Lived in Pinedale Wyoming it was expected to run into at least one of them daily. Can't count the amount of times I had to play statue because I ran across one riding my bike or was stuck inside because a moose was in my front yard or the school didn't allow us outside due to a moose being in the playground or football field. After a while you got used to them.
My kids brought home an "injured puppy" they found on the side of the road. I nursed it back to health, and we had another dog, I thought. Turns out it was a coyote puppy. He's been with us for a long time now. He always had peculiar behaviors like walking on his back legs down the hall, taking a nap on top of the kitchen table, hunts and eats grubs, will go lay and hide in the grass. His butt wants to come inside though, and sleep on the bed and snuggle. He runs from a opossum. He may be the sweetest dog I ever had.
My brother had one mixed with a German shepherd. She was sweet but so sharply vocal. High pitched and never ending if one of her people wasn't around when she wanted them. Have a pic of my little mom sitting in a kitchen chair with this 75 pound mutt sitting on her lap. She still calls her, her lap dog when we talk about her.
2 years late but this reminds me of the “American howling retriever” post that goes something like: “The American Howling Retriever is a breed of dog that is extremely coyote like. In fact, the only difference between it and a normal coyote is my inability to admit that I may have made a mistake and all the Benadryl I keep giving it so it won’t maul me.”
Had a 'Coon get into my trash jins one night. I managed to pop him with a paint ball. Man, those gray, black and pink raccoons can MOVE! Heheha...... He never came back.
If you're really interested in them, there are livestreams of bald eagle nests on RUclips. The wild nesting season is pretty much over but there is still a young one on the Dollywood nest. GG3 is the offspring out Grant and Glenda, two non releasable bald eagles. Look up GG3an Eaglet's journal. Every week there is footage of the little one growing up.
I live on the Indiana/my border and my parents actually live on the river. They now have a nest of bald eagles less than a mile from their house. They get to see them all the time. I haven’t seen an adult yet, but I did see two youths when I was at their house a few years ago.
They are indeed. Two big bald eagles used to live in my backyard when I moved in from England. It was easy to see why they were chosen to be the national bird. Not sure where they went, however, they've gone missing for about a year now.
@@esco5593 Though bald eagle nests are reused, the eagles sometimes move elsewhere (not very far away) for unknown reasons. IOW, here today, gone tomorrow. At least one bald eagle nest is thought to be at least 200 years old.
Mario suit is actually based on an animal called a Tanuki. They're also called Racoon Dogs by some. This is why the power up is represented by a leaf. In folklore Tanuki use leaves to preform transformation magic. Turning into a Monk statue is one of their tricks as people in Japan leave food offerings at these statues. The Tanuki will then steal the food being left at the false alters.
There's both a racoon suit (the normal flying suit from SMB3) and a Tanuki suit (the one that turns into a Jizo statue). Similar looking animals, though, and both now live in Japan (the North American Racoon having been imported in large numbers because a show made it really popular to keep them as pets. Really)
We had a domesticated skunk in our house when I was a kid. What I can tell you is that, if they are kept as pets, they are likely de-scented. But, that doesn't mean they don't have an intensely musky scent if you don't bathe them regularly. They are, however, highly intelligent, deeply loyal animals that love their people a great deal, and will protect them. You should have seen the mailman's face the day we had the door open, so there was only a screen door between him and a skunk who immediately whipped around to point his raised tail at the man, and then backed up quickly towards him to "spray" LOL. I have never seen a man move that fast in my life LOL.
I used to have ferrets who are in the same family as skunks and they don’t spray like skunks, but they do have a very musky odor especially their waste, so their maintenance is notably higher. But they are so adorable and playful and curious with tons of personality! They just also, sadly, have very short lifespans. 😢
This could simply be a myth but through my life I have also heard stories that skunks have nursed and raised abandoned domestic kittens and that momma cats have done the same with skunk kits
A raccoon used to come onto my back porch and eat with our cats. They all got along famously, the raccoon hung around for a couple of years. We named him George Cooney.
My cat had a racoon buddy who used to come in through the cat door every evening and take the cat out for a night run. They would walk out together like high school kids heading out on the town. We called him Rocky. I actually woke up to Rocky petting my face in the morning. Nice human, nice human.
I've lived in New Mexico for 21 years now, and I still get a kick of out seeing roadrunners. They just wander around the city, usually in the mornings.
Meep-meep! Roadrunners are AWESOME!!! We had one in our rural neighborhood in Oklahoma. And yes, you'd only see it in the morning. ❤ I wonder if they're diurnal?
I live right outside NYC and a lot people don't know that there is a family of coyotes that live in central park. They don't bother anyone so we don't bother them. They've been living there pretty peacefully for years. They really are all over the states.
It's the polar opposite of what happened to wolves; wolf ranges decreased as a result of human activity, while coyote range increased (as they're both effective scavengers and predators of scavengers, and human trash attracts a lot of scavengers). There's probably some in the city you live in (they tend to avoid humans so they're hard to spot, but I guarantee you they're around somewhere).
@Major woody Snipes are actually a real bird, they just arent found in the US. I think the Boy Scout Snipe hunts are to blame for so many people thinking they are a fictional animal
I hadn't realized until recently how much we take hummingbirds and fireflies for granted over here in the US. Was totally unaware that they're exclusive to the Americas! They never struck me something "unique" to this side of the world-unlike, say, a moose or coyote. I'll often snap pics/vids of these guys in my yard for my friends over in Europe :)
There's a raccoon suit and a tanuki suit. They're mostly the same, but the tanooki suit can change into the statue whereas the regular raccoon suit cannot.
The reason the Tanuki Suit allows you to change into a statue, and fly, is because the yokai version of Tanuki, much like Kitsune, is a master of pranks if mistreated, and can both fly AND change to mimic budda statues and even humans. But they're also said to bring fortune to those who treat them well and befriend them, the Tanuki are, that is. That comes from the practice of hammering malleable balls of gold into coins, called Ryo, using bags of Tanuki Skin. They use their own version of a play on words to make it "Tanuki Balls", cuz The words for Raccoon Dog and Gold Ball are so similar.
I was hoping someone already said this. It would have been funny if the suit had the signature huge testicles they're often depicted as having. Can't remember if the actual animal has huge balls.
When I was 7, I was with my dad and brother in a waiting room of some kind, I don't remember for what. We had an hour or so wait which is torture for a 7 year old. Out of desperation I took one of the magazines and, found an article that was so interesting that I actually read the entire thing. So it is illegal to keep bald eagles as pets, however in a national park there was an eagle that got hurt and was found by park rangers and taken to a vet who had to amputate one of the poor guy's wings. Now unable to fly, it could not be released into the wild. Now during the time it was with the humans, it bonded with the ranger that found it and he got special permission from the state to keep the eagle since it could not longer fend for itself. Well, he took it home but, it was sickly. It almost didn't eat and spent all its time staring at the wall in the room where its perch was. Its feathers started falling out, ironically making it start to go bald. Well, right around the time he found the eagle, the ranger was taking hang gliding lessons. The ranger got his license and started going up. One day he got the bright idea to have a harness made for the bird. When the harness was finished, he took the bird up with him when he went gliding. Upon arriving home he opened the carrier and the eagle ran out of the cage and made straight for his food dish, eating all of it than loudly squawked at the ranger until he refilled the dish. After a second helping of food was gone, the bird turned and explored the rangers house, something he'd never done before. The bird simply missed the sky.
Here in Florida, we have many reptiles, gators, crocodiles, caiman, Burmese python, boa contractors, iguanas, Cottonmouth, and the most deadly Florida man.
I once had a housemate who freaked out when he saw a "giant rat" in the backyard. It was a possum. They're great... you want them in your yard for insect control. Also, they're the only North American marsupials, which is kind of interesting.
I was walking in my neighborhood at 5:30 a.m. 6/6/21 and I saw the WEIRDEST thing I’ve ever seen in person - I couldn’t figure out what it was for the first few seconds. It turned out to be a mother possum with little baby possum faces up and down her spine and two of them hanging off the side of her body. Scared the living shit out of me at first lol she kept making a loud “TS“ sound at me.
@@ireneparrish3070 That's a myth from a very poorly executed study, in which captive possums were place in an enclosure with nothing to eat EXCEPT tics, so naturally they ate them. In subsequent studies done in more natural environments, it appeared that they would eat most anything else available before settling for a tic.
The "raccoon suit" from Mario is the "Tanuki suit" its based off a "Tanuki" a raccoon dog, according to mythology it can use leaves to shape-shift and cause chaos. I must say it is much more cuter than the American Raccoon.
The "raccoon suit" is the tanuki suit. It's not a raccoon at all. They are real animals, but like many animals in folklore, there are myths that attribute magical powers to them, similar to Coyote. One of those powers is shapeshifting. Another is illusion. Arguably, the shapeshifting could be seen as the extension of the illusion. Their magic comes from their enlarged scrotum, not leaves, but they do use leaves in their illusions. They are rumored to transform into human travelers, visit ramen shops, and purchase large quantities of ramen using leaves which they have made to appear as money. After they leave, the money turns back into leaves. Ramen shops put statues of tanuki with large testicles outside their shops to indicate that their ramen is so good, it's the preferred ramen of tanuki, the true connoisseurs. Their magic giant scrotum also gives them the power of flight, not their "helicopter wangs," and it is used as a weapon.
BIL startled skunk in tool shed and gasped just as skunk sprayed him. He lost his ability to smell things for quite awhile after that. Skunk spray can be very dangerous. But dogs keep thinking 'this skunk will be different' and continue to go after them. So much for live and learn...
I ADORE OPOSSUMS. They are little tick eating machines and they have those cute little hands that look like they're wearing fingerless gloves. Absolutely love them
Might not adore them so much if you ever see them eat a dead deer....They chew their way thru the anus first then get in and eat the guts via the ass. here in West Virginia we always know when possums are eating dead deer.
I saw a momma opossum with seven babies on her back and I just had to make the comment: Look it's a opossum made entirely out of opossums. (not using 'an' instead of 'a' here because the 'o' is silent)
@@elleryeggen9678 Don't be freaked out. Nature does as nature does for a reason. If there wasn't a reason it wouldn't happen. Survival for just living until the next day is a VERY different thing than the cushioned life even the poorest of modern humans live. At least we don't have to discard our eldest and smallest children to keep them from draining resources away from the most capable hunters/gatherers anymore.
Several years ago, a coyote was being chased by a crow in downtown Seattle. OK, not so weird, but then the bird chased the coyote into the elevator of a Federal Office building. The coyote rode the elevator for a bit, then exited the building. The crow resumed its pursuit of the coyote at that time. All of it on video. I love Seattle!
Don't wanna be that guy, but ima be that guy: That Mario costume isn't a raccoon, it's a tanuki which looks a little like a raccoon mixed with a dog. According to some traditions tanuki are mischievous shape shifters.
I was thinking that might be it. Less fun fact: tanukis are endangered now, partly because of the introduction of raccoons as 'cute pets' a few decades ago, inspired by a funny manga/anime series. They were then let go into the wild when they turned out not to be good pets...
I had a coyote stalk me while walking my dog in the winter. My dog was the same size as it. No amount of loud noises, rock throwing (didnt hit him), standing my ground, nothing worked except walking backwards towards roads and civilization. It was afraid to get too close to me, but was just stalking waiting for some opportunity. Had to have my sister pick me up to get away. I was surprised at how persistent they are when hungry, especially if you're alone with a pet.
The coyotes near me on the Kitsap peninsula in Western Washington, get very bold. We must watch our dog, a Westie, and our neighbors lost their cat after a coyote showed up. Be vigilant, Laurance.
We got lots of coyotes in South Texas. They like to shop a lot at the Malls. They're usually bilingual. They don't make as much as people think though, and their jobs don't offer any benefits like retirement, or paid vacation, or sick time. Anyone can become a coyote, you just have to be able to; walk & run over really rugged terrain, and swim really well. Its kind of like being a scout master on hiking trails, except the scouts ain't scouts, and the federal government wants to arrest you. Your own fellow coyotes don't like you, and see you more like competition for resources, instead of a coworker. They work mostly night hours, (some do days, holidays, and weekends) and have to be able to run, jump, swim, fight, and sleep with their eyes open. Also they can't have any aversions to firearms, violence, or incarceration. You might have a friend or buddy at work who's a part-time coyote, and you'll never know it. They're pretty friendly, until they're not. You could have a coyote friend, and never know it.
