Animals

[born2hunt65]

Well I guess I'm feeling kinda stupid lately or just bold sharing this with you but here it goes. At work I'm walking or driving the yard or perimeter everyday. Well we have alot of wild life there. I like to stop and talk to the deer and rabbits I see there. They just stand there in bewilderment looking at me as if "look at this nut". While acting like a fool I look at that way the stand, eat, and other mannerisms thay have. Turtles I move so no one will run them over with all the construction going on. I get on the other officers and tell them not to harm the snakes, bats, and turtles cause the eat the bugs and the immates are afraid of them,lol. Any other animal talkers out there?

[Liv4Huntin']

Most definitely, Born. Sometimes on a verbal, sometimes on a non-verbal level. When the turtles 'migrate' across the piece of land we're 'taking care of' (some believe man can no more 'own' the land any more than one may 'own' the air), I commonly give the snappers or any other turtles a drink if they 'say' they are thirsty, as they are still far from water. They seem to appreciate it. I commonly help turtles of all sizes across roads - always moving them to the side of the road they're heading to.

When I 'talk' to Chickadees they group to within a few yards of me if I stand/sit still. Owls often come to sit in my tree in the evenings (it has been said they 'recognize' me as one of them...I'm still not sure of that one!) I mouth-vocalize to deer very often and call in deer of all ages - the young bucks seem to be most curious....almost all of the deer I let walk. Squirrels (not during hunting season) often come quite close -- I don't know why -- to them, I 'speak' non-verbally. Rabbits seem to be fearless when we make eye-contact and it's not hunting season.

It is our connection to Mother Earth and the spirits of all that inhabit here. Before taking a life, I try to always make sure of looking the animal in the eye and apologizing to it and thank it for giving its life so that we may be sustained. I also try to 'help' out the species in any way I can and convey this to the spirit of the animal that's giving its life.

We are merely one of the 'critters' that live here. I am a hunter at heart, throughout my life, it is my greatest outdoor passion. But my respect for all the spirits that share this small blue planet we live on runs deep.
.................. M

[Steve]

Most of the time when I talk to the animals it goes like this, "Come on fish bite, take that fly!" :)

I was talking to some yellow jackets yesterday that I stepped on while I was trying to sneak around in my woods.

Those little buggers sure pack a punch! One stung me on my ankle, it hurt all night.

I also have a lot of bats that like to roost in my house siding (rough sawn jack pine). They were hanging out so I could see them yesterday afternoon probably because it was so hot. When you talk to them they scurry away real fast. Guess their ears are really sensitive.

It does seem that most animals respond to the human voice, mostly out of curiosity I think. Pretty neat when you get one to look you in the eye.

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Every day spent outdoors is the best day of my life.

[Oct.1]

Born,
Thanks for this post.
It's good to know that both women and men can share the same feeling about nature.
The best thing I remember was that fawn that came running up the ridge and stopped just three feet in front of me.
Its eyes were as big as its head. I had my bow in hand and bent down on one knee and said " Don't worry little buddy I'm not going to hurt you or your mother. At that moment if its dad was there I wouldn't have hurt him eather.
Oct.1

[Salmonsmoker]

It's too bad that the people opposed to hunting don't get this message. True hunters have a passionent love for nature and the animals that live there. Glad to see this kind of posting.

ss

[Hunter333]

Talk to the animals, walk with the animals.. Heck yah I talk to the wildlife I see. Everytime I see some turkeys, I stop and give them my perfect gobbblegobblegobble. It is as if they say "Hello there freak, thanks for stopping." I think that my wife thinks that I am nuts. I also stop and check out the deer that I see, as I did on the way to the campground that we were staying at for the outing. "They sure are beautiful" I say. "Then why the heck do you kill them?" she asks. I have spent the past 2 years explaining to my wife that the "killing" is only about 2 percent of why I hunt, I love to watch the animals and see how they act. So no, you are not alone in your quest to be one with the animals!!

Hey Hunter333,

I had a similar experience on my work out yesterday. I was on my mountain bike and a movement caught my eye. It was a bunch of turkeys, males, females and their poults in the brush. I stopped and was calling and clucking to them. They looked at me and I saw that "what an idiot" stare from them. They slowly wandered away with out responding.
I was crushed!

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Every day spent outdoors is the best day of my life.

[This message has been edited by redtoads (edited 08-11-2000).]