I tried explaining it slowly and clearly, but neither the Homeowners’ Association nor the Department of Health was having any.
That is why I’ll never live in an area with a HomeOwner’s association. Telling me when I can or can’t urinate in my own backyard. Grumble grumble… cabin in the woods… grumble grumble… show them alll…
(Not implying anything about SteveMB. Just personal rant about HOAs.)
I’ve just read through this thread and I tend to think DrDeth has a point and Blake and I.Wombat (my favourite animal BTW) are being pedantic. Just let it go already!
The apartment building I used to live in sat on the edge of a canyon in San Diego…not a rural area, either. You could hear coyotes often at night, and see them wandering around checking out the patios. New tennants were routinely told to keep their cats indoors. Those who igored the warning usually put up their “missing cat” signs within a week.
This is GQ, it is expected that your responses are factual, not baseless opinion.
If you think that he has a point when he says that land predators don’t generally prey on other land predators then present some facts to that end. The journal reference says that predators eating other predators is ubiquitous in terrestrial ecosystems. Can you even explain how it can be both ubiquitous and not generally non-existent?
Dr Deth’s own reference says that coyotes are agressive towards smaller predators and avoid othe predators. His own reference shows that carnivores routinely show up in the stomach contents of other arnivores.
If you think he has a point when he says that opossums and shrews are neither predators nor carnivores then present some facts to that end. I have presented references where zoologists state clearly that shrews and opossums are both carnivores and predators. Can you provide some facts to support your apparent belief that they are neither?
In short MelC, do you have anything factual to contribute to this GQ thread, or is your entire contribution baseless opinion?
This entire debate comes down to DrDeth’s first post in this thread, which included the statement:
This statement has been proven false over and over and over, and DrDeth keeps trying to move the target (“yeah, mammals, I just meant mammals”). Every time he moves it, he’s proven wrong again.
Exactly what is this “point” that DrDeth has, MelCthefirst?
Interference interactions, co-existence and conservation of mammalian carnivores
JOHN D. C. LINNELL* and OLAV STRAND
Diversity and Distributions (2000) 6, 169–176
So here we have clear evidence that predation by coyotes is responsible for in excess of 75% of the total mortaility of three differnt carnivore species. Yet Dr. Deth and MelC still want us to believe that coyotes avoid other predators.
The potential for interspecific competition among African carnivores
T. M. Caro and C. J. Stoner
Biological Conservation
Volume 110, Issue 1 , March 2003, Pages 67-75
Interference interactions, co-existence and conservation of mammalian carnivores
JOHN D. C. LINNELL* and OLAV STRAND
Diversity and Distributions (2000) 6, 169–176
And we see evidence that any African carnivores is on average open to predation by no less than 8 other species and that 73% of juvenile mortality is due to predation by other carnivores. Yet we are expected to believe that such predation is rare.
What was this point that Dr. Deth had exactly?
Opinion based on what I have read by you all - what else?!
Leave them to it, Mel. A pissing contest in a thread about pissing in backyards. How can you interfere with such perfection?