Remember the Wild Life.
- Thread starter TeeDee
- Start date
I hope everyone has had a lovely Xmas day -
If you haven't already could I urge everyone to leave a little extra food out for the native Wild Life please.
Thanks in advance.
If you haven't already could I urge everyone to leave a little extra food out for the native Wild Life please.
Thanks in advance.
A lovely sentiment, but not entirely recommended.
Certainly, human food shouldn't be left out - too salty, too fatty and too many other things.
But it also has the downside of creating dependency, depleting natural instincts, and also favouring some animals over others and thereby destabilising populations. The rotten truth of Mother Nature is that some animals die over Winter. But, regrettably, that's how it should be.
As a nature lover myself, I have to fight my instincts to leave food for animals, on a bird table, etc.
But one really shouldn't, as hard as that can be.
If you want to feed and support the wildlife, then plant the right plants, create the right habitats.
Sorry for being a buzzkill.
Certainly, human food shouldn't be left out - too salty, too fatty and too many other things.
But it also has the downside of creating dependency, depleting natural instincts, and also favouring some animals over others and thereby destabilising populations. The rotten truth of Mother Nature is that some animals die over Winter. But, regrettably, that's how it should be.
As a nature lover myself, I have to fight my instincts to leave food for animals, on a bird table, etc.
But one really shouldn't, as hard as that can be.
If you want to feed and support the wildlife, then plant the right plants, create the right habitats.
Sorry for being a buzzkill.
I keep putting fat out for the birds with a little chicken feed mixed in. They keep coming back for it so it can't be too deadly.
I HATE those wildlife films that ‘don’t interfere for biological
Correctness’ and film a baby elephant struggle to keep up with a
Injured leg ( he made it.) well, I’M a part of biology and sometimes a little altruism from our destructive species is appropriate.
I left a whole chicken out to long.
Tossed it from my second story balcony, almost landed in my pita neighbors patio. Bounced off into the ivy. @ midnight one of God’s Dogs slipped in and carried it off.
I probably saved someone’s cat.
Correctness’ and film a baby elephant struggle to keep up with a
Injured leg ( he made it.) well, I’M a part of biology and sometimes a little altruism from our destructive species is appropriate.
I left a whole chicken out to long.
Tossed it from my second story balcony, almost landed in my pita neighbors patio. Bounced off into the ivy. @ midnight one of God’s Dogs slipped in and carried it off.
I probably saved someone’s cat.
My bird feeding station is costing me a fortune! But I'd rather feed the birds, than see them suffer from frozen ground and water... don't forget water!
If you’re in the UK then DEFRA is advising against bird feeders that cause wild birds to congregate in one place in large numbers.
Avian flu is widespread and is likely to get far worse before it gets better. If you cause birds to congregate in large numbers you may be killing them with kindness by helping to spread disease… using different kinds of feeds and spreading your feeding efforts over a much wider area may be a better idea.
Avian flu is widespread and is likely to get far worse before it gets better. If you cause birds to congregate in large numbers you may be killing them with kindness by helping to spread disease… using different kinds of feeds and spreading your feeding efforts over a much wider area may be a better idea.
It was a food donation from a veteran’s group. It came out of Texas? and was past date. California has a massive poultry industry and it cried DODGY!
So, I set it out, still in the packaging
With a few slits to defrost.
The flesh turned a sort of bluish on pink . Think tattoos on a retired merchant seaman. And I swear the wings twitched as I turned away.
I decided Governor Abbot of Texas
Might be playing games. So that flightless bird experienced flight in one post sunset post mortem arc.
Canus Latrans AKA MR Wil E Coyote betrayed his presence with a gleam of yellow off the street lamp blinking in a slow death throw.
After a few cautious minutes he raced in, grabbed the bird and trotted off triumphantly past homeless people, a disappointed Racoon and a great horned Owl in the Oak Tree waiting for mice.
I made some bangers with a nice Belgian Ale from Quebec.
Not really wildlife, and I know no one on here would be so reckless, but I'm sitting in the field right now, sitting on a stump beneath a tree, having a mug of tea and a satsuma. The cows are grazing right beside me. One of them has turned up an old plastic bottle and has tried to eat it. I had to go up to it and take it out of the poor animal's mouth.
