Animals, Hammocks and you!

**lizzie** · 08-09-2011, 21:21

Originally Posted by FLRider

Had one a few weeks back at Ichetucknee Springs...

I was sleeping in my Hennessy at a developed campsite, and was awoken by what sounded like a felling crew going at one of the trees next to me. I'm a fairly hard sleeper at the best of times, and being woken up at oh-dark-thirty doesn't help that much. So I mumbled something incoherent and not fit for television broadcast and rolled over to see what was disturbing my sleep. I was thinking that it had to be at least man-sized (hoping that it was one of the dogs that the car campers had brought with them or maybe a deer, rather than someone trying to steal my bike or a bear feeling adventurous)

Turns out it was an armadillo. Those things are noisier than a semi moving through the woods, for certain. I cursed at it and rolled over to go back to sleep.

Also, last week hiking the San Felasco loop, I came face-to-face with a whitetail yearling that wasn't particularly skittish of me. That was fun; what wasn't so fun was nearly stepping on a coral snake less than another two hundred yards down the trail. That'll wake you up, better than a triple espresso!

Reminds me of a time years ago with a group of friends on the trail; we got a late start, and it got dark on us before we made it to camp. It was bright enough to see the trail, so we decided to keep going.

All of a sudden, this guy at the front of our group let out this startling shrieking little-girl scream. What the heck happened?! Well, our friend says all he saw was this pair of small beady greenish eyes come out of the brush and run directly at him at full speed. Indeed, it ran right between his petrified legs.

Of course, it turns out it was an armadillo. We laughed the rest of the way to camp; Ah, good times. Good times.

**FLRider** · 08-09-2011, 22:35

Yeah, that's one of the things that's mentioned in several of the hiking books specific to Florida. The armadillos are noisy as all get out when they're rooting for food.

'Course, with them being one of the few animals besides humans who can carry leprosy, I think that avoiding handling or eating 'em is probably good for the both of us.

**Catavarie** · 08-09-2011, 22:37

Originally Posted by lizzie

Reminds me of a time years ago with a group of friends on the trail; we got a late start, and it got dark on us before we made it to camp. It was bright enough to see the trail, so we decided to keep going.

All of a sudden, this guy at the front of our group let out this startling shrieking little-girl scream. What the heck happened?! Well, our friend says all he saw was this pair of small beady greenish eyes come out of the brush and run directly at him at full speed. Indeed, it ran right between his petrified legs.

Of course, it turns out it was an armadillo. We laughed the rest of the way to camp; Ah, good times. Good times.

Ok I just laughed so hard I nearly peed myself.

**SilvrSurfr** · 08-10-2011, 16:22

I seem to have great luck attracting skunks wherever I go, whether camping or in the back yard. They have to be the dumbest, deafest, blindest animals in the animal kingdom. Several times I've been sitting in the back yard in a lawn chair, in the dark, only to find a skunk under my chair.

I don't want to move and upset him so I say softly, "Skunk, could you please go somewhere else?" He looks around for where the noise is coming from, can't figure it out, and proceeds to lounge under my chair. After about 15 minutes of pleading with the skunk to go away, he finally ambles off about 15 feet before he starts coming back. I wave my arms and tell him, "don't come this way!" I clap my hands and whoop, but he can't seem to see me, even that close. So I sit back down in the chair, skunk sits back down under the chair, and the game continues.

The skunk had babies, so now there are three skunks who play this stupid game. I've never been sprayed. I think you would have to do something awful to a skunk to get him to spray you. Once all three skunks got in my garage. I tried everything to get them out. They just faced the wall, aimed their *** at my face, and refused to move. I gave up, left the garage door open, and they were gone in the morning. Note to self: don't leave garage door open.

My 12-year old son, who is my camping buddy, initially was freaked out about skunks anywhere near him. Now he just says, "Oh look, a skunk" and proceeds to ignore the skunk just like the skunk ignores us.

**Cannibal** · 08-10-2011, 16:40

Search with the terms "cannibal" and "raccoon". I've told the story so many times now that I'm bored with it. Also, throw in the term "squirrel" and you can read about my first experience with a flying squirrel. It wasn't born a flying squirrel, but my Hennessy and I introduced it to the topic.

**DemostiX** · 08-15-2011, 20:19

Last sentences from a current NYTimes story by Jim Robbins on the return of grizzlies to the Rocky Mountain Front.

Regardless of the new science, there are some things about bear behavior that have always been predictable. “Subadult bears 2 to 4 years old are like teenagers that get into trouble,” said [bear technician] Mr. Talmo. “They are trying to figure out the world and their place in it.”

**Freelancer Tex** · 08-15-2011, 21:56

Originally Posted by Cannibal

Search with the terms "cannibal" and "raccoon". I've told the story so many times now that I'm bored with it. Also, throw in the term "squirrel" and you can read about my first experience with a flying squirrel. It wasn't born a flying squirrel, but my Hennessy and I introduced it to the topic.

i just about fell out of my chair thinking about the squirrel and what would be going through his mind, "do, do, do...WHOA HOLY MONKEYS!!!"

The only experience I had (other than with spiders in a tent) was during my end of the world trip. Just as we are all about to go to sleep we hear a noise that I cant even repeat. We had guessed it was a bird because the sound was coming from above our heads in one of our trees but it sure didnt sound like a bird. More like some random kiddy noisemaker. He was still there at 3 in the morning when I woke up from the wind. Same noise too. Couldnt see him when I got up to grab my poncho.

**Timberrr** · 08-15-2011, 22:15

Originally Posted by Freelancer Tex

Just as we are all about to go to sleep we hear a noise that I cant even repeat. We had guessed it was a bird because the sound was coming from above our heads in one of our trees but it sure didnt sound like a bird. More like some random kiddy noisemaker. He was still there at 3 in the morning when I woke up from the wind. Same noise too. Couldnt see him when I got up to grab my poncho.

Sounds like it coulda been a tree frog. They are small and LOUD!! And will go on to all hours of the night.

**Freelancer Tex** · 08-21-2011, 19:32

Originally Posted by Timberrr

Sounds like it coulda been a tree frog. They are small and LOUD!! And will go on to all hours of the night.

I had thought about that, as a possible animal other than a bird but Ive never heard a tree frog make that sound before. I use to work at a reptile house in a zoo and I always loved listening to the frogs. The best I can say about what I heard was it almost sounded like a man made sound. I thought, maybe mockingbird?