Most unusual encounters with a wild animal (any kind that isn't someones pet)

[csziggy]

38. Years ago a wild turkey nearly knocked my off my stoop

Back then for the back entrance of the double wide trailer we just had a set of concrete steps with a 4'x4' stoop at the top which was about four feet off the ground. One afternoon, I saw some turkeys passing by from the window, grabbed my camera and stepped out the back door to take a shot.

Apparently the turkeys I saw were the larger group but there were two that were dallying. When I stepped out the big group panicked and ran off, then the two slow pokes freaked out and FLEW to catch up. One of the turkeys flew close enough that its wing hit me and nearly knocked me off the stoop.

It was kind of cool, but I didn't get any photos of those turkeys.
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About the same time period, one afternoon I was at the barn feeding the horses when I heard an animal making distressed noises. I followed the sound and in the lower pasture there was a new born fawn - so recently born it was still damp. I could see the doe across the fence at the edge of the woods. I didn't want to try to catch the fawn so I eased past it and opened the gate at the corner of the field that went into the woods. Then I circled back around the fawn and gradually eased it towards the woods, as the doe also moved away from me towards the gate. When they got to the open gate the doe rushed to get between me and the fawn and then led her newborn into the woods.

After that all our new fences got hung so there is a space UNDER the fence. The full grown deer and turkeys can chose to jump over or duck under, but their youngsters can get underneath without a problem.
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Most recent:

Last weekend my husband and I drove down to St Marks Wildlife Refuge for a hike. He took a longer track but I took a short trail through the woods, along the edge of a pond. I saw some birds as I hiked out. On the way back I met some hikers new to the refuge, gave them some help with directions, and reassured them they didn't need to worry about black bears attacking.

Not very long after I saw a large black animal cross the trail headed uphill from the pond. I'm thinking, "Shit I just told those nice ladies not to worry about bears!" I picked up a palm frond and started hitting bushes and yelling for whatever it was to get out of there. I hadn't gone more than a couple of steps when the creature ran back DOWN the hill towards the pond!

Then I had a dilemma - if I continued along, would the beast feel trapped between me and the pond? On the other hand I was too tired to hike back to the parking area the long way - this was my first outing after my last surgery. So I beat the bushes and ground with my palm frond, talking loudly, keeping this up for the next hundred yards or so.

I drove up to the headquarters and talked to some of the people there. It turns out that in the area where I had been (the fire tower) there have been two wild hogs, one reddish and the other black. Frankly that scares me more than a bear would. The size of the beast I saw had to be a full grown wild hog and they are very dangerous.

I'm not hiking that track alone again and next time I will take a walking stick with me!