Mystique of the Wild
Jun. 30th, 2014 06:47 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kajelHave you ever had a run in with a wild animal and walked away with the knowledge that may have been one of the coolest things you will ever see? I had that experience in Kansas in 1993.
I was hanging out at the large horse barn that I spent all my time at. There were about ten geldings in a pasture and they were racing round and round the pasture. This was pretty unusual. For one thing, the pasture was quite large. On a normal basis you might have one or two horses running about and kicking up there heels, but not usually the entire herd. Running the length of the pasture was usually enough for a frisky horse to feel like he got the kinks out.
I decided to find out what was going on, so I climbed the fence to get a good look at the entire pasture. At first, I didn't see anything that would get all the horses really racing like that. Then, from the trees along the right of the pasture a cougar emerged into the open. Now, the farm was just outside the city of Wichita. The tree line that the cougar emerged from was a small 20-30 foot wide buffer between the farm and a suburb full of houses and the farm land the barn was situated on.
The cougar watched the racing herd for a moment and then it broke into a run and dashed across the length of the pasture. The horses, finally seeing what had agitated them, startled badly and swerved towards me. The cougar did not give chase. It jumped the fence and disappeared over a hill into the farm land. I had not been expecting to see a cougar. It was a brief, but wild and crazy experience.
That was not my only encounter with a cougar. It just happened to be the only encounter with the animal in the wild. Fast forward several years to Waycross, Georgia. Obediah's Okefenok is an 1800's restored homestead in the Okefenokee Swamp. There are a lot of exhibits as well as a small zoo of local animals. In 1997, the homestead had a cougar by the name of Danny Boy.
I knew about this cougar as I was working part-time at the chamber of commerce. The ladies I worked with were talking about Danny Boy's handlers bringing him out to an event that happened in town. One of the ladies was there with them and was able to pet the cougar. I was enamored of the idea of petting a cougar. Cougars are one of my three favorite animals and had been before I saw the wild one in Kansas.
A few weeks later, my grandparents came to visit. I ended up taking them to Obediah's Okefenok. It was a neat little tourist place. I hadn't been before. When we came upon Danny Boy's large chain link enclosure, I remembered the conversation from work. There was no one around besides us. So, I got bold.
There was about ten feet of shrub and flowers planted between the enclosure and the path we were following. Danny Boy was pacing slowly along the fence nearest us. I carefully picked my way through the vegetation and squatted down alongside the fence. Danny Boy came up to the fence next to me and stopped. I was sitting right at his shoulder. Our heads were at a similar height. He turned his head to the side to look at me for a moment and then focused on something off in the distance in the direction he was facing. I took a deep breath for courage and stuck my fingers through the fence and scratched his shoulder.
It was surreal. There I was, scratching a huge cougar through a chain link fence while my timid grandmother was having a heart attack behind me. Danny Boy seemed to enjoy it. He leaned heavily into my hand and shifted position so that my hand was further up his neck. I talked to him gently, but noticed he was becoming agitated. A low rumble started in his throat and he tail started twitching furiously. Even though he didn't seem to be focused on me, I decided I had been there long enough.
It was at that moment that I heard the rowdy boys that were coming closer to us. I wasn't able to see them as they were still around a bend in the path, so I quickly retreated back to my grandparents position. I didn't want to be caught where I wasn't supposed to be and I certainly didn't want to give the teenage boys any ideas. The noise they were making was really agitating Danny Boy. My grandmother was relieved to have me back on the path. I think she was shocked I would do something so crazy.
I was pretty surprised with myself also. I would like to think that certain factors aligned themselves neatly so that I could take a chance and pet a cougar. Had there been anyone else in eye sight it wouldn't have happened. If I hadn't overheard the conversation at work, the idea would never have occurred to me when I actually saw Danny Boy. Had the enclosure been roped off better from the public I would not have considered the idea that snuck up on me.
I look back years later and say, 'I did that'.
I was hanging out at the large horse barn that I spent all my time at. There were about ten geldings in a pasture and they were racing round and round the pasture. This was pretty unusual. For one thing, the pasture was quite large. On a normal basis you might have one or two horses running about and kicking up there heels, but not usually the entire herd. Running the length of the pasture was usually enough for a frisky horse to feel like he got the kinks out.
