tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-767913719381352936.post5317099606453751317..comments2023-10-19T16:41:02.946+02:00Comments on mainly mongoose: Running scaredmainly mongoose (Lynda)http://www.blogger.com/profile/05917384766182752791noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-767913719381352936.post-67462660314588014052011-04-27T09:38:44.104+02:002011-04-27T09:38:44.104+02:00Way back in the 1950's may father managed a fa...Way back in the 1950's may father managed a farm on the Oliphants River, just below where the Strydom Tunnel(the name may have changed) is, before it was built. We were having a picnic on the banks of the river one day, when a crocodile decided it would make one of us its meal. As it approached, with only its eyes and nose visible, my father picked up a rock which he hurled at the beast. His aim was perfect. He hit it right on the nose and it made a very rapid disappearance. We also moved to a safer spot.<br />I spite of that we used to bathe in the river where it ran over the rocks. My parents worked on the principle that the crocs would not bother us there.<br />In my youth I swam in the Runde River and the Zambezi River, in spite of having seen some big crocs around - oh the folly of youth.Max-ehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01262963488938958848noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-767913719381352936.post-33353833048595084392011-04-24T09:53:01.640+02:002011-04-24T09:53:01.640+02:00Biobabbler,
There's a flaw in Rule No 1. What ...Biobabbler,<br />There's a flaw in Rule No 1. What if you're on your own?? Perhaps I should feed up my dogs just to be on the safe side.<br />It's safe to check out the elephant photos - they get away.<br />Re reptilian mercy: I guess that's why 'crocodile tears' is such an evocative and enduring idiom (apparently it first appeared in the 14th Century - how many people even knew what a crocodile was back then?). But don't forget that crocodiles are exceptionally protective and attentive (caring?) parents.<br /><br />Katie,<br />I just reread the Elephant's Child (all I remembered was the great grey-green greasy Limpopo). As a kid I disliked the Just So Stories (weird for an animal-obsessed child). I think I must have been born an evolutionary biologist - I always felt cheated that they never told you the 'real' answer to the question!<br /><br />John,<br />Steve Irwin is dead; I am still alive.<br /><br />Snail,<br />My dogs are always so shocked when I break into a run (they perceive me as a tortoise-like being) that they don't hesitate to flee too.<br />I wonder if brain-eating zombies are more common in Oz than Africa? I guess you can't be too careful.mainly mongoose (Lynda)https://www.blogger.com/profile/05917384766182752791noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-767913719381352936.post-62103714624665678342011-04-23T08:24:30.369+02:002011-04-23T08:24:30.369+02:00Those so-and-sos can launch themselves out of the ...Those so-and-sos can launch themselves out of the water like rockets. I'm glad the dogs had the good sense to bolt along with you, rather than be curious.<br /><br />Btw, this hasn't done much to allay my fear of crocs! I'm not going back down to the coast, that's for sure.<br /><br />(Handy tip from Biobabbler about zombies. I'm taking notes. You never know.)Snailhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15063904446757916981noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-767913719381352936.post-11291039174505435812011-04-22T22:43:00.364+02:002011-04-22T22:43:00.364+02:00p.s. I remember learning about crocodile hearts in...p.s. I remember learning about crocodile hearts in my comparative physiology class--WEIRD. I still remember they were pretty freaky, but I guess now I know why.biobabblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15081382623906668057noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-767913719381352936.post-8626885737190275802011-04-22T22:07:45.224+02:002011-04-22T22:07:45.224+02:00I wonder what your fellow countryman Steve Irwin w...I wonder what your fellow countryman Steve Irwin would have done in your place? What an adrenaline rush, great story. I guess that poor elephant had a sore snozzle for a while.johnhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05008523039059312800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-767913719381352936.post-44496513584130828992011-04-22T17:41:20.242+02:002011-04-22T17:41:20.242+02:00Glad you and your dogs weren't dinner. The las...Glad you and your dogs weren't dinner. The last photo reminds me of Rudyard Kipling's Just So Stories' The Elephant's Child.Katie (Nature ID)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17730655720390625839noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-767913719381352936.post-84853952822195223942011-04-22T17:09:25.353+02:002011-04-22T17:09:25.353+02:00Your posts continue to give me HEART ATTACKS! OMG....Your posts continue to give me HEART ATTACKS! OMG. And that shot with the elephants? I am SO not going to look at any subsequent ones or I'll cry for sure. Jeepers, terrifying and I'm SO glad you and yours are okay. Brings to mind rule #1 in the movie Zombieland: Cardio. If you stay in shape, you outrun all the fat people and THEY get their brains eaten and not you. The repeated it in huge letters across the screen whenever THAT is what saved the hero. And that is why it's Rule #1. SO GLAD YOU ARE FAST!!! Jeez. Wow. Gonna need to post a link to this for sure.<br /><br />One thing about huge reptiles? I cannot imagine a reptile having ANYTHING in the same galaxy as mercy. Absolutely not. Like asking for kindness from a coffee pot. Not happening.<br /><br />(gotta go collapse, now...phew!)biobabblerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15081382623906668057noreply@blogger.com