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Post by spaceflower on Mar 31, 2015 16:33:17 GMT
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Post by Miisa on Mar 31, 2015 16:40:11 GMT
In Sweden we talk about the "big five" predators (bear, wolf, wolverine and lynx). What is the fifth one in the "big five"? I don't think we have particularly dangerous animals (apart from causing traffic collisions), though bears is the one I'd be wary of in that list. Capercaillies are known to be temperamental and aggressive. Wolverines have a nasty reputation, but are much too shy to be a danger, as are badgers and raccoon dogs.
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Post by spaceflower on Mar 31, 2015 16:52:40 GMT
The big animal which I personally find most dangerous is the elk. There are many accidents between elks and cars. These meetings mean the death of the elk and sometimes the people in the car too. www.thelocal.se/galleries/others/2546/10(Look at the "tame" elk kissing its owner.) The fifth predator? Guess! The most common and the most dangerous predator of all.
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Post by raspberrybullets on Apr 3, 2015 6:21:41 GMT
It would be easier to ask which animals aren't dangerous in this country - might be some of the sheep.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2015 8:59:48 GMT
I tink the only really dangerous animals we have here are wild boars. They have started to come into some larger cities. The wolf seems to be coming back as well, although I'm not sure whether that can be seen as a dangerous predator.
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Post by spaceflower on Apr 4, 2015 12:56:36 GMT
Yes, the wild boars seem rather dangerous to me. They live in herds, so if you meet one wild boar you meet a whole pack. I've read about (and watched on the telly) the wild boars in Berlin. www.theguardian.com/world/2012/oct/30/wild-boar-attack-berlinThe wild boar was exterminated in the 18th century in Sweden but reintroduced in the 1870s by Freiherr Dickson on his estate, probably b/c he wanted to hunt boars. If you collide with a boar, you should not go out of the car, since an injured boar is dangerous. This species belong the the omnivores. Like man, it eats everything.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 4, 2015 20:01:29 GMT
I know how dangerous they are. We lived in a village, not far from a forest and we know that wild boars were dangerous.
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Post by spaceflower on Apr 5, 2015 17:51:28 GMT
But would you avoid going into the forest b/c of wild boars? There are about 300.000 wild boars in Sweden now and experts say they are only dangerous if they feel threatened. Normally they stay away from human beings. They make "pretence attacks" running against the victim. But how do you if it is a pretence or a real attack? But I would not stay away from the forest b/c of wild boars. Actually I'm most terrified of the viper (adder?)
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Post by Deleted on Apr 5, 2015 18:45:05 GMT
I would not avoid forests, but I would be careful. We always used to go to the forest as kids and knew to leave them alone if we saw any.
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Post by tangent on Apr 5, 2015 21:12:07 GMT
We have (or have had) wallabies but I don't think they are dangerous.
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Post by Deleted on Apr 6, 2015 8:56:22 GMT
Wow, I didn't know that!
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Post by spaceflower on Oct 27, 2015 14:59:18 GMT
The most dangeroous predator in Sweden is the brown bear. Bears usually discover human beings first and stay away. This is the reason that you should not be too silent in the forest. Talk (if you have company) or sing, make noises. What do you do if a bear attacks you? You can't run away (the bear runs faster), you can't climb up a tree (you don't have time and the bear can climb too). Fall on your stomach, put your arms around your head and play dead. And hope that the bear will not find you interesting to eat. Hunters are most at risk, especially if they are accompanied by dogs: www.thelocal.se/20150821/swedes-lucky-escape-when-dead-bear-attacksOr you could try to scare off the bear by roaring: www.thelocal.se/20150515/swedish-man-sees-off-bear-by-roaring-at-him
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Post by spaceflower on Oct 27, 2015 16:58:36 GMT
A brown bear trying to eat himself fat for the winter sleep. The problem is that so many people are curious and go there. They might stress him. Dangerous for the people (he may attack them) och for the bear (if so, he will be shot down). Attachments:
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Post by ProdigalAlan on Oct 28, 2015 16:21:08 GMT
The nastiest thing around here is the urban fox
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Post by Moose on Oct 30, 2015 19:15:16 GMT
The nastiest thing around here is the urban drunkard, often to be seen at this time of night on a Friday. I don't think we've got any especially dangerous fauna though. Foxes are a pain in the ass but I've only ever seen one in my life and that was out in the country, minding its own business and wearing a 'ban hunting' button.
