Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,456
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Post by Sabre52 on Nov 28, 2014 17:40:57 GMT -5
Howdy folks,
Well, what they say about Texas is sure right. They have a saying here " You never know whats gonna walk out of the bushes in this here part of Texas!"
Went on a ride this morning and had to spend the whole time looking over our shoulders. Last year it was giant Axis bucks and Patagonian Mara, rodents the size of freaking medium dogs. Now it seems our newest invaders are nilgai, 500 pound antelope with an attitude that are super aggressive and like to kill horses and people. And apparently they like to just hide in the bushes and attack when you ride by. Up till now that was only our longhorn, Flash, that likes to do that but he does it mainly for fun. Sometimes I wonder whats next, a relict population of scalp hunting Comanches? Man, riding around these parts can be nerve wracking sometimes......Mel
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bcrockhound
spending too much on rocks
Member since June 2014
Posts: 418
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Post by bcrockhound on Nov 28, 2014 18:31:57 GMT -5
I googled nilgai, they look big. That's scary. I don't like big animals, especially whales. I assume you can take a gun along though? We've got elk, cougars and bears in the forests here, and all I've got is dog spray and ability to scream.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,456
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Post by Sabre52 on Nov 28, 2014 19:06:50 GMT -5
*L* We're a game preserve so can't shoot critters but I do carry a gun. Problem is it takes about a 300 Win mag to knock one of those down and if I fired any kind of gun off my horse, I'd probably be killed by the dang horse *L*. Shoot, I pulled a velcro fastener one time and the dang horse went ballistic *L*......Mel
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Post by tkrueger3 on Nov 28, 2014 22:58:37 GMT -5
Mel, seems I recall the Y.O Ranch up yonder used to have some nilgai on board. Might still do. (Cept for the one that escaped!)
Tom from San Antone
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Ah man!
Nov 28, 2014 22:59:36 GMT -5
Post by tkrueger3 on Nov 28, 2014 22:59:36 GMT -5
Well, dumbthumb me - did it twicet! Sorry. Tom Mel, seems I recall the Y.O Ranch up yonder used to have some nilgai on board. Might still do. (Cept for the one that escaped!) Tom from San Antone
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Post by orrum on Nov 29, 2014 13:12:57 GMT -5
I saw them on the King Ranch. The info card said northern Tx cold would kill them. I don't know where you live Mel.
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,456
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Post by Sabre52 on Nov 29, 2014 13:23:42 GMT -5
I live between Fredericksburg and Kerrville, TX. The cold does bother Indian antelope but as long as they have feed they mostly do OK. We have about 400 blackbuck and they shiver a bit on super cold days but mostly gather in the thickets where it's warmer and out of the wild. Most our winters are fairly mild. The Nilgai jump the five foot fence we have along a neighboring ranch. Especially during hunting season as they hunt and we don't *L*. They also have other exotics like scimitar horned oryx but those don't jump the fence. They are larger than Nilgai but less aggressive too. Horses don't like neither one though.....Mel
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Fossilman
Cave Dweller
Member since January 2009
Posts: 20,681
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Ah man!
Nov 30, 2014 10:39:17 GMT -5
Post by Fossilman on Nov 30, 2014 10:39:17 GMT -5
Well Mel,it keeps you on your toes!!!!
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emyhro40480
starting to shine!
Rockhounding since I was knee-hi to a grasshopper.
Member since October 2014
Posts: 49
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Ah man!
Nov 30, 2014 14:24:32 GMT -5
Post by emyhro40480 on Nov 30, 2014 14:24:32 GMT -5
Keep a good eye out for that critter. That must be scary!
Ed M.
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Post by snowmom on Dec 1, 2014 7:06:38 GMT -5
bulls can weigh over 600 lbs! and I thought we had problems with invasive species in Michigan! Nothing on the scale of you folks in TX. Tx is famous for big everything, right? (I understand the worst invasive species there is the 2 legged kind.)
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Ah man!
Dec 1, 2014 9:19:45 GMT -5
via mobile
Post by orrum on Dec 1, 2014 9:19:45 GMT -5
Wow Mel you got a lot of game. Since you don't hunt them do you sell them to other game farms?
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Sabre52
Cave Dweller
Me and my gal, Rosie
Member since August 2005
Posts: 20,456
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Post by Sabre52 on Dec 1, 2014 9:49:11 GMT -5
Snowmom: Correct, illegals from points south and damn liberals from them Democrat states. And yeah, you ought to see the oryx. Danged things are as big as a horse.
orrum: Yep we trap or dart and sell blackbuck. About $750 to a $1000 a pop than the hunting places sell them for about twice that. Deer are our major problem though. Since we can't hunt we have about four times as many as is good for the land and since Texas has a law that demands all be processed, it's to expensive to thin them out. Fortunately, some jump the fences onto the adjacent hunting ranch and get harvested.....Mel
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