So in the last week I've had some pretty interesting missions. Two out of the three actuals that I did involved some new and exciting animals that I met along the way. So, I was wondering who else out there has come across some interesting animals on missions.
The first mission involved a llama on an airport.
(http://www.gochile.cl/spa/Guide/ChileFloraFauna/Fauna/llama_lg.JPG)
Llama's are are beasts of burden from South America. What they were doing in Williamsport PA, I'm not sure.
A fun and interesting song can be found on YouTube about Llama's. Llama Song (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbPDKHXWlLQ)
My team also had a very interesting search in the Greater Pittsburgh Region that involved enormous geese. These geese probably stood approximately 3.5' high.
(http://www.goosefayre.com/images/breed2.jpg)
These are not the same color, but it was the only picture I could find that came close to the same size as the ones we found in the middle of the woods being taken care of by some lady.
It was probably an alpaca. They're used for their fur like a sheep.
I haven't encountered anything overly weird. I've encountered the normal creatures. Lots of deer, wild turkey (the animal not the other thing), foxes, groundhogs, snakes, spiders, mysterious furry animals, the boogeyman in the middle of the night, and the all too common sleep deprived cadet.
The most interesting thing I saw was during a training activity. Myself and another person were standing at a rocky overlook over some rapids on a river. I looked down at a rock less than a foot in front of me and was startled by a diamond back rattlesnake just laying there sunning itself. I then looked around and found 2 more sitting about a foot on either side of the first snake. They were all just sitting out there sunning themselves. It was pretty interesting to see.
One of my students has an alpaca farm. This was definitely a llama. I think they were keeping it as a pet as it was a private airport. The body shape of the animal was a little different.
Alpaca
(http://thoughtdistillery.com/gallery/d/639-3/alpaca.jpg)
I was running an ELT practice search in the Pike National Forest when we ran across a barbed wire fence. On the other side was a huge herd of buffalo. They look a lot skinnier on the farm than they do in the Hollywood movies. Later, we went to Idaho Springs for lunch. Mmmmm, buffalo burgers......
Our team ran across a Bobcat out in Cumberland MD on our last missing A/C search. The thing was almost the size of a faun.
In fact, that is what I thought it was at first until we got closer.
Over the years, both training and actual missions, I have had the opportunity to run into the following, (some with a vehicle :D):
Lots of dogs & cats
Rattlesnakes of various types (they all taste like chicken)
Water Moccasins
Coral Snakes
Various rat snakes/king snakes and other non-venemous types of snakes
Alligators/Caimen
Deer
Cows, Sheep, Goats (who like to eat airplane fabric BTW)
Geese, ducks, chickens and pigeons (all can make a real mess out of the old airplane in your barn, and geese will bite, hard!)
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. When I went to BCT at Ft. Sill, I saw lots of armadillos. Man those things are wierd looking.....
Most of them had been run over by a vehicle of some sort though. Generally we ended up vaulting their carcasses...
Well, I was a UDF Operator on an Urban Ground Team, so I must admit that I never came across any random animals on any of the missions I participated in.
However, trying to locate an EPIRB in a densely-populated area was a very interesting experience. Perhaps even more interesting was discovering the EPIRB in a heavy boat parked in someone's backyard, which the owner conveniently placed upside-down.
Unfortunately, in the time it took for the UGT from my squadron and the UGT from our neighboring squadron to find the darn thing, a GT from a squadron 141 miles North of where we were looking got to it before we did.
By the time we arrived, the members of the GT that located the EPIRB were still trying to get the boat flipped over so the EPIRB could be turned off.
Quote from: CCSE on June 03, 2008, 11:03:42 PM
Well, I was a UDF Operator on an Urban Ground Team, so I must admit that I never came across any random animals on any of the missions I participated in.
However, trying to locate an EPIRB in a densely-populated area was a very interesting experience. Perhaps even more interesting was discovering the EPIRB in a heavy boat parked in someone's backyard, which the owner conveniently placed upside-down.
Unfortunately, in the time it took for the UGT from my squadron and the UGT from our neighboring squadron to find the darn thing, a GT from a squadron 141 miles North of where we were looking got to it before we did.
By the time we arrived, the members of the GT that located the EPIRB were still trying to get the boat flipped over so the EPIRB could be turned off.
???
Quote from: Bayhawk21 on June 03, 2008, 11:08:40 PM
???
??? for me regarding your "huh" smiley.
What's your question?
How does that have anything to do with animals encountered on a mission?
Quote from: Bayhawk21 on June 03, 2008, 11:23:19 PM
How does that have anything to do with animals encountered on a mission?
Even though I never came across random animals on a mission, scrambling to find an EPIRB located in someone's backyard was more odd than encountering random animals (at least for me).
cats & dogs, snakes, cadets, government workers, but nothing too out of the ordinary here.
My team found someone who was very afraid of government workers recently. It led to a very lengthy conversation about the downfall of the land between the revolutionary and civil wars.
Then I was dive bombed by the afore mentioned giant goose. By the way, said individual also claimed the geese could talk.