They also go after sheep, which is a big part of the Llama popularity. I've read that "llamas look at sheep as dim-witted little cousins," and they have an extremely strong dislike for canines (though if raised around dogs, they will tolerate known dogs.) But they will chase down and kill coyotes. Which is why you often see llamas on sheep ranches.
@@mhlevy : I don't think llamas can chase down and kill a coyote, but they definitely intimidate predators. They can defend themselves, and their eyes-front visage is intimidating. But the chasing-down-and-killing part I'm somewhat skeptical about.
They’ll kill big dogs as well. We also have a massive shortage of deer where I live because of all the coyotes, they tend to eat the fawns or even full grown animals.
We had a pet skunk when I was young. They apparently botched the surgery and caused major urinary problems for our guy. My mother was so upset by it she went on a crusade to get the whole pet skunk shutdown. Not sure it worked far and wide but the local shop stopped ordering them to sell.
Specifically, they're known as "musk glands" As that's what the substance is called. Also, it's possible to raise a 'pet' Skunk from a pup and never get sprayed, because they recognize others they grow up with as family, and don't spray each other if they're related. It's a predatory defense response. So if it's imprinted on you and your family, it won't spray you. It MAY, however, spray those it deems as a threat to the family. :P
At a Navy base I was stationed on long ago, a skunk lived on a wooded hill above the barracks across the street from the enlisted club. It used to sit near the bottom of the hill and just watch people come and go. One evening a faster-than-usual drunk guy managed to rush it, grab it, and pick it up. Briefly. When he reeled into the lounge screaming and clawing at his eyes, the smell made it pretty obvious what had happened. Sobered him right up, though. And the skunk took to sitting a little higher up the hill.
When I was a kid, we moved from East Texas to Tucson, AZ. After being raised on Coyote & Roadrunner cartoons, I was bitterly disappointed with my first siting of an actual Roadrunner. It was maybe a foot tall and not as fast as I expected. Coyotes are quite a bit faster, although they aren’t the geniuses that Wyle E Coyote (Super Genius) represented them as being. My childhood was a lie.
LOL!! If you adopt a baby coyote, it will within 8 months, clean our your credit cards' available credit line and your garage will be full of giant bows & arrows, medieval catapults, rocket-powered skis, anvils of all sizes, gigantic rubber bands and jet-propelled roller skates.
@@billolsen4360 What if Macgyver adopted a coyote? That roadrunner would get murdered by a tank made from a hot water heater, a snowmobile engine and most of an old snow blower.
Pet skunks usually have the scent glands removed so they can't "spray". They still have a slight odor to them though. As a pet, they're very cat like in behavior: will use a litterbox, lay in the window watching the world go by, etc. (My sister had one as a pet for about 3 years)
When I was in elementary school, the teachers made us leave class and walk five blocks to a lookout over a local lake because there were 100 maybe 200 bald eagles on it and the surrounding trees. During spring when the ice is melting off the rivers there can be dousens of bald eagles in the trees around the rivers downtown. It is only a day trip from Chicago, so if you want to get to the point where eight can be no big deal, come on up.
I love manatees, I saw one of those in a lagoon. It was like a statue, I thought it was a rock for a minute because of all the algae and barnacles on it.
I forgot to put mountain lions and rattlesnakes on my list. Wild mustangs were introduced by the Spanish, so I don't count those. But bison, manatees, bears, and Gila monsters were on my list.
Seeing a Bald Eagle in the wild is truly amazing! I remember taking pictures on First Beach in LaPush, WA...looking up...and just a few yards above me, sitting on a branch was a huge Bald Eagle. So majestic! I’m very happy Benjamin Franklin was overruled and the Wild Turkey isn’t our national bird.
Some friends from Accrington were visiting us in Colorado a few years back. We took them to a cocktail bar one night next to a creek in the mountains and there were 4 raccoons playing along the bank. I didn't realize that there were none in Britain until then...our friends enjoyed watching them and said "The have a bonny face" which they do.
Here in Anchorage, Alaska, we have about 1900 moose living in the municipality of Anchorage. The are often found wandering around downtown Anchorage, and have been known to take advantage of automatic doors to enter places such as supermarkets, office buildings, and hospitals. I am absolutely serious.
They aren't scared of humans? I would figure that everyone hunts in Alaska, so they would get picked off really easy, and become dinner if they hung around civilization that much.
Daniel LaDue they do not give a flying salmon about humans. They will hunt you before you hunt them. There was one time at the playground a momma and her baby came waltzing up and we all booked it to the top of the jungle gym. They will hoof you to death if you get between a momma and a baby. They’re bigger than a freaking suburban and faster than you think. They taste good tho.
I was hanging out near one of the local rivers today and I heard some noise coming out of the trees behind me. I saw a canine looking creature and thought "that better not be someone with their freaking dog" because I was in a more secluded spot which I consider "private" at times. I was honestly even scared of it being a wolf for a second because I know they've been spotted in my area (I live in the Pacific Northwest). I saw those big eyes and round face and realized that thankfully, it was just a coyote. I made a couple hissy noises and it just kind of walked off. Coyotes can be little bastards occasionally, but most interactions I've had with them have been chill.
Greg B Both pronunciations are correct. Not pronouncing the O is much more common and generally considered more correct and official. Pronouncing the O is decidedly colloquial.
My kids' school had to lock down for a day, thanks to a mountain lion showing up on the playground in California. Those were some nervous walks to class in the following weeks.
I did training in Sonoma County and we had a Mountain Lion that would make its presence known from time to time. Forest and plenty of rocky outcrops for it. My dumbass would still go for runs alone and at night.
Had a mountain lion show up at the parking lot at work lying down in the shade of a pickup truck when we took a break during training week. Took our ten minute break and went inside with neither of us causing an issue for the other.
When we first moved to the US I was shocked to see chipmunks everywhere! I'd never seen them in the wild in the UK. And when I went back a pet store had a couple in a cage - it was quite heartbreaking to see that after having them run all around our yard.
Rocket is my favorite Guardian because he's EXACTLY what a genetically-enhanced trash panda would be like. When I was a crazy raccoon person many years ago, I became acquainted with one I named Mooch. He'd come in the cat door at night and have some cat food, then let me scoot him outside, eventually just waiting for me to open the door. It was fine the first year when he was single, we had an understanding. It was not fine the next year when he decided to bring the wife and kids too. Ornery and mischievous is putting it mildly. That was back in western Colorado, where coyotes (which also go after cats and small dogs), deer, eagles, and skunks were common backyard visitors. And bears when they came down from the mountains. And fun fact: prairie dogs are also called "whistle pigs," and both they and groundhogs are two known carriers of the plague. "THE PLAGUE" the plague, that one.
Camped at a Michigan State Park last year. There were near as many Raccoons as mosquitoes. Those little darlings had us figured out. There would be a few over in the deep brush making a racket,, and behind you, one was in the bed of the pickup openning everything his paws could rip or his teeth could chew. Turn and shoo the critter out of the truck,,, and you'd find the back pack hung from the tree back where you started,, being rifled through by another. Turn to the back pack,, and they were back in the truck. The noise and distractions in the brush were not an accident,, they were diversionary tactics. Once I figured out they were smarter than I am, I stopped falling for that racket in the brush. Smart little dickens.
So you were a real life Linda Belcher when it came to raccoons? We helped feed several families over the years by putting out cat food on the back porch at night. Had one with his family run down the stairs, stop, stand on his hind legs and look at me like "did you bring out more food?"
We have "That Plague" Here in Arizona too. A kids we were taught not to go near a dead animal we might find in the desert incase the fleas decided to jump the dead host for the new live one.
random fact: the scent glands of skunks is removed after trapping and is sent to certain perfume makers to be used in their cosmetic products. for pets the scent gland is surgically removed leaving the animal alive leaving the critter largely stink free. A skunk is remarkably similar to a housecat.
The "seeing your shadow" = spring tradition actually comes from England, though not with groundhogs. The idea being that, in Britain, cloudy skies mean that spring rains will be here soon, whereas clear skies meant it wasn't warm enough yet. It doesn't make alot of sense here, since on February 2nd, most of the US (including PA) will absolutely get 6 more weeks of winter, regardless, but for England it actually makes sense.
February 2nd is Candlemas in England, the weathelore was that a bright sunny Candlemas meant there was more bad winter weather ahead, whereas a dark rainy one meant the worst of winter was over.
I have lived in Indiana all my life, and our Eagle population is growing ( but not as fast as the deer). I still feel like I have seen an Eagle for the first time each time I get the opportunity to see them in flight.
I actually met some people once that had a pet armadillo. They must've had it treated for the leprosy because I was able to pet it and never caught the disease. It was actually pretty cool petting a live armadillo though
Nathan Stautzenberger I would imagine not all armadillos are carriers. Glad you had a good experience, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to have wild animals as pets.
Aww, bald eagles. They were so endangered as a kid that I never thought I'd see one. But when I went to the Midwest a while, I saw one in person and practically cried. :) Also I've never had a *pet* skunk, but have befriended some wild ones. Particularly when I was living at a certain house with friends, (renovating that house was my job,) ...I used to sit on the steps of the back porch to have my morning coffee and the mama skunk from under the barn used to bring her pups out and they'd play around my feet (the mama kept a watchful eye. ) There's not much cuter than a baby skunk, anyway. And when they grew up they proved useful allies in a college town where, well, people of varying attitudes would be drinking. There was this screaming drunk kid who came up our driveway to, err, 'disapprove' of our lifestyle, but I'm standing there in the near dark, reying to talk him down when he suddenly goes silent, stone cold sober, and white as a sheet. I'm like, "You ok, dude?" He just points by my feet and says, 'Ssskunk!" I look down, there's one of my little friends. I was like, "Oh, yeah, they live here. You don't. Time for you to go." :)
I was in suburban Minneapolis last summer and two bald eagles were hunting across from me on a wide highway. A truck pulled over and pointed out that I should watch out for them with my small dogs. As a Southern Californian I was so excited to see them and didn't think how dangerous they could be to the dogs.
@@Fairred6507 hawks too, had a redtail swoop down and take my bunny off the lawn right in front of my mom. Sad times, but beautiful creatures non the less!
@@TigressGraphics How horrifying. Our first three bunnies had the run of the backyard by day, but we caged them at night. Sometime after the third one passed, I found out that birds(hawks by day,, owls by night) were the greatest danger to rabbits. Bunny #4 is indoor only, but has the run of the house.
I wonder if I'll ever have that luxury. A few months ago otters got reintroduced to Britain, I wonder if they'll breed up to a level that I might be able to see one before I die.
A couple years ago I spent around 2months travelling around America with a few mates (I’m British btw) we spent some time camping in Yellowstone National park as was lucky enough to have a couple of bears walk straight thru own camp site. Scared the shit out of me but was well with it.
I remember after moving from Connecticut to West Texas my Dad attempting to "mow" down the mesquite shrubs growing outside our solid white painted cinderblock fences. Waves of small creepy crawlies that he had disturbed came over the wall to crawl across the driveway & get to the side he hasn't messed with yet. Tarantulas, several types of lizards, scorpions and afew small rodents. He damn near died that day--so glad my Mom didn't kill him😄
Of course, that's part of why some people have argued they just LOOK noble enough for "national symbolhood", but are actually thieving scavengers. Whatever. It's still a thrill for me whenever I spot one.
Dude I watched this very thing happen to a kid on Lake Coeur D'Alene when I was a kid. It was nuts! Watched another eagle come down and steal a fish from a bunch of fighting seagulls in downtown Spokane a couple years back as well. Those things have no freaking care in the world and it is amazing to watch even if it is your fish being taken lol
You haven't really soiled yourself until you've soiled yourself encountering a grizzly bear in Alaska. I lived 25 miles north of Fairbanks for a time and I saw a few.
