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Old May 18, 2000, 10:30 AM   #1
Long Path
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Join Date: May 31, 1999
Location: N. Texas
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Okay, okay, this is one that REALLLLLLY belongs in General Discussion, but it also, sorta, kinda, ALMOST fits in Hunting. And really-- which needs more pertanent posts: Gen. Discussion, or Hunting?

So here goes:

I heard this report on National Public Radio's All Things Considered yesterday afternoon, and it made me laugh so hard, I almost drove off the road. Follow this link, and click on
"Texas Census", about halfway down. It's a 4 minute RealAudio story about the dangers of pet javelinas to census takers in SW Texas. I ran the 28.8 Kbaud version just great on my 56k modem.

I was going to just send an email to Art Eatman to ask about the incident. We've all heard yahoos exagerate how a javelina can charge, but this is one of the first confirmed tales I've ever heard. Art, you know Kate Davis from the Hungry Javelina, right? How bout the pistol-totin' EMT? (Brewster Co. is one of the cooler places in these United States...)

Regards and enjoy,

Matt.


[This message has been edited by Long Path (edited May 18, 2000).]
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Old May 18, 2000, 10:59 AM   #2
DC
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Absolutely priceless!!!
Many thanks Matt.


And then the guy wants to BBQ it...can you imagine the psychic horror the census woman felt when she heard that??!!

I'm still giggling

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"Quis custodiet ipsos custodes" RKBA!

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Old May 19, 2000, 12:24 PM   #3
Coinneach
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Now, now... just imagine the look on the poor little census worker's face when an enraged pig chased her down... the terror she must have felt as The Pig Of The Baskervilles closed in, jaws champing and foam flying... can we please show a bit of res... respe...

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!!!
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Old May 19, 2000, 02:16 PM   #4
DC
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I've been giggling for 2 days.

Imagine the mind of this city girl and this Kafkaesque theater. Attacked by the ugliest pig ever seen in nature, knowing that if he got her down he'd eat her. He rescuer rides in, pulls out a gun and shoots the enraged monster. Then the owner comes home and wants to BBQ the thing. The universal themes of violence and eating...ala Federale meets West Texas. Jerry Jeff could write a fine tune with the saga. This appeals to me on a primal level. "Oh, the horror"

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Old May 19, 2000, 02:33 PM   #5
Long Path
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My only nit-pick with the deal was that they several times called it a "pig." From Art or DC, I don't mind, because I can hear the quotation marks. But National Psocialist Radio should know better than to misstate the taxonomy for the Philistines: A Javelina is properly a Pecary (collared pecary, actually), which, though also a swine, is not a pig. Dunno why that bugs me. Locals call 'em pigs, but then most locals know they're not precisely pig, either....

Typically, true pigs are much more aggressive than Javelina.

+++++++

Just listened to it again. Listening to Kate Davis laughing as she details the ambulance extrication to Alpine of both the wounded lady and the dead javelina just makes me chuckle all over again!
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Old May 23, 2000, 10:20 AM   #6
Long Path
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BTT, for the Texicans...
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Old May 23, 2000, 05:05 PM   #7
Art Eatman
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I couldn't get the audio to "do its thing", so I'll tell it as local gossip had it. The medic, Jeff, is a neighbor of mine. This time, he hit what he was shooting at. A couple of years back, his wife stepped out the front door and killed a mountain lion with her .38 snubby; a mama lion and two half-grown cubs were after her dog. Jeff got home to find a nice fresh lion skin all stretched out. The next morning during a return visit from mama lion and the remaining cub, Jeff missed a lot of shots with his Mini 14.

I feel sorry for the Census Lady. They sent her from El Paso, in a 2WD car. She's supposed to hunt for folks on several hundred miles of jeep trail? (Terlingua Ranch has 1,100 miles of "roads" which are sometimes graded. Probably 100 or more of the residents are 15 to 20 miles from any pavement.)

The Census Lady pulled up to the house, hopped out, headed for the porch, and here came Piggy! Munch! on her knee, as I heard it. She got into the house through the unlocked front door, slamming it in Pigelina's face. She called 911. They explained the deal to the medics, and Jeff grabbed a pistol along with his kit. He got to the scene of the bite; Piggy was still hostile; end of Piggy.

Why in hell they worried about rabies is beyond me, but I guess city folks think that way. Wuz I the owner, I'd have griped about theft of personal property if they wouldn't have given him back. Javelinas are tasty little critters. Smelly, though, until gutted and skinned...

There's a reason for honking the horn when you pull up to somebody's house in a rural area. Jumping out, willy-nilly, can get a leg bit off--by dog or hog. Shame on ya! If nobody responds to the horn, go the heck away! If folks wanted a bunch of visitors, they'd have stayed in Dallas or Houston!

Anyway, javelinas make good pets. Just remember, they're territorial...

, Art
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Old May 24, 2000, 07:32 PM   #8
ckurts
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When I was studying geology at Sul Ross you were guaranteed to be overrun by rattlers if went out in the field with me or javelina if you went with a certain pal of mine. (It was a horror movie when we went out together) We spent most of our field time in north Brewster and south Pecos, in the Glass Mountains which are a rain forest compared to south Brewster- they must get 8 or 9 inches a year. My buddy claims to have spent a half day in a mesquite tree avoiding a pack of the brushy haired little monsters.

As a far as the NPR description of south Brewster, what can you say about a place where folks expect the 1st 100+ degree day of the year to take place in early February?

I've had barbacoa javelina. The first (only) time I cleaned one I took about 5 lbs of meat off a critter that weighed 45-50 lbs gutted. I can promise you, unless it is pressure cooked for about 30 minutes or simmered for about 9 hours before putting it on the grill, it's just about impossible to chew. I guess that's what you can expect from something that eats scorpions and lechuguilla itself.
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Old May 24, 2000, 10:14 PM   #9
Art Eatman
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ckurts: Don't you know to shoot shoats? Leave the mommas and papas alone! I guess I shot around a dozen of the little grabbers during my Uvalde-lease years. Barbecuing those little hams--tender, with a delicate flavor!

I haven't bothered them much, down in the Solitario country. I've taken a couple, and they were tasty...

Well, I'll be back there in about a week, and have some work to do on the hunt camp. But all work and no play...You know how it goes. Coyote and javelina hunting helps avoid boredom, right?

, Art
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