Condor Watch Talk

Is that a dog chained up?

  • Blainor by Blainor

    II thought it was a carcass at first but then, it could be a dog

    Posted

  • wreness by wreness moderator

    This is a typical cow carcass. They are folded up in all kinds of Origami shapes a lot of times and sometimes hard to tell apart if there are several together. They're usually stillborn dairy cows, but you'll also see rabbits (they're given to the condors for the calcium since the bones are easier to eat then the large cow bones), an occasional donated deer or sheep. They're chained to the wood post so larger animals like coyote or bear don't carry them off out of camera-view. Condors will do this, too, as the carcasses become smaller pieces and you might see several pieces of the carcass all over the place (these get marked as "a carcass", too, if they're big enough to eat yet)

    The Photo ID sheets show a lot of pictures of the carcasses so you know what you're looking at.

    Here's some photos of several carcasses. Cows and rabbits. . . Cows . . . A mess (4 here)

    If there are a lot of condors in the photos it's a challenge to figure out where exactly the carcass or carcasses might be in the Pile Of Birds. (There are 3 carcasses in that photo) You can get info on what to look for in the F.A.c.Q. Help Text on how to mark things

    Don't worry about being exact or perfect! Several people view each photo, so all the data is proofread in that way and then checked by the Scientists. Just do the best you can. Practice does make you better. As you learn the feeding sites you get to know where the carcasses are, even how many might be there. The tag numbers don't matter as much as how many birds are there or where they are. Everything counts in some way so everything is helpful. Just have fun! And always ask if you need help. There's lots of nice people here 😄

    Posted

  • inaspin by inaspin

    Folks might find it a help to check for hoofs - usually at least one is visible. There are deer carcasses occasionally; their hoofs are much slimmer and more 'delicate-looking' than those of the calves we usually see

    Posted