Date: Sat, 27 Jun 1998 22:44:29 +0000 From: "Frank Pawlak" <fpawlak@execpc.com> To: Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com> Cc: freebsd-chat@FreeBSD.ORG Subject: Re: Does it's true? Message-ID: <980627224429.ZM28331@darkstar.connect.com> In-Reply-To: Wes Peters <wes@softweyr.com> "Re: Does it's true?" (Jun 27, 3:27pm) References: <980627181808.ZM27850@darkstar.connect.com> <199806272127.PAA20604@softweyr.com>
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On Jun 27, 3:27pm, Wes Peters wrote: > Subject: Re: Does it's true? > My hidden microphone recorded Frank Pawlak (fpawlak@execpc.com) saying: > > % Again, not taking any particular position on gun control, but relating my > % experience with wild animals as a once avid hunter, I can say that having % > spent > % many hours alone in the forested areas of northern Wisconsin, I never had a > % problem being attacked by anaimals. Granted the species native here differ > % from those of the West. People here had a fear of the wolf and created an > % extinct species of animal which has resulted in big and growing problems with > % the deer herd. They have been re-introduced here, and I hunted in areas % > where > % wolves were present and never had a problem. > % > % It has been my experience that in general wild animals fear man. That > % situation can and does change if the animal is injured or starving. Man, > % supposedly, having the higher intellect should be able ot get along with > % animals and survive together just fine. Yes there are risks when a human > % enters the natural habitat of an animal, but knowing what you are doing they > % can be minimized without necessarily killing the animal first. > % > % BTW, I do have experience with wildlife in other parts of the US and in other > % countries. The above pretty much holds true. > > No argument there. I consider myself extremely lucky to have spotted a cougar > in the wild; most will never see one. There are only reports of cougars > attacking people about once every other year in the western US, and then it is > usually a small child who hasn't been taught how to deal with a cougar. > > Here in the Salt Lake Valley, we actually get to see them fairly frequently. A > young male, about 70 pounds, was captured wandering around the runways at Salt > Lake International Airport last year. Early this year, a large male wandered > into a tennis court and got stuck; animal control had to dart him to get him > out because he was terrified of them. > > There are a few exceptions to the rule of wild animals staying away from > humans, and they are all generally disastrous to the human involved. These > include grizzlies who've been fed by people and no longer fear them, any polar > bear, wolverines (ever meet one of THOSE in Minnesota?), (apparently) javelinas > (I've never met one), and the worst of all, feral cats. There is a large > population of feral cats in many of the small arroyos surrounding creeks in > northern Utah, and people are badly bitten and scratched by them quite often. > We've also had 3 or 4 incidents of black/brown/cinnamon bear attacks in the > Wasatch mountains this decade - probably caused by people feeding the bears and > removing their natural fear of humans. > > Even given all this, I still choose to travel armed when in back country where > I know there are dangerous animals. I thrill at seeing a cougar in the wild > again, and completely acknowlege his right to be there, right up to the point > where he tries to eat my two year old daughter, who DOES know that you never > run away from a wild kitty. And I would do the same thing taking here into > places with other dangerous animals, like any city east of Denver. Wes, I appreciate your view of man living in harmony with the surrounding wildlife. It is also refreshing to be in agreement with you on something. ;-) Then you go and make a statement about any city east of Denver. You are just spoiling for a fight. I fear that LA can hold its' own against either Chicago, New York or even Detroit when it comes to dangerous animals. Cheers, Frank > > -- > "Where am I, and what am I doing in this handbasket?" > > Wes Peters Softweyr LLC > http://www.softweyr.com/~softweyr wes@softweyr.com > > >-- End of excerpt from Wes Peters To Unsubscribe: send mail to majordomo@FreeBSD.org with "unsubscribe freebsd-chat" in the body of the message
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