Lions, Tigers and, uhh Javelina!

http://www.breitbart.com/InstaBlog/2013/08/30/Woman-Attacked-By-Wild-Pack-of-Javelina
Somehow the thought of being bowled over by a pack of these critters isn't appealing!

yeah. very interesting you brought that up. I have been looking at a bunch of stories about javelina recently - because I was seriously thinking about going to AZ to hunt one.

these little critters are quite a bit fiercer than people assume. a herd of them can try to knock you down, and will gore you and bite you if they get the chance. I don't know how common it is, but there sure are stories of this happening.

I also just read a bowhunting story where a guy shot a javelin with an arrow, clean shot, and the pig ran into the bushes. so the hunter waited for a few minutes to let it bleed. but after about 30 secs the javelina ran straight between his legs. the animal was mortally wounded, but tried to take him out by circling around his position and charging at his legs. he got lucky because the pig missed his legs, and then collapsed and died.

these things are not "cute little piggies". Tasty little piggies, maybe. :-)

Pete2

The ferocity of javelinas is greatly exaggerated. I spent most my time between 1956 and 1985 in and around Tucson;problems with them were rare; SAR incidents - zero. Hiking in the desert, I would see some. I didn't interfere with them and they didn't with me. Now of course, if you attack one, don't be surprised if he fights back.

hikermor .. I think its another one of these "human interference" issues. some city folk are feeding the "cute little javelinas". although the pigs might not normally be aggressive, they can sense when someone suddenly becomes afraid of them. they take advantage of that. these are the impressions from the stories .... not to contradict your firsthand knowledge.

Pete2

" Tasty little piggies"
I haven't heard of anyone eating them and bragging about it.

You're right ... I'm thinking ahead. Maybe they are not so tasty. hahaha! I'll let you know. What I do know is that they are a good size ... A reasonable amount of meat that I can pack and bring home. If I don't like it, I will feed it to my dog. :-).

pete2

Otters- oh my

"The otter, she said, was relentless as it attacked, leaving Sainsbury with a broken right hand, torn ligaments and tendons and many bites and scratches."

http://www.spokesman.com/blogs/outdoors/2013/jul/24/woman-recovering-otter-attack-wounds/

Ya' otter be carefull in that area!

Unless, of coarse, you can somehow weasel out of getting attacked.

One thing about javelina is that they don't have the most acute eyesight. When startled, they tend to bolt and run in an essentially random manner, probably accounting for many of the stories about their "charges." It is much the same with feral pigs.