Most fear experienced from an animal??

[The Snark]

Something I am curious about. What is the most fear you have ever felt in dealing with an animal (or multiple animals)?

For me, getting back on the horse after it broke 2 ribs and gave me a concussion. Second was getting cornered by a bear. Getting bit by a rattler and a black widow didn't come close.

Please don't confuse fear, an emotional condition that grows and builds until it threatens to overwhelm your reason, with fright, a sudden burst of adrenaline.

 

[compnerd7]

Close Rattlesnake bites and Black Widow bites only ever got my adrenaline going. The most scared I've been in an encounter was when I was on a fishing trip up in Canada. I came face to face with a bull Moose that just seemed to jump out at me. without even thinking I ran fast back to the lake through the forest where everyone was ahah.

 

[Galapoheros]

I haven't been in many situations where I was afraid of an animal. I have been uneasy around horses before though, I just don't have much experience with them. A few months ago I went to look at a small country home for sale. I could see 3 horses in the distance and they started running over to me, prob thought I had food or something like that. So I turned around to walk in a fenced area. They made it to me real fast, I tried to ignore them and kept walking to the fenced area. They were walking right behind me and knocking me around a little trying to get my attention. "...good horsey, good horsey..how are y'all doing, OK you can leave me alone now..." lol!

 

[pitbulllady]

I used to hunt wild boar when I was still physically able to tromp through swamps and climb trees, and I can tell you that nothing has ever gotten my adrenaline pumping faster than being charged by a wild hog with 7 inches of ivory steak knives protruding from its jaw on both sides, shaking off a pack of really big dogs like straw, other than maybe the time that lightning struck a pine tree less than 50 feet from where I was standing. No snake, spider, dog, big cat or other predator has even come close. Horses do make me a bit nervous, though; that's a big, powerful animal which operates on a different "frequency" from us carnivores and is basically hard-wired to view us as predators. Horses are just harder for me to "read', to judge what they're going to do next. I've known so many people who have been seriously injured by horses and more than a few who've lost their lives to kicks from horses, that it's hard for me to be comfortable around them, and being allergic to them(really)doesn't help me to spend enough time close to them to figure them out.

pitbulllady

 

[desertanimal]

A cow. Specifically, a Zebu.

When I was a field assistant for someone else and we were doing an all-night follow, our lemurs went back to our camp to sleep in the camp trees. We decided to lie in our camp hammocks while waiting for them to wake up and move to the next sleeping spot. During this season, the camp trees were dropping their huge jackfruit, which would break into small pieces upon impact with the forest floor. The cows that would forage through the forest would regularly come to camp at night to eat the fruit debris. At some point, we realized that we were surrounded by cows. We didn't want to spook them and make them run (and run into us as we were lying in our hammocks), so we talked it over quietly and decided to stay quiet. Bad idea. The cows got closer and closer and closer, until one cow with very long, very pointy horns was eating the fruit debris directly under my hammock. His sharp horns were only a few inches from my torso. All that needed to happen to make him lift his head was for the camp dog to bark, or a lemur to alarm call somewhere in the forest, or the camp cook to turn over in her tent, or for someone to have to cough or sneeze or hiccough--any disturbance that got his attention. Given that, at that time of night, we were a 36 hour trip from medical care (and even from a phone to get emergency evacuation services), I really, really did not want this cow to accidentally gore me through the back with both horns. Fortunately, after what seemed like forever of me sweating it out and imagining all the things that could happen to startle this cow, he moved off without lifting his head until he was no longer under my back. Lesson learned. I will never let a cow get that close without it knowing I'm there again.

 

[pouchedrat]

trying to clip the nails of a seriously feral cat... she didn't get the nails clipped in the end, omg. I don't think i'd have eyeballs today if I went through with it.

A black lab owned by my uncle who kept snarling and barking at me and wouldn't let me come inside their house.... I already have a slight fear of dogs, but I've had far too many bites and experiences from mostly black labs.

 

[beetleman]

i used to work in a small zoo,we had a large enclosure with a pair of very large iguanas "joey" "rebecca",joey was freakin huge! had to go into there to feed/water as always,well joey got real pissed off me being in there that day(territory,protecting his woman etc)i had my head turned to the bowls like i always do,and BAM!! this monster jumps on my back,i turn my head and all i see is this huge head bobbing,hissing,and ready to bite my ears offit was kind of comical trying to get him off,but i did cover my ears,he bobbed alittle more and i moved toward a large branch and he kinda gave me alittle bump(like he was saying"yeah.. yeah..want some?") and then climbed on the branch,the female was just staring the whole time. iguanas..........hmmm.

