Some moose just can't handle Sweden
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halfwise
leelee
PiP
Orwell
Wisey Banks
Mirabella
Kafria
Pettytyrant101
Eldorion
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Re: Some moose just can't handle Sweden
IF they did bring back a marvellous Mammoth, how could we secure its safety ? Elephants have a God awful miserable time now because of their ivory what will become of "Mandy" if it all goes ahead ?
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azriel- Grumpy cat, rub my tummy, hear me purr
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Re: Some moose just can't handle Sweden
I was about to say I'd love to see somebody try to bring down a mammoth, then remembered our ancestors used to do it all the time with nothing but spears. But of course, those were *real* men.
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Halfwise, son of Halfwit. Brother of Nitwit, son of Halfwit. Half brother of Figwit.
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halfwise- Quintessence of Burrahobbitry
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Re: Some moose just can't handle Sweden
Curious you should mention that Halfy. As a matter of fact we have a local mastodon that was hunted and killed 13,800 years ago, and still has a spear point embedded in his back to prove it!
Here's a really good archaeological blog article on it, with lots of juicy speculation among the archaeological community about exactly how to hunt megafauna in the comments below:
https://qmackie.com/2011/10/20/manis-mastodon-a-13800-year-old-archaeological-site/
Here's a really good archaeological blog article on it, with lots of juicy speculation among the archaeological community about exactly how to hunt megafauna in the comments below:
https://qmackie.com/2011/10/20/manis-mastodon-a-13800-year-old-archaeological-site/
Comment:....Another article, which I can only access the first page of, appears to be a survey of such traps throughout Africa. http://www.jstor.org/pss/40446990.
It opens with:
“The trap we are here concerned with is mainly used for elephant and hippopotamus, but even for rhinoceros, buffalo, antelopes and crocodile. The spear employed is suspended from a tree-branch, or, if there is not a suitable one at hand, from a pole or the like fixed up horizontally between two trees in such a way that the spear, weighted with a heavy log, is placed directly above the path by which the quarry is expected to come along. Where no suitable trees are available, it will be necessary to plant an upright post on either side of the game-path, the harpoon then being suspended in the way indicated. The idea is that this is to strike the head or neck of the animal that passes below it and springs the trap, when death soon results. In cases where the spear only strikes the back (the spine expected), it will take some time until there has been sufficient loss of blood to cause the collapse of the animal. This may, however, take place only after a very protracted interval, and then eventually give rise to litigation”
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David H- Horsemaster, Fighting Bears in the Pacific Northwest
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Re: Some moose just can't handle Sweden
How is the trap to be sprung? That's the interesting part to me.
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halfwise- Quintessence of Burrahobbitry
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Re: Some moose just can't handle Sweden
halfwise wrote:How is the trap to be sprung? That's the interesting part to me.
Here's one possibility:
For instance, in his book The power of animals: an ethnography, Brian Morris describes such traps in Malawi:
“Mchera (lao nyemba). This is the falling spear trap … widely used in the past to kill elephant, hyena, hippopotamus and leopard. It consisted of a beam of wood up to two metres long, armed with an iron spike or spear, which was usually poisoned. The beam was suspended in an overhanging position over the animal track, especially near paths leading to watering places. The beam was held by a strong cord over a forked pole, the cord being attached to a trip mechanism at ground level. When released by the passing mammal, the weighted spear forcefully penetrated the animal’s spine. Both Livingstone and Kirk mention that the banks of the Shire River in the middle of the nineteenth century were ‘dotted’ with this kind of trap, especially during the dry season. Elephant and hippopotamus were the main mammals trapped, animals which not only had high value as meat and for their skins and ivory, but tended to create havoc in the dimba gardens of the local people.”
Or you could hide in the bushes and use a pull-cord to release it. These kinds of triggers are still a part of trapping today. Have you ever watched "Happy People: A year in the Taiga" the documentary by Werner Herzog? It's worth a watch, even if you don't have any immediate plans to trap a mastodon.
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