On 15 Apr 2004 07:53:26 GMT, (Nick Maclaren) wrote:

~
~In article ,
(jane) writes:
~|
~| When I was in California, just north of SF, I stayed in various youth
~| hostels while doing a tour round. All had dire warnings of what would
~| happen if a coon got into your car. Trashing it seems to be the
~| general result, and my idea of coons as genial furry things went out
~| of the window. Never leave your car unattended with a window open or
~| else!
~
~Hell, the Californians are scared of bobcats! Ignore 90% of their
~phobias.

:-) I didn't ignore the one that said don't leave food in the car in
Yosemite though... bears *will* open them like a foodcan if you do!

~| Personally, if real coons got into our ecosystem as against this
~| coati, I'd hope that someone would encourage folk with traps or
~| shotguns to go and get them before they established, as they really
~| would be a menace to our native wildlife, much as the released mink
~| have been to riverside mammals. Folk would never be able to use black
~| sacks for rubbish (they'd shred them), leave things open and what
~| about dog or cat flaps?
~
~I wouldn't. Shotguns loaded with birdshot are cruel against animals
~that size.
~
Fair enough - I don't know the ins and outs of shot or shotguns - it's
just the common expression I picked to use and I wouldn't want to
unnecessarily hurt some unwittingly translocated creature anyway.
Perhaps I should have said professional vermin controllers.

(I admit at this point I can't even bring myself to kill pigeons,
though I cheerfully and totally inaccurately say I could wring their
necks over my brassicas!)

~And they couldn't get through catflaps.
Well that's something to be grateful for (not that I have a catflap).


--
jane

Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone,
you may still exist but you have ceased to live.
Mark Twain

Please remove onmaps from replies, thanks!