Wildlife encounters.

[twinny4]

Tim that first pic is HUGE! Any way you can shrink it down so we don't have to scroll waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaayover to read all the replies?


~Karen

[The Toy Peddler]

O.K., time for a Bear story.
I worked as a Ranger for a few years in Sequoia National Park in the Mineral King area. I was known as the "Bear Guy" for a couple years. If a bearwas in a campground causing problems, I was usually the one to handle it. Bears liked to go into the campground to test the campers. The campers that ran totheir cars and locked the doors and rolled up the windows were easy pickings. They bears would just clean up their picnic table and go through their coolers tofind whatever they could. Wrong thing to do. The right thing to do was stand your ground, yell at them and throw rocks in their direction to discourage them. Ihave never known of a bear to attack an agressive camper in Sequoia or any campground I know of. The bears know the drill. They are extremely smart and have agood memory. They knew me on sight. If they saw me, they would usually high tail it out of there very quickly.
I usually discouraged the bears by yelling at them, throwing rocks at them and chasing them into the brush and then chasing them more until either I or themgot too tired to run any more. (usually me, but after much effort and distance from the campers) My weapons were usually rocks, a sling shot, or a paint ballgun, which left no doubt as to who the bad bears were, although I could usually tell them from one another without the yellow spots.
One year we had a particularly bad problem with bears. The berries were scarce and there was more than the usual problems in the campgrounds and cabins. I wasallowed to take it to the next level, which was to use plastic bullets when necessary. I was the only Ranger in the park that was authorized to do this. Ibought pieces of meat and tested the plastic bullets from different ranges to find the affect it would have. I found that at a distance of approx. 25 yards, Icould sting them pretty good without breaking skin or causing any real damage. The sound and sting was a little more effective than the paintballs or slingshots.
One weekend after several days of problems I was called to handle a problem bear. I showed up at the campground in the morning and found him scrounging in acamp site, with a loaf of bread in his mouth. When he spotted me, he kicked it into high gear. I was on him quickly and chased him from the campgrounddirectly. I drew my .357 at the edge of the campground when the distance was about right and pulled off a couple of shots with the plastic bullets. Out of thecorner of my eye, I noticed a few campers diving for cover! They had no idea I was using plastic bullets with much less powder than a real round and werepretty alarmed as you can imagine. Afterwards I had to go to every campsite and explain what was really happening. One guy even got it all on tape.Unfortunately he never sent me a copy. I would loved to have seen that one!
Ranger Paul

[Brewharriah]

the sloth was albino... not the possum... it was the cross eyed thing that was so funny...

...and that pygmy goat didnt even wanna try taking on someone as large as I

[jotogodfrey]

the sloth was albino... not the possum... it was the cross eyed thing that was so funny...

Asa,

My 7 yr old son spotted that right away. I diddn't even realize he was looking over my shoulder when I hear,

"WHOA checkout that possum!"

He had me blow it up and print it for him.

~Joe

[TexKitty]

Oops. I said opposum. I meant sloth. It's not albino either. It would be pure white. The term for that type of colouring is called leucistic oroccasionally in some camps, partial albinism. I think that's the group that can't convince itself that not everything with white hair is albino. I havea picture of an albino fawn. It's a true albino and although quite precious looking, in one picture you can really see the red eyes, which makes it looklike one of the "Woodland Critters" from South Park.

I have seen albino 'possums. They aren't that uncommon here, although more rare in my area now due to a mated pair of hawks and a mated pair of owls inthe small patch of remaining forest next to our house because the white ones are easier to spot and thus more likely to become food. They're actuallybringing in rabbits from other areas! No kidding. The're being captured in areas where they have become pests and are moving them here. They'll diehorrible deaths (starvation and/or disease) if left where they are now, so why not give them a chance, as well as bring in a new source of food for theraptors, you know?

I doubt that the owls or even the hawks will tangle with the 'possum my mother and one neighbour have spotted, though. My mother describes it as the sizeof a pit bull. My neighbour agrees that it's quite large. Maybe it moved in here from the area that once was (supposedly) a nuclear waste staging area? heh

[Beach bomb]

Kitty,
I love the big birds. Especially the owls. Their different and I guess that's the attraction for me. Owl babies are some of the ugliest babies you'llever see. Here's a eagle video on youtube. It takes down a deer.
Tim
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xAsXtDKdU0Q

[The Toy Peddler]

I've seen that eagle video. It's pretty amazing. It looks like the eagle might have been injured.
Paul

[The Toy Peddler]

Bird Story:
I worked for a few years in the oilfields near Long Beach ca. One day we spotted a Giant Blue Heron in one of the oil sumps. I was able to get it out and putit in a large box. I called the wildlife rescue place, and they weren't that interested, but told me to use dawn dishwashing liquid and warm water toremove the oil. I took the huge bird home and started cleaning it. I held it by the beak with one hand and washed it with the other. It's actually a 2person job, as I soon found out. It calmed down after a few minutes and so I thought it was safe to let go of it's beak. WRONG! That sucker tried to pluckmy eyball right out! I turned my head slightly when I saw that huge fish stabber coming at me, but it still got me. I was able to close my eyelid, which savedmy eye. His beak penetrated my eyelid and a millimeter into my right eye. The force sent me to the ground and temporarily blinded me. I staggered to the phoneand called the wildlife place again. GET DOWN HERE AND GET THIS BIRD OR IT'S DEAD! They were there in fifteen minutes and I was at the doctors 15 minutesafter that. I had to take all these antibiotics to keep the infection down. The doctor said if I hadn't turned when I did or get my eyelid closed, hesurely would have plucked it right out of my head!
Paul

[twinny4]

OMG Paul that bird/eye story is ....well....EWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!!! Thank God you turned and closed your eye when you did. Icouldn't and WOULDN'T want to even imagine what it would feel like to have a bird peck your eyeball out. Makes me think of The Birds when the womanfinds the guy dead on the floor and both his eyes have been pecked out!


~Karen

[customdave]

Paul, that's pretty heavy. I have seen quite a few blue herons in San Diego and they certainly ain't small.
If you have a backyard pond with koi without a net, those herons will find them and wolf them down in a heartbeat.
Dave.