of the Rattlesnake National Recreation Area - a popular park for hikers, mountain bikers, and cross-country skiers. Outside the park, deer and lions frequent yards. Just inside the park is where, last year, a pair of lions stalked two dozen young campers and five counselors. Also in that area last year, lions chased three mountain bikers, pursued a family with small children, approached a group of preschoolers, and pounced on 6-year-old Dante Swallow while he was hiking at summer camp. Dante was rescued by a 16-year-old Boy Scout, who punched the cougar until it abandoned its prey.
Wildlife biologist Rex Baker of California State Polytechnic University is researching a recent surge in coyote attacks on humans. Baker says people are training predators to become more dangerous, through tolerance. "You don't stop and look at them and take pictures and say, `My, isn't that beautiful, we're seeing wildlife in our area.' You shouldn't see that wildlife. Whether it was a mountain lion or a coyote, you need to get something out and start making noise and let the authorities know there's something going on in that area." Otherwise, before you know it, you end up with a mountain lion in an office building. Or a mountain lion attacking a man in broad daylight.
Maurice Hornocker does not believe that suburban sprawl alone explains the changes in cougar behavior. Even in some areas far removed from homes - such as Yosemite National Park - cougars have become less afraid of people. But Hornocker is convinced that the sprawl-shrubs-deer-pets-cougars nexus is real and that its implications are profound. Hornocker fears that people are altering not only cougar behavior but cougar evolution.
After all, in decades past, cougars genetically inclined to be fearless around humans were unlikely to reproduce; a lion showing itself in daylight near homes was almost guaranteed to be shot. Today, cougars predisposed to fearlessness may be more likely to reproduce; they thrive in the suburban landscape, benefiting from the abundance of deer and pets.
posted on September 4, 2002 04:42:17 PM new
All that makes a good case for not walking around bare handed. OK - you don't want to carry a gun or don't have the time to become skilled with one. Can't you take a stout walking staff with you when you go walking where you might encounter these critters? I guarantee I can make one real unhappy with a stout staff across the head double handed.
I do cheat a little myself - I have a carbon fiber golf club shaft made into a functional cane that is so slender and thin walled that you would never believe there is room in it for a blade. But it has a 33 inch forged triangular epee blade inside that is razor sharp down two edges and sharp as a sewing needle on the end. Most people are so unfamiliar with a thin foil like this that they don't even know what it is when they first see it. If something attacks you in a charge mode such as a lion or a bear you just hold it steady and let them do all the work. If it is thrust through the body anywhere you just jerk it back and forth a bit to open the internal wound and nothing will stay strongly hostile unless you are are trying to stop something hopeless huge like a buffalo or a bull. I suppose they would die eventually but it would be too late to mean much to you.
posted on September 4, 2002 05:27:14 PM new
helen, great article and excellent point...the residents of new suburban neighborhoods are not prepared to deal with wildlife when they do encounter it, and it doesn't take the critters long to figure this out....does this make them bad? nope, it makes them smart, adaptable survivors....the predators here abouts know what will confront them if they breach the well established boundaries which have existed for generations...coyotes, bobcats and our resident mountain lion rarely challenge our home/pasture fences, because they know a 12 guage double barrel and a bunch of grumpy, overprotective, professional herd dogs (NOT pets!) are waiting for them, whether they are agressive or not....we do not see them as enemies to be destroyed...they are merely trying to make a living, like we are, and they are surprisingly good at learning the rules....maybe better at it than a lot of people.
posted on September 4, 2002 06:38:04 PM new
Profe51..LOl! I guess I'm one of those residents who are not prepared to deal with wildlife.
I can remember when I was a child and lived on a farm in Mississippi I used to try to catch rabbits. Now, in the suburbs of DC we have wild rabbits who have decided that our tomato patch is their home. They are very relaxed and not afraid of anybody. My husband is thinking about rabbit stew but they know that I would never put them in a pot.
posted on September 4, 2002 09:26:51 PM new
like I said, they have learned the rules! I've found that letting the cat litter box go an extra day or two without cleaning, then sifting out the solid waste and scattering the urine scented litter around your bunnies' favorite garden delicacies will repel them for a while, probably not a good idea to put it close to the lettuce and other greens you're going to eat, but around the tomatoes, beans etc works well...
posted on September 5, 2002 08:43:08 AM new
In England the sheep herders have found that llamas are even better than dogs to guard the sheep. They are not afraid of fox at all. If a fox shows up they charge it with a humming sound and will trample it and tear it with their teeth if it is not smart enough to git.
posted on September 5, 2002 05:47:18 PM new
there is a rancher near here that uses llamas to guard his sheep... Since getting them he has suffered zero predation....I went to look at one that somebody was giving away, but it spit at me...guess I'll stick with the giant schnauzer and the border collies...theyre not too friendly, but at least they won't hawk a greeny in your eye!!!!
posted on September 5, 2002 09:38:38 PM new
Actually, donkeys make great herd protectors--they will go out of their way to stomp on any coyote, wolf, or strange dog that comes near a herd they've been inegrated with. Many sheep/cow ranchers use them. And they don't spit