I did not verify.
Quote from: Tubacap on June 04, 2008, 02:50:37 AM
My team found someone who was very afraid of government workers recently. It led to a very lengthy conversation about the downfall of the land between the revolutionary and civil wars.
Then I was dive bombed by the afore mentioned giant goose. By the way, said individual also claimed the geese could talk.
I did not verify.
Could you have discovered a super secret biological experiment involving the creation of a giant mutant geese army to take over the world? Hmmm... >:D ::)
^It was definitely twighlight zone-ish.
Quote from: JC004 on June 04, 2008, 02:05:11 AM
cats & dogs, snakes, cadets, government workers, but nothing too out of the ordinary here.
Holy Crap! Government workers.....how did you survive that encounter?!?
If you think random animals is bad, try dealing with TSA, or some other agencies we've dealt with. You'd wish you had your giant geese of doom.
Quote from: Sqn72DO on June 03, 2008, 04:39:35 PM
Oh yeah, I almost forgot. When I went to BCT at Ft. Sill, I saw lots of armadillos. Man those things are wierd looking.....
Most of them had been run over by a vehicle of some sort though. Generally we ended up vaulting their carcasses...
Achtung... panzerschwein! ('Armored pigs' - what German settlers in Texas dubbed the ubiquitous armadillo.)
Airshow this weekend -
Fox pups x3
Deer x7
Raccoon x1
While not a CAP mission... one time two deer hit my ambulance while we were rolling at 85mph
Yes... there was a pt. onboard
Yes... my partner wet himself
... and his wife who has a scanner and heard our incident report to dispatch, called terrified two minutes later. ::)
CAP SAREX: a VERY upset female wolverine
Not long ago I attended SLS and was confronted with a
barelegged tubacap, from what I hear their legs are shorter
on one side cause they live in the mountains !
(http://www.k3bm.com/photos/baby.gif)
:o What were you doing looking! >:D
QuoteCAP SAREX: a VERY upset female wolverine
I didn't know we had wolverines in this part of the country.
And as long as your talking about hitting animals, I have to admit my accident. One of those fox pups ran under my vehicle and got hit. Made me sad, not because I'm specifically sympathetic towards animals (I teach hunter's safety and all), but because I really like foxes :'(
Well, it may not have bene a wolverine... but it dang sure wasnt a badger or raccoon.
I had a badger try to attack my armored vehicle when I was stationed in Colorado. We had parked and my driver and I heard this really wierd noise. I can't describe it. I got out of the TC hatch and walked over to the side of the vehicle and looked down. This thing was like running up, slamming itself against one of our road wheels. Then, it backed up, slammed itself again. Then it started snarling and tried to eat the rubber on the road wheels. We ended up moving away from that area.....
Quote from: Sqn72DO on June 10, 2008, 05:09:11 AM
I had a badger try to attack my armored vehicle when I was stationed in Colorado. We had parked and my driver and I heard this really wierd noise. I can't describe it. I got out of the TC hatch and walked over to the side of the vehicle and looked down. This thing was like running up, slamming itself against one of our road wheels. Then, it backed up, slammed itself again. Then it started snarling and tried to eat the rubber on the road wheels. We ended up moving away from that area.....
Hey, where's the cream filling?
The only time I ran across an animal was when an idiot Lt Col decided he would bring his dog out with him. He let it loose.....knocked over the computer table, and the donuts and coffee ended up in the dirt. We were all so Freaking upset.......
I was out in the flield for my Army training and we where asleep during the day. We had some Pilots think they would be funny and chase the hurd of cattle which led to a mini stampeded. luckily only a couple of the cows decided to go through out tent and it was on the day shifts sleeping side. So Cows and crazy Pilots
My family and I went on a hike today. I thought for certain some sort of herd was coming our way through the forest. It turns out, it was the loudest chipmunk ever!
Quote from: Tubacap on June 13, 2008, 03:15:52 AM
My family and I went on a hike today. I thought for certain some sort of herd was coming our way through the forest. It turns out, it was the loudest chipmunk ever!
You have no idea how frustrating that is out deer hunting...
Quote from: Sqn72DO on June 10, 2008, 05:09:11 AM
I had a badger try to attack my armored vehicle when I was stationed in Colorado. We had parked and my driver and I heard this really wierd noise. I can't describe it. I got out of the TC hatch and walked over to the side of the vehicle and looked down. This thing was like running up, slamming itself against one of our road wheels. Then, it backed up, slammed itself again. Then it started snarling and tried to eat the rubber on the road wheels. We ended up moving away from that area.....
(http://img.cellular-news.com/story/29766/Vodafone_Staff_Upset_by_Dead_Badger_on_Way_to_Work_1.jpg)
Badgers, Badgers, Badgers, Badgers.....
Quote from: SJFedor on June 13, 2008, 06:49:31 AM
Badgers, Badgers, Badgers, Badgers.....