 

[Alexandra V]

For me it was dealing with a dog at work (I work in a pet health food store and people bring in their dogs). First off it was extremely nervous, very shifty. It would whip around if you so much as moved behind it, and it would snarl. I think that mostly it was the fact that it even started twitching and at that point I started freaking myself out about rabies.

That dog really did not look well in the head, and I think that that was the most scared that I ever was of an animal. It wasn't so much the dog that scared me, it was the extreme unpredictability that scared me.

 

[NikiP]

One day while driving down our dirt road, a bear ran across. My dad decided he wanted to get out & look at the tracks, leaving my sister & myself in the car. I just so happened to look towards the ditch on the opposite side of the road from where the bear had run. Turned out we were between a mama bear in the woods...and three cubs staring at us It took a couple of minutes for it to register that I should yell at my dad to get back in the darn car!

There was also a horse in my past that was a bad bucker. He was a very sweet, very beautiful, & very talented boy. It didn't matter what we were doing, I always got on knowing it was coming (this was 4yr old well bred saddlebred for anyone who knows horses. Basically this horse could just about twist himself into a pretzel.) I did manage to stay on more then I fell off, but I broke a joint in one of my fingers that healed wrong, sprained both wrist, & about went over onto a ditched because a car spooked him (all separate occasions!) Finally I just couldn't get on any more & every family member was begging me not to get back on. We sold him & the new owner had vet work done (at the time of our ownership, my father was paying his bills & refused to dump more money into a vet investigation) which turned up with him having a spinial issue similar to kissing spine. Last I heard he's now on regular injections & is a completely changed horse I actually didn't discover the true extent of my fears of riding until I got back on my bombproof pony, every little thing scared me

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v75/nikipike/Sydney/newcam008.jpg

 

[AzJohn]

I was once out fishing for catfish at night with my dad when I was younger. A skunk decided to check out the bait that was sitting under my chair. I could hardly breath.

 

[The Snark]

(Clarification)

Per request...

Fright. Occurs instantly without thought processes being involved.
Triggers the 'flight or fight' reaction. Sudden onset stimulus response noted by increased adrenaline secretions and usually, accelerated or 'bounding' pulse. Often followed by some degree of psychogenic shock.

Fear. Oppressive mental state involving thought processes denoted by anxiety that usually develops slowly. Electro-Electroencephalogram tests commonly display a marked reduction in reasoning capacity as rational thinking becomes diminished (panic syndrome).

Fright can lead to fear but normally not the reverse. Fright often accelerates physiological capabilities. IE lightning reflexes, superhuman feats of strength etc. Fainting from fright is typical psychogenic shock.
Fear is debilitating and in extreme cases can lead to a coma.

Typical examples:
Fright: compnerd7 and the moose. Might have been capable of doing a 4 minute mile sprint.
Fear: desertanimal and the zebu. Slowly working on a mental state of anxiety, diminishing rational thought processes as fixation, a form of self hypnosis, sets in.

 

[spydrhunter1]

learning ride a horse, the trainer had me galloping in the arena. Then makes the annoucement to take care, the horse is an ex-barrel racer.

 

[Galapoheros]

Per request...

Fright. Occurs instantly without thought processes being involved.
Triggers the 'flight or fight' reaction. Sudden onset stimulus response noted by increased adrenaline secretions and usually, accelerated or 'bounding' pulse. Often followed by some degree of psychogenic shock.

Fear. Oppressive mental state involving thought processes denoted by anxiety that usually develops slowly. Electro-Electroencephalogram tests commonly display a marked reduction in reasoning capacity as rational thinking becomes diminished (panic syndrome).

Fright can lead to fear but normally not the reverse. Fright often accelerates physiological capabilities. IE lightning reflexes, superhuman feats of strength etc. Fainting from fright is typical psychogenic shock.
Fear is debilitating and in extreme cases can lead to a coma.

Typical examples:
Fright: compnerd7 and the moose. Might have been capable of doing a 4 minute mile sprint.
Fear: desertanimal and the zebu. Slowly working on a mental state of anxiety, diminishing rational thought processes as fixation, a form of self hypnosis, sets in.

Oh OK, the most fear I've experienced from an animal is when a large Timber rattlesnake ended up on my dash one morning. I saved it from getting run-over, threw it in the back of my truck, had to move fast, it's a long story. It ended up loose in my truck for almost 3 weeks and I never knew it. I looked under the seat looking for a book one morning and brought my head back up between the steering wheel and the dash. My eyes locked on the snake about six inches away from my face. I couldn't figure out what I was looking at for a second, then the snake slowly stuck it's tongue out while looking at me. I jumped back and broke out in a cold sweat. I had to walk around for a while. This snake had it's priorities backward, it would strike, "then" it would rattle. It's back out in the woods now.

