...animals on the road

[Daniel Kalal]

Animals on the road.  Yes; I’ve posted the list before, but it is always growing—the animals will keep coming.  There are plenty of others that I don’t have pictures—a wolverine in Wyoming, Reindeer in Sweden, for instance.  But, these are the types of trip photographs that you only catch as best you can.

Over the years, I've hit (or deflected) a couple of dogs and plenty of birds, but nothing as big (or damaging) as any of these.



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
   
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[oldbike54]

 

 Dusty

[pehayes]

Size matters.  But only for impact, not for danger.  Ten years ago.  Northbound from Austin, NV to Elko, NV.  75 miles of MORMON CRICKETS!  Big as your thumb.  The entire road was shifting laterally.   Untold biomass crushed on the road made for a greasy, slippery surface.  Fortunately I was driving a van.  Unfortunately the squished bugs coated the entire exhaust system and baked.  Awful smell.  Ants invaded to eat the residue for months.  After about 50 miles we did come upon an opposite direction motorbike.  He was in for a surprise.

Patrick Hayes
Fremont CA




e550 coupe 0 60

[Guzzistajohn]

I had a possum cross the road in front of me not long ago. It wouldn’t have been a pretty picture, it had  V  notch in its back. Felt like a speed bump on the 🐯 tiger

[yogidozer]

If you feel this is political, feel free to delete it Dusty.
As far as deer, bear, moose, etc., we take away their living area, take away their food source.
People cry about hunting them, but I would rather see them hunted, die quickly, eaten, than smashed by a car, hoping the DEP guy gets around to put them out of their misery, before dumping them in a landfill.
Not to mention the real possibility someone in a car gets hurt.

[Muzz]

Nice. I see a couple of NZ ones I think. What look like Romneys + quad bikes + white lines = NZ. Throw in a ute for good measure.

[yogidozer]

Nice. I see a couple of NZ ones I think. What look like Romneys + quad bikes + white lines = NZ. Throw in a ute for good measure.

Ute wouldn't say that if you ran into one 

[Muzz]

Ute wouldn't say that if you ran into one 

We have Yogi, although we were in a car, not on a bike (thank goodnes).

Farmers here are pretty good and give fair warning.  Locals generally know how to deal with stock being shifted.  Sometimes a bit of cringe factor seeing tourists trying to navigate a mob of stock when they are not used to dealing with one.

[Daniel Kalal]

Nice. I see a couple of NZ ones I think. What look like Romneys + quad bikes + white lines = NZ. Throw in a ute for good measure.

Exactly right.   New Zealand.
btw, the wild--or at least wandering--pig is in Sardinia.  They had me spooked at first (wild boar are not to be messed with), but never really bothered with me.

[stubbie]

Try one of these. You may think camels come from the middle east but Australia has the biggest population of camels in the world. Over 750,000 in the wild.

[Lannis]

If you feel this is political, feel free to delete it Dusty.
As far as deer, bear, moose, etc., we take away their living area, take away their food source.

It's the opposite of the issue for deer.   We created massive food sources for them as we cleared forests, created transition areas, and they fatten and multiply in cutover timberland and suburban developments.   

We did take away their predators; the least we can do is take THEIR place.   Although it's tough; if you take out a license in my county for archery, muzzleloading, regular rifle season, and add doe tags, you can take 16 deer on one license and it doesn't even seem to slow them down ....

Lannis

[yogidozer]

It's the opposite of the issue for deer.   We created massive food sources for them as we cleared forests, created transition areas, and they fatten and multiply in cutover timberland and suburban developments.   

We did take away their predators; the least we can do is take THEIR place.   Although it's tough; if you take out a license in my county for archery, muzzleloading, regular rifle season, and add doe tags, you can take 16 deer on one license and it doesn't even seem to slow them down ....

Lannis

In my area the roads are full of dead ones. Predators? I hear coywolves/coydogs howling every night, there's also mountain lions in the state forest across the lake from me. Too many deer? Yes, but far better they are hunted, than killed on the road. Mild winters aren't helping to "thin the herd" either

[Muzz]

Exactly right.   New Zealand.
btw, the wild--or at least wandering--pig is in Sardinia.  They had me spooked at first (wild boar are not to be messed with), but never really bothered with me.

I guess we are pretty lucky here that our wild pigs and deer stay well away from built up areas. They are an introduced species that decimate our native bush, and it's a 365 day hunting season on them and they know it!  In all my miles on the road I have never seen one; wild goats in the more remote places but they don't hang around either.

[yogidozer]

They say....Grandma got run over by a reindeer, but the truth is...



It was Grampa on a John Deere

[keuka4884]

I was stationed on Guam in the early 70's. Had a car, not a bike. They made the roads out of crushed coral. When it rained a typical Guam monsoon rain, the frogs would come onto the road. Don't know why, they just did. When you drove down the road you would hear this pop. pop. pop sound as the car ran over the frogs. Many pops in 10 seconds. Weird sound I remember to this day.

The other run in was not with an animal but with a bumble bee. I was 17 years old riding a Honda 160 with no face shield on the helmet and no fairing. A bumble bee flew into the space between my helmet and head and, as bumble bees are want to do, started stinging me. I had one hand on the handle bars trying to stop the bike as my other hand banged on the side of my helmet trying to kill the bastard. I finally brought the bike to a stop and removed my helmet. The dead bee fell out. He got me 5 times before the mortal blow. I always rode/ride with a face mask after that.

