When Animals Attack! Or Not.

[Fluttershutter 2,453]

So the other night I saw a skunk! It was dark so I couldn't really see it, I just knew it didn't seem like a raccoon or oppossum. It walked away fast so I kind of followed it to see what it was. When I realized it was a skunk I backed off really fast, glad it didn't spray me or my dog.

 

Anybody have any other interesting wiildlife encounters?

[ShadoWime 41]

We dont have skunks here

but in my school, cause there are mountains next to it, birds or bats will fly into the house circles at night. someone will scared, but others will continue reading quietly. failure scare for birds and bats.

[Sophie 1,459]

Back when I was at the army, I used to have an outpost in the middle of the forest for training purposes, one night, it was pitch black, I heard some oinking in the distance which came closer and closer. Turned out it was a family of wild boars that thought it would be cool to visit me and luckily they were not aggresive, just minding their own buisness 

[Snow 7,022]

Nothing too out of the ordinary, I did take the time to relocate a rather ungrateful turtle from a busy road, which I felt was a kind gesture but it was met with retaliation, like skunks some turtles rely on foul smelling excretion to defend themselves against predators, my hands smelled quite bad after that  I aught to keep some disposable gloves in the car for next time 

[Otaku-sempai 457]

When I was a kid, I recall my mother being divebombed by a local owl.  Similarly, we had some swallows in the maples in our backyard that were overly protective over their nests. 

[ComanderZhabikKlavik 3,003]

In the village I met foxes several times in the forest-steppe. I saw them far away and close. I even recorded one fox on video. I posted this video in the topic "What made you happy today" It's a pity that I can't pet them. They are my favorite animals because they are cute! 

[SharpWit 2,646]

I've got twelve I think are worthy of sharing.

First one happened while I was taking out the trash at night. Nothing ever happened to me for years when going from the house to the back alleyway so I never brought a flashlight. All of the sudden low hiss goes out just in front of me, but louder than any I've ever heard. I leap into the air and run back to the house to grab a flashlight. My dog was barking but in an oddly playful manner. I shine the light and this possum is sitting a few feet in front if where I was with it's mouth open wider than I ever knew possible. I thought they only played dead at the time, but it simply froze in place with an inposing stance. I manage to drag my dog back to the house, leaving the garbage out there till morning. Luckily it left it alone, but I always brought a flashlight with me after that.

Second was while walking home from school, and I was just a few houses from mine when I hear this screech, followed by a whoosh of air and the sight of feathers. I ducked instinctively even though it would've been to late, and watched as my would be culprit landed in a cherry plum tree a hundred feet away. A juvenile Red Tail Hawk had taken a dive at me!

Third I didn't encounter personally, but our foundation had cracked and needed fixing. When the inspection team began crawling under the house, this rotten smell suddenly wafted up through our vents. And they cleared out quickly after spotting a long tail, so animal control was called. Turns out there was a six foot long Igauna down there that had passed away. Now this wasn't really wild, and I happened to know where it came from. A lady who used to live a few houses down prior to when we moved in had a bunch of birds and reptiles, and she was known for letting some of the larger ones sun bath in the yard. She had only moved down the road a little over a quarter mile, and I saw her out with a turtle once. Turns out the big guy had escaped and wanted to return to his old basking spot. He was smart enough to know where it was, but most likely when it cooled off for the evening he decided under our house was the best shelter, and he never came back out.

Fourth, there's a man made island near my old place that serves as a wildlife and bird sanctuary, and it's a popular spot for beach goers. Whe. It's super shallow on one side of the island, so when the waters is calm you can walk out nearly half a mile and only get up to your knees. There's tons of seegrass so as you walk along you'll often find some good sized crabs and disturb the occasional flounder. I was watching where I put my feet so as not to trip, when amidst all the tan and green, I saw a mix of red amd blue with a flash of silver right on my periphery. I look over to see a two foot long fish of some sort, fully contained within a three foot wide jelly fish with tentacles dragging even further behind it. To this day I've never seen one that big, and being only 4 feet tall at the time, I felt certain that accidentally getting tangled up in that would be the end of me, so I ran all that way back to shore, and never ventured that far out again.

