Taking Risks With Animals

Taking Risks With Animals
17-12-2007

These days I'm old and cautious, but when I was young I did things which make me wonder why I'm still alive!

For instance, to impress a young lady I once climbed a safety rail, reached through a feeding slot and tickled a sleeping circus tiger's ear. (I'm not proud of that one!)

As a kid, my mates and I would sneak into Taronga zoo by climbing a stone wall, sliding under barbed wire, dropping in to the black rhino paddock and racing across and through the fence. Why pick such a "hairy" spot? Because it was the only place on the perimeter that we could find where the barbed wire was high enough for us to squeeze through.
The rhinos would squeak with alarm, but not once did they go for us.
The keepers however.......

Any other thrill-seekers out there?

17-12-2007

Have been tempted to have a go with a few big browns, partially for the adrenaline rush, but also because I'm not a fan of killing them and that's common practice out here. although my wanting to play with them quickly dissappeared after being surprised by one on my loungeroom floor. Also tried to give a scratch to a circus lion

17-12-2007

I have been tempted to pick up snakes. Blokes like Steve Erwin made it look easy.

I draft over 1000 fallow deer most years and I can make mistakes when not concentrating. If you enter their persenal space without giving them an escape route they will kick you and have very sharp hoves. I have a scar from the corner of my eye amost to my ear from one young buck.

17-12-2007

I did my Steve Irwin turn once, picking up a Pyrenean viper which was dozing on a sunny rock. Putting it back down was much more dangerous - it was fully awake by then!

18-12-2007

getting too close to pissed off elephants...... i have never run so fast in my life.

18-12-2007

stalking to within 5 metres of a bull water buffalo in the Northern territory. Wading through the Towns river on the western side of the Gulf of Carpentria after our fishing boat broke down. Big crocs seen in the same area the day before. great fun.

18-12-2007

I was once cleaning in the giraffeexhibit and did not see that i was between an aduld and a young one. But than i saw the big one run towards me. In that moment the keeper shouted at it, so it came to stop just a few meters to me... Never been scared that much in my life!

19-12-2007

yes... angry elephants would have to be the worst... Bull in Musth, four keepers and one me. huge tusks, and a destroyed kitchen... also required new underwear.

20-12-2007

Went spotlighting in India. Seen big glowing red eyes on some big flat rock. Come closer, closer, closer... F***, this is not a rock, this is mugger crocodile!

It was small crocodile, maybe six feet long, but I still felt like Darwin Award candidate.

14-01-2008

Today at work i took a risk, and i paid for it,
I work in a small wildlife park and we have a desexed 4 yr old red deer Buck, hes noramally alright with me as i am the same height, today while i was feeding the other animals in his paddock ( red roos) he reared upand kicked me in the back with his front legs, got me in the head too,
I hit him the head with a bucket, and he went away.
Wish we had lions! quolls will take too long to eat a whole red deer.

The only thing deer are good for is food! (sorry Monty)

14-01-2008

Does not wory me I eat plenty of them. Sounds like this could be an idea with this one.
I had a semi-tame fallow buck which was dangerous. I sent him off with a load of deer Friday.

15-01-2008

Yeah he is handraised so no fear, Gotta find someone to take him, or an abotoir that will do Emu and Deer at the same time!

16-01-2008

My tame fallow buck was a pet does first fawn. It was born in the back yard and lived there with its mother untill a few months old. In the rut it had no fear of humans so we kept away from it. If I had to go in the paddock with it I always had had couple of dogs and a shovel with me. The dogs always kept it occupied and I never had to use the last resort of the shovel.

A lot of our deer go to an abotoir in SA. I can't think of the name of it but it overlooks the Koorong. There is a venison shop in Mt Compus which is good.

16-01-2008

yeah i have been to that shop, nice meat, someone i know is going to come our and shoot him and dress him, so its all sorted now! Did you ever end up getting any exotic ungulates Monty? I saw some blackbuck going to $350 pr a while back

17-01-2008

Not yet. It will be a while.