I've seen a bald Eagle before I always see them for like a split second and I never get a good look at them. And it's also pretty rare. I think last year I saw one only five different times. The most I've seen in a group is two. The fact that you got a chance to see 8 of them is truly incredible.
I literally had to stop and think of how "ass" is an anagram for "ears". Fortunately, it only took a few seconds to remember "arse", just in time to hear "Prince Charles"
Hey, I live in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. During winter my dad and I love watching the eagles. I bought my dad a drone so we could get some good views of them. Also check out buffalo. They are massive. Easily bigger than a mini-van.
"Whistle pig" is more generally used for marmots. They do whistle. Opossums eat several thousand ticks a week, so they're becoming more popular in the Northeast where we have a tick infestation (Lyme disease).
If you have too many ticks, especially deer ticks, it probably is a problem of too many outdoor cats, since they eat the shrews which normally eat deer ticks.
Possums are wonderful! (Most of us leave off the letter “o”) They are gentle creatures who eat ticks, grubs and other detrimental insects in our yards (gardens). Skunks and groundhogs (same as woodchucks, and whistle pigs) also are super beneficial.👍🌸
I split my childhood between Missouri (maZERuh), where we just called them "possums," and Northern Virginia, where folks added the O to the word. Then found that outside of NoVa folks called them possums, too. I think I was like 13 or 14 when I figured out that they are the same animal. |-)
Fun fact: raccoons can untie knots. Not chew them open, untie them. There's a whole list of other barriers they can overcome, but that's the one I've had experience with.
I was talking to a person to get one, and my husband decided to compensate by getting a pug. On one hand my kids finally got their dog, and on the other hand, I still want a skunk.
They are "descented" as yes, pet ferrets as well. I don't think all areas require a permit however. The ferrets you see in the USA today have actually been reintroduced. They went extinct for a time (wild ones).
According to some who've owned them as pets, their personalities are somewhat similar to Persian cats, and they can be quite affectionate. The stinky aspect of skunks comes from them being a member of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, ferrets, wolverines, badgers, otters, etc.
Ok, so I'm not saying this, because at the moment you have a desperate captive audience; but, your channel will explode! Each of your videos is a CLASS, comedic monologue-English style and we love it!! Really, you are very talented and gifted with the ability to give laughter in the most disarming way. You often remind me of an interesting mix of Johnathan Winter's, Rodney Dangerfield and Jack Benny, with English sensibilities and accent! BRAVO👏
I always thought it was funny when the foreign music students went crazy about wild animals. We kept telling them to stop trying to corner porcupines and striped skunks.
Two of my favorite wild animals that we have around here are mountain lions aka pumas and lynx. I've been fortunate in being able to see both. They are both very beautiful cats. Lynxes have amazing paws that are huge for their bodies. They use them sort of like snow shoes.
Mountain lions are mildly terrifying but bobcats are cool and not usually violent towards people. But having a mountain lion kill a coyote right outside my open window while growling and snarling and everything is one of the more terrifying things to have occur in the night.
Bald eagles are living wild in the midwest! I'm from Indiana and last year there were reportedly about 300 pairs of eagles actively nesting across the state. There is a nest near my parents' house and every once in a while I see one flying. Always a cool sight. :)
Yes - I live in Minnesota and there’s a pair that’s been living across the highway from us for a decade or more. So fun to drive by their (HUGE) nest and see a white head popping out. 😊
Coyotes are prolific and they love airports. Air traffic control warned me of critters on or near the runway. On short final to land I got to utter a unique phrase. "Tower I have the coyotes in sight."
There are plenty in the wild too. I was going to take my dog for a night hike, she and I got out of the car, I heard a bunch and we promptly got back in the car. I've found chewed up deer legs out in the woods, so find coyotes very intimidating.
My daughter's cat was eaten by a coyote, several years ago. She lived in a different town.There are a few who come by our street in the wee hours before dawn every couple days, but they haven't caused trouble. I wish they'd eat the raccoons - those nasties (the raccoons) have killed a number of cats, chased my neighbor into her basement door to attack a cat, and once on her porch, until she came out and went after it with a shovel. One went after and killed one of my geese in my yard in broad daylight - I was able to drive it off but it was too late for the goose. Because of them, I cannot keep fish in my little pond. I have no sympathy for them any more, despite that they look cute - they are dangerous killers about the size of a smaller medium size dog. We live in a medium city of 150,000 people, so not country.
@@guiniverejoy9013 : Coyotes generally won't tangle with a raccoon one-on-one. Raccoons are way more trouble than they're worth: smart, tough, ruthless omnivores. I've always thought they were a good bet as a successor species to humans, and that isn't necessarily a compliment. If they ever forge an alliance with the crows, we're screwed.
I tell a joke: "if you're driving in downtown Austin and smell Skunk you might think it's weed. If you're driving in the country and smell Skunk... it's definitely weed."
TBH while the scents may seem similar to people that don't smoke, Skunk Scent has a quality to it that makes it smell bad even to those that like the smell of skunky weed. I can't stand the smell of skunks but I love Skunky Weed, though its not my favorite weed scents/flavors i prefer piney, berry & lavender terpene profiles.
Answer:...Based on Reaction Skunk: Most Likely You're going to cover your nose instant and start wondering if you got Tomato Sauce at home. Weed: Hard to tell with all the flavors my First sniff of one, was Maui Waui. ...And the game only works if you live in the PNW.
I just visited Yellowstone National Park, yes during Covid I tested negative on my return to CT. You should go there and stay at the Mammoth Springs cabins in the fall. The elk were always grazing in between the cabins and the bulls were herding the females in the evening, making a huge spectacle every day. Then you need to drive to the Lamar valley to encounter huge bison in the road, wolves on the hills, coyotes hunting, and bears. Bring binoculars for all but the bison.
In my area, we have moose. They're majestic, stupid, and deadly when they get on the roads. They're nearly impossible to see at night, unlike deer. No. Way too big to keep as a pet.
My area has tons of coyotes and raccoons, they're nice and generally won't approach a human. Some of em will snatch up small pets, though, so you gotta watch out.
Know a woman whose Aunt died when a moose fell off the side of the mountain crushing her car with her in it. True story, I laughed at 1st thinking she was joking and when she started getting upset I felt awful. But who dies from a Moose falling on a car!!!
@@vixendoe2545 true. When learning to drive a truck the instructors said hit dear don't kill yourself over a deer, but AVOID mule deer or moose at any cost cause they can and will destroy you and the Rig. But falling on a car that's different...or I hope so...
@@andorastorm1000 falling on you is what primarily happens when you hit one. It's to massive to go under the vehicle. It is tall, so basically you are knocking it off its feet and it is falling on you.
Mule deer are often a lot larger than white tail deer. I remember seeing some white-tail when I was Alabama during my Army days. I thought, "dang those deer are tiny." Friend of mine that joined the Marines about the same time and was in Massachusetts for a while said the same thing.
4 года назад+18
I’ve got lots of wild animal stories, though I don’t want any as a pet. I lived in Washington state for 20 years and the first year I lived there, a news story broadcasted about a lady’s lapdog which was picked up by a bald eagle. Film crew was there, and she was crying about how the eagle swooped down into her yard and took her little Pumpkin. All the while, her husband was walking behind her, punching the air, saying, “Yes!” with glee. 😆😆😆 Next story, I was working for a law office in a small town in the same state, and the office had a large apple orchard and wooded area in the back. I walked out the back door to take out the trash, looked up and saw a large black dog lying under one of the apple trees, about 40 yards away. I thought, “What is that dog doing back there?” and started walking towards it to get a better view, then suddenly he got up and I realized it was a black bear napping after gorging on apples. I ran like hell back into the office and looked out the window and watched the bear amble back into the woods.
I live in Central California, in town, and we see deer, coyotes, wild pigs, raccoons. Despite being used to these animals we really enjoy having them and seeing them. Deer especially. We love our animals. 😍
side note: thanks to Looney Tunes, everybody thinks that roadrunners eat birdseed. Technically they're omnivores, so yeah, they will if it's front of them. But they're highly skilled predatory carnivores and have a particular fondness for lizards and snakes.
I lived in Arizona while in the Air Force and saw both coyotes and road runners , the road runners I saw disappointed me as they were not the bright red color as seen on t v they were brown .
I travel sometimes for weeks in a canoe,, camp along the way, take a few photos, eat bad food,, and see and interact with all the animals that live far from the nearest electric light. Coyotes. Last spring, about May 5th or so, camped along the Green River in central Utah the evening was watching a white egret fishing, a great blue heron wading the edge of the river, a beaver cutting brush behind me and then dragging it across the beach to the water,,,,, Ah, but at night,, a clear crisp moonlit night,, stars hard and sharp, and a pack of coyotes discovered me. The first howl was near,, 50 yards ? but the answer was incredible. a bunch nearby as well,, and then in the distance,, upstream, downstream,, across the river,, the answering howls,, some must have been more than a mile distant. A chorus, magical,, a tableau of the sounds of moving water,, a cold clear moonlit night, the voices near and in the distance,,, Most likely announcing my presence. Singing, no doubt,, "Well, there goes the neighborhood."
@@sirclarkmarz Laughing. No, John, I am one who actually does it. No movie, no RUclips channel, I just like being out. And Grizzly Adams is a lot better looking than I am.
Pet skunks have usually had their glands removed so they can't spray 😉👌 they are very sweet, very timid creatures. I remember getting to pet one at a petting zoo and it was so fluffy! EDIT: My Pa-Paw always called them "pole cats"
Prairie dogs, which are quite different than ground hogs. They live in huge communities and create massive burrows. Often found in places like Oklahoma/North Texas and parts out west. The Museum of the Great Plains in Lawton Oklahoma has a prairie dog community right on its grounds - at least it did when I was there 30 years ago. Really fun to watch!
Coyotes will also eat domestic cats, small and medium sized domestic dogs or any livestock of that size. They're smart predators who will lure domestic pets away to an ambush of a pack of coyotes. If a pack is hungry enough packs have been known to lure medium and small dogs by using females in heat away from an area to a kill spot. One recorded case a pit bull owner came home to his dog that had torn ears, covered in blood and took his pet to the vet. The vet asked him who's dog has he been fighting. Confused and after returning home with his dog he ventured to his back yard to follow the blood trail to a wooded area behind his property. There he found 9 dead coyotes the pit bull killed in a fight.
Coyotes are mean little assholes! This last year my wife was out hunting and she had one come right up to her and start nipping at her ankles! She eventually convinced it to go away, I just don't remember how............
I work at a prison in Florence Arizona, the coyotes like to roam our unit perimeters because ground squirrels, gophers and a species of rabbit tend to burrow along the fence lines. I also sometimes think they are deliberately trying to antagonizing our K9 officers when they are in the kennels.
I've seen a pack of coyotes go after mule deer. There were about 5 coyotes on one mule deer. They had bloodied up the deer's rump and had open up its stomach a bit so a small bit of its innards were hanging out.
@@jlokison I also live in Arizona in the valley and mostly have had 3 encounters with Coyotes. One was named Carl and he was a Coyote he roamed in the town I lived in. He knew his name and if called would sit a good distance away from the car and we would toss it a dog treat. The second was at my job at Target. There was a pack that roamed just right around it and at night whenever I would be clearing the lot they would roam the mostly empty parking lot. They would always stick to where there were no cars but occasionally on really slow nights that would result in them being really close to Targets front doors. Me and them had a sort of "understanding" I would just be out collecting trolleys and they would scavenge what ever trash are left in the parking lot, sometimes they got close to me but I never really minded (coyotes only attack a human if they feel threatened or are really desperate, it also would require them to have a large pack but this pack was generally only 3-4 in size, though I remember one incident where I was doing another job and the girl who was clearing the lot came sprinting back in doors because she was so frightened because she saw the pack, got a good laugh out of that one), and then the last one wasn't a interaction with me and a coyote but instead my grandfathers dogs and a coyote. Now my grandfather has a couple of miniature Schnauzers and there are all up there in age, the youngest is 7. One day though a coyote jumped over the fence (he has a 7ft tall fence) and attacked the dogs, but the 3 Schnauzers fought back and when my grandfather heard the commotion he went out and found a dead coyote with his dogs only having minor injuries (worst injury was a large gash on of of the dogs heads).
