Implications of Apparent Consistency of Evidence

[ShadowBorn]

On ‎4‎/‎25‎/‎2019 at 4:45 PM, SWWASAS said:

You are new and don't really know my story that well.    Like you I figured they would get used to me, trust me,   and hoped they would show themselves.  I had what I think was a juvenile throwing stuff at me, one left a glyph on a stump,  and things were sort of friendly but I think I got to be a pest for them because I was there several times a week.      When they did not voluntarily show themselves,  I tried to get one to break cover to see it and got growled at.    After that, things got unfriendly, the pranks stopped,  and I got hit with a dose of infrasound.    Shortly after that,  they moved out of the area which was being clear cut logged.   I do not know if it was the stress of having their area logged, or me disrupting their life,   but they let me know they were not happy with me. 

I never could get it why we always had to have to hunt them at night.  This was never necessary since they hunt through out the day. But their best times in my opinion was when deer were on the move and they would be in those good spots just like bow hunters. their night time movement I think is just their way of not being seen. But day they are just as active in day time as night time . I do know that at night they do use trails or places of that have the least resistance which makes it easier for them to move at night.  I have found prints on trails of juveniles in the night in the middle of winter with a big heel to heel spread bare footed.  During my hunting scouting I have been growled at in some good prime deer area where I have come home sick. Have gone back to the area of where I was growled at and have found the spot where the creature was crouching down waiting to ambush deer. 

 

The growling came from me disturbing their hunting of a bottle neck where deer were strolling to their bedding..I had no idea  that the creature was on a ledge of a hill where it was crouch down . When we went back to investigate where I was growled at we learned how  these creatures were ambushing deer as they were leaving their bedding. It was the perfect place to ambush a deer and the deer did not have a chance. If it wanted a human like me It could have just taken me out and no one would have known. Instead it warned me and I listen to it's warning while I still payed a price for that warning. So now when I in valleys where there are ridges around me I look hard up around me. I look hard up on those ridges when I am in those valleys when I see a lot of deer tracks  on the ground.  That for me is my warning to start climbing on top of the ridge and start looking down or just sit down and start scoping. 

[SWWASAS]

 

16 hours ago, BobbyO said:

 

That’s interesting and something I’ve never heard anyway say before SWWA.

 

Care to elaborate a little ?

I really do not like driving at night anymore because as I age my eyes are starting to develop cataracts.   My night vision is getting worse.      I have fastidiously worn sunglasses all my life.    I would imagine if a BF gets anywhere near my age that it's eyesight, totally unprotected its whole life, would have degraded   If they run into a tree branch it can poke their eye out too.    Why would we imagine that they prefer to move around at night?    I think they only do so to avoid us.   

[norseman]

18 minutes ago, SWWASAS said:

 

I really do not like driving at night anymore because as I age my eyes are starting to develop cataracts.   My night vision is getting worse.      I have fastidiously worn sunglasses all my life.    I would imagine if a BF gets anywhere near my age that it's eyesight, totally unprotected its whole life, would have degraded   If they run into a tree branch it can poke their eye out too.    Why would we imagine that they prefer to move around at night?    I think they only do so to avoid us.   

 

Great apes have great color vision and just so so night vision. But the eye can be trained to be better. Especially with ambient light like the moon and stars. 

[Huntster]

24 minutes ago, SWWASAS said:

............ Why would we imagine that they prefer to move around at night?    I think they only do so to avoid us.   

 

Heat. They're built with fat and fur between their muscle and the elements. Like all larger mammals in temperate to sub-arctic environments, they bed down in shade during the daytime, and mostly move around during cooler hours. 

[SWWASAS]

I have head them moving around in the summer,    and darn near got run over by one on a warm day  in July  just before noon so know they move around in dayllight hours.    You should have heard it coming!     They might avoid the heat of the afternoon but I think tagging them as primarily nocturnal is a myth propagated by the BFRO.    Certainly introducing 30 people into an area for a BFRO expedition would force them to move around at night.  

[Huntster]

1 hour ago, SWWASAS said:

.........They might avoid the heat of the afternoon but I think tagging them as primarily nocturnal is a myth propagated by the BFRO..........

 

I don't consider them nocturnal. I'm confident they are crepuscular, like nearly all other larger mammals in North America.

[hiflier]

2 hours ago, SWWASAS said:

I really do not like driving at night anymore because as I age my eyes are starting to develop cataracts.   My night vision is getting worse.

 

My vision was like yours. The glare from headlights on a rainy night while driving was the worst- and the most dangerous! I finally had both cataracts remover over the course of two years. Today my eyesight is 20/20 without glasses, unlimited and sharp as a tack. I no longer worry about night driving. I still use cheaters to read or look at anything closer that a foot or so but beyond that my eyesight is the best it has been for years.

[SWWASAS]

19 minutes ago, Huntster said:

 

I don't consider them nocturnal. I'm confident they are crepuscular, like nearly all other larger mammals in North America.

You are probably correct.    The three that nearly ran over me were going up stream on a creek that flows year round.    I have wondered if they had a swimming hole that they were headed to to cool off when they nearly ran over me.    They have to be hot on a warm day in July all hairy/furry like that.   

[Huntster]

On warm summer days, moose in Southcentral Alaska tend to be at higher elevations (3,000' - 5,000') and will feed in ponds on the vegetation on the bottom. They can do this during the heat of the hottest days, and in direct sunlight, because the water is cold, and the higher elevations mitigate the heat. In the coolness of the evenings and mornings, they'll exit the water and feed on willow twigs. After they dunk their heads for a mouthful of the vegetation, they put their ears in that position to drain them of water as they chew. Water is also excellent escape terrain from bears and wolves. If either go out in the water after a moose, they will likely be stomped to death. They'll be swimming in water that only comes up to the belly of the long legged moose.

