Posted on 12/08/2006 4:15:25 AM PST by radar101
Heading into the Pima Pet Clinic, Tracy Gordon holds Tino, who received a large bite on the neck during a javelina attack. Another of her Chihuahuas, Peatree, was in critical condition Thursday afternoon. Gordon's leg was bitten, and she was treated at Tucson Medical Center. chris richards / arizona daily star
At 7:15 a.m. Wednesday, Gordon and her three Chihuahuas were attacked by a pack of javelinas, an unusual moment because Gordon's previous encounters with them on her daily walks were always uneventful. It started with one javelina sighting on Snyder, near North Sabino Canyon Road. The javelina charged across the street, and though it seemed that the animal wasn't about to attack them, Gordon's dogs had assumed a confrontational stance. "Their hair went up on their backs, and they had puffed up their chests," Gordon said.
How to fend off a javelina attack • Be sure there is no wildlife-feeding going on in your neighborhood. • Harass the animal or spray it with a hose. • Shake an aluminum can, such as a soda can, with pebbles or nuts and bolts in it. • Repel the animal by putting pepper or hot sauce on specific plants and ammonia in bowls where they bed down. • Remove any ground cover that the javelina may be using as shelter. • Keep them away by using fencing or electric fencing. Check local ordinances first if you choose to do this.
Good gad. What is that critter? Son of Hogzilla? Yikes.
*Pig* er, I mean *Ping*
I have eaten javelina many years ago when I visited a friend's ranch near Eagle Pass, Texas. Was a little too gamey for me so I think I'll stick with Wilbur.
I've been in Tuscon a number of times for Rockies spring training and while there have run in the Saguaro 'Cactus Forest' National Park east of town and I've never see a javelina, Thank God!
Pork. The other white meat...
Shoot the thing! Good grief. I think God put some critters on earth to test humans to see if we're smart enough to kill the things. Crocodiles and sharks fall into those categories.
I have a friend who lives in that area. I'd never even heard of those animals until she told me about them. It's a big problem. Imagine looking out into your front yard in the morning and finding pigs rooting around. They had to fence the entire property.
http://www.nps.gov/sagu/planyourvisit/upload/Javelina.pdf
(PDF)
Oh..... you mean a PIG!
Can't they be captured and airlifted to Mecca?
Although they look like pigs, javelina are members of the rodent family. Big 'Rats. That picture is a female, the males have great big tusks. A couple of Christmas's ago, I woke to a family of them in my carport.
A friend of mine in high school had a 800lb+ pet hog named Martha. He used to come in to school regularly with a new cast on his arm or leg from "playing" with Martha. Seems Martha didn't realize her own size, she thought she was a Lab or something...
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