Memories of nearly a couple decades ago in Bremerton, Washington. I was outside having a smoke, back when I smoked, (well, tobacco) late one night and I heard a commotion in the next yard over. So getting something to stand on, I peered over the fence, and lo and behold, it was a family of raccoons playing in the neighbors' kiddie pool. some even playing with the pool toys that were left out. Still gives me a smile to this day thinking about that incident.
Here in Chicago one night I had a skunk surprise me when I was going out to lock my gate. I told him, "SHOO!" and he calmly turned around and strolled off. I thought I was going to get sprayed but no, he apparently lived by the rule, "If you don't want no shit, don't start any." He didn't want trouble and wasn't planning to start any. It still makes me smile a little bit. It was almost him saying, "Alright, alright, I was just leaving, calm down!"
I live in American South, and one of the most remarkable wild animals you commonly see around here is the wild turkey! They travel in pretty large groups (a group of turkeys is called a "rafter") and can actually get really aggressive if you get near their nesting areas. The Toms can get pretty dang big, and I'm only a little embarrassed to admit I have run from turkeys on more than one occasion.
I think coyotes are smart enough to realize they don't need the trouble humans can give them. Humans kill off the stupid coyotes, leaving coyotes that learn more, quickly, including not to mess with humans...
I have a snapping turtle as a pet. Found him in dried up puddle 10 years ago. It was the size of a fifty cent piece and now about 10 inches across his shell.
Be careful , we found a rather large snapping turtle behind our elementary school looked to be 10-12 lbs . A friend got real close with a branch and it bit the branch and did not let go . we actually lifted it off the ground and he would not let go , imagine if it were your finger .
@@timothykeith1367 Snapping Turtles and especially the Alligator Snapper can be rather tough and stringy. The little Streaked Head river turtles are good eating. And no, turtle dies not "taste like chicken". The similar batterfrying technique makes it seem that way.
That is “The Mighty Columbia”, my good man😉. In the Sierra foothills we have wild boar, bobcat, fox, coyote, brown bears, cougars, raccoons, skunks, deer, various rodents and, rabbits and hares, snakes ( rattlers, kings, garters etc.) and other reptiles, and a variety of birds. My favorite are the foxes. I’m sure I left out a lot, that’s just off the top of my head
The same goes for certain parts of California, but I don’t think we have mule deer. We do have mountain lions, but they’re pretty rare to spot in the wild.
Some names are based on Native American creatures like the Wendigo. Others have been given Western names like Bigfoot. and some are really unimaginative. I'm looking at you New Jersey Devil.
I can't stand these overgrown rats. Had four different ones get under my house at different times and had a flea infestation in my home and yard because of them that took months to kill. Caught the opossum in a trap and had to haul them 10+ miles away to keep them from returning to "their" territory. Game warden told me that legally I had to release them in my yard. Yeah right. No.
There are some bald eagles in my home state of Wisconsin, particularly along the Wisconsin River in Sauk-Prairie. As for the coyotes, I don't recall if you mentioned it, they have been known to attack people cats and dogs. The cougar population is also on the rise in the Midwest. This year there have been four confirmed sightings of them in Wisconsin.
I can't believe I misspelled "raccoon". I was too busy making sure I got "opossum" right. Thankfully, the world appears to still be turning.
Nobody told you? The Earth actually stopped revolving. It's really messing with the day/night cycle.
How about Beavers? Beavers common in britain? Very common in the states especially out west
Awesome video. Just one thing. The O in Opossum is silent. Don't know why but everywhere I've lived or been to in the USA the O it is that way.
Would love to see you do more, maybe break it up by region.
I like the river otters here in Indianapolis. They’re otterly cute
'Possums may be kind of homely, but they eat ticks. That, by itself, is a valuable trait.
Ticks and trash
And they taste great in a soup
They can scare the crap out of you, if you are drunk and think they are a giant rat.
They also eat Rattlers
@@kenbattor6350 those also tase ok little bony
Most of America: OH LOOK BALD EAGLE
Alaska: See those five trees? 20 Bald Eagles in each of them.
You haven't seen anything until you've seen a full grown moose in the wild. They are... rather large.
We have moose in England. We spell it as: Mousse
@@garycard1456
Is wild mousse just as big?
Or chased by one. They are good eats though.
Lived in Pinedale Wyoming it was expected to run into at least one of them daily. Can't count the amount of times I had to play statue because I ran across one riding my bike or was stuck inside because a moose was in my front yard or the school didn't allow us outside due to a moose being in the playground or football field. After a while you got used to them.
@Gary Card, ours aren't made of chocolate and you certainly wouldn't want on in your hair!
My kids brought home an "injured puppy" they found on the side of the road. I nursed it back to health, and we had another dog, I thought. Turns out it was a coyote puppy. He's been with us for a long time now. He always had peculiar behaviors like walking on his back legs down the hall, taking a nap on top of the kitchen table, hunts and eats grubs, will go lay and hide in the grass. His butt wants to come inside though, and sleep on the bed and snuggle. He runs from a opossum. He may be the sweetest dog I ever had.
The most American pet story ever 😂
My brother had one mixed with a German shepherd. She was sweet but so sharply vocal. High pitched and never ending if one of her people wasn't around when she wanted them. Have a pic of my little mom sitting in a kitchen chair with this 75 pound mutt sitting on her lap. She still calls her, her lap dog when we talk about her.
Wow thats a crazy and lucky twist of fate, what a cool pet experience to have a coyote as a pet!
2 years late but this reminds me of the “American howling retriever” post that goes something like: “The American Howling Retriever is a breed of dog that is extremely coyote like. In fact, the only difference between it and a normal coyote is my inability to admit that I may have made a mistake and all the Benadryl I keep giving it so it won’t maul me.”
Yup they act like fox.
In some parts of the US we refer to raccoons as "trash pandas".
And opossums are Garbage Witches.
I refer to both as Road Kill, because that's the place i see them most often.
So does Peter Quill.
Had a 'Coon get into my trash jins one night. I managed to pop him with a paint ball. Man, those gray, black and pink raccoons can MOVE! Heheha......
He never came back.
Rabies carriers!
Whenever I see a bald eagle, I feel so honored. I know they’re no longer on the endangered list, but they’re magnificent.
If you're really interested in them, there are livestreams of bald eagle nests on RUclips. The wild nesting season is pretty much over but there is still a young one on the Dollywood nest. GG3 is the offspring out Grant and Glenda, two non releasable bald eagles. Look up GG3an Eaglet's journal. Every week there is footage of the little one growing up.
I live on the Indiana/my border and my parents actually live on the river. They now have a nest of bald eagles less than a mile from their house. They get to see them all the time. I haven’t seen an adult yet, but I did see two youths when I was at their house a few years ago.
They are indeed. Two big bald eagles used to live in my backyard when I moved in from England. It was easy to see why they were chosen to be the national bird. Not sure where they went, however, they've gone missing for about a year now.
They're common in Wisconsin.
@@esco5593 Though bald eagle nests are reused, the eagles sometimes move elsewhere (not very far away) for unknown reasons. IOW, here today, gone tomorrow.
At least one bald eagle nest is thought to be at least 200 years old.
Mario suit is actually based on an animal called a Tanuki. They're also called Racoon Dogs by some. This is why the power up is represented by a leaf. In folklore Tanuki use leaves to preform transformation magic. Turning into a Monk statue is one of their tricks as people in Japan leave food offerings at these statues. The Tanuki will then steal the food being left at the false alters.
There's both a racoon suit (the normal flying suit from SMB3) and a Tanuki suit (the one that turns into a Jizo statue). Similar looking animals, though, and both now live in Japan (the North American Racoon having been imported in large numbers because a show made it really popular to keep them as pets. Really)
We had a domesticated skunk in our house when I was a kid.
What I can tell you is that, if they are kept as pets, they are likely de-scented. But, that doesn't mean they don't have an intensely musky scent if you don't bathe them regularly. They are, however, highly intelligent, deeply loyal animals that love their people a great deal, and will protect them.
You should have seen the mailman's face the day we had the door open, so there was only a screen door between him and a skunk who immediately whipped around to point his raised tail at the man, and then backed up quickly towards him to "spray" LOL. I have never seen a man move that fast in my life LOL.
That's evil.. I want one
I used to have ferrets who are in the same family as skunks and they don’t spray like skunks, but they do have a very musky odor especially their waste, so their maintenance is notably higher. But they are so adorable and playful and curious with tons of personality! They just also, sadly, have very short lifespans. 😢
That's hilarious!
When people have skunks as pets they usually have the scent glands removed so they can’t spray. Same thing with ferrets.
Yup. My mother had one when she was young.
phenomenal pets too. very intelligent but stubborn.
This could simply be a myth but through my life I have also heard stories that skunks have nursed and raised abandoned domestic kittens and that momma cats have done the same with skunk kits
@@larryjenkins1965 *cat points to baby skunk. "Charlie, you were adopted."
skunk: "WHAT?!"
but honey badger don't give a shit xD
"They're keen on fishing" is probably the most British way you could describe an eagle LOL
A raccoon used to come onto my back porch and eat with our cats. They all got along famously, the raccoon hung around for a couple of years. We named him George Cooney.
I heard a raccoon killing a cat a few years ago. Saw the raccoon later on.
@@btnhstillfire Raccoons can become amorous - are you sure it was killing the cat?
if the food ran out or it was cranky it would have eaten the cats.
The name 👏
My cat had a racoon buddy who used to come in through the cat door every evening and take the cat out for a night run. They would walk out together like high school kids heading out on the town. We called him Rocky. I actually woke up to Rocky petting my face in the morning. Nice human, nice human.
I've lived in New Mexico for 21 years now, and I still get a kick of out seeing roadrunners. They just wander around the city, usually in the mornings.
Meep-meep! Roadrunners are AWESOME!!! We had one in our rural neighborhood in Oklahoma. And yes, you'd only see it in the morning. ❤ I wonder if they're diurnal?
Fun fact: practically almost anywhere in the USA there is a coyote territory. They sort of have their territories set up like we do states.
Aidan Mulligan lmao yeah
I live right outside NYC and a lot people don't know that there is a family of coyotes that live in central park. They don't bother anyone so we don't bother them. They've been living there pretty peacefully for years. They really are all over the states.
On a Virginia base I was on a coyote was just hanging out in the parking lot. I didn't even know they existed this far East.
It's the polar opposite of what happened to wolves; wolf ranges decreased as a result of human activity, while coyote range increased (as they're both effective scavengers and predators of scavengers, and human trash attracts a lot of scavengers). There's probably some in the city you live in (they tend to avoid humans so they're hard to spot, but I guarantee you they're around somewhere).
The road outside my house is crawling with coyotes at night
You left out armadillos, porcupines, moose, and the infamous jackalope.
My neighborhood is dealing with a serious jackalope problem at the moment. Big time nuisances in residential areas!
He only listed the ones he’s seen.
the infamous jackalope is right up there with Australia's dropbears
@Major woody Snipes are actually a real bird, they just arent found in the US. I think the Boy Scout Snipe hunts are to blame for so many people thinking they are a fictional animal
The Boy Scout Snipe is a real fictional animal. while the Jackalope is a fictional real animal.
I hadn't realized until recently how much we take hummingbirds and fireflies for granted over here in the US. Was totally unaware that they're exclusive to the Americas! They never struck me something "unique" to this side of the world-unlike, say, a moose or coyote. I'll often snap pics/vids of these guys in my yard for my friends over in Europe :)
After I retired and moved back to Kansas, I knew how much I missed the cardinals. But I was surprised at how delighted I was to see fireflies again.
You mean brits don't get dragonflues darting around their kiddy pools?