Again, I KNOW this is not what the OP meant and I KNOW you all abhor that as much as I do (as well as the little s h I t who's playing with a drone they probably got for Christmas because I can hear that whiney little motor buzzing away like a bee in a biscuit tin, ruining my bit of peace and calm. Can't see the damned thing though), but a salutary reminder of how it's important to let animals fend for themselves, for their own resilience and own welfare.
Needless to say, if I find out who's been walking across my land and dumping plastic waste, I'll throttle the little...
Again, I KNOW this is not what the OP meant and I KNOW you all abhor that as much as I do (as well as the little s h I t who's playing with a drone they probably got for Christmas because I can hear that whiney little motor buzzing away like a bee in a biscuit tin, ruining my bit of peace and calm. Can't see the damned thing though), but a salutary reminder of how it's important to let animals fend for themselves, for their own resilience and own welfare.
Needless to say, if I find out who's been walking across my land and dumping plastic waste, I'll throttle the little...
Cows are good and harmless creatures, and I dont know why the media these days portray them as a menace.
Kav, you should have a word with your veterans group and tell them their chicken was a Dodo, and not fit for consumption. Even my Dads cat would have not touched it.
(And he can spot a stale bird long before we do).
Kav, you should have a word with your veterans group and tell them their chicken was a Dodo, and not fit for consumption. Even my Dads cat would have not touched it.
(And he can spot a stale bird long before we do).
Not just the media but the Government's own Health and Safety Executive report incidents.
A quick search will indicate that both farmers and walkers on PRoWs are killed and injured each year by cattle in the UK. I am extremely cautious about them having managed a small herd myself and been hurt by them.
Mmm... sorry, but there is a wide range of behaviour between different breeds of cattle, from gentle to aggressive, and it's just not true that they're only dangerous when with calves. Experienced farmers get taken by surprise and injured or even worse. Treat any animal that heavy with respect even a running ewe can knock you off your feet!
I took the last cycle of agriculture classes from a dying( and murdered) community college program FOUNDED as an AG.
I had a French Charolais almost kill me out of spite. She went to slaughter. I reserved a quarter and enjoyed every revenge filled bite.
I’ve worked with our revitalized Texas Longhorns. Incredible animals if you show respect. I got to meet the American Bison/ Tatonka used in Dances With Wolves. An absolute lovely animal.
It had a love for Oreal cookies/ biscuits and would run to you looking for all the world like charging if one offered. That’s how the scene was filmed.
I still watched myself with all.
I had a French Charolais almost kill me out of spite. She went to slaughter. I reserved a quarter and enjoyed every revenge filled bite.
I’ve worked with our revitalized Texas Longhorns. Incredible animals if you show respect. I got to meet the American Bison/ Tatonka used in Dances With Wolves. An absolute lovely animal.
It had a love for Oreal cookies/ biscuits and would run to you looking for all the world like charging if one offered. That’s how the scene was filmed.
I still watched myself with all.
You're joking, surely?
It's that kind of naivety that gets people into trouble.
In the words of Douglas Adams, cows may be mostly harmless, but you should NEVER be complacent.
I've been in a field of cows when they turned aggressive - no, it wasn't calving season, and these were actually steers. Fortunately for me there was a nearby pile of felled logs, so I climbed atop them. The cows still tried to get to me but couldn't, so positioned themselves in a ring around the logs. I was held hostage for over an hour whilst they calmed down and moved sufficiently far away that I could slope off. If it wasn't for that pile of logs I dread to think what would have happened. Just typing it now makes me shudder.
So don't be so dewy-eyed about that ton of living flesh or you may come unstuck.
I've been charged by sheep as well. Maybe not quite so worrying, but makes you wary nonetheless.
Any animal can have an off day, they can be mischievous or hormonal. Breeds have characteristics, individuals have personalities and personal preferences. You can’t really generalise about whether an animal that you don’t know is safe or not. For instance, I have a pet ram who I’ve come to an understanding with over the years…we’re good friends…however my partner Louise is still wary of him as he will try to butt her on sight. It’s wise to be cautious around livestock.
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