Are there any wildlife that actually want to harm us?

[divingjd]

Crocs,Orcas and lawyers......

On behalf of myself and all the other lawyers, I accept this as a compliment!

Maybe we need to work on a new version of the Warren Zevon song, send lawyers, crocs, and orcas instead of lawyers, guns, and money.

I agree with the assessments of damselfish. Only thing that has ever bitten me in the water. If those things were the size of dogs, you couldn't go in the ocean.


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[agilis]

Not only Damsels, though some big chunky Dusky Damsels have attacked me with amazing ferocity when they are guarding their eggs.

I've had a breeding pair of Ocellaris Clownfish in a large aquarium for nearly 15 years. They still produce eggs regularly on a coral rock with a thick growth of hair algae. Any attempt by me to remove or trim some of the algae results in a savage assault. Their bites hurt like hell, even though the female is less than 3 inches S.L. and the male under two. They have drawn a bit of blood on occasion.

These Clownfish clean and groom the algae like little farmers, obviously treating it as an anemone substitute. They clear a spot on the side of the rock for their eggs, which hatch after the eyes become visible, to the great delight of the aquarium's other inhabitants. The male cares for the eggs, not allowing the female too approach to closely, but both will attack anything foreign that approaches. They've killed a number of crustaceans, and show no sign of slowing down.

 

[Rhone Man]

Snapping turtles almost never bite when they are submerged. I've stepped on dozens of them, and they just move away. They are a very inoffensive creature. Remove them from their muddy home territory and they can be extremely dangerous, able to move their heads faster than the eye can follow.

Not quite the same thing, but I was once the victim of an entirely unprovoked Hawksbill turtle attack in the Caribbean. I even have the photos. Scarcely normal behaviour though, and I assume the poor guy was either injured or had spent too long sleeping in the sun.

---------- Post added May 21st, 2015 at 10:23 PM ----------

Not only Damsels, though some big chunky Dusky Damsels have attacked me with amazing ferocity when they are guarding their eggs.

They say that they are guarding their eggs, but I think they are just b@st@rds.

 

[Phantom Menace]

Crocs,Orcas and lawyers......

Why specifically include Orca here?

Check out these two clips. One includes footage shot of Orca feeding on stingrays (about halfway through the clip). The cameraman is Steve Hathaway. I have chatted to Steve about this - Orca are pretty intelligent and while they could have a go at us if they wanted to they are relatively unlikely to.
[video]https://youtu.be/w58QMy0B6Jc[/video]

And here is another video shot by three friends of mine. I was asked to go along for this particular trip but family and work commitments meant I missed out on this:
[video]https://youtu.be/NX_E-PQGJRA[/video]

 

[drrich2]

Phantom Menace:

I looked at that bit of video where the orca dropped a mutilated stingray carcass to the human, or so the scenario was roughly described. I'm surprised orcas feed on them. Seems like the equivalent for a human would be eating scorpions with your mouth. No thanks.

One thing that concerns me about orcas is the potential for an intelligent, inquisitive mammal to 'mess with' a person. Not necessarily commit to kill and eat, but do the equivalent of a human picking something up and handling it. Not unlike when some say great whites may do 'test bites' to explore what something is, and the 'nip' could be fatal after the shark swims off. Thankfully orcas don't seem prone to play with us this way, but with their size if they're not afraid of us, and allowing for individual personality variation and mood, I'd be nervous being in the water with one or more. I think the odds of it seriously injuring or killing me would be very low.

Richard.

 

[wetb4igetinthewater]

Why specifically include Orca here?

Check out these two clips. One includes footage shot of Orca feeding on stingrays (about halfway through the clip). The cameraman is Steve Hathaway. I have chatted to Steve about this - Orca are pretty intelligent and while they could have a go at us if they wanted to they are relatively unlikely to.
[video]https://youtu.be/w58QMy0B6Jc[/video]

And here is another video shot by three friends of mine. I was asked to go along for this particular trip but family and work commitments meant I missed out on this:
[video]https://youtu.be/NX_E-PQGJRA[/video]

Awesome videos! Thanks for posting!

 

[Phantom Menace]

Richard, apparently orca feeding habits are a learned behaviour with the young learning from the older members of the pod. There are regional variations in feeding - those in New Zealand are known for feeding on rays. They have been seen chasing stingrays in the shallows of our harbours (although Steve was the first to film it in water - he has other footage of how they do this but I cannot find it right now). There have been clips played on the 6pm news showing orca chasing rays in Auckland harbour (our largest city) with the rays leaping from the water in desperation. Apparently rays are orca candy ...

I have discussed the footage of orca playing with the anchor rope (2nd clip I posted) and he had heard about this happening from time to time but never seen it himself.

---------- Post added May 23rd, 2015 at 09:20 AM ----------

Richard - found some of the footage of orca eating rays in this episode of Young Ocean Explorers here (Steves side project with his daughter ) [video=youtube_share;I4kBlpfySbQ]http://youtu.be/I4kBlpfySbQ[/video]

For other stuff have a look at the Young Ocean Explorers website Young Ocean Explorers


And the TEDx talk Riley and Steve did a couple of weeks ago [video=youtube_share;UzA_CTkn7vk]http://youtu.be/UzA_CTkn7vk[/video]

 

[freewillie]

Locally Garibalidi's are particularly aggressive when nesting. They are bright orange menaces that are protected by law.

I've seen pictures of Bobbitt worms. Wouldn't want to come close to those jaws either.

 

[dberry]

You folks never heard of leeches?

 

[Yoyodyne-88]

I was once charged by a dolphin, protecting his pod. Looked like a torpedo coming at me. Truly terrifying.

But he stopped instantly when I demonstrated a submissive pose. I think it was a case of mistaken identity.