Discussion»Questions»Animals (Wild)» What is the most dangerous wild animal where you live? A cougar was spotted and photographed by someone in Michigan
Reports of a mountain lion lurking in a rural neighborhood south of Queen Creek have scared some residents and prompted an Arizona Game and Fish Department inquiry.
More E.V. animals may have rabies
Northern Pinal County resident Dawndi Katich contacted Queen Creek officials via email this week, stating there had been four sightings of a mountain lion on the north face of the San Tan Mountains since Sunday afternoon.
"I’m very concerned as I live close to the mountain and many children in the area ride horses in the park," wrote Katich, who could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
The sightings came less than two weeks after a mountain lion killed and partially ate 35-year-old bicyclist Mark Jeffrey Reynolds at Whiting Ranch Wilderness Park in Orange County, Calif. The lion was spotted and killed Jan. 8 after it returned to the site of Reynold’s body.
Another visitor to the California park, Anne Hjelle, was bicycling along a wilderness trail the same day when a mountain lion — possibly the same one — sprang from the brush, pounced on her back and dragged her off by the head as fellow bikers threw rocks at the animal and tried to pull her away. Hjelle, 30, survived the attack but suffered serious injuries.
Still, Arizona Game and Fish representatives say mountain lions rarely attack people — only about a dozen fatalities have been reported in the past 100 years.
Queen Creek officials on Tuesday contacted area wildlife rehabilitator Regina Whitman, who specializes in helping injured and orphaned animals. Whitman said she also has seen evidence of mountain lions in the area, which contains several rustic, large-lot properties.
Concentrated development in nearby communities such as Johnson Ranch is likely driving the animals out of their usual hunting grounds and into the more pristine mountain areas, Whitman said.
"People must realize that by building ‘Johnson City’ and all the other development, they created this situation," she said. "The animals are now being forced out and are looking for territory."
This post was edited by WM BARR . =ABSOLUTE TRASH at March 2, 2018 7:35 PM MST
Snakes. I live not far from the Torrens River, blacks and king browns are not unknown there. Redback spiders are very common, one killed my daughter's cat a few years ago. Drop bears are also ubiquitous ...
This post was edited by Slartibartfast at March 2, 2018 8:19 PM MST
Probably snakes. There are alligators and bears, but they generally try to avoid people. With snakes, you can't really see them and they strike so quick and many of them are venomous. I still remember when I was a kid catching tadpoles with a net, a water moccasin got pissed and attacked the net. I didn't even know it was in there but I was scared to go too close to the creek after that.
What we have to watch out for most are skunks - because of the thundering nuisance of it all. I have seen more than one of them ambling around (separately) on one brief doggie-walk. Bears put in an occasional appearance but they are by no means common around here. Then there are coyotes, usually animals on solitary hunts during daylight, but we sometimes hear them hunting in packs at night and occasionally find the remains of a deer. There are rattlers in the general area, but I have never seen one.
Sharks. Several people have been attacked and at least one killed since I moved here to East-Central Florida in 1980.
This post was edited by CallMeIshmael at March 2, 2018 8:22 PM MST
Coyotes, deer, raccoons, possum, groundhog, skunk and squirrels. Let's have a run-through.
Coyotes - more of a danger to your pets and livestock than you Deer - danger of totaling your car, and also you Raccoons - dangerous bite if they're rabid, moderatly dangerous for children Possum - same answer as raccoons Groundhog - lol Skunk - smells more dangerous than it looks Squirrels - a danger to your nuts
They are quite pesky here, too. And no predators. We do have lone and packs of coyote, but they search through trash bins and are quite afraid of humans.
It would be cougars - I've never seen one but I have seen their tracks and would hate to get hit with those claws. We also have black bears mothers with cubs can be pretty dangerous. We also have Bigfoots I never seen one or their tracks but once when I was on a logging road at night I heard one screeching at me and it was almost brown trouser time. Cheers and happy weekend!
This post was edited by Nanoose at April 27, 2018 6:45 PM MDT