agbff Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Thanks toolman Really neat little creature. It's funny how it reacted toward me. It walked out of the bushes to stand right in the center of the trail facing me with no fear, then did a little head bob grin/snarl at me after i yelled "scat" at him the first time. WTF i say's to myself. I also think he watched and waited till i was split from the other two before he came out to challenge me. Everything it did was very deliberate until i was able to spook him with a big WHOOOOO!!! Then he ran with blinding speed. It actually stepped on our camera mans foot when it turned the corner where Cory (camera man) was filming Troy fishing in the river! You can hear me yell just before it comes into view. Very lucky to be rolling when it all went down.. Better chance of filming Bigfoot lol. you need a pooch that would battle a wolverine! or sail a ship or just a dog that you can sit and smoke cigars with..... french mastiff! http://andaaquino.they.org/Brody/Bunker/Ph...enchMastiff.jpg Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thefisherking Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Awsome footage as usual. Sorry to hear about your dog. My fishing buddy is on his last legs as well. I hope he can make it another season or two. Have you ever thought about a karelian bear dog. http://www.dogbreedinfo.com/karelianbeardog.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchy Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 you need a pooch that would battle a wolverine! or sail a ship or just a dog that you can sit and smoke cigars with..... french mastiff! http://andaaquino.they.org/Brody/Bunker/Ph...enchMastiff.jpg I'm sure you're probably joking, but.. ANY dog versus a wolverine = dead dog. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Teck71 Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Great Vid Jay, sorry to hear about your dog, I currently have a blue heeler pup that I'm training for a fishing buddy, he should do well, smart as hell, herds the wife's cats in to the corners. but at 14wks he'll sit, down, stay, come, and heel. but you also can't go wrong with a Lab, had a yellow for years. best damned duck dog I ever saw, would transfer well to fishing. Teck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
birchy Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Thanks toolman Really neat little creature. It's funny how it reacted toward me. It walked out of the bushes to stand right in the center of the trail facing me with no fear, then did a little head bob grin/snarl at me after i yelled "scat" at him the first time. WTF i say's to myself. I also think he watched and waited till i was split from the other two before he came out to challenge me. Everything it did was very deliberate until i was able to spook him with a big WHOOOOO!!! Then he ran with blinding speed. It actually stepped on our camera mans foot when it turned the corner where Cory (camera man) was filming Troy fishing in the river! You can hear me yell just before it comes into view. Very lucky to be rolling when it all went down.. Better chance of filming Bigfoot lol. BTW.. Interesting call that you used to scare it away! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfishfairwx Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Wow! Fischer is a beauty man, I do like the shepherds. He looks really strong! Hi HFM Thanks, he is only 10 months today, and VERY STRONG, I have never had another type of dog so can only speak for the GSD, they get a bad rap once in a while, BUT my STRONG BELIEF IS " there is no bad dogs just bad owners/breeders" For an all around dog you can not go wrong with the GSD. My wife owns a Golden Retriever,"Thor" and he is vastly different then Fischer, not worse or better just different... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SNAPFisher Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Awesome video! Always a pleasure to see your vids. If I'm having a "grey" day in the office, I sometimes watch one of your vids to remind of better things. Looking forward to more of them. Sorry to hear about your dog. I'll bet you have some great memories... Flyfishfairwx, that is a beautiful Shepherd. Regards. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esleech Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Humble, how many different types of trout food have you eaten, any raw sucker fry yet? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyfishfairwx Posted November 12, 2008 Share Posted November 12, 2008 Awesome video! Always a pleasure to see your vids. If I'm having a "grey" day in the office, I sometimes watch one of your vids to remind of better things. Looking forward to more of them. Sorry to hear about your dog. I'll bet you have some great memories... Flyfishfairwx, that is a beautiful Shepherd. Regards. SNAPFisher..Thanks.. And hopefully not HI-Jacking this thread, Just hoping to take HFM's mind off his loss and to let him know that he is not the only man that would shed a tear at the loss of his "Special" fishing buddy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffro Posted November 12, 2008 Share Posted November 12, 2008 Enjoyed the video, but in my opinion no one has made the right guess for the critter in question. Looks closer to a hoary marmot to me than anything. They're fairly common in the high country and extremely curious. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted November 12, 2008 Share Posted November 12, 2008 I think you may be right, Jeffro...I'm just really surprised how big those marmots are... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffro Posted November 12, 2008 Share Posted November 12, 2008 I think you may be right, Jeffro...I'm just really surprised how big those marmots are... Some of the larger ones are about the size of an medium sized dog, of course closer to the ground. Bigger than the largest standard dachsund you've ever seen. *Disclaimer this analogy only applies if you have not seen some morbidly obese or freak of nature dachsund. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ÜberFly Posted November 12, 2008 Share Posted November 12, 2008 Great vid, as always... But did you really need to pick the flower?! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humblefisherman Posted November 13, 2008 Author Share Posted November 13, 2008 Great vid, as always... But did you really need to pick the flower?! Normally i would say no... but in this case it was attched to the root so... yes. I'm being sacastic of course, and it is a good point you make. Warning RANT Warning There are some people take offence to me eating the flowers, berries, mushrooms and bugs that I come across. I don't recieve alot of hate mail but i do get some. It all comes from a place of wanting to protect the environment (which is a great thing), so i commend you for your comment.. If you had ever met or fished with me (one4adventure) you would know my intentions come from the same place. That being said, part of what i do behind the scenes is extensive scientific research into what is edible and what is not. I also take photographs and notes so that i hopefully I'll only have to do it once. I have studied the traditional native uses of many of the herbs and flowers found on the front range for the last 12 years. It has taught me that much of what you'll find in modern books is incorrect or even false. The old native teachings are buried in folklore and stories, but still need some level of verification. This information is important because as many of you know, much of our protected lands are slated for clear-cut under the faithful watch of our current government. Including the area you just witnessed in the film. The earth is in danger not from the ones who graze responsibly, but the ones who claim ownership and prosper from the sale of what it contains. Year after year i watch my favorite valley's cleared, not only destroying the natural diversity within that plot, but displacing the creatures that live there. I wish more people would eat a flower or two and experience it's medicinal properties. With this connection they may just feel a little more inclined to protect the place where that flower lives. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reevesr1 Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 That was a rant? Seemed a little polite to me! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jksnijders Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Anyone that would give you nasty email for that is a moron as far as I'm concerned.. Awesome vid once again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hiketofish Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 Back to the original question, I'd vote for marmot. Last year I saw a couple of wolverines for about 10 minutes and two things really stuck out. One is their gait or running pattern. Its very distinctive (think weasel). It was certainly different than the critter on the video. Second is that they are quite compressed or narrowish in body. Kind of like a Goldeye I guess. They are not wide flat animals like the one on the video. Of course I'm not an expert by any stretch, and I've never seen their young. Plus I've never seen Marmots go jumping across a stream like in the video. When I saw the wolverine for the very first time, I remember thinking smallish grizzly and then it ran. Its weird what really sticks with you but I won't soon forget its bobbing gait. Here's a small pic of it from last fall. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
