A Reminder Not to Handle Dead Animals
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Hey guys –
I once found a dead beaver on the banks of the Little Red River. It was totally fine, other than being dead. It wasn’t swollen or anything and had most likely only been by the river since the night before, so I decided to try to take a patch of hide home to tie flies with. However, I learned that beaver hide is actually incredibly thick and tough – more than a deer’s, for instance.
This story makes me glad I wasn’t really able to cut into that beaver, because I don’t know why it died. It certainly died of some kind of disease.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/health/2008-10-21-plague-grand-canyon_N.htm
A Grand Canyon Park Ranger who probably should have known better did an autopsy on a cougar he had known for a long time, in his garage. The cougar was carrying pneumonic plague bacillae. The ranger knew he was sick and visited a clinic, but they sent him home with a diagnosis of flu-like symptoms (after all, how many local clinics could reliably diagnose the Black Death in this day and age?)
His death was probably preventable but it certainly was a reminder not to handle dead animals unless you made them that way.
Zach
Just make sure they are totally dead………
You don’t need to wear camo to sneak up on road kill. 🙂
Interesting link Zach.
So sad 🙁
I’m glad to say I’ve never handled a dead animal for just this reason.
Unless you know why its dead and its probably not dead of old age, its not worth the risk.my advisor at college had an article about a nyc couple vacationing in new mexico
the husband found a dead ground squirrel on a hike, picked it up, and threw it at his wife
it was fresh enough that fleas were still on it and they got on her, bit her, and she got the plague
makes me re think roadkill as free tying material, after all the dr bills, if i get sick, it won’t be free anymore
Mmm. Elk. What is elk meat called? Deer = venison. What’s the elk equivalent? Or was it not on Norman tables enough to give us a frenchy food name?
Also, is this the illustrious Lando showing his face without the swirly, or is this a buddy? I see a Helios hat.
Zach
Zach Elk meat is simply called Elk. It needs no other name as it is tasty enough on its own. And yes that is the man we all know as Lando in the photo. I must say that camo really works well on him.
I see a Helios hat.
Zach
It was free and green…………….
I was a little pissed. My pack board popped a rivet and I had to haul that hind quarter over two miles on my back………….and it wasn’t even my elk!
BTW-I just call elk “delicious.”
I see a Helios hat.
Zach
It was free and green…………….
I was a little pissed. My pack board popped a rivet and I had to haul that hind quarter over two miles on my back………….and it wasn’t even my elk!
BTW-I just call elk “delicious.”
Lando when ever I do that for my buddies I ALWAYS get half of the back straps! I sure hope you worked that out before you started hauling that beast out!
Delicious indeed!
Joel
I watched Survivor Man the other day. He mentioned that plague is still a problem in much of the desert of southwest, and I was surprised by that. But for a wildlife guy to die from it, WOW, that is amazing!
Another one to watch out for in the Southwest is Hantavirus:
http://cdc.gov/ncidod/diseases/hanta/hps/
It’s a hemorrhagic fever like Ebola (though not as virulent) that killed a bunch of US soldiers in the Korean War.
Lando when ever I do that for my buddies I ALWAYS get half of the back straps! I sure hope you worked that out before you started hauling that beast out!
Delicious indeed!
Joel
Together, we have three more elk to drop and pack out………I will get plenty of meat.
This thread reminds me of a conversation I had with a native Alaskan a few summers ago. She said that when Alaskan men are searching for a prospective wife……….THE most important attribute the woman must have is her ability “….to carry her share of the moose!”
When I was doing archeology I worked with a zooarchaeologist who liked to pick dead animals. We would put them in the back of the truck then she would take them home and bury them in what I remember to be fire ant piles maybe not. Anyway some time later she would dig up the nicely cleaned bones, label, and store them. When we would find a bone on a site she would pull out her collection for comparison.
Fun stuff
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