Got my first Sikabit head mount back today

clivej

Well I must say that Mr. Paddy Putittogether did a great job on the mounting of my first Siakbit that I shoot way back at the start of the stalking season.

Tricky little deer to shoot as they only come out of their burrows 45 minutes before dawn when the full moon is in it's last quarter.

BELOWaverageIQ

Ha ha ...…Big yokes them!, did you use Dwights 300win to take it down?:D:D

Feidhlim Dignan

the ones down here in cork dont have antlers, why do you think that is?

ejg

Clive, that would be a bronze ..or?:D

edi

jwshooter

dwight was telling me he had to drag it with you.

deerhunter1

clivej wrote: »

Well I must say the Paddy Putittogether did a great job on the mounting of my first Siakbit that I shoot way back at the start of the stalking season.

Tricky little deer to shoot as they only come out of their burrows 45 minutes before dawn when the full moon is in it's last quarter.

Very Good very good

zulu_dawn

quality,

should inform NPWS of the new species evolving in Kerry.....
(watership down, Part II)

pedroeibar1

A very interesting specimen. I do hope you kept the remainder of the pelt as it is difficult to confirm from that head if it is the lesser-spotted Kilgarvan sikabit or indeed its much rarer relative, the Kenmare striped sikabit. The NPWS has recently confirmed that there are more than 20 species of sikabit distributed throughout Ireland, with notable absences in Donegal, Antrim, and most of the area west of the Shannon (Although Encyclopedia Of Animals: Whitfield, 1998 does have some contrary statements on the matter.)


Sikabits are insectivores and lead most of their lives along the debris of a forest floor or on the edge of pasture land. Small in size, ranging from nine inches to twenty-six inches long depending on the sub-species, they also have many unique characteristics which one may not expect from such a harmless looking creature.

Firstly they have a very high metabolic rate, with an average heart rate of more than 200 beats per minute. With such a hyperactive lifestyle, the sikabit have enormously large and sometimes unappealing appetites. Some species of sikabit are reported to eat their own faeces and also the faeces of other animals as well. It is thought that by consuming their own waste, the sikabit is capable of boosting their intake of Vitamins B &K, which may relate to their hyperactivity, particularly in matters of reproduction.

Along with faeces consumption, some sikabits also have poisonous saliva which they use to kill small frogs and mammals. Along with their diet of faeces and venom-killed prey, sikabit also may eat carrion in order to survive and sustain their need for an enormous amount of food relative to their small size of usually less than six inches.

Do keep us informed of any other specimens. I’d love to get some DNA samples from you to help us out in mapping their genetic distribution.......
Rs,
P.

Thomasofmel

Brilliant :D

BELOWaverageIQ

Brilliant, but you clearly have tooooooo much time on your hands, ha ha .. And that's dangerous

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

A very interesting specimen. I do hope you kept the remainder of the pelt as it is difficult to confirm from that head if it is the lesser-spotted Kilgarvan sikabit or indeed its much rarer relative, the Kenmare striped sikabit. The NPWS has recently confirmed that there are more than 20 species of sikabit distributed throughout Ireland, with notable absences in Donegal, Antrim, and most of the area west of the Shannon (Although Encyclopedia Of Animals: Whitfield, 1998 does have some contrary statements on the matter.)


Sikabits are insectivores and lead most of their lives along the debris of a forest floor or on the edge of pasture land. Small in size, ranging from nine inches to twenty-six inches long depending on the sub-species, they also have many unique characteristics which one may not expect from such a harmless looking creature.

Firstly they have a very high metabolic rate, with an average heart rate of more than 200 beats per minute. With such a hyperactive lifestyle, the sikabit have enormously large and sometimes unappealing appetites. Some species of sikabit are reported to eat their own faeces and also the faeces of other animals as well. It is thought that by consuming their own waste, the sikabit is capable of boosting their intake of Vitamins B &K, which may relate to their hyperactivity, particularly in matters of reproduction.

Along with faeces consumption, some sikabits also have poisonous saliva which they use to kill small frogs and mammals. Along with their diet of faeces and venom-killed prey, sikabit also may eat carrion in order to survive and sustain their need for an enormous amount of food relative to their small size of usually less than six inches.

Do keep us informed of any other specimens. I’d love to get some DNA samples from you to help us out in mapping their genetic distribution.......
Rs,
P.

dwighet

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

A very interesting specimen. I do hope you kept the remainder of the pelt as it is difficult to confirm from that head if it is the lesser-spotted Kilgarvan sikabit or indeed its much rarer relative, the Kenmare striped sikabit. The NPWS has recently confirmed that there are more than 20 species of sikabit distributed throughout Ireland, with notable absences in Donegal, Antrim, and most of the area west of the Shannon (Although Encyclopedia Of Animals: Whitfield, 1998 does have some contrary statements on the matter.)


Sikabits are insectivores and lead most of their lives along the debris of a forest floor or on the edge of pasture land. Small in size, ranging from nine inches to twenty-six inches long depending on the sub-species, they also have many unique characteristics which one may not expect from such a harmless looking creature.

Firstly they have a very high metabolic rate, with an average heart rate of more than 200 beats per minute. With such a hyperactive lifestyle, the sikabit have enormously large and sometimes unappealing appetites. Some species of sikabit are reported to eat their own faeces and also the faeces of other animals as well. It is thought that by consuming their own waste, the sikabit is capable of boosting their intake of Vitamins B &K, which may relate to their hyperactivity, particularly in matters of reproduction.

Along with faeces consumption, some sikabits also have poisonous saliva which they use to kill small frogs and mammals. Along with their diet of faeces and venom-killed prey, sikabit also may eat carrion in order to survive and sustain their need for an enormous amount of food relative to their small size of usually less than six inches.

