God Bless America

[Ecurb]

I went for a long bike ride on the 4th (in honor of the Tour de France, although the ride was long for me, not for tour riders – 70 miles over some fairly big hills). On my way home, about 20 miles from Eugene, a big male cougar appeared in the road in front of me, no more than 50 yards away. I braked to a halt. The cougar stopped in the middle of the road, staring at me. My first thought was, “Oh, cool! I’ve finally seen a wild cougar!” I tried to look big (as all the experts recommend). I was also trying to wriggle my feet out of my toe clips, which I had tightened for my long ride. I didn’t want to bend down and loosen the straps -- because I thought the diminution in size might trigger an attack-- but I wanted to be able to use the bike as a shield if the cougar did attack.

The cougar and I stared at each other – about 40 years apart. After about 3-4 seconds of the stare down, I yelled at the cougar, and he spun around, took one step, leapt over the 20 foot ditch by the side of the road in a graceful arc, and disappeared into the undergrowth in complete silence. It was the one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.

[Paulclem]

Amazing. he biggest thing we see in the UK are foxes, though it has been said that there are big cats roaming around that were released when they got too big.

Tyler Farrar won the 2nd 4th July Tour De France stage yesterday.

[Ecurb]

I've been an outdoorsman all my life (and I'm getting old). I've also lived in Oregon for 25 years -- but I'd never seen a cougar in the wild before. I did hear a lot of shooting in the hills just before spotting the cat -- probably people honoring Independence Day by exercising their Second Amendment rights, and following the tradition of creating loud explosions. I'm guessing the shooting bothered the normally nocturnal cougar (just as firecrackers scare dogs), and that's why he was wandering about in the middle of the day.

By the way, I also saw a tiger in the wild, when I visited India a couple of years back. That was from the back of a land rover with other tourists, driving through a national park, so it was a bit more expected. I've now seen every big land mammal in North America in the wild -- except Polar Bears (I haven't seen a jaguar, but they're very rare north of the Mexican border, so that doesn't count).

[OrphanPip]

The only large animals I've seen in the wild are coyotes and black bears.

As to polar bears, when my father lived in Churchill, Manitoba they used to come right into the town. They regularly have to tranquilize and remove them.

(well I've seen deers too)

[Ecurb]

Tyler Farrar rules! He quit training altogether for a couple of weeks after his best friend died in the Giro. I didn't see the stage -- what happened to Cavendish?

My quick list of North American wild mammals: Moose, deer (several species), Elk, Bison, Black bears, Grizzly Bears, Wolves, coyotes, Bighorn, Dall and Stone Sheep, peccaries, pronghorn antelope, Mountain goats -- and now a cougar. I had seen either a Lynx or a Bobcat before (I wasn't sure which). I'm probably missing some.

[Paulclem]

Tyler Farrar rules! He quit training altogether for a couple of weeks after his best friend died in the Giro. I didn't see the stage -- what happened to Cavendish?

My quick list of North American wild mammals: Moose, deer (several species), Elk, Bison, Black bears, Grizzly Bears, Wolves, coyotes, Bighorn, Dall and Stone Sheep, peccaries, pronghorn antelope, Mountain goats -- and now a cougar. I had seen either a Lynx or a Bobcat before (I wasn't sure which). I'm probably missing some.

The team played a blinder for Cavendish, but he got mixed in on one of the last corners and couldn't break through. He was 5th. The Garmin team were great for Farrar. They took him virtually to the finish line.

I've seen a weasel.

[Ecurb]

The biggest weasel in North America is probably the Wolverine (which I've never seen) or the Badger (which I have). I've seen a variety of smaller weasels. I was thinking they're all too small to count.

[OrphanPip]

I live near a river with a large park around it, so skunks are a constant pest, they ruin lawns like you wouldn't believe. They also had to put mesh around the bottom of the trees because of the beavers.

[Emil Miller]

I went for a long bike ride on the 4th (in honor of the Tour de France, although the ride was long for me, not for tour riders – 70 miles over some fairly big hills). On my way home, about 20 miles from Eugene, a big male cougar appeared in the road in front of me, no more than 50 yards away. I braked to a halt. The cougar stopped in the middle of the road, staring at me. My first thought was, “Oh, cool! I’ve finally seen a wild cougar!” I tried to look big (as all the experts recommend). I was also trying to wriggle my feet out of my toe clips, which I had tightened for my long ride. I didn’t want to bend down and loosen the straps -- because I thought the diminution in size might trigger an attack-- but I wanted to be able to use the bike as a shield if the cougar did attack.

