Surfing sea otter steals surfboards, eludes capture

[mgforshort]

I have no dispute with CA 4, I wasn't aware of animals burning to death because they have more common sense than most humans. I appreciate him posting the links. Sadly we had people here dying because they ran out of gas. The cats I personally caught 3 months later in a trap and returned to their owners were in excellent shape, and there were dogs left behind and much later reunited with the owners in good condition. I assumed wildlife would do even better than our pampered pets. The saddest stories were of people leaving to work, all doors and windows locked, comes the fire, the pets can't get out, and the owners are not allowed back in town. The homes where windows or doors, dog doors even were left open, the pets had a chance to get away.

If you had seen a running deer, they can outrun any fire, and there are always fire breaks where animals and humans have chance to escape if they are fast enough - certainly not me. We spent 4.5 hours driving to Chico in gridlock, all 16 miles of it. A neighbor stayed behind, kept hosing down everything, then they drove away around 5 PM, no traffic by then, and their home made it through without a scratch. Our home survived with minor damage because I ran the irrigation before leaving. The neighbors left and right lost everything but the chimneys.

Anyway, post # 20 means do not play with otters. I think an attack in the waters is the scariest because there is no chance to run away, climb a tree, or use a defensive weapon. I can barely swim with a life jacket and never carried a knife into the Lake Oroville, at least not yet.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by mgforshort

Anyway, post # 20 means do not play with otters. I think an attack in the waters is the scariest because there is no chance to run away, climb a tree, or use a defensive weapon. I can barely swim with a life jacket and never carried a knife into the Lake Oroville, at least not yet.

Someone posted on C-D years ago, that they were boating in a lake when they got too close to the swans, I guess, and suddenly were under violent and sustained attack by several of them! Maybe they'd paddled past a hidden nest, I don't know. But the attack was terrifying. They were trying to capsize the boat she was in, and wouldn't let up. I forget how it ended, but she barely got away with her life.

You're right; wildlife is best admired from a safe distance.

And that's fascinating that the pets you saw were looking quite well.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by HereOnMars

Of course, she did. And mgforshort isn't dismissing them. But remember, he lives there. He was one of the thousands trying to flee when the fire was raging. He still lives there. He didn't leave. He's been there every single day, watching the clean-up the revival of the town. I don't know why you (who lives a few states away) and CA4Now who lives in LA work so hard to dispute anything he says. It's ridiculous how so many around here fight and bicker, trying to prove someone wrong. smh

Wait a minute. Who's arguing? I was just following up on my own question about whether wildlife suffered during the fire, and mentioned that another poster had found some links on the topic, or on the topic of animals (including pets) in relation to the fire, in case anyone else was interested. Mg knows I've followed nearly all his posts and updates on his own experience and on the community's attempts to rebuild, and have praised him for those posts several times on his thread. There's no bickering here.

[1AngryTaxPayer]

Originally Posted by Ruth4Truth

Someone posted on C-D years ago, that they were boating in a lake when they got too close to the swans, I guess, and suddenly were under violent and sustained attack by several of them! Maybe they'd paddled past a hidden nest, I don't know. But the attack was terrifying. They were trying to capsize the boat she was in, and wouldn't let up. I forget how it ended, but she barely got away with her life.

You're right; wildlife is best admired from a safe distance.

And that's fascinating that the pets you saw were looking quite well.

Terrifying?good lord. They are basically a,large duck.

[Ruth4Truth]

Originally Posted by 1AngryTaxPayer

Terrifying?good lord. They are basically a,large duck.

Not when they're mad, and working as a team! Probably protecting their young.

[mgforshort]

I can't remember well, but there was a video, I think on You Tube, someone had a tame pet squirrel which got pissed off for some reason, and the owner suffered really nasty injuries, had to be taken to the ER, something like that. And squirrels are less than 3 lbs, don't ask me how I know. Squirrels have teeth piranhas would kill for.

Our Noble Macaw is barely bigger than a cockatiel, but has beaks strong enough to amputate the fingers of a five-year-old kid. A much larger blue-and-gold macaw can cut apart a wooden chair for pure entertainment - heaven forbid he gets mad at you.