Author Topic: Backyard critters  (Read 103780 times)

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #25: September 15, 2008, 08:32:19 AM »
ID?



Actually, this big guy isn't in my backyard, but he is at a nice lake about 3 miles from my house. He came right up to our boat. We found the big sweety was partial to marshmallows.

Offline tomterp

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #26: September 15, 2008, 08:36:49 AM »
The American Alligator, Alligator mississippiensis.

That looks like a really nice sized one. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Alligator

Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #27: September 15, 2008, 08:41:18 AM »
The American Alligator, Alligator mississippiensis.

That looks like a really nice sized one. 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Alligator

Thanks, Tom. I knew what he was. I forgot to put a :lol: or ;) next to my post. :lol:

This guy was actually still a tyke (tank?). Probably only five or six feet. Some of the old-timers in the lake are 10 to 12 footers.

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #28: September 15, 2008, 08:48:04 AM »
That's messed up thinking.

Tell me about it. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't really care for poisonous snakes, myself; but to remove another creatures "right to live" seems a bit excessive to me. 

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #29: September 15, 2008, 08:50:38 AM »
Actually, this big guy isn't in my backyard, but he is at a nice lake about 3 miles from my house. He came right up to our boat. We found the big sweety was partial to marshmallows.

In N.C.?  I didn't realize they made it that far north?

Gators are actually fairly docile if you just leave them alone.  There's a donut shack in Gulf Shores, AL that has a pond off to the side of it where a couple of large turtles, a few large catfish and an alligator live.  Every morning, they take the donuts that didn't sell the day before and put them out for customers to throw in the pond and feed the gator.  He was the fattest 6-foot gator I've ver seen.

Offline tomterp

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #30: September 15, 2008, 08:51:13 AM »
Tell me about it. 

Don't get me wrong, I don't really care for poisonous snakes, myself; but to remove another creatures "right to live" seems a bit excessive to me. 

Poisonous snakes are exceptionally well designed rodent eating machines.  A guy I met living in Texas had killed a huge rattlesnake that was on his rear deck, and he sliced it open to see what was inside.  The snake had 7 rats, 4 from the current evening, 3 from the day before. 

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #31: September 15, 2008, 08:52:52 AM »
Poisonous snakes are exceptionally well designed rodent eating machines.  A guy I met living in Texas had killed a huge rattlesnake that was on his rear deck, and he sliced it open to see what was inside.  The snake had 7 rats, 4 from the current evening, 3 from the day before. 

My wife was bit by a brown recluse spider about 10 years ago.  Now she makes it a mission to kill any and every spider she sees (poinsonous or not).  Then, she wonders why we have so many moths, flies and bees in the house. 

Some folks don't understand you've got to give a little to get a little.

Offline tomterp

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #32: September 15, 2008, 08:53:43 AM »
In N.C.?  I didn't realize they made it that far north?

THere's a river in tidal NC called the Alligator River, based on the historical reality.  Back when gators were hunted without restriction, the population plunged, and they became very scarce, but with protection the numbers have rebounded nicely.  Now that the earth is warming, I think it's only a matter of time before they extend their range north into the Great Dismal Swamp, Va., if they aren't there already.

Offline tomterp

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #33: September 15, 2008, 09:00:46 AM »
Thanks, Tom. I knew what he was. I forgot to put a :lol: or ;) next to my post. :lol:


Sorry, I figured you had to know what an alligator looked like, but you did seem to request "ID".

Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #34: September 15, 2008, 10:06:40 AM »
In N.C.?  I didn't realize they made it that far north?

Gators are actually fairly docile if you just leave them alone.  There's a donut shack in Gulf Shores, AL that has a pond off to the side of it where a couple of large turtles, a few large catfish and an alligator live.  Every morning, they take the donuts that didn't sell the day before and put them out for customers to throw in the pond and feed the gator.  He was the fattest 6-foot gator I've ver seen.

Yep. You can't really swim around in any fresh water source down here without worrying about them. The Cape Fear River here has a bunch of big boys, on top of the occasional Bull Shark. We have the Battleship North Carolina as a floating museum and right across are two 15ft gators that nest.

Offline The Chief

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #35: September 15, 2008, 10:36:59 AM »
Yep. You can't really swim around in any fresh water source down here without worrying about them. The Cape Fear River here has a bunch of big boys, on top of the occasional Bull Shark. We have the Battleship North Carolina as a floating museum and right across are two 15ft gators that nest.

I used to have dreams when I was little about there being alligators in the pond behind my grandmother's house.  I guess you could call them nightmares, but I never really got close to them even in the dreams, and they never tried to come after me.

Bull Sharks = bad news.

Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #36: September 15, 2008, 10:44:28 AM »
Bull Sharks = bad news.

Definitely. Vicious and mean tempered as hell.

Online blue911

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #37: September 15, 2008, 04:05:19 PM »


(Image removed from quote.)

Actually, this big guy isn't in my backyard, but he is at a nice lake about 3 miles from my house. He came right up to our boat. We found the big sweety was partial to marshmallows.

Looks a lot like my first wife. Although probably not as mean.

Offline saltydad

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #38: September 15, 2008, 07:07:45 PM »
Bull sharks are the nastiest, most dangerous sharks. But they still deserve their own niche in nature.


Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #39: September 16, 2008, 01:45:07 AM »
I had one nibble a fin when I was drift diving on a wreck off of Palm Beach once...it was a freighter that a U-Boat nailed right on the edge of the Gulf Stream, and the current was a *****.  Damned shark stayed right with me, and just kept nibbling at my fin.  Worst dive ever.

Bull sharks are the nastiest, most dangerous sharks. But they still deserve the own niche in nature.



Offline saltydad

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #40: September 16, 2008, 09:53:05 PM »
I've seen plenty of sharks while diving, and interacted with a few (a strong bang on the nose with the butt of my dive knife turned an overly inquisitive blacktip reef shark into a formerly inquisitive shark at Martinique's Diamond Rock). However, I was most apprehensive while surrounded by a large school of barracuda in the Bahamas. I didn't even know they schooled! As I was snorkeling at the time, and they were circling me rather closely, my pucker factor was very high. In the next moment, as barracuda are wont to do, they had disappeared, leaving me wondering if they had even been there at all!


Offline The Chief

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #41: September 16, 2008, 10:05:38 PM »
I've seen plenty of sharks while diving, and interacted with a few (a strong bang on the nose with the butt of my dive knife turned an overly inquisitive blacktip reef shark into a formerly inquisitive shark at Martinique's Diamond Rock. However, I was most apprehensive while surrounded by a large school of barracuda in the Bahamas. I didn't even know they schooled! As I was snorkeling at the time, and they were circling me rather closely, my pucker factor was very high. In the next moment, as barracuda are wont to do, they had disappeared, leaving me wondering if they had even been there at all!



According to this, they may have thought you were a large predator about to leave them some scraps :lol:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barracuda#Barracudas_and_humans

Offline The Chief

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #42: September 16, 2008, 10:07:47 PM »
I had one nibble a fin when I was drift diving on a wreck off of Palm Beach once...it was a freighter that a U-Boat nailed right on the edge of the Gulf Stream, and the current was a *****.  Damned shark stayed right with me, and just kept nibbling at my fin.  Worst dive ever.


Wow, that must have been nerve-wracking.  You are incredibly lucky that he taste-tested the hard plastic fin and not your leg.

Offline Frau Mau

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #43: September 17, 2008, 02:15:22 PM »
Bull sharks are the nastiest, most dangerous sharks. But they still deserve the own niche in nature.



QFT

I'm unreasonably scared of sharks I think because I saw the movie 'Jaws' when I was really little. But the systematic killing of these animals since then is so senseless. These stupid tournaments that they show on Versus of these idiots going around and killing these sharks for sport make me sick. Their population has taken a nosedive to really sad levels.

Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #44: September 17, 2008, 03:12:34 PM »
QFT

I'm unreasonably scared of sharks I think because I saw the movie 'Jaws' when I was really little. But the systematic killing of these animals since then is so senseless. These stupid tournaments that they show on Versus of these idiots going around and killing these sharks for sport make me sick. Their population has taken a nosedive to really sad levels.

QFMFT

I love sharks. I want to cage dive one day with Great Whites. Beautiful animals. I have a tattoo of a white shark on my arm done by Nationally known tattoo artist Sarah Peacock.

Offline saltydad

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #45: September 17, 2008, 05:11:15 PM »
According to this, they may have thought you were a large predator about to leave them some scraps :lol:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barracuda#Barracudas_and_humans b

  Thanks Chief. I wish I had known this at the time. It would have saved me a nice pair of swimming trunks.

I had one nibble a fin when I was drift diving on a wreck off of Palm Beach once...it was a freighter that a U-Boat nailed right on the edge of the Gulf Stream, and the current was a *****.  Damned shark stayed right with me, and just kept nibbling at my fin.  Worst dive ever.

Man that's close. I hate having to fight a current like that. To have to contend with a nibbling bull shark on top of that would probably make me change my hobby to cribbage.

Is this the wreck...The Baja California?

http://www.bnvn.net/video/detail.php?id=599

Offline Ali the Baseball Cat

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #46: September 18, 2008, 12:35:32 AM »
Not that particular one, though similar (but on the east coast).  The gulf stream is like a torrent at that point (where the edge of the continental shelf is literally right off the coast). 
Man that's close. I hate having to fight a current like that. To have to contend with a nibbling bull shark on top of that would probably make me change my hobby to cribbage.

Is this the wreck...The Baja California?

http://www.bnvn.net/video/detail.php?id=599

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #47: September 18, 2008, 09:58:10 AM »
The coolest thing I ever saw was when I was living in DC and walking along Independence Ave. toward the Cap. South Metro.  There is an old stone church that's near 2nd and Independence, SE and we were walking along the block when a gigantic bird flew directly over our heads (within seemingly inches) and roosted in a small tree about 1/2 block ahead.  I remember saying something lie, "holy crap!  What the hell was that?!?!"  My buddy said, "probably just a crow or something...."  I responded, "that wuold be the biggest crow in the history of the world - that was no crow."

As we approached, I couldn't see the bird.  All of a sudden he/she turned his/her head and all we saw was:



It then flew up into the belfrey of the church.

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #48: September 18, 2008, 09:59:56 AM »
You saw a sign that said "Visit www.owlpages.com"? :lol:

Offline Minty Fresh

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Re: Backyard critters
« Reply #49: September 18, 2008, 10:00:35 AM »
You saw a sign that said "Visit www.owlpages.com"? :lol:

I got hoodwinked....    :rant: