Most Amazing Sight

[chesters1]

i'v posted this before but worth a repeat,i was helping (and learning) lord colemans gamekeeper (way back in the 70's ) we were out for a bit of pest control (basically if it wasent a pheasent it got shot ) we were walking down a track and he grabbed my arm and "shussed" pointing just up the path.

this old guy had spectacular sight as at first i couldnt see anything .

he pointed again and i saw a rabbit with a small animal dancing in front of it.

i started to raise my gun and he stopped me motioning me to keep still.

the little brown animal carried on for a minute or so and the rabbit remained transfixed ,in the blink of an eye the weasel jumped over the rabbit did a mid air turn and clamped its jaws just behind the rabbits head ,still the old man remained motionless .

after 30 seconds or a min or so the weasel started dragging the rabbit into the undergrowth ,the old man calmly shot the weasel. and put the rabbit in his bag ,the weasel later took its place next to its friends on a barbed wire fence.

he said if i had shot when i wanted to one of the animals may have escaped his way ensured none did.

my second close encounter was ferretting in a very small flint quarry (theres lots around here) no more than 30ft across ,circular and about 20ft deep at the back (it was dug into a hill for flint)

the ferret went in and i lay back against a tree stump at the entrance ,out of the corner of my eye i spotted movement and glaced across, a pair of weasels were having fun and darting around one minute one was chasing the next the other .

the ferret forgotten i watched these high speed antics (and they are a blur) with the result both ran over my legs and carried on at the back again .

the ferret did what they do and decided to get caught in a net and its movement put an end to the weasels fun who darted down the nearest hole straight through the mesh .

no rabbits but great nature

the best was to see nature is not to look for it but to sit down in a likely spot ,after an hour of not moving youl have realised it was there all the time

Edited January 20, 2006 by chesters1

[Prowlerguy]

I thought they were only called ermine when in their white winter coats. Or are you referring to the Latin name (Mustela erminea)?

 

 

I'm not sure exactly what a true ermine is. i just know that I was told that a stoat is a member of the ermine family.; even so might a mink be a member of the ermine family, for all I know. Man, I'm a city boy!

 

I suppose it would be easy enough to check out.. I'll see what I can find.

 

 

Stoat: From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

"The Stoat (Mustela erminea) is a small mammal of the family Mustelidae. In North America it is also referred to as the Short-tailed Weasel. When in its white winter coat, it is also called an Ermine."

 

So there it is folks, straight from the internet's mouth- Wikipedia!

[Lid]

If you make a noise like a distressed rabbit, often a healthy rabbit will pop out for a look and you can shoot it. Done it several times myself.

[chesters1]

if you make a noise like a distressed carrot you'l attract rabbits

[chevin]

Not too long after getting there, probably in the Spring of 1971, I shot two stoats with one shot. I wouldn't have done such a thing, but they were beautiful creatures,

 

Hmmm, can't fault that logic!

[Prowlerguy]

Weeellllll, if you leave off the last phrase of that sentence it looks bad; that's the way a liberal press does things. You know, yellow dog journalism, and misquotes. I shot them cause I wanted the hides. Isn't that why folks have ermine, mink, beaver and other coats and hats. I wanted the hides! I didn't shoot them because they were pretty just pretty.

 

I also catch fish, but my prime reason to catch fish is to eat them, and I release those that I don't desire to eat. If I were out to have a fish mounted, I suppose I'd be after a sailfish, or a dolphin (dolphin fish - don't want any misunderstandings here.) because they are beautiful. And, I'd necessarily kill them. That's good logic too!

 

Respectfully, Prowlerguy sends

 

Edited January 22, 2006 by Prowlerguy

[merlino bill]

prowlerguy, it's somthing the british have done for years so well,

 

if your not sure what it is shoot the bugger & check it out we are really good at it,

 

why do you think most of india's wild animals are all but exstinct. answer: the british raj

 

south-africa, kenya, the world over british aristracrats been there shot it ate it & we WERE so proud,

 

NOW dont shoot - dont shoot- you got to admire us for it why did we kill them all, (cos we can were british)

 

U N B E L I V E R B L E...............yet oh so true.

 

[hembo]

there is a ten minute special on bbc2 at 20.50hrs wednesday.about statley stoats

Edited January 22, 2006 by hembo

[gozzer]

prowlerguy, it's somthing the british have done for years so well,

 

if your not sure what it is shoot the bugger & check it out we are really good at it,

 

why do you think most of india's wild animals are all but exstinct. answer: the british raj

 

south-africa, kenya, the world over british aristracrats been there shot it ate it & we WERE so proud,

 

NOW dont shoot - dont shoot- you got to admire us for it why did we kill them all, (cos we can were british)

 

U N B E L I V E R B L E...............yet oh so true.

 

 

I'm not against hunting, just irresponable hunting which we used to have as the norm.

But shooting something just because it's pretty and you fancy wearing it's skin, when you have other choices seems a bit dumb, not to mention a terrible waste.

We used to live in caves, send kids down the pits, we dont do it now it's called progress!

[chesters1]

nothing like a kid to brush fur lined caves ,,their light enough not to pull it down from the walls.

its not progress its that kids are crap at carrying loads without crying when their beaten!! cave living will come back ,i bet theres a fair few being used now