Welcome Guest [Log In] [Register]
Welcome to CHIL EagleCAM. We hope you enjoy your visit.


You're currently viewing our forum as a guest. This means you are limited to certain areas of the board and there are some features you can't use. If you join our community, you'll be able to access member-only sections, and use many member-only features such as customizing your profile, sending personal messages, and voting in polls. Registration is simple, fast, and completely free.


Join our community!


If you're already a member please log in to your account to access all of our features:

Username:   Password:
Add Reply
Kind Of A Morbid Question
Topic Started: Oct 12 2006, 09:12 PM (340 Views)
Bird
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
Dr. Sharpe,

I figured I needed to ask a scientist this question because no one else can seem to give me an answer.

When an animal, bird, reptile, or any other living creature is under attack, do they go into a kind of shock so that they do not feel pain? The thought of prey feeling fear or pain while being eaten or attacked has bothered me for a long time.

They say that humans have heart attacks before they hit the ground if they fall from a high place. That way they don't feel the impact of hitting the ground. (I don't know how they have determined that . . . )

I'm hoping the animal world has something akin to that when they are attacked. Do you know? (I guess, just in case 61 was attacked by a hawk or falcon, I'm hoping there was no pain or fear.)

Thank you again for letting us know about 61. I am very sorry.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Bea
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
As my kind of question sort of falls under the same heading (morbid), I hope Bird won't mind if I ask it here also.

When you discover deceased eagles, what do you do with them? Will they be studied over to try and find out what killed them? Will (like in Martha's case) the feather's be collected and preserved or sold? Or do all the answers depend on the circumstances of the individual case?

Thank you.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Eagle Guy
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
I'm afraid I have no idea whether animals go into shock when they are attacked to avoid pain and fear. I think prey animals may stop struggling in the hopes that the predator will loosen its hold and allow for an escape.

When we find dead eagles we either ship them off for necropsy to try to find out what they died from (if the carcass is fresh, which A-61 is not) or ship the carcass to the Federal Eagle Repository in Denver, where the feathers, etc. are distributed to Native Americans with permits to possess eagle parts.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Bea
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
Thank you Dr. Sharpe.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Bird
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
Thank you, Dr. Sharpe.

Do you have any idea how long 61 had been on Anacapa?
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
ostrich2
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
This is a very valid question, and a difficult one to ask, but a worthwhile one too. A few folks here watched the Saanich nest, although many didn't, so those who did might recall this, but there was one day early on in the Saanich nest in which one of the adults clearly carried a hare into the nest. The hare was definitely still alive when it was brought in, although it was not struggling significantly (and probably was only barely alive).

This occurrence sparked discussion of the very same questions, and seeing what happened to this hare was understandably uncomfortable for some. It may well have been doing exactly what Dr. Sharpe mentioned, looking for some kind of escape opportunity by staying still.

I don't know if there's any way to know for sure whether there's anything that would ease the pain or suffering for an animal in this situation. It's not impossible perhaps - some type of physiological response to suppress pain might help an animal stay still in looking for an escape opportunity. But in general the unfortunate truth is that natural selection doesn't have any mechanism to minimize the pain or suffering of prey animals. If something doesn't actually increase the animal's chances of survival, natural selection can't influence it.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
Bird
Member Avatar
Advanced Member
I am so glad I didn't witness that scene at Saanich. I don't think I could have handled it. I am just too much of a softie.

Thank you for the information, Ostrich2.
Offline Profile Quote Post Goto Top
 
« Previous Topic · What are your questions? · Next Topic »
Add Reply