Do keep us informed of any other specimens. I’d love to get some DNA samples from you to help us out in mapping their genetic distribution.......
Rs,
P.

Well done David Attenborough;)

dwighet

jwshooter wrote: »

dwight was telling me he had to drag it with you.

It was a tough old slog from the top of the mountain but we managed:D:D

Vegeta

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCI18qAoKq4

pedroeibar1

BELOWaverageIQ wrote: »

Brilliant, but you clearly have tooooooo much time on your hands, ha ha .. And that's dangerous

Sadly too true... R word.
The kudos is due to Clivej, I just added a minor embellishment.
P.

clivej

pedroeibar1 wrote: »

A very interesting specimen. I do hope you kept the remainder of the pelt as it is difficult to confirm from that head if it is the lesser-spotted Kilgarvan sikabit or indeed its much rarer relative, the Kenmare striped sikabit. The NPWS has recently confirmed that there are more than 20 species of sikabit distributed throughout Ireland, with notable absences in Donegal, Antrim, and most of the area west of the Shannon (Although Encyclopedia Of Animals: Whitfield, 1998 does have some contrary statements on the matter.)


Sikabits are insectivores and lead most of their lives along the debris of a forest floor or on the edge of pasture land. Small in size, ranging from nine inches to twenty-six inches long depending on the sub-species, they also have many unique characteristics which one may not expect from such a harmless looking creature.

Firstly they have a very high metabolic rate, with an average heart rate of more than 200 beats per minute. With such a hyperactive lifestyle, the sikabit have enormously large and sometimes unappealing appetites. Some species of sikabit are reported to eat their own faeces and also the faeces of other animals as well. It is thought that by consuming their own waste, the sikabit is capable of boosting their intake of Vitamins B &K, which may relate to their hyperactivity, particularly in matters of reproduction.

Along with faeces consumption, some sikabits also have poisonous saliva which they use to kill small frogs and mammals. Along with their diet of faeces and venom-killed prey, sikabit also may eat carrion in order to survive and sustain their need for an enormous amount of food relative to their small size of usually less than six inches.

Do keep us informed of any other specimens. I’d love to get some DNA samples from you to help us out in mapping their genetic distribution.......
Rs,
P.

Vegeta wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCI18qAoKq4

And as we can see from the video how large the Siakbits burrows can get. The very rare albino Sikabit shown was in fact captured and the mounted remains were put on display in the Natural History Museum in Dublin.

Also it should be noted that the footage was taken after the shedding of it's antlers which accurs in the early spring.

dCorbus

@ pedroeibar

I’d love to get some DNA samples from you

oh no....you didn't just say that?!:eek::rolleyes:
It's getting waaaaaay too cosy in here!:D;)

Grizzly 45

AH! So the invasive species of "Jackalope" from the US has made it to our shores of our fair isle.
Fierce creatures them!
NOW there is NO excuse whatsover for Semi auto full bores ,shotgun slugs or 50 cal rifles to be made non restricted ASAP.They'd be on you before you would know it and are extremly tough to drop with anything less than a 416 Rigby:eek:

pedroeibar1

clivej wrote: »

And as we can see from the video how large the Siakbits burrows can get. The very rare albino Sikabit shown was in fact captured and the mounted remains were put on display in the Natural History Museum in Dublin.

Also it should be noted that the footage was taken after the shedding of it's antlers which accurs in the early spring.

Clivej,
I do not wish to appear confrontational, but you are quite wrong in your assumption that the sikabit in the video is an albino. In a key-note paper delivered to Der Institut fur die Wildische Animalenen last year, Professor Kurt Fahrt of Lyden University made some very interesting observations on the taxidermy specimen in Dublin’s National Hist. Museum. Pointing out the absence of red and yellow pigments, Prof. Fahrt gave a somewhat windy discourse on mutant genes and the influence of environment. He postulated that the NHM sikabit is a separate subspecies, sikabitus timidus kerriensis (AKA the Kerry sikabit)that stays white all year to suit the Kerry weather and it rarely develops a brown coat due to a lack of summer in that county. His hypothesis was drawn from his research on mountain hares.

Furthermore, it is quite possible that the sikabit in the video clip was not the creator of the burrow illustrated – at the same lecture, the eminent animal sexologist and reproduction specialist Prof. O’Toole of UCC, illustrated his paper with examples of sikabit burrows, all of which were erect in their outline, due to the verticality of the rapid mating movements. A typical example of this type of burrow is located in Stillorgan, near UCD Belfield, and another is in Glasthule village, near DunLaoghaire. It is quite possible that the burrow in the video clip, given its location, actually was colonised by the sikabit and formerly was the abode of a related and much larger (but now almost extinct) Jurassic beast, the tyrannosaurus healyrae-ensis tartancapus.

Where we do agree is the antler-drop. You are quite correct in surmising a spring season photo, and the heavy clothing of the field researchers in Vegeta’s video clip does indeed suggest a Kerry Spring!

Kind regards,
P.

clivej

I stand corrected on some of your points.


I may add with some interest that that not far from where the subspecies, sikabitus timidus kerriensis (AKA the Kerry sikabit) was captured is in fact the burrow of the the tyrannosaurus healyrae-ensis tartancapus in the village of Kilgarvan on the Kenmare road.

It can be located at the rear of the local grocery shop and petrol station now owned by a flat capped politician local to that area.

dCorbus

Aren't they planning an interpretive and visitors centre right on that very spot in the village of Kilgarvan that the creatures fossils were discovered?

Hmmmmm.....intriguing.