Are Ragondin Telepathic

[Deimos]

For some time I’ve had a family living in the millpond too

close to the house.  They are often on

the lawn and I know there at least 4 of them (one large, two medium sized and

one really dinky little one – as I have seen all 4 at the same time).  When I go outside they tend to disappear

into the mill pond and will often wait in the pond just watching me.  I tend to see then several times each day

and they are often out on the lawn during the day.

I’ve been unable to establish their “paths” in and out of

the river to set a trap, so the other day I thought maybe I should get a gun

and shoot them !  Since that thought I’ve

not seen them once.  Maybe they are

telepathic and have decided to “move on” with such threats

Ian

[Patf]

We haven't seen our family of ragondin for some time and wondered if

they hibernate? Another reason could be that we now have two noisy

geese on the pond. Perhaps yours have decided to hibernate for the rest

of the winter. Pat.

[Miggimeggi]

What are ragondin please?  I have checked all three of my dictionaries and the word is not there.  Are they perhaps muskrats?

Anne

[Alcazar]

[quote user="Deimos"]For some time I’ve had a family living in the millpond too close to the house.  They are often on the lawn and I know there at least 4 of them (one large, two medium sized and one really dinky little one – as I have seen all 4 at the same time).  When I go outside they tend to disappear into the mill pond and will often wait in the pond just watching me.  I tend to see then several times each day and they are often out on the lawn during the day.

I’ve been unable to establish their “paths” in and out of the river to set a trap, so the other day I thought maybe I should get a gun and shoot them !  Since that thought I’ve not seen them once.  Maybe they are telepathic and have decided to “move on” with such threats

Ian

[/quote]

I wondered what that little family of ragondin, I saw in a local Decathlon, were doing buying shotguns, and discussing shooting some "English bloke"[:D]

Alcazar

[Deimos]

[quote

user="Alcazar"]

I wondered what that little family of ragondin, I saw in a local

Decathlon, were doing buying shotguns, and discussing shooting some

"English bloke"[:D]

Alcazar

[/quote]

So that’s where they got to (and I get they took my Credit

Card as well).

Ian

[Deimos]

[quote

user="Miggimeggi"]

What are ragondin please?

Anne

[/quote]

Coypu (I think). 

Just Google Ragondin on www.google.fr and you will find plenty.

Ian

[chris pp]

Ian's correct - Myocastor coypus  COYPU.   One of the biggest disasters to be introduced in France. Not that I don't like them as a creature, it's just that they are in the wrong place. Telepathic? Who knows?  Anyway, they don't hibernate.

Cheers, Chris

[Christine Animal]

Watch out Ian, Alcazar may be right.  They were spotted practising on your lawn this afternoon...

 

                                                                          

[chris pp]

Christine - Where do you get them from??

Chris

[Alcazar]

[quote user="Christine Animal"]

Watch out Ian, Alcazar may be right.  They were spotted practising on your lawn this afternoon...

 

                                                                          

[/quote]

LOL[:D] What a brilliant photograph!

[Christine Animal]

I tell you, things are on the move. Inspired and motivated by the story of the daring stag who got away with it after charging the Président de la Chasse who then died of a heart attack, the wildlife world has formed the WUERM (Wildlife Underground Earth Retaliation Movement) in close partnership with the BUMs (Barking Unretrievably Mad). They have made a new year revolution and have decided to fight back and no longer put up with any quirks. They are going to do their best to see that this year they are déboutés (left standing!).

                

Training is taking place in many parts of the undergrowth and word is rapidly reaching the cities. Funds are pouring in by kind courtesy of the CCD (Credit Card Deimos).

                   

A recent and enthusiastic member who has joined the group is the Carroté-Kid, very well balanced and ready for combat. We are informed from a reliable source that he gets his nuts from the health shop in Ruffec. He certainly is furry, though he seems to have forgotten his knickers.

Watch this space… !

[Deimos]

Definitely still gone. 

Saw one further upstream earlier today but as I approached asking the

whereabouts of my Credit Card he/she shot off (presumably to the nearest

shopping centre). [:@]

Ian

[Deimos]

They are back !! (without credit card).

Now to plan B [8o|]

Ian

[Christine Animal]

Have you got the railway sleepers ready?

 

[Dog]

When my little brother was five years old the vicar came to tea.

My sister and my other brothers had been told to be on our best behaviour.

The vicar asked my five year old brother if he had a good day at school and he said "Yes - and I know a joke; Why do squirrels swim on their backs? - to keep their nuts dry".

I was fifteen and laughed along with the grown ups, my little brother laughed too not realising what the joke was.

[Deimos]

[quote user="Christine Animal"]

Have you got the railway sleepers ready?

 

[/quote]

To drop on them from a great height ?

Like all youngsters I guess they run off with credit cards and then, when the money runs out they come skulking home again.  They seem to have moved a bit further downstream, though still snack on my lawn.  I'm assuming they are the same ones as before.  Only seen two and they seem the correct size for the medium sized previous two.  Saw them for the 1st time this lunchtime so I'll keep an eye open for them now.

Ian

[Christine Animal]

To drop on them from a great height ?

No, to make them some nice little steps on the river bank.

