Wild Boar on the Borders

[Womble]

just seen this on the BBC news site: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/4051477.stm

in brief: it describes a wild boar chasing a horserider, bear Monmouth, and the reaction of the peoples involved.

 

[tomtom]

thats what i like to hear

 

[Tantalus]

such a shame to see the depth of ignorance amongst the great british public tho

and the bbc in its' reporting

these animals are a treasure and worthy of preservation

instead we read

"Something really needs to be done before someone gets hurt," Ms Edmonds said.

"These wild boar are obviously a menace."

"Wild boar are a danger to human beings and to animals, too," said Mrs Tongue, who farms at Devauden, near Chepstow.

"These animals need to be rounded up and sorted out before it is too late.

Tant

 

[shinobi]

He-he-he

Let's see the fox hunters try something that fights back !!!

Martin

 

[jakunen]

such a shame to see the depth of ignorance amongst the great british public tho

and the bbc in its' reporting

these animals are a treasure and worthy of preservation

Tant

Totally agree mate. There are, or at least were until the 18th century when the last one was shot IIRC, a part of our natural heritage.

 

[shinobi]

it sounds like a normal "local" news story. Unfortunately, local news journalists seem to have a habit of making stories sound more serious than they are in the hope that national editors will pick up on the story and give them the "scoop" thus helping their journalistic careers progress.

if you remove the embellishment and journalistic licence, the story reads somewhat like this;

"Woman on horse sees pig"

It doesn't have the same ring to it does it? Let the journalists get to it though and all of a sudden it's;

Woman fears for life whilst bloodthirsty boar savages horse, Allegedly.

As you can probably tell from my avatar, I have more time for Wild Boars instead of Mild bores.

cheers,

Martin

 

[Tantalus]

lol @ woman on horse sees pig

the story also says she had dogs with her, betya they weren't on a lead

surprised she hasn't been fined for it actually, disturbing wild game and letting her dogs run loose like that

Tant

 

[Bushmaster]

He-he-he

Let's see the fox hunters try something that fights back !!!

Martin

:super: :super: :You_Rock_ :biggthump :rolmao: :rolmao:
OHH YEAH BABY!!!
That I wanna see
Geoff

 

[hobbitboy]

): quality ):

how savage are boar when unprovoked?? do they need something get them goin?

 

[jakunen]

From what I remember when I had to research them for when doing medieval cookery, they are quite peaceful except when provoked or defending their young. They have poor eyesite but a keen sense of smell and hearing and generally avoid human contact, so you're more likely to just find tracks and signs of feeding than the actual creature. However as the boar are either escapees or 'escapees' they are less wary of than the true wild boar, and so can be more belligerant as boar are not reknowned for their tempers. Even domestic pigs can be VERY aggressive when badly provoked. And when 800lb of pig gets its hooves spinning....

 

[Tantalus]

prety scary things mate

they move like greased lightening and are virtually unstoppable

even with a well placed rifle bullet :shock:

on the plus side their eyesight is not that great and they tend to go in straight lines (all that momentum makes for pretty poor cornering)

i suspect the dogs rattled them in this case

generally they are pretty shy creatures, preferring to be left alone

best way to do this is to advertise your presence (they have good hearing and smell) so tapping a stick on a tree gently seems to work

they can be noisy with their shuffling and snuffling in among the leaves so not too hard to spot if they are active

course if they are sleeping it may not work out as well as planned

hope that helps a little

Tant

 

[bambodoggy]

Hey Tant... that's very similar to the advice the US Parks and Wildlife guys give out for avoiding bears over there....seems like pretty sound advise to me too!

Was it just me or did anyone else read that article and find themselves giggling over some of the quotes in it? It could have been a "Little Britain" sketch....and the little picture she took....how exactly did she take it if they were charging her and her horse down? Did she flip out her camera phone and upon seeing it the boars stopped to pose for her? ? ? Cetainly it didn't look to be charging in that pic!
I also have to wonder if the horse was that bothered or just freaked at it's owner going so mad because the boars wouldn't stand still for the portrates to be taken! ): I also loved it that she was worried a less experienced rider wouldn't be able to cope....she managed to control her stead....yer, by staying up on it, out of harms way and then legging it once she'd got her snap!

