Are there any wildlife that actually want to harm us?

[Dr. Lecter]

Well, that settles it, suppose I can ignore the following and rely on agilis's gut feeling:

When subsequently interviewed, [American marine biologist Stephen] Spotte stated that even if a person were to urinate while "submerged in a stream where candiru live", the odds of that person being attacked by candiru are "(a)bout the same as being struck by lightning while simultaneously being eaten by a shark."

---------- Post added May 20th, 2015 at 03:38 PM ----------

very large 50+ year old snapping turtles scare the heck out of me in my local blackwater rivers.

Yeah, those things grow to an enormous size...I remember hooking one in the neck while fishing in Virginia. When I reeled it in and netted enough of it to get it onto the dock, it turned out to be close in size to a full grown alligator snapper, easily 3+ feet in carapace length. Feeling bad about it, I cut the line and left the hook in its neck...no way I was getting an arm near an open set of jaws wide enough to accommodate the business end of a baseball bat.

Never quite felt the same way about swimming/wading in mud bottomed water after that.

 

[DaleC]

I agree with Dr Lecter's first post on this one. People who think animals in nature intrinsically mean us no harm suffer from a serious case of "noble savage" syndrome. Sharks, like bears, are opportunistic predator/scavengers. And like bears, they weigh the risk of securing food against the reward. If they perceive they may attain an injury from attacking large prey they probably won't, unless the hunger drive is strong enough, because they understand that a wounded shark is a dead shark (from same species predation). So, when sharks encounter divers they are probably not hungry enough to risk attacking an unpredictable prey source. Probably the survivors of the USS Indianapolis have a very different view of sharks compared to divers.

A specialist in Giant Pacific Octopus gave a lecture once in which he warned against the aggressive nature of senile males of the species.

We are definitely not too big for Orca, they flip seals and sea lion out of the water with ease. I think however, they are very smart and social and probably are more curious than aggressive towards divers. I probably wouldn't jump in the water with them though if they were exhibiting any type of hunting/pack behavior.

Sea lions are more curious than aggressive but can be physically boisterous. Enter a male's harem area though and you may get attacked.

Hippos in the water kill more people in Africa than any other animal. Completely unprovoked aggression based on territorial instinct.

 

[agilis]

Dr. Lecter, urine has absolutely nothing to do with it. That much has been clearly established. There are people I have known who are infinitely more attracted to urine than any fish in existence. Golden showers and glass plate jobs are all part of an amazing variety of human personal preferences unmatched by any other species. As small as a Candiru's brain may be it does know enough to avoid direct exposure to urine.

I wrote that any blood rich orifice into which the fish can insinuate itself is what it naturally seeks. This is the niche into which evolution directed the Candiru. Its physiology enables it to penetrate and to then become almost immovable.

Locals everywhere embellish tales for the consumption of tourists, including the creation of such wildly extravagant myths as Candiru swimming up a stream of urine emanating from someone standing on the bank of a river. This is the kind of thing tourists love to hear about.

I do a lot of hiking in the Pine Barrens of southern NJ. Ticks also tend to seek out blood engorged targets, as I have discovered to my dismay more than once. I have often submerged myself in Brasilian rivers without any hesitation, and so do the local residents. This does not absolve the Candiru from being classified as a creature that regards humans as potential prey, penetrating an open cut or any other appropriate feeding station to which chance may lead it.

In a more general sense, you could do much worse than relying on my gut feelings.

Snapping turtles almost never bite when they are submerged. I've stepped on dozens of them, and they just move away. They are a very inoffensive creature. Remove them from their muddy home territory and they can be extremely dangerous, able to move their heads faster than the eye can follow.

 

[tridacna]

This thread just got much more interesting...

 

[Dr. Lecter]

This thread just got much more interesting...

I would venture a guess that agilis has some personal experience with Troughman, but then this is Basic Scuba, not the Pub.

As for submerged snapping turtles, they tend not to bite when accidentally stepped or pressed on, but they also hunt by patiently waiting for something that might be edible to put itself into their open jaws. I can't say I ever avoided exploring a pond, river, or stream because of that remote possibility, but I didn't kid myself about what would become of my fingers, toes, foot, wrist, or even forearm if it happened to be my lucky day while crawling over the bottom.

In sum:

 

[TMHeimer]

Large populations of water moccasins and very large 50+ year old snapping turtles scare the heck out of me in my local blackwater rivers.

I've rarely dived fresh water but have felt "safer" there because there are no sharks (except bull sharks in some rivers of course) or other biggies. These posts however, give me the heebee jeebees.

---------- Post added May 21st, 2015 at 12:02 AM ----------

Well, that settles it, suppose I can ignore the following and rely on agilis's gut feeling:


---------- Post added May 20th, 2015 at 03:38 PM ----------



Yeah, those things grow to an enormous size...I remember hooking one in the neck while fishing in Virginia. When I reeled it in and netted enough of it to get it onto the dock, it turned out to be close in size to a full grown alligator snapper, easily 3+ feet in carapace length. Feeling bad about it, I cut the line and left the hook in its neck...no way I was getting an arm near an open set of jaws wide enough to accommodate the business end of a baseball bat.

Never quite felt the same way about swimming/wading in mud bottomed water after that.

I hear ya.

 

[ajduplessis]

Crocs,Orcas and lawyers......

 

[Storker]

Mother nature is not out to get you, she just doesn't care.

But sometimes she grabs the opportunity if it comes:

 

[pheel]

My buddy was attacked by a titan triggerfish. He didn't expect it and didn't like it

 

[tridacna]

I was attacked by a Sergeant Major in Bermuda. Took me a few secs to recognise that the 'blue' stuff coming out of my wrist was my own blood. I fully deserved the bite - I was teasing the fish around their eggs. Aggressive buggers.