Ghost and I hunted/scouted in the east San Diego County mountains this morning. We ended up bushwhacking through the canyon, through roses and poison oak down in the bottom, and through manzanita and buckbrush to climb the 500 feet out of the canyon. We actually got halfway up at one point and had to turn around because the stuff was so thick! Worked our way farther down the canyon and found a spot where we could actually climb through it.
What a day! We picked up an old forky skull next to two pair of thigh and leg bones belonging to the deceased. A while later coming over a rise, we picked up the smell of a rotting carcass; we followed our noses to a not-quite-fresh kill. Maybe 24 hours old. Interesting that we found no recent (living) deer sign in that canyon. I don't think it's a healthy place for deer. Lol. Come to think of it, not that healthy for a couple of old guys either, because we were beat when we got back to the cars!
The recent kill was probably by a cat, given the broken neck with severed trachea and no marks on the haunches. The deer was well fed and had a belly full of grass or browse. I didn't see any acorns but I couldn't tell which of the stomachs was first, so it was hard to know exactly what she had been eating. I think she just wandered into the kill zone looking for water. We did not see tracks but the ground was nearly a foot deep in places with oak leaves and mast, not including all the other forest detritus. No way to track anything.
Good day in the field. Enjoyed it a lot.
What a day! We picked up an old forky skull next to two pair of thigh and leg bones belonging to the deceased. A while later coming over a rise, we picked up the smell of a rotting carcass; we followed our noses to a not-quite-fresh kill. Maybe 24 hours old. Interesting that we found no recent (living) deer sign in that canyon. I don't think it's a healthy place for deer. Lol. Come to think of it, not that healthy for a couple of old guys either, because we were beat when we got back to the cars!
The recent kill was probably by a cat, given the broken neck with severed trachea and no marks on the haunches. The deer was well fed and had a belly full of grass or browse. I didn't see any acorns but I couldn't tell which of the stomachs was first, so it was hard to know exactly what she had been eating. I think she just wandered into the kill zone looking for water. We did not see tracks but the ground was nearly a foot deep in places with oak leaves and mast, not including all the other forest detritus. No way to track anything.
Good day in the field. Enjoyed it a lot.
