PDA

View Full Version : Hikers beware! No sudden mooves! New animal danger....



berninbush
08-30-2006, 14:49
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060830/od_nm/switzerland_cows_dc_1


;) Sounds a lot like the advice they give about bears, doesn't it?

SGT Rock
08-30-2006, 15:15
I tend to chuck rocks at them if they get uppity.

jlb2012
08-30-2006, 15:17
anyone ever have any problem with those long-horns on the trail?

SGT Rock
08-30-2006, 15:39
You mean these bad boys? http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/5/19_19-med.jpg

Naw, they are like big ol' teddy bears on hooves. You can hug 'em.

waterboy99
08-30-2006, 16:07
Be careful if you are hiking with a dog. My daughter (1/3 AT 03) and Trace (AT 03) were just hiking by the Long Horns about 3 weeks ago and the Long Horns became very aggressive towards their dog. They tried to hook him several times and came very close a couple of times. 1/3 and Trace said they may have stayed in the general area too long talking to some other hikers and that may have caused the Long Horns to get nervious. But anyway, if you have a dog as you pass them, watch out.

Creek Dancer
08-30-2006, 16:12
They weren’t long horns, but they were as big as hummers. At Philmont last summer the Boy Scouts were mooing at a bunch of humongous cows as we were crossing through the middle of pasture. The cows started to get a little agitated and mooed back. All of the sudden, a huge black bull came charging out of the woods nearby and the cows started trotting across the field. I was afraid we would get stampeded. I yelled to the boys “Get away from his girls! Head for the trees and up to the ridge.” Of course, the boys thought this was hilarious and took every opportunity to moo at me for the rest of the trek.

LostInSpace
08-30-2006, 16:14
A good project for some ingenious person might be to figure out how to build a cattle prod into a hiking pole. :D

Brrrb Oregon
08-30-2006, 16:40
Be careful if you are hiking with a dog. My daughter (1/3 AT 03) and Trace (AT 03) were just hiking by the Long Horns about 3 weeks ago and the Long Horns became very aggressive towards their dog. They tried to hook him several times and came very close a couple of times. 1/3 and Trace said they may have stayed in the general area too long talking to some other hikers and that may have caused the Long Horns to get nervious. But anyway, if you have a dog as you pass them, watch out.

We had both dogs and Jersey cows when I was growing up, and this is absolutely true. Our cows would chase our own dogs. Lack of horns made no difference. Their goal is to knock the dog over with their heads, then stomp on him.

Cows may not be carnivores, but they are big animals. You particularly don't want to bother a cow with a calf, horns or no. There was not a single dog in the neighborhood that our cows would allow in the pasture with them when they had a calf. They would take on a bear. They would take on wolves. They sure won't have any druthers about taking you on.

When it comes our babies, we mamas have no sense of humor. :D

Lilred
08-30-2006, 17:12
Ran into this guy on Hump Mtn. He was guarding the exit thru the fence when we approached. Finally got him to move so we could get by. Took this photo from the safety behind the fence.

http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/1/2/5/6/BigBull.jpg

RadioFreq
08-30-2006, 18:10
(from article)
"Give a precise blow to the muzzle of the cow in the event of absolute need."

A blow to the muzzle (nose) to drive one off? So are cows the new "land sharks"? :-?

Nightwalker
08-31-2006, 10:08
Ran into this guy on Hump Mtn. He was guarding the exit thru the fence when we approached. Finally got him to move so we could get by. Took this photo from the safety behind the fence.

http://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/files/1/2/5/6/BigBull.jpg
He's gorgeous. A Shetland bull, lol.

Alligator
08-31-2006, 10:47
Where are the longhorns again? I'm trying to figure out how I missed them. There are some in MD now too.

c.coyle
08-31-2006, 11:21
I worked one summer building house trailers. We had a lot of Amish and Mennonite employees. The factory was adjacent to a dairy farm. One day at lunch the Amish guys convinced a few of us college boys that it would be fun to throw dirtballs at the cows. Of course, we had to climb over the fence to get in range, but cows can barely move, right?

After about six direct hits, this cow (not a bull, a cow) turned and sprinted at us. No "moo", no warning, just put her head down and charged. When I turned to run, I noticed that the Amish guys who had been egging us on were a couple hundred feet away, on the other side of the fence, laughing their beards off.

Smile
08-31-2006, 14:00
Several more good posts that confirm my decision to leave my dog at home! Cute cows though :-)

Gray Blazer
08-31-2006, 14:24
I hiked in the Alps several years ago. The cows weren't a problem then. My most distinct memory was thinking that the cowbells all souding together made a rather nice cowbell choir.

Brrrb Oregon
08-31-2006, 14:39
I worked one summer building house trailers. We had a lot of Amish and Mennonite employees. The factory was adjacent to a dairy farm. One day at lunch the Amish guys convinced a few of us college boys that it would be fun to throw dirtballs at the cows. Of course, we had to climb over the fence to get in range, but cows can barely move, right?

After about six direct hits, this cow (not a bull, a cow) turned and sprinted at us. No "moo", no warning, just put her head down and charged. When I turned to run, I noticed that the Amish guys who had been egging us on were a couple hundred feet away, on the other side of the fence, laughing their beards off.
It brought back all the memories of when they learned it...at six.

Amish, huh? So, did you teach them the cool thing about electric fences?

