Did You know - outdoor edition

[Texas Ranger]

TR,

I studied Wildlife Biology at Auburn and on one of our classroom walls we had all the sheds from a buck that was pen raised there on the campus. We had antlers from his first set of small spikes up for 12-14 till years till he died of old age. His antlers varied but every set had the same peculiar twist on one main beam throughout his life. The best racks he had were at about year 4 & 5. He might have more points on some racks later but they were smaller. This deer was pen raised so he had a consistent diet so forage was not an explanation for variance in size and points like you would expect in the wild. The racks still peaked then dropped off on any scoring method you'd have used. You'd have thought they would have gotten bigger to a peak then stayed there till old age set it but they did not. Anyway, our pen raised buck verifies exactly the findings you mention from the sheds on your place.

We had a phd at Stephan F. Austin (Dr. Kroll) that worked in deer, had one display where he kept the horns of one deer for a 7 year, or longer, collections.  They show the same degradation over the years.

[Walnut Beast]

Deer that don't shed their antlers. I got this guy several years ago and he was probably the biggest body deer I've ever taken. Probably close to 130" I had watched him for several years and when I was bow hunting and had the opportunity I took it. His drop tine is 9 1/2 inches, Here is a little bit about them. This condition in whitetail bucks that results in antlers in velvet beyond the normal velvet-shedding date of late August to early September is usually caused by a birth defect known as cryptorchidism. In extreme cases both testicles remain in the abdominal cavity and never descend into the scrotum. The normal production of testosterone is diminished, and the antler cycle of hardening, velvet shedding, and antler casting is altered. These same results can sometimes be produced in a buck that is born normal but subsequently suffers a testicular injury.
In normal bucks, a rise in testosterone levels occurs in late summer with increasing day length. A buck responding to late summer's photoperiod (exposure to daylight) experiences a change in behavior due to the sudden elevation in testosterone in his system. The bachelor groups that have been together since early the previous winter begin to separate due to more aggressive attitudes among the individuals. Antlers harden, the velvet is shed, and bucks continue to rub their antlers (and forehead glands) on bushes and small trees as a means of scent communication known as signpost behavior. As days begin to get shorter, a buck's testosterone level declines. Their antlers are shed, and the bucks become much less aggressive, and bachelor groups form again. Having lost his protective headgear, a buck has obvious survival advantages in being a member of a bachelor group
Cryptorchid bucks are different. They don't participate in the seasonal rituals of normal bucks. Because their testosterone levels remain low in early fall, their antler development is not completed, and their velvet is not shed. Cryptorchid bucks don't participate in signpost behavior by making rubs or scrapes. They lack the chemical stimulation to express their dominance and individualism. The tarsal glands of cryptorchid bucks are rarely stained because the bucks do not rub-urinate. Also, the necks of cryptorchid bucks do not swell as the breeding season approaches. Reproductively, they are in neutral. Antlers are not shed, and they remain in velvet year round. Furthermore, the antlers continue to grow as the animal matures.
Very old cryptorchid bucks often have numerous abnormal points giving them a "cactus" appearance. Also, enlarged antler bases are characteristic of older, cryptorchid bucks. I have seen several with antler bases in excess of 10 inches in circumference.
Cryptorchid bucks are incapable of reproducing. If allowed to mature, obviously they have the potential to provide a memorable, quality hunt.

 

[Tacotodd]

Antelope; the horn that you normally see is a sheath. The male certainly sheds the sheath once yearly but I know nothing concerning the female. They also don't have definition horns or antlers in the strictest definition sense, but they do deserve the nickname "speedgoat". They do have some sort of permanent underlying structure that the new horn-like sheath covers yearly, but I'd still like to know exactly what to call these particular animals. I wonder what qualifies them for whatever and exactly what they are. Anybody know?

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know a whitetail doe will nurse fawns other than her own? We watched 2 does 2 years ago in our backyard with 3 fawns. All three fawns nursed off both does. I suspect the old doe was mother of some and grandmother of the other and mother to the young doe but I can't prove it.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know that occasionally a whitetail doe deer will grow antlers and a hen turkey will grow a beard? In most such cases the doe or hen will be sterile.

[Tacotodd]

  Did you know that occasionally a whitetail doe deer will grow antlers and a hen turkey will grow a beard? In most such cases the doe or hen will be sterile.

