red in tooth and claw
Aug. 17th, 2009 06:44 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sergebroomAgatha is a frequent reminder that Nature, even when it appears to be safe and domesticated, is red in tooth and claw.
On Saturday, we saw her on the patio, playing with what was either a large mouse or a small rat. It was still alive, but its hind legs were paralyzed. I couldn't see any blood but I expect that Agatha had severed its spine. Yesterday morning, the rodent was still on the patio, still alive, and had managed to crawl a couple of feet away. I didn't have the courage to put it out of its misery, so I scooped it up and gently deposited on the other side of the wall at the top of our backyard, where the wilderness area begins.
A few hours later, Agatha had caught a young dove and had it pinned to the ground while she was tearing feathers off its back. I managed to grab Agatha and sent her back inside. The dove spent nearly one hour in the middle of the lawn, just sitting there. It'd appear to perk up then lie low again. Its wings had appeared to be functional as it had tried to escape from Agatha, but it wasn't moving away. Eventually, it got up and walked over to a big bush by the side of our house, where it stayed for hours. I finally decided to carry it up the hill and started walking toward it. Fear literally gave it wings because it took off very quickly.
On Saturday, we saw her on the patio, playing with what was either a large mouse or a small rat. It was still alive, but its hind legs were paralyzed. I couldn't see any blood but I expect that Agatha had severed its spine. Yesterday morning, the rodent was still on the patio, still alive, and had managed to crawl a couple of feet away. I didn't have the courage to put it out of its misery, so I scooped it up and gently deposited on the other side of the wall at the top of our backyard, where the wilderness area begins.
A few hours later, Agatha had caught a young dove and had it pinned to the ground while she was tearing feathers off its back. I managed to grab Agatha and sent her back inside. The dove spent nearly one hour in the middle of the lawn, just sitting there. It'd appear to perk up then lie low again. Its wings had appeared to be functional as it had tried to escape from Agatha, but it wasn't moving away. Eventually, it got up and walked over to a big bush by the side of our house, where it stayed for hours. I finally decided to carry it up the hill and started walking toward it. Fear literally gave it wings because it took off very quickly.