Mushroom, Mushroom
Quote from: Bayhawk21 on June 13, 2008, 06:58:48 AM
Quote from: SJFedor on June 13, 2008, 06:49:31 AM
Badgers, Badgers, Badgers, Badgers.....
Mushroom, Mushroom
Hey! That's topic drift. We're talking about ANIMALS, not fungi!! You're gonna get this thread locked!!! >:D >:D >:D
I think it was about a year ago NY wing got the ok for a very odd mission.
They were asked to track down two Buffalo for a farmer.
Well to make a short story even shorter.
Yhey ound the buffalo,called their owner who came for them now that he knew where they where and our wing ended up with a good story to tell.
I know there is a Buffalo in NY, but I never knew there were Buffalo in NY! hahahahaa :D
Everglades FTX's are always fun... Gators, Snakes, and Boars...Oh My. WHY I can't carry my sidearm for protection of myself and others on these is beyond me....
I thought about getting a Boar, or at least a pot bellied pig, for a pet.
Quote from: Tubacap on June 17, 2008, 10:09:25 PM
I thought about getting a Boar, or at least a pot bellied pig, for a pet.
We have them at Wing HQ.
Quote from: JC004 on June 18, 2008, 08:03:37 PM
Quote from: Tubacap on June 17, 2008, 10:09:25 PM
I thought about getting a Boar, or at least a pot bellied pig, for a pet.
We have them at Wing HQ.
Continue that talk and you find yourself transfered to the Brazilian CAP.
Quote from: mikeylikey on June 18, 2008, 09:06:18 PM
Continue that talk and you find yourself transfered to the Brazilian CAP.
I am just being factual. That, and he left it wide open.
The strangest creatures I've seen on missions are usually PAWG HQ personnel or government workers. Pennsylvania wildlife just doesn't compare to a grumpy old Lt Col.
on one sarex we came up on a trailer with about 20 or 30 acres behind it which wound up concealing the ELT on it....anyways back to the animal when we walked around the trailer there was a single goat tied up in a pen it started to have a fit. after about five minutes a woman came out of the trailer and yelled "SHUT UP GOAT"and then aptly walked over untied it and took it back inside with her
And several very angry drunk guys at 2 in the morning when you come into there "territory" thats some pristine north Carolina wildlife
Quote from: CKH405 on June 19, 2008, 12:20:02 AM
And several very angry drunk guys at 2 in the morning when you come into there "territory" thats some pristine north Carolina wildlife
I have had my run-ins with drunk people on missions as well. Best thing to do is not talk to them, and walk away from them. They will usually go away on their own, but once when guarding a crash site as a Cadet, a group of college kids came by and wanted to get souvenirs. Needless to say, they all spent the night in the county drunk tank and had to do community service. Their community service was cleaning up the park the plane crashed in. Very fitting in my opinion!!
Quote from: Sqn72DO on June 10, 2008, 05:09:11 AM
I had a badger try to attack my armored vehicle when I was stationed in Colorado. We had parked and my driver and I heard this really wierd noise. I can't describe it. I got out of the TC hatch and walked over to the side of the vehicle and looked down. This thing was like running up, slamming itself against one of our road wheels. Then, it backed up, slammed itself again. Then it started snarling and tried to eat the rubber on the road wheels. We ended up moving away from that area.....
My guess is... you drove over a baby and momma was trying to get revenge.
Quote from: mikeylikey on June 19, 2008, 01:28:49 AM
Quote from: CKH405 on June 19, 2008, 12:20:02 AM
And several very angry drunk guys at 2 in the morning when you come into there "territory" thats some pristine north Carolina wildlife
I have had my run-ins with drunk people on missions as well. Best thing to do is not talk to them, and walk away from them. They will usually go away on their own, but once when guarding a crash site as a Cadet, a group of college kids came by and wanted to get souvenirs. Needless to say, they all spent the night in the county drunk tank and had to do community service. Their community service was cleaning up the park the plane crashed in. Very fitting in my opinion!!
What is the actual fine/jail-time for disturbing a crash site anyways?
Disturbing a crime scene. (Crashes are generally considered crime scenes till the FAA/ NTSB says otherwise)
Quote from: JC004 on June 04, 2008, 02:05:11 AM
cats & dogs, snakes, cadets, government workers, but nothing too out of the ordinary here.
You can reason with a snake ...
Not on a CAP misson but I had to do a go around at MPO due to a flock of turkeys on the runway.
Quote from: flyerthom on June 24, 2008, 09:55:33 PM
Quote from: JC004 on June 04, 2008, 02:05:11 AM
cats & dogs, snakes, cadets, government workers, but nothing too out of the ordinary here.
You can reason with a snake ...
Not on a CAP misson but I had to do a go around at MPO due to a flock of turkeys on the runway.
no deer? seems to me they would like it there...I think we had an issue on a SAREX once.
Quote from: JC004 on June 25, 2008, 02:48:50 PM
Quote from: flyerthom on June 24, 2008, 09:55:33 PM
Quote from: JC004 on June 04, 2008, 02:05:11 AM
cats & dogs, snakes, cadets, government workers, but nothing too out of the ordinary here.
