Gordon Grice's Blog, page 36

African Long-Crested Eagle

"Chrys was captured in the wild of his native Africa to be sold in the United States black market pet trade. When the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service discovered and confiscated him, they found that his beautiful distinctive crest had been cut off to disguise him."

--World Bird Sanctuary website.



"We also found out that he developed infection in his talons and had to have two of his 'toes' removed and that is why he was never rehabbed and returned to the wild. I didn't ask, but I would hazard to guess that whoever captured him trimmed his nails too short."

Dee Puett, photographer

Golden Eagle Snatches Baby

No details on how heavy the child is, but it appears that the eagle had him (her?) off the ground for a short distance. Amazing. 



I'm seeing claims around the web that this might be fake. It looks convincing to me, and I can tell you that raptors attempting to take children is a well-attested phenomenon. However, I haven't seen claims for this particular species before that I can recall. The presence of adults isn't necessarily a deterrent, as people have lost pets to large eagles and owls and even to red-tailed hawks. 



Up close with a Golden Eagle--recent photos by Dee, with her comment on the impressive size of these birds. 



Thanks to Grant and D'Arcy for the news tip. 

Animal Attacks from Movies

Life Among Giants

My buddy Bill Roorbach is back with a new novel. Readers of this blog will probably know Bill as one of the  world's best nature writers, but this time he's spun a story about murder and football. Highly recommended. 

A Feast of Eccentricities

The Nimbus Hour is back, featuring a couple of my musical collaborations with James Addison Conrad and Incorporal air. You may even hear some other folks talk about my pet themes: spiders, crocodile attacks, nightmares. . . . Also, there's some Christmas music. I'm not kidding. 





The Nimbus Hour: A Feast of Eccentricities

(You can listen for free.)

Golden Eagle

"Rumor has it that these guys can be found from time to time in Missouri, and that there was a young one mixed in with the Balds at Squaw Creek last winter. I remember seeing three of them at the top of Lookout Pass driving into Idaho from Montana. It was snowing to beat the band, and they were dining on a mule deer carcass laying beside the road. As they lifted off the thing when we drove by them, the width of the wing completely obscured the passenger window of the jeep."

--Dee Puett, Photographer

A Republic of Prairie Dogs

A Wildlife Classic by Washington Irving



from A Tour on the Prairies

1836



I learned that a burrow, or village, as it is termed, of prairie dogs, had been discovered on the level summit of a hill, about a mile from the camp. Having heard much of the habits and peculiarities of these little animals, I determined to pay a visit to the community. The prairie dog is, in fact, one of the curiosities of the far West, about which travellers delight to tell marvellous tales, endowing him at times with something of the politic and social habits of a rational being, and giving him systems of civil government and domestic economy, almost equal to what they used to bestow upon the beaver.



The prairie dog is an animal of the coney kind, and about the size of a rabbit. He is of a sprightly mercurial nature; quick, sensitive, and somewhat petulant. He is very gregarious, living in large communities, sometimes of several acres in extent, where innumerable little heaps of earth show the entrances to the subterranean cells of the inhabitants, and the well beaten tracks, like lanes and streets, show their mobility and restlessness. According to the accounts given of them, they would seem to be continually full of sport, business and public affairs; whisking about hither and thither, as if on gossiping visits to each other’s houses, or congregating in the cool of the evening, or after a shower, and gambolling together in the open air. Sometimes, especially when the moon shines, they pass half the night in revelry, barking or yelping with short, quick, yet weak tones, like those of very young puppies. While in the height of their playfulness and clamor, however, should there be the least alarm, they all vanish into their cells in an instant, and the village remains blank and silent. In case they are hard pressed by their pursuers, without any hope of escape, they will assume a pugnacious air, and a most whimsical look of impotent wrath and defiance.



The prairie dogs are not permitted to remain sole and undisturbed inhabitants of their own homes. Owls and rattlesnakes are said to take up their abodes with them; but whether as invited guests or unwelcome intruders, is a matter of controversy. The owls are of a peculiar kind, and would seem to partake of the character of the hawk; for they are taller and more erect on their legs, more alert in their looks and rapid in their flight than ordinary owls, and do not confine their excursions to the night, but sally forth in broad day.



