22 replies to this topic

[inverse_bloom]

I thought i'd ask people what kind of deadly animals you have "seen" in your part of the world?
I live in South Australia, apparently in Australia we have some of the deadliest animals in the world. Maybe in the centers of one of our deserts, as i don't see them much.

I've seen a large green centipede (i think) at about 12 cms (4 inches 3 quarters) it had a red underbelly and bright red spikes on its top. The only picture i could find that looks remotely like it is this catterpillar - http://www.jenniferm...s/Euphorion.jpg

We do see a lot of snakes in South Australia however and probably the biggest i've seen so far is one of our poisonous brown snakes. Look this one is smiling -

http://www.news.com.au/common/imagedata/0,,5873870,00.jpg

Heres a better picture -

http://www.aaev.net/...brown_snake.jpg

The one i saw as part of a class excursion about 17 years ago was very long and fat it was curled into 5 rungs. Our class walked two meters past it as no one noticed it till that point.

During the time i lived in Melbourne we found plenty of examples of blue ringed octupus in water crevises on the beach, here is an example -

http
://resources3.news.com.au/images/2009/...us-6459161.jpg

However, the ones we would discover usually didn't have rings that were so "luminous".

We get many, many redback spiders in South Austrlalia here is an example -

http://resources3.news.com.au/images/2006/...ack-5340496.jpg

The largest example i have seen so far had a back almost an inch long, that was a scary looking one. Recently i squashed one, the back is actually quite strong. I did it with the blunt end of a pen and applied about the same amount of pressure as you would to pierce the side of an egg!

Here is another picture of it -

http://www.abc.net.a...3413_990506.jpg

However, they dont just come with red on their backs but also white. I have been told that the white ones are more deadly but im not sure on that one.

So what deadly animals have you "seen" in your part of the world?

Edited by inverse_bloom, 13 November 2009 - 01:22 AM.

[jlhaslip]

Deadly animals around here include Black Bears, Grizzly Bears, Cougars, Elk, Moose, wolves, coyotes, but no snakes in these parts are poisonous, so you win that one. Actually, the Garter snake is the most common snake here, they do bite, but have no venom and small teeth, so they aren't dangerous.
The Bears are the scary ones. A full size Black Bear can be quite lethal. Don't get in their way.
Grizzly Bears are down-right nasty when provoked, but on the other hand, they can co-exist with humans quite peacefully. One gal around here tells the story of being out picking berries and having a Grizzly on the opposite side of a bush picking along with her. Probably only 12 feet away, but not concerned with her presence because it was contentedly eating its share of berries. If the bear was hungry, it might have been a different story.
And the Elk and Moose can be dangerous if you don't heed their presence. They will charge with their horns down at a full gallop. That will hurt you.
All in all, however, I enjoy the wildlife, and know enough to stay out of their way. They are wonderful to view at a distance.

[inverse_bloom]

Wow thats "is" some nice wildlife scenery. I presume they are Canadian animals that can be found just outside of suburbia? Or do you need to travel into the wilderness to see them. Personally i'd stay well away from all those listed animals.

Although you didn't emphasize cougars much, would'nt they be a bit territorial so you'd need to be carefull where you were treading?

Coyote's from what i've seen on T.V documentaries seem unpredictable. Which would suggest if you actually encountered a hungry pack, you could be in for a very scary time.

People beware of humans too, they get hungry -

http://www.britannica.com/blogs/wp-content...08/03/seals.jpg

Edited by inverse_bloom, 13 November 2009 - 12:38 AM.

[jlhaslip]

Quote

that can be found just outside of suburbia? Or do you need to travel into the wilderness to see them.

I don't know what you are calling suburbia, but I chased a small Black Bear cub off of the patio in July, and couldn't get out of my truck one evening last week due to there being a full grown Black Bear in my garbage can beside the driveway. I live 3 miles out of town. When the fruit trees are ripe, they'll even go into town to get the unattended fruits. They'll stare at you through a window. Close encounters of a wilderness kind of way.

Cougars are a different story. They are out mostly at night and sightings are rare, but they do travel around during the day. They trapped one about 200 yards from under a cabin I was living in back a few years ago. It was getting chickens and piglets from a neighbour. Their dogs didn't so much as bark at it. Scared silent. They are truly stealthy critters.

Yup, Western Canada, in the Rockies.