You can reason with a snake ...
Not on a CAP misson but I had to do a go around at MPO due to a flock of turkeys on the runway.
no deer? seems to me they would like it there...I think we had an issue on a SAREX once.
Saw a buch of those too, but a whole flock of turkeys - I was amazed.
on one mission deer wanted my MRE.lol ;D
At least someone else likes MREs. too bad its the wildlife.
Lets see....SARX We were just on top of the ELT. Searching the bushes, and we see a lump in the middle of the road. So we start walking that way, and it jumps and runs really fast into the bushes. It was a rabbit getting some shade.
I saw a snake, just a little gardner snake....
Rattlesnake, while on a bivouac WIWAC.
(http://group22.net/katrina/fieldwork/CAP_JTF-Katrina_7-14_Sept_05_Williams_0230.jpg)
Down in 'ol Miss. We were told the owner let them loose in case the barn collapsed, flooded, etc., and they would be trapped.
To the immediate left of this ▲ photo was the farm house ▼.
(http://group22.net/katrina/fieldwork/CAP_JTF-Katrina_7-14_Sept_05_Becker_0096.jpg)
Tied up next to the house was a dog who looked as if it hadn't eaten in days, and behind it was a very dead wild pig being eaten by a very live one. (ewww)
Did you at least get the poor dog some food and water?
Quote from: SAR-EMT1 on July 11, 2008, 07:05:31 PM
Did you at least get the poor dog some food and water?
No, we discussed it, but moved on. We were told by the next door neighbor that the owner had returned several times
since the storm, and had chosen to leave his animals as-is. He also looked a little mean - typical mangy farm dog.
Since we had no way to know when the dog had really eaten (he had a bowl of water), and only had people food anyway, we moved on.
^ Many people are sitting in jail for committing felonies regarding the treatment of animals after the storm.
Many national Animal Societies are still going after people who neglected their animals.
It was especially bad when NBC news showed the tape of police officers rounding dogs up and shooting them. However, dogs will revert to pack minded animals within 3 days of no human contact or food. They become vicious, and will kill people. Dogs are nice when they have people to interact with, but remove the person and the dog is no different than a wild zebra.
Interesting to note..... cats were seen acting the same way. Cats that were neighbors and would fight with each other were found to be living together in communal hunting parties after the people left. Weird stuff, that really has never been seen before, because we don't have many major cities destroyed that often.
Then again, people revert to uncivilized brutal monsters when they are deprived of fresh food and water for a few days as well. Take away creature comforts and we are no different than Cats and Dogs.
Quote from: mikeylikey on July 11, 2008, 07:51:14 PM
^ Many people are sitting in jail for committing felonies regarding the treatment of animals after the storm.
Many national Animal Societies are still going after people who neglected their animals.
It was especially bad when NBC news showed the tape of police officers rounding dogs up and shooting them. However, dogs will revert to pack minded animals within 3 days of no human contact or food. They become vicious, and will kill people. Dogs are nice when they have people to interact with, but remove the person and the dog is no different than a wild zebra.
Interesting to note..... cats were seen acting the same way. Cats that were neighbors and would fight with each other were found to be living together in communal hunting parties after the people left. Weird stuff, that really has never been seen before, because we don't have many major cities destroyed that often.
Then again, people revert to uncivilized brutal monsters when they are deprived of fresh food and water for a few days as well. Take away creature comforts and we are no different than Cats and Dogs.
Thats true! When your hungry, wet, cold, are you happy or angry? It just makes a lot of sence. I like how you compared angry dogs to a wild zebra :)
Man......Zebras are mean animals. I would not want to walk into one. At the zoo is one thing, but in the wild, a Zebra will chew your freaking face off.
Quote from: mikeylikey on July 11, 2008, 08:02:41 PM
Man......Zebras are mean animals. I would not want to walk into one. At the zoo is one thing, but in the wild, a Zebra will chew your freaking face off.
I had no idea!
I always thought of Zebras as like kinda like a cow you know just kinda eat and mope around
Quote from: TEAM SURGE on July 11, 2008, 08:05:31 PM
Quote from: mikeylikey on July 11, 2008, 08:02:41 PM
Man......Zebras are mean animals. I would not want to walk into one. At the zoo is one thing, but in the wild, a Zebra will chew your freaking face off.
I had no idea!
I always thought of Zebras as like kinda like a cow you know just kinda eat and mope around
Ya....eat your face, and mope around all over your body.
Quote from: mikeylikey on July 11, 2008, 08:15:27 PM
Quote from: TEAM SURGE on July 11, 2008, 08:05:31 PM
Quote from: mikeylikey on July 11, 2008, 08:02:41 PM
Man......Zebras are mean animals. I would not want to walk into one. At the zoo is one thing, but in the wild, a Zebra will chew your freaking face off.
I had no idea!
I always thought of Zebras as like kinda like a cow you know just kinda eat and mope around
Ya....eat your face, and mope around all over your body.
