Defenders of Wildlife sends Oregon man air dancer to fend off wolves

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Defenders of Wildlife sends Oregon man air dancer to fend off wolves

Post by Koa » Wed Feb 06, 2019 10:30 am

MEDFORD, Ore. (AP) — A rancher in Jackson County who has had gray wolves eat his livestock is now using a lime-green inflatable dancing man to keep the predators at bay.

Ted Birdseye began using the contraption Saturday in his pasture after the pack killed another calf in the same field where the wolves have already eaten five calves and one guard dog, The Mail Tribune reported Tuesday.

The device is the same as those commonly seen a used car lots and is powered by a generator that blows air into the balloon so it jumps and wiggles in the air.

"He's all lit up and dancing around in the field," Birdseye told the newspaper. "He's lime green. It looks like an alien at night."

Birdseye said he doesn't know whether the flailing dancer will be a long-term deterrent to the pack preying on his cattle in the remote field, but the first two nights proved successful.
Read the full article here: https://kcby.com/outdoors/oregon-ranche ... hoo-wolves

Cool, DoW actually did something useful. Hope it continues to work?

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Re: Defenders of Wildlife sends Oregon man air dancer to fend off wolves

Post by DaniBeez » Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:52 pm

It makes me wonder what the cows thought of it! I'm sure they were wary as well.

Also I did not know those inflatables were called "air dancers". So before reading I had no idea what DoWs sent Ted initially :lol:
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Re: Defenders of Wildlife sends Oregon man air dancer to fend off wolves

Post by Koa » Tue Mar 12, 2019 1:46 pm

DaniBeez wrote:
Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:52 pm
It makes me wonder what the cows thought of it! I'm sure they were wary as well.

Also I did not know those inflatables were called "air dancers". So before reading I had no idea what DoWs sent Ted initially :lol:
Air dancers are really popular here-- perhaps not as popular as they used to be, but I saw them a lot in my hometown used at car sale depots for marketing purposes. It's nice to see them used outside of that context!

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Re: Defenders of Wildlife sends Oregon man air dancer to fend off wolves

Post by DaniBeez » Tue Mar 12, 2019 4:11 pm

Koa wrote:
Tue Mar 12, 2019 1:46 pm
DaniBeez wrote:
Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:52 pm
<br style="user-select: auto;">It makes me wonder what the cows thought of it! I'm sure they were wary as well.<br style="user-select: auto;"><br style="user-select: auto;">Also I did not know those inflatables were called "air dancers". So before reading I had no idea what DoWs sent Ted initially :lol:<br style="user-select: auto;">
<br style="user-select: auto;"><br style="user-select: auto;">Air dancers are really popular here-- perhaps not as popular as they used to be, but I saw them a lot in my hometown used at car sale depots for marketing purposes. It's nice to see them used outside of that context!
Definitely a creative solution!

I wonder what about them exactly the wolves don't like. My guess is the movement over the color, since green apparently is pretty bland looking and probably not an important a color to a predator. And the sound of the flapping and the motor is probably foreign as well.
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Re: Defenders of Wildlife sends Oregon man air dancer to fend off wolves

Post by Phasoli » Wed Mar 13, 2019 11:44 am

A scarecrow of sorts for wolves, haha. Would that make it a “wolfcrow”?

Jokes aside, that’s quite a neat alternative for protecting livestock. Not only is this rancher saving the lives of his cattle, but he’s saving the lives of these wolves. I hope that it works out and becomes a long-term defense mechanism.
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Re: Defenders of Wildlife sends Oregon man air dancer to fend off wolves

Post by DinoDogDude209 » Sun Mar 17, 2019 6:42 am

That's a pretty unconventional way to keep the wolves away, but I suppose that it's a matter of "If it works, it works". Though I wonder who came up with the idea to use an inflatable air dancer to keep animals away.

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Re: Defenders of Wildlife sends Oregon man air dancer to fend off wolves

Post by elkhunter123456 » Thu Mar 21, 2019 3:32 pm

well i'm glad the wolves aren't getting hurt. That's a pretty unique way to deal with wolves though!
prey:
hare
beaver
mule deer
elk
moose
competitors:
raven
eagle
fox
coyote
wolf
cougar
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Re: Defenders of Wildlife sends Oregon man air dancer to fend off wolves

Post by x1103 » Thu Mar 21, 2019 4:02 pm

This is such a cool idea makes me happy to even think about it. :D
Nevermind me I just like to blah blah.

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Re: Defenders of Wildlife sends Oregon man air dancer to fend off wolves

Post by Koa » Fri Mar 22, 2019 8:57 am

DaniBeez wrote:
Tue Mar 12, 2019 4:11 pm
Koa wrote:
Tue Mar 12, 2019 1:46 pm
DaniBeez wrote:
Tue Mar 12, 2019 12:52 pm
<br style="user-select: auto;">It makes me wonder what the cows thought of it! I'm sure they were wary as well.<br style="user-select: auto;"><br style="user-select: auto;">Also I did not know those inflatables were called "air dancers". So before reading I had no idea what DoWs sent Ted initially :lol:<br style="user-select: auto;">
<br style="user-select: auto;"><br style="user-select: auto;">Air dancers are really popular here-- perhaps not as popular as they used to be, but I saw them a lot in my hometown used at car sale depots for marketing purposes. It's nice to see them used outside of that context!
Definitely a creative solution!

I wonder what about them exactly the wolves don't like. My guess is the movement over the color, since green apparently is pretty bland looking and probably not an important a color to a predator. And the sound of the flapping and the motor is probably foreign as well.
Didn't think about color but yes, I agree motion is probably the more important factor here-- and sound, though I haven't heard one in quite awhile. The swaying of those things (especially if they're really tall) can be intimidating!

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