Fifth, our cats were indoor/outdoor. The Himalayan was sweet as could be, super lazy to the point he'd cry to have you carry him up and down the stairs, but he was very territorial outside, and would patrol both sides of the street for our block, ensuring all of the neighbor cats didn't leave their porches when he stroke through the middle of their yards. As a result it wasn't uncommon for him to be out until late in the evening, taking advantage to cool off at night given his long thick furry which I think also prevented him from coming home with any scratches. More than once we heard fights amd would see him chasing another into the bushes or up a tree. Anyways, he started spending so much time outside, that we began putting out a dish of cat food. This had the downside of attracting a raccoon now and again, but I'd often scare them off and bring my boy inside. Thankfully he knew to leave them be. We'll one evening I see one come onto the porch, I'm thinking it's just the usual, so I step outside when I see there's already two at the food dish. I yell at them to go but they don't budge, and I hear rustling from behind. I turn to see another raccoon coming up the steps without a care for my presence. I'm a little freaked out so I go back inside. We'll more keep coming and I'm getting worried for my cat knowing he's out there somewhere. I'm counting when I think how brazen this one is to sit in one of the patio chairs beneath the window, when I realize holy crap, that one's my cat! He's sitting there calm as can be while every damn raccoon gets in line for his supper! We were free feeding at this point and would just fill up this large bowl, but I was amazed and frightened as each one came and ate their fill. These are all full sized mind you, not just some gathering of a late bloomer litter, but the thirteenth and final one shows up, this monster twice as big as the rest, pushes his way through and just goes to town. I sat there at the window watching as they ate every piece of kibble, and with one final peak and lick of the bowl, they scurried back into the night one by one. I slowly stuck my head out the door to make sure they had all left and swooped up my cat.

Sixth, is a bit of a twofer. When was younger I kayaked quite a bit in our local marina, and there was this very curious baby seal that would come right up to us. He'd playfully nibble at the paddles, rub up against the boat, and more than once tried to climb in. Now you're never supposed to do this as its dangerous and you could get fined $10k if caught, but I gave that cute little sea pupper a petting, and named him Sammy. He grew a bit but stayed as curious as ever. I didn't see him as much after the summer, but every now and then I spotted him when going by. We'll we eventually moved but I got my first job at a restaurant back down there, and had an arrangement to live part time on a friend's boat. As a result I saw quite a few more seals! There was Lucille, whom I would race on my bike on the pavement above while she swam in the channel. Lil Frankie who was another baby I'd often see sleeping on the docks, and then there was Fransisco. Huge male, easily 300 pounds, and he liked to sleep across the walkways. Now Frankie was easily surprised, so he'd slip into the water if he saw you coming, and just as quickly pop back out to resume his nap. There'd be a whole hour of occasional splashing while I was aboard making dinner. Francisco wasn't having any of it. His spot was his spot, and he wasn't budging other than to let you know just that. He'd growl and rear his head, smacking his flipper feet down angrily. The problem was I had to get around him to get to the boat. So we'd face off. I'd be walking up and he'd starting making a fuss, and he wouldn't stop until I stopped for a bit or turned around. This went on and on, with me having to carefully edge my way forward and step around. But day by day he made less of a fuss, and I'd call out to him to ket him know I was coming. It finally got to where he'd lift his head to see me at the end, and again as I went by, but nothing more. We had an understanding. Now I say this one is a twofer, not just because it's different seal encounters, but given the amount of time that had passed and the lack of fear towards people, I have a sneaking suspicion that Fransisco may have been a very grown up Sammy.

