Did You know - outdoor edition

[Hilltop366]

  Did you know that while most fish are silent, catfish make a croaking, grunting sound when you pull them out of the water? I assume that is one of the reasons Sampson likes to bark at them so much. Either that or he just doesn't like their whiskers. :D

And herring communicate making a high pitch sound by releasing gas. I'll let you guess where they are releasing gas from. ???

[WV Sawmiller]

   It must come out of their ears which is why they have trouble "herring". :D

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know that a whitetail doe, when she "busts" a hunter or predator will walk towards it and stomp her front foot and sometimes snort at it? Apparently this will warn other deer in the area and make the predator nervous and possibly cause a premature charge allowing the deer enough time and distance to escape. I am sure most deer hunters here in America have encountered this if they have spent much time in the woods but did you know African antelope will do exactly the same thing? We watched a cow waterbuck on the Nukuru Game Preserve doing the same thing when she encountered a leopard in the tall grass. It is pretty neat to see identical attributes in different animals in totally different continents. 

[WV Sawmiller]

   Today was the start of a 2 day Youth/Senior hunting season where kids 8-14 or seniors (65+) can kill an antlerless deer that does not count against their season bag limit. We are low on deer meat and I usually collect one on this hunt and another or two during the regular season. I went this morning and found my feeder has not been working due to a loose battery wire. I did not see any deer around my shooting house after several houts so I finished reading my last Grisham novel and started home. After about 200 yards in the pasture I saw my horse and a half grown fawn then the doe about 30 yards from me. I stopped the ATV, took my rifle off and grabbed a round and started to insert it and kept looking at the stupid fawn and reslung my rifle and rode home leaving them all there. This is the fawn's first winter and he is probably big enough to survive or would take up with another doe and fawn and do okay but I did not have the heart to shoot the doe and orphan him even though she was very tempting. I should have just shot the fawn! : He was legal too. Maybe tomorrow will be better.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you ever watch a whitetail deer jump a fence? I think Elk and many types of antelopes use the technique but it is grace in motion. Instead of getting a running start, which would seem to make it easier to clear the obstacle, the deer walks up to the fence, comes to a complete stop then squats part way down and jumps. As he jumps he lifts his front legs against his chest then as his chest clears the fence he lowers his front legs, arches his back, and lifts and tucks his powerful hind legs until his back hooves are practically, if not actually, touching his belly. He touches down first on his front hooves then on his rear ones for a perfect landing.

  We once raised an orphan doe and I used to take her to the small creek in the front yard and coax her to jump back and forth over it just to watch her use this same technique.

[jimbarry]

  It must come out of their ears which is why they have trouble "herring". :D

Sounds fishy.

[doc henderson]

I first saw the technique when Rudolf met Clarice in the documentary, "Rudolf the red nosed reindeer".

Clarice Rudolph Girlfriend - Bing video

[WV Sawmiller]

   Must be a Kansas thing? :P

[WV Sawmiller]

   Since it is hunting season or will be soon for most of us, did you know that for most animals, including humans, the first thing the eye picks out is motion? A camoflaged hunter moving in the brush will generally be seen before a motionless hunter in an orange vest standing in front of a tree. Think about chipmunks - we see them running in the leaves all the time but as soon as they stop it is nearly impossible to spot them unless they are fully exposed on top of a rock or log or such. A deer or turkey or even a full grown African elephant standing in the brush will not be seen until it flicks a tail, bobs a head or wiggles an ear.

  Keep this in mind when hunting and look for small motions and when you detect them key on the area and look for an animal there. Also to keep from being seen when hunting or animal watching, keep your movements slow and not silhouetted. Easing your hand up to scratch your nose is much harder to see than if your hand or arm is out to your side. Sitting in front of a solid surface such as a large tree makes movement harder to spot.

  The other things the eye picks out include shape, texture, shine, color and shape. Look for horizontal shapes in the woods to pick out a deer or elk's back. Most trees and such are vertical so horizontal shapes stand out. Animal fur has a different texture and will stand out differently than slick leaves and such. The sun shining off a big buck's antlers can help reveal his location. In the summer our deer have a reddish coat and can be readily seen. In the winter they have a dark brown coat that blends in much better with their surroundings.

  Stripes and varying patterns help hide animals by creating a shadow effect that helps them blend in with their surrounding.

  All these issues are covered in military camo, cover, and concealment training sessions. Military snipers have to become masters of not being seen and seeing their enemy first. These factors are fully as important to them as accuracy with their rifle. While not as critical to hunters they do make a big difference between whether you are dining on grilled backstraps or fillet of bologna (again).

[doc henderson]

this is why albino varients tens to do poorly in nature.

