Canine missing link

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
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I had a very rare treat today.

In a shallow canyon beyond the human habitation area I observed a dog working it's way up the canyon. In it's movements it reminded me of a coyote or dingo, covering territory with a definite destination and purpose. It ignored me but kept the full 50 feet width of the canyon between us. In build it was exactly half way between the miniature Akita typical Thai dogs and a dingo.

As it drew across the canyon from me I saw several more furtive canine shapes keeping in the underbrush as much as possible on the far side of the canyon wall. I got a better look at the one out in the open and saw it had massive muscular development. I then realized it was the alpha guarding it's pack and the pack were all somewhat dingo in shape and build. Most were the dingo light tan coloration but there were several colored like the alpha, a beautiful tan, dark brown and black brindle.

Whether these were Thai dogs reverted entirely to the wild, or, what seemed more likely to me from the way they were furtive and coursing just like coyotes, one of the rare surviving packs of the bridge canine between the dingo and the more modern Asian dogs. Either way, a very special treat for me.
 
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The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
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Got any photos, I never heard of them but they sound interesting!
Sadly, no. Perhaps those who read this thread could help me out here. I'm looking for a camera I can wear. It need not be fancy or even take videos. My Fuji Finepix is way too clunky and has been repaired several times from the abuse it gets when I am out riding my bike. Carrying the camera in a back pack is out because the photo ops come and go within a few seconds.
If anyone has a suggestion of a very portable, durable and ultimately convenient camera, would you take pity on me and suggest? ???
 

bugmankeith

Arachnoking
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Sadly, no. Perhaps those who read this thread could help me out here. I'm looking for a camera I can wear. It need not be fancy or even take videos. My Fuji Finepix is way too clunky and has been repaired several times from the abuse it gets when I am out riding my bike. Carrying the camera in a back pack is out because the photo ops come and go within a few seconds.
If anyone has a suggestion of a very portable, durable and ultimately convenient camera, would you take pity on me and suggest? ???
Can you ride your bike with one hand holding camera in the other so you can ride and photograph at same time, I do this sometimes.
 

RzezniksRunAway

Arachnobaron
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I've tortured my Nikon Coolpix AW100, and it has come out the other side in great shape. The one I have only has a 5x optical zoom, but from experience with this one I'd definitely buy another one of the same brand.
 

pitbulllady

Arachnoking
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Sound like typical Dingoes to me, long-term true feral dogs that are the ancestors of all the other Dingo clan, in Australia, Polynesia, and the Americas. This region is where they originated and they are still around.
As for cameras, I have a Sony Cybershot G series that has 16 megapixels, 16x optical zoom with digital zoom and image stabilizing, and it fits into a pocket neatly. I can easily hold it in one hand and snap photos. It also has a really good Macro feature for those close-ups of little things like spiders. They now have a 20-mp version with 26x optical zoom that is the same size as mine.

pitbulllady
 

The Snark

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Thanks much for the suggestions. However, they don't address the problems.
-About half the time it's both hands death grip on the handlebars. I wear out the brake pads every 2 or 3 months and had to reenforce the mechanics of the bike frame with aircraft cable to withstand the beating I give the bike. A free hand to hold the camera means a grinding slide stop and quick grab, point and shoot.
-Recollections. Of the couple hundred snakes I've seen on the rides, maybe 4 or 5 stuck around for more than 5 seconds or so. A viewfinder is mandatory. Trying to focus my eyes and locate the shot on an LCD display is out of the question. The alternative is a pre-aimed camera mounted on my body or a helmet. Sort of like the gun sights on aircraft.
-Firmly mounted on my body offers additional shock protection. Dangling means banging on things unless it is on a tight tether. I'm happy to experiment.
-Depth of field. Don't really need. Just a darned good auto-focus that can go from bright sunlight to deep jungle in moments.

As example, the dogs I saw yesterday. From first seeing the alpha until they were blurs vanishing over the rise was maybe 5 seconds. With a water bottle in one hand and a cookie in the other... GAAHHH!

I'm borrowing my sis's Sony Cybershot. Yer on da line, PBL. Let's find out just how much abuse it can take! :) (I'm already practicing looking contrite and various apologies for when I give it back to her in a basket)


The pack. Being more familiar I use coyotes in my thinking but yes. They coursed just like a wild pack. Nothing domestic whatever in their demeanor and the alpha acted exactly as such. So you think they could have been indigenous origin species?
 
