i thought this would be better placed here where it belongs than lost in the staff forum.
disclaimer: no jigglesticks were harmed in the creation of this story.
jackpine savages..yes..anybody who knows anything about trapping surely knows about these pesky varmits.
i was actualy attacked by a couple one time. i was out tracking a sidehill gouger for its hide when i came upon a den of the critters. thinking i had hit the jackpot, i had to find something to block off the one and only entrance/exit to the den so's i could pluck em out and dismantle them one at a time. i don't know anybody who dismantles side hill gougers more than one at a time. maybe you all do, but they are tougher and meaner than i. anyway i looks around for a good stout branch. finding a nearby jackpine, with a low to the ground easily retrievable limb, i reached up and give a good tug. SNAP. that jackpine doesn't really creak when it breaks, it has a good loud snap and this one was no exception. that snap was sharp and loud enough to wake up...you guessed it, a jackpine savage. they sleep during the day you know. thank god, for that and the gouger den were the only things that saved me when much to my surprise, two of them came ambling down the tree, making that god awful screech like they do.
i run as quick as i could...this is back when i was down to fightin weight, dragging that branch behind was a sure bet as i was able to lodge it between me and the savages as i scrambled into the den. now every body that knows anything about sidehill gougers knows that they sleep during the day and roam at night. the thing most don't know is that their sense of hearing is all but nil while they sleep. to make up up for this short coming, they were blessed with an extra sensitive sense of smell that does not shut off while they sleep.
the jackpine savages stuck around longer than i would have liked, as i hadn't bathed in a couple months. it wouldn't be long before them gougers came to, leaving me to wish i had instead dealt with the savages hand to hand.
luckily, the savages, unable to reach me, got bored and made their way back to the jackpine they had previously been resting in, leaving me the opportunity to exit the den, but not before the sidehill gougers started to rustle. removing the branch i had lodged in the entrance hole i looks back to see a gouger, now fully awake coming straight at me, well, as straight as they can travel on level ground.
out the door i went. my skill and experience proved to be life saving. not knowing if these gougers were left sided gougers, or right sided gougers i took a gamble.
you see side hill gougers for those who don't know, are thought to be inter bred by a crossing between a beaver and a badger. the end result being a horrendous creature with claws and two fangs right next to each other that leave the trade mark gouge in the flesh.
piss poor attitude these fellas.
i think it's has to do with the fact that they have one huge down fall. side hill gougers legs are short on one side. depends one the roll of the dice as to if it's the left side or the right side. that's why they only live around the lakes. they travel along the hillside in search of unsuspecting prey. this way they can walk level.
get one on flat ground and they simply tip over.
that was my goal, though i did not know yet which sided these ones were.
fortunately, the flip of the coin....i mean my skill and experience helped me make the right choice, at least with the first one, a left handed gouger could not navigate with the counter clockwise rotation i chose around the lake. the other a right handed, i simply led to flat ground, where it quite comicly tipped over.
not wanting to push my luck i made my way back to the shack without my gouger hides.
so, to make a long story short, yes, i do know what a jackpine savage is.
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Topic: who knows what a jackpine savage is? (Read 6898 times)