esleech Posted November 13, 2008 Share Posted November 13, 2008 First of all, I have alot of respect for anyone who knows a few mysteries of nature, and spends time in it as much as you Jay. Don't listen to the holier than thous. But did you really need to pick the flower?! Did you burn fuel on the way to the river? Do you have to kill the colony of insects on the walk to the river? Do you have to squash the native grasses and crush their seeds while you sit on the bank and have lunch. Do you pursue trout and put a steel hook in his face for your own enjoyment and possibly alter his future in some way? Remember to not step off the path and tread on the butterfly for you may forever alter the course of human history. If you were kidding, sorry for the rant, if not...it's all perspective, and who says stewards of the enviroment can't touch or experience nature in a sustainable way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harps Posted November 14, 2008 Share Posted November 14, 2008 Humble, Sorry to hear about your pup... I've lost too many over the past little while, and you never get over it. The critter was definately a hoary marmot, as pointed out (Jeffro knows his stuff too). They're around, but not commonly seen. Like Hike2Fish mentioned, there is a big difference in the gait, plus you really notice the how the wolverine holds his head... low or high, but rarely looking like it has no neck like the marmot... at least that's what I recall from seeing them. As to eating nature... We used to have to eat a minnow to be initiated into work... I have a few favourites that I eat... always leaving at least half of what I find behind. Pistol of a Indian paintbrush> very sweet when the flower is fresh. "Pith" of the stem from a wild violet leaf... tastes like mint. Lots know about rosehips and the huge amount of vitamins. Many others not to mention... What it comes down to is: if you don't know what's there, How can you protect it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Posted November 14, 2008 Share Posted November 14, 2008 finally watched enough the vid to find the slo-mo of the critter in question, the man from Shaughnessy Alberta got it .... hoary marmot.... ballsy bastards, had one climb up on my sleeping bag to give me the once over whilst I was still in it, scared the livin' bejesus outta me. Always thought they were a treeline critter though Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humblefisherman Posted November 14, 2008 Author Share Posted November 14, 2008 finally watched enough the vid to find the slo-mo of the critter in question, the man from Shaughnessy Alberta got it .... hoary marmot.... ballsy bastards, had one climb up on my sleeping bag to give me the once over whilst I was still in it, scared the livin' bejesus outta me. Always thought they were a treeline critter though Actually... i find this all very cool. The creature in question was seen by myself, my Camera man Cory, as well as Troy. All experienced Backcountry guy's. All seeing it from a short distance and multiple angles identify it is a Wolverine. So actually Taco it looks a hellofalota like a Marmot but he didn't get it. It Is a Wolverine. I guess i owe you guy's the full story, The first sighting was in the forest, in order to make the movie flow i used a clip of our very non video'd first brief encounter with the animal in question. The clip where i ask Troy what he thought it was ,he say's Sheltie. lol. i had to use it as it was a classic. haha. The stripes on the face, the size and the tail gave it a sheltie look. This first encounter was at about the 7 km point i watched it running through the forest and jump up and over a large downed pine and head up a small valley. We discussed it a bit , it was very fast and elusive but i knew even then what i had just laid my eye's on, all i kept thinking about was the amazing bushy tail. We walked another 3 kms and i realized that i left my stick behind. I went the 10 mins back to get it and when i turned around it was standing in the middle of the trail. Straight on it looked kind of imposing like the one in the picture. Its tail was high in the air and arched in a half moon position. It was greyish with red undertone, and it had the teeth of a dog. I yelled at it three times to get it to move. When it started running away from me and straight towards the guy's i began running after it. I let out one final yell as it rounded the corner to a surprised Cory and Troy in the middle of filming a clip. I was still 200 feet back. Troy watched it as it ran by, stepping on Cory's foot as it burned up the Trail. I caught up in time to see it cross the river upsteam. I was impressed with footage cory had gotten but was a little surprised at how low it looked in that section. why had I asked all of you what you thought it was? when i showed the footage to a few friends of mine, I got alot of answers. A few Wolverine, the next said fisher, the next said Badger, the next Marmot, the next Marten so on. These are all guy's who know their stuff, but I got a wide array of answers, i figured i throw it out to you guy's to see what would happen. Same thing... Very interesting. Kinda makes you wonder about some of that bigfoot footage hmmm. Thanks for watching everyone, and taking part in the series and my experiment. I'm working on a new movie right now. And thanks for all the comments about my dog, she was a great friend to many, and a best friend of mine. I will keep her memories strong through the video's. I'll post the next one in a few weeks, there are total of 43 so far, watch them all at http://www.youtube.com/humblefisherman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeffro Posted November 14, 2008 Share Posted November 14, 2008 Shenanigans Naturally I had to go back to take some more looks at the critter in question. Based on the footage available, I still can't convince myself that it isn't a hoary marmot, but at the same time I wouldn’t question your ability or experience to figure out what you seen. Having not been present at the time of the observation it makes it difficult to have all the necessary criteria for identifying this mammal (and having the full story certainly helps too.... ). A few things I notice in the video that may be misleading is the color patterning which is unlike any wolverine I have ever seen or heard of (yet exactly like a hoary marmot). Unfortunately nature likes to offer up a wide range of variations among individuals in a species, making it difficult to make black and white descriptions of said species. The shape of the critter and its tail, as well as the gait didn't scream without a doubt wolverine either. These would also be difficult to use based on the unusual circumstances the creature has to react too as well All that being said I will keep savoring the taste of foot in my mouth and congratulate you on a very unique experience very few get the honor of having. Your test reminds me of one I pulled on the "experts" at an old job regarding the difference between grizzly bears and black bears, but that will have to come at another time. Needless to say, the failure rate was quite high cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harps Posted November 14, 2008 Share Posted November 14, 2008 I'm not so gracefull at admitting defeat as Jeffro... vs Click here if the movie does not play. Your shots scream marmot. Break them down to frames and look at the feet as its running... no big wolverine claws. I'm not sure of the time of year, but it looks like late spring (The Round Leaved Orchids (Amerorchis rotundifolia) bloom in late spring/early summer but maybe later as you gain elevation), and that is too big to be a young wolverine of that year and around the size of an adult marmot. Marmots can be 45 - 57 cm long + 17-26 cm tail.>> ~8-20lbs (about the size of what you saw?) Wolverines are at adult size in a year, and before that stay with mom till the fall. Adult size of a wolverine is anywhere from 65-105 cm + 17-26 cm tail.>> ~15-70 lbs!!! But... I wasn't there... and thing jumping in the water looked more like a rabbit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humblefisherman Posted November 14, 2008 Author Share Posted November 14, 2008 Shenanigans Naturally I had to go back to take some more looks at the critter in question. Based on the footage available, I still can't convince myself that it isn't a hoary marmot, but at the same time I wouldn’t question your ability or experience to figure out what you seen. Having not been present at the time of the observation it makes it difficult to have all the necessary criteria for identifying this mammal (and having the full story certainly helps too.... ). A few things I notice in the video that may be misleading is the color patterning which is unlike any wolverine I have ever seen or heard of (yet exactly like a hoary marmot). Unfortunately nature likes to offer up a wide range of variations among individuals in a species, making it difficult to make black and white descriptions of said species. The shape of the critter and its tail, as well as the gait didn't scream without a doubt wolverine either. These would also be difficult to use based on the unusual circumstances the creature has to react too as well All that being said I will keep savoring the taste of foot in my mouth and congratulate you on a very unique experience very few get the honor of having. Your test reminds me of one I pulled on the "experts" at an old job regarding the difference between grizzly bears and black bears, but that will have to come at another time. Needless to say, the failure rate was quite high cheers, Hey Jeffro, It is an unusual color, it's fine if you think it's a marmot based on what you've seen, and you wouldn't be the only one thats for sure, There is no foot in your mouth as far as i'm concerned. Troy was convinced on Badger (having seen the teeth and head as well) lol sheltie. He did some digging of his own came back saying he has no doubt it was a wolverine. Too me, seeing it multiple times multiple angles, but never seeing a wolverine in real life. thought maybe a big fisher, maybe a young wolverine. Found out that there are grey phase wolverines, so... I'm sticking to young grey Wolverine. But... that being said. I don't know everything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humblefisherman Posted November 14, 2008 Author Share Posted November 14, 2008 Good digging dude!!! good pics and Marmot movie. It was filmed on July 18th. After looking at your research you even have me doubting it haha. I just went back and took a close look at the hd version and there are some pretty sizable claws on it. My buddy Turnbull is conviced on Marmot as well so your in good company. I saw the face so you'll have a hard time bringing me to the Marmot side but Id settle for "dog faced Marmot". haha Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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