Seventh, during my childhood I stayed at my grandma's every other weekend, and one of the ways I entertained myself during that amazing time was Target practice with a pellet gun. Shooting phones books, cardboard cut outs, zucchinis made a nice spray, but the all time favorite was a game of pee the can, where you shot ever so slightly lower and lower to let more soda or water pour out with each new hole. If you were good enough you could essentially cut the can in half by the end. Anyways, there were a few neighborhood cats that would pass through the half acre lots, so I'd take a break when I saw one at the fence line. Some were our own, one was knubsy from next door. Poor guy was born with a split paw that healed into a sort of club foot. But once there was a cat bigger than any of the others. I didn't recognize it, and for a long time it stopped and stared at me. Finally it made it's way through, but something just felt off that whole time. Well moments later my grandma comes out to let me know the neighbors spotted a Bobcat in the area. Two things happened in that moment. My face went white with fear, as I realized that was the bobcat and I was totally out in the open when it came through, and the other was the realization that I probably needed glasses.

Eighth has a sad ending. When I had moved the new area happened to near some larger properties with abandoned houses on them. This was nice because I went from walking my dog six miles a day with near endless routes to take through the suburban neighborhood and city blocks of my old home to a road that went north and south each way for a mile before you could turn for half a mile to connect to the next north south road. The ability to trespass and explore these vacant spaces without repercussion broke up the monotony of simply going left or right, and added a sense of adventure, especially since I was in my Fallout phase. It wasn't uncommon to see roadkill on these long stretches of asphalt, and with no sidewalks I found myself on the road or in a ditch when going along. One time there was a particularly pancaked squirrel, but I saw a but of a blood trail going off to the side. Turned out a Hawk had flown down for a snack and ignored the incoming traffic as they ignored it. This was a surprise in of itself, but even more so was that it was very much alive. I observed it from a distance having to keep my dog away. It seemed bright and alert, but unable to move, and it was getting baked on a particularly hot summer day. I pulled my flip phone out and called my mom so she she could call animal control, butnmy battery was low and died during it. I had a ways to get back, and no means to pick up an animal with talons capable of breaking and cutting through my arm simultaneously. When I got back she hadn't really heard my call as she'd been woken up by it and was still half asleep, and it was getting dark. I went back the next day to find it had died.

Ninth, some years after living in this newer neighborhood, I had come from work to see a Pigeon walking along. Nothing too unusual. They flew by a stopped to peck for seeds and grit. I even found one decapitated in the backyard once after my cat must have gotten a hold of it. Poor thing had a bracelet too. What was unusual, was this Pigeon was on its own, and it walked halfway down the street. I decided to approach it, and while it darted in and out of some short privacy pines along a fence it never tried to take off. I cornered it and was able to pick it up with relative ease. I knew something was wrong but couldn't figure out what, so inplaced it on some towels in a hamper and gave it a variety of foods. Bread was the obvious favorite. Luckily there's a rescue in the area with some specialization with birds, so after a few days we dropped her off and made a donation. I guess I should have started this one with a sadness warning too because they accept contact info for updates and to see where to rerelease them after rehabilitation. Her spine was broken so she had to be euthanized.

Tenth is similar to the Pigeon, only it was a Seagull my coworker found sprawled out in the road. She stopped the traffic on a main road to save it, the wild thing eviscerating her forearms with its beak and toe claws. We work at a vet clinic, but it's not legal fir us to treat wild animals, so we wrapped it up in a towel and got into a cat carrier. She took it to that same bird rescue but it was the same story.

My current cat used to be an avid hunter, nothing was out of reach or too fast for her, not even hummingbirds. I can confirm 4 kills on her part, but there was one occasion where she chose to show off her prize rather than eat it. Somehow she had been relatively gentle and only a few feathers were out of place and it was in shock. I held it so it was perched between my fingers and we mixed up a simple syrup to drink from a syringe. It started buzzing it's wings eventually and we let it go only to crash into the lawn. We fetched it again and after a second attempt it was good on its own.

