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AIBU?

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Original poster

To ask for beautiful experiences with wild animals

150 replies

freeAnneBoleyn · 30/12/2018 17:45

I was just curious, as a family member have been to see the seals today (we come from a part of the UK where they come up onto a local beach to breed. It’s all patrolled by volunteers to make sure people don’t get too close but you can have a lovely walk and see all the rotund little babies and juveniles flobbing about adoringly on the sand)

He’s sent me some lovely pictures and it made me remember the summers I spent with my mates near that beach when regularly a seal or two would come and swim with us. We never courted it or tried to get overly close but they’d just hang out for a bit, bobbing up and down. It was lovely.

The time I rescued a stag beetle from a pint in our local London beer garden was pretty cool, and I once re-launched a beautiful sparrow hawk who’d got trapped in our shed after our guinea pigs, and there was the time I found a lame fox in Southwark (I’ve name changed as all my family and friends know this one) and persuaded the nearest Pizza Express to let me guide it into their enclosed foyer and sit with it (it was very very calm and gentle) fit two hours while a rescue centre could get a van to us. It did chew my handbag but it was only a cheap thing Grin

AIBU to ask for yours?

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Original poster
freeAnneBoleyn · 30/12/2018 17:50

Seal pic to help bump it along Grin

To ask for beautiful experiences with wild animals
OP posts:
IJustLostTheGame · 30/12/2018 17:53

We were sailing off Bogner Regis and some wild dolphins swam up to our boat. They swam alongside us and had a good look.
They also did spinning jumping type acrobatic jumps, the sort of sea world thing. It was beautiful. There wasn't a trainer with a bucket of raw fish and a stick, the dolphins were doing it purely because they wanted to.

I've also seen a wild green turtle lay eggs, I could hear hear almost groan with effort towards the end. we had to collect the eggs and move them to a protected part of the beach.
When they hatched we put the teeny turtles (they were so cute) into buckets and let them out at the water's edge and I saw them swim away into the moonlight.

Slightlyjaded · 30/12/2018 17:56

I came across a mummy duck and her ducklings walking up a train track. We live be a few streets from the Thames and they had got lost.

I sent someone into a nearby restaurant for one of those big bustrays that you put dirty dishes in, half filled with clean water. It took three of us half an hour to catch them all but as we carried the huge box the half mile to the river, I was so happy we'd got them. Obviously the best bit was releasing them back into the river and watching them swim off 🐥

I live a five min walk from Rich,one Park so see the deer most days. Sometimes you get a really close encounter and they are so beautiful.

Santaisfastasleepatlast · 30/12/2018 17:58

Watched a wild otter on Mull catch and eat a fish right in front of us, videoed it, amazing to see it's teeth and hear it crunching!!

missmouse101 · 30/12/2018 18:00

Starling murmurations are amazing!

Original poster
freeAnneBoleyn · 30/12/2018 18:04

Ah these are so lovely Smile

Also just lovely experiences with no interaction is wonderful too!! Like starling murmeration which is awesome!!

In the summer I was camping and almost tripped over a badger noisily scoffing slugs- that was amazing too.

I’m going to Scotland (loch mess) next year- I am so hopeful of seeing an otter and dolphins!

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HildegardCrowe · 30/12/2018 18:06

Well not beautuful exactly but I found an injured crow with its poor head bashed in when I was out dog walking. I assume it had been attacked by other birds poor thing. Just couldn't leave it there to die so wrapped it in my jacket, got home and put it in the cat carrier and tried to find a vet that was open. I did eventually and they accepted the bird but have no idea what they did with it. At the very least I hope they would have euthanised it and ended its suffering. I hate seeing animals suffer, even insects!

Sausagefingers9 · 30/12/2018 18:06

A deer ran in to the school playground and ran around knocking kids over everywhere. It was fascinating but scary!
Probably not the beautiful experience you were after Grin

Whatjusthappenedthere · 30/12/2018 18:07

We live near Donna Nook and take the children to see the seal pups every year. The females give birth in full view if you happen to be there at just the right moment. Also saw an otter in the river that flows quite close to our house.
Years ago we were having a picnic at Bewilderwood and two ferret / stoat type creatures ( sorry I can’t remember exactly) came out From the bushes and ran around and around our blanket several times. A gentleman close by said we would be unlikely to see something like that so close and for so long every again.

Sitranced · 30/12/2018 18:09

We used to have a duck that came to lay her eggs every year in a hanging basket in the pub garden I used to work at.

