Questions tagged [animals]
Questions about animals likely to be encountered outdoors, whether from the perspective of food (hunting, preparing, eating); shelter (skinning); avoidance (bears, lions, other dangerous animals); enjoyment (bird and other animal watching, care, understanding of behavior).
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Dozens of earthworms came on my terrace and died there
We've had a harsh weather turnaround lately in central Europe. It went from a pretty warm late summer to a pretty cold autumn in nearly one single night. As this happened, earthworms started to come ...
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Worm catching with electricity?
I have heard about people using electricity to catch worms, mostly around catching worms for fishing.
How does this work?
Is it safe?
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How can I tell if there's a living snail in the shell, without picking it up?
When I go to the beach, I love to look at sea shells. I never take them with me because they're vital to the eco-system. I just gently pick them up, have a close look and sometimes take pictures, then ...
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How to defend from animals while camping (golden jackals, boars, foxes)?
I want to go camping somewhere (I am from Eastern Europe) but the zone is full of golden jackals/foxes. They are a bit larger than a fox, but they stay in packs. I have a husky dog that wouldn't be ...
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Do puff adders really not bite you if you step on them?
I had understood the puff adder to be one of the most dangerous snakes in the world; apparently, it kills more than thirty thousand people each year. From which I had concluded that it must be very ...
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How can I prevent animals from marking my camp as their territory?
Often, when I leave my tent during the day, cats and other animals come and pee in the corners and on the carpet. They probably do this to mark it as their territory. They don't come at night when I ...
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What animals pose a threat to humans in the Vienna Woods/Wienerwald?
Imagine someone hikes in the Vienna Woods, gets lost and spends the night in the woods.
Is there a real danger for such a person to be attacked or killed by wolves, bears, or other dangerous animals? ...
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Why would a raccoon hold its ground in the middle of the road with oncoming traffic?
I was driving on a suburban road at night when I noticed an animal at a distance in the middle of the road. As I approached, I was able to see it was a raccoon. I stopped.
It was just standing in the ...
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Can arctic terns be spotted everywhere?
I’ve come across a lot of resources that highlight the migration routes of these amazing birds, but when it comes to specific locations, I’m coming short on finding the answer. Have these birds been ...
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What should I do with a newborn squirrel found in parking lot?
We found this newborn squirrel in a parking lot and brought it home (obviously would have left it where it was if it was in a more safe location and wouldn't have been run over).
It was pretty lively ...
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Is Germany or any of Europe really rabies free?
Answers at a recent question say that Germany has been rabies free since 2008. My first response was how could that even be possible, must be some significant border protection that keeps wild ...
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How effective are Air Pistols and AIr Rifles, bought in Canadian retailers, against dangerous animals?
To what degree can Air Pistols and Air Rifles fend off wild dangerous animals, such as coyotes, wolves, bears and snakes?
Are pistols less effective than rifles? My family lacks any firearms license ...
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Strange nocturnal animal sounds in Massachusetts
My husband and I were woken last night by animal sounds we've never heard before. We live in MA on the border of NH by wetlands. It sounded like a group of animals, at least 3. Their sound started ...
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Why do predators seem as abundant as prey in trail camera footage?
From basic thermodynamic principles, I would normally expect prey species to be much more abundant than predators. Applying that to North American species like deer, wolves and bears, I would expect ...
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Density of game trails in old-growth forest
In old growth forest, that has large animals like deer, bears etc., specifically in the wildest areas of Pennsylvania (though if estimates are available for other areas with some similarities, I will ...
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Wildcats in Scotland
I know there are a limited number of wildcats still roaming free in Scotland but is it ever very realistic to see one? and are there any places that are particularly good to spot them? I also know ...
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Nepali / India bioacoustics hiking
Has anyone recorded animal sounds while trekking the Annapurna trail (Nepal) or in Ladakh (India)? If so, where are the richest acoustic areas?
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Fear of wild animals on a Island while I am sleeping in tent alone at night
I have been camping solo at various places(Hills, riverside) for 3 years of my life. I have also seen various techniques online to survive alone on the Island. I often wonder how do you deal with wild ...
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What hazardous wildlife is there in the UK?
And what situations should I try and avoid in regards to wildlife and areas prone to hazards in the UK?
Edited my question to cover the other answers more as they were very good additions to the ...
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Can an animal with cheek pouches vocalize normally when those pouches are full?
When an animal such as a squirrel or chipmunk is holding objects in its cheek pouches, does it effect the animal's ability to vocalize normally? Do such obstructions prevent vocalization entirely? Do ...
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Does groundhog seasonal shedding cause itching
We live in a heavily wooded area with a heavily wooded bluff off our back yard. Wildlife is abundant here, including groundhogs. Until we installed cams to watch wildlife I’d never witnessed the ...
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Can lions hunt on cloudy moonless nights?
Lions have truly remarkable night vision, to the extent that they not only hunt at night, but actually prefer to do so when there is no moon in the sky, because the lack of moonlight makes them nearly ...
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Travelling to the Kruger National Park
I'm planning a trip through Kruger National Park with a group of friends sometime around the end of July or early August time.
Firstly, how many days are needed to get a great safari experience in the ...
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Do wolves hunt on moonless nights?
Wolves have better night vision than we do, enough that they can quite happily hunt on moonlit nights.
But what about when there is no moonlight? Intuitively it seems to me that with no moon or nearby ...
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How to sanitize rabbit legs found outdoors in a way that keeps them intact?
