People Who Survived Animal Encounters Reveal What Happened To Them In The Wild
[rebelmouse-image 18345498 is_animated_gif=Mother nature can be a scary lady, especially with her most ferocious creatures roaming the Earth. We can all imagine a horrific close encounter with a wild beast and how intense it would be. What would you do if you were face to face with a bear or a lion? Would you even know what to do?
franksNbeans69420 asks:
People who have survived a dangerous wild animal attack what is your story?
Be careful in the water...
[rebelmouse-image 18345499 is_animated_gif=I was mistakenly bitten by a lamprey eel when I was five. They aren't really that dangerous to humans, but to a tiny five year old in open water they can be extremely dangerous. I freaked out, it freaked out, and I fell and twisted my ankle and ended up past a drop-off in the river and nearly drowned. Still have small, weird scar on my thigh a crippling fear of natural water. My sister was supposed to be watching me and all I remember is her and her friends pointing and laughing while I tried to keep my head above water. My sister is still grounded and she's in her forties.
Watch out for the Moose
[rebelmouse-image 18345500 is_animated_gif=I was following a moose after school one day in Canada. It kept looking back at me but I thought I was far enough back that it wasn't bothering her...
Then she stopped, turned and ran full speed at me.
I froze and my thought was to not run. So I literally leaned ever so slowly forward. That is literally all I could muster in the 0.05 seconds I had to think.
It was enough though and about a meter in front of me she veered to the right and ran into the Bush.
I turned and ran home. My dad laughed at me and said "That's what you get for following too close."
It's also how I got my game handle and reddit name!!
Moose are now my spirit animal.
Tiny but mighty
[rebelmouse-image 18345501 is_animated_gif=Not really a dangerous animal. I have lost count on how many times I have been stung by scorpions. My dads house(the house I grew up in) is infested with scorpions. The worst was when I woke up to a sting and immediately woke up and freaked out. It stung me like 10 times in a matter of seconds and even worse, it was a momma with a ton of babies on it. Imagine ants being all over you except a bunch of baby devil lobsters.
Don't mess with a pigs food
[rebelmouse-image 18345502 is_animated_gif=Almost had my ankles broken by a hungry pig a few years back on a farm. I was warned by my boss not to be even a few minutes late feeding him, and his wife promptly lifted her skirt to the knees to show me this horrible, roped scar that was nearly a foot long. Apparently that was how they learned he was potentially deadly... but they ran a rescue farm for unwanted animals. So.
Birds are vicious
[rebelmouse-image 18345503 is_animated_gif=HENS ARE DEADLY WILD ANIMALS AND THIS IS NOT A JOKE
I grew up on a farm and when I was a kid the neighbors were chasing the hens around a pen and for some reason one of them decided to throw a rock at one of them, and when he did I was the first thing the hen saw so ofc it attacked me. It flew up in the air and dragged it's claws from the top of my head down towards my jawline. I'll be honest it hurt so much that I blacked out and have absolutely no recollection of the pain but I still have the scars on my face.
Who knew Seaworld was so dangerous
[rebelmouse-image 18345505 is_animated_gif=was bit by a whale at seaworld fl. paid to have the whale encounter where you are part of the show. son and i were sitting on the ledge giving commands and WHAM, grabbed my foot and tried to swim off with me. was lucky to have a hold of the ledge, and he grabbed my foot top and bottom but not past the ankle. ripped my foot from his mouth and noped out of the rest of the experience while ever so calmly requesting my son to also remove himself from the pool (at the top of my lungs, with poorly chosen words for his 10 year old ears) was not in any way acknowledged by seaworld, fun fact...they will take pics for you from the audience, some shots seemed to be missing. meh...it happened. when we met up with my wife later and my son told her what happened, she looked me up and down, nodded and said "yup, seems about right", i love that woman's sense of humor.
Bison on the loose!
