Wildlife, living next to nature

[Gravdigr]

Supposedly, the world's first video of a wild wolverine mama and her kits pups babies.

[Griff]

That is so very cool.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Pissed off deer...

[fargon]

Good on them.

[lumberjim]

That would be freaking intense. You can tell that the Ranger that was directing had done this before, and that the other had not. Talk about on the job training... Imagine the new guy telling his lady about his day that night....

So, how was your day, honey?

Well, I grabbed the tiger by his toe.....

[xoxoxoBruce]

Utah wildlife conservation officer Mark Ekins was called to help release the cougar on December 17 and decided to film the encounter because of the animal's size. The footage, uploaded to YouTube just this month, shows Ekins slipping a catchpole over the cougar’s neck and then working with a trapper to release it. At one point, the cougar leaps as Ekins reaches for its paw, snapping a tree limb the men were using to control it. Ekins then calmly grabes the pole, which is only a few feet long, and calmly reins in the frantic cat. Ultimately, Ekins throws a blanket over the cougar and releases its paw, and after a moment, the animal sheds the blanket and runs away, shaken, surely, but with only a small cut on its paw.

It was purportedly all in a day's work for Ekins, who says that a healthy respect for the animal helps him stay safe when releasing large cougars. He told ksl.com, “I’m nervous and I’m extremely careful when doing it. …I’ve probably only done three in my career that were as big as the one you saw.” Typically, he said, large cougars can free themselves from traps, but occasionally officers are needed. Ekins said that tranquilizers are preferred to catchpoles in these situations, but the drugs aren’t always available in remote areas.

According to the Utah Division of Wildlife Resources trapping guide, cougars must be released unharmed, and authorities are to be notified within 48 hours. Despite the restrictions on trapping cougars, it's legal to hunt them in certain parts of the state.

From Field & Stream

[xoxoxoBruce]

I just discovered the inept dude in the video is the trapper who accidently caught the cougar while legally trapping Bobcats in season.

This picture from Utah Game Wardens Magazine had no explanation but I'd guess it's cats taken illegally.

[xoxoxoBruce]

It's not easy being a leader...

[xoxoxoBruce]

OMG, she survived, she defeated the voracious beast! Must have been just one of them... or she has supernatural powers.

[limey]

Loving the luminous antlers! I've always said the black unlit cows are the biggest road hazard after dark round here, and suggested we buy them all reflective "Sam Browne" belts:


Meanwhile, you're saying I should be worried about the neighbours?

[Snakeadelic]

Okay, since this wouldn't post for me in IotD, I'ma try it here.

...Aaaaaand now I see the problem...even scaled down to 800 x 600, it's too big. Any further reduction will lose ALL the detail...rats. I scaled this thing down to 400 x 300 and it's STILL over 300Kb. Never had this problem before, no idea what to do.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Snake, You have to lower the resolution, as well as the size.

Limey, OMG yes. Tell them to be wery wery careful, especially at night. Carry a strong torch and a shotgun, preferably a semi-auto, or they could be torn to shreds. Guard the livestock too, it isn't flying saucers beaming up cows and sheep, it's wererabbits dragging them down. Few people realize the bunnies can strangle you by latching their ears around your throat, or use the ears to hold you while gnawing your jugular.

[Gravdigr]

Originally Posted by Snakeadelic

Okay, since this wouldn't post for me in IotD, I'ma try it here.

...Aaaaaand now I see the problem...even scaled down to 800 x 600, it's too big. Any further reduction will lose ALL the detail...rats. I scaled this thing down to 400 x 300 and it's STILL over 300Kb. Never had this problem before, no idea what to do.

I use Web Resizer by Minos Studio...It resizes the pic's dimensions as well as file size. It works really well, without losing detail, you can adjust the amount of file compression used. I'm not sure they're still around, though.

[Gravdigr]

Meh...Hit it with a wetnap, and some Febreze, it'll be fine.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Steppe Eagle... looks like a dead Steppe Eagle to me. I guess they killed it which wouldn't make sense except they were working for Joseph Francis Charles Rock was an Austrian-American explorer, botanist, and anthropologist.