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LOL. Ok so I don't expect to see all that in the Black Hills/Rapid City area, however I have been wondering what I will encounter. I am a city girl with a country heart.. in that I love the outdoors or I want to love the outdoors lol. I'm hoping eventually I will enjoy camping.. at the moment I do not go camping.. cant stand it lol. I plan to do some trails and get some photography in once we get settled in Rapid City. I have an extreme fear of spiders and snakes. However the snakes I have encountered in my life were only small snakes - garden snakes or something like that. Spiders - daddy long legs and dime sized spiders. The only wild life I have encountered are deer. And a couple skunks.
So.. knowing that.. am I going to survive spending a few hours enjoying the beautiful scenery of trails? What animals and other creepy things do I need to watch out for?
You'll be fine if you're just out hiking or strolling around. West River does have rattlesnakes, but your chances of an encounter are pretty slim. Just don't sleep in a sleeping bag on the ground.
There are lions and coyotes, too, but again~VERY little chance of an encounter. Most of the wildlife don't want to be around people. And deer~if you go into Wyoming, you'll see thousands of them. Or maybe those are antelope. We do have deer in the entire state, but they're friendly.
The first month I lived here, a moose made his way into town and had to be shot. I think it was a paralyzing shot, but I can't remember 5 years ago!
You'll see deer, lots and lots of deer.
The first month I lived here, a moose made his way into town and had to be shot. I think it was a paralyzing shot, but I can't remember 5 years ago!
You'll see deer, lots and lots of deer.
We've had a couple of moose come into Fargo recently.. but they managed to get it to leave without having to do much.
Unfortunately it was not a paralyzing shot, they killed it. It was hanging around the elementary school and they were worried about it hurting some kids. Claimed they didn't have any way to sedate it so they shot it. When asked why they didn't contact Bear country to sedate it, which has everything from Coyotes to Grizzlies and sedative guns to handle them they had no comment.
Quote:
Originally Posted by ashnat
The first month I lived here, a moose made his way into town and had to be shot. I think it was a paralyzing shot, but I can't remember 5 years ago!
You'll see deer, lots and lots of deer.
To get back to the original question, there are many great places to hike and camp in the Black Hills and the chances of an unwelcome encounter with wild animals are pretty slim.
With this in mind the STUPIDEST thing I see people do is walk out into the fields and photo Buffallo, these are wild animals and they will not run from you but are capable of stomping you into the ground in the blink of an eye.
Bottom line don't leave your common sense at home, keep it with you at all times and you will be fine.
Unfortunately it was not a paralyzing shot, they killed it. It was hanging around the elementary school and they were worried about it hurting some kids. Claimed they didn't have any way to sedate it so they shot it. When asked why they didn't contact Bear country to sedate it, which has everything from Coyotes to Grizzlies and sedative guns to handle them they had no comment.//Unquote
How unfortunate and stupid! Murder an animal because it MIGHT hurt someone and don't waste your time trying to find a solution. Pretty typical, but still sad.
Location: Moved to town. Miss 'my' woods and critters.
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I don't know about the 'wild' west, but here in Missouri the chances of having an encounter with wild animals is fairly slim. The wildest would now be the bears that have begun to call Missouri home. In a few counties bear have been sighted and the Conservation Commission has made this statement:Bears are protected by the Wildlife Code of Missouri, and it is illegal to kill one unless it is threatening people or property. I have only sighted a young bear in my front yard here in the woods. Exciting sight and so very unusual. I was in my home at the time!! Good luck.
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Murder an animal because it MIGHT hurt someone and don't waste your time trying to find a solution. Pretty typical, but still sad.
Good luck.