 

[The Snark]

Yo Galapoheros!!

You REALLY need to run that photo under a 'Caption this' forum. REALLY REALLY!

I got dibs on 'Hey dealer, I've got this funny rattle...' and 'Another Toyota recall'.

As an obscure fact, rattlers strike first then rattle if they receive the correct sensory input (infrared 'footprint)

 

[Galapoheros]

Ha!, I like your first one. Oohhh, man, this involved a really long story and left me with an impression I will never forget.

 

[The Snark]

Ha!, I like your first one. Oohhh, man, this involved a really long story and left me with an impression I will never forget.

(I'm hijacking my own post so feel free to flame me)
Galapheros, you could start a new forum. I'd like to read it as I once turned a rattler loose in my own vehicle. But the bottom line really is, 'Do we want to admit we were stupid enough to do that'? Doesn't this sort of qualify us for contenders for a Darwin?

 

[Scotty Allen]

A number of years ago, I spent a week with Florida Fish and Wildlife on an alligator nest survey. While opening one nest to check on the eggs, I quickly discovered it was infested with fire ants. Within seconds, I was covered in them up to my elbows and knees and it was starting to hurt. Mama alligator be damned, I dove into the swamp. Never did see mama, but that was the closest I have ever come to absolute gut wrenching terror over any live animal. Any time I am in the southern US now, I go to great lengths to avoid fire ants. My legs and arms still itch just recalling this. I still have no fear of alligators, but those damned ants ...

 

[Shell]

I'm not easily intimidated by animals. I grew up at a very large show horse stable, I have ridden and trained horses my entire life (including riding thoroughbred racehorses, and barrel racers.) I have had a few injuries, but for the most part I can read a horse well and while I have respect for them, I have never felt any fear.

The one time I can remember being scared by an animal, was at work (I am a vet tech and this was at a mixed practice clinic I used to work at.) We unfortunately had to euthanize a pitbull x that had attacked several people (poor dog had crappy owners, small town so we all knew the owners and they shouldn't be allowed to own dogs.) The by-law officer brought the dog down to us, muzzled and it was slamming itself into her, trying to get her. No sooner did I have the leash then we realized the muzzle was broken, within seconds the muzzle was off. For some reason the dog didn't make a move, he stood there so still it was unnerving, hair standing up down his back, just growling. No teeth, just this deep growl, staring right at me. Thankfully our large animal vet thought fast and shot it with the tranq gun before anyone got hurt. It was obvious that people had seriously messed this dog up and he wasn't safe at all, I felt terrible for him.

 

[compnerd7]

Typical examples:
Fright: compnerd7 and the moose. Might have been capable of doing a 4 minute mile sprint.
Fear: desertanimal and the zebu. Slowly working on a mental state of anxiety, diminishing rational thought processes as fixation, a form of self hypnosis, sets in.

lol after half a mile i'd give up and let the moose trample me over.

I don't even know what to say about that Timber Rattlesnake, I literally lol'd. If I found that in my car I'd be so stoked! That's an easy catch! Then be paranoid for a month that my car somehow has snake access.

Back to the FEAR. Hope this is more of what you are looking for. When I was 8, my sister had 3 horses on our property. I think maybe because of the size of them compaired to me but I was always afraid of them, mostly after one trampled me over because I had a carrot in my pocket :wall: I spent a lot of time with the horses after that so I could get use to them, then finally had no problem. Now, the same horse that towered over me when I was 8, is shorter then I am today.

 

[Galapoheros]

(I'm hijacking my own post so feel free to flame me)
Galapheros, you could start a new forum. I'd like to read it as I once turned a rattler loose in my own vehicle. But the bottom line really is, 'Do we want to admit we were stupid enough to do that'? Doesn't this sort of qualify us for contenders for a Darwin?

Well, I threw it in the bed of the truck because of all the traffic, then I pulled into a property right-of-way to manage the snake and eventually had it in a 5 gal bucket some days later to let it go in a safe area. I picked the bucket up and immediately noticed it was waaaaay too light. I usually have no shame when it comes to the truth of what I did or what happens to me, the truth is the truth, but this one went too far!! I kind of want to tell the whole story but it may not be good for the snake hobby to tell all the details. Everything that could have gone wrong was set up to go wrong, but all the bad possible scenarios never happened:clap:.

compnerd7, I'd have to be around horses more to understand them. I knew a person that was kicked and went into a coma for 2 or 3 weeks because of it, he never seemed the same after that.