Pythonesque · 30/12/2018 18:09

A couple of weeks back my son and I met up with friends to watch the starlings at our local reserve, and actually found ourselves right underneath them; they were roosting adjacent to the path too that evening.

showmethegin · 30/12/2018 18:11

I used to live in Bondi, Australia. One day I was reading a book on the beach and when I looked up a humpback whale and it's baby were in the bay. They were jumping out of the water and just swimming around. It was so beautiful. Other people on the beach were noticing it and when I looked behind me there were people lining up along the promenade too. Everyone was silent; it was magical, I'll never forget it.

GreyGardens88 · 30/12/2018 18:11

Saw a Fox and its cubs playing at the bottom of our garden once at 5am one summer, was lovely to watch

confusednorthner · 30/12/2018 18:15

Think we live near you op as also live near a popular seal spot.
We have a resident barn owl, love watching him outside our house hunting. Seen him this morning as we went out early just sitting watching the world go by from a house sign, he's just stunning!

Iwantmychairback · 30/12/2018 18:17

We went toCanada one year. Had a lovely walk round Stanley Park in Vancouver. It is famous for black squirrels. We saw one on the path just in front of us, so I crouched down and very slowly put out my hand. The squirrel came slowly up to me and touched my finger before it scampered off.

Another year we went up to the Isle of Mull. We had a Labrador Collie cross who loved the sea. He went charging into the (quite rough) waves for a swim. As we watched a seal came along and swam along with him watching for quite a while.

Original poster
freeAnneBoleyn · 30/12/2018 18:18

I LOVE barn owls they are beautiful!

I don’t live near the seals anymore sadly confused but did growing up...Horsey Gap.

I would probably keel over in excitement to see a whale showmethegin

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Ted27 · 30/12/2018 18:19

He's not exactly wild but I have a resident robin on my allotment who comes over for a natter, ( he's not really just hoping I'll turn the soil over so he can have an easy go at the worms)

KittyVonCatsworth · 30/12/2018 18:21

I’ve just finished diving in Egypt and on the last dive a pod of about 10 dolphins joined us and came nose to nose with us. It was quite emotional.

DisplayPurposesOnly · 30/12/2018 18:23

I had a blackbird fly into my closed patio doors at dusk one Christmas Day. It staggered under a hedge and I managed to catch it, and put it in a box in the shed (with hay, bird food and water. Lucky I had all that in!). The next day it was still alive but still not able to fly. I was due to go away for a few days so couldn't leave it and spent a couple of hours on the phone / Internet trying to find a bird rescue to take it.
I then had to find the damn place, in rural Lancashire, dark, rainy, no satnav... With the bird quiet in a pet carrier.

The bird sanctuary diagnosed cracked ribs and broken wing, poor thing. She was with them for about three weeks, then I collected her back and re-released her into the garden Smile

Alltheprettyseahorses · 30/12/2018 18:25

If wild zoo animals count, my DD had an amazing experience with a cheetah at Chester Zoo. She was next to its enclosure and started trotting off to see what was in the next area when it got up and loped alongside at the same pace, stopping when she did. Just to see if it was chance, I called her back and the cheetah came with her. They then spent the next 10 mins or so running up and down with each other and the cheetah even slowed down for her to catch up if it got ahead. By this time, it wasn't long until closing time so we started to leave, whereupon a family who had been watching went over with their kids to try to do the same thing. However. the cheetah just lay down and ignored them. Was it tired or did it (as I like to think) only want to play with DD?

Original poster
freeAnneBoleyn · 30/12/2018 18:25

Oh Display that is lovely! That was one hardy blackbird 😅

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Original poster
freeAnneBoleyn · 30/12/2018 18:27

I’m not sure Alltheprettyseahorses.

There’s no such thing as a wild zoo animal. TBH mostly they just have he sad. I think they do most things out of sheer boredom, sorry.

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Original poster
freeAnneBoleyn · 30/12/2018 18:27

*make me sad

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baddayattheoffice · 30/12/2018 18:27

I spent a day at an animal sanctuary which specialises in rescuing farmed animals. A dairy farmer had become vegan and couldn't bear to send the last few of his cows to slaughter (as would have been the normal practice once they can't produce enough milk and are no longer cost effective to the farmer). The sanctuary took them in, one with her gorgeous male calf who, as a waste product of the dairy industry, would have been shot or sent off for veal. So not wild animals, but equally amazingly beautiful and gentle creatures.

DisplayPurposesOnly · 30/12/2018 18:30

I went on safari in the summer and saw many amazing things, but here's one...

Sitting outside my chalet after lunch, overlooking the river, a troop of baboons passed by in a single file about 10 ft in front of me. There must have been 20+ of them and every single one did a little start and double-take as they caught sight of me. "Oh, there's someone there!" twenty times Grin Grin Grin