When Animals Commit B&E
on 06/24/2010 at 03:29 PM
Those Marlin guide guns are like a portable howitzer with that 45/70 ammo. However I think a 12ga would be easier to use at close range with 00 buckshot!
I have awakened to a black bear on the front steps (hey I was a kid and it was in rural Montana) - a big, good dog does the trick. But also to keep bears, raccoons and the mice/rat vermin away - use plastic bags for your garbage, keep compost piles away from the house and don’t throw bread etc out for birds and put your garbage (bagged) into a solid can with a lid (also does wonders for loose dogs). Now for squirrels - a loaded gun is the only answer. At least with a big, good dog - you might keep them just dashing through your yard, but never gone for good.
We bagged the first ground hog of the season - now we seem to be plagued by a persistent rabbit - if we trap this it might become dinner.
It all depends how far back you take the cycle OldCat. 50 years ago there wasn’t a bear in the whole state. 100 years ago there were only a few. So these recent bears are new to the area. And as your link shows, they learn new patterns of behavior easily. Once tasted, homes become a tasty buffet to them.
When I was a kid growing up in southern NY, not only were there no deer, it was an event when you saw Canada Geese fly over. Now the deer and geese are like cockroaches. Heck, the Lesser Canada has taken over, doesn’t migrate, and has killed most of the lakes and ponds around the tri-state area from excessive levels of goose poop.
It’s not a matter of habitat encroachment. It’s the animals adapting, and finding out that suburbia is just as great for them as it is for the people. And without significant hunting pressure the prey species will increase their numbers until they destroy the environment. That’s a wildlife management fact that the Bambi lovers just can’t face.
06/24/2010 at 04:56 PM
