Wrong.
That is an EPIC petting zoo!
6-foot reef shark while diving in the bahamas.
Whale shark while diving in Australia. (I know they won’t eat you, but they’ll knock the shit out of you if they feel like it–as learned by one of my diving companions. Broke a couple ribs.)
I went whale shark diving (uh, snorkeling, not proper diving) in the Philippines and we were given strict instructions not to get within 6 feet of the sharks. The guides broke the 6 foot limit, but even they didn’t actually touch the sharks. Were you seriously allowed to touch them? I’m kind of surprised that the Filipinos would be more vigilant about the sharks’ welfare than Australians.
Also, being near them was, while definitely one of the top experiences of my life, also pretty terrifying. There were a few occasions where I was just like, “TOO CLOSE MUST SWIM AWAY.”
Well, there was this girl I knew in college…
Probably an elephant or an adult mountain lion. The mountain lion was very tense; a few minutes later it’s trainer took it to a dark room and tethered it there. Later me, my mother,and my sister walked by the room and saw it staring at us, pale as a ghost but with glowing eyes.
Once my boyfriend and I and a friend’s child were on a fishing trip and rather than buy bait at the store he decided to hunt and forage. He flipped over a rock and grabbed a spider with his bare hands. Me and the kid jumped back. “But that’s a black widow!” the kid yelled. It sure was.
“I don’t care if it’s a pink widow, I’m gonna use it” my boyfriend said.
It didn’t bite him. And he caught some fish.
Several species of rattlesnakes, Gila Monsters, and a 12 foot African Rock Python and a similar Burmese Python. Plus various scorpions.
Did I mention that I worked for a herpetologist as a graduate student?
Let’s define “dangerous” as more likely and able to kill you than a parrot". And there’s not that many man-killing birds, really.
My most dangerous: either the hippo or a hawk. She had a spare glove for use to wear, but that bird was heavy! And ruthless eyes, too.
A hippopotamus in the wild.
You touched the most dangerous animal in Africa and you’re not going to share the story?
I rode a camel. Sort of lame compared to the tigers and cobras you guys have fondled but I enjoyed it.
Not too much of a story, unfortunately. Just under the bridge out of Garoua, a regional capital in Cameroon, there is a herd of hippos. For some reason the local boatmen and bathers don’t seem to mind sharing their space with the world’s deadliest animal. One hippo, named Africa, has been tamed by the local boatmen who feed her cornmeal every day. For a small fee, tourists are invited to come down to the river side, feed her, and snap some photos (sometimes with their heads in her mouth.)
I wanted nothing to do with it, since I know very well that she could easily decide to stop being tame. But Mommy Dearest came all the way to Cameroon and she wanted to see the hippo, so I went along. I think I was the only one who was terrified by the whole thing.
Here is an article about Africa the Hippo.
Note 1: We were snorkeling, too.
Note 2: Yep, they told us to keep clear, but I was in front of it and it sort of came to me. Rather than swim away, I dove under it to take some pictures… Touched its chin as it passed over.
Note 3: The guy that got smacked tried to pat it on the tail. Most unwise.
either a russel’s viper or a deathstalker scrpion.
A murderer.
I did his physical.
Yuk!
A real cranky St. Bernard. The owner said “Go ahead and pet him, so he knows you’re a friend.”
Fucker bit me. Just a warning nip really, but he was huge and could have hurt me bad had he been so inclined.
Fraternity brother. Drunk fraternity brother. I’m lucky to be alive.
I believe this is a win.
So not only did you touch him, but you touched his junk? :eek:
wince Yeah, that is seriously stupid. Those things are enormous.
Say what?!! That isn’t just a Stephen King story? I mean, forget the rhinos, that’s a lot closer to home…
I wore gloves. But, yes!