The cougar and I stared at each other – about 40 years apart. After about 3-4 seconds of the stare down, I yelled at the cougar, and he spun around, took one step, leapt over the 20 foot ditch by the side of the road in a graceful arc, and disappeared into the undergrowth in complete silence. It was the one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen.

It seems you had a lucky escape. Here in the UK we don't have many large species of mammal in the wild, although I have seen a large stag break from a forest into the open. However, there is the phenomenon of large cats that have been sighted across the UK over many years and although many of them are probably hoaxes, some of the evidence seems incontrovertible.

http://youtu.be/xZ6lAXIFN30

[TheFifthElement]

I've seen a hedgehog :D

[YesNo]

I once was driving down a paved country road in Maine (USA) in a small two-door Ford when a moose came out of the field and started trotting in front of me in the same lane I was in. It was going slower than I was and I briefly wondered if I should pass it, but since I could see it was bigger than I was in the car, I just let it pace me. Who needs to be in a hurry when there's a moose in your lane?

[OrphanPip]

I once was driving down a paved country road in Maine (USA) in a small two-door Ford when a moose came out of the field and started trotting in front of me in the same lane I was in. It was going slower than I was and I briefly wondered if I should pass it, but since I could see it was bigger than I was in the car, I just let it pace me. Who needs to be in a hurry when there's a moose in your lane?

Have you ever seen someone's car after they hit a moose? You did the right thing haha. They say it is safer to plow right through small animals, but a moose will stop a car in its tracks, you might as well be driving into a brick wall.

[kasie]

That was a wonderfull description, Ecub - I felt I was right there with you. Well, not on a bicycle perhaps, it's a good many years since I rode a bike, though they say you never forget...

We were on holiday in Scotland a few years back and had stopped for a meal at a very out-of-the way pub: we decided to take the 'scenic route' back to the cottage we were staying in and set off in the 'gloaming' (as they say in those parts) along a road that was not only only unnumbered but little more than a squiggly line on the map. We had just passed a very remote farm when a very large tabby cat sauntered across the road in front of us. Fortunately I was going very slowly as it was a very narrow lane but the mog took its time, even stopped to glare at us as if it were demanding what we thought we were doing there. I was just thinking to myself, 'My, they breed 'em big in these parts' when my husband breathed, 'Do you see what that is?' 'A cat?' I ventured. 'A wild cat,' he said, his eyes fixed on it. 'No, I said, 'can't be - they're only in the wilds of Scotland...' 'Where d'you think you are now, for goodness' sake?' he snapped as the animal disappeared. And where was the camera? In the boot, of course.

Not long after we got back, there was a wildlife prog on tv about wild cats and sure enough, there was my 'big grey tabby', ringed tail and all, living on the edge of a remote farm in Scotland not far from where we had been. Seems these bolder ones are inter-breeding with domestic moggies and producing slightly smaller but just as ferocious off-spring.

On the same holiday we saw seals, red deer, a sea eagle, ospreys fishing, golden eagles, a magnificent Golden Pheasant that was probably an escapee, so many salmon it made my fisherman husband weep - moments to treasure.

[Paulclem]

I've seen a hedgehog :D

I've seen a mole too. :lol:

[Vonny]

What a neat sighting Ecurb! I'm really glad you didn't shoot it. I'm sure it was the fireworks that had that cougar running about in the daytime. The 4th of July does traumatize the animals, both wild and domestic.

I've seen most of the North American wild animals on your quick list. I spent the night on a mountain in a truck, and during the night a cougar (mountain lion, as well call it) circled our truck - really, really scary in the moonlight!

I also ride with my brother on a motorcycle, and we've come up on moose and bears at night. It's the greatest feeling (and scariest!) on a summer evening.

And deer come up to my bedroom window. In the winter, I always look out and see their tracks right outside. When I'm out walking, I regularly surprise a doe, and she'll just stop and gaze at me for the longest time. I'm always surprised that she's not already in someone's freezer.

In Idaho the focus is on hunting, of course. You walk into stores, such as Cabela's, and see these animals, that have been shot, stuffed and on display.

I Googled just now, and here is an excerpt of the first thing I came up with: "Winter mountain lion (cougar) hunts offer a great opportunity in the off season for big game hunting. Idaho has a liberal mountain lion season and we hunt from the first of December until the end of March." ... "Idaho is without question one of the premiere hunting states with more mountain lion in the Boone and Crockett record book than any other state. Of the top 20 trophies, 6 were harvested in Idaho."

