wasps MWEEEP

Latest Articles

wasps MWEEEP
Page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4

Downsizer Forum Index -> Conservation and Environment

Author

Message

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15966

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 16 6:41 am Post subject:

Wild boar also apparently eat bluebells, so a ploughed up bluebell patch is a sign of them.

Small animals can be very protective and territoral. In laws used to have a small poodle that would make sure it brought back the number of people it took out with it, and if when it was with people it would see off any other dog including a huge alsation or similar. Never found out what it would do if confronted with a bear as the situation very rarely arises in the south of England, thank goodness.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 16 9:17 am Post subject:

there could be a few "exotics" pottering around the uk . my ex fil was a game warden for 8000 acres of woodland ,heath and farmland in surrey. in the early 1980's he was convinced there was a puma/cougar sized feline killing deer ,paw prints, cat style kills (bite to windpipe on red deer ,bite to spine on little ones ,liver eaten first etc etc ). he tried dead bait , long hours in high seats by water etc etc and did not get it in a few years , it stopped leaving kills and traces about 1984. ps he wasn't given to fantasy and had hunted just about every thing .

many of the "exotic"stories are mistakes and hoaxes but im fairly sure some are not, thing is with felines they are rather good at avoiding people. quite a few were turned loose when the wild animal regulations about "pets " came into force but up until then one could buy a puma in a pet shop.

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Wed Oct 05, 16 10:05 am Post subject:

When the discoverer knows enough to distinguish from a bobcat or a lynx, I tend to give credence to claims of mountain lion. It's still a bit of a contentious subject here, but many people swear they've seen the long tails of mountain lions. I myself am pretty sure I heard a warning growl/call while walking just over the border in Canada as a younger lad, but have no visual evidence, other than reports of scat previously in the same area.

They're damn elusive, don't like to be seen by humans much! There is photographic evidence of mountain lions as far south as Massachusetts, so I assume them to be here as well, though maybe transiently. The discussion gets further muddied as the 'catamount' subspecies that used to patrol the New England area has been officially deemed extinct, but people are still reporting sightings of mountain lions. The genetic evidence reveals that we have individuals from the American West and from South America that live here now. As to whether or not they're breeding, it's unknown but seems likely.

The Western mtn. lions likely just ranged far enough to make it here, the south american stock are expected to have been pets that were released by rich idiots after they grew to be too large and dangerous to keep on illegally in their Manhattan apartments

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15966

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 16 7:14 am Post subject:

In the UK the only cats of that sort are wild cats, and I understand they really are wild, but they live in Scotland and only there in very remote areas on the whole.

We are fairly sure we have a big cat of some sort in out area. It has been seen in various places on the Downs, and we have seen it, although not close and have some paw print evidence too.

A swamp cat was killed on the road not too far from here a few years ago, and a friend has a picture of an enormous, but domestic cat standards, animal he saw in his garden. All of these must have escaped or been released from captivity, as none are native.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 16 8:44 am Post subject:

the scottish wild cat is very rare ,about twice the size of a largish domestic , it can cross breed with domestics which usually results in wild cat markings and a fairly big size (i'm fairly sure i had one for 15 yrs , mum went camping, got pregnant and all the kittens had the wild cat striped tail and grew up huge )
much of the wild population has domestic and wild cat genetics

the beast dick was after was far bigger ,he reckoned about the size of a puma ,4 ft between front and back paws when drinking and probably around 50kg.
one of the neighbours had a pair of pet lions (properly caged etc so it wasn�t them ) and the mystery beast left prints about half the size of napoleon and josephine (he had a deal to give them manky deer carcases if he was culling sick ones ). beasty left smaller paw prints than them that were similar but not quite the same.

it was big enough to drop adult red deer but usually went for fallow (and probably bunnies but it did not leave bits of them as they are snack size)

this was before dna testing so if he did ever see hair or dung he didn�t get samples.

thinking of mistaken identity my ronnie ( [wolf x gsd] x [ wolf x newfie] ) was huge for a "dog", hairy and mistaken for a bear by a couple who met him in the woods, they sent a picture of his paw print with a yale key to show scale to the local paper

(he did have big paws but he would have been a very small bear )
i didn't bother correcting the story so there are probably folk still think there are bears in the woods of urban west yorkshire which i find quite amusing

in south yorks a family pet dog (gsd x ) had a partial hair cut ,leaving a "mane" to help treat its mange , that one was mistaken for a lion when it said hello to a delivery driver

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 16 11:05 am Post subject:

dpack wrote:

in south yorks a family pet dog (gsd x ) had a partial hair cut ,leaving a "mane" to help treat its mange , that one was mistaken for a lion when it said hello to a delivery driver

Sounds lynx-ish...