[rebelmouse-image 18345506 is_animated_gif=Returning from breakfast at a lodge in Yellowstone, my son and I came upon a man who was photographing a bison that was walking through the parking lot. We decided to take a closer look ourselves. While my son was beholding the beast, park workers walking on the other side of the lot suggested we give the animal a little more room. I thought that was reasonable. As I turned back to gather my son, I saw that I was too late. He was running directly for me with the bison in pursuit. Not thinking, I started running directly for him. The bison intercepted before I did. It lowered its horn and ripped a hole in his T-shirt and gave him a nasty abrasion on his back. Fortunately my son was short enough and light enough to avoid being hooked and thrown. It was then that I grabbed him and immediately turned right. Chance would have it that someone left a cabin door open. I ran past the beds and into the bathroom, expecting our friend to follow. After hearing nothing for a minute or so, I cracked the bathroom door open only to find Buff still on station. He eventually decided to wander off. We then had the opportunity of meeting most of the smoky-bear-hat-wearing Rangers within a mile of us. My son's sense of humor didn't return for quite some time.
Sneaky snakes
[rebelmouse-image 18345507 is_animated_gif=I think it was three summers ago; I was mowing the lawn with the ride on mower, I was doing my normal laps cutting the grass. We have the original North Carolina intercostal waterway going through my backyard, so there are plenty of marine life gong through it.
I always get leery when getting close to the drop-off where the water is, since we have snakes. At one lap, I see this black thing in the grass that I don't remember seeing the lap before this. When I get closer, it shoots up, and I realize then what it was. A Water Moccasin. It raised its head high, and I froze like a deer in headlights. The problem now is that I'm cruising right at it on the mower! I freaked out and almost jumped off the mower and ran. I jerked the wheel to turn away, and as I was passing him, he darted into the water.
You were asking for it
[rebelmouse-image 18345508 is_animated_gif=Does destroying a giant paperwasp nest(size of beachball) count? Then getting chased off as they SWARM you and your buddy? Getting stung repeatedly. No they didn't chase us tooooooo far in the big scheme of things, but at least 200-300 yards. (Upstate NY)
Geese are never nice
[rebelmouse-image 18345510 is_animated_gif=I once "adopted" a goose while I was at a holiday resort with chalets that backed onto a lake. Friendly enough and always returned to say hello so I decided to let it in the chalet. It went absolutely berserk and wrecked absolutely everything, broke two of my fingers and gave me a lifelong fear of geese.
Those hogs are tough
[rebelmouse-image 18345511 is_animated_gif=I was in Texas visiting family at one of their ranches out in the country. I had brought a couple rifles because I knew I'd be there for a couple weeks, and brought my M16 to let my cousin shoot it and get a feel for full auto.
Well, he and I were riding out into the boonies to go shooting, and almost as soon as we dismounted a couple of bull hogs came charging out of the undergrowth. His horse panicked, and that seemed to only encourage the hogs. They closed extremely fast, and so I just brought up my rifle and put an admittedly terrible burst across their noses. I hit at least one because there was a blood trail, but it was enough to get them to break their charge and let us go try and find his horse
No one was expecting to hear this one
[rebelmouse-image 18345512 is_animated_gif=A couple years ago I was camping in the Tongass national forest in Alaska. So what happend was that I went kyaking in a river, and I was rowing past a spot where salmon were jumping over. Well, I was being dumb and thought I could go past them, but ended up getting hit by a big a** salmon and breaking my nose. It was supposed to be a 3 week long trip, but got cut short a couple days in because of the attack.
Can you imagine being eaten by a wolf?
[rebelmouse-image 18345513 is_animated_gif=Was backpacking with my dad and cousins as a kid probably 12 or so. I was slowing them down and it was starting to get dark, so they said they were gonna run ahead and set up camp. I didn't mind, I was stopping every 20 feet to pick berries. They were everywhere and delicious. Across a nearby river I see some wolves running by. Then I see one cross the river 50 meters or so down stream. I practically s* myself and shimmied up the nearest tree. The wolves found me in the tree and didn't do much. Just kinda hung out there. Eventually my dad and cousins came back for me, and the sounds and flashlights scared the wolves off.
