Are animals self-aware?

My dad brought me up on it.
It was mostly coming home empty handed,but we were very primitive compared to today's hunters.
I agree with you on the mindset.I never had a problem killing, until the last deer I shot many years ago.
It was a bad shot, broken spine. The deer suffered,and without getting into detail's it broke my heart.
It bayed,and I wished I could have taken the shot back.It suffered, and I never went hunting again after hunting my entire life.
I don't want to see anything suffer.I love animals and I'm not against hunting,but watching an animal suffer,and finishing if up close sux, and I don't want to do it again.
A clean kill is fine with me but I'm not good enough to know I won't repeat it again.
If I hunt again I will definitely make sure it's a clean kill or I'm not shooting.

 

My one and only "hunting" experience is kinda similar.

When I was 8 years old, I mowed a bunch of yards and shit and earned enough money to get a BB gun. My parents (mom and stepdad) were pieces of shit. Like you said, without getting into details, I have more scars from growing up than I do from sports and racing. But anyway, they were both into hunting, and I wanted to get the BB gun and try to get into it too. My childhood mind somehow thought if I got into hunting, they might like me.

So I get my BB gun and one day I am sneaking around the back, slowly creeping up behind a bird that has its back to me. I peak around the corner and he is only about 5' away. I shot him. At first I was so damn excited. I couldnt believe I actually hit what I was aiming at.

Then I walked over and picked him up. He was still alive, but shaking and dying. I just held him in my hand as he died, and I absolutely lost it. I burst into tears and felt like the biggest piece of shit in the world. He had done nothing to me. He was just sitting there, and I killed him. Im not to proud to admit it, I was traumatized. Right now, just thinking about it, I can honestly still feel what I felt that day.

Then and there I decided I didn't give a damn what they wanted me to do, or what they did to me. I would never do anything like that again. And I haven't.

 

Chris...you can still crawl the woods and do all the things that entail the hunt with the exception of also packing a camera for the "shots" you can get without the kill. But being alone in the woods still requires caution so pack a firearm for unforseen cicumstance.

 

Shit. I have never thought about that. It might actually be fun.

The wife made a comment one day about wanting to get into photography. So that year for her birthday I spent like $6k on this nice camera and some big lenses and all kinds of camera related horseshit. I dont think any of that shit has been out of the bag more than once.

In her defense, she didnt tell me to buy it. She didnt even say she wanted it. She just made a comment about thinking photography would be cool and thinking about getting into it. It was my decision to surprise her, so i cant be mad.

 

Wokeness in the animal kingdom.

 

You must smell foul.

Last Thanksgiving, I assume duty to a once rescue dog because I didn't think that the dog needed to experience the pound a second time.
Shortly thereafter, I moved from the city to a small town with lots of country access (along the Ohio River) and wildlife that includes wild rabbits.

I have never been to keen or interested in rabbits and don't think them highly evolved but never question their duty - true to their true purpose (low on the food chain).

During the winter, I let my dog run free in the snow and the rabbits were giving him anxiety as they were so many he struggled with which one to chase.
I am not saying my dog has self awareness but he gained an understanding of the situation and became less anxious about engaging in chase.
However, to this day, he (actual he, ), he will assume the position but hesitates. And, must make some complicated calculations.

95& of the time, my dog is on a 25ft leash. And, 100% of the time, the rabbits seem to play this game where they hop away just far enough and look back (and repeat).
Well, this one time, the math went wrong for one of them.

 

Do the second to ultimate hunting (ultimate is bow hunting bear without a backup gun). Tag a deer. Don't care how, jump out of a tree, camo whatever but tag one. Not counting key deer the closest I ever got was 10 feet before he freaked and ran off. He knew I was there but could not tell where as I was upwind and moving slow whenever he looked toward the does. Another 5 and I could have lunged to tag him....close.... Oh and season is year round though I would not recommend this during gun/bow season.

 

I can see me putting in tons of time and effort, with a single goal of smacking a deer on the ass.

 

Film it.

 

I wouldn't call it tag but I have had to push mule deer away from a drilling rig (geotechnical exploration).
Somehow, they were intrigued by the drilling fluid. A few licked the rod, one or two were drinking from the tub, and one was trying to eat the samples.

I always joke with hunters about their struggle with deer and other wildlife.
Somehow, the deer know is hunting season.
Maybe is a DNA thing more than self-awareness.

Like you, I enjoy playing the tag game with wildlife.
I have been able to get close to deer.
It was something that replace boredom in the Army.

Now, the one-time I didn't feel comfortable was in Colorado during a march by a herd of Elks.
I got close and did my thing, took a few pics and then, decided it was time to put some distance between them and me.
I recall, taking a picture of some young kids, under 10 years of age, at the edge of the column.


Here is the picture of the kids: https://www.flickr.com/photos/8876621@N02/3027948373/
All, I can think of is how nuts their parents were.
I kept expecting "Honey, be careful... Bob be careful... OMG!: (Faces of Death)

 

Don't be a Bob.

(reference to Faces of Death, bear scene)

 

There is the alternative of bow hunting bears.....

That would be extra points for sure

 

We were skiing back country in Colorado and were up by tree line when the Elk herd came through...followed closely by the wolf pack.
Never went out in the mountains after that without a gun handy.

 

Astonishing self control Dave, kudos.

 

Sounds you have some interesting bath adventures...

 

Yes, Deer!

 

Dog almost got another rabbit this evening.
As soon as he exited the front door, it was hunt on.
I was able to lock the leash half way through.

Whatever rabbits are aware off is absent to self preservation.

 

I see Chris as Dave Bautista as Drax the Destroyer in Guardian's of the Galaxy v2 thinking he is moving so slow is is invisible....

 

IMO, Drax makes those movies. He is funny as hell, without really trying to be.