I decided to find out what was going on, so I climbed the fence to get a good look at the entire pasture. At first, I didn't see anything that would get all the horses really racing like that. Then, from the trees along the right of the pasture a cougar emerged into the open. Now, the farm was just outside the city of Wichita. The tree line that the cougar emerged from was a small 20-30 foot wide buffer between the farm and a suburb full of houses and the farm land the barn was situated on.
The cougar watched the racing herd for a moment and then it broke into a run and dashed across the length of the pasture. The horses, finally seeing what had agitated them, startled badly and swerved towards me. The cougar did not give chase. It jumped the fence and disappeared over a hill into the farm land. I had not been expecting to see a cougar. It was a brief, but wild and crazy experience.
That was not my only encounter with a cougar. It just happened to be the only encounter with the animal in the wild. Fast forward several years to Waycross, Georgia. Obediah's Okefenok is an 1800's restored homestead in the Okefenokee Swamp. There are a lot of exhibits as well as a small zoo of local animals. In 1997, the homestead had a cougar by the name of Danny Boy.
I knew about this cougar as I was working part-time at the chamber of commerce. The ladies I worked with were talking about Danny Boy's handlers bringing him out to an event that happened in town. One of the ladies was there with them and was able to pet the cougar. I was enamored of the idea of petting a cougar. Cougars are one of my three favorite animals and had been before I saw the wild one in Kansas.
A few weeks later, my grandparents came to visit. I ended up taking them to Obediah's Okefenok. It was a neat little tourist place. I hadn't been before. When we came upon Danny Boy's large chain link enclosure, I remembered the conversation from work. There was no one around besides us. So, I got bold.
There was about ten feet of shrub and flowers planted between the enclosure and the path we were following. Danny Boy was pacing slowly along the fence nearest us. I carefully picked my way through the vegetation and squatted down alongside the fence. Danny Boy came up to the fence next to me and stopped. I was sitting right at his shoulder. Our heads were at a similar height. He turned his head to the side to look at me for a moment and then focused on something off in the distance in the direction he was facing. I took a deep breath for courage and stuck my fingers through the fence and scratched his shoulder.
It was surreal. There I was, scratching a huge cougar through a chain link fence while my timid grandmother was having a heart attack behind me. Danny Boy seemed to enjoy it. He leaned heavily into my hand and shifted position so that my hand was further up his neck. I talked to him gently, but noticed he was becoming agitated. A low rumble started in his throat and he tail started twitching furiously. Even though he didn't seem to be focused on me, I decided I had been there long enough.
It was at that moment that I heard the rowdy boys that were coming closer to us. I wasn't able to see them as they were still around a bend in the path, so I quickly retreated back to my grandparents position. I didn't want to be caught where I wasn't supposed to be and I certainly didn't want to give the teenage boys any ideas. The noise they were making was really agitating Danny Boy. My grandmother was relieved to have me back on the path. I think she was shocked I would do something so crazy.
I was pretty surprised with myself also. I would like to think that certain factors aligned themselves neatly so that I could take a chance and pet a cougar. Had there been anyone else in eye sight it wouldn't have happened. If I hadn't overheard the conversation at work, the idea would never have occurred to me when I actually saw Danny Boy. Had the enclosure been roped off better from the public I would not have considered the idea that snuck up on me.
I look back years later and say, 'I did that'.
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(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-01 04:35 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-01 01:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-01 07:49 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-01 01:32 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-01 12:06 pm (UTC)one of my favourite days of my own was when i got to hug a sea lion!
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-01 01:31 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-01 03:38 pm (UTC)it was so awesome, i ended up crying xD i love animals so much <3
awww thank you <3 i've had a really rough week (especially the last couple of days), and then yesterday my internet connection was really slow and sketchy so :x i plan to home game though and hopefully get a second chance!
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-01 03:33 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-01 07:38 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-01 11:57 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-02 01:53 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-02 01:17 am (UTC)I loved the last line of this piece, because it must seem startling even now to know that you DID do that!
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-02 01:57 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-02 03:35 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-02 05:03 am (UTC)I, at least, can say that I've held a baby alligator and touched a 7-foot alligator. Of course, I was supervised both times and the second one, the alligator's mouth had been taped closed. It's still cool, though.
(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-02 02:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-02 04:42 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-02 10:27 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-03 05:51 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-03 06:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2014-07-03 06:35 pm (UTC)