[rob86]

We have pretty much the same animals over here in Eastern Canada as jlhaslip has on the other side, coyotes,wolves, foxes,moose,bears. Coyotes or wolves are frequently around, almost every night but I don't consider them really deadly. They recently killed young woman somewhere in Canada but that's pretty rare I think. I sometimes like to watch them howling and barking in the moonlit field behind my house, and they always run away when they see or hear me. It's hard to even get close enough to see them, their hearing is exceptional on a quiet night. I suppose they could attack me if they were starved, but I guess that's the chance you take to enjoy nature!

I don't see moose very often, but they are about the scariest things I see because of their size and big antlers. They are like the incredible hulks of Canada, they've got bulging muscles! I've always been told they are likely to charge you when they're separated from their young, but I've never seen it. I'm definitely cautious around them though. Due to their size, being the biggest thing around, they're rarely scared of anything which makes them more of a threat in my opinion than any coyotes or wolves. Moose will stand their completely unconcerned with your presence. Hearing them charge through the trees is an interesting thing to experience. They don't have to be agile, and actually crush small trees and tear limbs off bigger ones when they're running.

I never see bears, though they are around. They don't seem to be as abundant in my area. I see their tracks, and I see where they clean out patches of berries, but I've only actually seen one or two in my entire life. That doesn't keep me from being a little cautious of them though, as there's always the chance they might be around.

One thing that jlhaslip didn't mention that I consider one of the most terrifying animals are eagles and hawks. They might not be a threat to humans, but they are deadly killers of small pets. I've seen so many wild animals being picked up by and flown away with such ease that I can't help but worry about pets when I see one circling the skies. Once one of these birds sets its sights on something, it swoops down with such incredible precision it seems almost unreal. How can they be so high in the sky, see a mouse running in a field, and swoop down and kill it before the mouse even knows what happened? I have no idea, but it's impressive! They are completely silent, quick, and deadly. Let us just be thankful there aren't any large ones that feast on humans.

As for cougars and any type of wild cat, well there's some debate over whether they even exist in my province. There are people who swear they are roaming around and some who claim to see them when driving at night. When people do send pictures to the newspapers , they're always considered fakes. The official word is there aren't any. I haven't seen any (large) cat tracks in my life.

Elks.. there aren't any around here. Too bad!

In general I feel my part of Canada is a very safe place. There are no poisonous creatures, there are few predators that will attack humans. Most will run away around humans. They get a bit aggressive when you get between their young and them, but that doesn't happen much.. and they mostly avoid confrontation. I'm not going to say animal attacks never happen, but it's so infrequent it doesn't bother me at all to walk in the woods. There are probably more murders and assaults in city parks than Moose attacks. I'm not sure what the official statistics are for animal attacks, but it seems a lot less common than people think.

My father went to Texas,USA and every walk he took with his brother they had to constantly watch out for poisonous snakes, and this was on public walking trails, not the outback. My uncle stepped on a snake on one of those few walks and they had to call for help just to be sure he wasn't going to die. That doesn't seem very safe!

I find it kind of interesting that you would stay away from Canadian animals, inverse_bloom. I've always got the impression Australia was for real outback men who fight off crocodiles and poisonous snakes with their barehands. I guess I watched too much Steve Irwin, m8. Those pictures you posted are going to give me nightmares! All of those creatures are much more scary to me than anything in Canada. At least a moose or bear you can actually see from a distance. I'd always be paranoid of stepping on a poisonous snake or spider hidden in the grass. I'm a relatively confident person in the wilderness, and I would be very weary of taking a hike in Australia! I do some geocaching, which is just a casual outdoor hobby, and I read Australian geocacher's posts about chopping through jungles of vegetation with machetes and fighting off poisonous beasts and avoiding snakes like the ones you mentioned. Pretty extreme outdoors there, but hey.. Sounds kind of fun actually..

Edited by rob86, 13 November 2009 - 03:04 AM.

[inverse_bloom]

@ jlhaslip

Quote

They'll stare at you through a window. Close encounters of a wilderness kind of way.

Hey thats kinda funny, your there watching sport on T.V, your attention slowly drifts to a form
slightly moving in the window. You turn your head to see what it is and its a great black bear watching
you, chewing on a rabbits head!

@ rob86

Quote

I've always got the impression Australia was for real outback men who fight off crocodiles
and poisonous snakes with their barehands.

Yeah i do that, whenever i have a bad day i head off to the local creek where i punch a few Croc's heads in,
thats what they recommend for anger management in Australia. My favorite move is the "pile driver", but
they don't consider that fair play, "they're a bunch of fairies".

As for snakes, we bite their heads off and use their tails to whip our women into an aroused state.

