tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post729876240881420376..comments2023-02-13T23:54:18.193-08:00Comments on Trailblazin': adventures in wildlife ecology: Now that's one huge pile of 'yote crap!.... with comments on wildlife diseasesTrailblazerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-44083465402186730562011-06-09T07:31:34.949-07:002011-06-09T07:31:34.949-07:00Sorry to ruin your coffee, Samantha! My mentor as...Sorry to ruin your coffee, Samantha! My mentor as an undergraduate would eat lunch at the same counter he dissected animal intestines looking for tapeworms under a microscope (he was "old school", as they say). So, I got hardened to disgusting things pretty quickly :) But, working with him (and teaching a parasitology lab as a graduate students) made me alittle paranoid about zoonotic infections.<br /><br />Jeremy....very interesting about the bokdrol spoeg! I'm gonna look that up as soon as I'm done typing this..... <br /><br />Also good point about the warmth of the scat, and I can understand it's application in a life or death situation, for sure. Perhaps the dung of those large mega-herbivores doesn't carry many diseases....I guess I really don't know.<br /><br />The closest we get to a bigger herbivore 'round here is the white-tailed deer. Out west they get Elk, Bison and the like...but not here. It's probably true that deer scat here in the US can pose little threat if ingested (at least compared to the wealth of stuff you can pick up from carnivore scat)....things like brucellosis are a possibility, I suppose, although I think this is rare....and of course there's good old E. coli, Giardia, Tularemia, etc.Trailblazerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09949103831752176052noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-18096918673401015512011-06-09T04:20:16.668-07:002011-06-09T04:20:16.668-07:00With reference to your last sentence: In Africa sa...With reference to your last sentence: In Africa safari and trail guides are regularly seen handling the scat/dung of large herbivores. In particular, that of elephant and rhino is often closely examined since the warmth of it gives a very good indication of when it was 'deposited'. This knowledge is not just of academic interest but useful in helping those on foot to ensure that they live to see another day. Personally I have a preference for coming across ice-cold dung rather that that which is still steaming!<br /><br />At the risk of spoiling Samantha's day further there is a local 'sport' known as 'bokdrol spoeg' - which translated means buck (bok) dropping (drol) spitting (spoeg). If you don't believe me just Google 'bokdrol spoeg'. The aim is to see how far one can spit one of the little rounded dung pellets left by buck such as kudu. I'm pretty sure that the rules differ among communities but a common denominator is probably the prior consumption of a fair bit of alcohol. The alcohol consumption following the competition is, of course, to get the taste out of you mouth.Jeremyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04488559051743146041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7268542543738300058.post-54228545285394869212011-06-09T03:38:47.603-07:002011-06-09T03:38:47.603-07:00I sit down with my morning coffee and find..this!
...I sit down with my morning coffee and find..this!<br /> ;)<br />Very interesting read, though.<br />Also, very much appreciating modern veterinary medicine and that today is heartworm pill day for the dogs!Samanthahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12783813516976594115noreply@blogger.com