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[bart1997]

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[Nessie]

I live far north enough that we have little in the way of poisonous, venomous reptiles or bugs. In fact there is only one. The timber rattler. But he's so far out in the woods and only at one corner of the state, so he's not much of a worry.

However, larger wildlife in general appears to be moving in with us during the last couple decades. I never used to see deer in the city -- or much of anywhere -- but now it's common to see entire herds in city parks, and a year ago I was out biking in the fall, and I saw a big ol' buck clomping at a gallop right down a suburban street.

Now we've had a black bear sighting. In a major city.

According to my state critter guidebook, within our borders live the bobcat, the coyote, the red fox, the Canada lynx (even though this ain't Canada) the moose and the gray wolf...now, my city does have a couple of those cute little red foxies wandering around (awwwww!), but as for everything else listed in this paragraph, no, I've not actually seen any of them while out on a mud trip.

I have not met the bear either.

The albino deer by the river some years back, though...now that was COOL in my car headlights at night!

Nessie

[claykid]

in my town, i have seen deer running down the street, had several red fox in my backyard, and of course, all the raccoon and opposum you can handle.

[Mynock]

About the only thing you have to worry about in PA is Black Bears. Being a hunter/general outdoorsman I've had a couple of run-ins with the fuzzballs but nothing serious. They're actually pretty laid back animals as long as you give them the space and respect any large predator desearves.

[Duncan Edwards]

Dangerous wildlife? Unquestionably in all my experience it has been the deer. Not really noted as a ferocious killer but deer kill more people each year in auto accidents than bears, snakes, wolves, big cats, and coyotes, combined. Aside from a close encounter with a copperhead snake at Studio 588 we've had no other problems but for deer. Each trip or even my daily commute to work and back bring potentially fatal encounters with the dummest creature not in a barnyard. Slamming into a deer at speed is at least messy and expensive and at worst fatal to all involved.

One thing I've not seen mentioned that has always worried me are big snapping turtles. I've seen some in ponds that could remove a toe with ease. I've seen examples of giant snapping turtles found in the lower Mississippi that could ruin a foot or leg as easily as a shark.

Something to keep in mind.

[bart1997]

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[Nessie]

One thing I've not seen mentioned that has always worried me are big snapping turtles. I've seen some in ponds that could remove a toe with ease. I've seen examples of giant snapping turtles found in the lower Mississippi that could ruin a foot or leg as easily as a shark.

You mean this?



I forgot all about this little fella. I was only thinking of REALLY BIG ANIMALS. This isn't big. He's only about a foot and a half in diameter.

Anyway, he didn't seem very dangerous, because if he was easily annoyed, he'd do something about that snail that's crawling into his shell. The footage I took shows that yellow splotch near his neck slowly crawling on his back. Maybe they can't feel it...but it'd drive me nuts, if it was me.

After I got the pictures and footage, I stepped over him and went into the mud.

Nessie

[Duncan Edwards]

You mean this?

Uh, yeah, like that. Just like that in fact. I mean, its not like he's going to chase you or anything but wouldn't you hate to step on a pretty face like that while he's half submerged? Next time you run across one of these guys take a stick and poke him in the jaw with it. That's what he'll do to your toe. The fetish is truly strong with you.

[bart1997]

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[Nessie]

The fetish is truly strong with you.

Actually, at the time I didn't know that it was a snapping turtle.

If I started poking him in the jaw, though, wouldn't that make him open his mouth? I don't actually WANT that, do I?

Naw...I got my pictures and then went into the bog and did this.



The mudpit I used for most of this summer, which is in a totally different place, was crawling with these.



These are very cute, only about eight inches in diameter. And if you need to pick one up, which I did once to get it off a busy bike path so it wouldn't get crunched...you just hold them in the middle of the shell so they can't reach you. But they don't get mad easy anyway. They just put their head inside their shells, and they wait for you to set them down.

I love nature!

Nessie