Deer aren’t the slim, graceful vegans we thought they were. Scientists using field cameras have caught deer preying on nestling song birds. And it’s not just deer. Herbivores the world over may be supplementing their diets.
When researchers in North Dakota set up “nest cams” over the nests of song birds, they expected to see a lot of nestlings and eggs get taken by ground squirrels, foxes, and badgers. Squirrels hit thirteen nests, but other meat-eaters made a poor showing. Foxes and weasels only took one nest each. Know what fearsome animal out-did either of those two sleek, resourceful predators?
White-tailed deer.
These supposed herbivores placidly ate living nestlings right out of the nest. And if you’re thinking that it must be a mistake, that the deer were chewing their way through some vegetation and happened to get a mouthful of bird, think again. Up in Canada, a group of ornithologists were studying adult birds. In order to examine them closely, the researchers used “mist-nets.” These nets, usually draped between trees, are designed to trap birds or bats gently so they could be collected, studied, and released. When a herd of deer came by, they deer walked up to the struggling birds and ate them alive, right out of the nets.
Nom nom!
Lunchtime.
IIRC it’s for the calcium. Difficult to get otherwise.
they never did this when Bush was president
i blame global warming
Who knew?
Greetings:
Bamboozled, first by Bambi then by Obambi.
the proggtared it hurts
Native Americans Call on Buffalo, New York to Change Its Racist, Insensitive Name
So even dumb animals realize that animal protien is better for you than a vegeterian diet.
gahrie, believe me, I’m not picking on you. It’s just that one indicator of the decline of the USA is evidenced by poor spelling.
Protein, like in the name of the site.
Vegetarian, like in vegetable.
RI Red…
This is a blog. I don’t proofread……
I do — though admittedly I don’t catch everything. I find that maintaining the habit regardless of setting ensures I won’t lapse where I want above all to be taken seriously.
That said, of course the intent of the particular message ultimately dictates how I want it to appear; but that still demands full attention regardless. One simply has more control over how one is received, and will be taken seriously only to the extent one takes the work seriously.
This is a blog.
Therewith making RI’s point for him. For which he may or may not offer you thanks.
Ha! And thanks, gahrie.
On the serious side of things, one of the best things Uncle Sam taught me was attention to detail. If you keep track of the little things, you tend to do the same with the big ones. Yes, prepping for white-glove inspections was a pain, but it made you more likely in the real world to catch a tiny fuel leak in a turbine or a crack in the leading edge of a rotor blade.
Then, of course, law is all about accurate use of language, so I am now helpless to put anything down without re-reading it.
I figure that, if it is important enough for me to communicate, it’s important enough to do it correctly.
[disassemble soap-box]
BTW, sdferr, did you ever take a look at that “Uncivilization” publication?
[…] Protein WisdomThese supposed herbivores placidly ate living nestlings right out of the nest. And if you’re thinking that it must be a mistake, that the deer were chewing their way through some vegetation and happened to get a mouthful of bird, think again. Up in Canada, a group of ornithologists were studying adult birds. In order to examine them closely, the researchers used “mist-nets.” These nets, usually draped between trees, are designed to trap birds or bats gently so they could be collected, studied, and released. When a herd of deer came by, they deer walked up to the struggling birds and ate them alive, right out of the nets.Not everybody does it, but everybody should… […]