The Polish government pays compensation for livestock killed by wolves. Mysłajek advises farmers on erecting electric fences. He has helped revive the use of two deterrents that, for reasons no one quite understands, wolves find particularly scary: red bunting (hung around sheep pens) and the bark of the fluffy white Tatra mountain sheepdog.
Shepherds spend a few centuries breeding dogs from those which scare wolves. Wolves are scared of dogs which have been bred to scare wolves.
Blimey, you might even think there’s something to this evolution shit.
He has helped revive the use of two deterrents that, for reasons no one quite understands, wolves find particularly scary: red bunting
The wolves are clearly scared sh!tless Jeremy Corbyn has come campaigning.
This isn’t evolution, it’s adaptation or variation within a kind. Macro-evolution whereby one kind of animal turns into another is a big lie.
And the fear of red bunting is because they’ve all seen ‘The Villiage’..?
Sighs. Evolution isn’t limited to variations which prevent inter-breeding but, if that’s how you choose to define it, I suggest you look up “ring species”.
Of course, given that most mutations are neutral or bad, a single generation jump that you deny is, well, easily deniable. Not impossible but extremely unlikely (for near physics numbers of “extremely”.)
I note, in passing, that many of our more religiously fundamentalist compatriots (both online and in the real world) manage to deny “evolution” or, even “evilution” by first defining it as something hideously distinct from even Darwin’s definition, never mind the current use of the term in academic circles.
I had a “meeting” with three of the Italian equivalent of those mountain dogs, when out for a walk in the country.
I am used to dogs, but it took every ounce of personality to convince the dogs not to bother with me. Later, the shepherd introduced me to them, so hopefully no more problems.
Yes, wolves are what they were bred to deal with, though now most of the wolves keep to the high mountains.
A few years ago about this time, we had some hard, deep, freezing snow. I thought I was back in Scotland. The wolves were driven down from the high tops, and lay around the fringes of the farms, where the farmers put out food for them.
A sudden rise in temperatures, and the wolves followed the snowline back up the hills.
To Surreptitious Evil: The normal meaning of Darwinian evolution is that a single cell became a human being via fish, worms, amphibians, reptiles, birds and monkeys. That is a complete lie and has nothing to do with ‘ring species’.
Dogs and wolves see mostly in black and white, so the colour of the bunting doesn’t matter. Perhaps it’s the rustling of the wind?
@Craig, I think you have just made SE’s point. Your view of Darwinian evolution is so far our there if you think it means humans evolved from birds etc
If humans did not evolve, how did we get here Craig?
@Ian B
A big god did it and then ran away.
Craig. Please stop.
“The Polish government pays compensation for livestock killed by wolves. Mysłajek advises farmers on erecting electric fences.”
Why bother with the cost of fencing if the government pays compo?
Because the government, sensibly, pays a reasonable amount (ie not enough for you to take the risk of being caught shooting them) but not quite enough to compensate you for the full (& opportunity cost) loss?
Sorry, too much for you to take the risk of …
Craig,
If evolution doesn’t happen, why does the flu vaccine change most years?
(Cunning readers will spot the multi-layered trap!)
And you observed the whole (alternate) process, then?
Dcardno,
Of course he didn’t. He’s never claimed to be 6020 years old.
But it’s written in a book that must be believed because it’s a booked edited by divinely inspired committees over 6020 years.
So there. Proof for even the most hardened sceptic.
I didn’t know what a Tatra Mountain sheepdog looked like so I Googled it and now I want one.
Bloke in Costa Rica – “I didn’t know what a Tatra Mountain sheepdog looked like so I Googled it and now I want one.”
You will need to introduce wolves to Costa Rica first.
I like this photo. It will be useful in my re-wilding campaign. Anyone who opposes wolves in the New Forest clearly hates cute little puppies like this one.
You think if I took that photo and asked people to sign a questionnaire supporting re-introductions that would cause farmers to buy more of these adorable little puppies I would be deluged with signatures?
BICR
Some kind of irony prize coming your way. If you want a dog that will shit all over your garden, alienate your neighbours, try and kill every cat and dog in the vicinity, doesn’t like long walks, lazes around in places you trip over, eats you out of house and home… then this is the puppy for you.
How effective are they with squirrels and raccoons?
That’s exactly the kind of dog I want.