[Chester_Copperpot]

I just got my new eTrex for Christmas, so i'm very much a newbie, but having a great time.

One feeling that I have in the back of my mind though, is the possible encounter with some kind of unfriendly animal.

This being Florida, where I was caching in 76 degree weather yesterday, I couldn't help but feel a certain amount of caution...wondering if their might be a rattlesnake or large spider under that log where I'm supposed to be looking for a cache.

It's not at all uncommon for me to come across snakes & alligators on a regular basis down here...and that's without bushwhacking & turning over logs in the woods.

Anybody else ever come across any unpleasant suprises at a cache site?

[briansnat]

It happens. This log at one of my caches mentions an encounter with a rattlesnake.
Another of my cache logs mentions numerous copperheads and this cache near my home has a log that mentions a close encounter with a bear at the cache site.

[sporkboy]

I've ran across snakes before. One of the logs on a cache I have notes an angry racoon being present.

[Wandering Bears]

I ain't skeered!!!!

[Thrak]

I just found my first cache August 8, 2005. During the warm months I encountered two rattlesnakes - one I had placed my foot about 10 inches from its head when I noticed the thing. I just backed up slowly and went on my way. I figure I just need to keep my eyes open for snakes and such and I should be fine. They really don't have much interest in people unless you threaten them or step on them or something.

[radioscout]

Some months ago a pack of wild boars crossed my way.
Wild boars are almost the only dangerous animals in this part of Europe. No dangerous snakes and spiders live here.

[JDandDD]

Where I live you always have to watch out for black bear. I had one come running out between two houses as I was driving around town and it nearly ran into the side of car. I couldn't have stopped in time but somehow in the last couple of feet the animal did an amzing bound and missed. We also have massassgua rattle snakes, but a moose can be as dangerous as anything out there if it gets protective of young or a male is in rut.

JDandDD

This post has been edited by JDandDD: 03 January 2006 - 01:32 PM

[Mystery Ink]

Ran into Mountain lions some bobcats some coyote and some Bucks suprised I haven't ran into boars yet here.

[shawhh]

probably the most dangerous animal you're likely to meet caching is a tick or mosquito. both are quite capable of bringing you low. be aware of your surroundings and watch where you grab and step and you'll likely have no problems with the larger critters. -harry

[reveritt]

I got a snake in the face one time while looking under a boardwalk for a cache. It was non-poisonous, and I didn't get bit anyway. Other than that, the only dangerous animal I have encountered is AuntieWeasel.

[Miragee]

Chester_Copperpot, on Jan 3 2006, 11:32 AM, said:

I just got my new eTrex for Christmas, so i'm very much a newbie, but having a great time.

One feeling that I have in the back of my mind though, is the possible encounter with some kind of unfriendly animal.

This being Florida, where I was caching in 76 degree weather yesterday, I couldn't help but feel a certain amount of caution...wondering if their might be a rattlesnake or large spider under that log where I'm supposed to be looking for a cache.

It's not at all uncommon for me to come across snakes & alligators on a regular basis down here...and that's without bushwhacking & turning over logs in the woods.

Anybody else ever come across any unpleasant suprises at a cache site?

I saw this guy near a cache last March.



I highly recommend having a hiking stick. You can use it to poke into places where critters might be residing.

[Sonoran Privateers]

We were walking up a sandy wash. We rounded a corner and my daughter moved around in front of me (she is supposed to stay behind me just for this sort of thing) . Right as she did, I noticed a VERY BIG timber rattler just sitting at the edge of the wash, about 2 feet from my daughter's path. I just jumped forward and pushed her passed it as fast as I could.

Once we were clear of it, we watched it for a few minutes. That thing couldn't care less that we were there. It just sat there. It didn't rattle, look around, stick it's tongue out, cast a glance, snort, chortle, or anything.

It was funny....afterwards.

[Harry Dolphin]

In my hiking career, I've met twenty bears, though only three while caching. Most run away from you very fast.

