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Close Encounters Of The Third Kind


Skookum

Creature encounters  

52 members have voted

  1. 1. Have you ever been stung by a scorpion?

    • No, thank you.
    • Yes, while prospecting!
    • Yes, but not prospecting.
  2. 2. Have you ever had a close encounter with one of the following while detecting?



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 I was hiking to a patch in Norcal when a "yellow dog" ran across the trail a short ways in front of me. I thought that's weird, a lost dog out here in the forest, but then my dog theory quickly changed as a big cat returned to the trail for a better look at me, I suppose.

I remember he was big and his tail was twitching about..  We stared eyes for about 10 seconds and then I raised my pick, let out a yell, and off he went, stealthy as a cat.  I never heard him run. Nothing like a bear crashing through the woods.  I can imagine if one were to attach, you probably wouldnt hear it coming, especially with headphones on.

 

Also had a small scorpion bite when I was brushing away dead oak leaves with my hand. Felt like a bee sting and pain was gone in 15 min. 

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Very cool, Wes. Most people never get to see a lion....much less up close.

My wife and brother have both been stung by a scorpion. It's just weird that I haven't as much as I am on their turf. I have been bit by a diamondback on the right hand which put me in ICU for a few days....I was in my own back yard no less!

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In the north of Spain we have a plague of velutina or Asian wasp, a single sting can kill a person, luckily I live in the South and it seems that it does not like the heat very much

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One night at work I had to scare off a mtn lion that I could see in my headlamp. It was hunkered down under a bush on the only trail back to my truck, so I grunted and waved a big branch while stomp-walking towards it.  I thought it was a smaller one at first, but it jumped to the side clearing the tall bushes and ran off without making a single sound. That was fun.

I've seen bears too, but only their butts as they ran off.

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Somehow, I’ve managed to live most of my life in AZ and never have been stung by a scorpion. I’ll be happy to keep it that way. 

One night while prospecting, not detecting, we woke to the strangest sound of an animal calling just feet away outside of our tent. It kept calling until another arrived up and it’s call turned into a soft “meow”. I thought what the heck is a kitten doing out here? It wasn’t until we got back home and I researched all internet clips of mountain lions did I find one that was exactly like that call. Primal and riveting in the dark. Like this: 

https://youtu.be/fMj32nwiVK4

https://youtube.com/shorts/hUuHBZkNTyc

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3 hours ago, geof_junk said:

I will not say what I and other Aussy have put up with in Aust. but if you are worried about that list DO NOT COME TO AUST and steal our GOLD😄 ☠️😁

I’m yet to see anything scary here in QLD, except for big mother paper wasps that were about as big as my thumb. I’ve heard some pretty out there stories though, some that would properly make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.

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7 minutes ago, Sheppo said:

I’m yet to see anything scary here in QLD, except for big mother paper wasps that were about as big as my thumb. I’ve heard some pretty out there stories though, some that would properly make the hairs stand up on the back of your neck.

They are bad. My brother in law while chasing gold near Warick, nearly lost his leg from a tick but the same can happen with a Crocodile but you know when they bite you.😁

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I was driving through one of the passes in the White mountains to get to a show in northern NewHampshire when I came across a big bull moose standing in the middle of the road.. So , I stopped. and there we were staring at each other....

The before mentioned show wasn't going to wait for me but wouldn't happen if I didn't get there on time.   I was in my old 60s mopar pickemup that was painted black and had an extra tall cap on the bed I could stand up in..(more on that later...)

(NEVER DO THIS ! It was a dumb mistake !)

In my hurry to get by him I honked the horn , no response , just Mr Moosey staring at me.

So , I upped the game by flashing my lights too. Nope ! Moose did look at me funny though I think he thought I might be another moose or maybe a bear ?

OK , I revved the 'ol 318 while continuing with the rest...Moosey did notice that !

He turned sideways tp me and looked up at a ledge about 10' above the road.    (Mountain pass , blasted out of solid rock ,,,there was a 6' wide "ditch" blasted out between the road and ledge too...)  

Well Mr Moosey didn't like me all of a sudden and kept looking back and forth between me and that ledge.. then he scooched down a bit,,,,, and  in one quick jump was on top of that 10 foot ledge and gone ! 

I then realized he could  just as easily have jumped on top of my ~ 7 foot tall rig ! OOOOOOPS !

Sometimes you learn new animal facts in the strangest ways.................

( I got to the show on time but WON'T be playing THAT game again nosuh ! That big boy was probably close to 2000# and he jumped that gap without much effort at all ! )

 

Sharks in the boat ? Yup got one 'bout that too but I'll save it up for another time ......and another related thing Bluefish have TEETH  too ! 

and don't forget the moose that was taken down by ticks arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgh !

 

 

On one of my hikes up Mt Katahdin (Northern termination of the Appalachian Trail ..AT )

a friend and I spotted a moose standing next to a tree off the trail below "the meadow". We moved closer to get a better look..... until we were about 6 yards away . Then realizing it wasn't the best place to be I told my hiking pard "maybe we are a little too close ?" ,,,,,,,we slowly backed outa there ! Moose stayed put.  This was obviously before the last incident I just told ya about !!

 

A few years earlier and on other side of the country in Tucson AZ. I was staying at my drummer's place in town and noticed all the Black Widow spiders making nests in his (attached) shed.... mentioning to him that I wondered how he kept them out of the house ?????????????. He started laughing and said.......

"When they hatch out they are microscopic and no amount of sealing up cracks or spray killer would prevent it"  Now I know.  

 

 

 

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