Saved Fuzzy Butt


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Yo All...Thursday I was out prospecting in the Wickenburg Mountains when a movement in the trail ahead caught my eye...As I approached I saw this fuzzy little guy in real distress...He was very weak and obviously had been struggling for quite a while with this large cholla ball stuck into both of his rear legs and tail...He was pretty bloody and tried to pull himself along with just his front feet, without much success...I grabbed a clump of brush and held him down with it while I used my Puma knife to remove the cholla and the remaining spines...When I let him up, he scampered off a few feet, then stopped and just stood there looking at me...I wanted to get another close up photo of him, but when I moved toward him he ran into and climbed up a cactus...As I advanced on him he got down into the cactus and watched me...Anyhow, it was a cool experience...Cheers, Unc

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Ron . I've seen that twice. Once with a ground squirrel and once a young skunk. Those cholla balls are deadly to small animals, yet the packrats build their nest out of cholla balls and raise their young in them. Packrats have learned to live with them but other rodents suffer a long unpleasant death when they get them stuck in their hide. Thanks for saving him.----Bob

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Good for you Ron. That cholla ball reminds me of when I started detecting with my GB2 and an Eastwick pick with a rubber handle. The rubber handle picked up a ball like that and I didn't notice until I reached for the pick. It stuck to my palm and every finger on my left hand. Needless to say, it was a painful and bloody experience.

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