And finally twelfth! My girlfriend and I were house sitting for some friends, and they had chickens to care for. We had a super long day at work so I wasn't able to get out to check on them till after 10PM. I had leftover funfetti cupcakes so I brought them out as a treat and went into the coup. I should've learned from the possum, but the average flashlight wouldn't have reached the treeline anyways. I heard a branch break behind me and turned around suddenly, seeing nothing in the darkness. I held my breath and my heart rate soared. Then came really loud crashing in the woods and this thundering sound across part of the lawn. I wanted it to be a deer, but it was so loud, heavy like a horse, and I've startled deer before and they never made such a ruckus. I sprinted back to the house, slammed the door behind me and slumped against the back of a couch, hyperventilating too much to talk, my girlfriend stood before me worried at the panicked sight of me still clutching onto the cupcakes. I didn't really calm down but I eventually got my breathing under control. Thoughts raced through my mind, and my only thought was that it had to have been a bear. I had left the coup unsecured so I knew I had to go back out there. Our friends kept a pistol which I know wouldn't do much but I wasn't going back out there with nothing, and luckily they have a powerful flashlight too that I was able to take as well. I scanned the whole yard from within the house first and went back out and in swiftly. We didn't see them when they got back home, but I told them what had happened a month later when we stopped by, and they said it must have been this Stag that had been terrorizing the area a bit. It was suped up for the mating season or something and had been staring down cars and banging into everything, so it was a very real threat, just not a bear. And when we left that evening we caught a glimpse of it and the damn thing looked like it'd been on steroids to be a wannabe elk. Never seen a deer that size.

[ZiggWheelsManning 10,246]

As a kid, it was wasps that attacked me.  Those beings look confused when they're inside a home  

[Felis Amafeles 884]

There are many kinds of spiders where I live, and they occasionally take a bite out of me 

[EpicEnergy 23,218]

I once went outside at night for a bit, and saw two eyes staring at me. I thought it was a cat since I sometimes see them around at night, so I tried to scare it off by making a loud sound. It worked, except I saw a white floofy tail when it scurried off and realized it was a skunk. Glad I didn't approach it.

[Dreambiscuit 9,691]

I’ve had a few interesting, and sometimes unsettling, animal encounters. When I was very little and living in Virginia, there was a black bear that was raiding the campgrounds at Shenandoah. We watched from the car and left before it got close, but we did see it in person which was pretty cool. I’m surprised I wasn’t afraid of it. But being a little kid I saw things differently back then.

When I worked as a cave guide in the Midwest, I saw the biggest black snake I’ve ever seen oozing its way across the grounds above the cave. The grounds had a collection of old buildings to re-create an 1890s village, and the snake eventually made its way under one of the buildings, never to be seen again. Its head was the same size as the head of my black Lab dog and it scared me to death. I’m glad it was slow moving. I’ll leave the guesstimation of its overall length to you.

In the same area skunks were extremely common but I never had the misfortune of dealing with the business end of one.

That area of the Midwest had a lot of very strange animal encounters, including another bear sighting in the back yard of the adjoining neighbor's house, and an aggressive dark shape we would soon come to believe was a Puma, also behind the house. We didn't see it well enough to confirm it, but my neighbor did and thought he was done-for. Luckily the Puma didn't attack, but just disappeared back into the woods.

While living in Oregon, I was in a moving truck in the eastern part of the state when a GIGANTIC bird flew up from the rocks. We looked it up when we got home and, believe it or not, it was a California Condor, in the wild.  

The most startling was a raccoon in the restroom at a state park in Arizona. I opened a cubicle door and there it was. I’m not sure who startled the other more, but neither of us remained there for long.

Finally, and this one I think I mentioned on the forums once before, but I was stopping for gas on 101 north of Los Angeles and I saw two little (not full grown) cats meandering around the pumps. One of the cats had a sloping midsection which made me think it wasn’t a typical house cat so I had to look it up later and I believe it was something decidedly ‘wild’ (in the sense of SoCal’s infamous natural residents). But these two cats seemed very comfortable with each other and the funniest part is that they exchanged an honest-to-goodness fist bump. It was so surreal to see this in this quiet place just after sundown, and it was like a cool dream just for me. So cute.