Unexpected Wildlife Encounters - Page 3

Rhubarbodendron · February 11 2013, 05:17 PM

Tom Hendricks wrote:

I had to slide by unnoticed, they are very protective of their young.

A good stealth lesson. Are you sure your Sgt didn't specially arrange it as part of AIT?

B.J. · February 11 2013, 07:06 PM

Back when my wife and I were dating, we went out camping one weekend at Grayton Beach State Park, on the Gulf Coast. There was a walking trail there that was marked as a sand dune trail. About a half mile or so in, the terrain started to change to more of a swamp, but we were still on the trail. I was actually keeping my eye out for alligators, when all of a sudden I heard a noise in front of me, and my future wife took off screaming in the other direction. I look down, and right in front of my sandal-clad feet was a Cottonmouth, coiled up, mouth open, and ready to strike!

If she hadn't run screaming, I may have just frozen there and got bit, but thankfully she did. I don't know if I took off after her more in fear or more out of concern for her. Since that day, though, Indiana Jones and I have something in common - I hate snakes!!!

Tom Hendricks · February 11 2013, 07:16 PM

Robert Maxwell wrote:

Tom Hendricks wrote:

When I was stationed at Eielson AFB in Alaska, I came out of my dorm to find a Moose and its Calf munching on some grass. It was almost directly in front of the door to the dorm, I had to slide by unnoticed, they are very protective of their young.

Moose were a common fixture at Eielson. I sure remember trying to escape their attention whenever I saw one, especially when they had their kids in tow. My parents' van almost got rammed by an angry mama moose once--as in, it charged and the van barely got out of the way in time.

When I was a kid living in small town Illinois, I found a dead bat on the stairs inside the house. My mother didn't believe me when I told her it was there, until I stabbed it with a fork and brought it to her. (I knew better than to touch a dead wild animal.)

One time while living in Indiana, my neighbor had a raccoon in her garage. We were trying to shoo it out, and it climbed up onto the automatic opener dealie. Trying to scare it out, I hit the button to start opening the door, and it thrashed and globs of something fell out onto the car. My neighbor's daughter started screaming, "you're squishing it!" But no, it had just shit itself in fear. It ran out of the garage, never to be seen again. Crazy ass raccoon.

Were you stationed at Eielson?

Robert Maxwell · February 11 2013, 07:16 PM

Tom Hendricks wrote:

Robert Maxwell wrote:

Tom Hendricks wrote:

When I was stationed at Eielson AFB in Alaska, I came out of my dorm to find a Moose and its Calf munching on some grass. It was almost directly in front of the door to the dorm, I had to slide by unnoticed, they are very protective of their young.

Moose were a common fixture at Eielson. I sure remember trying to escape their attention whenever I saw one, especially when they had their kids in tow. My parents' van almost got rammed by an angry mama moose once--as in, it charged and the van barely got out of the way in time.

When I was a kid living in small town Illinois, I found a dead bat on the stairs inside the house. My mother didn't believe me when I told her it was there, until I stabbed it with a fork and brought it to her. (I knew better than to touch a dead wild animal.)

One time while living in Indiana, my neighbor had a raccoon in her garage. We were trying to shoo it out, and it climbed up onto the automatic opener dealie. Trying to scare it out, I hit the button to start opening the door, and it thrashed and globs of something fell out onto the car. My neighbor's daughter started screaming, "you're squishing it!" But no, it had just shit itself in fear. It ran out of the garage, never to be seen again. Crazy ass raccoon.

Were you stationed at Eielson?

My father was, so I spent 4 years up there.

Tom Hendricks · February 11 2013, 07:19 PM

Robert Maxwell wrote:

Tom Hendricks wrote:

Robert Maxwell wrote:

Moose were a common fixture at Eielson. I sure remember trying to escape their attention whenever I saw one, especially when they had their kids in tow. My parents' van almost got rammed by an angry mama moose once--as in, it charged and the van barely got out of the way in time.

When I was a kid living in small town Illinois, I found a dead bat on the stairs inside the house. My mother didn't believe me when I told her it was there, until I stabbed it with a fork and brought it to her. (I knew better than to touch a dead wild animal.)

One time while living in Indiana, my neighbor had a raccoon in her garage. We were trying to shoo it out, and it climbed up onto the automatic opener dealie. Trying to scare it out, I hit the button to start opening the door, and it thrashed and globs of something fell out onto the car. My neighbor's daughter started screaming, "you're squishing it!" But no, it had just shit itself in fear. It ran out of the garage, never to be seen again. Crazy ass raccoon.

Were you stationed at Eielson?

My father was, so I spent 4 years up there.

What years? I was there 87 to 90. Usually don't meet to many people who were at Eielson.

Robert Maxwell · February 11 2013, 07:20 PM

Tom Hendricks wrote:

Robert Maxwell wrote:

Tom Hendricks wrote:

Were you stationed at Eielson?

My father was, so I spent 4 years up there.

What years? I was there 87 to 90. Usually don't meet to many people who were at Eielson.

'95-'99. Graduated from BEHS.

TheSeeker · February 11 2013, 07:47 PM

Driving home last year I saw this on when I got off the highway.

Robert Maxwell · February 11 2013, 07:49 PM

I see turkeys when I drive through Pennsylvania. It's weird. They just wander around at the side of the road.