This one didn't.
Be careful where you put your hands, definitely! I've seen rattlers and a copperhead, but not while caching. Hiking sticks are good for probing.
Worst critter that I've come across was the tick that gave me Lyme Disease.

[Silny Jako Bek]

Rattlesnakes twice and once I had a close encounter with a Javelina, but he didn't really seem too dangerous.

[Zzyzx Road]

<-----So far (and that hasn't been long, I know) we have only encountered a pair of odd homo sapiens back in a remote area of a park where I had to poke around in a stump (yes I used a stick). Wasn't so bad I was there, but the two children that were with me were bringing out the Mama Bear thinking...These other "folks" were a couple of twenty-somethings that were out "partaking of herbal recreation" and I really didn't want to be in the same place they were...

We left quickly after finding our cache.

Seriously, the most dangerous animal I know walks on two feet.

[Mearth]

Pitbull. Before I started caching, I had run into wolves, bears, snakes, elk in rut, displaced hornets and a bunch of randy banjo guys on acid, but none of them scared me like that relentless pitbull. Worst of all, I had fouled up the coordinates and was 2.5 miles from the cache so the whole encounter was unnecessary. I second the walking stick suggestion.

[bogleman]

The kids and I are out in the big woods caching over the summer and we are on out way to the cache site. While we are hiking along I find a nice red newt, not thinking about it I pick it up and call my daughter over and tell her to look at what I found.

Give a 7 year old girl one of these and see what happens - the biggest and meanest scarry monster in the world.

[Tahosa and Sons]

Did a cache maintenance hike yesterday and watched this guy just walk up the stream. And I do carry some protection when I cache in cat country.

[trail hound]

Tahosa and Sons, on Jan 3 2006, 05:42 PM, said:

Did a cache maintenance hike yesterday and watched this guy just walk up the stream. And I do carry some protection when I cache in cat country.

Lucky you!

[Wandering Bears]

bogleman, on Jan 3 2006, 05:19 PM, said:

The kids and I are out in the big woods caching over the summer and we are on out way to the cache site.  While we are hiking along I find a nice red newt, not thinking about it I pick it up and call my daughter over and tell her to look at what I found.

Give a 7 year old girl one of these and see what happens - the biggest and meanest scarry monster in the world.

Those secrete a powerful neurotoxin that can be absorbed into the bloodstream through cuts, abrasions, eye/mouth/nose and the digestive tract.

I don't think I'd give my 7 y/o one.

This post has been edited by Wandering Bears: 03 January 2006 - 06:28 PM

[geospyder]

Snake in one hand and the cache in the other.

[Dinoprophet]

Just a big, growling dog belonging to some clown who didn't see fit to leash it. Much more frightening to me than a rattlesnake. I can avoid the snake.

[RustyBeerCan]

That my big brother HALFAMIND poking a Rattler by GRO843

[BigFurryMonster]

Sonoran Privateers, on Jan 4 2006, 12:19 AM, said:

It just sat there. It didn't rattle, look around, stick it's tongue out, cast a glance, snort, chortle, or anything.

It was funny....afterwards.

I think you had an encounter with a beautifully crafted geocache!

[klenger]

This topic is why I don't plan to do much caching in the open desert in the summer. Or, I need to learn not to be afraid of rattle snakes. Yea, right.

[Confucius' Cat]

Dinoprophet, on Jan 3 2006, 10:20 PM, said:

Just a big, growling dog belonging to some clown who didn't see fit to leash it.  Much more frightening to me than a rattlesnake.  I can avoid the snake.

I second that.
Just happened to me and my crew Monday.

Dog comes running full speed at us, barking his fool head off. We all stop and one of my crew, who lost a lot of skin (and gained about $50K in the lawsuit) from a previous dog attack, threw a stick and hit the dog.

The "clown" came around the bend and raised h because the dog got hit.

Unbelievable! His dog attacks someone, and the person is wrong in defending himself?

