Emusing

Apparently MeeMoo the Emu decided to make a break for freedom form the farm where he was living in Tennessee.

This led to the owner seeking assistance from the police and while the aviation unit was apparently not involved, it became a police car chase of an avian.

USA Today:  'He took off down the highway': MeeMoo the emu escapes owner, starts police chase in Tennessee

Thankfully MeeMoo was returned to his farm without incident after 8 hours being on the lam.

The score is thus Harriman PD 1, Emu 0.

As such, the Harriman PD did better than the Australian Army, as they're 0-1 against Emus.

Newsflash: Yellowstone Is Not A Petting Zoo

Wild animals are called wild for a reason.

The Detroit Free Press: Woman dies after bison tosses her 10 feet in the air in Yellowstone Park

The National Park Service sets the safety distance from a Bison at 25 yards.  

This woman got within 10 feet and found out rather fatally what the word wild means in the description wild animal, with a rather sadly fatal outcome.

Another contender for this year's Darwin awards.

Looking for a Fox

And Found Two.

While walking Jett, a neighbor waved me over.  

Their neighbor had caught a fox by their porch.

 

 

We took a look.  He gave a little bark-like sound as we approached but otherwise he was rather calm about the whole thing.

He and Jett looked each other other, but neither growled nor barked at the other, nor were they aggressive. 

Then I noticed some movement. To the right of the house was another trap.

Turned out the neighbor had actually caught two foxes. 

This one was rather cute as well, and maintained eye contact the whole time we looked him over.

 I expect they will get dropped off at the nature preserve or released elsewhere.

Lots of wildlife is moving about this spring.

A Walk In The Woods

Yesterday we decided to get out of the house and get some walking in.

We headed to Kensington Metropark and took their longest trail in the woods.

It was another hot day, so the parts of the trail in the woods were welcome relief from the open field areas of the trail.

Interestingly, the chipmunks of Kensington have no fear of humans and no shame. They will literally bump into your feet while your walking on the trail on just stand there looking at you as you almost step on them when they sit on the trail, or look offended as they run under your feet and yopu have to avoid stomping on them. Since Kensington Metropark does not allow dogs on the trails, the chipmunks give zero Fs to all.

We also saw deer as we walked though the woods and then came upon two particularly large birds blocking the trail.

It was a little iffy getting by them on that bridge. One looked like he was going to try and peck at one of us with that beak.

The one in the background proceeded to make a voracious peck at that chipmunk sitting there to the right as we walked by. He went flying off the bridge as a result.

Thankfully no one got pecked and we got past the birds with all parties none the worse for wear.

It was a nice long walk, then we hit the beach for a swim and went home. A nice time in the outdoors.

Backyard Visitors

There's lot's of wildlife to be found hanging around the yard today:

Chipmunks:

A black squirrel:

a red squirrel:

A black squirrel with a red tail, likely the result of a romance between a red squirrel and a black squirrel:

There are just tons of squirrels around recently. They seem to be clearing out all the remaining fallen black walnuts and having a serious party in the backyard.

We also have a new family in residence: A Groundhog mom and two baby Groundhogs have come by recently.

The little baby groundhogs are so very cute indeed.

Jett is getting lots of exercise leaping at the window and sternly barking at all these backyard interlopers. He really detests the squirrels.

Visitors Of An Animalian Kind

With the power out it has been pretty quiet around the area.

So quiet that the local wildlife have decided to take a closer look.

This baby deer came right up to the window to nibble on some shrubbery.

When she saw us watching her from the window she was a little surprised and backed up and then headed on her way.

Then we had a meterologically adept animal come by, and unfortunately he's been seeing his shadow quite a lot lately, especially considering it was snowing again today.

Yes, we had a groundhog perambulate around the backyard and come by the windows before he merrily wandered off into the woods . . . . and snow started falling yet again.

Temperatures are forecast to hit freezing again tonight, and we'll likely see snow in the morning.

Kent County Michigan Cops Shoot The Bull

In this case they shot the bull quite literally and repeatedly.

