Dead animal in cache.

[+rixart]

Recently somone placed a mutilated dead animal in one of my caches. (GC14EG1)

I believe it was done by a certain Geocacher who disliked the cache theme.

What now? I welcome any reasonable suggestions.

Rixart

[+briansnat]

Take it out?

[+paulandstacey]

Could it be another hamster caching accident?

 

Won't somebody please think of the hamsters?!!

 

In all seriousness;

a) ew

if you suspect someone, don't give it anymore publicity

c) ew

[+OzzieSan]

See posts 2 and 3...

[+Moose Mob]

As briansnat suggested, perform the needed maintenance and move forward. And maybe a little BBQ sauce.

[+Vinny & Sue Team]

Recently somone placed a mutilated dead animal in one of my caches. (GC14EG1)

I believe it was done by a certain Geocacher who disliked the cache theme.

What now? I welcome any reasonable suggestions.

Rixart

(since you asked...) Well, while I personally love to eat raw meat, I strongly suggest not eating the carcass. For one thing, you do not know how it died, and more importantly, the tissues of an animal lying dead at ambient summertime temperatures for more than about 24 hours could start to grow some nasty decomposition or putrefaction bacteria, and particularly, could support the growth of any of several variants of Clostridium botulinum, particularly types A, B, E and F (some of which are putrefactive and proteolytic and some of which are not), which could produce types of botulin toxin (aka Botulismotoxin or Botulinus toxin, aka botulinism) which can lead to morbidity or mortality in humans ingesting the affected tissues. So, I suggest that you forego the temptation to munch on the carcass, and that you instead bury it or toss it aside.

[+slackpacker]

. . . placed a mutilated dead animal . . .

 

Convienent roadkill "swag" would be bad enough, mutilation might be illegal (you didn't give specifics, thankfully) and would seem to be indicative of some "Silence of the Lambs"-type freak. I would ignore unless potentially illegal -

 

(BTW, and on a much lighter note, I really enjoyed your "SSDD" cache last week -)

[Scamp]

Does it look like the cacher killed it himself and put it there-- like a domesticated animal? :/ If it was just roadkill then someone might just have a stupid sense of humor, but if you think the person actually mutilated and killed the animal himself, and know who it might be, I'd report them to the cops! Torturing animals is illegal in most places, and that goes well beyond just cache vandalism.

[4wheelin_fool]

It really depends on the type of animal, and the type of area. If it was a squirrel in a rural area where hunting is common I would ignore it. If it was housecat in a major city you may want to call the cops.

Edited August 13, 2008 by 4wheelin_fool

[+IBcrashen]

So, I suggest that you forego the temptation to munch on the carcass, and that you instead bury it or toss it aside.

 

Why toss it, put a TB tag on it.

[+magking1971]

So, I suggest that you forego the temptation to munch on the carcass, and that you instead bury it or toss it aside.

 

Why toss it, put a TB tag on it.

Best idea yet!

[+briansnat]

I apologize to Rixart for my cavalier post. It seemed to set the wrong tone for the rest of the thread.

 

He has encountered a lousy situation and came here with an earnest question and deserved better.

 

But among all the responses here, I think Paulandstacey nailed it. Rixart should do his best to ignore it.

Whomever did this was looking for attention, so just replace the cache, or archive it without comment and

deny the culprit the attention he craves. I sincerely hope that it was some kids and not fellow geocacher,

but in either case the best reaction is no reaction.

[+Green Achers]

I apologize to Rixart for my cavalier post. It seemed to set the wrong tone for the rest of the thread.

 

He has encountered a lousy situation and came here with an earnest question and deserved better.

 

Take it out?

[+Bad_CRC]

took mutilated rabbit

 

left mutant ninja turtle

 

signed log

 

tftc

[+rixart]

Obviously, very few people in the forum think this is worth serious discussion.

My fault I suppose. I did not want to implicate anyone by revealing too many details.

 

A moderator has suggested that I forward all evidence and correspondence to Groundspeak .com and let them handle it from here. I agree.

 

However...

 

I want the deplorable person who did this to know:

I know who you are. I will let Groundspeak know who you are as well.

I will mention you and your actions to every geocacher I know, except you.

I will replace the cache as many times as you defile it.

I was not harmed by your actions, another geocacher was.

You have spoiled the game for somone other than myself.

Didn't you think that perhaps a family with a child would find it?

Is YOUR family proud of what you have done?

I hope that retrieving your "fake/copy/proxy" was worth it.

 

I pity you. You need help.

Edited August 14, 2008 by rixart

[+BoggyWoggy]

Recently somone placed a mutilated dead animal in one of my caches. (GC14EG1)

I believe it was done by a certain Geocacher who disliked the cache theme.

What now? I welcome any reasonable suggestions.

Rixart

 

Ummmm...Hello! Sounds like the perfect travel bug attachment to me!

[+Five Frazers]

There are so many funny things that can be said, but the truth is if me or my kids ever found anything like that I dont know if we would continue to cache.

 

I am very sorry for you. It is sad anyone could be like that

[BRETTIOP]

Fire up the Bar-b?

[tiny_tracey]

eeuwww!

