You are swimming in the freaking ocean why are going freaking nuts that some sharks have shown up?

You are camping in the woods why are you so surprised there is a freaking bear?

I could go on and on.

For me, it's mostly because I don't enjoy being eaten alive. I know it's silly, it's a personal thing I need to work on.

I've seen people freak out over a dang Garter Snake or frog in the grass.

I love it when people call 911 to report a bear in the woods, or in their yard. What do you want me to do? Send an officer to arrest it?

Yes. An animal control officer.

Love those folks. Got added to a Facebook group for the area I live, it's mostly a bunch of moms tittering on about mom stuff with the occasional post about some multi-level marketing scam bullshit, and sometimes there's useful info, like if there's an accident down the street blocking traffic.

Aaaaanyhow, they lose their shit at coyotes. Oh goodness, saw a coyote near 102nd Avenue and Bonerfart Street, sooooo scary! What should I do!? My retarded offspring occasionally bumble around over there while looking at their phones!

Call the police!

Call the cops!

Call 911 and tell them it's not an emergency!

Call the city! They HAVE to do something with them being so close to civilization!

Ladies, ladies, ladies, 20 years ago this was all farmland and woods! Then your douchecanoe hubby and you rolled in, shat out 2.5 kids, and set up shop right in the middle of where the coyotes live! What do you think is going to happen? You coo about seeing all the bunnies and possums and trash pandas and owls and cougarilla, all while letting your dogs and cats and monitor lizards roam unleashed, and then wonder why there's coyotes?

You don't wanna live with coyotes? Good, pack up your three urban assault vehicles, and get the fuck back to Seattle. I'll be along shortly to ransack, and then torch your former home.

Funny, was thinking about this today - my 15-year old is on a shark tagging expedition just off a couple of our beaches. She (and my son) have been free diving and spearfishing with me since they were 5.

Sharks, barracudas, eels all get a really strong reaction and most folks can't get over it. I/we are of the mind if you can see it - good. It is when surfing and being mistaken for bait that it is not so good.

People are strange, but it is what you teach them. My kids know respect not fear, know to get fish out of the water, and I've taught them about shark behavior. No one petting the pretty fish here - but blind reaction is usually due to ignorance.

When shallow water / flats fishing the first time in Florida, I noticed several sharks swimming in close proximity to my legs. I reported this alarming fact to our guide. His response:
"Sharks"? "They belong here, you don't".
I later hooked into a nice Redfish, only to have the local Barracuda scarf it before I could net it.
All part of the fun!
Here locally, a Moose is the big, traffic stopping excitement.

We're currently trying to sell our house. One of the couples that looked at it asked the agent if there are snakes here. While we haven't seen any in at least a year, this is rural Tennessee and the house is in the edge of the woods. If you have to ask the question, you probably shouldn't buy the house. Although many of the wild animals have moved on due to population growth, over the years we have had deer, coyotes, bobcats, turkeys, raccoons, possums, skunks, groundhogs, snakes, squirrels, lizards, hawks, owls, and the occasional feral cat. And don't forget the myriad large spiders, centipedes, wasps, yellow-jackets, cicadas, cicada-killer wasps, cave crickets, etc.

Do we have snakes? If that's what you are so concerned about, move along folks. This isn't the house for you.

A few years back, the local news was interviewing a man in the Atlanta area who had shot and killed a venomous snake in his yard. While filming, another venomous snake appeared a few feet away from the man. He quickly draws his Glock and proceeds to empty the magazine before he finally dispatches the viper. He was no more than five feet away. Didn't know if I should laugh or scream foul. He was in a residential area and it all seemed a little too coincidental!

We had a resident King snake in a rocky area of our Tucson apartment complex which helped to keep the rattlesnake population to a minimum.

Morning was when the snake would appear and scare the crap out of some female residents on their way to work.

It took some effort to keep these Women from killing the snake by explaining to them there are good snakes and there are bad snakes.

quote:

Originally posted by airsoft guy:

"... trash pandas ..."

OK, I laughed out loud on that one. Thanks!

During the Jaws years we used to shark fish off the Jersey Shore. Buckets of blood.

They live there, they're there all the time, there's more when you can't see them.

Life in the food chain.

Dude, there's like a racoon in my garbage! In my yard! What do I do?

quote:

Originally posted by braillediver:
During the Jaws years we used to shark fish off the Jersey Shore. Buckets of blood.

They live there, they're there all the time, there's more when you can't see them.

Life in the food chain.

They're still there. I've been a lifeguard in Wildwood Crest for over 20 years. I'm also a fisherman.

People freak out when I tell them that there's all kinds of sea life, including sharks swimming around them.

During summer, I do a mile ocean swim just about every morning...nothing has ever bothered me....except for Dolphins, they come next to you and swim directly under you and blast you with the backwash from their tail.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
You are swimming in the freaking ocean why are going freaking nuts that some sharks have shown up?

You are camping in the woods why are you so surprised there is a freaking bear?

I could go on and on.

Chiggers.

Plus Jersey's famous for the 1916 feeding frenzy: 5 died, 2 in Matawan Creek which is inland.

quote:

The 1916 shark attacks: Matawan, N.J.'s 100-year struggle with a bloody legacy

http://www.nj.com/entertainmen...acks_matawan_ce.html

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...hark_attacks_of_1916

quote:

Although many of the wild animals have moved on due to population growth, over the years we have had deer, coyotes, bobcats, turkeys, raccoons, possums, skunks, groundhogs, snakes, squirrels, lizards, hawks, owls, and the occasional feral cat. And don't forget the myriad large spiders, centipedes, wasps, yellow-jackets, cicadas, cicada-killer wasps, cave crickets, etc.

Sounds about like our place. See them regularly, too.

I had a caller a few years ago that called 911 about 0200, very upset because a bear had run across the road in front of him. Granted, it was in the edge of one of our small towns, but when he told me "the bear has no business here, it's in town" I about laughed at him over the phone.

I had to explain to him that the bears were there long before the town, we're just living in their place.

I have a friend who lives in Alabama (winter) and Alaska (summer). If you're a bluegrass fan you might have heard her -- Ginger Boatwright.

She just sent me some photos this morning, taken in her back yard in Alaska.