Yup, I've seen photo proof of that before on the deer, but I've not seen it in the turkeys. Of course, I'm just some Turkey myself  :D

[Chuck White]

I've seen both, in fact last hunting season one of my brothers shot a big doe that had 10 inch spikehorns and they still had the velvet on them!

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know only the pregnant female mosquito bites? Apparently the mosquito needs the blood to feed her brood. Just another case of the female of the species being the more dangerous member. :D

[HemlockKing]

Arnt the male ones the big suckers that are real docile? We call them daddy long legs locally. Usually can be found hanging out on a blade of grass or house siding etc. Probably as big as a quarter in width 

[Tacotodd]

I've always called them mosquito hawks. The male also just finds the water (from what I'm told) and if so he's got some serious hormones making his decisions!

[WV Sawmiller]

   Boy are you guys confused or confusing me. We always called a dragonfly a "skeeter hawk" and a Granddaddy long legs was the critter about the size of a #1 buckshot that looked like a spider. Actually he is a plant eater and only has 6 legs if I remember correctly. 

[Tacotodd]

Colloquial terms at their finest. Depends on where you grew up as to how you learned stuff from the "older" crowd, now we're teachers    ;)

[Texas Ranger]

That time of the year in Texas.

[WV Sawmiller]

TR,

   Here I was trying to figure what kind of bugs were on the plant when suddenly I realized there was a long scaly creature coming over the gutter. ;)

[Tacotodd]

WV, don't feel bad, cause I was too!

[Old Greenhorn]

That time of the year in Texas.

That appears to be a snakecicle.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know a cottontail rabbit builds a "nest" in a shallow depression on the surface of the ground, lines it with fur from her body and gives birth to and raises the babies in it? We had a neighbor when we first moved to WV with a Jack Russel terrier who would find baby rabbits in the nest but would not harm them. The kids would bring them to my wife who raised several using powdered bitches milk and a 2 ounce glass Evenflo bottle with a soft rubber nipple we'd get from our local vet. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know bears are omnivores? I posted this in more detail on Sawguys Surprise visitor thread.

[WV Sawmiller]

   For those of you who watch Swamp People catching alligators using set hooks baited with rotting meat, fish, chicken, etc. the original way to hunt alligators was primarily to still hunt them? My grandfather was a gator hunter in central Florida and he would find a gator hole or den typically in or near a sinkhole in the limestone riddled country of central Fla. He would ease up to the site and "Set them up" as he described it. He would sit quietly till the gator surfaced then he would shoot it and jump in and pull it out. He also had a pole with a hook he would use to retrieve his dead gators. Sometimes people would hunt on the rivers and lakes at night "Fire-hunting" them looking for their eyes and easing up on them and shooting them. He said about the time he quit gator hunting to become one of Florida's early game wardens people had started putting out hooks with beef "lights" on them for bait. I don't believe he ever used that technique. As a kid we thrilled at listening to him telling of hunting and killing big gators and several near misses he had. He said he was down in a gator hole poking around with a pole trying to find where and the direction of the den when a big gator came out and charged him. He said it grabbed a man sized piece of driftwood beside him and tried to take it back in his den and got it crossways and he jumped on its back and shot it.

[KEC]

Were it not for the fact that we all know that all members of this forum are totally honest and of impecable character, that might be viewed as a fish/gator story. My concern is that WV is a confessed fisherman and some fisherman have at times told some real fish stories. :D :D On the other hand if Grandpa told it it must be true.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Purely for educational and entertainment purposes I may have, on very rare occasions :, been known to slightly "embellish" certain aspects of my recollections of various events but I never knew my grandfather to engage in such practices. Now when my dad was telling a tall tale ....

   I remember Grandpa said he had a lady hide buyer who paid top prices for gator hides but she would always dock him $1/hide for a cut place in the hide. Her prices were still better than other buyers so he always tried to sell to her. He was a little embarrassed (Probably where I got my shy streak from) but he finally explained to the lady that was not a cut, it was the gator's anus and it was always going to be there. She said she had never thought about that and wondered why all the gator hunters were so careless when skinning their catch as she always docked everyone for the cut in the hide. Nobody had ever explained it to her. After that she dropped her purchase price $1/hide but stopped docking everyone for a cut hide.