 

what a horrid thing to do

[+Belfrypotters]

Obviously, very few people in the forum think this is worth serious discussion.

My fault I suppose. I did not want to implicate anyone by revealing too many details.

Not your fault at all! Sometimes people forget they aren't in Off Topic.

It wouldn't hurt to document the incident with photos (if it isn't too late) or a record of date, time, witnesses etc., just in case it isn't an isolated incident. If this person killed and mutilated the animal then it's not just a sick joke involving road kill; they could be dangerous. If there are other incidents then the police should be involved.

Good luck and I hope it hasn't permanently spoiled geocaching in your area.

[PastorJon]

Truly a horrible thing...hopefully you can get things cleaned up and reset.

 

Off-topic... could you explain the cache to me? I'm not sure I understand what a Travelbug graveyard is, or what fake geocoins are.

 

Thanks!

[Sheriff_R_Coltrain]

It is best to just ignore it and get rid of it. There are spoilers in every hobby. If it was a geocacher who did it, no doubt he/she is reading this forum and admiring their handy work.

[+Moose Mob]

Obviously, very few people in the forum think this is worth serious discussion.

My fault I suppose. I did not want to implicate anyone by revealing too many details.

 

A moderator has suggested that I forward all evidence and correspondence to Groundspeak .com and let them handle it from here. I agree.

 

However...

 

I want the deplorable person who did this to know:

I know who you are. I will let Groundspeak know who you are as well.

I will mention you and your actions to every geocacher I know, except you.

I will replace the cache as many times as you defile it.

I was not harmed by your actions, another geocacher was.

You have spoiled the game for somone other than myself.

Didn't you think that perhaps a family with a child would find it?

Is YOUR family proud of what you have done?

I hope that retrieving your "fake/copy/proxy" was worth it.

 

I pity you. You need help.

If you let it bother you, they win.

[+Juicepig]

There is really nothing you CAN do besides what you are doing... unless you want to lower yourself to their level...

 

good luck!

Edited August 14, 2008 by Juicepig

[Clan Riffster]

I'm not sure I understand what a Travelbug graveyard is, or what fake geocoins are.

My understanding is that a TB graveyard is a cache that welcomes logging in missing coins or bugs. If you've got a TB or coin that got muggled, and you don't want it to show up in another cache till Hades freezes over, you can digitally remove it from the cache it disappeared from, and log it into the graveyard cache, where it can rest in piece. I believe a fake geocoin refers to the practice of keeping physical possession of a coin, while releasing a laminated photocopy of the coin into the wild.

 

If I'm wrong, someone will come along and correct me directly.

 

Back on topic:

Vince's observations regarding potential Clostridium botulinum issues should be taken with a grain of salt. (actually, several grains)

Clostridium botulinum, (along with most other obligate anaerobes), can be killed with heat, or for those who prefer their meat in a Tartare state, you can kill it by significantly altering the Ph level. A marinade strong in lemon juice, with orange peel, will do the job while removing the majority of the decomp flavors. However, if the digestive organs show signs of physical tramua, you should avoid eating the meat, as there may be toxins present which cannot be easily broken down.

[+The Find Its]

Obviously, very few people in the forum think this is worth serious discussion.

My fault I suppose. I did not want to implicate anyone by revealing too many details.

 

A moderator has suggested that I forward all evidence and correspondence to Groundspeak .com and let them handle it from here. I agree.

 

However...

 

I want the deplorable person who did this to know:

I know who you are. I will let Groundspeak know who you are as well.

I will mention you and your actions to every geocacher I know, except you.

I will replace the cache as many times as you defile it.

I was not harmed by your actions, another geocacher was.

You have spoiled the game for somone other than myself.

Didn't you think that perhaps a family with a child would find it?

Is YOUR family proud of what you have done?

I hope that retrieving your "fake/copy/proxy" was worth it.

 

I pity you. You need help.

 

I am glad to see this response. You have done what you need and are not letting this person stop you from your preferred hobby.

I also hope that Groundspeak can come to a reasonable solution that will help end this.

As previously stated this would have traumatized my two little girls if we had discovered it, and I am not sure if I would have handled it as well as you did.

- G

[+rixart]

I think some of you don't understand. This was not someone placing roadkill in the cache.

This person killed and mutilated a small animal, then stuffed it into the cache and logbook.

 

I went online to find out what to do, who to notify about this sociopath. I wrongly assumed that Geocachers were a little more socially responsible sort of person.

Most responders told me to ignore it or poked fun.

 

When this kind of action is dismissed or made light of, it can rapidly become common behavior.

Sick people "win" when even moderators/authorities don't take their actions seriously.

 

The cache was located in a small nature preserve behind a church where my son goes to daycare.

I suppose I should have had less of an emotional response, and try to find some humor in the situation as many of you have.

I just can't.

 

Thank you to the few that cared enough not to make jokes.

 

Coming to the forums with this issue was a waste of time.

I now know what to expect in the future.

[+wigglesworth]

People often resort to humour in embarrassment or difficult times.

 

I do have sympathy but sadly can only offer platitudes.

 

It seems that you have a detailed investigation in progress to determine the culprit. Take care and do not jump to any conclusions.

[+Moose Mob]

Closed per OP's request.