Posts tagged hunting

“Domestic weasel” [Ferret] - Mustela putorius

Did you know that ferrets were domesticated over 2500 years ago? They were used in ancient Rome to hunt rabbits, moles, and other ground-dwelling animals, and the verb “ferreting” (as in ferreting out) came from their inquisitive and seeking nature.

Throughout the middle ages, they were used by the nobility and the gentry, but their use during the Renaissance decreased. Until the late-20th century, domestic ferrets were on the decline, but in the mid-1980s, their popularity as pets began to boom. Unfortunately, in some countries, such as New Zealand, feral ferret colonies have destroyed indigenous wildlife. In North America and Northern Europe, however, pet ferrets have continued to stay popular, and wild colonies have not been established thus far.

Top Image

Bottom Image

Microhierax latifrons - White-fronted Falconet This tiny member of the Falconidae is a native to the island of Borneo, and is one of the smallest birds-of-prey in the world. The Siamese Rhinoceros Beetle (Xylotrupes gideon) is also native to Borneo, and is one of the largest and heaviest insects extant. Unfortunately, the rhinoceros beetles don’t have the toxins and horrible taste that most of the other tropical insects have, making them the perfect prey for falconets. The Ibis, a quarterly journal of ornithology. Vol. I, 1871.

Microhierax latifrons - White-fronted Falconet

This tiny member of the Falconidae is a native to the island of Borneo, and is one of the smallest birds-of-prey in the world. The Siamese Rhinoceros Beetle (Xylotrupes gideon) is also native to Borneo, and is one of the largest and heaviest insects extant.

Unfortunately, the rhinoceros beetles don’t have the toxins and horrible taste that most of the other tropical insects have, making them the perfect prey for falconets.

The Ibis, a quarterly journal of ornithology. Vol. I, 1871.

Jaguar (Panthera onca) Killing Tapir (Tapirus terrestris) Though the jaguar sometimes uses the deep-bite-and-hold suffocation technique on prey that many other big cats (most notably lions) use, their typical killing method is unique among carnivores. For most animals, jaguars generally pierce directly through the temporal bones of the skull (between the ears) and pierce the brain, killing their target in the same way that they once would have “cracked open” and killed turtles (their primary food source) in the late Pleistocene.  In this illustration, the jaguar is demonstrating its other predation technique, for larger or stronger animals, where it leaps onto the back of the prey, and severs the cervical vertebrae. This technique is often used while killing caimans.  The New Natural History. Richard Lydekker, 1911.

Jaguar (Panthera onca) Killing Tapir (Tapirus terrestris)

Though the jaguar sometimes uses the deep-bite-and-hold suffocation technique on prey that many other big cats (most notably lions) use, their typical killing method is unique among carnivores. For most animals, jaguars generally pierce directly through the temporal bones of the skull (between the ears) and pierce the brain, killing their target in the same way that they once would have “cracked open” and killed turtles (their primary food source) in the late Pleistocene. 

In this illustration, the jaguar is demonstrating its other predation technique, for larger or stronger animals, where it leaps onto the back of the prey, and severs the cervical vertebrae. This technique is often used while killing caimans. 

The New Natural History. Richard Lydekker, 1911.

Nature is brutal. Solitary tiger vs. African elephant! Boa constrictor vs. crocodile! Swordfish vs. everything aquatic! It’s a veritable SPIKE TV show! Hunting Big Game in the Wilds of Africa, Containing the Thrilling Adventures of the Famous Roosevelt Expedition. J. Martin Miller, 1909.

Nature is brutal.

Solitary tiger vs. African elephant!

Boa constrictor vs. crocodile!

Swordfish vs. everything aquatic!

It’s a veritable SPIKE TV show!

Hunting Big Game in the Wilds of Africa, Containing the Thrilling Adventures of the Famous Roosevelt Expedition. J. Martin Miller, 1909.

Was going to post a few black rhinos last night, but looking through all the “expedition”/safari books about wholesale slaughter of them was rather depressing. If you want to learn more about the black rhino, the WWF has a good overview.

Here are some views of the black rhino itself. I don’t have much more to add.

On Safari. Abel Chapman, 1908.

“Desperate encounter with ferocious beasts” I have as much clue what’s going on here as you do. Clearly it involves beating leopards with rifle-butts in an African arena that has transplanted species in it. Hunting Big Game in the Wilds of Africa. J. Martin Miller, 1909.

“Desperate encounter with ferocious beasts”

I have as much clue what’s going on here as you do.

Clearly it involves beating leopards with rifle-butts in an African arena that has transplanted species in it.

Hunting Big Game in the Wilds of Africa. J. Martin Miller, 1909.

The Marmoset “Marmoset tearing pictures of bugs out of a book and eating them.” Marmosets have one of the most primitive brain structures of all the monkeys, and are native to South America. Some tribes of Amazonian natives both consume certain marmoset species for protein, while keeping the same species as pets (which are often as much a part of the family as any child). Big game hunting in Africa and other lands. Axel Lundeberg and Frederick Seamour, 1910.

The Marmoset

“Marmoset tearing pictures of bugs out of a book and eating them.”

Marmosets have one of the most primitive brain structures of all the monkeys, and are native to South America. Some tribes of Amazonian natives both consume certain marmoset species for protein, while keeping the same species as pets (which are often as much a part of the family as any child).

Big game hunting in Africa and other lands. Axel Lundeberg and Frederick Seamour, 1910.

The use of the long tentacles in hunting! Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, Volume XI. 1885.

The use of the long tentacles in hunting!

Transactions of the Zoological Society of London, Volume XI. 1885.

Not related to any requests, but I love the fact that it’s a hornbill from Simba :D  Of course, Zazu was a red-billed hornbill. Lophoceros fasciatus isn’t a current species name, but after a bit of searching, I found that that species is the African Pied Hornbill. Simba is a location in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the region of Shaba.  Illustration from On Safari: Big-Game Hunting in British East Africa. Abel Chapman, 1908.

Not related to any requests, but I love the fact that it’s a hornbill from Simba :D 

Of course, Zazu was a red-billed hornbill. Lophoceros fasciatus isn’t a current species name, but after a bit of searching, I found that that species is the African Pied Hornbill. Simba is a location in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, in the region of Shaba. 

Illustration from On Safari: Big-Game Hunting in British East Africa. Abel Chapman, 1908.