Local Wildlife.

[Eclecticos]

I just chased a Raccoon away from my garbage cans.
I heard a Loud noise out back, though it was a Thief or something tryin' to steal my boat.
First time Ive ever seen one.

Black Racer "snake" crossed the front porch a few days ago. Scarred the Holy hell outta me. Was right before I stepped off the doorstep.

I saw some brown Rabbits about a week ago, they were in a tire sitting by the shop, I walked right up to them, they didn't seem to mind, and I took them some Lettuce ungrateful Lil' things didn't even eat it. I guess I have to get them some carrots.

Must be matin' season or something. . Never in my life have I seen so many wild animals in one month.

Oha Yea. . Ants. I gotta take a picture of these things tommarrow there like a Inch long and have a Trail the spans for atleast 100ft.
They have little body guards and everything. . They will stare up at you with there lil' pinchers in the air. "Scarry" :D

Anyone else experiencing a Animal Infestation?

[Aero]

You guys in flordia have some of the biggest insects I have every seen. A couple of years ago I was there and saw a beatle the size of a tennis ball, scard the **** out of me.

Around here we don't have too much, well except Tree Frogs. All of the sudden this year these little guys are everywhere. They are cute as all hell and are harmless, but they get in the way too. They are about 1-2 cm long and maybe 1 cm tall, but they are everywhere. After we water the lawn you can just walk out in the grass and look down, at first it all looks normal, but then you see grass moving, and more..and more. I have counted atleast 20 in on small area of my yard, alot seeing as how in a normal year we see 1 or 2 all summer.

[onelegout]

I wish we had tiny frogs here in the uk! sounds awesome :D
A few days ago I was stoned, making a sandwich and a bright yellow bird flew into my garden - I thought I was just seeing things but it turns out that some hippies broke into the aviary in this big park about a mile away from me and let all the birds free :D
I also saw a fox walking down my street for the first time ever :D
Oh, and when I used to do mountainboarding I was once the first one down the boardercross in the morning, and as I cut through an extremely steep corner through an area of woodland a huge deer came running out of the woods and ran next to me for like 3 seconds before running off down the valley the other side of the woods :D It was AWESOME!

Edit: wow thats a lot of green smileys! I'm still a bit drunk from last night hahah

[xRyokenx]

Where I live we have deer, rabbits, etc. etc. Pretty much all the normal crap.

But then there's the state bird (dun dun dunnnn): The Mosquito. You can guess how it is going outside during the summer where I live, if the high heat and insane humidity don't kill you, you'll prolly need to hit a blood bank after dealing with those things.

[Ironcat]

How long have you lived in Florida that this was your first raccoon (http://myfwc.com/critters/Raccoon.asp)? They are everwhere...
A: Don't handle them, even their cute little babies, if you find a dead one, move it with a shovel or something... They are notorious for carrying Baylis (http://www.cdc.gov/Ncidod/dpd/parasites/baylisascaris/factsht_baylisascaris.htm) and it's nasty!
B: To keep your lids secure on your outdoor garbage can, get a thick rubber bungee and secure the handles across the top, they will chew through the cloth bungees.
C: To keep them away from your garbage at all, pour a half inch or so of plain white ammonia into the bottom of the can and around the outside of it, ammonia fumes stay near the ground so they will smell it when they approach.

Your black racers (http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/FL-GUIDE/Coluberconstrictor.htm)are a mixed bag, yes they eat mice, and baby rats, and even palmetto bugs... but they also eat songbird babies and eggs, and helpful lizards... your call to leave it or whack it, they aren't poisonous and don't get big enough for a bad bite. BTW, racers are cool because although they are technically constrictors, they don't squeeze their prey, they just loop it to hold it still and then eat it alive! Muahahahahahah!

Your bunnies (http://myfwc.com/critters/rabbit.asp) should NEVER eat lettuce... tame or wild, it's basically just green water and it will just give them diarreah. If you want to feed them, try kale, drak greens, or herbs like parsley and such. They are mighty tasty and yes, they DO taste like chicken.

