Brooks Bay, BC
50 08’14.99"N 127 56’19.17"W
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Sunrise on Lake Winnesquam NH
Good grief! The number of snakes and alligators that some of you encounter on a paddle would have me taking up golf. If I had to figure stuff like that into my risk analysis I don’t think I could cope.
I have never, ever seen a single snake while kayaking and if I had the bad fortune to stumble across one it would be a Garter Snake and in all honesty seeing one of those ruins my day requires that I change my trousers. Those things you folks have to deal with are right up there with giant spiders of any stripe.
I hope I can get to sleep tonight…
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Come on down! If you really want to get spooked by gators, come do a night paddle sometime. Their eyes glow red to a white light. We see lots more than during the day.
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And the spider’s multiple eyes glow green. Snakes and gators don’t bother me but spiders and red wasps are not my friends.
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Thanks but that’s a negative! I manage my fears as best I can, partially by avoiding some of them. Homey don’t need to see red glowing eyes in the dark or their bumpy backs and long snouts. Nope. You are a braver man that I am.
Stop it! That is a description that I shouldn’t have read. Glowing green eyed spiders.
3meter, the most gators I have seen during daylight was on a three day trip paddling and camping in the Okefenokee Swamp a couple of years ago. We saw 376 in the 3 days we paddled. All sizes
Here’s my favorite snake photo.
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I had a paddling partner who had no problem with spiders. She threw a big garden spider at me. I didn’t find that amusing.
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376 in 3 days? OMG! And these guys just wander through your campsite? No. No. No.
3metter, I thought you would enjoy that photo. Big Gators do need to be respected, as do venomous snakes. I think we saw 7 cotton mouth moccasins on a paddle on Cedar Creek here in SC. None of those were threatening to us. The ones that fall into boats are brown water snakes which are not venomous. They hang in trees and drop into the water to escape when they feel threatened, which can cause quite a stir in the boat, but they will want to get out as much as some folks in the boat will want too. I for one would rather help them out than jump out myself.
I enjoy your stories and photos. I would love to paddle some of the places you do. I am sure I would be intimidated, by some of the stuff I was unfamiliar with there. Most of our fears when it comes to wildlife are overblown, but then some are justified too. I have been stalked by mountain lions twice. Which is unnerving, but managed not to be attacked or have to kill the big cat. I have encounter Black Bear a number of times with out any harm being done. Brown Bears, Whales, Sealions, and such I have no experience with. I am sure they would make me nervous.
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LOL, doubt I am braver…the big lizards are just one of the local critters we grew up & older around. I’m more concerned about snakes and wasps.
I’ve never encountered Mountain Lions though I have seen their tracks a couple of times. They concern me as there are supposedly a lot of them on Vancouver Island.
Black Bear are around but they try to steer clear of the Coastal Wolves except for certain times in certain places. Brown Bear are concerning. They usually stay away from the Wolves also. I’ve never encountered a Brown Bear but see their tracks. The Coastal Wolves are everywhere but you seldom see them. They know exactly where you are. Unless they have been habituated they are the good guys who keep the predators away.
Tons of Seals (Water Dogs) no problem but lots of Steller Sea Lions who make me nervous. The Males can grow up to 11 feet and weigh 2,500 pounds. They are pretty territorial and often act quite aggressive. Nothing makes my insides get all runny like having a large group of snarling, barking Stellers coming at me with their heads 3 feet out of the water. Some folks say that they only act tough but I am not inclined to call their bluff.
Humpbacks, Greys and Orcas are common. Orcas use echolocation so they know exactly where every part of you are in relationship to every one of their own parts. They can get really close without scaring me. I’ve never found Greys to have much personality or be overly active. I give them plenty of space because I don’t know them well. Humpbacks are the most numerous and can be quite active. I give them plenty of room too but they can be pretty curious about us. Laws call for us to stay 100 meters away from most whales and 200 meters if the animals are resting or with a calf and I always attempt to do that but sometimes they come into your space and you need to try to increase your distance. Sometimes you need to really pay attention and paddle a bit on the defensive as I’m not clear on how in touch a Humpback is with the position of its flukes.
On my last BC trip I was just sort of coasting along close to this steep coastline about 20 feet from the rocks when a Humpback just came up just 20 feet outside of me. I was hemmed in and stopped as it didn’t seem wise to continue forward. I ended up sitting there next to that whale for about 20 minutes. I got him to move by tapping on the sides of my boat.
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Now we have Sea lions frolicking, and I didn’t post the photo of monkeys monkeying around! I suppose Horseshoe crabs horsing around might not be too objectionable.
River otter in the salt marsh
White phase of Little Blue Heron
Showy Snowy Egret, the Woodstork isn’t impressed.
Osprey with takeout
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Doug, the lions thought you were “the other white meat.”