In Idaho, it's a "rite of passage" for a 12 year-old girl to shoot her first moose. (But then even her mother doesn't know how to cook it, so they order a pizza.)

One of my brothers has been staying in Wyoming on a ranch. The ranch isn't utilized too much for cattle - it's just a huge, very remote, expanse of land that is owned by a multi-millionaire.

My brother noticed after staying there for several weeks that he never heard a coyote (or wolf) howling in the distant hills. You'd think in Wyoming that you'd hear a coyote! Well, the ranchers put out these little devices, which are explosive and contain cyanide. Any predator that approaches that device will get blown up - killed: any ferret, badger, bobcat, coyote.

I've seen a bobcat when I've been out walking - it was just out walking in plain daylight, like myself. It was wonderful and not scary at all, because it was little, and going along minding it's own business. And... I'm not sure if I'm a praying person anymore.

[Delta40]

I was punched by a kangaroo once and an emu made off with my sausage sandwich but I don't think that compares to a cougar somehow. Wild cats are in a class all their own!

[Vonny]

Koalas are so adorable. A couple of years ago when the bad forest fire happened in Australia I saw that burned koala on the news. It was so good that the fireman shared his water with it.

I watched a movie called Alone Across Australia. A guy walked across Australia with only his Jack Russell Terrier. Near the end of the journey the dog ate a poison pellet that had been put out for the wild dogs, (are they called dingos?) It was one of the saddest movies I've ever seen.

There are many cougar/mountain lions where Ecurb lives. They are elusive, but you see their tracks. I saw tracks in Wilderville, just west of Grants Pass.

My brother lived in Central Oregon and I visited him. He had an office that was out of town. One day at dusk his wife came by as we were finishing to leave. She began playing a video game and didn't leave when we did. She insisted that we go on, that she'd come later, and she did that. When we went back to the office the next morning, we saw mountain lion tracks all around the building. Generally, I don't think the mountain lions attack humans, unless people have been interfering with them. People encroach on their habitats. Like the bears - people think they're cute and start feeding them, and then someone gets attacked and the animal must be destroyed.

Several years ago there was a big story in Oregon where a mountain lion was spotted somewhere. All the moms freaked out, afraid their children would be attacked. The moms went out to hunt down that mountain lion. It was like "Mothers Against Drunk Driving" but instead it was Mothers Against the Mountain Lion. I don't know if the moms ever got that one, but I imagine they did.

Here in Idaho the hunters have ways of getting the big game without investing a great deal of time and energy. If they did it the natural way, it would be quite a challenge, especially regarding the mountain lions.

There's no place for me but Western North America. Traveling east from Grants Pass and then up to Central Oregon, through the Cascade range - those trees, some of the tallest in the world, covered with snow - so breathtaking. Oh, the trees of Oregon -- you've got Idaho beat!!

And then Canada, the Canadian Rocky Mountains - so breathtaking. It's amazing the animals you can see in one day. We haven't done it in a while, but we used ride north to Banff and back on the motorcycle. The last time we came back across the border, the border patrol asked us, "Where did you go today?" My brother said, "Banff." The patrol said, "You've already been to Banff and back today?" We said, "Yes!!" And it's great fun.

Anyway, I'm so thankful to have been born when I was and not in a future generation when it will all be gone, most of the animals extinct, and as James Howard Kunstler described in his book, the children will sit around the campfire with wide blinking eyes as the stories of old are told. But I guess that won't happen until they don't have video games to entertain them anymore.

[Emil Miller]

Being hunted by a pack of American moms must have been terrifying for the mountain lion.

[Ecurb]

There have been 14 recorded cases of cougars killing humans in North America since 1970. Five were in British Columbia, 3 California, two Colorado, two New Mexico, and one each in Montana and Alberta, None has taken place in Oregon (although, of course, it could happen). 6/14 vicitms were children. The State estimates that there are 5000 cougars living in Oregon.

About 12 or 15 years ago, Oregon banned hunting cougars with dogs (which is the only way to successfully hunt cougars). The hunting lobbies predicted that this would lead to deadly attacks on humans -- but it hasn't. The reason that cougars are rarely seen is that they are quiet, elusive, and mostly nocturnal. Western Oregon, where I live, is also thickly forested -- so it's tough to spot wildlife from afar.

[Vonny]

Ecurb: "About 12 or 15 years ago, Oregon banned hunting cougars with dogs (which is the only way to successfully hunt cougars)."

