The cattle walk around the pastures, eating grass throughout the spring and summer and round bales of hay that farmers bring them during the fall and winter. As I drove by today I saw many new baby calves following after their mommas. They were Angus/Brahman cross calves and their long ears flopped against the side of their heads as they tried to keep up.
I saw a big old crow standing on top of a fence post, checking out his surroundings.
But on this stretch of road, crows aren't the only thing hanging out on fence posts:
Coyote! |
Another mummified Coyote |
Farmers and ranchers armed with rifles do their best to keep the population controlled, but is an on-going battle. The tradition of hanging coyotes from fences is an old one and there are several theories behind it. First, ranchers paid hunters a bounty for killing coyotes and hanging them is proof of the kill. That makes sense. Next, I read that ranchers are just bragging and showing their neighbors that they are doing something about the coyote problem. That makes sense, too. Finally I read that after killing the coyotes, they are hung on fences to warn other coyotes that if they come around, this will happen to you! A warning! However, I'm not sure that coyotes are smart enough to heed the warning.
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