Yeah, Australia "is" supposed to be very wild (in the way of animals) but it depends where you go.
For instance we have a lot emu's and bouncer Kangaroo's in some major areas in the Australian outback.
I'm thinking more towards the East, inland 200 Kms. If you come across an aggressive one of these out
bush they will use their claws (on their feet) to rip a hole in your stomach and spill your insides out.
Apparently the Emu's (birds) do this one legged, the big bouncer kangaroo's balance on its tail and use
both feet, nasty!

I haven't seen these animals in their "natural" habitat, which i was hoping people would keep this
topic about, i'm the first one diverging!. I have seen many jelly fish washed ashore, but they are always dead
and i'm not sure if we have the deadly variety or the ones that just give a nasty sting.

Edited by truefusion, 14 November 2009 - 12:22 AM.

[anwiii]

i used to go to wyoming every year in yellowstone national park. i am very familiar with all the animals jhaslip named including grizlies. i was always told that when walking with someone else, always keep talking so the animals hear you or you will startle them and there is a high risk of an attack. if walking alone, you use a couple bells tied to your shoe lace to make noise not to startle. but in general, you are supposed to be able to coinhabit the same area without being attacking....not getting too close ofcourse for safety reasons.

the scariest time though was when i was chased by a bull moose. they are HUGE. i was flyfishing on a lake and i noticed a moose walking my way in the distance. knowing that he will probably just walk right on by me if i keep doing what i'm doing, i just kept doing what i was doing. well, when the moose got 20 yards from me, it started jogging. i thought it was cool to watch at first until the jog turned in to a run directly for me. luckily, i had my hip high waders on and just walked in the lake. the moose didn't stop. in fact it started in after me in the water. after i was hip high, the moose stopped running and walked back out and away in the same direction he was going before.

anyway, afterwards, i thought it was quite an exciting moment after getting over the moment i thought i was gonna die haha. i talked to the ranger about what happened and even he said that that was a rare occurance where a moose would charge for no reason like that.

came 10 feet close to a buffalo(or bison) when i had to walk around him when this huge creature fell asleep on a hiking trail. i also remember one instance when three of us were in the back country and we had to stop flyfishing and hake back because it started storming. thunder/lightning and all. on our way back. this big grizly was on crossed our trail, stood up on two feet and started sniffing the sky for about 5-10 seconds. we froze. it went away but aboviously saw us and smelled us.

my backyard were i grew up in los angeles, we had black widow spiders which could kill a small child. also, when i was training for cross country, my buddies would train on a dirt trail in the mountains. i remember one day after a rain, we decided to run and could hardly step anywhere without stepping on a baby rattle snake on the trail. never seen so many in my life. babies are killers because they will release all their venom where an adult can control the output and wont release it all. i also remember when i was very young in the fourth grade, one of my best friends had to move in the hills. i remember watching coytes eat their prey in front of his basement window....but the scariest crap was noticing the rattlesnakes in his pool. his place gave me the creeps.

i now live in missouri. this place gives me the creeps too because it's a whole new set of creatures out there. specifically the snakes you don't want to come across including the copperhead and the cottonmouth. we have a lot of creeks here which i LOVE to go to and explore, but even that gives me the creeps not knowing if i'm gonna hit a snake den of some kind because they love the water here. i have seen so many snakes swimming around here, it's not even funny.

not of that compares to the deadliest creature on earth though. let me tell you something. i grew up in los angeles california and i have had a gun pulled on me three times. human beings have to be the deadliest creature on this earth. some places in los angeles back in the 80's, in some neighborhoods, you had to hang your head down low or be shot just for looking at someone and drawing attention to yourself. that's no joke. so in my opinion, all the deadliest animals and creatures of the world don't ever compare to human beings.

some of the deadliest animals can be found in africa, which i spent 3 weeks there once. i heard a lion roar 20 feet away from me. a leopard growled and hissed at our car while i was taking pictures of it 5 feet away(scared the crap out of me. it was so fast and thought it was going to attack). strangest experience though was getting chased by two hippos out of their territory while they were sun bathing in a river. i was like 20 yards away....but that was too close for them.

i know not all these experiences were in my "backyard" but they are my experiences

last one i promise. in hawaii in maui, i was hiking in the back country. i came across something you would usually only see in the movies. i pond with a great waterfall flowing in to it. i went swimming and swam to the waterfall. i climbed out and hiked to the top of the waterfall and debated wether i should jum in. in was about 3 stories high. decided not to and kept hiking. i kept noticing these BEAUTIFUL spider webs. elegantly formed with a spider in the middle of each one. they were pretty to look at and wicked at the same time. i didn't know what to make of them. i then ran in to a couple hiking the opposite way and this guy showed me his back. part of his back swelled up to the size of two adult fists. it was nasty looking. he told me he walked right in to one of those spider webs and the spider bit him. it was the nastiest spider bite i ever saw and no doubt he would have to go to the hospital after finding their way back to civilization. i decided to turn back and not risk running in to one of those things by accident.

i absoultely HATE small animals and insects that are able to bite me at any time. i am with the person who said he'd rather deal with the larger animals. THAT'S ME!!!