RoJoHen · February 11 2013, 07:50 PM

Yeah, my sister just moved to Pittsburgh, and she was talking about how turkeys just wander around the sidewalks. Bizarre.

TheSeeker · February 11 2013, 07:51 PM

It was very weird. They were strolling along like they didn't have a care in the world.

C.E. Evans · February 11 2013, 07:54 PM

^^^
Canada geese do that in some parts of St. Louis county. They came down here one day years ago and never left.

It's not uncommon to see them strolling down the sidewalks at a local community college or the empty end of a department store parking lot.

TheSeeker · February 11 2013, 08:01 PM

They loiter around golf courses quite a bit too.

Speaking of golf courses, my Dad was once delayed for about an hour when he was playing golf in Banff National Park because there was a grizzly bear on the next hole.

Gary7 · February 11 2013, 09:35 PM

^ That's really wild about the turkeys (no pun intended). Very odd with how they're semi-fearless around humans. I think they're slowly making plans to get back at us for their human-bred turkey cousin being a major meat staple.

M'Sharak · February 12 2013, 08:06 AM

Deranged Nasat wrote:

M'Sharak wrote:

Where I live now, there's a young Cooper's hawk I've met a couple of times. Once, he'd just caught a gopher underneath the big cedar next to our driveway; the other time he'd been cornered on the ground by crows, and my walking unannounced around the corner of the house distracted the crows for long enough that he was able to make his exit.

Is this the start of a beautiful friendship? Or at least a satisfying alliance?

"Ever having a gopher problem, mate; well, give me a call, I'll see what I can do, you get my meaning?"

Anytime the hawks want to shop for gophers in our yard, they're more than welcome. We seem to have an inexhaustible supply (various neighborhood cats have been harvesting the rodents for years and have failed to put any lasting dent in the population.)

C.E. Evans wrote:

^^^
Canada geese do that in some parts of St. Louis county. They came down here one day years ago and never left.

It's not uncommon to see them strolling down the sidewalks at a local community college or the empty end of a department store parking lot.

Lake Merritt in Oakland is like that. It's been a stopover for migrating geese probably for centuries, (officially designated a wildlife refuge in 1870) and more recently there have been some which stopped and now stay year-round.

http://oaklandnorth.net/2011/09/06/r...-lake-merritt/

February 11 2013, 07:06 PM	#32
B.J. Commodore Location: Huntsville, AL, USA	Re: Unexpected Wildlife Encounters Back when my wife and I were dating, we went out camping one weekend at Grayton Beach State Park, on the Gulf Coast. There was a walking trail there that was marked as a sand dune trail. About a half mile or so in, the terrain started to change to more of a swamp, but we were still on the trail. I was actually keeping my eye out for alligators, when all of a sudden I heard a noise in front of me, and my future wife took off screaming in the other direction. I look down, and right in front of my sandal-clad feet was a Cottonmouth, coiled up, mouth open, and ready to strike! If she hadn't run screaming, I may have just frozen there and got bit, but thankfully she did. I don't know if I took off after her more in fear or more out of concern for her. Since that day, though, Indiana Jones and I have something in common - I hate snakes!!! __________________ B.J. --- bj-o23.deviantart.com

February 11 2013, 07:47 PM	#37
TheSeeker Vice Admiral Location: New York, NY	Re: Unexpected Wildlife Encounters Driving home last year I saw this on when I got off the highway.

February 11 2013, 07:49 PM	#38
Robert Maxwell Cherry Chassis Location: The Track	Re: Unexpected Wildlife Encounters I see turkeys when I drive through Pennsylvania. It's weird. They just wander around at the side of the road. __________________ Your crash was, like, spectacular! My world simulation project! Also: Women and Men: Self-Image and Rape Culture

February 11 2013, 07:50 PM	#39
RoJoHen Awesome Location: Wherever life takes me	Re: Unexpected Wildlife Encounters Yeah, my sister just moved to Pittsburgh, and she was talking about how turkeys just wander around the sidewalks. Bizarre. __________________ I am the Quintessential Admiral. Get ready to grow your EQUINOX BEARD!

February 11 2013, 07:51 PM	#40
TheSeeker Vice Admiral Location: New York, NY	Re: Unexpected Wildlife Encounters It was very weird. They were strolling along like they didn't have a care in the world.

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February 11 2013, 07:54 PM	#41
C.E. Evans Vice Admiral Location: Saint Louis (aka Defiance)	Re: Unexpected Wildlife Encounters ^^^ Canada geese do that in some parts of St. Louis county. They came down here one day years ago and never left. It's not uncommon to see them strolling down the sidewalks at a local community college or the empty end of a department store parking lot. __________________ "Shout, shout, let it all out..."

February 11 2013, 08:01 PM	#42
TheSeeker Vice Admiral Location: New York, NY	Re: Unexpected Wildlife Encounters They loiter around golf courses quite a bit too. Speaking of golf courses, my Dad was once delayed for about an hour when he was playing golf in Banff National Park because there was a grizzly bear on the next hole.

February 11 2013, 09:35 PM	#43
Gary7 Rear Admiral Location: Near Manhattan ··· in an alternate reality	Re: Unexpected Wildlife Encounters ^ That's really wild about the turkeys (no pun intended). Very odd with how they're semi-fearless around humans. I think they're slowly making plans to get back at us for their human-bred turkey cousin being a major meat staple. __________________ Remembering Ensign Mallory.