We do have fireflies in Europe, maybe a different animal, they are a kind of beetle and the adults as well as the larvae glow in the dark.
The "raccoon suit" in Mario 3 is actually a Tanuki suit, also known as the Japanese raccoon dog! There's a lot of Japanese folklore about them.
There's a raccoon suit and a tanuki suit. They're mostly the same, but the tanooki suit can change into the statue whereas the regular raccoon suit cannot.
The reason the Tanuki Suit allows you to change into a statue, and fly, is because the yokai version of Tanuki, much like Kitsune, is a master of pranks if mistreated, and can both fly AND change to mimic budda statues and even humans. But they're also said to bring fortune to those who treat them well and befriend them, the Tanuki are, that is. That comes from the practice of hammering malleable balls of gold into coins, called Ryo, using bags of Tanuki Skin. They use their own version of a play on words to make it "Tanuki Balls", cuz The words for Raccoon Dog and Gold Ball are so similar.
@@mandyrobbins1041 I can relate, as I'm also a master of pranks if mistreated.
I was hoping someone already said this. It would have been funny if the suit had the signature huge testicles they're often depicted as having. Can't remember if the actual animal has huge balls.
Is that the real origin story of Tony Tony Chopper?!
When I was 7, I was with my dad and brother in a waiting room of some kind, I don't remember for what. We had an hour or so wait which is torture for a 7 year old. Out of desperation I took one of the magazines and, found an article that was so interesting that I actually read the entire thing. So it is illegal to keep bald eagles as pets, however in a national park there was an eagle that got hurt and was found by park rangers and taken to a vet who had to amputate one of the poor guy's wings. Now unable to fly, it could not be released into the wild. Now during the time it was with the humans, it bonded with the ranger that found it and he got special permission from the state to keep the eagle since it could not longer fend for itself. Well, he took it home but, it was sickly. It almost didn't eat and spent all its time staring at the wall in the room where its perch was. Its feathers started falling out, ironically making it start to go bald. Well, right around the time he found the eagle, the ranger was taking hang gliding lessons. The ranger got his license and started going up. One day he got the bright idea to have a harness made for the bird. When the harness was finished, he took the bird up with him when he went gliding. Upon arriving home he opened the carrier and the eagle ran out of the cage and made straight for his food dish, eating all of it than loudly squawked at the ranger until he refilled the dish. After a second helping of food was gone, the bird turned and explored the rangers house, something he'd never done before. The bird simply missed the sky.
that's pretty wholesome
What a lovely story. Thank you for sharing!
Wonderful story💙💜
Fantastic story
Awww
Here in Florida, we have many
reptiles, gators, crocodiles, caiman, Burmese python, boa contractors, iguanas, Cottonmouth, and the most deadly Florida man.
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
Living in Florida a dutch friend would always refer it as life on insane hard mode
This is why I never want to live in Florida..
Also,it seems every bizarre criminal act takes place in Florida judging by news stories
australia light one might say lol
I once had a housemate who freaked out when he saw a "giant rat" in the backyard. It was a possum. They're great... you want them in your yard for insect control. Also, they're the only North American marsupials, which is kind of interesting.
I was walking in my neighborhood at 5:30 a.m. 6/6/21 and I saw the WEIRDEST thing I’ve ever seen in person - I couldn’t figure out what it was for the first few seconds. It turned out to be a mother possum with little baby possum faces up and down her spine and two of them hanging off the side of her body. Scared the living shit out of me at first lol she kept making a loud “TS“ sound at me.
They eat ticks.
@@ireneparrish3070 That's a myth from a very poorly executed study, in which captive possums were place in an enclosure with nothing to eat EXCEPT tics, so naturally they ate them. In subsequent studies done in more natural environments, it appeared that they would eat most anything else available before settling for a tic.
@@stockinettestitch You're so lucky! I'm always wanted to see a mama opossum with her babies.
They're the actual animal that is the legendary "rat the size of a cat" in the NYC sewers.
The "raccoon suit" from Mario is the "Tanuki suit" its based off a "Tanuki" a raccoon dog, according to mythology it can use leaves to shape-shift and cause chaos. I must say it is much more cuter than the American Raccoon.
There is a raccoon Mario in the same game though, I think he got them mixed up
Not so fun fact, they have a helicopter wang.
The "raccoon suit" is the tanuki suit. It's not a raccoon at all. They are real animals, but like many animals in folklore, there are myths that attribute magical powers to them, similar to Coyote. One of those powers is shapeshifting. Another is illusion. Arguably, the shapeshifting could be seen as the extension of the illusion.
Their magic comes from their enlarged scrotum, not leaves, but they do use leaves in their illusions. They are rumored to transform into human travelers, visit ramen shops, and purchase large quantities of ramen using leaves which they have made to appear as money. After they leave, the money turns back into leaves. Ramen shops put statues of tanuki with large testicles outside their shops to indicate that their ramen is so good, it's the preferred ramen of tanuki, the true connoisseurs. Their magic giant scrotum also gives them the power of flight, not their "helicopter wangs," and it is used as a weapon.
@@bretterry8356 magic is stored in the balls
"Nasally raucous." A brilliant euphemism for "stinks to high heaven."
wait until he discovers the muskrat
Rattlesnakes!! You forgot rattlesnakes!! That's an encounter you'll never forget!
BIL startled skunk in tool shed and gasped just as skunk sprayed him. He lost his ability to smell things for quite awhile after that. Skunk spray can be very dangerous. But dogs keep thinking 'this skunk will be different' and continue to go after them. So much for live and learn...
But the real question is, did your BIL learn his lesson?
I ADORE OPOSSUMS. They are little tick eating machines and they have those cute little hands that look like they're wearing fingerless gloves. Absolutely love them
Might not adore them so much if you ever see them eat a dead deer....They chew their way thru the anus first then get in and eat the guts via the ass. here in West Virginia we always know when possums are eating dead deer.
I like their pink noses and floppy ears.
I saw a momma opossum with seven babies on her back and I just had to make the comment:
Look it's a opossum made entirely out of opossums. (not using 'an' instead of 'a' here because the 'o' is silent)
@@markrenzella2825 I could have lived my whole life not knowing that, having that visual in my head till death. Oh my.
@@elleryeggen9678 Don't be freaked out. Nature does as nature does for a reason. If there wasn't a reason it wouldn't happen. Survival for just living until the next day is a VERY different thing than the cushioned life even the poorest of modern humans live. At least we don't have to discard our eldest and smallest children to keep them from draining resources away from the most capable hunters/gatherers anymore.
Several years ago, a coyote was being chased by a crow in downtown Seattle.
OK, not so weird, but then the bird chased the coyote into the elevator of a Federal Office building.
The coyote rode the elevator for a bit, then exited the building.
The crow resumed its pursuit of the coyote at that time.
All of it on video.
I love Seattle!
I love crows
Oh man. I feel bad for whoever was on that elevator with Cayote. I would've fallen out.
In Portland we've had a coyote and a deer ride the MAX (our public transit train). Not at the same time.
So there's some basis of truth behind Looney Tunes Coyote and Roadrunner 🤣
Well if the crow is following the coyote it sounds like the coyote has some unfinished business here on earh
Don't wanna be that guy, but ima be that guy:
That Mario costume isn't a raccoon, it's a tanuki which looks a little like a raccoon mixed with a dog. According to some traditions tanuki are mischievous shape shifters.
I was thinking that might be it. Less fun fact: tanukis are endangered now, partly because of the introduction of raccoons as 'cute pets' a few decades ago, inspired by a funny manga/anime series. They were then let go into the wild when they turned out not to be good pets...
Tanukis are also in the Family Canidae, the same as Dogs, Wolves, Foxes, ect...
In English they are called raccoon dogs and people actually confuse them for raccoons
It's okay, I would have been that guy if you hadn't taken one for the team.
Not a tanuki. Red panda
I had a coyote stalk me while walking my dog in the winter. My dog was the same size as it. No amount of loud noises, rock throwing (didnt hit him), standing my ground, nothing worked except walking backwards towards roads and civilization. It was afraid to get too close to me, but was just stalking waiting for some opportunity. Had to have my sister pick me up to get away. I was surprised at how persistent they are when hungry, especially if you're alone with a pet.
The coyotes near me on the Kitsap peninsula in Western Washington, get very bold. We must watch our dog, a Westie, and our neighbors lost their cat after a coyote showed up. Be vigilant, Laurance.
I was stalked by coyotes when I was young. I happened to be carrying fireworks with me at the time. Coyotes don’t like fireworks apparently.
If I hadn't eaten much in days or weeks I would be quite persistent too. They are very opportunistic hunters.
We got lots of coyotes in South Texas. They like to shop a lot at the Malls. They're usually bilingual.
They don't make as much as people think though, and their jobs don't offer any benefits like retirement, or paid vacation, or sick time. Anyone can become a coyote, you just have to be able to; walk & run over really rugged terrain, and swim really well. Its kind of like being a scout master on hiking trails, except the scouts ain't scouts, and the federal government wants to arrest you. Your own fellow coyotes don't like you, and see you more like competition for resources, instead of a coworker.
They work mostly night hours, (some do days, holidays, and weekends) and have to be able to run, jump, swim, fight, and sleep with their eyes open. Also they can't have any aversions to firearms, violence, or incarceration. You might have a friend or buddy at work who's a part-time coyote, and you'll never know it. They're pretty friendly, until they're not. You could have a coyote friend, and never know it.
@@stevenserna910 lmao this is both funny and scarily accurate.
Coyotes are notorious for eating cats and small dogs. So keep your cat inside at night, or get a big dog to protect it.
They also go after sheep, which is a big part of the Llama popularity. I've read that "llamas look at sheep as dim-witted little cousins," and they have an extremely strong dislike for canines (though if raised around dogs, they will tolerate known dogs.) But they will chase down and kill coyotes. Which is why you often see llamas on sheep ranches.
Coyotes will take on bigger dogs. They'll lure them out, isolate them, and tear them to pieces.
@@mhlevy : I don't think llamas can chase down and kill a coyote, but they definitely intimidate predators. They can defend themselves, and their eyes-front visage is intimidating. But the chasing-down-and-killing part I'm somewhat skeptical about.
They’ll kill big dogs as well. We also have a massive shortage of deer where I live because of all the coyotes, they tend to eat the fawns or even full grown animals.
If you're going to use a big dog to protect your animals from coyotes I'd suggest a Great Pyrenees think fluffy white bear but half the size.
Scent glands of the skunk are removed before becoming a pet.
We had a pet skunk when I was young. They apparently botched the surgery and caused major urinary problems for our guy. My mother was so upset by it she went on a crusade to get the whole pet skunk shutdown. Not sure it worked far and wide but the local shop stopped ordering them to sell.
Specifically, they're known as "musk glands" As that's what the substance is called. Also, it's possible to raise a 'pet' Skunk from a pup and never get sprayed, because they recognize others they grow up with as family, and don't spray each other if they're related. It's a predatory defense response. So if it's imprinted on you and your family, it won't spray you. It MAY, however, spray those it deems as a threat to the family. :P
My professor had skunks. Unaltered. He befriended them with dog food. They genuinely don't spray if they aren't frightened.
Yeah, but they still stink. I saw a deodorized skunk in a petting zoo, it still smelled terrible.
At a Navy base I was stationed on long ago, a skunk lived on a wooded hill above the barracks across the street from the enlisted club. It used to sit near the bottom of the hill and just watch people come and go. One evening a faster-than-usual drunk guy managed to rush it, grab it, and pick it up. Briefly. When he reeled into the lounge screaming and clawing at his eyes, the smell made it pretty obvious what had happened. Sobered him right up, though. And the skunk took to sitting a little higher up the hill.
When I was a kid, we moved from East Texas to Tucson, AZ. After being raised on Coyote & Roadrunner cartoons, I was bitterly disappointed with my first siting of an actual Roadrunner. It was maybe a foot tall and not as fast as I expected. Coyotes are quite a bit faster, although they aren’t the geniuses that Wyle E Coyote (Super Genius) represented them as being. My childhood was a lie.
