|   Tarantula and mountain lion encounters | Sultan of Singletrack
Aug 8, 2002 9:38 PM | | Didn't even know we had tarantulas here in Utah until I nearly flattened one on the trail. Huge spider, as big as by hand outstretched. Freaking thing asked me for spare change.
Next encounter, 2 days later was with a mountain lion. It didn't really notice me. It was walking along the bike trail, oblivious to me as I came up behind. I'm surprised it didn't hear my brakes squeal to a halt. It continued walking away, as I stopped there staring.
So far, encounters are: moose, snake, tarantula, mountain lion. |
| re: Tarantula and mountain lion encounters | Scooterinslc
Aug 9, 2002 3:29 AM | | Last year no more than 100 yards from the trail head, saw these two guys prodding a tarantula with a stick trying to get it off the trail. Big sucker, too! This was up Dry Creek just behind University Hospital. Where did you see the Mountain lion? |
| GET AWAY FROM ME U 8 LEGGED FREAK!!!!!!!!!...... | crashnburn
Aug 9, 2002 4:51 AM | | I HATE!!!! spiders. Couldn't look @ the previews for 8 legged freaks. I'll stay out on the east coast thank u very much. |
| East Coast not immune...... | Greyhound
Aug 9, 2002 5:19 AM | | ...to the baddies either. We are home to the brown recluse and the black widow--the latter being one of the deadliest known to man. Here is a brief description of the bite of a brown recluse and what the bite looks like up to a year later.....
"Bite Symptoms
The severity of a person's reaction to the bite depends on the amount of venom injected and individual sensitivity to it. Bite effects may be nothing at all, immediate or delayed. Some may not be aware of the bite for 2 to 8 hours, whereas others feel a stinging sensation usually followed by intense pain if there is a severe reaction. A small white blister usually rises at the bite site surrounded by a large congested and swollen area. Within 24 to 36 hours, a systemic reaction may occur with the victim characterized by restlessness, fever, chills, nausea, weakness and joint pain. The affected area enlarges, becomes inflamed and the tissue is hard to the touch. The spider's venom contains an enzyme that destroys cell membranes in the wound area with affected tissue gradually sloughing away, exposing underlying tissues. Within 24 hours, the bite site can erupt into a "volcano lesion" (a hole in the flesh due to damaged, gangrenous tissue).
The open wound may range from the size of an adult's thumbnail to the span of a hand. The sunken, ulcerating sore may heal slowly up to 6 to 8 weeks. Full recovery may take several months and scarring may remain. Plastic surgery and skin grafts are sometimes required." |
| Don't forget about.... | Greyhound
Aug 9, 2002 5:23 AM | | ...the Black Widow. She is the deadliest in the States......
Bite Symptoms
According to Willia Gertsch, curator of spiders at the American Museum of Natural History, New York, the venom of the black widow spider is 15 times as toxic as the venom of the prairie rattlesnake. However, only a minute amount of the toxin is injected with a single bite by the spider, while the relatively large amount of injected rattlesnake venom results in about 15 to 25 percent mortality among those bitten.
The severity of a person's reaction to the bite depends on the area of the body bitten, amount of venom injected, depth of bite, seasonal changes and temperature. The bite feels like a pin prick or is not even felt. At first, there may be only slight local swelling and two faint red spots surrounded by local redness at the bite. Pain becomes intense in one to three hours and may continue up to 48 hours. Pain usually progresses from the bitten member up or down the arm or leg, finally localizing in the abdomen and back. The abdominal muscles may become rigid and board-like with severe cramps (resembles appendicitis). There may be pain in the muscles and soles of the feet, and eyelids may become swollen. Other symptoms may be nausea, profuse perspiration, tremors, labored breathing and speech, and vomiting. During this time, a feeble pulse, cold clammy skin, unconsciousness, convulsions and even death may result if the victim does not receive medical attention immediately. Additional complications may occur due to the infection of the bite. However, with some untreated individuals, symptoms may diminish in several hours and be gone in several days after agony. |
| Don't forget....Rattlesnakes | Hollis
Aug 9, 2002 5:34 AM | | I saw one at Pisgah...little feller...almost looked like a Pigmy Rattler |
| Yep | East Coast Roast
Aug 9, 2002 7:32 AM | | I saw this guy at Pigeon Mountain in North Ga. last weekend. He is about 3 to 3 1/2 feet long. Creepy. |
| I know the feel of their web quite well! | JRinCA
Aug 9, 2002 6:46 AM | | They love California! Big suckers running all over my garage! My bro and I killed on that was as big as a lima bean. Grossed me out. I hate spiders!
