Lying in wait to GET you !
Date: Sat, 27 Mar 1999 22:18:20 -0800 Subject: FEL-L: Silly Rabbit!
There used to be a rabbit who frequented my backyard. He loved to sit up on his haunches just a few feet away from one of the bobcat cages munching grass and teasing Saber. I noticed that the rabbit kept getting more and more bold as he began to believe that Saber could only reach his paw a couple of inches through the wire. Saber is a great actor. He has convinced many humans that the paw cannot reach through the fence more than 2". Then when you least expect it, the foreleg flashes out like lightening, and he's got you. Guess that's why I haven't seen that smart-ass rabbit for a long time!
Date: Sun, 28 Mar 1999 08:42:40 -0500 Subject: Re: FEL-L: Silly Rabbit!
We had a similar bunny habiting our walkway near the pens, but I don't think he met the same fate. We did however, have the female on one of her walks, suddenly dart into the woods and come out with a screaming woodchuck in her mouth (who ever knew they could scream like that). She was on a lead, and that was the first time she decided that walking was more fun than she thought. Needless to say, we played hell trying to get her to drop it, but eventually she did.
Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 07:54:12 -0500 Subject: Re: FEL-L: guests for lunch
>It was at that moment that I discovered that possums are 'shape-shifters'! The possum was far too large to fit through the 2x4 wire (so I thought) but it just kind of poured itself through the little space.
Well, that certainly explains that! I thought I was nuts...
They would pay the supreme price for that arrogance at Fort Felidea (I think I spelled that correctly). It's a one way trip....varmits check in....but they don't check out. I once saw the female do something that is almost unbelievable, but like you said....if I hadn't saw it myself...
We give them corn on the cob in a supervised environment (we watch them to make sure they don't get stupid and try to eat the whole cob). They love to chew the corn off. It also makes a good "tracer" to see how good the ol gastrointestinal process is working, as we can time the travel. (yuk) Anyway, the female once, ate about half of the corn, then dragged the cob into the middle of the cage (it was spring) and left it there. She then retreated behind some logs we have in the cage and flattened herself in the stalk mode. A bird of somekind (robin, starling, something i don't know) flew into the cage through the wires and was going to have a go at the corn. The female pounced, but with the movement of me running to stop the ambush and the cat moving, the bird managed to escape (pissed off the female to no end too...). It looked like to me that she had planned this, not just kinda stumbled onto it. I haven't seen this happen again, so I wonder.
Anyone else ever experiance something like this?
Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 15:55:09 EST Subject: Re: FEL-L: guests for lunch/ Battle plans and manuevers
My cougar CJ hated (that is being polite) our great Pyrenees guard dog and vice versa. He would do all kinds of things to irritate that dog. The Pyre was supposed to be out guarding the sheep, goats and llamas, but he got more pleasure out of harassing CJ, so he wasn't where he was supposed to be most of the time. No love lost between them War was declared, lines drawn.
Pyres aren't the brightest dogs anyway. CJ discovered if he would drag his chicken over to the fence the dog would try to dig for it. Our fence is very deep so dog could not get in this way, just thought he could. CJ would then slap the dog through the fence. CJ got bored with this game and he progressed to CJ baiting the dog by putting chicken a different locations around his fenced in area and then sit hiding and wait for puppy to show up.
Then the war progressed to CJ baiting the stupid dog with the chicken and very slowly pulling the chicken away from the fence so the dog had to stick it nose through the wire to get the chicken. CJ would then slap him. This was a repeated thing not a once and it was over type deal. This went on for several months Pyres are big dogs.
One day CJ set all of his traps then laid in wait by the fence for stupid dog, puppy showed up and went for the chicken as usual. CJ ignored the dog except to slightly move the chicken further into the run with a paw and then he went back to casually grooming himself like the dog wasn't there. He kept his paw on the chicken leg moving it closer and closer to him with every casual lick. When the dog finally decided to stick his whole head through the fence to get to the chicken while CJ groomed himself, the war was over. CJ instantly killed the stupid dog, then got up and sauntered off, rather pleased with himself.
CJ has never done this again. He hated that dog with a passion and patiently planned a way to dispatch with him for good.
Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 19:25:38 -0500 Subject: Re: FEL-L: guests for lunch/ Battle plans and manuevers
>CJ instantly killed the stupid dog
Good grief!!! That is ruthless....but shows what I had thought was happening...actual thinking and planning on the cats part.
Date: Sat, 30 Jan 1999 23:48:52 -0800 Subject: FEL-L: "Stupid" Dogs
Some clarification please...I have this picture of you smoking a corn cob pipe on the front porch watching all these goings on, since there's not much to do in Virginny on a Sat nite other than watch a "stupid" dog you own get killed....tell me this mental image just isn't so! }:-(
How did this "stupid" dog get inside your secondary fence on multiple occasions?
Doesn't USDA require incompatible animals to be separated?
Isn't the area between the primary and secondary enclosure supposed to be a "no fly zone" for anyone or thing other than the keeper?
What did you do to provide for the safety of your "stupid" dog?
Why didn't you run an electric fence to keep the "stupid" dog from accessing the primary enclosure?
IMNHO, you're feeding too much chicken if your cougar is willing to leave some to"play" with the "stupid" dog...no wonder he's 250#! The chicken I feed my cats disappears before it hits the ground, piglets that they are }:-)
Date: Sun, 31 Jan 1999 09:10:54 EST Subject: Re: FEL-L: "Stupid" Dogs
Actually Andy, I smoke a merchem pipe not corn cob. Don't have much time to sit on my porch either on Saturday nights watching stupid dogs getting killed. The dogs are not "pet" dogs they are guardian livestock working dogs. Not all dogs are pets.
They have complete access to the whole property since the are guard dogs and are responsible for the welfare of the property and animals, from intruders that smoke corn cob pipes and PETA types.
Stupid dogs can't get into the primary enclosure this one just stuck his head through. My USDA person doesn't have a problem with the livestock guard dogs. They are supposed to interact with the animals it is their job.
Unfortunately, this particularly stupid dog, was not doing the job he was assigned to that being guarding the, sheep, goats and llamas but rather harassing the cougar whom he was also supposed to be guarding. He didn't have a problem with any of the other cats just CJ. Not a good guardian quality, that is for sure.
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The point of the post was as predators, felines can use fairly complex sequences and methods of behavior to obtain the desired prey. Whether their focus is a dog, bird, mouse, rabbit, deer, or person. It appears at least in this instance, that the behavior showed some complex problem solving skills and the use of tools, rather than reflex instinct. It is interesting that the cat used the chicken as a tool rather than food. It had little to do with the amount being feed or hunger, the use of it in another manner other than nourishment. It was also interesting that the scenario was played out by two higher intellectual animals not; cat/bird, snake/rat, wolf/sheep In handling and training animals, it helps to understand the psychological make up of the animal you work with, behavior study cases are important to getting such information.
To bad for the dog, had it been a bird, opossum, skunk, raccoon, rat, etc., it would have been more socially acceptable I guess. BTW: USDA and State folks were pretty interested in the case study. Sherry:)