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Main Boards => General Walking Discussion => Topic started by: BuzyG on 12:33:30, 01/06/20

Title: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: BuzyG on 12:33:30, 01/06/20
I'm noticing a little paranoia re animal encounters, that I struggle to relate to if i'm honest.

Thought we could do with a little positivity, to give our UK Animals a chance to redeem their image.

So here are just a few taken in the past week to kick off.

This little one lives in a field close to our house.

(https://i.postimg.cc/wMphchfm/20200411-123317-Freindly-Calf.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)


This not so little one was happy to pose for pictures on our walk near Meldon Quary.


(https://i.postimg.cc/s2r7RfcP/20200524-172747-1.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

 
And Finally for now.  I met this friendly bunch in the middle of a well trodden path near Kitty tor on Dartmoor just yesterday.  I would add that there where just as many behind me as in front and they really did not appear to care that I was there.


(https://i.postimg.cc/VLXq6HNW/20200531-093223-1.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)


Any one else care to share their friendly animal stories..

Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: SteamyTea on 13:53:33, 01/06/20
Friend's Father came out his garage and saw a black bear about 15 feet away.  Though not a problem as it is not unusual.  Then he noticed it had cubs.  He sat in the garage for the next two hours till they went away.


I saw a shark, about 4 foot long, made me a faster swimmer than Micheal Phelps and a small 'pouch' than Thoma Daley.  There had never, ever been a recorded shark attack on the island I lived on.
Saw a lone barracuda some out the murk after a storm, that was really scary as I was on the ocean side of it and had to just wait it out till it went away.  There had been several barracuda attacks, luckily they are the Atlantic ones, so not too bad, unlike the Pacific ones which can really bite a large chunk out of someone.
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: BuzyG on 14:03:11, 01/06/20
Friend's Father came out his garage and saw a black bear about 15 feet away.  Though not a problem as it is not unusual.  Then he noticed it had cubs.  He sat in the garage for the next two hours till they went away.


I saw a shark, about 4 foot long, made me a faster swimmer than Micheal Phelps and a small 'pouch' than Thoma Daley.  There had never, ever been a recorded shark attack on the island I lived on.
Saw a lone barracuda some out the murk after a storm, that was really scary as I was on the ocean side of it and had to just wait it out till it went away.  There had been several barracuda attacks, luckily they are the Atlantic ones, so not too bad, unlike the Pacific ones which can really bite a large chunk out of someone.
Which part of the UK was this? ;)
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: SteamyTea on 14:09:51, 01/06/20
Which part of the UK was this? ;)
Black bear was in Canada, pre 1976, was that was UK.
my incidences were on a Dutch island, so at least EU, which the UK is still part of.
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: BuzyG on 14:15:47, 01/06/20
Black bear was in Canada, pre 1976, was that was UK.
my incidences were on a Dutch island, so at least EU, which the UK is still part of.
Well as long as they were friendly enjoyable encounters, that is what really counts in this thread. O0
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: WhitstableDave on 14:24:35, 01/06/20
I think that all the animals we've encountered on the other side of fences have been friendly.  ;)

(Oh, the bravery of being out of range...)
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: BuzyG on 14:44:38, 01/06/20
I think that all the animals we've encountered on the other side of fences have been friendly.  ;)

(Oh, the bravery of being out of range...)


He was a big fella.  ;) 

 I did find myself stood just a few feet from a bull amongst a herd on Bodmin moor, a little while back.  It was pea soup fog that day., I would never deliberately walk into such a position.  Again on that occasion they all simply ignored me.
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: ninthace on 14:54:59, 01/06/20
Coming off the North Pennines once, the only gate was guarded by cows and calves that seemed disinclined to move so I had to push my way through.  In the middle was a bull that could have been the brother of that one.  Lovely old fellow presumably with his mind on other things rather than giving walkers a hard time.
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: WhitstableDave on 15:26:03, 01/06/20

He was a big fella.  ;) 

 I did find myself stood just a few feet from a bull amongst a herd on Bodmin moor, a little while back.  It was pea soup fog that day., I would never deliberately walk into such a position.  Again on that occasion they all simply ignored me.

