Saturday, August 07, 2010

Coyotes not welcome


Jim and I came upon this scene yesterday evening and looking at the photos this morning still makes my heart race. In this frame, the sun is setting, and the sheep herd is grazing across a high ridge, headed to its bedding ground. Our sentinel golden eagle sits in one spot, as the herd grazes to it, and around it. We flushed the eagle, and it landed on a nearby hillside, where another smaller eagle was also perched. The eagles stayed nearby as the sheep grazed.

Our ewes weigh about 200 pounds, and the perched eagle looked huge as it sat atop the sagebrush among the sheep, yet we know it probably weighs only about 10 pounds. Still, a coyote pup approaching this herd might not survive long, eh?

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Well it seems OBVIOUS to me, Cat, that you need to place an add in the paper/on-the-internet; "Kazahk/Mongol herdsman needed; Falconry skills and ownership of Golden Eagle trained for wolves MANDATORY; Yurt and fermented mare's milk supplied by management"--and you get a superior nomad herder, encourage the preservation of falconry, and predator control, all in one fell swoop!....L.B.

Cat Urbigkit said...

Lane, that thought has occurred to me before! Just imagine all the federal violations we would achieve with a simple sporting venture ...

Anonymous said...

What the fedaralis don't know, won't hurt them.....L.B.