ZZZZZZZZZ........ no thanks! I will stay away from Zebras!
Quote from: mikeylikey on July 11, 2008, 07:51:14 PM
It was especially bad when NBC news showed the tape of police officers rounding dogs up and shooting them. However, dogs will revert to pack minded animals within 3 days of no human contact or food. They become vicious, and will kill people. Dogs are nice when they have people to interact with, but remove the person and the dog is no different than a wild zebra.
Interesting to note..... cats were seen acting the same way. Cats that were neighbors and would fight with each other were found to be living together in communal hunting parties after the people left. Weird stuff, that really has never been seen before, because we don't have many major cities destroyed that often.
Then again, people revert to uncivilized brutal monsters when they are deprived of fresh food and water for a few days as well. Take away creature comforts and we are no different than Cats and Dogs.
I just did a research presentation on human behavior in regards to traditional gender roles in the aftermath of a disaster. It is interesting to note that men turn into the "hunters and gatherers" of the house taking care of construction and insurance claims, and women tend to stay home and take care of the immediate needs of the household.
About two weeks ago a suicidal turkey decided to fly into our van
Once had a cadet stepped on by a cow during some nocturnal tactical exercises(war games!) the night before a mission. He fell asleep in a pasture near the fence line and the cow was just grazing along. No injuries were reported by either the cadet or the cow.
Once had a cadet punch a deer in the snout late one night in a corn field during war games. The deer was grazing through the corn when the cadet sprang from ambush at what he thought was another cadet moving through the corn rows. The punch was a reflex action. "Mongo hit deer!" The cadet was thereafter known as "Deerslayer". It is not known what the deer was referred to by the other deer after this episode.
Once had two female cadets want to pet the nice kitty. It was black and had white stripes down its back. Pee-ewww!
A ground team training exercise in deeeep Southern Illinois had to engage in an emergency retrograde action( they ran like heck) after encountering a timber rattler that was decribed as being "as thick as my wrist".
And finally, there was the cadet who while on firewatch during a bivouac at the Garden of the Gods State Park. Heard coyotes barking and baying just beyond the bushes of the campsite. When it was pointed out to him that on the other side of the bushes was a 150' sheer cliff, he claimed that they must ahve been "Flying Coyotes".
on a FLWG SAREX bumped into a drunk that swore that he was being chased by the "Skunk APE"........ I almost wet myself laughing >:D >:D
That was waay back in the 1980's
Olefido
We didn't run like heck, we "tactically withdrew". That wasn't the last timber rattler I have run into, unfortunately, but he was the meanest one.
Wasn't the "flying coyotes" cadet from Bloomington? Forgot all about that until I read that.
Saw "Deerslayer" the other night, but made it a point not to engage him in conversation!!!
What about the kid and the glow worms? I can see his face but can't remember his name. That had to have been early 80's?
Memories, memories!!!
Cadet Jernick from Evanston.
Quote from: Bayhawk21 on June 03, 2008, 04:44:59 AM
It was probably an alpaca. They're used for their fur like a sheep.
I haven't encountered anything overly weird. I've encountered the normal creatures. Lots of deer, wild turkey (the animal not the other thing), foxes, groundhogs, snakes, spiders, mysterious furry animals, the boogeyman in the middle of the night, and the all too common sleep deprived cadet.
The most interesting thing I saw was during a training activity. Myself and another person were standing at a rocky overlook over some rapids on a river. I looked down at a rock less than a foot in front of me and was startled by a diamond back rattlesnake just laying there sunning itself. I then looked around and found 2 more sitting about a foot on either side of the first snake. They were all just sitting out there sunning themselves. It was pretty interesting to see.
lol the sleep deprived cadet ive seen those countless times
An interesting approach to dealing with Wild Bears: http://www.adn.com/2010/07/22/1378026/officers-taser-scares-off-bear.html
I was attacked by a pack of household dogs-gone-feral on the outskirts of New Orleans shortly after the hurricane. Many had collars and looked like friendly woofie dogs, but they were very cleverly "pack hunting" me and the people I was protecting. A couple stayed in view to draw my attention while the others tried to flank me. Bad doggies, bad doggies! The dogs that did not get a 5.56 round in the snout now know better than to attack a guy with an AR-15 and a 1911. I wish I had a flash-bang; I really love dogs and hate to kill them.
One of our old-timers in the Squadron was on a mission in heavy fog in the foothills of Northern California. One of the team members thought they heard sounds of moaning or crying for help, and they called the whole world in. Naturally, it was a cow making the noise, sparking about ten years worth of "CLT" (Cow Locator Transmitter) and other even less forgiveable puns.
Major Lord
we found a cat next to our PB
Quote from: CCAlex on July 28, 2010, 05:02:45 PM
we found a cat next to our PB
You must have been terrified! What did you do?
Major Lord
I have this skill that I can make a sound extremely similar to a CO2 air horn, so I honked at it and it must of jumped across the road in one shot :o :o
down in Alabama once we were looking fo a huey that had made a prcautionary landing. Found them, and two moody rednecks with a still. A lot of fast talking and five bucks for a mason jar full of clear liquid and we walked out.