SGT Rock
08-31-2006, 14:57
Leave dogs at home, probably good for more than just the cows. I was a teenager hiking in some fields with some family members and their dachshunds (not on leashes) when they saw a mare and her fold. They decided to tear ass at them and attack. The mommy horse did not take it well and we feared the little dogs were goners. The mare picked one dog up in it's teeth and tossed it a few feet and the dogs got the hint. The dachshund had horse teeth holes on it's ass. Pretty funny looking back at it.

RockyTrail
08-31-2006, 17:36
When I was about 11 or 12, roaming the countryside as I did frequently without a leash:D , I climbed a certain fence and took a shortcut through a pasture. I had done this a couple times before and was quite proud of my navigational prowess.

I got about halfway across, and before I knew it this black bull was charging from out of nowhere :eek: and I kicked it into high gear and just barely got over the other side fence before he caught up with me. I ripped a hole in my jeans from the barbed wire but fortunately did not damage any other body parts. At that point, I made a mental note that I was not ever going to apply to rodeo clown school, but instead would choose something more mundane like accounting or insurance sales.

Heater
09-01-2006, 00:29
Where are the longhorns again? I'm trying to figure out how I missed them. There are some in MD now too.

In Austin. (They're are the National Champions, ya know...)

Hook'em. :D

halibut15
09-01-2006, 07:49
I was doing some hiking on the MST back in July just south of Grandfather Mountain, and our group had a young bull charge us twice. I don't think he meant to do any real damage, probably just bluff charging, but apparently "cow attacks" aren't that unlikely after all.

Brrrb Oregon
09-01-2006, 12:28
Leave dogs at home, probably good for more than just the cows. I was a teenager hiking in some fields with some family members and their dachshunds (not on leashes) when they saw a mare and her fold. They decided to tear ass at them and attack. The mommy horse did not take it well and we feared the little dogs were goners. The mare picked one dog up in it's teeth and tossed it a few feet and the dogs got the hint. The dachshund had horse teeth holes on it's ass. Pretty funny looking back at it.

Meaning...even if the dog won't be defending you, you may well end up defending the dog?

There are a lot of territorial animals out there, and dogs are tops on the list of animals they don't want in their territory. I realize that if you a certain kind of dog owner and you bring a certain kind of dog, anywhere you are is your dog's territory. There are definitely well-informed and conscientious dog people who use that to their benefit.

But do keep them clear of the cows. Cows instinctively hate strange dogs.

Alligator
09-01-2006, 13:31
In Austin. (They're are the National Champions, ya know...)

Hook'em. :DOf what:confused::) .

Nevermind, I looked it up where they were on the AT. Now I have to check when I went throught there.

berninbush
09-02-2006, 12:40
In Austin. (They're are the National Champions, ya know...)

Hook'em. :D

:rolleyes: You just confused a whole lot of non-Texans with that, you know, Austexs.

Gig em Aggies! :banana

Trillium
09-02-2006, 20:57
:rolleyes: You just confused a whole lot of non-Texans with that, you know, Austexs.

Gig em Aggies! :banananot this midwesterner. when I graduated I decided I'd had enough of the frozen tundra, at least for a few yrs, and went to work in SA. two other recent grads started the same day, one an Aggie and one a tea sipper. :D have to get the tea sippers back for calling me a Yankee ;)

atraildreamer
09-03-2006, 04:34
A good project for some ingenious person might be to figure out how to build a cattle prod into a hiking pole. :D

Batteries, wind-up or solar powered? :-?

atraildreamer
09-03-2006, 04:42
We had both dogs and Jersey cows when I was growing up, and this is absolutely true. Our cows would chase our own dogs. Lack of horns made no difference. Their goal is to knock the dog over with their heads, then stomp on him.

Cows may not be carnivores, but they are big animals. You particularly don't want to bother a cow with a calf, horns or no. There was not a single dog in the neighborhood that our cows would allow in the pasture with them when they had a calf. They would take on a bear. They would take on wolves. They sure won't have any druthers about taking you on.

When it comes our babies, we mamas have no sense of humor. :D

Our dairy farmer told me about the time he heard a commotion coming from the pen where he had a mama Beefalo (cow/buffalo hybrid) and her calf. He came running around the corner of the barn just in time to see a full-grown German Shepherd, that had been going for the calf, launched airborne by mama cow about 20 feet high and 30 feet out of the pen. Said dog hit the ground yelping and ever dared to return to that farm! :eek:

Brrrb Oregon
09-03-2006, 22:58
Our dairy farmer told me about the time he heard a commotion coming from the pen where he had a mama Beefalo (cow/buffalo hybrid) and her calf. He came running around the corner of the barn just in time to see a full-grown German Shepherd, that had been going for the calf, launched airborne by mama cow about 20 feet high and 30 feet out of the pen. Said dog hit the ground yelping and ever dared to return to that farm! :eek:

If you can't stomp 'em, launch 'em!
That's one particular outdoor adventure that doesn't make my life list! :D

oldmanwinter
09-10-2006, 01:14
I don't know what it is about cows, but those longhorns or african cows or whatever they are scare me more than any bear, cougar, or rattle snake every did.

Tinker
09-10-2006, 01:30
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060830/od_nm/switzerland_cows_dc_1


;) Sounds a lot like the advice they give about bears, doesn't it?

Very funny! Good post!:banana