 

Creek bottoms provide coolness during the heat of the day. They are where bears bed down for the day after fishing in the morning and evening, and even night time. Walking creeks during the daytime used to be pretty spooky stuff for me. It was quite possible to literally walk right up on several hundred pounds of slumbering bear in the tall grass. Or, in my younger days, snagging salmon in creeks at night, I'd hear bears fishing or retreating into the woods upon our approach, and not see them in the dark. Scary. It's still possible for bear encounters in the Kenai River area, but not so much around the east side of the Susitna River anymore. People have shot the bears back pretty well here.

 

I've kicked up more moose in meadows than bears on creeks primarily because I'm really particular on where I salmon fish now. Seeing what a bear can do to a man's head is pretty sobering stuff.

 

When I road hunted with my father-in-law, we'd go out in the evening as it got dark........we were too lazy to get up early in the morning. We got several moose that way.

 

 

[BobbyO]

16 hours ago, Huntster said:

 

I don't consider them nocturnal. I'm confident they are crepuscular, like nearly all other larger mammals in North America.

 

Me too..

[norseman]

3 hours ago, BobbyO said:

 

Me too..

 

I dont, other than the fact that the animals they hunt are dawn and dusk browsers.

 

I dont think you can categorize them that way. They are intelligent opportunists. They follow the same risk vs reward ratio as any other hominid species.

 

And we have too many reports of them active at night to ignore. 

 

They will adopt whatever strategy best suits their needs at any given time. And do not follow any set schedule. 

 

Its unfortunate. If they followed a set schedule like a Moose or Elk? They would be much easier to kill.

[SWWASAS]

Well could it be they do have schedule behaviors that we have not deciphered yet?    It could be tied into deer and elk behavior and movement.   Maybe someone should find an elk herd and just stay with it a few weeks?    Do you elk hunters know if that is possible?     How about tranquilizing an elk and mounting a remote controlled camera on its back?  

Edited April 28, 2019 by SWWASAS

[norseman]

1 hour ago, SWWASAS said:

Well could it be they do have schedule behaviors that we have not deciphered yet?    It could be tied into deer and elk behavior and movement.   Maybe someone should find an elk herd and just stay with it a few weeks?    Do you elk hunters know if that is possible?     How about tranquilizing an elk and mounting a remote controlled camera on its back?  

 

Fish and game would really frown on that. And as a big game hunter I’ve never seen one. Dunno.

 

Every game species presents a unique set of challenges from Ducks to Moose to Bear and everything in between. Plus they are utilizing non game species as well I believe. Like moving rocks to get at Marmots or climbing a tree to steal bird eggs. Or for that matter breaking into a chicken coop at 2 in the morning.

 

Food enticement like a omnivore bear..... but with calculation, cunning and caution. It’s kinda creepy.

[Huntster]

2 hours ago, norseman said:

..........we have too many reports of them active at night to ignore..........

 

Crepuscular habits do not eliminate or even limit night time activity, just like my moose example above (pond feeding) doesn't eliminate daytime feeding or activity:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crepuscular_animal

 

Crepuscular animals are those that are active primarily during twilight (that is, the periods of dawn and dusk).[1] This is distinguished from diurnal and nocturnal behavior, where an animal is active during the hours of daylight or the hours of darkness, respectively. The term is not precise, however, as some crepuscular animals may also be active on a moonlit night or during an overcast day. The term matutinal is used for animals that are active only before sunrise, and vespertine for those active only after sunset.

The time of day an animal is active depends on a number of factors. Predators need to link their activities to times of day at which their prey is available, and prey try to avoid the times when their principal predators are at large. The temperature at midday may be too high or at night too low.[2] Some creatures may adjust their activities depending on local competition. Therefore, for many varied reasons, crepuscular activity may best meet an animal's requirements by compromise...........

[Huntster]

43 minutes ago, norseman said:

Fish and game would really frown on that. And as a big game hunter I’ve never seen one.........

 

ADFG has been using go-pro type cameras with satellite links on bears fir the past dozen years or so studying their movements and habits. It has been quite entertaining. They have even provided links for the public to enjoy. The camera is mounted around the neck under the throat, and you can see the bear's chinny-chin-chin as he lumbers about.

 

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm%3Fadfg%3Dwildlifenews.view_article%26articles_id%3D45

 

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm%3Fadfg%3Dwildlifenews.view_article%26articles_id%3D539

 

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=pressreleases.pr01092012

 

The first generation of such devices were satellite senders, and didn't incorporate cameras. Biologists learned lots about their movements, and there were lots of surprises. The cameras brought even more surprises, mostly about bear-on-bear behaviors.

 

Before using such devices on bears they were using them on caribou to track migration routes and timing. This started as soon as ADFG had access to satellites, sometime after the Trans-Alaska Pipeline was built, but primarily to study caribou behavior and movements as the oil industry and environmental industry fought over control of the Arctic coastal plain. The bottom line was that the oil industry, as it is currently regulated, has had no significant impact on either caribou movements or calving locations...........but hunting and tourist pressure has, at least as much as regulated oil production. 

 

As a hunter, learning about caribou movements, even in a herd I don't hunt, has been very helpful. I've been reading and paying attention.