[WV Sawmiller]

  Since Doc mentioned the albino coloring he triggered the next topic (I love it when you guys post and help me think of the next topic to post.) Did you know certain animals change colors with the seasons to help them blend in better for protection and to help them sneak up on/ambush their prey? Examples I can think of are snowshoe hares, artic foxes, and Ptarmigan. 

   I assume these color changes (Generally brown to white then back again) are triggered by the length of the daylight and sometimes if the season change (i.e Snow) is too early coming or too late leaving, these animals are now exposed and at greater risk by wearing the wrong color for their backgrounds.

   One thing I just noted is these are all North American animals. If our Kiwis/Aussie, South American, European or Asian members know of any in your area please reply and add them to the list as the rest of us (well, me) would like to know about them.

[JJ]

Ermine also have a white coat in winter.

         JJ

[WV Sawmiller]

   Good catch. Thanks.

[Ianab]

One thing I just noted is these are all North American animals. If our Kiwis/Aussie, South American, European or Asian members know of any in your area please reply and add them to the list as the rest of us (well, me) would like to know about them.

None that I can think of. NZ / Aussie gets snow in the Mountains, but it's localised and temporary except high up, where nothing really lives. There isn't large land areas like Canada / Siberia that are snow covered for months on end. So even the species that live up in the Mts, like the Kea bird, are regular green / red parrots, just quite at home in the snow. 

We may see albino or leucistic versions of normal critters, but they don't have any survival advantage, likely more of a disadvantage.

[KEC]

Piebald deer sometimes have genetic abnormaladies like bent lower legs. And they are sometimes shunned by normal deer. About deer jumping fences, I have seen them do that standing jump over a 6' fence and clear it just fine. I once saw a deer that tried to jump a wrought iron fence by a cemetary with those spears sticking up at the top. The deer was slumped over the top of the fence with those spears protruding up out of its' back and DoA. On 2 occaisions I saw deer that panicked  and ran full speed into a chain link fence and bounced off only to try try again untill their nose was bloodied. I've seen several deer that got a hind leg caught in a woven wire fence along a highway right-of-way. Poor things were held there untill they died. Fences are not real wildlife friendly. 

[DiamondLane]

I approached with a branch stick to try to push hoof out, a whitetail hung up by back hoof in or hard fence had tried to leap, once saw me close ,had a adrenaline surge twisted and got hoof free

[trapper]

our whitetail deer change color with the season.  more red in summer gray to dark brown fall and winter.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Ours do the same thing here but it is not as drastic a change as completely brown to white.

[Don P]

The higher peaks here have small remnant ecosystems stranded there when the last ice age retreated. Things like balsam fir, red spruce and snowshoe hares. Places like Whitetop aren't white as much any more. There was an article in the paper a year or two ago about the predators having a much easier time on the hares to the detriment of their remaining population. If you look at a map of their range it comes down the spine of the Appalachian range, for now?

[WDH]

There is one old remnant codger left over from the ice age in those WV peaks that has a penchant for preying on catfish, but he does not change colors, he stands steadfast on blue and orange.

[WV Sawmiller]

   Did you know variants have a greater or lesser chance of survival in changing conditions? Cooler climates with increased snow may mean a lighter colored  phased animal will survive and pass along his genes to the next generation. With less snow a darker phase may have a better chance of survival. 

   In some cases a more visible variant may have a better chance of survival/replacing the more drab variants because it may be seen and breed more readily and spread its genes quicker and over a wider area. 

   I could say this is the case in humans but the last time I mentioned such I heard I made the ladies here on the FF mad at me and we sure don't want that or I may become the next extinct species. :D

   Blue and Orange may be the colors required to attract WV catfish and prevent starvation and vitamin deficiency. I think I'm going to have me a mess of fried catfish fillets and yellow grits for supper. digin1 Its way better eating than a boiled bulldog. ;)

[WDH]

Boiled puppy was served by Native Americans as a special treat for important visitors.  Boiled eagle must have been tough, stringy, and unpalatable, although I may try some next Fall.  

[Texas Ranger]

Boiled puppy was served by Native Americans as a special treat for important visitors.  Boiled eagle must have been tough, stringy, and unpalatable, although I may try some next Fall.  

much like boiled spotted owl, pepper sauce helps.

[WV Sawmiller]

   I remember Justin Houston used to tell the joke about seeing a little boy walking down the road with a hawk over his shoulder and asked him what he was going to do with him. He said he was going to cook and eat him. Justin was a cook so he asked him "What does a hawk taste like?" He said the little boy replied "Oh, its about like owl."

[WV Sawmiller]

  Did you know that many songbirds stake out a territory and fly from boundary point to boundary point singing to warn other songbirds of the same species to stay away? Ok, we covered that in an earlier thread but did you know the mockingbird does pretty much the same thing only it repeats or "mocks" the songs of other species of birds so, in effect, he is warning multiple species of birds to stay clear of the area?