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pitbulllady

Arachnoking
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2,290
Thanks much for the suggestions. However, they don't address the problems.
-About half the time it's both hands death grip on the handlebars. I wear out the brake pads every 2 or 3 months and had to reenforce the mechanics of the bike frame with aircraft cable to withstand the beating I give the bike. A free hand to hold the camera means a grinding slide stop and quick grab, point and shoot.
-Recollections. Of the couple hundred snakes I've seen on the rides, maybe 4 or 5 stuck around for more than 5 seconds or so. A viewfinder is mandatory. Trying to focus my eyes and locate the shot on an LCD display is out of the question. The alternative is a pre-aimed camera mounted on my body or a helmet. Sort of like the gun sights on aircraft.
-Firmly mounted on my body offers additional shock protection. Dangling means banging on things unless it is on a tight tether. I'm happy to experiment.
-Depth of field. Don't really need. Just a darned good auto-focus that can go from bright sunlight to deep jungle in moments.

As example, the dogs I saw yesterday. From first seeing the alpha until they were blurs vanishing over the rise was maybe 5 seconds. With a water bottle in one hand and a cookie in the other... GAAHHH!

I'm borrowing my sis's Sony Cybershot. Yer on da line, PBL. Let's find out just how much abuse it can take! :) (I'm already practicing looking contrite and various apologies for when I give it back to her in a basket)


The pack. Being more familiar I use coyotes in my thinking but yes. They coursed just like a wild pack. Nothing domestic whatever in their demeanor and the alpha acted exactly as such. So you think they could have been indigenous origin species?
Well, the SUB species is Canis lupus dingo, sometimes classified as C. lupus familiaris dingo, but yes, they originated, and still exist, in Southeast Asia, and spread from there, with human help, to other parts of the globe as far away as the Americas. If you've ever seen a pack of the North American version, aka "Carolina Dogs", they move with that same fluidity as a true wild canid. You KNOW, when you see a pack cross a road or field or spot them in a swamp, that you're not looking at ordinary dogs gone feral. I, along with several other people, have speculated that these dogs are, in fact, the basis for John James Audubon's paintings and descriptions of "Red Wolves" in the Deep South, which he described as associated with Native settlements. There were wolves in the South, but the few remaining photos of wolves that were killed or captured bear little resemblance to the animals being called "Red Wolves" today, but look like typical Grays. The animals described by Audubon were short-coated, reddish canines, though a black morph is common in Florida up through Georgia and to a limited extent, here in SC, too. At that time, coyotes had not moved into the Southeast and did not exist here, and DNA analysis on the "Red Wolves" in captivity and their descendents which have been released into protected areas in NC and SC shows them to be a mongrel of Canis lupus/C.l. familiaris and Canis latrans. They have been selectively bred in captivity to resemble the animals described and painted by Audubon, since those were thought to be purebred "Red Wolves", when in fact they probably were Dingoes. HE named them "Red Wolves" due to their tawny or ginger coloration, which is, of course, typical Dingo coloration.

pitbulllady
 

stewstew8282

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2nd the go pro, it even has a WiFi remote to take stills a bunch at a time. simply mount to your helmet and you dont need gun crosshairs, simply look and push the remote. attach remote to handlebars, your all set for cool pics
 

The Snark

Dumpster Fire of the Gods
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Yup! GoPro is exactly what I want. I'd be happy with a simple wire and switch instead of an $80 remote that can control up to 50 cameras... AND, there is a place that sells them in my local city. But I suggest you sit down and not be holding containers that can spill. The $199 Hero 3 is on sale for only 9990 baht. $330. The remote is only 4500 baht. $145. Extra $19.99 rechargeable battery, 1200 baht, $35, and the cheap 64gb $79.99 memory card another $145. But the good news is they throw in a free mounting bracket. Maybe next year.

---------- Post added 02-21-2014 at 07:32 PM ----------

Well, the SUB species is Canis lupus dingo, sometimes classified as C. lupus familiaris dingo, but yes, they originated, and still exist, in Southeast Asia, and spread from there, with human help, to other parts of the globe as far away as the Americas. If you've ever seen a pack of the North American version, aka "Carolina Dogs", they move with that same fluidity as a true wild canid. You KNOW, when you see a pack cross a road or field or spot them in a swamp, that you're not looking at ordinary dogs gone feral.

pitbulllady
Yes, that what I call coursing is so completely different from any domesticated dog it is easy to think they are an entirely different species or even genus. Like the coyotes in So. Cal that easily travel 30 to 40 miles each and every night or the dingo packs that have 500 square mile or more hunting grounds in the vast outback.


PS Added GoPro bonus. The company informed me they have A sales outlet in Bangkok. So the store and cameras I checked out are probably counterfeit Chinese copies.
 
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