The Detroit Free Press: Police fire 33 rounds to stop bull that killed farmer

After a bull mortally injured its owner, it had to be dispatched so they could try to recover the man.

The deputies fired 33 rounds with their cruiser rifles, striking the animal each time — it eventually dropped to the ground.

Assuming those cruiser rifles were AR15s, it looks like enough rounds of 5.56 will indeed eventually stop a raging bull.

A Fun-Packed Weekend

Saturday afternoon we travelled to Lansing to celebrate the bat mitzvah of the daughter of one of my former coworkers. Many other co-workers were there, including Scott of the Providentia blog and his family and a darn good time was had by all. The coworker cooked all Russian foods, as her daughter is an adoptee from Russia and it was quite the feast. The dancing was fun with the kids having a blast.

I was then put in charge of the chair raising part of the festivities.

Lifting the bar mitzvah girl or boy is a traditional part of the ceremony.

So I and three others snuck up on her, got in the chair and up she went.

Much fun had by all.

Then, in a slight and unexpected break from tradition, the attendee kids also wanted a go.

It's a celebration after all, so how could we say no?

So I was quite sore the next morning and I got quite the workout that night.

Sunday morning we got up early and headed for the wilds of Ohio, The African Safari Wildlife Park to be precise. We met up there with a family we knew from the old neighborhood and spent the rest of the time together. Great people, the kids get along pretty well and are about the same age so it was a great time.

The Park is a wonderful combination of wonders of the animal world, close interactions with animals and corniness, all rolled into one.

First after paying admission we headed off to the NASPIG races. Yes, NASPIG.

We were in the cheering section for Mario Spamdretti, who beat Pig Daddy and Dale Swineheart Jr quite handily. Like I said, corny.

Then on to the animals.

First there were the static displays as in a typical zoo.

Then a free short camel ride for the kids with longer ones costing.

Then a wildlife interaction, including a close encounter with a Burmese Python:

Not only did the kids touch it, but we later took a picture of them holding it. Brave kids, especially when it looked Leah right in the face, sizing her up to be a snack. She kept her composure quite well.

Then onto the vehicular-nutritive-interactive phase, which was the highlight.

For a reasonable fee, you could buy some grain pellets and carrots and drive into the park and feed the animals from the inside of your car.

The Alpacas and Guancano were pretty soft, relaxed, and gentle, and you could give them a pet while feeding them. They would also hum in appreciation when you fed them which was kinda cute.

Then it got interesting as we entered the main animal welfare section:

The deer were pretty insistent, with one of them even taking the entire feed cup out of Abby's hands and taking off with it stuck on his upper jaw until finished off all the contents.

The Buffalo then made an appearance. He knew what he wanted and he got it:

At that moment, with a buffalo's hot breath in my face and teeth and horn just inches away, all debates of 9mm v .45 faded into irrelevance and insignificance. Where the hell was a trusty 45-70 Sharps around here anyways?

Luckily, It turns out that these Buffalo are addicted to carrots, and carrots they darn well received. Once you paid the protection carrots they happily went on to hit up the next vehicle.

A very cool experience and highly recommended.

Buy carrots and expect to need a car wash later as the buffalo tend to get slime on your car.

After spending the day there we drove to Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky and checked in and hit the water park.

Abby decided she was going to be queen of the water slides and we were off and taking the tallest and fastest slides immediately. And again, and again. I got all the stair-climbing exercise I might need carrying the double tube up multiple flights to get to the top and then repeat.

Then a filling and tasty dinner.

After dinner, I took the kids to the arcade where they kept playing games and winning tickets so they could buy the trinkets in the arcade store. Much fun had by all.

Monday we got up at Great Wolf, had a huge all-you-can eat breakfast and headed again into the water park.

After a Pizza lunch and then even more carrying the tube up the stairs on countless more slide rides, we called it a day and headed homeward.

Now we're all sorts of tired, but we sure packed a lot into the past couple days.

Animal Rights Activist To Face the Music For Her Threats?

The Detroit Free Press is covering the case of a Florida Animal "Activist" who has been threatening a Michigan researcher at Wayne State University.