* In closing, please note that I have not plagiarized, I added links, and my qualifications for talking out my ass on this one are that I have been a licensed Florida Wildlife Rehabilitator (http://www.fwra.org/)for over 10 years. Thank you and good night.

[Eclecticos]

* In closing, please note that I have not plagiarized, I added links, and my qualifications for talking out my ass on this one are that I have been a licensed Florida Wildlife Rehabilitator (http://www.fwra.org/)for over 10 years. Thank you and good night.

LoL.

Florida for 24yrs.
Yep 1st coon ive ever seen. Over here its mostly Armadillos, Possum, and Turtles, a Fox every now and agian.

I thought dogs were spreading the trash about, But its a Huge raccoon.
You could smell the damned thing an hour after it was gone.

[Redundant]

My yard is full of lizards; they're everywhere. It must be mating time for them too because the male lizards or inflating this red thing on their necks.

black racers (http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/FL-GUIDE/Coluberconstrictor.htm)
I've seen a few of those in my yard too.


* In closing, please note that I have not plagiarized, I added links, and my qualifications for talking out my ass on this one are that I have been a licensed Florida Wildlife Rehabilitator (http://www.fwra.org/)for over 10 years. Thank you and good night.
Still mad at me, eh? :rolleyes:

Also, by the pool area, there's a half foot hole, which, according to my dad, a type of turtle that burrows deep underground lives in. I'm considering putting a camera on a string in there to check it out.

[Ironcat]

That would be a gopher tortoise (http://myfwc.com/critters/gopher_tortoise.asp). It is illegal to mess with them in any way you can imagine.
Be very careful messing near the hole though as rattlesnakes like to share their burrows.

[Drew]

We get the occassional Badger...

When they scrappin', they sound like scremaing babies... not pleasant.

[Elenril]

I get blue tongue lizards and echidnas in my backyard, and my bass guitar teacher gets wallabies.

The echidnas are really hard to get rid of. They're really cute when they waddle along, but the spines do present a problem when you're trying to scoop them into a box with a rake so you can drive to the nearest bushland to put them back.

[Bucko]

The echidnas are really hard to get rid of. They're really cute when they waddle along, but the spines do present a problem when you're trying to scoop them into a box with a rake so you can drive to the nearest bushland to put them back.

Just wear some leather gloves and pick them up and place them in a box.

[Ironcat]

ooooooooooo oooooooooooo I want an echidna!

[Elenril]

ooooooooooo oooooooooooo I want an echidna!

I want a badger and a raccoon! I think a local wildlife exchange trip is in order :)

[Ironcat]

If you want a badger AND a raccoon, I am going to need more than just an echidna... I think a nice fat wombat should make us even!
Can wombats be pets?

[Bucko]

Wombats can't legally be pets. Besides, they can be vicious little bastards too. They are pure muscle and have very sharp claws.

[Ironcat]

Yeah it was the legally part I was interested, I figure most anything that can defend itself against a dingo would probably not be a "good" pet...

[Airbozo]

Hmmm, let me start from small to large...
Lest you think I am ****ting any of you, I live in a forest...

scorpions
salamanders
voles
moles
snakes
possums
raccoons
skunks
ducks
coyote's
ravens (yes, bigger than the coyote's)
hawks (large family living in the trees right above us)
golden eagles
bobcats
deer
mountain lions


And that is just what we have seen this last weekend.

Of all of the above critters, the one I least like to encounter are the skunks. Most of the rest of them go out of their way to stay away from the humans, except for the ravens, they are curious and have dive bombed us frequently looking for food. We no longer allow our Macaw to run around in the garden since the Ravens have taken a keen interest in him and are twice as big.

[Elenril]

If you want a badger AND a raccoon, I am going to need more than just an echidna...

How about a platypus? They don't bite (hard), they don't bark at your neighbours, or leave fur all over your furniture.

Airbozo: Wow, that must be a fantastic place to live in, apart from having your eyes pecked out by giant ravens.

