Last week we asked if you had ever encountered a bear in the wild on a hike. Many of you, 37 percent, answered yes, at least once. Well, we hope that same bear didn’t bite you, but today we’re wondering if you’ve ever been bitten by a wild animal.
This could be a bear (although we SURE hope not!), a squirrel, chipmunk, raccoon, even a goose counts (those things can be mean!).
If you have been bitten, please leave a comment below and tell us the story. We’ll be on the edge of our seats…
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Over the years I have been bitten 100’s times by wild animals. A couple of field mice a vole, a feral cat that was stuck in a storm drain and too many ticks to count. The first day on the first week of camping season one year we doused ourselves with liberal amounts of DEET. After 5 trips wading through waist high grass I pulled 94 ticks off in the shower in the shower that night.
Lunch on 2 legs. Ouch!
Oh, ick!
A monkey took exception to me eating saltine crackers and decided to eat it… while it was still in my hand – stitches and shots soon followed (and an interesting scar in the webbing between my finger and thumb).
Feral cat.
Just noseeums and mosquitoes, no hospital required. But went to the pharmacist in Florida about noseeum bites, far worse than any mosquito bites.
A mole on the 4th of July!. I was gardening, the dog proudly walked up with what I thought was a dead mole. I started to remove it from her mouth…it got me! After a trip to the ER, a hand soak in antiseptic, and a tetanus shot, I returned home to enjoy fireworks.
Bitten on the ear lobe by an unknown assailant in a sleeping bag while camping. Since we didn’t have the attacker, had to take the rabies shots; one anti-serum in the arm and gave myself 14 in the stomach (epidural) once a day. Ended up allergic to poultry products.
I don’t think mine counts because I was doing wildlife rehab. Once a baby squirrel bite me. It drew a little blood, but no bad effecrs. It was going to be released that day, but because of the bite was kept 2 more weeks. Both of us were fine so off it went into the great big world.
Only by a scorpion🦂….. in my house!
Bedtime…. walked into the bathroom to brush my teeth, and right onto a bark scorpion. I thought I had only minutes to live (!!!) while my husband tried to catch it! What??! I could be DYING HERE, as I waited and watched for the poison to travel up my leg veins to my heart! Well, he captured it quickly in an empty water bottle, then schlepped both of us off to ER. Doctors recognized his bottle trophy as a bark scorpion, and sent me home with proper dosages of antibiotics and Rx painkillers. 20 hours later, I was fine, almost back to normal.
We were told that in Las Vegas, palm trees are imported from the California deserts, complete with whatever critters live in them. Our trees had been planted in our yard years before with scorpions, and the nasty things…at some point in time…found a way to nest somewhere in our house.
They’re painful, to be sure, but survivable if you’re an adult. Kids, however, are more affected.
It would be extremely unusual to be bitten by a scorpion, they generally sting.
I answered no, but 2 tick bites did wind up needing medical care. Back in the 1950s my mom did the old blown out match trick, but it killed the tick, so a doctor had to remove it. In the late 80s I got Lyme disease from a tick. A month of tetracycline ensued. Yippee😞
Racoon bite on toe. I was carrying food scraps out to the woods and one of the regulars thought my toe might be a peanut. So much for wearing sandals out to the compost pile.
I voted YES because the mosquitos down here in Louisiana are wild animals. I had a reaction to one bite on my chest that caused the cells to lose all their melanin and become albino white. I was 9 years old at the time and this sent my mom into a tizzy, so off to the doctor we went. They cut out the center of the bite and left the remaining circle of no pigment, then about an inch in diameter. I’m 69 now, the albino spot is still there with snow white chest hair growing in it. Ultra sensitive to direct sunlight, too!
Bitten by a pygmy rattler. One of the worst experiences of my life! Bedridden and crutches to get to the bathroom for 3 weeks.
Also stung by a scorpion when I was a kid! No hospital or meds; was just like a bee sting in the arch of my foot!
1000’s of times if I consider mosquitoes but didn’t need medical attention for any of them.
I was bitten bu a water moccasin, was lucky, It did not sink its fangs in deep enough to inject enough venom to cause a serious problem. Also a tick which gave me a lifetime of problems. I got Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever as well as another rare disease that I can’t even remember.
Never – insects forever, not animals. Unless you count the dachshund a few years ago or the Dalmatian when I was 3. My cat bites, but only to get your attention – usually in the region of my shins.
We have a little nipper also. He actually seems to gently nip our shins out of affection.
As an appraiser, I went into a vacant house in Philadelphia. There was a family of cats that was squatting in the basement and momma cat thought I was attacking. She proceeded to come over to me and tried to take a bite of fresh meat. I objected and pushed her away, but not before she sunk her teeth into my hand and scratched my arms. Animal control came out and caught the cat and kittens and took them for observation. My wife was a practicing RN and insisted that I visit the doctor. He gave me a tetanus booster and antibiotics. 14 days later, the mother cat and kittens were taken to a no kill shelter. Me, I went on to retiring and living the life in Florida and in RVing.
Nothing wilder than a mosquito.
Recluse spider sent me to the hospital for a couple days and then visiting a wound doctor for a couple of weeks. Not in the wild, but in my shop. Domestic geese have chased me around the farm yard more than once, as a kid.
I was going to be smart one day and catch a chipmunk with my hand and I did catch him but to my surprise he bit back and got the tip of my finger!!! You know how sharp their teeth are and how powerful their jaws are! OUCH!!!!!!!
After retiring, I volunteered at several wildlife refuges in various capacities. In two separate incidents, while banding wild birds, I was bitten many times by immature pelicans and ducks. Some left scratches but none were serious enough to need medical care.
As a youngster a cat was chasing something in circles in the grass. I somehow managed to trap it under my hand and pick it up. It was a shrew that immediately sank all four incisors into my index finger. Medical care was provided by a nearby neighbor.
Yip a very large ground squirrel and it’s front teeth were very sharp! And a bull snake. A bull snake leaves a row of teeth marks.
Yes, squirrel at Grand Canyon next to a sign that said don’t feed the squirrels. I didnt feed it but I think it thought one of my toes was a snack!
I answered no, but I was bit by more than one small yappy dog. So, I avoid small dogs as much as possible.