Someday I'll tell the King Spider and Monkey story... |
| Sorry, couldn't resist...... | M-U-M
Aug 9, 2002 7:00 AM | | Does that woman in lower left look alittle like a Dragonfly? 8) |
| Where on the East Coast do we have.... | Plummit
Aug 9, 2002 6:05 AM | | the brown recluse and black widow?... When I was at school in Boulder, I heard about the brown recluse, but I didn't know it was on the right coast... |
| The Geographical Center of TN.... | Hollis
Aug 9, 2002 7:00 AM | | Murfreesboro, a bedroom community & college town near Nashville.
They've jsut had a story on the news about this...a lady was moving out of her Apt.
because they had a Brown Recluse spider problem. |
| That's where it was!! | Sultan of Singletrack
Aug 9, 2002 1:14 PM | | That's where I saw it (the tarantula).
The mountain lion was on the Bonneville Shoreline trail, right by City Creek canyon. |
| Close encounters of the Porcupine kind.... | Dirt Pilot
Aug 9, 2002 4:07 AM | | ...Had a porkypine run out in front of me in Moab last May.
THAT might have made for an interesting flat tire story had I hit him: ) |
| totally different porcupine story... | cm
Aug 9, 2002 6:53 AM | | I was skiing on a wonderful powder day at Alta last year and turned too close to a tree and fell into the tree well. I was stuck upside down and kept calling for help - I could hear my husband and his friend talking nearby but my voice was muffled by the snow and they couldn't hear me. I finally wriggled my way out after about 15 minutes of struggling only to discover that they heard some noises that they thought might be me but weren't sure and then they saw this big porcupine in a tree and got all distracted taking a closer look... Damn porupines... |
| Another Porcupine story... | WWKayaker
Aug 9, 2002 11:56 AM | | Was totally into a groove 1.5 miles into a long uphill fire road. I round a corner and Mr Porky has his back to me wandering slowly smack dab down the center of the road. I had time to whistle, but it didn't change it's course. I weighed the options: 1. stop, wait - but then it would be so hard to get back into the rhythym. 2. right 3. left. Both options left only 3 feet to either side of him. Based on my track record for this type of thing I figured regardless of which way I go Spiny would go the same way and I would fall and land on him and oouch!!! At the last second I zoomed left he went right and I was so happy that I had cleared the most challenging obstacle of that evenings ride. |
| re: Tarantula and mountain lion encounters | ACpartspimp
Aug 9, 2002 6:51 AM | | In middle school I had a tarantula as a pet. If you pet them they will purr like cats do:) Most of them are pretty harmless. |
| Saw a mountain lion last week. | SunDog
Aug 9, 2002 7:14 AM | | Wildlife encounters are cool. Sometimes we sneak up on them and sometimes they sneak up on us.
Anyone else have their bike attacked by a sidewinder. Aggressive little fellers.
Arizona Summer Critter count:
1 mountain lion
8 rattle snakes
4 Gila monsters
2 coral snakes
2 scorpions
1 swarm of bees
numerous racer and garter snakes
numerous javilna
numerous deer (mule & whitetail) |
| Daddy Long Legs. Did you know... | Bonee
Aug 9, 2002 8:08 AM | | I've never tried to confirm this fact, but I was listening to talk radio one day, some random show about strange facts, don't ask why I was listening, just know that I was.
Any-ho, one of the facts they discussed was that a bite from a daddy long legs is just as venomous as a black widow. So how come no one has ever been bitten by one?
The way the mouth/fangs/teeth(?) of a Daddy Long Legs are structured, it is physically impossible for them to bite a human.
Don't say I never share. |
| Daddy Long Legs. Did you know... | Yeti_Rider
Aug 9, 2002 8:15 AM | | they can bite, but they aren't strong enough to penetrate human skin
Michael |
| Daddy Long Legs. Did you know... | Bonee
Aug 9, 2002 8:46 AM | | Was that a question or a statement? That could be it. I don't remember the exact reason why. Did you hear it too? |
| IT was a statement. Saw it on Discovery or something <nm> | Yeti_Rider
Aug 9, 2002 11:26 AM | | |
| actually they are strong enough... | Aesop Rock
Aug 9, 2002 11:56 AM | | but the fangs aren't big enough to actually penetrate the skin. If that makes any sense. |
| makes sense | Yeti_Rider
Aug 9, 2002 5:45 PM | | since I'm lazy, I'll trust you ;o)
Michael |
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