The dog had 10 more feet before I would have shot it, but the "clown" doesn't know that. My companion now understands why I pack.

"Clown" should thank me that his dog is alive.

I have had several "near shoots" with dogs. This was the first on a caching expedition.

For some reason good law abiding dog owners think their dog is perfectly in control running a hundred yards ahead of them on a hiking trail. Or maybe they think they own the trail and no one else will ever use it?

[Mudfrog]

We have come across many a snake, all four poisonous species in the US, while caching. Only had one incident where a buddy of mine stepped on one but luckily he had on boots and the snake didnt get him when it struck. Unfortunately, he wont go caching with anymore.

Anyways, here is one of the most dangerous that we've ever encounter. May cause nightmares so dont even look if you're the squeamish type!



Actually this could have turned into a somewhat dangerous situation as we saw the it's mama on the way in and we knew she was close by. Im sure she was very protective so we of course didnt disturb in any way and only stayed long enough to take a couple of pictures !

[Doc-Dean]

These chinstrap penguins came out of the mist and mugged me for my krill sandwich!

I swear...

[1stimestar]

Mudfrog, on Jan 4 2006, 06:15 AM, said:

We have come across many a snake, all four poisonous species in the US, while caching. Only had one incident where a buddy of mine stepped on one but luckily he had on boots and the snake didnt get him when it struck. Unfortunately, he wont go caching with anymore.

Anyways, here is one of the most dangerous that we've ever encounter. May cause nightmares so dont even look if you're the squeamish type!



Actually this could have turned into a somewhat dangerous situation as we saw the it's mama on the way in and we knew she was close by. Im sure she was very protective so we of course didnt disturb in any way and only stayed long enough to take a couple of pictures !

Oh how precious!

[Kit Fox]

This thread has lots of cool pictures. I cut the tracks of a Mountain Lion yesterday.

[Renegade Knight]

One Rattlesnake. Signs of bear. 2 Skyjacked Redneck Trucks full of rednecks.

[Isonzo Karst]

mosquito-related illnesses include West Nile virus, malaria, Dengue fever, yellow fever, California serogroup, Japanese, and Eastern and Western Equine encephalitides

[pwcorg]

Only Jack........

[reveritt]

Wandering Bears, on Jan 3 2006, 10:21 PM, said:

...
Those secrete a powerful neurotoxin that can be absorbed into the bloodstream through cuts, abrasions, eye/mouth/nose and the digestive tract.

I don't think I'd give my 7 y/o one.

Oh, pshaw. When I was a kid, we used to catch those and play with them all the time.

[AuntieWeasel]

reveritt, on Jan 4 2006, 01:21 PM, said:

Oh, pshaw.  When I was a kid, we used to catch those and play with them all the time.

Word to the wise: when you're laughing in the face of danger, "pshaw" is probably not the best tough-guy expression of same. As I constantly have to remind Uncle B, "poo" and "piffle" and "fiddlesticks" are right out, too.

Something under a rock in the woods growled at me once. I think I said "poo" and "piffle" and "fiddlesticks" simultaneously, which sounds something like "PFFFSHHHCKSSS!" Then I ran away like a girl.

[3AMT]

How about an opossum in a log with a cache? Oh and here in Iowa we have those killer deer that attack cars. Have been walking up a trail and have deer standing 2 feet from me before they bolt in the other direction.

This post has been edited by 3AMT: 04 January 2006 - 01:35 PM

[sept1c_tank]

3AMT, on Jan 4 2006, 04:34 PM, said:

How about an opossum in a log with a cache?

Had the possum signed the log?

[Two Geeks and a GPS]

Just this!

[GrabCachetic 4]

Ran across these guys yesterday, had to wait till we got home to identify them... Dark fishing spider... I hate spiders!