...and is that the shadow of a fence in the first photo?  ;)

(Don't get me wrong - fences are a Good Thing.)
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: BuzyG on 15:41:13, 01/06/20
...and is that the shadow of a fence in the first photo?  ;)

(Don't get me wrong - fences are a Good Thing.)


Just for you Dave. This one from a few days earlier. No fences, on that occasion  ;) 


I agree though. Nothing wrong with fences in the right place.


(https://i.postimg.cc/zvPDm20h/More-cows.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)

Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: GnP on 16:15:46, 01/06/20

This fella was extremely friendly . I am not sure if he could see me though . (no fences )  O0

(https://i.postimg.cc/6QfLwCRc/long-horn.jpg)

I told this highland cow to shoo...but he was having none of it.

(https://i.postimg.cc/9FfXC9Rp/I-told-him-shooo-but-he-was-having-none-of-it.jpg)
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: Bigfoot_Mike on 18:25:10, 01/06/20
My wife and I encountered several Highland Cows plus a bull blocking the return path from Slaggan beach on the west coast of Scotland. I didn’t fancy squeezing between them with the size of their horns and bodies. They were looking at us, but not being aggressive. We decided to cross a ditch and go onto the hillside to give them a wide berth and got past without incident while avoiding the others that were descending the hillside towards the path.


A tourist was killed by a Highland Cow near Plockton in 2003. I remember seeing them roaming freely on the road there in the early 1980s.
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: GnP on 19:00:55, 01/06/20
Here is the Grandaddy .

(https://i.postimg.cc/zvWwJvyq/P3211106crop.jpg)
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: gunwharfman on 20:36:40, 01/06/20
Great photos, the last one definitely looks punk!
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: Bigfoot_Mike on 22:53:40, 01/06/20
I have had a sheep stick its head in my car window looking for food in the Lake District. I also had one trying to eat my sandwich on Helvellyn. I have had a female red deer come up to the car looking for food in the winter at Loch Muick. I did have a stand off with a one antlered stag near the same location, but he backed down.
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: BuzyG on 22:54:28, 01/06/20
Here is the Grandaddy .

(https://i.postimg.cc/zvWwJvyq/P3211106crop.jpg)


No arguments there.


Here is the young wanabe.


(https://i.postimg.cc/SNnXVcx5/Cute-Calf.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/bsjNwDbH)
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: SteamyTea on 09:24:53, 02/06/20
Seeing those bulls reminds me of the Not The Nine 'o' Clock News sketch.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhstRrZzaso (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zhstRrZzaso)
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: Toxicbunny on 11:33:08, 02/06/20
I never trust cows they may look cute but they run fast. My local walk I have to go through a field of them. Depending on where they are I will cross. Big mama as I call her has a calf. Highland cows are supposedly friendly however like the dairy farmer told me never turn your back on one.
(https://i.postimg.cc/34F1k6Cf/IMG-20200515-220358-076.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/34F1k6Cf)
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: ninthace on 11:43:07, 02/06/20
We have Highland Cattle roaming loose on Exmoor.  Lovely things. 
I did have an argument once with a mother an calf about the ownership of a narrow footpath.  I pushed her a fair way before she finally agreed to step into the heather and let me through.
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: Toxicbunny on 11:57:25, 02/06/20
Big mama above likes to give chase. Shes obviously protecting her calf. However I have no intention of ending up on the end of that horn. They are beautiful to look at but noisy. I get woken up at 4am from the mooing and it's too hot to close my windows at night the moment.
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: ninthace on 12:03:35, 02/06/20
Big mama above likes to give chase. Shes obviously protecting her calf. However I have no intention of ending up on the end of that horn. They are beautiful to look at but noisy. I get woken up at 4am from the mooing and it's too hot to close my windows at night the moment.
I always feel sorry for them when the time comes that their calves are taken away and they spend ages calling for them.  That is often not a good time to be in a field with them as they can be quite cranky.
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: GnP on 17:04:23, 02/06/20

