Aurora.

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Consider this to be other than a gag, a prank, a stunt. This is a SERIOUS MATTER!

Should be condemned harshly and the perpetrators punished to the full extent of the law.

"Air Force falcon mascot suffers 'life-threatening' injury in Army prank"

AURORA THE GYRFALCON KIDNAPPED! SAFE AND SOUND NOW AND APPARENTLY RECOVERING!

"Sometimes a friendly prank between two football rivals can go too far."

"That seemed to be the case recently when one of the Air Force Academy's real-life falcon mascots was seriously hurt during a prank before the annual rivalry football game against Army, in upstate New York, according to an Air Force Academy official."

INJURY NOW NOT LIFE THREATENING. THE THOUGHT WAS AURORA MIGHT HAVE TO BE EUTHANIZED. HOPEFULLY THIS IS NOT SO!

Shame on the West Point cadets. At a minimum they need to assume the costs for the transport, care, veterinarian service, the pain and suffering to the USAFA [United States Air Force Academy] corps. Army cadets MUST atone for their guilt. Apologize profusely and IN PERSON contritely so and with great regret, remorsefully so..

coolbert.

Gamekeeper.

This is coolbert:

War! What is it good for?

Good for the birds? At least during war-time in England it has been.

We have to be perfectly clear what we are talking about here.

Shooting of ground-dwelling game birds in England a popular sport. Was one hundred years ago and is now.

Introduced species such as pheasant released in vast numbers on a yearly basis. A prey in-the-sights-of during season by zealous shot-gun wielding hunting enthusiasts. Native grouse also a popular target for the wild-game crowd. Oddball species such as the woodcock also a popular bird highly prized for the table.

Large landed estates of the English upper-class gentry and specified game preserves during peace time employing a small army of game keepers. The game keeper their mission to ward off out-of-season poachers AND SHOOT RAPTORS.

Raptors those birds-of-prey their quarry to include the game birds so highly prized by the hunting set.

Raptors [eagles, falcons, harriers, hawks] shot on sight, no warning given. Raptors seen as A PEST TO BE ELIMINATED.

Indeed, prior to the Great War [WW1] some species of raptors in England having gone extinct in the wild, such large  numbers of the birds shot dead, again, ON-SIGHT no mercy ever given or thought to conservation or preservation. Game birds YES, raptors NEVER!

From the book "The Meaning of Birds" by Barnes. "War is often good for wildlife. Humans concentrate more on killing each other than on killing birds. So the two world ware were good news for British birds of prey. There were fewer gamekeepers on the ground because many were called up, and the whole country had other priorities - - and better uses for ammunition than sport."

Makes sense. Game keepers either volunteering or conscripted for the military their numbers greatly reduced on the "landed estates" and "game preserves", raptors for a period of years allowed to increase and multiply their kind. Human decimation of various species radically reduced. A more sound, sustainable and healthy environment the result.

Thank you war?

coolbert.

Gyrfalcon.

This is coolbert:

The gryfalcon. The most prized of all the raptors. From the standpoint of the falconer the acme of perfection.

Place this blog entry in the miscellany category, a curiosity and oddity, but not so excessively so. Thanks to the tip from a recent edition of the National Geographic magazine.

Horse racing generally acknowledged as the "Sport of Kings" but consider falconry a close second!

From the time of the Crusades birds as carried with royalty, a symbol of power and wealth. Valued by the Crusader AND THE SARACEN BOTH [Muslims during that period of the Crusades referred to as Saracens].

A gyrfalcon [jer-falcon] belonging to King Philip I of Spain when having gotten loose and captured by the Saracens, the famous Islamic warrior Saladin REFUSING a ransom of a princely sum literally so to be paid for the return of the falcon.

"They were used in the Crusades and were political pawns in wars. Saladin refused to return the 'white gyrfalcon owned by King Philip I [?] of Spain [?]' when it got loose during the Siege of Acre."

One-thousand ducats as offered for the return of the gyrfalcon that amount again refused by Saladin.

By my calculations that amount of one-thousand ducats worth about $160,000 USD as current value!!

All that for one bird! The Saracen and Saladin in particular taking I might assume their perspective the desertion an omen of good, more than anything else retaining the bird as a symbol of good fortune!

coolbert.

Allies.

This is coolbert:

To war with insect! Cyborg style!

"Cyborg - - A cyborg short for "cybernetic organism" is a being with both organic and biomechatronic body parts"

"Cyborg insect! Beyond micro-drone. A weapon of war."

Thanks to Freeper and the original story from Live Science.

"The Pentagon Wants to Make an Army of Virus-Spreading Insects. Scientists Are Concerned."

"Pentagon research project called 'Insect Allies.' Funded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the project involves using gene-editing techniques like CRISPR to infect insects with modified viruses that could help make America's crops more resilient."

HAS THE POTENTIALITY AS A BIO WEAPON VECTOR [vector an organism, typically a biting insect or tick, that transmits a disease or parasite from one animal or plant to another.]. IF YOU CAN USE THESE CYBORG TO MAKE AMERICAN CROPS MORE "RESILIENT" YOU CAN ALSO USE TO MAKE CROPS OF AN ENEMY LESS RESILIENT!

The future is NOW too! These cyborg insects already commercially available.

coolbert.