[Airbozo]

How about a platypus? They don't bite (hard), they don't bark at your neighbours, or leave fur all over your furniture.

Airbozo: Wow, that must be a fantastic place to live in, apart from having your eyes pecked out by giant ravens.

Heheh so far the ravens leave us alone, otherwise the hunt would be on...(my mossberg goes BOOM!)

Yes, it is like camping all the time, only with hot and cold running water and a nice bed.
http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&q=225+brier+drive+boulder+creek,+ca+95006&sll=37.0625,-95.677068&sspn=48.287373,57.744141&ie=UTF8&ll=37.130111,-122.113466&spn=0.023916,0.028195&t=h&z=15&om=1

I am glad though that the lizards don't grow over half a foot here... Nor are the insects big enough to carry off a small animal.

Oh and I forgot a few;
wolf spiders
banana slugs (I mention them because they do grow over 4" and stepping on one can ruin your day...)

[Ironcat]

How about a platypus?
Nah... I don't have a pool and they are poisonous. I can barely keep my toddler out of the predator tank and you want me to try and keep him away from a fuzzy Donald Duck?

I LOVE banana slugs. I used to live out near S.F. and had 2 as pets. They are awesome!

[Drew]

Slugs?

As pets?

Oh.

And even Airbozo don't get badgers...... Do they have badgers in America?

http://www.distlab.dk/badger/img/badger-photo.jpg

Believe the cute exterior at your peril.

These things get as big as me, and are the single most viscious(sp?) creature in the UK.

This was a public information announcement from Drew.

[Ironcat]

Yes we have badgers but they are a little smaller than yours... and how big are you anyway? I thought badgers get like 30 or 40 pounds max.

[Drew]

I was being a bit extremist, but they get bigger than I'd like.

Hit an already dead one on the motorway (freeway in americanese?) at about 85mph once and it was like hitting a dead human (not that I've done that, you understand...).

[Airbozo]

... and it was like hitting a dead human (not that I've done that, you understand...).

Uhm, yeah. You better go pull that guy out of your windscreen before the authorities show up.

[AJ@PR]

Uhm, yeah. You better go pull that guy out of your windscreen before the authorities show up.

Doesn't Drew live in the UK?

Drew, when the authorities show up, just point your finger at him, and scream:
"Terrorist!!!"

You'll never see/hear/know/read/think about him ever again.
PooF!


(( for future reference, this would be funnier if it weren't true ))

[Airbozo]

...

(( for future reference, this would be funnier if it weren't true ))

I think what makes it somewhat funny is that this has happened 3 times in the last few years over here in the states. Not funny for the people involved though. I mean how difficult is it to tell you just hit someone and they are staring at you from the passenger seat? The first time I saw that story I was just amazed at the woman's response; "I didn't know I hit anybody..."

Digit.

[AJ@PR]

"I didn't know I hit anybody..."
Wow.

Anybody remember the old guy that ran over a couple of people and injured lots of others in a market in California some time back?

=\

EDIT: Santa Monica Farmer's Market massacre (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Russell_Weller)

=\ x8

[Crimson Sky]

On the subject of pests, I bagged my first Starlings with my new .22 cal RWS 350 Magnum (http://www.pyramydair.com/p/rws-350-magnum-air-rifle.shtml) air rifle. 60+ yards with a scope at tree top levels. ;) I have a new crow call, so next shoot will see if I can get some of those big black baddies :).

[Airbozo]

Nice Crimson!

So far I have only had the cahones to take out the rats in my area (eat my tomatoes will you) but I swear if those damn ravens don't shut up at 5:30 in the morning....

[nil8]

I have a family of woodchucks in my back yard. There's an empty lot(read: field) that's barbed off next to my house and I get all sorts of fun MO wildlife.
The most common are rabbits and squirrels. No big shock there.
The strangest one yet was a massive(4+ ft) black snake last summer.

I was outside working on my car and I saw it slithering through my yard. Knowing that my neighbors would flip & try to kill it(most people will), I directed it into my backyard and off back into the field it went.