Deadly Aussie Reptiles

Not lethal? In the UK cattle cause about five deaths every year! Not all from bulls, either - a heifer with a calf can be really dangerous.

Lucky you that his Dad wasn’t around… :wink:

Cheers,

Guru

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Maybe that red groundsheet I’ve been using isn’t such a good idea :thinking:

You may have a point there. The object of interest originally was my blue groundsheet/tarp. I folded that up mighty quick and put it out of sight. but those hooves wouldn’t be good for any of my equipment or me, so sitting on the ground with that towering above me was a tad disconcerting.

But most are due to failing to understand cattle. One golden rule is that if have have a dog with you, cattle may attack. Let the dog go, it will survive, then make your own way out of the field. If you hold on to it you may not survive - a most common cause of cattle death is holding on to the dog.

Cows with calves will be challenging but field cattle hate sudden movements and noise. Most British cattle are easily spooked - stamp the ground hard and wave any poles or sticks you may have and they will generally run for it. I have had bulls run away and hide - my daughter couldn’t believe it.

The only cattle you can not scare is a rampant bull after an in season cow. Having been with about 8 others hanging on to a rampant Aberdeen Angus in pursuit of a Friesian cow, even with a firm link to the nose ring, that is a hard job.

There are of course rules about bulls in England and Wales http://www.hse.gov.uk/pubns/ais17ew.pdf and I have made several effective complaints and in one case I am afraid the bull ended up as meat.
Of course my comments are UK specific and I would not make any recommendations elsewhere.
Jim

Sorry, Pedro, but too many people found that picture offensive!

Hi Jim,
Having had some passing association with dairy cattle and the odd bull or two when I was young way back in last century I found the pamphlet fascinating. There are two major differences here in Aus. Firstly all dairy cattle are behind fences and associated bulls normally have the added measure of an electric fence. Works against trespassers as well as the animals. Secondly there aren’t the right of way rules here. More on the basis of trespassers shot then prosecuted.

Beef cattle are sometimes encountered in alpine areas where some farmers have screwed grazing rights out of the government. Provided I’ve looked where I’ve stepped, never had a problem but the one Andrew had is something that could happen regularly on some peaks. Cattle are curious and prepared to try something new to see if it is good to eat or to use to scratch their back.

Don’t get close to the front or rear end of a cow. They can gore you and their kick is worse than that of a mule. Yelling, waving and a smack on the rump with a long stick as a last resort will move them. It’s better to move the mother than the calf if both together, the calf will follow and mother won’t feel she has to deal with you to protect the calf which she might if you chase the calf. Of course cattle don’t always behave rationally so don’t assume this approach will work every time.

Dogs and stock in public areas can be bad news.

Cattle: just another experience in the outdoors.

Can I use the “cow ate my logbook/antenna/feedline” excuse for not uploading my log or completing an activation?

73
Ron
VK3AFW

Rather off topic but if you can get hold of the tail of a cow and lift it away from its rump, the cow becomes unable to kick or indeed do very much at all. In my youth, I would regularly milk a cow by hand, morning and afternoon in the byre. If they were stroppy, I’d grab the tail and force it away from the rump. That made them completely docile.
Jim

Brian

I think censorship is more offensive than a “pega de caras” that is often made in the plain fields of Tejo!

It would be more polite to ask before any deletion tooked place.
I’m I click away from you…

For the record I do not like bullfighting*, from where it seems that you think the photograph was taken from.

73 Pedro, CT1DBS/CU3HF

While hiking JA/HG-252, Takatoryama, we came across this sign.
Apparently these animals are like wild boars and will charge at you. We saw a few signs of their activity according to our JA companion. It seems that they can’t change direction very quickly so if being charged you step to the side.Uploading…

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Not always easy to see either:
http://www.news.com.au/technology/science/animals/can-you-spot-the-venomous-snake-lurking-in-the-leaves/news-story/996cc8b7d32b2c543963f5b0c4b86c72

Omg that’s well hidden. I confess I used the web link to find the snake.

https://www.flyingdoctor.org.au/news/flying-doctor-issues-new-snakebite-advice/

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I just saw this on the spots…

Tue 17:04 	K1JD on W5N/SE-042 	10.111 CW
CANCELLED- rattlesnake bite, at clinic OK (Posted by K1JD )

The full details of what happened to Fred are on the NASOTA Yahoo group. The recommendation is that all activators should be aware of the potential hazards of receiving a snake bite.

I feel that in the UK we are somewhat casual in our attitude to snakes as we only have one poisonous variety, the adder. In over 500 summits and 11+ years of SOTA I have only come across one adder. I almost trod on one when Paul G4MD and I were traversing between summits on the island of Islay. I ask myself what action we would have taken had I been bitten. It looks like being a good time to check this out and have a strategy in place, bearing in mind that there are many places that I go that have no mobile phone coverage.

My best wishes go to Fred for a full and rapid recovery.

73, Gerald G4OIG

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Take a frog with you seems to be one option: National Geographic

Nice activation report and pictures. I didn’t realize they had copperheads in Australia as well. We have a lot of rattlesnakes here in the mid-atlantic and they love to hang out in the rocky summits here. Always exciting to be calling CQ SOTA and wondering if something is going to slither across your lap.

I photographed these two in Devon during a climbing trip down there in the Mid '90’s, first and only time I’ve seen two wild snakes in the UK…

(sorry about the shaky photo)… :wink:

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