I want to suck your blood
[rebelmouse-image 18345514 is_animated_gif=yeah a bat flew into my hood, I reacted well
I would not want to cross an elephant
[rebelmouse-image 18345515 is_animated_gif=Was on vacation in Kerala, India. Driving to the hotel, saw a bunch of wild elephants at a watering hole near the side of the highway, stopped the car for pics. Stupid move, one ajuvenile elephant f charged us. Thankfully it was f** with us and stopped at the edge of the road. It was starting to get worked up and was right about to charge us again when the driver finally started the car and we got out of there. Next morning newspapers mentioned how a couple guys in a truck got killed by an elephant at the same spot.
A pack of anything is bad news
[rebelmouse-image 18345516 is_animated_gif=We got out of the car and immediately fam friend is like everyone don't move. Turns out, a pack of about 10 coyotes had us surrounded. One (the alpha I assume) walked up to my mom and I and was within a foot or so. We all stood completely still for a few minutes until they left. Not sure what they would have done if we had tried walking inside the house.
That time you almost lost your leg
[rebelmouse-image 18345517 is_animated_gif=When I was a scrawny kid i was attacked by a pack of coyotes while walking around my grandparents property.
I must have walked up on a recent kill of theirs or maybe their den cause coyotes never attack people but these one did.
I got a hold of a big stick and started teeing off on these a* and know for a fact that to took one of their eyes out before they gave up. I don't know if they gave up cause i scared them off or if the battle dragged on enough that we were no longer near what they were defending but they eventually stopped attacking.
Went home and got stitches and shots and still have a couple scars on my legs today.
These little guys can really get around...
[rebelmouse-image 18345518 is_animated_gif=Wild boar, had to climb a tree and it was trying to climb up also, the crazy porker actually trashed a nearby field also.
Everyone has their travel bucket list.
The list of places they absolutely must visit before they die.
There are those, however, who also have a rather different list of destinations.
The places that have no intention to visit.
Be it for safety concerns, language barriers, or simply that there's nothing at these places that calls to them, there are places some wouldn’t dream of spending the time and money to visit.
Redditor TrooperJohn was curious to hear which places were at the very bottom of the list of travel destinations for his fellow Redditors, leading them to ask:
"What is a popular tourist destination you have no interest in visiting?"
Oasis in the desert? No thank you.
"Dubai."
"Why and whats special about it?"
"Its a modern city in a desert."- Maximum_Calendar_791.
"Dubai."
"A fake city with fake people, no human rights, where the world's tallest buildings hide corruption and slavery in their shadows."
"It's like someone decided to take every problem of mankind and concentrate it in one spot."- PayNoNoticeOfMe.
"Dubai one i think it is ugly two I would die in two minutes of me being there I can't stand anything above 40 c°."- BookWormPerson.
One of the seven wonders is one too many for me.
"The pyramids. "
"Too many horror stories of Egypt."- Aemiom.
Landlocked.
"Not really a destination, but taking a cruise."- Shortbus_Playboy.
Mountains aren't really my thing.
"Everest."
"Just why."
"You use a bunch of money to get in there them come down."
"And trash your whole way there. It's literally a corner in the Earth insufferable for humans and we still made a way to go there to trash it."- ACLullaby.
It's in my own backyard... but still not interested.
"I have lived about 15km away from the Burj Khalifa ever since it was made."
"I could not care any less besides the occasional pointing out the 'shiny tall building' to my nieces.- legolosss.
The pictures are enough for me.
"Mount Rushmore."
"Friends who've made the journey to Mount Rushmore mostly say it was no big deal and not worth the effort or expense to travel there."- Back2Bach.
Hustle and Bustle? No thanks.
"Anything busy.'
"Whether it's cities, structures, I don't care."
"I'd rather go to a boring empty quiet place than a place full of people."- TheSmeep.
They're watching us.