 

[Deimos]

Trouble is, being honest, they are actually quite cute.  Also, the disease aspect does not worry me

too much (after all, in the countryside there are loads of rats, etc. with the

same diseases).  In practice they

normally run away from the dogs and even if they don’t, I can control the dogs

(mostly) adequately – so they are not too great a danger to the dogs.  The one problem is their tunnelling being

close to the house (being a mill).  In

practice they could easily start under-mining the house which is the main

reason I’m keen they “move on” (though not necessarily to the afterlife).

Ian

[chris pp]

The problem is that they are  catastrophic for our native species, everything, rare plants in the waterside meadows and pastures, birds, numerous bank side and aquatic plants, amphibians, fish, mammals. Their tunnelling and eating of shallow rooted water plants increases the flow of water from the surrounding land as well as reducing the filtration effect and so affecting the quantities of nitrates in the water courses.  Sure, they are cute but so are grey squirrels which are the subject of a targeted large scale cull in the UK, these things have to be done and nobody in their right mind enjoys it, but the survival of a lot of other species is at stake. I would never support any needless taking of life and I know that it would be impossible, things having gone as far as they have, to eradicate this creature in Europe but I fully support drastic population control.

What is so tragic, is that people who don't know better for whatever reason, are still releasing non native species into the wild.  Recently the case of the Sacred Ibis in France has been brought to public attention, many, or all, will have to be destroyed after a few were released back in the 80's and have got on rather too well, super bird as anyone who has seen them will I am sure agree but they are going to have to be at best drastically reduced.

To make things even worse, the chosen means of control in most instances (because it's easy) is by using anti coagulant poisons which end up affecting other creatures. 

I wish this was a topic that I could feel good about, it's a pain!

Chris

 

 

[Deimos]

I agree Chris.  My “cute”

comment was to redress the balance as I was getting a bit vicious with the “dropping

railway sleepers on them”.  Trouble is

that they are not doing all this damage deliberately.  Again it humans causing the trouble.  All they want to do is to get on with their lives and “what comes

naturally”. It is us that have put them in the wrong place at the wrong time

yet they are bearing the cost.

I don’t know how widespread it is but in my area it is no

longer allowed to use poisons to kill them. 

Certainly a couple of years ago it was permitted (as the Marie told me

they planned to lay poisons that autumn). 

However, last year one of the two piegeur’s in the commune who was

trapping my Ragondins said that poisoning was now banned.

Ian

[Christine Animal]

It is us that have put them in the wrong place at the wrong time yet they are bearing the cost..  As long as it is with your credit card, they can buy their own railway sleepers and that would block them from digging under the mill.

Joking apart, and referring to Chris' comments, it often seems that wildlife, whatever it may be, is destroyed when the numbers are too great, but then when there are hardly any left, they suddenly become a "protected species"... until once again, their number becomes too great.  It does not seem to be a respect or consideration of the species, just a question of numbers (if you see what I mean   [^o)] ).

 

 

[chris pp]

No, the point is that ragondin, sacred ibis and grey squirrels are invasive non native species introduced from other continents. This is now illegal and there is in fact an obligation on the part of the signatures to the Convention on biodiversity to deal with these species AND they are numerous, plants, crustaceans, amphibians, mammals, insects - in fact every possible form of life that you could think of. 

Driving to work this morning (listening to radio4) there was a specialist on snails talking about some remote island the other side of the world where the "local" snail species has been wiped out by THE NATIVE UK SNAIL which apparently is being spread all over the planet.

Sensitive subject but it needs to be understood.

Chris

 

[Christine Animal]

There are also other UK NATIVES which apparently are being spread all over the planet...  [^o)]   [B]

What I was trying to say before Chris is not particularly about the "nuisance" type of animals, but take for example the ours des Pyrénées and trying to reintroduce it into its habitat as a protected species.  If one day they breed a lot and become numerous and a little too much for the locals, couldn't they become something to be "cut back" ?

 

 

[chris pp]

First, sorry Ian I missed your post. Poisons for ragondin are defiantly back on the agenda, they were going to be stopped but the "powers that be" back tracked near the end of last year, much to my disgust as they are indiscriminate and cause problems for scavengers, many of which, like Marsh harriers, are protected species, however it may well be the case that individual communes are not using them.

Bears and wolves. Oh dear Christine, where do we go with this one?  There is and has been from the outset massive opposition from the bergers with these two,  even though they receive special assistance from the EU to compensate for any losses and also to pay for the special measures that they need to put in place to protect their livestock. I can't see that their numbers will ever get out of control as they really are not rapid breeders and it is a continual battle in the case of wolves to stop the French state having too many culled ( 5 or 6 this year from a population of  39 - 48).  There will always be a requirement for some species control or management, this is why I do not oppose hunting outright, wild boar populations, contrary to what many believe, have actually been increasing rather too much, so much so that killing of females is to be considered.

What is a pre requisite are science based evaluations with all parties given equal access to the table, unlike the present when one way or another the "hunters" have 50% at all official discussions. This should be followed by humane control for a better biodiversity. It is complicated, but if we want the birds, bees and butterflies some regulation will always be required because we, humankind, have changed the environment so much - but not killing for fun!

Chris.

 

 

[Deimos]

I notice that in the UK news today there is a new case of an

“imported species” ousting UK natural species. 

Seems that Chinese crabs are out-competing native UK species.  In addition (and maybe relevant) is that

they destabilise river banks by burrowing into them.  They live in both sea and fresh water.

Their introduction seems accidental.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/4690988.stm

Ian