That will never happen here! My brother isn't completely opposed to hunting, but the tactics sicken him. My brother has said, "I will die in Oregon."


And I think I forgot to mention Hwy 101! It's so gorgeous. My brother mainly lives on the southern Oregon Coast now. Central Oregon has the skiing though.

When you mentioned before how you enjoy talking to all the immigrant cab drivers about their countries, it's so strange because here their ancestors all came over on the Mayflower, or they claim to anyway. I've traveled quickly through Eugene, such a different world - all of those tattoos and piercings, and weird, weird hair.


Emil, you're like me, you love the cats. I actually love cats more than dogs.

[Ecurb]

I’m not sure that one tactic for hunting is so morally superior to another. I mean, if you are going to shoot and kill an animal, it seems strange to complain that the poor beast has been forced to flee a pack of dogs first. It’s as if someone slugs you in the nose, but you complain because he looked at you in a threatening manner -- as if the threat were worse than the punch. I did vote for banning hunting cougars with dogs, but mainly because I thought we could use a few more cougars, if I was ever going to see one.

In other large predatory animal news, Vonny, a man was just killed by a grizzly in Yellowstone. http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/dispatches/post/2011/07/yellowstone-death-puts-bear-attacks-in-focus/175962/1

[Hurricane]

In other large predatory animal news, Vonny, a man was just killed by a grizzly in Yellowstone. http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/dispatches/post/2011/07/yellowstone-death-puts-bear-attacks-in-focus/175962/1

Oof. That's rough. I can't wait for all the reactionary anti-bear stuff that's probably about to come out in response.
On a semi-related note, when my family visited Yellowstone way back when, my mother bought a book called "Death in Yellowstone." Fascinated, I ended up reading it while we were driving around and after reading all of the stories of people boiling to death in hot springs and geysers, getting horribly mauled by bears, or dying in agony from eating water hemlock spent the rest of the trip terrified of everything (I was eight). I read it again a few years ago and the biggest takeaway was "Wow, people are idiots."

[Vonny]

I agree, people are idiots!

Yes, thank God we still have Yellowstone. I haven't read the article. I usually don't follow links, unless it's to music.

Did you see that movie Grizzly Man about the guy in Alaska who was eaten by the bear? :lol: I did sort of feel sorry for his girlfriend.

Where my brother stays the threat is rattlesnakes. I don't know if the ecology is out of whack or not, but the rattlesnakes are about to carry him off!

It is complicated. I don't think they should re-introduce wolves in an area where there is ranching.

Regarding the mountain lions, it isn't the hounds that bother me, but the "harvesting" of trophies. Seeing those pictures of the proud hunters holding up those dead mountain lions, and seeing the stuffed ones with the glass eyes is awful.

Hunting for meat is probably more humane than eating a hamburger at MacDonald's.

But it's pathetic when they pen up an animal somewhere so a guy can shoot it without even having to go into the woods, so he can pretend that he's a big hunter. And in the woods to see an antelope with its head taken and the rest of the animal left on the ground, it is disturbing.

During hunting season in Western Pennsylvania, the churches put up signs and provide breakfasts to get the hunters going. As the day progresses, successful hunters put their deer in the back of their pickups and drive around town to show it off. We don't have that going on, at least, maybe because this is more of a resort area.

Yellowstone is a wonderful place in Wyoming.

The ranch where my brother has stayed, is routinely dusted to eliminate grasshoppers. The dust causes mutations in the grasshoppers which softens their shells. The ranchers say it's only a grasshopper spray, and isn't harmful to humans. There's a 20 year-old guy who goes to that ranch to hang out, and on the 4th of July one of the planes, without warning, flew over and dusted him! He feels fine now, and hopefully if he has a child someday there won't be any mutations.

We think of ranches in Wyoming but oil and mining are even bigger there.

[Emil Miller]

Ecurb: When you mentioned before how you enjoy talking to all the immigrant cab drivers about their countries, it's so strange because here their ancestors all came over on the Mayflower, or they claim to anyway. I've traveled quickly through Eugene, such a different world - all of those tattoos and piercings, and weird, weird hair.


Emil, you're like me, you love the cats. I actually love cats more than dogs.

Avoid London at all costs if you don't like the denizens of Eugene, because the uglification of a large part of our citizenry is well on its way. Weird hair is certainly to be seen but the tendency is towards shaven skulls and, as for tattoos and piercings, it often feels as though one is walking through a discarded wallpaper and scrap metal yard.
That's where cats score over humans (sub?) because they are born beautiful and stay that way.