"That creepy a** place in Japan with all the realistic dolls."
"No thank you."
Some dream of paying a visit to these places.
Others hope they never have to set foot there, and will choose to leave it to the other millions of tourists.
To each, their own.
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When it comes to electing a leader, the choice is an easy one if a potential candidate shares the same values as yours.
And while a candidate is fit to lead remains to be seen, we rely on our instinct to choose someone with whom we can relate.
But sometimes, our options are limited and we inevitably go with someone who is the lesser of two evils.
Curious to hear from strangers online about a hypothetical, Redditor Cashmeresquid2309 asked:
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for an openly Atheist presidential candidate? Why or why not?"

Redditors were quick to point out the answer was a no-brainer.
We Already Know The Answer
"Asking Reddit if they'd vote for an atheist..."
"I feel like the answer would be obvious."
– sarahmagoo
Sci-Fi Analogy
"Americans of Reddit, would you vote for a Star Wars fan who heckin loves doggos?"
– WitnessChemical
For The Atheists In The Crowd
"Atheists of atheistville, would you vote for an open atheist?"
– nixcamic
Others weighed in with a range of opinions.
About 45
"What's funny is how many of them would probably say no, even though they voted for Trump and would do so again. Say whatever else you want about him, but I seriously can't understand how anyone could genuinely believe Trump is a Christian. He's so obviously faking it and is undoubtedly the most atheistic president we've ever had or are likely to have for a long time."
"This is a guy who's never even so much as read the Bible or attended church, who told a conservative radio host his favorite Bible verse was 'an eye for an eye', who told evangelical interviewers that he's never asked God for forgiveness because he's never done anything wrong, and who routinely commits all 7 deadly sins (pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony and sloth) without remorse."
– empfindsamkeit
From A Different Perspective
"Not an american but interestingly according to this survey on 1006 people from 2007, being atheist was the worst thing you could be as a candidate (of the things asked) with only 45 % of people saying they'd vote for one."
– ilovecatfish
An atheist candidate isn't necessarily a big strike.
Double Negative
"I wouldn’t not vote for someone just because they were atheist."
– HabitualEnthusiast
Credibility First
"This is it. If they’re running on platforms I support with a history to back up those campaign promises, I don’t care if they belong to the church of the flying spaghetti monster. They could literally be a member of the satanic temple and I, an actual practicing Christian, would give less shi*s than a constipated sloth."
"Edit: yes, I realize the Satanic Temple does not actually worship satan. I used it for that purpose. The Church of Satan has some…problematic views and I probably would not vote for someone who literally holds a platform of eugenics."
– Phoenix_of_Asclepius
Some view the role of religion in politics as important.
It Depends
"Religion can be relevant: I would have strong reservations about voting for a Scientologist, even if I agreed with the policies they proposed. I would have strong reservations voting for a member of an apocalyptic cult or, possibly worse, a follower of the (highly heretical) 'prosperity gospel,' which unfortunately includes more and more so-called 'evangelicals' — I didn't vote for George W. Bush, but it's not because he was an evangelical."
"It depends on the role: I'd probably be more flexible with a legislator than an executive (mayor, governor, president), as their character is IMO more important than for a legislator and their policy stances somewhat less important relative to a legislator."
"Satanic temple — well, that's just an organized group of atheists and humanists with an intentionally inflammatory choice of name. They're generally fine people."
– alyssasaccount
A Bad Rap
"The Satanic Temple is an excellent organization that every decent person should be able to respect. A Church of Satan member, not so much."
"There's a huge difference between them!"
– StarsEatArtBooks
And Redditor boganvegan said it best.
"Better an open atheist than a fake Christian."
It all boils down to trustworthiness. Without full transparency, how could anyone put their faith in a candidate who spews nothing but lies?
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Being home alone isn't always the most tranquil thing.
No one is there to help or protect you.
And things that go "bump" in the night... sometimes they do more than bump.