About two weeks ago I was attending Combat Airman Skills Training in Camp Guernsey, Wyoming. One of the modules is a navigation exercise. We're dropped off in about a 15 square mile course in varying terrain and given 6 waypoints to find. Lots of terrain. Average trek was a couple of miles between waypoints. About four hours of solid walking, climbing, and searching. Souped up version of geocaching.
Local ranchers also lease the section for grazing. A herd of cows with moms and babies were wandering around. Unknown to us, a team had walked through the herd a few minutes before we came along, and the moms were not happy.
Never been charged by a formation of ticked off mom cows before. Our "fire team" had to scramble in all directions while the previous team watched and laughed.
"I'm sorry, ma'am but your husband has been injured during a training accident"
"What happened?"
"He and his team were attacked by a herd of cattle."
"Why does that not surprise me?"
During our sarex this weekend we arrived on private property we were briefed that it was okay to proceed. When we started walking on the property we were approached by two dogs. One of them decided to follow our Ground team during the search. We named her Delta.
One time some years back when we got on "scene", where I was convinced the ELT was. After several minutes a dog appears on scene and is running in circles, and eventually settles on the corner of this large fenced in field.
What was even better was the dog, just like the "Pointer" logo, was going off in front of a pile of tree parts and debris as we closed in.
Guess what was in there?
One of those EPRIBs that resembles a bowling pin. Probably the victim of a midnight stealth dump run ;-) When it got shut off the dog bailed.
Well, we were driving in the squadron van down the Interstate at 65 MPH, when a giant turkey flew out of nowhere, and landed on the trailer of the semi-truck in front of us... I have great respect for that turkey.
Also, do drunk pilots armed with pizzas, camping out on the flight line count as animals?
Quote from: desertengineer1 on August 01, 2010, 12:38:29 PM
About two weeks ago I was attending Combat Airman Skills Training in Camp Guernsey, Wyoming. One of the modules is a navigation exercise. We're dropped off in about a 15 square mile course in varying terrain and given 6 waypoints to find. Lots of terrain. Average trek was a couple of miles between waypoints. About four hours of solid walking, climbing, and searching. Souped up version of geocaching.
Local ranchers also lease the section for grazing. A herd of cows with moms and babies were wandering around. Unknown to us, a team had walked through the herd a few minutes before we came along, and the moms were not happy.
Never been charged by a formation of ticked off mom cows before. Our "fire team" had to scramble in all directions while the previous team watched and laughed.
"I'm sorry, ma'am but your husband has been injured during a training accident"
"What happened?"
"He and his team were attacked by a herd of cattle."
"Why does that not surprise me?"
This reminds me of farming. I got to milking late one night, and it happened to be a full moon. Needless to say, they act crazy. I got charged by a one of them. Had to drop and roll under the fence (electric too)! Anyways, the only cow NOT acting weird was the bull, who I hand feed grain, very cautiously. He never gave me a problem (though he did the owner of the farm).
Peacock! Check out my recent post.
Just for clarity's sake... When you refer to animals, do certain people in command count? >:D
Quote from: pilot2b on May 23, 2011, 01:20:00 AM
Just for clarity's sake... When you refer to animals, do certain people in command count? >:D
Not if your wanting a promotion lol
Duh. :angel:
At my basic encampment on cq i saw a cat but this was like 3:30 in the morning 8)
DFing I have encountered woodchucks and rabbits and seen foxes, beavers, and traces of moose
Mongooses and 12 inch long centipedes. And monk seals. Hawaii is a bizarre place sometimes.
At encampment, there was a dog that was first thought to be the medics dog, then the commondants dog, then a whole bunch of other peoples. We never found out whose it was, but it was really friendly.
It was the only time I ever saw the Command Chief and the First sergeant no yell at me. :)
A hyena, no joke.
**edit- It was at 200 hrs. when I was on a CQ shift, it was pitch black out, and the thing looked rabid. I was almost scared. But, being the SMSgt that I am, I pretended I wasnt lol.
Assisted as a victim in a SAR exercise at Alabama's Wing Emergency Services School. Somebody dropped a dog off up the road, and it hung out at our training site. It literally led the searching ground team (who were practicing search techniques) straight to me, after I had been sitting out in the cold, wet leaves for the past two hours. It kept running back and forth between me and the searching ground team, barking.
Quote from: Eagle on February 20, 2012, 01:43:41 AM
Assisted as a victim in a SAR exercise at Alabama's Wing Emergency Services School. Somebody dropped a dog off up the road, and it hung out at our training site. It literally led the searching ground team (who were practicing search techniques) straight to me, after I had been sitting out in the cold, wet leaves for the past two hours. It kept running back and forth between me and the searching ground team, barking.
What's that Lassie? Cadet Snuffy is trapped in a well? >:D
Quote from: GTRanger on February 20, 2012, 12:13:37 AM
A hyena, no joke.
