Wild Shopping Carts: October 2011

Monday, October 10, 2011

Black Tiger-cart

Posted by Dave Ingram at 8:58 PM


Black Tiger-cart - digesting another species of cart ... and possibly a car transmission.

It's been a long time since I've been able to get out cart hunting (with my camera) but with the winter weather setting in on Vancouver Island, British Columbia I think that I might have a little more time to search out new species.

Last week I spotted this aggressive Black Tiger-cart near the popular Courtenay Airpark Lagoon walkway. Although normally rather timid around humans, these carts are active predators and often hunt in packs, separating the old and infirm carts from larger herds.

This Tiger-cart was alone and preoccupied with digesting its meal - in the basket you can see what remains of an unidentifiable cart and what looks to be an automobile transmission.

Field marks to look for - the sleek all black frame and medium sized basket (that is expandable to eat larger prey).

What is Wild Shopping Carts?

Quite simply its sole purpose is to research the natural history of the feral shopping cart.

These carts can be found in all major cities and large towns, rolling unsteadily down back alleys, crouching behind chain link fences or lurking partially submerged in water filled ditches. Wild carts are often overlooked, but they take on a variety of different forms, colours that can be quite beautiful. Their temperament varies from docile, to playful, to downright aggressive.

I’m hoping that this blog becomes a bit of a rollout, a term used to describe a gathering of feral carts. It’ll be a place to profile carts from Vancouver Island and beyond.