Posts tagged animals
After 27 years of having indoor-outdoor cats, the last one died in May 2015. (We now have only an indoor cat.) During those 27 years, we never had a problem with mice. During Snowzilla (Jan 201...
I understand, and practice, bear-safe rules like hanging (or canister-ing) during summer months, but what about in the winter when bears are (theoretically) hibernating, and the shorter / colder da...
I found myself in a situation the other day that I've never been in before. I was paddling along in my canoe with my wife and kids, when suddenly a young black bear came scrambling down the slope, ...
This may be better asked as two questions; if so, I will edit. The question is prompted by a section in Neanderthal Man: In Search of Lost Genomes by Svante Pääbo, who was the first to sequence Ne...
I just watched a documentary on PBS that featured many African mammals in the wild. One scene in the documentary showed a baby zebra that was described as "minutes old" walking next to its mother. ...
(long time passing). I walk along Del Monte beach in Crow City, USA (Monterey, California) quite often. For quite awhile, sandpipers were there in abundance - more than any other bird. I haven't...
Yesterday, I saw a snake smoothly glide over about 30 feet of rough gravel in our parking area to get to the woods. It showed no sign of discomfort -- but I am not sure I would know what an uncomf...
I'm planning an overnight hiking trip and want to try cooking fish. We will be camping at an established backcountry site on the trail, which has a spot for a tent near a fire ring. However, this ...
I'm fascinated by corals. I've been told there are more than a thousand varieties spread out in bodies of water throughout the world. What part of the world has the most varieties of corals in a c...
In the more than 30 years I have lived in northern Virginia, I have never seen a copperhead, although there have been several reliable copperhead sightings in my neighborhood, the most recent last ...
On a recent walk my girlfriend and I discovered a decomposed horse carcass, nothing but bones left. We took some photos and moved on. She's now decided that the bones would make great ornaments and...
Which bird species migrate between Europe and the Americas? I know there are some species which migrate over vast distances, such as the Bar-tailed godwit (Limosa lapponica), which flies through A...
Let's say that you are out backpacking and a bear spray canister accidentally goes off and gets on your skin or in your eyes or onto your clothing? It can't be a pleasant experience as it is meant...
I am surprised at how many people I see doing this wrongly (my experience being an ex-horse owner and now hiker in the UK). What is the correct way to traverse a field containing horses? Let's ex...
My question is prompted by the answer of @WedaPashi to this question, which is about rattlesnakes, specifically: • Remain calm and first move beyond the snake's striking distance. • Keep c...
I've seen ads touting tactical flashlights, and at least one such flashlight was claimed to be capable of "blind[ing] a bear". I wanted a reality check, and not specifically whether a sufficiently...
I was surprised by this Visit Greenland statement on Qassiarsuk: Due to the sheep in the settlement the surrounding area has no mosquitoes. Does that make sense? Is there any reason why the ...
I occasionally try hiking or cycling, and I notoriously have to deal with the silly issue of dogs roaming freely through villages, even on public trails. Until now, never have I been threatened by ...
There's a strange thing going on since a few days ago in the office. Suddenly we recognized a blue tit flying like crazy up and down on our window. It looks quite average, a beautiful bird, not lik...
When I go to the beach, I love to look at sea shells. I never take them with me because they're vital to the eco-system. I just gently pick them up, have a close look and sometimes take pictures, t...
I have a Mammut jacket that's made with their DRYtech 2-layer material. It's been used quite a bit but still appears to have a lot of life left in it. However it's acquired a weird smell, not unlik...
We have a bird feeder in the garden and fail to attract Blue Tits. Which food should we put in there?
A few different types of seals (Pinnipeds) are common in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Some live and breed there year-round. Others migrate through on their way elsewhere. We're planning a trip to th...
I'm just curious which animals would peel bark off a tree like this: It's a riparian setting in the Mid Atlantic region. I was thinking maybe a beaver?
I consider buying a jacket made from wool. The fabric is some kind of felt. I hade one when I was younger, but since these jackets are really expensive I would like to know how they perform compare...