[Sasquatch Jim]

 When I was in my twenties I had a honey bee get under the edge of my helmet. Yes I had a face shield so I know that she did it deliberately.  I saw her go in so quickly stopped and tried to remove the helmet as gently as possible.  I thought I had succeeded but as I lifted the helmet away she buried the stinger between my eyes.  It was unprovoked by me and just proved that some insects just don't like motorcyclists.  I had to wait for the swelling to go down before I could see enough to ride away.

[Rod]

I got up early to ride the Skyline Drive last summer on my old Eldorado, I was the first one on the road that day. As I climbed up the mountain I would encounter groups of a dozen or so gray squirrels, I believe they had been sleeping on the road for warmth. The first few groups I encountered I would slow, honk, rev, but no matter what, they would wait till the last minute and scurry off in one direction, then change direction at the last minute, as stupid squirrels will do. I finally realized it made no difference whether I tried to out guess them and dodge, or if I just kept my line. This lasted for the first 5 miles or so. I think I only took out maybe 2 or 3, but it was an unpleasant start to my ride. The rest of the ride was great.

[yogidozer]

I got up early to ride the Skyline Drive last summer on my old Eldorado, I was the first one on the road that day. As I climbed up the mountain I would encounter groups of a dozen or so gray squirrels, I believe they had been sleeping on the road for warmth. The first few groups I encountered I would slow, honk, rev, but no matter what, they would wait till the last minute and scurry off in one direction, then change direction at the last minute, as stupid squirrels will do. I finally realized it made no difference whether I tried to out guess them and dodge, or if I just kept my line. This lasted for the first 5 miles or so. I think I only took out maybe 2 or 3, but it was an unpleasant start to my ride. The rest of the ride was great.

I have found that if you keep your pace, it's the best way to miss them.
Changing your speed, braking, causes them to rethink, often fatally.

If you can stop safely, great, but that rarely is the case.
I hate to see any animal hit, dead, on the road. That includes any and all animals.
Squirrels are goofy and full of fun to watch.

[larrys]

I lived in the heart of the Cotswold Hills in the middle '70's. It was not unusual to come roaring around a turn on my Commando to come across a fox hunt in progress. Folks on horses, a large pack o' Beagles all across the road... They still hunt foxes these days? Then there were the herds of sheep crossing the road. Sheep poop on the road is not a traction enhancer.
Larry

[yogidozer]

I lived in the heart of the Cotswold Hills in the middle '70's. It was not unusual to come roaring around a turn on my Commando to come across a fox hunt in progress. Folks on horses, a large pack o' Beagles all across the road... They still hunt foxes these days? Then there were the herds of sheep crossing the road. Sheep poop on the road is not a traction enhancer.
Larry

No shit   

[Lannis]

I got up early to ride the Skyline Drive last summer on my old Eldorado, I was the first one on the road that day. As I climbed up the mountain I would encounter groups of a dozen or so gray squirrels, I believe they had been sleeping on the road for warmth. The first few groups I encountered I would slow, honk, rev, but no matter what, they would wait till the last minute and scurry off in one direction, then change direction at the last minute, as stupid squirrels will do. I finally realized it made no difference whether I tried to out guess them and dodge, or if I just kept my line. This lasted for the first 5 miles or so. I think I only took out maybe 2 or 3, but it was an unpleasant start to my ride. The rest of the ride was great.

My rule about trying to avoid little critters on the road ... Don't dodge anything that you could eat in one sitting.

(That's a size criteria).

Lannis

[Rod]

Never tried squirrel. As I understand they used to be common on the table in colonial days.

[Muzz]

Sheep poop on the road is not a traction enhancer.

Cow dung is worse, believe me.  Almost as bad as oil.

[rocker59]

always adds to the trip!

[Gliderjohn]

A Dala Horse is the only unconfined creature I want to see close to my bike.



GliderJohn

[yogidozer]

Never tried squirrel. As I understand they used to be common on the table in colonial days.

Never cooked them myself, but as a kid, my friend's mother cooked them. We ate them.
They're pretty tasty when you cook them right.
Need to bring home quite a few for a meal.
People frown on this, but have no trouble vi see biting fast food places every day.

[Pizza Guzzi]

In Oz there's any number of critters willing and able to kill you. I've been pretty lucky over the years - brought down by a cattle dog, had a roo trying to ride pillion on my tank but the biggest danger by far is the sheer number of drongos on the road.

Glenn

[normzone]

... wild pigs ... They are an introduced species that decimate our native bush, and it's a 365 day hunting season on them and they know it!

Some fool tried to introduce some here in the mountains / reservations by San Diego, but they didn't take. Not enough water for them.

Word was informally that you could hit them with a truck, spear them, bow and arrow, rifle, pistol, regardless of season if you saw one - Fish and Game wanted them done for.

[Lannis]

Never tried squirrel. As I understand they used to be common on the table in colonial days.

Common on the table now, here where I live.   We eat them whenever someone in the family takes a half a day to tramp the woods with a .22 or a .410 and bring some home.

We eat them two ways - Skinned, jointed, dredged in flour, browned in an iron skillet, then add water and seasonings, put the lid on tight, and cook slow until the meat's falling off the bone.   Gravy goes on the biscuits.

Or make a stew - brown first, then simmer in a stewpot till tender, pick the meat off the bones, add the vegetables, and dumplings on top if you want them.

One of our gray squirrels will dress out, drawn and skinned, to about a pound, which yields about 8 ounces of meat.  So about 1 squirrel per person, or more if they're hungry ... for squirrel!

Lannis