I'm starting to wish I could get a cat with some scottish wildcat genetics....

Probably the closest I could get around here is a Maine Coon cat.

Interesting that someone confused wolfish prints for bear.... I always think bear hind prints looks like a big barefoot print. Looks a bit like "bigfoot went running with his dog"

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 16 12:34 pm Post subject:
i thought the maine coon was part domestic part bengal cat as a starting point. they are about the same size as the wildcats and wc crosses any of those would keep the bears off the patio

Jam Lady

Joined: 28 Dec 2006
Posts: 2571
Location: New Jersey, USA

Posted: Thu Oct 06, 16 11:57 pm Post subject:

Maine coon is a large, long haired domestic cat.

"The Maine Coon is the largest breed of domestic cat. On average, males weigh from 13 to 18 lb (5.9 to 8.2 kg) with females weighing from 8 to 12 lb (3.6 to 5.4 kg). The height of adults can vary between 10 and 16 in (25 and 41 cm) and they can reach a length of up to 48 in (120 cm), including the tail, which can reach a length of 14 in (36 cm) and is long, tapering, and heavily furred, almost resembling a raccoon's tail. The body is solid and muscular, which is necessary for supporting their own weight, and the chest is broad. Maine Coons possess a rectangular body shape and are slow to physically mature; their full potential size is normally not reached until they are three to five years old, while other cats take about one year."

Bengal is a cross from Asian leopard cat and domestic cats. The first three generations out from the cross are usually kept as foundation stock for breeding, or for specialty owners. The fourth generation is sold as pets. Popular for their rosette markings, agility, long muscular body, fondness for water.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15966

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 16 6:27 am Post subject:
Son has a cat with some Maine Coon in its breeding he thinks. It is very furry, apart from its lower legs, so looks as if it is wearing boots, has the mottling in some lights on its sides, and has a very mobile tail. It wags it when pleased rather like a dog. It is all black with green eyes. Rather pretty. Not at all vocal and does like water.

buzzy

Joined: 04 Jan 2011
Posts: 3708
Location: In a small wood on the edge of the Huntingdonshire Wolds

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 16 9:24 am Post subject:

Jam Lady wrote:

Oh good grief!

Teetotal cats!

Where will it all end?

Henry

Slim

Joined: 05 Mar 2006
Posts: 6612
Location: New England (In the US of A)

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 16 10:41 am Post subject:

Mistress Rose wrote:

Son has a cat with some Maine Coon in its breeding he thinks. It is very furry, apart from its lower legs, so looks as if it is wearing boots, has the mottling in some lights on its sides, and has a very mobile tail. It wags it when pleased rather like a dog. It is all black with green eyes. Rather pretty. Not at all vocal and does like water.

I think of all black as suggesting Norwegian forest cat. Where's Erikht when you need him?

My 12 lb orange tabby was acting a little strange the night before last. Really upset with us for bringing him in. Then as we left yesterday morning we noticed he kept hanging out by a car. Turns out he had caught a rabbit and was annoyed that we kept him from being able to eat it that night. Last night he "brought up" the remains of the hindquarter that he had eaten while we were away for the day.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Fri Oct 07, 16 11:02 am Post subject:
puss in boots sounds amusing

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15966

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 16 5:47 am Post subject:
She is rather pretty rather than amusing, and I am sure, as most cats would, that you would get a distainful feline 'look' for even suggesting she is amusing in appearence.

dpack

Joined: 02 Jul 2005
Posts: 46207
Location: yes

Posted: Sat Oct 08, 16 9:26 am Post subject:
the last one i laughed at was dangling cartoon style from the wire roof of a fox trap ,disdainful is an understatement of it's mood

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 15966

Posted: Sun Oct 09, 16 6:02 am Post subject:

	Downsizer Forum Index -> Conservation and Environment	All times are GMT Page Previous 1, 2, 3, 4
Page 4 of 4

View Latest Posts