[papayahed]

We've been seeing a lot of hogs around here lately, not anywhere near as majestic as a cougar.

A while back one of our operators claimed he saw a panther on our surveillance cameras. He had the whole crew riled up, so the plant manager checked the playback and it turned out to be a cute little black cat with white paws. The poor operator took a lot of heat for that one.

[Vonny]

Emil, I'm always surprised when the veterinarian tells me that my cats are getting old because they never look old! And my cat is indoors always, and she smells good, better than many people.

In Oregon, (though there are many hunters) there are many people who mutilate themselves, for some reason, rather than animals.

We still have a lot of wildlife in America that needs God's blessing.

When I first saw you Ecurb, there was something about your countenance - I thought you were a student, since you're in a college town. And I didn't understand why you were concerned that the quality of your television programming would decline if you copied shows. It's because you're out riding your bike 70 miles in search of one cougar sighting before you die! (so you don't know what's on television and unlike me, you don't have anyone to fill you in.) If you're older and can ride your bike that far, you can't be watching a lot of television, even if you're taping shows to watch later.

The average man in Idaho who sighted a cougar and didn't have his gun within reach to shoot it would be kicking himself a million times. I mean, he would never recover from this loss, and he would be ashamed to mention it in public.

And in Oregon you can see all those gorgeous elk off the side of the road in the middle of the day. Someone said, "They kind of know they are protected." (Well, I saw them quite a few years ago, I hope they're still there.) I know there are some people in Oregon who shoot right from their truck window, even out of season, but not too many.

I don't know why Tiny Tim is in my mind right now saying, "God Bless us, everyone." God blesses the entire world, but in places like England earlier generations chopped down their trees, and so now they have moors - (I think that's how the moors came to be.) But the moors sound very cool. I always liked to imagine the moors, even when I didn't know what they were. Maybe it's because the moors have those elusive werewolves. It's good to know that even as the forests are chopped down, some interesting species are retained.

And wildfire season is upon the West now. Oh God, why all of these fires? It hasn't hit here yet, but I'm sure it will soon.

[Paulclem]

I've seen Water Voles in our brook.

No-one goes out on the moors....alone...

That's because you are likely to be verbally assualted by that most vocal of species The Ramblers.

[papayahed]

That's because you are likely to be verbally assualted by that most vocal of species The Ramblers.

Who?

s5cr

[Vonny]

I've seen Water Voles in our brook.

No-one goes out on the moors....alone...

That's because you are likely to be verbally assualted by that most vocal of species The Ramblers.


I had to Google The Ramblers :lol:

I bypass the news and I don't know what goes on in the world, so I feel very dumb! I can't watch or read very much news, because it makes me way too upset. My brother was hesitant to tell me what's going on on the Wyoming ranch. I didn't even know about the Casey Anthony thing, (was that the name?) Reading Wuthering Heights is better for me.

I have always had such a fascination with the moors! I love to be outside anywhere that is dark and spooky!

And don't get me going on the night sky, which means being far from the city lights! There's some great star-gazing to be done in Oregon's remote Steens Mountain area.

But Idaho has prettier daytime skies, except for this spring which was the gloomiest and most overcast that even the oldest people can recall, (some kind of climate change, I suppose.) Generally in the spring, Idaho often has the lowest, fluffiest, densest clouds imaginable, against a very bright blue sky.

[Paulclem]

Who?

s5cr

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramblers

Our old uncle was a Rambler... in more ways than one.

[JuniperWoolf]

I live near a river with a large park around it, so skunks are a constant pest, they ruin lawns like you wouldn't believe.

The first time I ever smelled skunk was in Ontario on a student exchange trip. For two days I thought that the christian family that I was staying with was smoking weed, until one of the other Grande Cache kids said "dude, I think the cop that I'm staying with is a pothead." Then we figured it out when we all started yelling "woah, me too!"

Anyway, I've seen plenty of grizzly bears and black bears, and I've seen four cougars. Once when I was about six a young cougar wandered into town in the fog and freaked out on mainstreet to find itself suddenly surrounded by cars and people with cameras, my mom brought me out to watch. I've never seen a wolf, but I've seen coyotes and I've seen two bald eagles in the wild and dozens of hawks but as far as "wild" birds are concerned, I like ravens best. They're so smart and creepy with their group behavior.

Lately I've really been wanting to go to Louisiana to see panthers and gators.

