Date: Sun, 26 Oct 2003 21:48:04 -0500 Reply-To: Maryland Birds & Birding Sender: Maryland Birds & Birding From: "George M. Jett" Subject: Re: Demise of Ivory Gull? MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Christian Killing birds indiscriminately, birders intrusiveness or otherwise, is stupid and inappropriate behavior. It may not be what is causing the demise of the Ivory Gull, but is inexcusable. George ----- Original Message ----- From: "Christian Kessler" To: Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2003 5:28 PM Subject: Re: [MDOSPREY] Demise of Ivory Gull? > your statement that you do not know the "why" of it is very important > and appropriate. there is quite a literature on why some of the native > people might respond in such a perverse way. in addition to the crude > and intrusive [and sometimes destructive] behavior of some birders, > there is the history. one especially good book [by an Athabascan > Indian rather than an Inuit] is "Shadows on the Koyukuk -- An Alaskan > Native's Life Along the River" by Sidney Huntington. > and you did not imply this, but they are not what is driving the Ivory > Gull to extinction. which is what the article in Science is about. > > Bob Mumford wrote: > > >Just for the record, and a little evidence about native "hunters," > >when I was > >on Gamble ten or twelve years ago, the natives shot and killed at > >least five > >ivory gulls around their dump for the pure perversity of it. We were told > >that they didn't like the "invasion" of birders, so shot rare birds > >to annoy > >them. They were not eating the gulls or the other birds (like wood sandpiper and > >McKays bunting). > > > >I don't the truth, obviously, of the "why," but I photographed five gunshot > >killed ivories in one day up there. I was tempted to send dupes to > >the USF&WS > >until I realized nothing would come of it. > > > >Bob Mumford > >Darnestown > > > >===================================================================== > >== > >To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com > >with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey > >======================================================================= > > > > ====================================================================== > = > To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com > with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey > ======================================================================= > ======================================================================= To leave the MDOsprey list, send e-mail to listserv@home.ease.lsoft.com with the following message in line 1: signoff mdosprey ======================================================================= =========================================================================