Last week I found the rear half of a rabbit in my yard. It was probably eaten by a large bird of prey. The hind legs were untouched so I hung them to desiccate. One week later, they have not visibly ...
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How dangerous are kangaroos?
After watching this video of a man punching a kangaroo to rescue his dog, I am wondering how dangerous a kangaroo is to a human on foot? I am sure that there are a lot of other things in Australia ...
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How to humanely kill an injured rabbit?
My girlfriend was walking the dogs this am when she came across what she thought was a road kill rabbit. One of the dogs ran over to the "dead" rabbit and tried to take a bite out of the stomach. The ...
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How frequent are encounters with bears/mountain lions/etc?
I'm wondering how common it is to see or encounter large carnivores like bears and mountain lions in the lower 48 when hiking in the United States (okay, bears are tehnically omnivores, but you get ...
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How to avoid slugs on the face in a bivvy bag
I slept out in my bivvy bag (UK army surplus goretex bag with a synthetic sleeping bag inside) in the woods recently, and woke twice to find a big fat slug on my face. It's never happened before. I ...
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Simple general rules to decide if an animal is wounded badly enough that killing it is the right thing to do?
Sometimes I encounter animals which are obvisouly wounded or sick (either visible open wounds, broken bones or else because they miss the typical flee reaction for the species or hardly move at all). ...
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What kind of toad is this?
I found him late at night in my backyard. I live in Arkansas, USA. He was fairly large (probably the size of my fist). I know absolutely nothing about amphibians, but I am thinking maybe an American ...
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There have been a family of hedgehogs in my garden over the winter and the mother has recently disappeared
There have been a family of hedgehogs in my garden over the winter and the mother has recently disappeared.
I have a hedgehog house in my garden and there was a mother hedgehog that was there over the ...
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Is this a baby bat and what should I have done?
Yesterday we were outside obliterating some grass when my wife suddenly noticed something small and black in front of her mower. It was a tiny little bat!
Now, the day was quite hot and sunny and the ...
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How to Safely Relocate a Robins nest?
Right outside of my backdoor to my house, a robin has decided to build a nest on top of my homes electrical meter:
So far, I do not see any eggs in the nest There is now one egg present. How can I ...
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Why do squirrels chew on metal planter?
I have a metal planter on my patio. Why do squirrels come up and chew on the sides of it? Are they sharpening their teeth?
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Chemicals sprayed on balcony concerned its harmful to my cat [closed]
I live in a 2nd floor apartment and I let my cat lounge on the balcony. I have had an insect infestation on the balcony that I treated with a permethrin spray.
It's been 8 hrs since I sprayed the ...
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What is this weird mechanical thing I found in the woods?
I hope this is the right community.
I was walking through the woods and found this weird thing, it was in front of a hunting tower, and a wildlife cam was pointed at it.
There where traces of deer(?) ...
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What is wrong with the rabbit living under my shed?
So there is this rabbit that lives under my shed, and I've been watching it through my window for the past few days. It comes out in the mornings, and sits next to its hole crouched in a tight ball, ...
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Are elk and deer colorblind to blaze orange/pink clothes?
During rifle season, hunters are required to wear blaze orange (some states also allow bright pink).
I have heard that deer and elk are color blind to blaze orange, is there scientific evidence to ...
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Do animal trails have switchbacks?
When hiking in a rarely frequented area, trails may be very faint to the level of being essentially invisible. In such situations, it has happened more than once that I accidentally followed an ...
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What's the best way to preserve a skull, without bleaching?
My grandpa found this deer skull way out in the back of a golf course (he works there) and brought it home for me. I don't mind leaving the color the way it is, I just wonder, what is the best way to ...
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How do you overcome a preventative fear of dangerous wildlife
I live in Colorado and love hiking alone, it's quiet and peaceful. I want to be more 'free' to hike in early morning or late evening when it's dark or backpack in remote places, but at this point I ...
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Wild animals in Finland and Norway
Next summer I am planning to ride a bike from Belarus to the north of Norway through Finland. What measures should I take to be protected against wild animals (bears and wolves)?
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Who to contact for a bird with broken wing in Portugal, Algarve?
I saw a bird with an injured wing among the rocks on a beach in Portugal (Algarve). The bird has been on the beach since Friday evening, and her wing feathers have completely dropped off by now.
It's ...
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Where do white tigers live?
We saw this magnificent white tiger in a wildlife rehabilitation center in the United States. I don't like seeing animals out of their natural habitat, but all of these animals were rescued from ...
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Are kangaroos dangerous? [duplicate]
When I first saw a man get kicked by a kangaroo, I said "nope to Australia" because that is mainly where kangaroos are. Then, I looked on google and it said kangaroos are not dangerous. So now I'm not ...
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What determines whether the young of a cat is called a kitten or a cub?
The young of cats are called kittens or cubs, depending partly on how large the cat is, and apparently partly on informal custom. Wikipedia, kitten says:
The word "kitten" derives from the Middle ...
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Is "scat" used to describe the droppings of any animal?
I understand that when you see animal droppings in the wilderness, it's referred to as "scat." I have heard scat referred to when referencing bear, coyote and mountain lion droppings.
Is this the ...
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How to protect yourself from horses?
Me and a group of about twenty of my friends were passing through the ranch of my neighbor. There is a large prairie with his horses. Suddenly, a group of about 10 horses charged us. All of a sudden ...
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Snowshoe hare migration patterns through changing seasons
I asked this question in the Hunting BC forum but so far it hasn't received much attention. I'm very interested in the answer(s) and will cross-post any useful information.
Over the last three weeks ...
