Animal Encounters

Buffalo walking through camp on various nights in the NT of Australia, numerous snakes, tarantulas, wallabies, kangaroos.

When I travelled from Rwanda to Cape Town in Africa we had lions, Hippopotamus, Buffalo walk through our camp area, we were in canvas tents. Had lions walk near our bar in South Luangwa, needless to say I did not make it to the rest room which was 50 metres away in the dark. And the barman had a rifle. In Hippo camp I was last to go to bed and was doing night photography, walked to the open entrance to our camping are and saw atelast 6 pairs of eyes looking in my direction lit up by my headlamp, pride of lions walked around our camp site decided there and then it was bed time.
 
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We rented a RV for 11 days in Tasmania. In a RV park (after sharing a bottle of wine) a Brush Tail Possum (that was not afraid of humans) started climbing the steps into the RV. Not thinking clearly and never having seen one before and I was fairly concerned and started slapping my flip flops on the steps trying to scare him off to no avail. This had no discernible effect. Finally had to sweep him off.
 
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I've came across your average stuff. Bob Cat, Black Bear and moose. They usually just get scared and run off. Well, Moose don't get scared, lol.
 
Woke up at camp in Teddy Roosevelt NP to see huge bison sniffing around my buddy's tent.. thankfully, it lost interest and didn't crush his single man tent...


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Had a bobcat stalk me for a while. Was on a hike and my dog was going nuts for about a mile. Couldn't figure out what her deal was til she finally went ape shit on flushed the bugger out from behind a rock wall. Glad that cat left us alone after that or i would have lost a dog that day. I mean, my little lab was tough but not bobcat tough.
 
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Chris Jones said:
Had a bobcat stalk me for a while. Was on a hike and my dog was going nuts for about a mile. Couldn't figure out what her deal was til she finally went ape shit on flushed the bugger out from behind a rock wall. Glad that cat left us alone after that or i would have lost a dog that day. I mean, my little lab was tough but not bobcat tough.
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I have spoken to folks who have seen cougars following them, the experiences of Scott Murray sound wild!
 
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buckwilk said:
I have spoken to folks who have seen cougars following them, the experiences of Scott Murray sound wild!
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Ive seen a couple mountain lions. Figure many more have seen me. lol. That same dog got between me and a black bear once. She was quite protective of me. Great dog, dumb as nails for thinking she can take on a bear, but a good dog nonetheless.
 
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This is a really cool thread! I had a huge diamond back rattlesnake attack my truck on a tight trail, it kept striking the tires and follow me for over 20 feet. It was not happy! My brother is a taxidermist, so I have a stuffed bobcat (it was roadkill, permitted) in the back of my truck until someone picks it up. HAHA.
 
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I live in Florida, I mostly see gators and other things Florida is known for.
Last weekend, however, I was just driving along a 2 lane highway, (close to the area I'll be camping this weekend, which worries me a tad bit) minding my own business, came over a hill (a hill in Florida is like 10ft btw)and there's a Corvette in the opposite lane stopped and flashing his headlights and a black blob in my lane. I slow down thinking to myself "What in the world is this jackleg doi- OH MY GOODNESS THAT'S A BEAR". I've never seen a bear in my life, mind you. Before I could stop, I was about 50 feet away, the bear looked up at me, and trotted off before I could stop and get a good picture, so I snapped a crappy pic, cause I wasn't gonna ask it to pose for me.


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Chris Jones said:
Ive seen a couple mountain lions. Figure many more have seen me. lol. That same dog got between me and a black bear once. She was quite protective of me. Great dog, dumb as nails for thinking she can take on a bear, but a good dog nonetheless.
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Dogs are instinctual. You're part of her pack and she was protecting you whether she could take on the bear or not. I wish more people in this world were as "dumb" as your dog.
 
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Ran across a mountain lion a couple years ago while out mountain biking. It stared at me, I stared at it and I slowly rode away keeping an eye on it. NOW I carry spray.
 
Bison, Mulies, Whitetail, Pronghorns, Moose, fox, coyotes, snakes, bugs, etc. No bears or large cats.

Worst wildlife encounter by a wide margin. Night, overcast and coal black. Me, minus headlamp, investigating some racket outside the tent. Mrs. skunk with her litter, evidently deciding I'm a threat. Me, suddenly minus senses of sight and smell and damned near minus respiration. Rest of camping party with full senses of smell driving me to urgent care in near freezing outside temp, all windows down. Me, over a decade later, still subject to unending ridicule by the night's participants if any of them smell what they consider even the tiniest offensive odor and I'm within 100 yards. Good grief.
 
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I have come across many snkes a couple gators a wild hog and a wild iguana in the keys. The most intense encounter though was in my own yard. About 1030 one night i took a walk to the end of the drive way. As i walked back i heard something walk parallel to me in the epods. I stopped it stopped. I walked fast it matched me. This went on for the next 5 minutes. Lesson learned next time bring headlamp, dog and sidearm.

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Speeding downhill on my mountain bike, I came over a rise in the trail, and there it was sunbathing completely across the singletrack. In moments of crisis, it's amazing what flashes through our minds. I envisioned running over the snake and it getting tangled in my spokes, allowing it to bite my leg every time it's head whipped around the wheel. I grabbed a double handful of brakes and did an endo over my handlebars. Luckily I scared the cotton mouth enough by yelling the first four letter word I could think of so that he moved from his current position in the trail, or I would have landed on it face first. #skidmarks

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