Prongs to 17 and Blue Springs to Rhymers 12/28--29/06

[ColdWaterFshr]

Had a nice float on Thursday on the Jacks from the Prongs to Hwy 17,

then Friday from Blue Springs down to Rhymers. Several had to back

out due to illness and concerns about the weather, so it ended up

being only 4 of us the first day and 3 the second day. Bad

weather never did materialize, only had light rain at camp on Friday

night. Had the river all to ourselves both days. Water was up and fairly

sporty from the Prongs down to 17. Fishing was lousy of course. I

didn't string up the fly rod at all. Just worked the deeper holes

slowly with tube and hair jigs on the spinning rod - with nary a

bite, I didn't even see any fish other than a few hogmollies. Saw at

least 5 eagles on the upper stretch, and another 3 or 4 on the 2nd

portion. The hillsides were completely bare and the woods were

eerily quiet. We all commented how strange it was that we hadn't

seen any deer or turkey. While we were staring up in the sky at an

eagle high above, something caught my eye on the shore about 50 ft

away. At first I thought it was a bowhunters target - you know, one

of those phony bighorn sheep made out of sytrofoam, it just didn't

look real at first glance. Then I saw that it was real, and there

were TWO of them. Definitely not bighorns, but what are they? We

all looked at each other in disbelief. I managed to snap off a few

pictures before they ran off. I will try to get them posted. Let me

know your theories. Exotic livestock turned loose, or is it possible

these things exist in Missouri? I don't know, but these things were

WAY too big to be escapee's from the goat farm. They were the size

of small horses.

Anyway -- it was a fun trip. Let me see if I can attach a couple photos.

[ColdWaterFshr]

[jdmidwest]

Thats a lop eared Ozark jackass. They crossbreed a goat with a donkey. Big enough to carry a pack and they stick to the side of bluffs better....

[Terrapin Station]

Sounds like a good float CWF. As far as the goats are concerned...I have seen such a beast on only two occasions. Once was at the Exotic Animal Paradise in your hometown, and the other was on an episode of "Daktari".

[jdmidwest]

Looks like a goat to me. Probably someone let them loose like they did the wild pigs that are causing all the problems.

[boynabubble]

These are feral goats, as mentioned earlier. Probably escapees from a farm or possibly someones pets. You can tell them apart from native sheep (which are only found in the West) by the un-spiraled horns and the flop-ears. I've heard there are feral pigs and wild horses in MO, so why not goats?

-Cody