The Death of a Shrew

[MineralMan]

No, Sarah Palin didn't die. Sorry for the confusion...

My sweet beagle/basset mix, Dude, was snuffling around in the back yard and, apparently, encountered one of the short-tailed shrews that inhabit our yard and surroundings. He grabbed it, shook it and then carried it over and dropped it at my wife's feet. My wife, who is not used to such behaviors, came into the house to fetch me. The poor shrew had expired, as I had expected, and got a decent burial in the wheelie bin waiting at the curb for the trash pickup today.

My wife was upset by the dog's behavior. I told her that the dog was being a dog and such things are instinctively natural for dogs. It presented the shrew to my wife because he sees her as one of the pack leaders, and such is the courtesy of dogs. It's regrettable that the shrew died, of course, but there are several that I know of in my yard. If they're smart, they'll avoid the area swept by the dog's tether. If they're not, they'll meet the same fate. The dog will not betray his nature, I'm quite sure.

Such is nature. Such is dog behavior. Humans behave differently. We don't snuffle in the grass and then kill the creatures we discover. Instead, we mount armies, go somewhere else, and kill the people we find there who aren't like us. We also tend to kill our neighbors from time to time. We don't bite and shake them, though, and present them to our pack leaders. We tend to shoot them with firearms, and then leave them where they lie.

Dogs like my mixed-breed hound kill shrews, and mice, and even rabbits, if they're lucky enough to find a rabbit. People kill other people. Dogs rarely kill other dogs. Instead they sniff each other's butts and genitals and go about their dogly business.

People often kill other people. It makes one wonder which is the more to be admired.

[Wait Wut]

1. Tell your wife she's lucky.

My old kitty, Py, was a top-notch mouser. He'd leave their little HEADLESS bodies on my pillow while I slept.

I would have much preferred Duke's presentation.

[MineralMan]

2. Yes. We've been the beneficiaries of our cats'

hunting prowess on a number of occasions. My wife doesn't like that, either. I'm not fond of it, myself. My response to small animals is to attempt to get a close look at them and then let them go on their way. I like the shrews, especially, since they appear not to be afraid of humans, and will let me approach closely and follow them around while they search for earthworms and insects. They're easy to study. I don't get too exercised, though, if the dog or the cat follows its instincts. There it is.

[baldguy]

3. My previous dog, Zelda once jumped up and caught robin in mid-flight.

Last edited Mon Jun 3, 2013, 07:28 PM - Edit history (1)

We were visiting my sister & niece at the time, and Zelda had just had a cancerous tumor removed two months before. It wasn't the first time she'd killed anything either. In her time, she'd got a couple rabbits and a squirrel, too. But the bird was the most memorable.

[DreamGypsy]

4. Squirrels (Sciurus griseus) Western Grey squirrels

We have a lot of trees on the property. The squirrels are around all year, but in the Fall when the filbert (hazelnut) trees are dropping, there is frequent traffic in the orchard. The population in our area is quite robust.

Our Husky/German Shepard mix has committed herself to managing the local population. They are fast, but she has learned their moves and can often anticipate when they will abruptly change course as they approach a tree. She gets around 4- 6 a year, but the catch is going down as she gets older.



Our enthusiastic Great Pyrenees tries hard but, as far as I know, has only managed to extract a few tufts of hair on a single occasion.

Dogs are definitely more admirable than people.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

5. Dogs and cats are hunters. They are hard-wired to hunt.

They might not eat their catch (depending on how hungry they are), but the instinct to hunt is always there. Tiny kittens pounce on moving objects because their little brains are telling them this is what they have to do. They have to be taught how to kill and eat what they've caught, but they'll try to hunt as soon as they can walk.

People also hunt other non-human animals in order to eat (at least, that's how hunting started out). They kill other people for reasons relating to territory, power and greed. But so do other animals: Many animals will injure or kill members of their own species that they consider to be competitors for territory, food or mates (food and mates are what drives the need for territory). So in that regard maybe we aren't so different from the lion who takes over a pride, injures or kills the incumbent male, and then kills that male's cubs so he can immediately mate with the pride females and doesn't have to protect some other lion's offspring. What is different is that sometimes people do that sort of thing because they enjoy it. Lions don't wave flags and make speeches when invading new territory; they do it because they have to. We sometimes do it because we like to.

[4_TN_TITANS]

6. Wish I had a dollar for every mole

our cats have killed this year. They also get the occasional bird. I don't like it but it's what they do.

[Buzz Clik]

7. Had a cat so impressed with herself for killing a shrew, ...

... that she decided to take on a groundhog.

Groundhog won in a TKO.

The cat lived but was fairly well mauled.

[MineralMan]

8. I have been building an attractive habitat

for a groundhog/woodchuck behind mr garage. There are a few in the neighborhood, and there is no reason one should not move in. We have already attracted a bunny, who recently presented us with two youngsters.

Squirrels we have aplenty...grays, reds, anda couple of white ones. We are the neighborhood wildlife area.