This post has been edited by grabo172: 04 January 2006 - 04:02 PM

[Wandering Bears]

reveritt, on Jan 4 2006, 01:21 PM, said:

Wandering Bears, on Jan 3 2006, 10:21 PM, said:

...
Those secrete a powerful neurotoxin that can be absorbed into the bloodstream through cuts, abrasions, eye/mouth/nose and the digestive tract.

I don't think I'd give my 7 y/o one.

Oh, pshaw. When I was a kid, we used to catch those and play with them all the time.

Toxicon 2001 Aug;39(8):1261-3

The levels of tetrodotoxin and its analogue 6-epitetrodotoxin in the red-spotted newt, Notophthalmus viridescens.

Yotsu-Yamas***a M, Mebs D.Graduate School of Agricultural Science, Tohoku University, 1-1 Tsutsumidori-Amamiyamachi, Aoba-ku, 981-8555, Sendai, Japan.


Tetrodotoxin (TTX) and its analogue 6-epiTTX were detected in 11-12 specimens of the red-spotted newt, Notophthalmus viridescens, by a post-column fluorescent-HPLC system and by LC/MS in selected ion monitoring mode. TTX levels varied considerably among individuals from low (less than 0.15 microg TTX/g newt) to high concentrations (23.5 microg TTX/g newt), while 6-epiTTX was found to be a minor constituent in all specimens.

PubMed Link

Pshaw, indeed.




Tetrodotoxin is a potent toxin. It acts by impairing nerve function. It blocks the sodium ion channel proteins. The LD50 (the dose sufficient to kill 50% of a population) for mice is only 10 nanograms, a tiny fraction of the total toxin produced by the skin of the newt.

[ATMouse]

I pick red efts up all the time....I only hold them a minute and set them cack duwn and i neber hadded anyfingk evry goo wong aferwartss...

[Confucius' Cat]

Mudfrog, on Jan 4 2006, 10:15 AM, said:

<snip>



Actually this could have turned into a somewhat dangerous situation as we saw the it's mama on the way in and we knew she was close by. Im sure she was very protective so we of course didnt disturb in any way and only stayed long enough to take a couple of pictures !

Encountered one of these myself a couple years ago. That is when I vowed NEVER to go caching without a g..................CAMERA!

This post has been edited by ChurchCampDave: 04 January 2006 - 06:40 PM

[The 4 F's]

grabo172, on Jan 4 2006, 04:02 PM, said:

Ran across these guys yesterday, had to wait till we got home to identify them... Dark fishing spider...  I hate spiders!

We also hate spiders we run across these all the time. Banana spiders, these guys get pretty big.



We have also seen gators in canals while caching. But those spiders are just nasty.

[Miragee]

There was this little encounter with a mountain lion near one of my new caches today.

[Confucius' Cat]

Encountered This one today.
gotta watch wher you put yer hands!

[ZackJones]

ChurchCampDave: Wow - what cache were you hunting when you ran into that gator?

I've only run into one snake - at least that I've seen anyways. Anyone know what kind it is?

[Pinster56]

The most evil creature I encountered caching I actually wasn't aware of until later that evening when I found that tick stuck onto my er, um, manhood........Took a while for the wife to get "near" me again.

[reveritt]

ZackJones, on Jan 5 2006, 10:16 AM, said:

...

I've only run into one snake - at least that I've seen anyways. Anyone know what kind it is?
...

May be a black rat snake (Elaphe obsoleta obsoleta).

[Tiffany's Slaves]

Well, in the wilds of Northwestern New Jersey we've run into Bears and dangerous snakes on several occasions. But on hte more dangerous level, we have had sightings of the deadly Dolphin (harry) and even more disturbing and potentially deadly were the encounters with the feared BrianSnat!

The last two are DEFINITELY enough to scare you out of the woods!

[Cedar Grove Seekers]

This won't compare to some of the other animals you've all seen, but just the other night my wife and I were caching in a ravine, and a large deer came charging out of the woods at us. I yelled (more like screamed) and it turned and took off, and a couple more deer followed it. It got within about 20 feet though.