Gordon Grice's Blog, page 105

Lion versus Trainer

A couple of recent attacks point up the dangers of lion taming. The video above shows an attack in a Ukraine circus. The one below is from the MGM Grand Hotel in Las Vegas. When captive lions attacks, the motive may be related to dominance. The lion sees an opportunity to achieve a higher rank in the pride when a more dominant animal--his human trainer--looks vulnerable. Once the attack is underway, the lion's predatory instinct may kick in as well.

Photograph This Ant and Win a Prize

Help! I'm seeking an original photo of a harvester ant. We don't have them here in Wisconsin, but you folks in the Southwest may still be able to find them at this time of year.

These are large ants with the nasty sting. They live in holes usually on clear ground, such as a road; the hole may be surrounded with gravel from their deep diggings. The top photo here shows the individuals clearly. The bottom will give you a good idea of their den sites. For those of you near my old home in the Oklahoma Panhandle, these are the very common big ones. I don't care which color.


I'm choosing photos for the British edition of Deadly Kingdom, and this is something I'd especially like to have, but I won't be able to take the photo myself because of the travel and so forth. I'd want an unpublished photo at high resolution. The pay for the winner will be a free signed copy of the British book. If I get several to choose from, I may post some of them on the blog.

Monkeys of New Delhi

At the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi, rhesus macaques have pilfered the possessions of athletes. This sort of thing is common in New Delhi. Monkeys even injure people on occasion. In one notable case, a city official died after monkeys hurled a flower pot onto his head. Hindus, who comprise 87% of the population of the city, hold the animals sacred. For that reason, the monkeys roam unmolested. At least, by people.

The solution to this monkey problem may be bigger monkeys. The Indian government keeps a squad of trained langurs for just such an emergency. These slender monkeys may stand five feet high. They treat smaller simians as rivals for food, and are often willing to kill them.

Wild langurs occasionally harm people, just as macaques do. These trained ones will remain leashed, as in the video above, until the trainers spot a likely crowd of trouble-making macaques.  

Wildlife Photography: Wayne Allison's Gorillas

Minnesota photographer and animal lover Wayne Allison took hundreds of animal photos in the late 20th century. Used by permission of D'Arcy Allison-Teasley, who blogs at http://www.taltoshorsetribe.blogspot.....

The Coyotes of New York

Interesting article about the troubles in Westchester County, where coyotes have bitten a couple of people recently. Unlike a lot of news stories, this one has real biology behind it.

"There are generally three underlying reasons for animal-human conflict: expanding animal population, expanding human population, or a change in philosophy by the people in a wildlife-populated area."

More about Our Changing View of Dog Attacks

Over on Facebook, Jay posed this question about my last blog post:

But at the same time, ``fight´´ dogs are being scrutinized as potential threats. Here in Denmark many apartments will not allow them, certain dogs must be muzzled, and owners of certain species are not allowed to continue breeding their dogs. In your research, do you find that ownership of these dogs has increased or simply the converage?

My answer is that the coverage definitely affects ownership of the different breeds. To ta...

Dog Attacks: A Changing Culture

If you look through newspapers from, say, forty years ago, you'll find a few cases of "dog bite." They turn up mostly in the police reports. If you look through news reports on the web today, you'll find a lot more cases, and they won't be called "dog bites" but "dog attacks." In fact, the perpetrator may not be called a "dog" in the headline but a "pit bull" or some other specific breed.
I receive several news items like this literally every day. These abundant news reports are the reason...

Rhinoceroses on the Rampage

In Deadly Kingdom, I talk a lot about the dangers posed by captive animals. I was delighted to find this article describing animal escapes throughout American history. The article deals with everything from boas to bulls, but it has especially interesting anecdotes about elephants and rhinoceroses. Who knew rhinos can escape their pursuers by diving?

The first exhibited rhino came to Europe in the early 1500s, and they've been popular attractions ever since. The most famous rhino in history...

Wildlife Photographs: Wayne Allison's Raccoons

Minnesota photographer and animal lover Wayne Allison took hundreds of animal photos in the late 20th century. Used by permission of D'Arcy Allison-Teasley, who blogs at http://www.taltoshorsetribe.blogspot.....

The Day After Summer

For a lover of nature, all tasks are about the journey. Maybe that explains why my son the photographer and I were out at four in the morning to pay the gas bill. Sure, tedious details of my life could explain why I left that chore for the odd hour, but really it was the storm. We wanted to be in it.
The usual thunderstorm things happened: rain blowing in on us, which was a refreshment at first, then a call to close the windows; the asphalt no longer gray, but black as a racer snake; the...