Re: The joy of actual numbers, was Democracy

On 10/11/2024 21:17, D wrote:

  On Sun, 10 Nov 2024, rbowman wrote:
 

On Sun, 10 Nov 2024 11:18:57 +0100, D wrote:
>

If I moved there I sure would need a .357 Magnum do defend myself if
those cats are loose! I'd better practice my quick draw!

>
I've had several encounters with cats without bloodshed. They have a
profile for prey and I don't fit it. Mountain bikers and joggers fit the
fleeing prey envelope rather well. Small children are vulnerable. The last
fatality in this state was in 1989, a 5 year old riding a tricycle.
>
Not to anthropomorphize but in my encounters we made eye contact and
eventually went our separate ways. My feeling was the cat was curious
about this thing standing its ground and concluded it was another apex
predator best left alone.

 Wow! The only thing I remember having heard or read is, if meet bear, then try to appear huge and make some noise. Maybe it works on cats as well?
 I guess if you turn and run that might activate the hunting instinct in cats?
 

When there are too many around there's a hunting season. Most hunt them
with dogs. It's a balancing act. Reduce the cat population too much and
you wind up knee deep in elk.

 Mmmm... nice meat!
 

I sometimes carry a .357 when I'm in known grizzly territory although it's
too light. The preferred weapon is a pump shotgun loaded with alternate
slug and buckshot rounds. afaik I've only encountered one grizzly and I
retreated with no problem. Many trailheads have signs describing
identifying grizzly versus black bears but many people assume a brown bear
is a grizzly but black bears come in a variety of shades.

 

Most wild animals - and domesticated ones - will only attack if they feel threatened, or they are very hungry.
Why risk injury otherwise?
Making yourself look scarier than you are works for hungry animals, but not for those that already feel threatened.
Bill Bryson's 'a walk in the woods' concludes a chapter on how to deal with bears with
'Mostly bears don't attack. Sometimes they do'.
--
     “I know that most men, including those at ease with problems of the greatest complexity, can seldom accept even the simplest and most obvious truth if it be such as would oblige them to admit the falsity of conclusions which they have delighted in explaining to colleagues, which they have proudly taught to others, and which they have woven, thread by thread, into the fabric of their lives.”
     ― Leo Tolstoy