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Post by whollygoats on Nov 7, 2015 23:07:23 GMT
It depends upon what you mean by 'around here'. In the immediate neigbhorhood, I'd say that the nastiest wild predator is probably a raccoon. We have occasional coyote lope through, but that's exceeding rare. If you mean 'around here' in a fifty-mile-radius kind of way, then black bear or cougar are probably the most dangerous. As noted, though, as a general rule, they shy away from human contact entirely, but human garbage can be an attractive temptation.
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Post by tangent on Nov 8, 2015 13:13:20 GMT
I sometimes go for.a walk in the countryside but I wouldn't dare do that if there were black bears or cougars.
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Post by Miisa on Nov 8, 2015 14:26:26 GMT
JoeP recently dared to venture into one of our national parks with me for a hike. I huffed about bears and lynxes, though realistically we were probably considerably more likely to stumble on to an adder.
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Post by tangent on Nov 8, 2015 22:44:36 GMT
I'm not sure which I would dislike the most.
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Post by whollygoats on Nov 9, 2015 1:30:34 GMT
Well...I lost half my flock yesterday to what was probably raccoons. I found the carcasses of two of my hens this morning.
*sigh*
Now I have two hens, Ingrid, my EE, and Dora, my mixed breed. I lost Sonja, my Rhode Island Red, and Eleanor, my Black Copper Marans.
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Post by Kye on Nov 9, 2015 2:07:42 GMT
Raccoons can be vicious. That's sad...
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Post by tangent on Nov 9, 2015 15:38:42 GMT
Very bad news.
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Post by Moose on Nov 10, 2015 20:44:31 GMT
Nasty racccoons!
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Post by Deleted on Nov 15, 2015 20:55:37 GMT
Raccoons have become a big problem in some areas of Germany. :-(
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Post by yooperguy on Dec 12, 2015 22:32:12 GMT
Possums, they are vile evil creatures with a lousy disposition and big teeth.
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Post by spaceflower on Jul 4, 2016 23:08:03 GMT
It is not always best to play dead. Sometimes you should fight the bear. www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33334431I think I would panic too much to notice how the bear helds its head and ears. And a grizzly bear is bigger, stronger and more vicious than the brown bear. It is really scary to look at the big grizzly in Yellowstone park trying to get its paws into the car. What if the windows had not been fully closed or broke? "Oh my God, there's a bear on my car!"
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Post by Kye on Jul 5, 2016 0:39:45 GMT
All the bears I've seen in the wild were far away, and trying to get even farther.
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Post by raspberrybullets on Jul 5, 2016 11:34:34 GMT
Makes me think of the advice I recently saw about what to do if encoutering a shark in the water. They recommended swimming towards it. Of course, that only works on your smaller sharks, not your bigger ones. But whose going to swim towards a shark!
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Post by whollygoats on Jul 8, 2016 14:48:46 GMT
It is not always best to play dead. Sometimes you should fight the bear. www.bbc.com/news/magazine-33334431I think I would panic too much to notice how the bear helds its head and ears. And a grizzly bear is bigger, stronger and more vicious than the brown bear. It is really scary to look at the big grizzly in Yellowstone park trying to get its paws into the car. What if the windows had not been fully closed or broke? "Oh my God, there's a bear on my car!" Grizzly bears are not to be trifled with or underestimated. They are, as already noted, bigger, stronger and MORE VICIOUS and UNPREDICTABLE than any other bear. Standard brown or black bears have no affinity for humans at all and, absent the presence of a cub, they will flee human presence. Grizzlies will not. Keep in mind that bears can run faster than humans for an extended distance.
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Post by Mari on Jul 11, 2016 18:22:16 GMT
We don't really have predators in the Netherlands. We have boars and deer, a few foxes (but not a lot) and some vicious birds of prey (seahawks for example), but on the whole everything here is pretty harmless. There was a big fuss a couple of months ago because we had a single wolf walking around the eastern parts of the country, but he/she went back to Germany.
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