Fun fact: Roadrunners often catch and eat rattlesnakes.
LOL!! If you adopt a baby coyote, it will within 8 months, clean our your credit cards' available credit line and your garage will be full of giant bows & arrows, medieval catapults, rocket-powered skis, anvils of all sizes, gigantic rubber bands and jet-propelled roller skates.
@@billolsen4360 What if Macgyver adopted a coyote? That roadrunner would get murdered by a tank made from a hot water heater, a snowmobile engine and most of an old snow blower.
Pet skunks usually have the scent glands removed so they can't "spray". They still have a slight odor to them though. As a pet, they're very cat like in behavior: will use a litterbox, lay in the window watching the world go by, etc. (My sister had one as a pet for about 3 years)
When I was in elementary school, the teachers made us leave class and walk five blocks to a lookout over a local lake because there were 100 maybe 200 bald eagles on it and the surrounding trees. During spring when the ice is melting off the rivers there can be dousens of bald eagles in the trees around the rivers downtown. It is only a day trip from Chicago, so if you want to get to the point where eight can be no big deal, come on up.
@AndrewTJ31: dozens* 🤔
There's also mountain lions, alligators, gila monsters, rattlesnakes, bears, buffalo, reindeer, wild mustangs, and manatees.
Also wolves. The last wolf in Britain was hunted down in the 14th century.
I love manatees, I saw one of those in a lagoon. It was like a statue, I thought it was a rock for a minute because of all the algae and barnacles on it.
I forgot to put mountain lions and rattlesnakes on my list. Wild mustangs were introduced by the Spanish, so I don't count those. But bison, manatees, bears, and Gila monsters were on my list.
Also big horned sheep, wolverines, prong horns, moose, and California condors
@@darthmaul216 fuck moose. I saw one of them on the road, that thing was taller than my delivery van.
Seeing a Bald Eagle in the wild is truly amazing! I remember taking pictures on First Beach in LaPush, WA...looking up...and just a few yards above me, sitting on a branch was a huge Bald Eagle. So majestic! I’m very happy Benjamin Franklin was overruled and the Wild Turkey isn’t our national bird.
I ended up late for work the first time I saw a bald eagle. I had to sit there and stare at it for a bit.
Some friends from Accrington were visiting us in Colorado a few years back. We took them to a cocktail bar one night next to a creek in the mountains and there were 4 raccoons playing along the bank. I didn't realize that there were none in Britain until then...our friends enjoyed watching them and said "The have a bonny face" which they do.
“Nasally raucous” is the most perfect description of skunk scent I’ve ever heard 😄
Lawrence, ask the locals about the traditional Snipe hunt. : D
ask to be taken on one of those hunts, FYI no snipes are harmed when captured
Oh my! Snipes. Someone take this guy snipe hunting. It would be sooooo funny.
Lmao yess
I'd pay money to see that!
Ironically, snipes are real birds native to Britain.
@@jic1 American Snipes are different ;)
Here in Anchorage, Alaska, we have about 1900 moose living in the municipality of Anchorage. The are often found wandering around downtown Anchorage, and have been known to take advantage of automatic doors to enter places such as supermarkets, office buildings, and hospitals.
I am absolutely serious.
They aren't scared of humans? I would figure that everyone hunts in Alaska, so they would get picked off really easy, and become dinner if they hung around civilization that much.
I'm so jealous. Here in New Mexico, we have massive elk, but unfortunately no moose.
A moose sitting on your street or driveway was a totally acceptable excuse for being late to school because of how common it was.
Daniel LaDue they do not give a flying salmon about humans. They will hunt you before you hunt them. There was one time at the playground a momma and her baby came waltzing up and we all booked it to the top of the jungle gym. They will hoof you to death if you get between a momma and a baby. They’re bigger than a freaking suburban and faster than you think. They taste good tho.
I've seen the videos.
I was hanging out near one of the local rivers today and I heard some noise coming out of the trees behind me. I saw a canine looking creature and thought "that better not be someone with their freaking dog" because I was in a more secluded spot which I consider "private" at times. I was honestly even scared of it being a wolf for a second because I know they've been spotted in my area (I live in the Pacific Northwest). I saw those big eyes and round face and realized that thankfully, it was just a coyote. I made a couple hissy noises and it just kind of walked off. Coyotes can be little bastards occasionally, but most interactions I've had with them have been chill.
FYI, right or wrong, in most places the "O" is silent in opossum.
AirMech I think he knows that, based on a previous video where the word is part of a list (i think its one of the videos of words coined in America).
and that silent "O" is in their name Oscar the (O)possum
I didn't know they had that O
It's not silent, we are just to lazy to pronounce it...
Greg B Both pronunciations are correct. Not pronouncing the O is much more common and generally considered more correct and official. Pronouncing the O is decidedly colloquial.
"There are eight bald eagles in that tree"
"WHUT?"
Alaska: HOLD OUR 200 BALD EAGLES PER TREE!
Right!😄
I love going down to Allison Point in Valdez when the salmon are running. Bear, sea lions, and hundreds of bald eagles
If your ever in Florida just go to the dump, they're everywhere.
@@elle2706 Same thing with Haines and the Homer Spit, for many eagles.
Eagles and ravens in Alaska - breathtaking.
My kids' school had to lock down for a day, thanks to a mountain lion showing up on the playground in California. Those were some nervous walks to class in the following weeks.
you would be just fine all you had to do is run faster than the fat kid
I did training in Sonoma County and we had a Mountain Lion that would make its presence known from time to time. Forest and plenty of rocky outcrops for it. My dumbass would still go for runs alone and at night.
Had a mountain lion show up at the parking lot at work lying down in the shade of a pickup truck when we took a break during training week.
Took our ten minute break and went inside with neither of us causing an issue for the other.
@@rsrt6910 What? You didn't even try to pet the kitty?
When we first moved to the US I was shocked to see chipmunks everywhere! I'd never seen them in the wild in the UK. And when I went back a pet store had a couple in a cage - it was quite heartbreaking to see that after having them run all around our yard.
Oh yeah those are adorable much better than the squirrels we have in the US.
Rocket is my favorite Guardian because he's EXACTLY what a genetically-enhanced trash panda would be like.
When I was a crazy raccoon person many years ago, I became acquainted with one I named Mooch. He'd come in the cat door at night and have some cat food, then let me scoot him outside, eventually just waiting for me to open the door. It was fine the first year when he was single, we had an understanding.
It was not fine the next year when he decided to bring the wife and kids too. Ornery and mischievous is putting it mildly.
That was back in western Colorado, where coyotes (which also go after cats and small dogs), deer, eagles, and skunks were common backyard visitors. And bears when they came down from the mountains. And fun fact: prairie dogs are also called "whistle pigs," and both they and groundhogs are two known carriers of the plague. "THE PLAGUE" the plague, that one.
Armadillos are the only known carriers of leprosy other than man. Enjoy that info.
Camped at a Michigan State Park last year. There were near as many Raccoons as mosquitoes. Those little darlings had us figured out. There would be a few over in the deep brush making a racket,, and behind you, one was in the bed of the pickup openning everything his paws could rip or his teeth could chew. Turn and shoo the critter out of the truck,,, and you'd find the back pack hung from the tree back where you started,, being rifled through by another. Turn to the back pack,, and they were back in the truck. The noise and distractions in the brush were not an accident,, they were diversionary tactics. Once I figured out they were smarter than I am, I stopped falling for that racket in the brush. Smart little dickens.
So you were a real life Linda Belcher when it came to raccoons? We helped feed several families over the years by putting out cat food on the back porch at night. Had one with his family run down the stairs, stop, stand on his hind legs and look at me like "did you bring out more food?"
@@dubuyajay9964 Indeed they are, but theory has it, they got it from us!
We have "That Plague" Here in Arizona too. A kids we were taught not to go near a dead animal we might find in the desert incase the fleas decided to jump the dead host for the new live one.
random fact: the scent glands of skunks is removed after trapping and is sent to certain perfume makers to be used in their cosmetic products.
for pets the scent gland is surgically removed leaving the animal alive leaving the critter largely stink free. A skunk is remarkably similar to a housecat.
Randy J YEP!
ruclips.net/video/GZz10hkROBs/видео.html
I had a student who had pet skunks. Yes, remarkably like a housecat.
They still have a strong musk smell like all the other members of the weasel family, such as ferrets.
The scent glands are removed and kept as pets.
Karla Mackey You are correct!
The "seeing your shadow" = spring tradition actually comes from England, though not with groundhogs. The idea being that, in Britain, cloudy skies mean that spring rains will be here soon, whereas clear skies meant it wasn't warm enough yet. It doesn't make alot of sense here, since on February 2nd, most of the US (including PA) will absolutely get 6 more weeks of winter, regardless, but for England it actually makes sense.
February 2nd is Candlemas in England, the weathelore was that a bright sunny Candlemas meant there was more bad winter weather ahead, whereas a dark rainy one meant the worst of winter was over.
I have lived in Indiana all my life, and our Eagle population is growing ( but not as fast as the deer). I still feel like I have seen an Eagle for the first time each time I get the opportunity to see them in flight.
Have you seen an armadillo? My dad calls them “possum on the half shell.” Interesting fact: they carry leprosy. So don’t touch one.
Tactical assult possum.
Keri Allen unless you eat them.
I actually met some people once that had a pet armadillo. They must've had it treated for the leprosy because I was able to pet it and never caught the disease. It was actually pretty cool petting a live armadillo though
Fred Smith lol. good to know.
Nathan Stautzenberger I would imagine not all armadillos are carriers. Glad you had a good experience, but I don’t think it’s appropriate to have wild animals as pets.
Aww, bald eagles. They were so endangered as a kid that I never thought I'd see one. But when I went to the Midwest a while, I saw one in person and practically cried. :)
Also I've never had a *pet* skunk, but have befriended some wild ones. Particularly when I was living at a certain house with friends, (renovating that house was my job,) ...I used to sit on the steps of the back porch to have my morning coffee and the mama skunk from under the barn used to bring her pups out and they'd play around my feet (the mama kept a watchful eye. ) There's not much cuter than a baby skunk, anyway. And when they grew up they proved useful allies in a college town where, well, people of varying attitudes would be drinking. There was this screaming drunk kid who came up our driveway to, err, 'disapprove' of our lifestyle, but I'm standing there in the near dark, reying to talk him down when he suddenly goes silent, stone cold sober, and white as a sheet. I'm like, "You ok, dude?" He just points by my feet and says, 'Ssskunk!" I look down, there's one of my little friends. I was like, "Oh, yeah, they live here. You don't. Time for you to go." :)
I was in suburban Minneapolis last summer and two bald eagles were hunting across from me on a wide highway. A truck pulled over and pointed out that I should watch out for them with my small dogs. As a Southern Californian I was so excited to see them and didn't think how dangerous they could be to the dogs.
@@Fairred6507 hawks too, had a redtail swoop down and take my bunny off the lawn right in front of my mom. Sad times, but beautiful creatures non the less!
@@TigressGraphics How horrifying. Our first three bunnies had the run of the backyard by day, but we caged them at night. Sometime after the third one passed, I found out that birds(hawks by day,, owls by night) were the greatest danger to rabbits. Bunny #4 is indoor only, but has the run of the house.
I live in Idaho and I see bald eagles at least multiple times a week depending on the season. Sometimes daily. It's still special every time.
I live in Iowa and have seen quite a few now.
Here in NorCal we have otters in the rivers, and I always love watching them play.
I wonder if I'll ever have that luxury.
A few months ago otters got reintroduced to Britain, I wonder if they'll breed up to a level that I might be able to see one before I die.
A couple years ago I spent around 2months travelling around America with a few mates (I’m British btw) we spent some time camping in Yellowstone National park as was lucky enough to have a couple of bears walk straight thru own camp site. Scared the shit out of me but was well with it.
