“Why is there a programme called ‘When animals attack’? It should be called ‘When stupid people go near dangerous animals'”
I met a fellow trekker once who described his encounter with a King Cobra. He was climbing a steep path and not paying too much attention to what was up ahead so that he almost walked into the cobra that was rearing up just a couple of feet in front. He started to back up and tripped, landing on his backside so that he was sitting on the jungle floor, helpless and staring up at the snake looming above him (they can reach a height of 5 feet). They stayed like that for a moment (probably felt much longer to him) and then the snake turned and moved away into the undergrowth.
In many instances animal behaviour is difficult to predict – however there are some general rules when it comes to animal attacks on humans. With snakes that are too small to eat you (i.e. anything smaller than the very largest of pythons) the snake will only attack if it feels threatened (or if it is defending a nest) and the attack is really just its way of telling you to go away (so, for example, snakes may give you a dry bite as a warning shot but if you don’t heed the warning it will bite again and inject venom). The bottom line is that snakes don’t want to waste their precious venom on something that is too big for them to eat anyway and if they don’t feel threatened they’ll leave you alone.
Another well known rule is that with animals that hunt for larger prey it is almost never a good idea to behave like prey (i.e.to run away) as this is likely to trigger them to give chase. If you own a dog or a cat you will know this already, both love to chase anything that runs. You will also see that dogs main tactic for bringing down larger animals is to circle behind them and attack the legs which is why you never want to let a predator get behind you.
As I’m sure everyone knows, approaching a mother with their young in tow is also not a good idea. Even the humble milk cows of England’s green and pleasant land have been known to kill (31 people killed by cattle in the UK in the last 10 years). The stray dog we rescued (a dog so petrified of humans that even after 3 years she refuses to let anyone touch or approach her) had a litter of puppies and bit me once when one of them got its head stuck in the fence and I went to help it
But it’s difficult to generalise much further about animal behaviour as it can be unpredictable. For example most people believe that a camp fire will keep wild animals away but there is another school of thought that thinks the fire may actually attract curious predators to come and check you out. Who is right? Probably both – in some instances the fire will keep them away but sometimes a particularly curious animal may be drawn to it.
Even animal experts can get it wrong (e.g. Steve Irwin) and I think all, if they are honest, would agree that it is impossible to accurately predict the behaviour of wild animals 100% of the time.
In this video I’ve filmed the civet cats (for those interested) and also describe a very hairy encounter with a spitting cobra. The dogs were attacking this cobra and (true to their instincts) were attempting to bite it by the tail and pull it backwards (not a great tactic with a snake) – it amazed me that none of us ended up bitten by the snake and I think this is only down to the fact the the spitting cobras first line of defence is to spit. Had it been a King Cobra or viper then I’m positive that at least one of us would have been bitten as all of us were well within striking distance.
This has been a very busy year so far and I haven’t been able to devote as much time to junglecraft as I would like and have been a bit slow at replying to comments and emails. I do eventually reply and will try to post more videos soon.
Hi Paul,
The Civet cats are getting real big!
Seeing their cage, I understand you’ve been busy! You made it nice, I hope they enjoy it (do they keep a constant territory in the wild or do they move around?) and the bridge hammock seems really fun.
Glad to hear you and your dogs didn’t get bitten.
When I was a kid, I caught some (horned) vipers and scorpions without ever get bitten/ stung.
Although I DID annoy them, they mostly just wanted to escape.
Thanks!
Hi Wawa,
Yes, things have been a bit busy recently and not much free time for junglecraft. The civet cats are doing well and soon to be released – just hope the dogs don’t get them. And I agree that most creatures will avoid biting if they can (unless of course they want to eat you!).
Cheers!
Paul
Hi Paul,
Vids of the babies have never failed to put a smile on my face.
Glad there are doing well in your care.
As for the snake issues around your home, other than trimming the brush, have you ever thought of putting up a snake net? It’ll prevent the snakes from climbing over your fences as they will get entangled in the nets.
Hi Shafie,
Many thanks for the comment and glad you like the civet cats – they’re going fast and we’ll release them in a couple of weeks although I’m very worried the dogs will get them or they get run over…but I think they’d rather take the chance and be wild.
The snakes are really just a fact of life here and once you get used to the idea it’s not really not that bad as long as you look where you’re going. Funnily enough cutting back the bush can make things worse and then the snake doesn’t have an easy escape route and can feel threatened. And, to be very honest, the problem we had with the cobra was the dogs’ fault in the first place!
Cheers!
Paul
Certain snakes are beyond aggressive for sure. Here in Texas I have had several cottonmouths not only climb in my boat and go after me and my hunting dogs but also challenge you when met on a trail and even chase you. I’d much rather come up on a rattler any day of the week they are nice and calm. Those baby cottonmouths are the ones to watch as they will hit you with everything they got.
Hi Ryan,
Many thanks for the comment and scary stories about cotton mouths. I don’t think there are any snakes here that behave as aggressively as that! I think rattle snakes are members of the viper family and, like vipers, tend to stay still and wait for prey to stumble upon them.
I’ve heard, although not sure how true it is, that baby snakes can be more of a problem if they bite you because they have less control over how much venom they inject (whereas a full grown snake may give you a dry bite as a warning). I also read somewhere about a snake handler who had hatched out a baby spitting cobra and as soon as it broke free of the egg it spat in his eye!
Your story about the cottonmouth climbing onto the boat reminded me of the fisherman’s tales from an area of India (it’s a national park in a mangrove swamp but I’ve forgotten the name) where almost all the attacks by tigers on humans occur (if I remember over 95% of tiger attacks in the world happen there), and they related how one tiger saw them passing by on their boat and tried to swim out to get them! Scary stuff!
Cheers!
Paul