But the best bit of all was the other rider who won't go into the forest without quadbike out riders.....Fantastic! Do they stop at crossroads, stop alll the boar and let her swish past like royalty? I don't know that many people that can afford to tootle off riding in the woods when they wish let alone anyone who can afford their own bodyguards and outriders too!!!!

Oh and the Local trading standards are making inquiries as to were they came from....so Mr Boar...after your photo shoot, short fitness run....any chance of an interview? Do trading standards speak "Boar"???

If I'd read this article on 1st April I wouldn't have believed it....still not sure I do now! :rolmao:

 

[jakunen]

Yeah, I did find it rather amusing myself. I was struck by the fact that they didn't seem to think anything about the fact that the boars were probably scared by the dogs.

Hmm, hypothetical question...
You're on a horse which starts to get agitated.
Your dogs start to also get agitated.
You realise that the further along the path you go, their nervousness gets worse.
Do you:
A: Use your brain and think 'Something must be spooking the creatures,lets turn back'?
B: Use your brain and think 'Something must be spooking the creatures,lets turn back'?
C: Act like an idiot, endager self, dogs and horse and keep going forward?

 

[Tantalus]

to be honest it was the way i was shown to deal with boar in Germany

but it worked

also a huge catalogue of funny stories about narrow escapes from wild boar, people spending the night in trees, diving into rivers etc

one of those "not so funny at the time" things i guess

:rolmao:

Tant

 

[Tantalus]

lol jakunen , you forgot to add.........

.......and complain to the council about the fact that there are wild animals in the woods

:rolmao:

Tant

 

[bambodoggy]

Or...

D) Whip out your camera and organise an imprompt photoshoot. (Read her mind: If I get out of this alive, at least Jerremy Beadle will give me £150 for this pic).

 

[jakunen]

lol jakunen , you forgot to add.........

.......and complain to the council about the fact that there are wild animals in the woods

:rolmao:

Tant

Damn, your right! How dare they put wild creatures in the woods! Its an utter disgrace!

 

[Emma]

Hmm, hypothetical question...
You're on a horse which starts to get agitated.
Your dogs start to also get agitated.
You realise that the further along the path you go, their nervousness gets worse.
Do you:
A: Use your brain and think 'Something must be spooking the creatures,lets turn back'?
B: Use your brain and think 'Something must be spooking the creatures,lets turn back'?
C: Act like an idiot, endager self, dogs and horse and keep going forward?

Actually, you think the horse has been spooked by the wind moving a hedge again, and press on because you're not scared of moving bushes and you know full well that the horse isn't really either. If it's still agitated and you can't see a reason for it you press on to find out what it worrying it and introduce it to that something so that it knows not to be scared of it. You don't actually get worried until you yourself either see something that worries you, or your horse is behaving very very out-of-character...
The horse I rode delighted himself in being scared by all manner of things from the gutter in the road to a hedge in a breeze, to traffic cones, puddles, bikes (static and moving), and (understandably) combine harvesters. When riding in woodland, half the time he spooked at something I never actually saw what it was. A lot of horses just spook at things because they enjoy doing it, not because they're actually scared of something. It isn't through a lack of discipline, just high spirits. I think a lot of the time they're trying to give you an excuse to go for a mad gallop.
Throughout the entire time I rode (that would be ten years, and I'm still in touch with the horse-world as my mum can't give 'em up) I never once saw something to be worried about, but every time I rode the horse would spook at many things. I also never heard of anyone who ever saw anything to be worried about.

So basically, if every time your horse spooked at something you turned back, you would probably never ride further than about 500yds. Way to see the countryside!



Sorry. Rant over.

I'll go back to sitting quietly in the corner now.

 

[Justin Time]

Good point Emma.
I guess that one of the things that allows us to feel safe in the woods in the UK is the KNOWING that there's nothing scary out there.

 

[Tantalus]

Yeah good point emma

Although wild boar do have a particulary strong smell

It is perhaps unlikely that either dogs or horse knew exactly what the smell was

..............Bet they do next time tho

Tant