**edit- It was at 200 hrs. when I was on a CQ shift, it was pitch black out, and the thing looked rabid. I was almost scared. But, being the SMSgt that I am, I pretended I wasnt lol.
Unless you were serving in the African Air Patrol, it's doubtful it was a Hyena.
Quote from: Eclipse on February 20, 2012, 02:00:33 AM
Quote from: GTRanger on February 20, 2012, 12:13:37 AM
A hyena, no joke.
**edit- It was at 200 hrs. when I was on a CQ shift, it was pitch black out, and the thing looked rabid. I was almost scared. But, being the SMSgt that I am, I pretended I wasnt lol.
Unless you were serving in the African Air Patrol, it's doubtful it was a Hyena.
Well then we must have some pretty screwed up looking cats here, just sayin'.
Quote from: Spaceman3750 on February 20, 2012, 01:51:49 AM
Quote from: Eagle on February 20, 2012, 01:43:41 AM
Assisted as a victim in a SAR exercise at Alabama's Wing Emergency Services School. Somebody dropped a dog off up the road, and it hung out at our training site. It literally led the searching ground team (who were practicing search techniques) straight to me, after I had been sitting out in the cold, wet leaves for the past two hours. It kept running back and forth between me and the searching ground team, barking.
What's that Lassie? Cadet Snuffy is trapped in a well? >:D
Heard that so many times :P
Ive never met an animal on a CAP mission, but Ive met some rather insane base staff! However, on an LE mission one night out in a rural area near Coalinga CA we got a call of a woman up in the hills screaming for help. a search party of concerned citizens was forming and a couple local cops were there and called for helicopter to do a FLIR/NVG search. Now keep in mind that we in the helicopter cannot hear what they are hearing. We launch out and get on scene at about 0100. After about two orbits I locate the "victim". Peacocks show up nicely on cold nights and appareantly sound like a woman screaming for help. ;D. We serve ALL of the residents of our county:)
Quote from: Flying Pig on February 23, 2012, 04:29:58 PM
Ive never met an animal on a CAP mission, but Ive met some rather insane base staff! However, on an LE mission one night out in a rural area near Coalinga CA we got a call of a woman up in the hills screaming for help. a search party of concerned citizens was forming and a couple local cops were there and called for helicopter to do a FLIR/NVG search. Now keep in mind that we in the helicopter cannot hear what they are hearing. We launch out and get on scene at about 0100. After about two orbits I locate the "victim". Peacocks show up nicely on cold nights and appareantly sound like a woman screaming for help. ;D. We serve ALL of the residents of our county:)
Yeah, they DO sound like a woman screaming for help. They also poop on everything. And they're a big bird too, which means lots of poop!
Can you tell we have peacocks in my neighborhood? >:D
At LESA-South we were conducting a nighttime SAREX and knew only that the possible victim (played by one of our instructors) was out in the dark somewhere. It was so foggy that we could barely see 10 feet in front of us. I was leading a group of sleep-deprived cadets in a line search. Suddenly, a cow mooed in the distance.
Cadet 1: "Was that a cow?"
Cadet 2 (in a panicked voice): "Cows don't moo at night!"
We heard another moo.
Cadet 1: "Cows don't moo that often!"
Cadet 2: "I bet it's the victim, and that's the only sound he can make!"
Cadet 1: "Or maybe they planted the cow there just to mess with us!"
Cadet 2: "I think we should stop the line search right now and go over there and check it out!!"
Me: "It's a cow. Forward the line."
Evaluator: "Guys, I'm going to clear this up right now. It's just a cow. There's a farm over there."
The cadets and I had a good laugh about it the next day.
Quote from: PHall on February 23, 2012, 05:30:02 PM
Quote from: Flying Pig on February 23, 2012, 04:29:58 PM
Ive never met an animal on a CAP mission, but Ive met some rather insane base staff! However, on an LE mission one night out in a rural area near Coalinga CA we got a call of a woman up in the hills screaming for help. a search party of concerned citizens was forming and a couple local cops were there and called for helicopter to do a FLIR/NVG search. Now keep in mind that we in the helicopter cannot hear what they are hearing. We launch out and get on scene at about 0100. After about two orbits I locate the "victim". Peacocks show up nicely on cold nights and appareantly sound like a woman screaming for help. ;D. We serve ALL of the residents of our county:)
Yeah, they DO sound like a woman screaming for help. They also poop on everything. And they're a big bird too, which means lots of poop!
Can you tell we have peacocks in my neighborhood? >:D
They're not real smart either. When I lived outside Gainesville FL, my neighbor had several of them. They would spend all day pecking at their own reflections in the bumper and hubcaps of my truck...
We had several in my neighborhood for a while. Got three or four years worth of molted train feathers from two males. Probably still have a couple hundred stored away. Haven't tried really hard to find a place to sell them. Some are over five feet long.
