A warning would have been nice....

[Cooking Goddess]

...We had a severe overpopulation of deer in one of our Metro Parks nearby. You could see the deer behind the high fence as you went by......the animals were absolutely pathetic looking. Not only were they malnourished they were also showing the effects of in-breeding. Of course, there was a huge outcry from the public when professional hunters were brought in to cull the herd. It may seem cruel and cold hearted but it is far more humane than to let them starve to death during a cold hard winter.

^This^ What the anti-culling people don't understand is that when you eliminate a critter's natural predator, you must then assume the responsibility of predator.

We were still living in OH when the Metroparks started their annual culling program. I think the parks (and, subsequently, the Cuyahoga Valley National Park) have gone about this in a responsible manner: a managed, annual hunt by professional sharpshooters, donating the harvest to the food bank). The results are staggering when you realize so far the food bank has benefited by the donation of nearly 1/4 ton of lean protein during this program.

Meanwhile, in a more densely populated area, Massachusetts, after over a century of no hunt, has "wisely" granted licensed hunters permission to go out and hunt. Hopefully, the state is better at managing the number of hunters allowed into a small area better than they have managed the population of the deer herd.

 

[cinisajoy]

Marc You just made me laugh.

 

[Cooking Goddess]

...Skunks I have no problem with...My daughter got the bright idea of turning two of them into pets...had no trouble releasing them from the animal carrier.......they were all sprayed out. Her car did smell kinda bad......

Oh No! You would think the adult daughter of a hunter would know better, right?

 

[Zagut]

Skunks next to the house are no fun.

Had a litter of them several years ago and going out the door was always an adventure.


I had a black and white cat named Molly.
I was napping in a lounge chair on the front porch one evening.
I woke up in a haze and saw a black and white creature coming right towards me.
I thought it was Molly but something didn't seem quite right in her movement.
As the fog of sleep faded I realized it was a skunk about 5 feet away from me.
A quick holler made the skunk change direction and walk away.
Luckily I wasn't gifted with it's defense mechanism.


Several times that year I opened the front door to a skunk and her little ones right outside the door.
And walks around the property lead to several encounters.
The little ones are cute but that year there was and aroma that made you exercise caution.



Oh here's Molly.
She's moved on to another world but she was the best mouser to ever live.

 

[GotGarlic]

Came across this on Facebook yesterday. The caption said not to leave the door open while bringing in groceries

 

[GotGarlic]

Molly is beautiful

 

[Zagut]

Hmmmm..... Just looks like more groceries to me.

Perhaps they meant the work of luging more groceries inside then you expected.


And thank you.
She sure was in more ways then appearance.

 

[Kayelle]

That's about the most beautiful face I've ever seen on a cat. She looks like she uses eye liner.

That picture from Facebook melted my heart.

 

[Roll_Bones]

I have never hunted and never will. I'm not against hunting as long as the meat is eaten.
When a young kid, I shot a cardinal with my slingshot. I felt horrible.
My father helped me get it and put it in a cage and I tried to bring it back to health.
It died and so did a part of me.
From that day on, I never ever shot at anything again until we started having squirrel issues. Good thing I'm not very accurate, but have removed a few.
I decided to take down the bird feeder. It was easier that shooting at the squirrels.

 

[roadfix]

From that day on, I never ever shot at anything again until we started having squirrel issues. Good thing I'm not very accurate, but have removed a few.

My dilemma with shooting critters in my back yard is I might not get a kill on the first shot. They'll run off, wounded, and suffer til they die. I don't want that. Instead, I've been using traps and releasing them elsewhere.

 

[cinisajoy]

Skunks were a slight problem where we used to live.
There was a little old man that all the over the age of 60 women would call when they saw a skunk.
He would trap the skunks, take them to the back end of the property and release. All he ever asked for was a kiss.

Please note, I think it was the same skunks. He always caught the skunks on the first day.

I bet the skunks thought free meal and a cozy place to sleep. Free ride home in the morning.
Not a one of them ever even threatened to spray the old man.
He was little and was at least 80.

 

[Zagut]

That's about the most beautiful face I've ever seen on a cat. She looks like she uses eye liner.

That picture from Facebook melted my heart.

Molly never used makeup as far as I know.



Those fawns are adorable.

I wish I had pics of the fawns born on top of my hill.

I was lucky enough to see them within minutes of there birth.

It's amazing how fast they are ready to stand on there own and face the world.

 

[roadfix]

Smart old man.... He used his pet skunk for the kisses..... LOL...