Here is the young wanabe.
(https://i.postimg.cc/SNnXVcx5/Cute-Calf.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/bsjNwDbH)
Nice isolation of this friendly looking calf . Is that taken with your new camera . ?
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: BuzyG on 00:17:03, 03/06/20
Nice isolation of this friendly looking calf . Is that taken with your new camera . ?
Thanks, yes the TZ 200. It's usually pretty obvious which have been taken on my old Phone and which are taken with the camera.  It was just a point and click shot. All I had to do was see the opportunity.  I have set it up so that I can adjust every thing manually, but I only do that if I can't get a decent snap in fully automatic mode.  For a tiny pocket camera it packs a punch. :)
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: GnP on 10:05:09, 03/06/20
Thanks, yes the TZ 200. It's usually pretty obvious which have been taken on my old Phone and which are taken with the camera.  It was just a point and click shot. All I had to do was see the opportunity.  I have set it up so that I can adjust every thing manually, but I only do that if I can't get a decent snap in fully automatic mode.  For a tiny pocket camera it packs a punch. :)
Oh wow , if it is the one I just read about it has the 24-360 mm lens..I want one !  O0
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: BuzyG on 12:00:11, 03/06/20
Oh wow , if it is the one I just read about it has the 24-360 mm lens..I want one !  O0

Sounds like you found the one. 

I love it. it's my third digital camera and finally I have found one that fits in my jacket pocket and takes decent quality pictures.  My days of lugging several lenses around in a dedicated camera bag are long gone.  Unless you actually need professional quality, then these latest pocket cameras finally provide an image that is IMHO, good enough for personal use. It even shoots RAW.  :) 
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: GnP on 15:18:30, 03/06/20
Sounds like you found the one. 

I love it. it's my third digital camera and finally I have found one that fits in my jacket pocket and takes decent quality pictures.  My days of lugging several lenses around in a dedicated camera bag are long gone.  Unless you actually need professional quality, then these latest pocket cameras finally provide an image that is IMHO, good enough for personal use. It even shoots RAW.  :)
I have been through all that too , with carrying lenses and camera bodies . It all became too much of a chore , and it started to become the choice between either a good walk or getting out to take photos & I like to do both . I have a small Olympus which is light enough to do that . But I am impressed with the zoom range on your Panasonic , along with the quality of the pics too. !  :)
ps. If I buy one online after downing a few beers can I tell my wife it is your fault.  ???
 
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: SteamyTea on 21:56:13, 03/06/20
Just took delivery of a Fujifilm XP140.
It is waterproof and rugged, seems to have a half decent zoom that is within the body, so no sticky out bits.
No RAW though, but it is a cheap point and shoot, almost.  It has way too many setting, but does transfer files wirelessly, which is useful for uploading.  Uses the phones GPS, so only as good as the phone there.
Can't comment on quality yet as not printed anything out.
Couple of pictures, one macro, one zoom.


(https://i.postimg.cc/jS8HhZpW/Bee.jpg)


(https://i.postimg.cc/YqWZZmrq/Church.jpg)
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: BuzyG on 08:06:02, 04/06/20
Love the bumble Bee. O0


MrsG and I have also spent many an hour trotting around the streets of Penzance whilst our son was competing at the County Blocks, happy memories. :)
Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: barewirewalker on 12:20:28, 04/06/20
Many of Mrs BWW and my walk experiences would have been very poorer without a friendly interaction with farm livestock, at the same time the threat of aggressive animals has risen ever since the 1960's. The growth of the single suckler herds and the steady increase of imported breeds has not interacted well with growth of leisure walking. Even in the photos shown there are some interesting anomalies, if you google the breed type with an aggression tag. I always thought that the Charolais was mild tempered,

This not so little one was happy to pose for pictures on our walk near Meldon Quary.


(https://i.postimg.cc/s2r7RfcP/20200524-172747-1.jpg) (https://postimages.org/)
even comparable with the English beef breeds on which the outdated protocols are based on.
It is clear from a recent article in the British Farmer that much of the thinking in animal safety is tangled with the access issue. I think BusyG has put an interesting slant on this debate, one which the occupiers of the countryside really should take a more serious.


Our seeing meat on the hoof reinforces the alternative that no meat on the plate means no domestic livestock in the countryside.


Farmers should be proud to allow visitors to walk among'st there animals, thus take reasonable trouble to do risk assessments that shows awareness of a knowledge of the individuals within there flocks and herds.




Title: Re: Friendly UK animals encountered whilst out walking.
Post by: SteamyTea on 15:42:12, 04/06/20
Farming mate of mine had Charolais for a brief time.  He hated them, too nasty to look after.
He went for a farm full of sucklers and rare breeds.