Here in MA, we only have wild turkeys that clog up the back roads. Cool to look at a couple times, but once you've seen 'em enough, it's kind of annoying, because they're not exactly smart about crossing the road. But I guess they'd taste pretty good, if you're a hunter. ;D
While this isn't exactly a mission, I was on the local ANG base, and me and a few people were driving up to the chow hall for lunch. We turned a corner, and looked at some fencing blocking off the runway from the road, and we saw a bunch of turkeys on the inside of the gate. On the outside were two turkeys. They were going insane trying to find a way to get in to the gate. The turkeys inside of the gate were frantically pacing around inside the gate (I should add they looked young, so probably the two turkeys on the outside of the gate's children). Next day, we head back up in the morning for some more chow (the food at this chow hall is AMAZING) and they are still there, doing the same thing.
Quote from: Littleguy on February 24, 2012, 02:31:11 PMthey are still there, doing the same thing.
Like I said, turkeys are certainly not the geniuses of the bird world
Quote from: titanII on February 24, 2012, 03:40:19 PM
Quote from: Littleguy on February 24, 2012, 02:31:11 PMthey are still there, doing the same thing.
Like I said, turkeys are certainly not the geniuses of the bird world
Nope, but they're delicious with stuffing or fried in peanut oil >:D 8).
Quote from: Spaceman3750 on February 24, 2012, 03:45:05 PM
Nope, but they're delicious with stuffing or fried in peanut oil >:D 8).
Amen to that >:D
Only if we were allowed armaments to hunt and kill turkeys while with CAP >:D
I wish for wild turkeys.
We are in the boondocks and I saw large birds 100 yards down the dirt road. I am thinking turkeys until we get close and turns out to be two vultures enjoying road kill ;)
As Homer Simpson might say; "mmm... Wild Turkey".
Quote from: Private Investigator on February 27, 2012, 01:38:16 AM
We are in the boondocks and I saw large birds 100 yards down the dirt road. I am thinking turkeys until we get close and turns out to be two vultures enjoying road kill ;)
I've seen turkey vultures in MA before, but not frequently. But I was recently down in FL, and they were all over the place! Smart birds, if you ask me. ;D
Once on a bivouac, not me, (females bunked somewhere else :)) but all night the males had had to listen to a wild pig veryclose by.
Then the next day, during the day we all spotted something big and grey (I`m pretty sure it was a raccoon) very high up in a tree, but no one ever could agree on what it was. :o :-\
Then, on a hike later we saw a gopher turtle. And in a lake we passed, we think we spotted an alligator
We also ran across a large variety of interesting birds, but no turkeys (many turkey vultures though) or large geese as far as I know. ;D
Nothing unusual, but they were still cool. ;D
C/MSgt.
Quote from: titanII on February 24, 2012, 03:56:12 AM
Here in MA, we only have wild turkeys that clog up the back roads. Cool to look at a couple times, but once you've seen 'em enough, it's kind of annoying, because they're not exactly smart about crossing the road. But I guess they'd taste pretty good, if you're a hunter. ;D
Not in CAP, but we saw a flock of turkeys - well a tom and his harem - cross the road in a very civilized and military fashion a couple of years ago in Asheville. The entire group stopped on the side of the road, so we slowed down and stopped. The tom went to the center line, faced our car and bustled out his feathers like standing road guard. All the females crossed in single file line. When the last one was off the road, the tom returned to the rest of the flock and everyone got on their way again. Them sooner than us since we had to stop laughing first.
I so wish I'd had a video camera open...
Quote from: bflynn on March 22, 2012, 05:01:49 PM
Not in CAP, but we saw a flock of turkeys - well a tom and his harem - cross the road in a very civilized and military fashion a couple of years ago in Asheville. The entire group stopped on the side of the road, so we slowed down and stopped. The tom went to the center line, faced our car and bustled out his feathers like standing road guard. All the females crossed in single file line. When the last one was off the road, the tom returned to the rest of the flock and everyone got on their way again. Them sooner than us since we had to stop laughing first.
They must breed smarter turkeys in North Carolina! ;D
Also, on a SAR-EVAL, I was monitoring a victim, with the evaluators nearby, when a female cadet, being a victim, ran up to me, quacked, and ran off. Since my victim was mostly stable, I followed the duck. She led me to another victim, but wouldn't let me approach the victim. She also was holding an aeronautical chart, and kept on saying, "My precious." My GTM wouldn't stop laughing while I was briefing him. It also made for a very interesting debriefing.
This wasn't on a mission; in fact it was years ago when I was a Boy Scout.
My troop met a hognose snake in a densely-wooded area. For those in the know, these harmless critters are extremely good at mimicking dangerous snakes to avoid being lunch for a predator.
They will coil, hiss, vibrate their tails in leaves and strike (without biting) like a rattlesnake.
They will vent their cloaca (scientific way of saying they poop all over you), roll over and play dead.
They will raise up and spread a "hood" like a Cobra, which is what this one did.
(http://aviewfromthebackroads.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/DSCF50123-300x225.jpg)
It scared the snot out of some of my fellow Scouts; fortunately, I was in the know about what it was ;D and my Scoutmaster used it as a teachable moment.