Animal rights activist accused of writing blog posts calling for death of Wayne State researcher

Animal rights activist can return to Florida until hearing on graphic blog posts, judge rules

While the activist is claiming her threats are protected under the First Amendment, her activities have included publishing his name and address and how to defeat his home alarm system as well as advocating that he be slowly killed, and continuing to email him in a harassing manner.

The Court, following the rationale and ruling in Planned Parenthood v. ACLA, 290 F.3d 1058 (9th Cir. 2002) should certainly be able to restrain her speech activities from continuing these threats against the doctor.

If the court fails to do so, there's going to be an interesting variation created in the protection afforded abortion doctors versus the protection afforded animal researchers from internet-based threats of violence.

Bandit! 9 O'Clock Low!

This little masked bandit turned up in our backyard 9 am this morning:

Apparently he didn't get the message that racoons are supposed to be nocturnal.

The Swiss Narrowly Escape Their Animal Attorney Overlords

Swiss voters reject giving abused animals a lawyer

The result was emphatic: Swiss voters don't think abused animals need to have their own lawyers.

It's a proposal that would never even come near a referendum in other countries, but the measure's defeat Sunday disappointed animal rights advocates, who say Switzerland's elaborate animal welfare laws aren't being enforced.

Talk about animal rights gone amok or a-lawyer, court appointed attorneys for animals - what will those Swiss think of next?

In Switzerland there apparently already is a non-court-appointed attorney for animals, he's just not paid for by tax dollars:

According to the country's only animal lawyer, Antoine F. Goetschel, public prosecutors are often unsure about animal rights and shy away from pursuing cases even if there is clear evidence of abuse. He said the cost of Sunday's measure would have been less than 1 Swiss franc ($1) per person a year. . . .
Goetschel said he represents about 150-200 animals annually in Zurich, while in other cantons (states), only a handful of cases go to court each year.

Most of his clients are dogs, cows and cats, Goetschel told The Associated Press in a recent interview. Many cases involve the serious abuse of animals, such as deliberate wounding, rape and neglect.

How do these animals sign a retainer letter I wonder? Talk about your case is a real dog.

In any case, its not like there aren't perfectly overgood Swiss laws that define animal care with Swiss-watch-like precision:

Switzerland tightened its laws two years ago and now has among the strictest rules anywhere when it comes to caring for pets and farm animals.

The country's 160-page animal protection law states exactly how much space owners must give Mongolian gerbils (233 square inches) and what water temperature is required for African clawed frogs (18-22 degrees Celsius; 64-72 degrees Fahrenheit)

It stipulates that pigs, budgies, goldfish and other social animals cannot be kept alone. Horses and cows must have regular exercise outside their stalls and dog owners have to take a training course to learn how to properly look after their pets.

Like in other countries, the law also forbids killing animals in a cruel fashion or for fun.

That's a pretty specific and overbearing piece of formalistic legislation right down to the square footage for gerbils. It doesn't sound like the law comes with inspectors that check your house to ensure your aquarium is at the right temperature, but that you would be violating the law if you're off a bit is quite scary. Very European in its formalism and state control over individual activities. Also very European in that it assumes people need to be instructed and compelled by law in order for them to behave properly. There oughta be a law, and the Swiss have it in spades.

Of course the law gets taken by extremists to extremes:

But in one high-profile case last month, Goetschel represented a dead pike after an animal protection group accused the angler who caught it of cruelty for taking 10 minutes to haul the fish in.

The angler was found not guilty.

Quite a fishy case indeed, and a good example of a law passed with noble intentions gone amok. Prosecuting an angler over a dead pike being caught presumably to be consumed by said angler is pretty darn frivilous. Besides, Pike chowder is tasty.

While there is no such thing as animal rights, there certainly are obligations that people take on when the obtain a pet or animal, such as not abusing them and caring for them appropriately. After all what the heck is the point of having a pet if you abuse it or don't treat it properly?

Thankfully the Swiss are saved, at least for now, from having their own money used to have themselves prosecuted in the name of various caught fish and assorted roadkill.

Moose bites can be pretty nasty, but they're worse when they come at you with a summons and complaint.