Redditor ag9910 wanted to hear about the times home felt like an unsafe place to be. They asked:
"What is the scariest, strangest, most unexplainable thing that has happened to you while home alone?"
I'm always freaked out when I'm home alone. Lights on. Yeah, my electric bill is high.
Dorothy?
"I dreamed the front door blew open at the exact time the house alarm went off... I hopped up and sure enough, the front door was open. No intruder."
fatowl
I See You
"Not home alone but only one in right side of the house. Went to my mom's bathroom to wash my hands and saw a pair of feet behind the half open door. Laughed and said 'very funny Ma, I see you.' then finished up and left. Bumped into my mother in the kitchen unpacking, nobody else was in the house. I'm glad whatever was behind the door didn't peek out."
SatanWithFur
“It’s Doug!”
"One night I had forgotten to lock my apartment door and woke up in the middle of the night. My bedroom door was about 2 feet from my front door, as you walked into the apartment. First a big dog ran by, then a person. Holy crap I was so scared and I screeched 'Who is it?!?!!'"
"A man said 'It’s Doug!' As I was thinking to myself, who the f**k is Doug, he said 'oh, crap.' He turned around to go back out the front door saying 'Sorry.' I asked 'Didn’t you have a dog with you?' He said 'Oh, yeah. Hey, c’mon!.' He left, his dog ran out after him and I locked my front door."
"Edit: glad you all thought this was funny, because I did too, once my heart quit trying to beat right out of my chest! The next day the girls at work thought I was crazy for not being upset, but eh, done is done. Peace!"
scarletohairy
Confused...
"My sister and I were home alone and we heard someone big running up the stairs. The stairs make lots of noise with slight pressure so when there’s someone big on them you can tell. I went out of my room to check but saw no one anywhere and my sister also came out of her room and she asked if that was me I said no and we both looked around to see if there was anyone but found no one in the whole house. We were confused and called our parents and just waited until they got back and that was that."
JtSudbury04
I See You
"I very clearly saw a guy walk into my room. But when I went after him there was nobody there. I checked in the closet, under my bed, everywhere one could hide in my room."
HighlyOffensive10
This is why home video surveillance is key.
"NO"
"My parents were on a road trip, just left, and I sat down at my desk. I thought 'Weekend alone by myself' and a voice yelled into my right ear 'NO' so loud it hurt."
Th4ab
Wild
"I managed to lock myself out of my house on my birthday during a tornado while trying to bring my cats to the basement for safety. I later found out that the tornado was approximately a couple miles or less from me at that exact time. The sky was green and it got weirdly calm and then I could hear what sounded like a train coming before I found an unlocked window to climb through. Wild times."
SilverGnarwhal
Saturday morning in the 80s...
"I wasn't home alone but I was awake by myself one Saturday morning in the 80s when I was around 7 or so. I believe my mom was the only one home because my dad went to the lake to go fishing that weekend, and I'm not sure where my older brothers were, maybe they went with him, idk."
"Anyways, my mom's sleeping in, and I'm in the living room by myself, watching Saturday morning cartoons and making a fort out of sheets and cushions. Something made me turn around and I saw my dad in his pajamas standing in the hallway entrance with his hands on his hips, looking the mess I was making and shaking his head."
"He then turned around and walked into my room, which was just off the hallway entrance. Dude. I didn't even look, I just booked it to my parents room and woke my mom up. I don't remember what happened after that, this was around 35 years ago. And yes, my dad was fine, nothing had happened to him."
smriversong
Get the Bat...
"I was at home by myself on a call with some friends when all of a sudden my dog begins to bark like crazy, which was odd since it was the middle of the night and he's usually sleep. I go downstairs to check on him and find him barking at our hall closet, terrified I grabbed my bat that I keep in my room just in case and open the door. There was nothing out of usual at first at then I look down and notice a familiar looking object at the bottom of the closet."
"It was my mom's necklace she had lost when I was 9, (i'm 15 now just to put in perspective how long it's been). I showed it to my mom at breakfast and she was just as shocked as I was. I still have no clue how it got there or how my dog knew it was in there, definitely one of the oddest occurrences of my life."