[Vonny]

It has never really occurred to me today that there are people currently in the world who don't see wild animals - even a deer. I mean, I know there are people who live in Las Vegas, but still, I guess I've never really thought about it.

I've seen coyotes, and heard them howl at night.

It is common to see bald eagles flying over our lakes. Driving through Idaho back-country at night we always have to watch carefully not to hit a deer or a black bear on the road.

I love wild turkeys. I've heard that they are usually difficult to see, but a flock pranced right around our camp one morning in daylight, completely fearless, and the males were puffing out in their display. The calls they make are so neat.

And then we have huge flocks of Canadian Geese that fly over our lakes, and fly overhead, and it is awesome to see them. I had thought people across the Northern U.S. see these geese.

I saw a possum in Northern Oregon, which scared me, because it looked like a Giant rat.

And then there are raccoon. And millions of squirrels. And wild ducks.

I've seen wild animals that I couldn't identify unless someone told me what it was. I was out at night on a creek in Oregon, and something jumped in the water near me and I was told it was a nutria, which I had never heard of before, but is something like a beaver. There are loads of animals in Alberta Canada, Washington, Idaho, and Montana, but I've seen some weird things in Oregon.

No doubt this thread is giving Ecurb nightmares by now! I'll give up this thread after this post.

I probably shouldn't say this, since there are people living there, but I don't know how anyone could live in a housing project in Chicago, or in Midland, Texas where there is nothing but parched dirt. I could not live. I'm terrified of everything dying. When nature goes, I'm going with it! But I guess so many people just don't care about it.

And then, I also think, God please bless us by not sending any more people here. The population is growing way too much, the traffic getting terrible.

While we're invoking God, I'll also add, please do away with those smelly paper mills in Oregon. And please stop the field burning in Idaho, which chokes everyone to death for several weeks every year. Don't the wealthy people also breathe?

[papayahed]

The first time I ever smelled skunk was in Ontario on a student exchange trip. For two days I thought that the christian family that I was staying with was smoking weed, until one of the other Grande Cache kids said "dude, I think the cop that I'm staying with is a pothead."

Lately I've really been wanting to go to Louisiana to see panthers and gators.

I've seen gators but I haven't seen a panther yet.

Last year we had a huge problem with skunks. I had to get a pest control company out to take care of the problem.

[Basil]

Last year we had a huge problem with skunks. I had to get a pest control company out to take care of the problem.

Hey, that could be your new state motto! Louisiana: Finally Getting Our Skunk Problem Under Control. :)

[OrphanPip]

The first time I ever smelled skunk was in Ontario on a student exchange trip. For two days I thought that the christian family that I was staying with was smoking weed, until one of the other Grande Cache kids said "dude, I think the cop that I'm staying with is a pothead." Then we figured it out when we all started yelling "woah, me too!"


Haha, ya usually when I smell it downtown or around a mall it takes me a few seconds to sort out that it is marijuana and not skunk. But, when the skunk spray is fresh the difference is obvious, it's genuinely difficult to breathe without gagging.

[papayahed]

Hey, that could be your new state motto! Louisiana: Finally Getting Our Skunk Problem Under Control. :)

And some PR firm hasn't snatched you up yet?? :yesnod:


Haha, ya usually when I smell it downtown or around a mall it takes me a few seconds to sort out that it is marijuana and not skunk. But, when the skunk spray is fresh the difference is obvious, it's genuinely difficult to breathe without gagging.

Really? I've never mistaken those two scents. Maybe Canadian skunks stink differently?

[OrphanPip]

More likely your weed is different, probably less thiols.

Edit: Genetics might play a role too, some people perceive the marcaptans in grapefruit as a skunky odor.

[papayahed]

Speaking of skunks, we found a family under a building at work. I'm going in today to meet the trapper.

Did y'all know that perfume companies pay around $45 for the stink gland in skunks.

After the trapper checks the skunk traps he's going to check out my beavers.

[YesNo]

Are the beavers damming up a brook on part of your property? I know that must destroy the trees.

My worst experience with a skunk was when a dog I had got sprayed and brought the scent all too close. It can be strong enough to make you not want to take another breath of air. Of course, it might have been a powerful skunk.

[papayahed]

Are the beavers damming up a brook on part of your property? I know that must destroy the trees.

My worst experience with a skunk was when a dog I had got sprayed and brought the scent all too close. It can be strong enough to make you not want to take another breath of air. Of course, it might have been a powerful skunk.

Yes, there's a pretty big dam on one side and a beaver house on the other side. The water level is very low right now so this is the best time to get in there and get them gone.