[buxgoddess]

If humans are animals then I do have a few deadly animals who live in my backyards. One of them is a housewife and mother of two, whose husband ditched her of her bad character. A deadly quarrelsome for no reasons on earth. The worst that was seen was a few months ago she tore off her top clothes in front of her family members and strangers to show how mush she was hurt when the motorbike hit her a few minutes back. The resultant that she attacked the biker so badly with half naked body was a sign of plight for many. Such an animal instinct with no shame of the self and family. You can't even declare her mad as mad people are much better and predictable. Even if you talk well to her she ends up creating a fuss.

[Misanthrope]

Great post, Inversebloom. I have discovered the hard way my backyard is indeed infested with dangerous and deadly critters, and sadly, they are of the feline-eating pursuasion. You see, one of my precious gattos was taken three weeks ago, by what, I’m not sure - though I suspect a canine. You can see my boy’s picture here: http://vivianbritton.com/index10.php (scroll down to “my boys” photo).

He is the beautiful gray cat on the left. His name was Vladimir Putin and he didn’t deserve what happened to him. It happened early one morning, around 3am. I had to leave early that day to drive across the state and my precious puddy wanted to go out, so I let him out, moron that I am. Something was telling me not to but I didn’t listen to my instinct. When I got home, there was no sweet Vladimir scratching at the sliding glass door to get in.

It was due to my ignorance of the wild that he fell prey to the dark of the night. I went over all possibilities in my head. We have owl, cougar, Canadian lynx, black bear, some even say grizzly, raccoons, turkey vultures, raptors of all pursuasion, wild dogs abandoned by their people, and…..coyote. After talking to neighbor who had lost several cats to coyotes, I came to the conclusion they were probably the culprits. He said the coyotes were actually walking up to his deck and snatching his animals, then dragging them back to their den. This idiot and his troll of a "woman" had fifty-plus cats and apparently did nothing to stop the coyote onslaught. Anyone with more than twenty cats is a what I call a “collector.” He was not running a shelter and apparently not taking care of the poor cats. Because of him the local coyotes became quite comfortable preying on domestic felines. As for me, I have learned my lesson. My remaining cat is a true home boy now. What sickens me most is my precious Vladimir lost his life due to my negligence as his care taker. I am more angry at myself than the deadly critters who lurk in the bush.

[anwiii]

sorry to hear about what happened. since you don't know for sure what happened and all you do know is that your family member is missing, i would go easy and assume the best of the worst and think that someone took him rather than something killed him.

Misanthrope, on Nov 13 2009, 02:46 AM, said:

Great post, Inversebloom. I have discovered the hard way my backyard is indeed infested with dangerous and deadly critters, and sadly, they are of the feline-eating pursuasion. You see, one of my precious gattos was taken three weeks ago, by what, I’m not sure - though I suspect a canine. You can see my boy’s picture here: http://vivianbritton.com/index10.php (scroll down to “my boys” photo).

He is the beautiful gray cat on the left. His name was Vladimir Putin and he didn’t deserve what happened to him. It happened early one morning, around 3am. I had to leave early that day to drive across the state and my precious puddy wanted to go out, so I let him out, moron that I am. Something was telling me not to but I didn’t listen to my instinct. When I got home, there was no sweet Vladimir scratching at the sliding glass door to get in.

It was due to my ignorance of the wild that he fell prey to the dark of the night. I went over all possibilities in my head. We have owl, cougar, Canadian lynx, black bear, some even say grizzly, raccoons, turkey vultures, raptors of all pursuasion, wild dogs abandoned by their people, and…..coyote. After talking to neighbor who had lost several cats to coyotes, I came to the conclusion they were probably the culprits. He said the coyotes were actually walking up to his deck and snatching his animals, then dragging them back to their den. This idiot and his troll of a "woman" had fifty-plus cats and apparently did nothing to stop the coyote onslaught. Anyone with more than twenty cats is a what I call a “collector.” He was not running a shelter and apparently not taking care of the poor cats. Because of him the local coyotes became quite comfortable preying on domestic felines. As for me, I have learned my lesson. My remaining cat is a true home boy now. What sickens me most is my precious Vladimir lost his life due to my negligence as his care taker. I am more angry at myself than the deadly critters who lurk in the bush.