SomeRandomIdiot14
Meow
"Many years ago, I was 14 or so, my first night alone in the house when my parents were out. Lying on the living room floor reading, my cat sleeping next to me."
"Suddenly, cat wakes up, stares intently into the dark corner of the room behind me, hair on end, growls and then bolts out of the room and upstairs. I look behind me and see nothing, but follow cat upstairs and hide under the covers. Freaked me out."
LairdofWingHaven
Thank God for alarms. I hate being home alone.
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The human body is still such a mystery.
How much do we really know?
Not a lot apparently. We're learning more all the time.
And most of it is gross.
Redditor BathNo7713 wanted to discuss the ick factor of anatomy. So they asked:
"What is the most disturbing fact about the human body?"
The body freaks me out. But it's all I've got. So teach me some things.
Minutes...
"The fastest killing virus takes around 4 days to kill you. That would be Ebola. Your immune system can kill you in 15 minutes."
will477
'locked-in'
"If your brainstem (the part of the brain that mediates most motor control for all of the body) is damaged, you can get 'locked-in' syndrome. That means you're fully conscious and aware of your surroundings but unable to move or speak. The only muscles that remain unaffected in most people are the muscles that move they eyes and the eyelids."
"You're essentially trapped within your own body with your only way of communication being blinking or moving your eyes It can be caused by toxins, blockage of the basilar artery which is the main artery of the brainstem, or other brainstem damage."
4oodler
Explosions
"Some people suffer from Exploding Head Syndrome, which causes them to hear a loud bang when they wake up."
ToraMix19
"When I was younger I believe I experienced this a few times. Sounds I heard were: about a million people talking and laughing all at once, a train that irl would've been about a foot away from me based on the volume of the sound, and a door slamming loudly."
aliaisacreature
Pain
"Not sure if this is by design, but I totaled my car once, almost completely uninjured somehow. Then I looked down to my right hand which I remember jabbing into my dashboard at 55mph. Luckily (unluckily?) only my pinky took the blow. But instead of a floppy-udder full of bone-sand, my pinky was 0.5 inches long."
"Broke no bones, but instead perfectly stacked my phalanges, or finger bones, INTO my hand. This is fixed by a muscular Russian murse grabbing your pinky with both hands and pulling very hard. God I wish they gave me more lidocaine."
TelevisionOlympics
Functions
"If you have a surgery where they need to move your organs around they might not function for a day as the body assumes that they are dead."
tonythebutcher13
Move things around? You mean that's not fake when it happens on "Grey's Anatomy?"
"The only reason you are not aware of it is because the ambient noise kind of drowns it out because your ears focus on it. If you go to one of those super-silent rooms that absorb all sorts of sounds, it is a really weird way to reacquaint yourself with your body."
Black_Handkerchief
The Mouth
"Idk about the most disturbing but how bad human teeth are. We’d think it’s our sugary and processed diets these days that cause it, but even Otzi the iceman discovered in Italy was found to have terrible teeth, mouth diseases and cavities. It’s odd that even with the most basic of diets our teeth are so bad."
Dorianisconfused
In the bowels...
"I noticed this after my abdominal surgery. When I turned over in bed my guts seemed to fall from one side to the other. Mentioned to my doc and she confirmed it was my bowels rearranging themselves."
squatter_
"Apparently the doctor just throws your intestines back in there higgeldy-piggeldy because there isn't a correct way to pack them neatly."
LostDesigner9
A Quick Burst
"There are a vast number of ways that your body can malfunction and kill you with little or no warning. An aneurysm can go undetected until it bursts and kills you. Getting hit in the chest just the right way can stop your heart. You can encounter an allergen that never previously provoked an immune response that freaks out your body so badly that you die. You literally just never know if your body will just... die."
Unsolicited_Spiders
The body is such a conundrum. Sexy and gross all at once.
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