Wild Animals Getting Under Your Tarp

**brewyet** · 03-22-2015, 17:16

I am wondering if anyone else has dealt with animals getting under you tarp when you're sleeping? Any stories?

The other night I was camping and I felt something bump my butt. In my half asleep state I just thought that my phone had fallen out of my ridge-line organizer and slide down the hammock. I was kinda sleeping on my side at the time. Then I remembered the phone was at the head side of my hammock! I quickly started looking around, but didn't see anything. I didn't get much sleep after that. I had a under-quilt on. I tried to recreate the feeling just to make sure my mind wasn't playing tricks on me, but I could not do anything that would re-create the feeling.

**boulderv7** · 03-22-2015, 17:30

My father had something bump up into him in his Hennessy in Guatemala once. He hit it and it ran away. He never saw it and does not know what it was.

**LuvmyBonnet** · 03-22-2015, 17:45

Sorry, only animal under my tarp was me.

**grannypat** · 03-22-2015, 17:58

I've had a wren come up under the tarp with me and one of my cats scared me awake one morning. The cat tried to jump into the hammock with me but the bug net got in the way. We were both surprised.

**craige** · 03-22-2015, 18:43

I had a grouse and a Robin under the edge of my tarp, both within 10 minutes. I was sitting in my hammock eating at the time. I had a deer have a nose under as well a couple years ago, I wasn't in the hammock though, just watching from about 40 feet away, something spooked it and it bolted.

**obxh2o** · 03-22-2015, 18:43

On a solo up in the Boundary Waters, had a very large animal sniffing right next to my ear under the tarp one night. Woke me up every hour throughout the night but I never saw it nor any tracks. It would go away without a sound every time I sat up in the hammock.

It woke me up again at daylight. Opening my eyes, I discovered that the "animal" was really my ridgeline organizer lightly rubbing against my top quilt as it swung back and forth over my head.

**SilvrSurfr** · 03-22-2015, 19:18

I saw a red squirrel go in my son's hammock during an afternoon nap. My son was pretty calm about it, kindly directing the squirrel to the nearest exit.

**dirtwheels** · 03-22-2015, 19:58

I woke up to a sniffing sound near my face once, it was a raccoon checking me out, startled not knowing what it was I spoke rather firmly "get". My command didn't phase the coon much it was only as it waddled away that I recognized what it was. Maybe it was the tinge of fear in my voice that was unconvincing.

**Nickoli** · 03-22-2015, 20:07

I had a hummingbird take a few minutes to find it's way out from underneath my tarp. That was a pretty startling sound when it's wings hit the silnylon---over and over and over.

Other than that I've been awoken by my dog nudging me getting up to check something out, and my cat propping is paws up on me through the hammock. Oh and once when the chickens got out once they all decided to congregate under my tarp until I got up to feed them. Those are all just backyard encounters though!

**Fronkey** · 03-22-2015, 20:10

I was hanging in Mn with my friend in winter and had a coyote bump my booty a couple times and woke me up. Scared me until I realized what it was and then I just yelled at him and went to sleep. lol

Fronkey