Our dog loves winter sports - but after a few miles on the trails in soft snow, he often develops snowballs between his paw pads - usually one big one right in the middle. Are there ways to minimi...
I've field dressed a doe at 3 PM in Illinois. Due to bad storm and light, I had to leave it in the back of a pickup over night (it was about 30-40 degrees outside). I finally had it at processo...
I am pretty sure that from a bear's point of view a llama counts as food, but as its not possible to put a llama into a bear can or suspend it from a tree branch, how would I keep it from being eat...
I've seen people on multi-day hikes with a llama, and the llama seems docile and easily led. It seems too good to be true. I would never go out with a mule or a horse on my own. If my husband and...
I warm up very quick and sweat a lot, that's why I am usually looking for the most breathable equipment. My chose is regular fleece plus a breathable wind breaker on top if there is wind. (Please r...
Aversion to snakes, or at least a predisposition to strongly avoid snakes, appears to be deeply rooted at the genomic level in primates. See, for example, The Human Evolution Blog. Be warned, the...
Humans differ in their food preferences. One person loves oysters, another can't stand them, etc. What about animals? Are there any rabbits that don't like carrots? Lions that don't care for zebra...
Someone told me that you should treat a snake bite (in the wilderness) by cutting a X in the skin (with a knife) and sucking the stuff out of it. This sounds a little weird to me. Is this really a ...
Someone told me that you should treat a snake bite (in the wilderness) by cutting a X in the skin (with a knife) and sucking the stuff out of it. This sounds a little weird to me. Is this really a ...
We have recently hiked in Slovakian mountains where bears live. I’m not too concerned about the bears during the day, as we make enough noise to avoid an encounter. But I am not sure about sleeping...
I'm going to the Rockies (trails in Jasper and Banff). Would it be safe for me to cook food while on the trail? Won't bears be attracted towards the smell of the food?
My wife and I are planning a camping and climbing trip and we would likely need to rappel with our medium-sized (45lbs/20kg) dog. Holding the dog is obviously unacceptable, and using the dog's back...
I have been looking around and I see some claims of 15 to 30 minutes. Googling 'snake bite fastest time to death' brings back many different answers. In one place I see Black Mamba with 30 minute...
Going to Alaska to moose hunt with a compound bow set for 65 pounds. Would it be better to use fixed blade or mechanical broadheads?
I often here hunters talk about "bad genes" when it comes to bucks with a small antler. Is this kind of a running gag for trophy hunters or is this actually true? So, does the size of the antler te...
Walking along the strand this morning in Monterey, I was confronted by hundreds (at least) of stranded (no pun intended) tuna crabs (I thought they were shrimp, but a visitor from San Diego told me...
I took my usual weekend stroll along the strand (Del Monte Beach in Monterey, California) today. It was different today than ever before. For one thing, there were no Sandpipers or Plovers or Gul...
Some time back I was on a very narrow mountain trail with a cliff rising to my right and a steep gorge dropping to my left. The trail was blocked by by the viper below (with the gorge just out of s...
Sometimes I have to go through a herd of cows on a pasture when hiking in mountains. Cows are generally very peaceful creatures and there is no problem usually. However, I missed this "Danger! Bul...
I often take a slice of bread to the beach when I go on my beachcombing ramblings, and throw pieces of it to the shore birds that are, like me, combing the beach but, unlike my search for "jewels" ...
I have been looking into how strong of a bow would be required to bow hunt moose. I haven't been able to find a specific number as to how many fps you should be shooting to safely hunt moose.
I'm not actually asking about the fashion items, the kind celebrities buy for their dogs... but actual outdoor designed dog boots. What is the purpose of dog boots? Why / when would you use them?
Most people I know and myself store food in bear bags. However, I have heard that some parks have banned bear bags and require canisters. I've also heard there is a bear in New York that has figure...
This site has a good explanation for how to hang a bag PCT style. This may seem obvious but, once the bag is suspended with this method, how do you get it down? Short description of the PCT metho...
Monkeys are funny, as well as dangerous. I have already asked a question about how one should go about camping where there are monkeys around: Camping and Monkeys. The best advice would be to avo...