I remember after moving from Connecticut to West Texas my Dad attempting to "mow" down the mesquite shrubs growing outside our solid white painted cinderblock fences. Waves of small creepy crawlies that he had disturbed came over the wall to crawl across the driveway & get to the side he hasn't messed with yet. Tarantulas, several types of lizards, scorpions and afew small rodents. He damn near died that day--so glad my Mom didn't kill him😄
Donna McManus which part of West Texas? West, east, north of the Basin.
I still remember as a kid having a bald eagle swoop down and steal my fish when I was reeling it in. Probably one of my coolest fishing stories I have
Dude! That is the most epic fishing story I have ever heard! So cool!
Of course, that's part of why some people have argued they just LOOK noble enough for "national symbolhood", but are actually thieving scavengers. Whatever. It's still a thrill for me whenever I spot one.
@@DianeDfictionfan I mean, that's pretty damn accurate to America, sometimes atleast
Dude I watched this very thing happen to a kid on Lake Coeur D'Alene when I was a kid. It was nuts! Watched another eagle come down and steal a fish from a bunch of fighting seagulls in downtown Spokane a couple years back as well. Those things have no freaking care in the world and it is amazing to watch even if it is your fish being taken lol
@@TheBlindAndTheBeautiful I come from the land of 10,000 lakes and 20,000 eagles so it's a semi common sight here
You haven't really soiled yourself until you've soiled yourself encountering a grizzly bear in Alaska. I lived 25 miles north of Fairbanks for a time and I saw a few.
Or a polar bear popping up in Barrow while your out for a walk on the coast
moose: "hold my beer"
When I lived in Florida, I saw a Gator hanging out in my backyard, 'bout a 7 footer.
The best thing I saw in my state was an eagle. In Oregon there are not that many bears around so I’ve never seen one.
Regular Griz or Kodiak variant?
I've seen a bald Eagle before I always see them for like a split second and I never get a good look at them. And it's also pretty rare. I think last year I saw one only five different times. The most I've seen in a group is two. The fact that you got a chance to see 8 of them is truly incredible.
I literally had to stop and think of how "ass" is an anagram for "ears". Fortunately, it only took a few seconds to remember "arse", just in time to hear "Prince Charles"
How arse became ass ( a donkey horse sort of animal ) is a mystery this side of the pond
@@johndowds5770 there might be a different channel that explains that
Same. I had to stop and think British.
😂😂😂😂😂
same .. a few seconds .. then I was like .. oh.. arse !! LOL : ]
Hey, I live in Coeur D'Alene, Idaho. During winter my dad and I love watching the eagles. I bought my dad a drone so we could get some good views of them.
Also check out buffalo. They are massive. Easily bigger than a mini-van.
All the buffalo I've seen are about the same size as a regular cow.
Bison
My sister in laws dad is a truck driver and he said the most beautiful place he's ever driven was couer d'Alene !
"Whistle pig" is more generally used for marmots. They do whistle. Opossums eat several thousand ticks a week, so they're becoming more popular in the Northeast where we have a tick infestation (Lyme disease).
If you have too many ticks, especially deer ticks, it probably is a problem of too many outdoor cats, since they eat the shrews which normally eat deer ticks.
If u whistle loud they normally sit up and look around. That's why I thought people called them whistle pigs
In my neck of the woods, we can ground squirrels whistle pigs.
Possums are wonderful! (Most of us leave off the letter “o”) They are gentle creatures who eat ticks, grubs and other detrimental insects in our yards (gardens). Skunks and groundhogs (same as woodchucks, and whistle pigs) also are super beneficial.👍🌸
We just say possum in the south. The "O"is not used.
Same!
We also don’t pronounce the e at the end of coyote. It’s ends like the word oat. Though I know there are regions that say the e
Yup, it's just possum.
The "O" is there to let the locals know that y'all're from out'a town.
I think everyone says possum these days, except for foreigners reading from a book or something
I live in Oregon (Northwest) and I also omit the “O.”
I think I was 7 years old before I knew opossum had an O at the front. .Most who grew up in the south grew up calling them possums.
I split my childhood between Missouri (maZERuh), where we just called them "possums," and Northern Virginia, where folks added the O to the word. Then found that outside of NoVa folks called them possums, too. I think I was like 13 or 14 when I figured out that they are the same animal. |-)
I think I was older than that. I grew up thinking it was possum, not opossum, and I wondered who added that O. It seemed quite impertinent.
Most people in the north say it that way, too. I grew up thinking the leading 'O' was just a silent letter.
Melody Szadkowski we call them possums in Northern California also. I assume So CA too but I have never lived in So. CA
Fun fact: raccoons can untie knots. Not chew them open, untie them. There's a whole list of other barriers they can overcome, but that's the one I've had experience with.
They can also open just about any kind of latch that isn't padlocked shut.
Trash pandas are rather smart
My dogs are big and aggressive enough keep coyotes away it's the raccoons that are sneaky enough get by my dogs and get in my chicken house
They also like to steal and hide dinnerware. Friend of mine growing up had one as a pet, they had to store their dinnerware in locking drawers.
They can unscrew jar lids, as well🙃
They seem to be very tidy trash looters (at least here)
Animals in America that you've not seen, but have seen you: mountain lions.
Actually saw one while hunting in the Uintah mountains in Utah.
I've had several sightings. Very close.
We had one, a beautiful young female, make our property her safe place after the huge Station fire
To own a skunk you have to have a special permit, get them as babies, and remove the sack that allows them to spray. My mom had one as a child.
Ferrets have a similar gland that is removed before they go to get sold.
I was talking to a person to get one, and my husband decided to compensate by getting a pug. On one hand my kids finally got their dog, and on the other hand, I still want a skunk.
They are "descented" as yes, pet ferrets as well.
I don't think all areas require a permit however.
The ferrets you see in the USA today have actually been reintroduced. They went extinct for a time (wild ones).
BritIronRebel I just know that where I live in Indiana they require a permit. But you are probably correct, not all places might require a permit.
According to some who've owned them as pets, their personalities are somewhat similar to Persian cats, and they can be quite affectionate. The stinky aspect of skunks comes from them being a member of the Mustelidae family, which includes weasels, ferrets, wolverines, badgers, otters, etc.
Possums eat ticks and other nuisance bugs. They are actually a great thing to have and are very cute.
They also can't get rabies, as I recall.
Aren’t they are only marsupial?
I have a couple who feed on my outdoor cat food. The cats just sit there and stare while they eat their food.
@@lisat776 - Yes, opossums are the only New World marsupial.
@@wlsweat1 - Wise of the cats. Opossums have 50 sharp teeth, the most of any mammal.
Ok, so I'm not saying this, because at the moment you have a desperate captive audience; but, your channel will explode! Each of your videos is a CLASS, comedic monologue-English style and we love it!! Really, you are very talented and gifted with the ability to give laughter in the most disarming way. You often remind me of an interesting mix of Johnathan Winter's, Rodney Dangerfield and Jack Benny, with English sensibilities and accent! BRAVO👏
I've lived in England and I'm American, so your show is bringing back so many memories for me. Keep up the good work, love your show!!!!
I always thought it was funny when the foreign music students went crazy about wild animals. We kept telling them to stop trying to corner porcupines and striped skunks.
Just mention rabies!
It only takes one time for them to learn to leave them both alone. Ha ha.
Two of my favorite wild animals that we have around here are mountain lions aka pumas and lynx. I've been fortunate in being able to see both. They are both very beautiful cats. Lynxes have amazing paws that are huge for their bodies. They use them sort of like snow shoes.
Mountain lions are mildly terrifying but bobcats are cool and not usually violent towards people. But having a mountain lion kill a coyote right outside my open window while growling and snarling and everything is one of the more terrifying things to have occur in the night.
Mountain lions are deadly. You dont even see it coming before it jumps on your back and bites your neck.
@@noahkellinghaus2216 Very, crazy jaw strength as well. My family use to take care of wild baby animals that were dying.
Bald Eagles love to steal your fish when you’re out ice fishing. Most of us let them though :)
Our bald eagles grab the fish and laugh that it's a government warning against similar actions by the IRS as they fly away & that joke NEVER gets old.
Bald eagles are living wild in the midwest! I'm from Indiana and last year there were reportedly about 300 pairs of eagles actively nesting across the state. There is a nest near my parents' house and every once in a while I see one flying. Always a cool sight. :)
Yes - I live in Minnesota and there’s a pair that’s been living across the highway from us for a decade or more. So fun to drive by their (HUGE) nest and see a white head popping out. 😊
Bald Eagles are in Michigan but that's probably obvious with our great lakes. 🦅🎧✌️
Coyotes are prolific and they love airports. Air traffic control warned me of critters on or near the runway. On short final to land I got to utter a unique phrase. "Tower I have the coyotes in sight."
Coyotes seem to love wide open areas with concrete ground.
There are plenty in the wild too. I was going to take my dog for a night hike, she and I got out of the car, I heard a bunch and we promptly got back in the car. I've found chewed up deer legs out in the woods, so find coyotes very intimidating.
...and they aren't intimidated by the planes? Wow
@@a-drewg1716 truth
@@andromedaspark2241 no not really I guess they got used to the noise and it doesn't bother them
Coyotes also consider house cats a particularly tasty snack.
There are some near a friend of mine (in the city! Though her area is a little less populated) She worries about her pets.
My daughter's cat was eaten by a coyote, several years ago. She lived in a different town.There are a few who come by our street in the wee hours before dawn every couple days, but they haven't caused trouble. I wish they'd eat the raccoons - those nasties (the raccoons) have killed a number of cats, chased my neighbor into her basement door to attack a cat, and once on her porch, until she came out and went after it with a shovel. One went after and killed one of my geese in my yard in broad daylight - I was able to drive it off but it was too late for the goose. Because of them, I cannot keep fish in my little pond. I have no sympathy for them any more, despite that they look cute - they are dangerous killers about the size of a smaller medium size dog. We live in a medium city of 150,000 people, so not country.
@@guiniverejoy9013 : Coyotes generally won't tangle with a raccoon one-on-one. Raccoons are way more trouble than they're worth: smart, tough, ruthless omnivores. I've always thought they were a good bet as a successor species to humans, and that isn't necessarily a compliment.
If they ever forge an alliance with the crows, we're screwed.
@@guiniverejoy9013 They have a very nasty disposition.
@@guiniverejoy9013 Coyotes and raccoons need to be on a constant death warrant. Shoot on sight.
I like to play a game called "is there a skunk in someone's yard or is someone smoking weed"
I tell a joke: "if you're driving in downtown Austin and smell Skunk you might think it's weed. If you're driving in the country and smell Skunk... it's definitely weed."
TBH while the scents may seem similar to people that don't smoke, Skunk Scent has a quality to it that makes it smell bad even to those that like the smell of skunky weed. I can't stand the smell of skunks but I love Skunky Weed, though its not my favorite weed scents/flavors i prefer piney, berry & lavender terpene profiles.
Answer:...Based on Reaction
Skunk: Most Likely You're going to cover your nose instant and start wondering if you got Tomato Sauce at home.
Weed: Hard to tell with all the flavors my First sniff of one, was Maui Waui.
...And the game only works if you live in the PNW.
Never did understand how the reference got started, skunk spray smells nothing like weed
@@terryhiggins5077 had neighbours that their weed was worse than being sprayed by a skunk. Trust me you just haven't smelled the bad smelling weed.
I just visited Yellowstone National Park, yes during Covid I tested negative on my return to CT. You should go there and stay at the Mammoth Springs cabins in the fall. The elk were always grazing in between the cabins and the bulls were herding the females in the evening, making a huge spectacle every day. Then you need to drive to the Lamar valley to encounter huge bison in the road, wolves on the hills, coyotes hunting, and bears. Bring binoculars for all but the bison.
In my area, we have moose. They're majestic, stupid, and deadly when they get on the roads. They're nearly impossible to see at night, unlike deer. No. Way too big to keep as a pet.
My area has tons of coyotes and raccoons, they're nice and generally won't approach a human. Some of em will snatch up small pets, though, so you gotta watch out.
Know a woman whose Aunt died when a moose fell off the side of the mountain crushing her car with her in it. True story, I laughed at 1st thinking she was joking and when she started getting upset I felt awful. But who dies from a Moose falling on a car!!!