[KEC]

Sort of like fur buyers who would look at a pretty decent Red Fox pelt and say that they can't pay a good price because the fur was weak on the neck. That is the way all foxes are. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know wildlife can become habituated to humans? A truly wild animal will almost always react to the presence of humans. He will either run or nervously walk away or in some cases he will attack if he feels threatened or thinks of the human as prey. In places where humans and animals frequently come into contact with each other the animals become habituated and basically ignore the people around them. Places like National Parks are good examples of habituated animals. Think of Yellowstone and all the animals coming into contact with humans. The same is true in big game parks like Kruger in Africa. 

   This does not mean the animals are tame! This is a big mistake many tourists make. They see the animal at very close range and it is ignoring them so they decide to get a selfie with the nice wooly bison, elk, moose, or black or grizzly bear and when they get so close the animal feels threatened it defends itself or its young. You read accounts almost weekly about some foreign tourist (Japanese are a favorite because they seem to want a selfie of everything they see or do) or a dumb American thinking the Park rules on distances to maintain from the animals are a "suggestion" and don't really apply to them and they get trampled, gored or eaten.

    We visited The Central African Republic around 2002 and were allowed to go with WWF researchers tracking Lowland Gorillas. The gorillas were habituated as the trackers followed them every day recording what they did and what they ate and such. We were warned if we got too close the silverback would charge and we were to kneel down and not make eye contact because he considered that a threat. Sure enough almost immediately when we got to them one of the trackers got too close to a juvenile (It is very hard to see a coal black, fuzzy animal in the dark shadows in the jungle) and it jumped up, screamed and ran. The massive silverback immediately ran out of the forest ripping up small trees and hooting loudly and beating his chest. He looked to weigh about 500 lbs with 4' long arms and rippling chest muscles. I complied and knelt down got real interested in the bugs around my shoes. He came within about 10-12 feet with his mock charge, stopped after he felt we were well warned and turned around and walked back on his knuckles. My wife got a picture of his butt as he walked away. The week before he had walked up to one of the trackers in a similar incident and "bopped" him on the head with his fist. Not hard enough to hurt him but enough to let him know he was not welcome. From the looks of the silverback I speculated he could have ripped every limb from my body and never broken a sweat.

[Tacotodd]

Sharon, that's gonna leave a mark!

An infamous quote from Ozzy Osborne to his wife Sharon.

[WV Sawmiller]

  Did you know tomato seeds will survive being eaten, passed through the digestive system, processed through a commercial waste treatment plant (WTP) and still sprout and grow?

I shared a company provided house with Fred who ran the WTP on a project in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. He was an avid gardener and would bring home big bags of the treated waste which was light weight, gray and odorless and looked sort of like crumbled charcoal only lighter in color. He always had a large number of tomatoes that sprouted and grew from this treated waste.

The waste was filtered, stirred into a slurry and air was added in a big tank digestor system. The bacteria broke down the waste. The slurry was pumped into sand filled drying beds to a depth of about 18". The sand filtered the water which was collected through a system of perforated piping and the clear odorless IW was used to water the plants on the project.

We had a pair of large, beautiful, Grey Crowned Crane (National Bird of Uganda in case you are ever on a game show - if you win using this info remember 5% of your winnings goes the FF and you can split the rest with me which is much cheaper than if this info came from some of our Mississippi or Kansas members.) who would wade in the drying slurry. One of our resident characters was an Irishman named Joe Cosgrave. He said they were our S__t testing birds and said if you watched one would wade around, lift one foot, shake it vigorously and say to the other bird "This one needs a little more work." Then he would hop over the divider and do the same with the next batch till finally he would tell his mate "Yep, this one is ready" and our Filipino skid steer operator would jump in his machine and go collect the dry, crumbly waste and dump it into a waiting metal dumpster to be taken to the land fill. (They might have had some more scientific method they used to double check the bird's accuracy but I am not aware of it.)

 I had assigned a Bangladeshi janitor to work there at the WTP and he decided the birds would fetch a huge price from some wealthy Saudi sheik or such and chased them trying to catch one. He scared them off and the Filipino work force were so mad I had to reassign him for fear he would end up in the digestor tank. I don't know if the Filipino workers were animal lovers or just mad that they had to go back to using their alternate waste treatment testing processes.