Some say that they only inhabit cells which the prairie dogs have deserted, and suffered to go to ruin, in consequence of the death in them of some relative; for they would make out this little animal to be endowed with keen sensibilities, that will not permit it to remain in the dwelling where it has witnessed the death of a friend. Other fanciful speculators represent the owl as a kind of housekeeper to the prairie dog; and from having a note very similar, insinuate that it acts, in a manner, as family preceptor, and teaches the young litter to bark.



As to the rattlesnake, nothing satisfactory has been ascertained of the part he plays in this most interesting household; though he is considered as little better than a sycophant and sharper, that winds himself into the concerns of the honest, credulous little dog, and takes him in most sadly. Certain it is, if he acts as toad eater, he occasionally solaces himself with more than the usual perquisites of his order; as he is now and then detected with one of the younger members of the family in his maw.



Such are a few of the particulars that I could gather about the domestic economy of this little inhabitant of the prairies, who, with his pigmy republic, appears to be a subject of much whimsical speculation and burlesque remarks, among the hunters of the far West.



It was towards evening that I set out with a companion, to visit the village in question. Unluckily, it had been invaded in the course of the day by some of the rangers, who had shot two or three of its inhabitants, and thrown the whole sensitive community in confusion. As we approached, we could perceive numbers of the inhabitants seated at the entrances of their cells, while sentinels seemed to have been posted on the outskirts, to keep a look out. At sight of us, the picket guards scampered in and gave the alarm; whereupon every inhabitant gave a short yelp, or bark, and dived into his hole, his heels twinkling in the air as if he had thrown a somerset.



We traversed the whole village, or republic, which covered an area of about thirty acres; but not a whisker of an inhabitant was to be seen. We probed their cells as far as the ramrods of our rifles would reach, but could unearth neither dog, nor owl, nor rattlesnake. Moving quietly to a little distance, we lay down upon the ground, and watched for a long time, silent and motionless. By and bye, a cautious old burgher would slowly put forth the end of his nose, but instantly draw it in again. Another, at a greater distance, would emerge entirely; but, catching a glance of us, would throw a somerset, and plunge back again into his hole. At length, some who resided on the opposite side of the village, taking courage from the continued stillness, would steal forth, and hurry off to a distant hole, the residence possibly of some family connexion, or gossiping friend, about whose safety they were solicitous, or with whom they wished to compare notes about the late occurrences.



Others still more bold, assembled in little knots, in the streets and public places, as if to discuss the recent outrages offered to the commonwealth, and the atrocious murders of their fellow burghers.



We rose from the ground and moved forward, to take a nearer view of these public proceedings, when, yelp! yelp! yelp! — there was a shrill alarm passed from mouth to mouth; the meetings suddenly dispersed; feet twinkled in the air in every direction; and in an instant all had vanished into the earth.



The dusk of the evening put an end to our observations, but the train of whimsical comparisons produced in my brain, by the moral attributes which I had heard given to these little politic animals, still continued after my return to camp; and late in the night, as I lay awake after all the camp was asleep, and heard in the stillness of the hour, a faint clamor of shrill voices from the distant village, I could not help picturing to myself the inhabitants gathered together in noisy assemblage, and windy debate, to devise plans for the public safety, and to vindicate the invaded rights and insulted dignity of the republic.

Pike

Photography by Parker Grice

Leopard Kills Sewage Guard, Eats Genitals

In the West, news outlets generally are rather shy about describing the injuries inflicted by animals. This Indian newspaper, however, is admirably direct. 



Leopard kills guard, devours private parts - Mumbai - DNA: 

"The body of a 52-year-old man was found on the outskirts of Sanjay Gandhi National Park in Bhandup (east) on Thursday morning, with his genitals devoured. Forest officials said that a set of marks found on the corpse suggested that the deceased, Anthony Fernandes, had been mauled to death by a leopard. "



Thanks to Croconut for the news tip. 

Animal Attack Movies: Fast, Cheap and Out of Control

A documentary, but that
category doesn’t begin to do this movie justice. Four men with interesting,
off-beat careers tell about their work. One tends a topiary garden full of
animal-shaped hedges; one designs robots based on the same principles as
insects; one is an expert in naked mole rats, mammals that live in ant-like
colonies; and one is a tamer of lions and tigers. They end up saying something
profound about humans, our fellow animals, and the life forms yet to
come. Of all the movies I’ve seen, this one does the best job of capturing
my own joy in watching and learning from animals.