@@andorastorm1000 actually quite a few in Maine. Especially during the tourist season. They move around a dusk. Hard to see when going 55 mph.
@@vixendoe2545 true. When learning to drive a truck the instructors said hit dear don't kill yourself over a deer, but AVOID mule deer or moose at any cost cause they can and will destroy you and the Rig. But falling on a car that's different...or I hope so...
@@andorastorm1000 falling on you is what primarily happens when you hit one. It's to massive to go under the vehicle. It is tall, so basically you are knocking it off its feet and it is falling on you.
Mule deer are often a lot larger than white tail deer. I remember seeing some white-tail when I was Alabama during my Army days. I thought, "dang those deer are tiny." Friend of mine that joined the Marines about the same time and was in Massachusetts for a while said the same thing.
I’ve got lots of wild animal stories, though I don’t want any as a pet. I lived in Washington state for 20 years and the first year I lived there, a news story broadcasted about a lady’s lapdog which was picked up by a bald eagle. Film crew was there, and she was crying about how the eagle swooped down into her yard and took her little Pumpkin. All the while, her husband was walking behind her, punching the air, saying, “Yes!” with glee. 😆😆😆
Next story, I was working for a law office in a small town in the same state, and the office had a large apple orchard and wooded area in the back. I walked out the back door to take out the trash, looked up and saw a large black dog lying under one of the apple trees, about 40 yards away. I thought, “What is that dog doing back there?” and started walking towards it to get a better view, then suddenly he got up and I realized it was a black bear napping after gorging on apples. I ran like hell back into the office and looked out the window and watched the bear amble back into the woods.
A guy on Nextdoor.com was saying his boss saw an eagle swoop down on a dog a lady was walking on a leash and pick it up and tote it off.
Barred owls occasionally go for small dogs in East Texas.
I live in Central California, in town, and we see deer, coyotes, wild pigs, raccoons. Despite being used to these animals we really enjoy having them and seeing them. Deer especially. We love our animals. 😍
When our friend peter came from London, to stay with us in Oregon, he spent an hour photographing our fairly tame raccoons. He was fascinated.
After talking about coyotes I was hoping you'd have a bonus animal: roadrunners!
seeing roadrunners is always surreal
side note: thanks to Looney Tunes, everybody thinks that roadrunners eat birdseed. Technically they're omnivores, so yeah, they will if it's front of them. But they're highly skilled predatory carnivores and have a particular fondness for lizards and snakes.
I lived in Arizona while in the Air Force and saw both coyotes and road runners , the road runners I saw disappointed me as they were not the bright red color as seen on t v they were brown .
Roadrunners haven't the spread coyotes have achieved. The human infestation has created an expanded habitat for coyotes they never had before.
@@imblue9839 That's the one thing I miss about living in the SoCal desert. Roadrunners were everywhere.
I travel sometimes for weeks in a canoe,, camp along the way, take a few photos, eat bad food,, and see and interact with all the animals that live far from the nearest electric light. Coyotes.
Last spring, about May 5th or so, camped along the Green River in central Utah the evening was watching a white egret fishing, a great blue heron wading the edge of the river, a beaver cutting brush behind me and then dragging it across the beach to the water,,,,, Ah, but at night,, a clear crisp moonlit night,, stars hard and sharp, and a pack of coyotes discovered me. The first howl was near,, 50 yards ? but the answer was incredible. a bunch nearby as well,, and then in the distance,, upstream, downstream,, across the river,, the answering howls,, some must have been more than a mile distant. A chorus, magical,, a tableau of the sounds of moving water,, a cold clear moonlit night, the voices near and in the distance,,, Most likely announcing my presence. Singing, no doubt,, "Well, there goes the neighborhood."
yeah I saw that episode of Grizzly Adams you can't fool me
@@sirclarkmarz Laughing. No, John, I am one who actually does it. No movie, no RUclips channel, I just like being out. And Grizzly Adams is a lot better looking than I am.
Pet skunks have usually had their glands removed so they can't spray 😉👌 they are very sweet, very timid creatures. I remember getting to pet one at a petting zoo and it was so fluffy!
EDIT: My Pa-Paw always called them "pole cats"
Prairie dogs, which are quite different than ground hogs. They live in huge communities and create massive burrows. Often found in places like Oklahoma/North Texas and parts out west. The Museum of the Great Plains in Lawton Oklahoma has a prairie dog community right on its grounds - at least it did when I was there 30 years ago. Really fun to watch!
Coyotes will also eat domestic cats, small and medium sized domestic dogs or any livestock of that size. They're smart predators who will lure domestic pets away to an ambush of a pack of coyotes. If a pack is hungry enough packs have been known to lure medium and small dogs by using females in heat away from an area to a kill spot. One recorded case a pit bull owner came home to his dog that had torn ears, covered in blood and took his pet to the vet. The vet asked him who's dog has he been fighting. Confused and after returning home with his dog he ventured to his back yard to follow the blood trail to a wooded area behind his property. There he found 9 dead coyotes the pit bull killed in a fight.
In Texas, a DC donkey is usually kept with small livestock like goats as a deterrent to coyotes.
Coyotes are mean little assholes! This last year my wife was out hunting and she had one come right up to her and start nipping at her ankles! She eventually convinced it to go away, I just don't remember how............
I work at a prison in Florence Arizona, the coyotes like to roam our unit perimeters because ground squirrels, gophers and a species of rabbit tend to burrow along the fence lines. I also sometimes think they are deliberately trying to antagonizing our K9 officers when they are in the kennels.
I've seen a pack of coyotes go after mule deer. There were about 5 coyotes on one mule deer. They had bloodied up the deer's rump and had open up its stomach a bit so a small bit of its innards were hanging out.
@@jlokison I also live in Arizona in the valley and mostly have had 3 encounters with Coyotes. One was named Carl and he was a Coyote he roamed in the town I lived in. He knew his name and if called would sit a good distance away from the car and we would toss it a dog treat. The second was at my job at Target. There was a pack that roamed just right around it and at night whenever I would be clearing the lot they would roam the mostly empty parking lot. They would always stick to where there were no cars but occasionally on really slow nights that would result in them being really close to Targets front doors. Me and them had a sort of "understanding" I would just be out collecting trolleys and they would scavenge what ever trash are left in the parking lot, sometimes they got close to me but I never really minded (coyotes only attack a human if they feel threatened or are really desperate, it also would require them to have a large pack but this pack was generally only 3-4 in size, though I remember one incident where I was doing another job and the girl who was clearing the lot came sprinting back in doors because she was so frightened because she saw the pack, got a good laugh out of that one), and then the last one wasn't a interaction with me and a coyote but instead my grandfathers dogs and a coyote. Now my grandfather has a couple of miniature Schnauzers and there are all up there in age, the youngest is 7. One day though a coyote jumped over the fence (he has a 7ft tall fence) and attacked the dogs, but the 3 Schnauzers fought back and when my grandfather heard the commotion he went out and found a dead coyote with his dogs only having minor injuries (worst injury was a large gash on of of the dogs heads).
Memories of nearly a couple decades ago in Bremerton, Washington. I was outside having a smoke, back when I smoked, (well, tobacco) late one night and I heard a commotion in the next yard over. So getting something to stand on, I peered over the fence, and lo and behold, it was a family of raccoons playing in the neighbors' kiddie pool. some even playing with the pool toys that were left out. Still gives me a smile to this day thinking about that incident.
Raccoons can be such vicious beasts. I just pray my family never come into contact with them.
Skunks are so cute! I love how they waddle. But the smell is something else. There's a distinct burning rubber element.
Here in Chicago one night I had a skunk surprise me when I was going out to lock my gate. I told him, "SHOO!" and he calmly turned around and strolled off. I thought I was going to get sprayed but no, he apparently lived by the rule, "If you don't want no shit, don't start any." He didn't want trouble and wasn't planning to start any. It still makes me smile a little bit. It was almost him saying, "Alright, alright, I was just leaving, calm down!"
I live in American South, and one of the most remarkable wild animals you commonly see around here is the wild turkey! They travel in pretty large groups (a group of turkeys is called a "rafter") and can actually get really aggressive if you get near their nesting areas. The Toms can get pretty dang big, and I'm only a little embarrassed to admit I have run from turkeys on more than one occasion.
coyotes literally put me in labor. You know how scary that is walking out to the car in the middle of the night hearing those things close by?
I think coyotes are smart enough to realize they don't need the trouble humans can give them. Humans kill off the stupid coyotes, leaving coyotes that learn more, quickly, including not to mess with humans...
@@debbys-abqnm4537 I live near a golf course in Phoenix and hear them every night doing that. It's still a little eerie to hear.
God, imagine how evolutionarily disadvantageous going into labor when you hear a predator is. It's a miracle our ancestors survived lol
I have a snapping turtle as a pet. Found him in dried up puddle 10 years ago. It was the size of a fifty cent piece and now about 10 inches across his shell.
Be careful , we found a rather large snapping turtle behind our elementary school looked to be 10-12 lbs . A friend got real close with a branch and it bit the branch and did not let go . we actually lifted it off the ground and he would not let go , imagine if it were your finger .
I've seen their heads as big as the circle you make with your hands. They eat ducks.
Some make turtle soup from them
I have a pond where I live and used to help my grandfather fish out snapping turtles from it we had some as large as tires
@@timothykeith1367 Snapping Turtles
and especially the Alligator Snapper can be rather tough and stringy. The little Streaked Head river turtles are good eating. And no, turtle dies not "taste like chicken". The similar batterfrying technique makes it seem that way.
I love this channel. Lawrence is hilarious. This channel is the reason I began watching British television.
That is “The Mighty Columbia”, my good man😉. In the Sierra foothills we have wild boar, bobcat, fox, coyote, brown bears, cougars, raccoons, skunks, deer, various rodents and, rabbits and hares, snakes ( rattlers, kings, garters etc.) and other reptiles, and a variety of birds. My favorite are the foxes. I’m sure I left out a lot, that’s just off the top of my head
Surprisingly these all are in the Midwest too.
No more DDT, has made a difference.
The same goes for certain parts of California, but I don’t think we have mule deer. We do have mountain lions, but they’re pretty rare to spot in the wild.
Mountain lions. We don't call them cougars in the west. Especially in Nor cal!!
@@eileencomstock4685 mule deer aren't as prevalent as white tail.
Wait until this guy hears about the American folklore animals/demons
Yes, truly amazing...it's not like literally every country has them.
Some names are based on Native American creatures like the Wendigo. Others have been given Western names like Bigfoot. and some are really unimaginative. I'm looking at you New Jersey Devil.
@@-Devy- True, but not all of them are the same. For example I have never in my experiance heard of another country having to deal with Jackelopes.
Chupacabra
I do not like the cobra chicken
"Arse is an anagram of ears" ...it took me second to hear "arse"
This is one of my faves from your series of videos. Re: skunks as pets: " how's that working out in quarantine?" LOL!
I’ve never actually heard them called “O” possums...we have them everywhere here in VA and we just say possums 🤷🏽♂️
they are spelled with an 'o' in front, it's just silent.
I can't stand these overgrown rats. Had four different ones get under my house at different times and had a flea infestation in my home and yard because of them that took months to kill. Caught the opossum in a trap and had to haul them 10+ miles away to keep them from returning to "their" territory. Game warden told me that legally I had to release them in my yard. Yeah right. No.
Possums are a completely different animal that live in Australia.
I'm in Ohio, and yeah, we just call them possums.
Possums are different animals
We've got Bald Eagles here east of Cleveland. They've really made a comeback.
There are quite of few of them in the national park. I've even seen a pair in the Portage Lakes.
I love the possums in Wisconsin (We omit the "O") they eat ticks and being in the country, thats a good thing.
There are some bald eagles in my home state of Wisconsin, particularly along the Wisconsin River in Sauk-Prairie. As for the coyotes, I don't recall if you mentioned it, they have been known to attack people cats and dogs.
The cougar population is also on the rise in the Midwest. This year there have been four confirmed sightings of them in Wisconsin.