City wildlife

[aephi alum]

The city where I live is officially a city, but it includes several neighborhoods that would more accurately be classified as suburbs (one of which I live in). (And in reality, the city is a suburb of The City - NYC.)

We have squirrels, raccoons, feral cats, wild turkeys, and worst of all, DEER. I've gotten very good at container gardening, because anything I plant in my garden, they eat. I can spray flowering plants, ferns, etc. but I can't spray the veggies I'm going to eat. I'm often driving at dawn and/or dusk, and let's just say the deer are lucky my car has good brakes and I have good reflexes.

I can't believe I work in Manhattan and I have to contend with deer in my own back yard.

[carnation]

Yeah, here it is-- and I forgot to add that the possum did bite her on the butt.

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...ghlight=possum

aephialum, I hear you about the deer. Our neighborhood is infested with them, no thanks to a nearby college that won't let anyone hunt deer there except for about a week in the fall. AXO Alum can attest to the fact that on that campus, they hang out in huge herds at twilight.

Some professors from that college went camping in extreme south Alabama awhile back. A bull alligator got into their tent while they were asleep and roared--have you ever heard that sound? It's terrifying from a long away away but when it's inches from your ears when you were sleeping soundly-- LOL! They didn't quit running for miles, so they claimed.

[AGDee]

My Alaskan Malamute keeps most things out of my yard but I regularly see raccoons, possums, deer and rabbits. And there are tons of mallards in the creek behind the house, along with one completely white duck that appeared a couple years ago. He looks hilarious hanging out with the mallards.

One stupid rabbit made a nest in my yard last year and the result wasn't pretty when the dog discovered it. One year, when we got back from a vacation (and the dog had been boarded for a week), there was a tunnel from the creek side of the fence to inside the yard. Once the dog was back though, the tunnel filled with leaves.

She's been digging a hole lately near the cherry tree. I think she's going after moles or voles, but she definitely smells something down there. She digs and digs, then sticks her nose in the hole, and digs and digs some more. Then she lays down while staring at the hole. The squirrels tease her.

[PM_Mama00]

In my current neighborhood, which is near some trees but not really a wooded area, I've seen a fox and some ducks. In my old neighborhood, which was near a wooded area, we had plenty of raccoons and rabbits. My friends and I were playing truth or dare one warm summer night and I got dared to roll our city-issued garbage can down teh street while singing "I wana be an airborne ranger". I thought I saw someone outside so I ran back, the can hit a bump in my driveway and fell over, and out ran a raccoon. We also had a family of raccoons that were living in our attic which sounded like bowling balls rolling around and scared the shit out of me.

My aunt lived on a creek and frequently had muskrats in their yard. They had cages to catch them cuz they were so bothersome. And we def don't live in teh country.

[barbino]

About a week ago the Chicago police killed a full-sized cougar not far from Wrigley Field on the north side - there was no time to get a tranquilizer gun & do it humanely, so they just shot it dead - supposedly there are videos on the internet on it. Being an animal lover I personally would not want to see it.

I was at my mom's house in a suburb that borders on the city and looked out her front window to see a few deer on her next door neighbor's lawn. This was not very far from the city at all. Another time my husband & I were driving fairly far out in the suburbs and nicked a deer. He broke the side mirror almost completely off. When we called the police, he said that the car behind us hit it too and killed it.

One time I thought I saw a cat outside of my apartment in another close suburb- it was dark & it was a big oppossum, not a cat. Everyone said that I was very lucky that it did not bite me. Other than that, the usual - racoons, squirrels, ducks, geese - & rabbits. The rabbits around us are not scared & they don't always run! You have to make them run sometimes -very strange.

[aggieAXO]

Originally Posted by SECdomination

By the way, possums are the nastiest animals to ever exist. Kill it if no one comes to take care of it for you. You DO NOT want those things hanging around.

I don't understand why you need to "kill" the opossum?? I know most people think they are nasty but why does it need to be killed? Please enlighten me.

[33girl]

I've seen wild turkeys and deer hanging out on the busway that is about 1/2 mile from downtown Pittsburgh. Too many people are moving into the wooded areas & taking their homes. I wouldn't be surprised if I saw a bear bopping around Saks Fifth Avenue at this point.

[ForeverRoses]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24254754/
Anyone see the news report this morning about the lady that found the gator in her kitchen? (she's in Florida I think).

My neighborhood retention pond had a 60lb beaver in the retention pond. You can only imagine the jokes that were flying around about that one. We had a wildlife trapper come out and live trap him. Luckily it was a male, so we don't have to worry about babies this year.

We also get mallard ducks, geese, feral cats, and the occasional wild dog (wolf? maybe)

[1908Revelations]

Originally Posted by ForeverRoses

Anyone see the news report this morning about the lady that found the gator in her kitchen? (she's in Florida I think).

And to think my parents thought I was crazy when I was little I thought an aligator was in my closet. I would refuse to sleep. LMAO!!!