To ask what is the largest wild animal you could fight off?

[Tsham]

You’re walking in the countryside. An animal resents your presence and it goes for you.

One simple question.

What is the largest wild animal you think you could successfully fight off?

It doesn’t have to be a British wild animal. Feel free to choose a Koala or a Baboon, etc. if you wish.

Hamster? Hamster you say? I think not! Ask any vet or veterinary nurse.

A wasp

I was gonna say a pidgeon -but then remembered a male blackbird (obviously protecting an unknown nest in my overgrown garden) divebombed me, clouting me on my head taking me completely by surprise.
So, as long as I knew the pidgeon was angry with me & gave fair warning it was about to attack, maybe I’d manage to hold it down! tho, a pair of gloves would be appreciated!

There are a few vids floating around of people picking up sloths & getting attacked by them - they are very strong for their size & have super sharp / strong claws. On the plus side, you'd be able to out run it easily :)

Nothing, I'd likely die of fright if approached by a bear 🐻 or anything like that. I'm loving the assertion that Badgers are made of some sort of concrete, I concur!

I'm going to say racoon but may be over thinking my fighting abilities.
If I carried snacks I could throw them and divert it's attention while I ran.

I had a bit of a tussle with a monkey in a forest in Bali.
(They can carry rabies so I was quite worried)
I was also seriously intimidated by a herd of mountain goats in Corfu

I have fought off a cow. But she broke my finger before she backed off and I don't think I broke anything of hers. So she might claim that she was the winner.

EDIT. Oh, but cows aren't wild so prob don't count., though this one was pretty feral.

I think I could take on an anteater.

Possibly a giant anteater? Very small mouths and teeth.

They have big claws, but I don’t think they can use them like a cassowary or a velociraptor or anything.

How on earth does a koala attack if it’s likely to pass on vd? 😂 I mean, they’re pretty lazy aren’t they? Their claws are sharp (and their penises diseased, so might be too itchy to attack too long?) but wouldn’t they need a break from the attack to eat some eucalyptus and have a nap? But, in all seriousness, have definitely heard that they can be quite aggressive little fuckers, not the cute alter ego they like to present as! I wonder if they jump out of trees to attack? Like a fat flying squirrel coming at you? They’d fall quite fast and probably break your skull if they landed on your head.

Snap! Between us we’d certainly be fine.

Galapagos giant tortoise. Unlikely to attack as such but certainly happy to mug you for any fruit you may have about your person.

Are you sure? They have some serious claws.

Don't be so sure. A lone wolf will, 99% of the time, be easy to scare off - they hunt in packs and are incredibly cautious even then, only taking on prey they know they can safely handle. A human most definitely doesn't qualify - to a wolf, we're huge, unpredictable and fast, and have far too many weird things nearby that don't fit into their world model.

If necessary, of course, they'll just hang around the periphery to wait and see if you put yourself in a vulnerable position. So, y'know, just don't go to sleep.

I have successfully fended off badger, large bird of prey of indeterminate species (I think kite DH thinks some sort of buzzard type thing but I have no clue if we have those on NI) and mink although mink are particularly vicious little fuckers. I have encountered foxes but they seem friendly thus far so far so good. I do not wish to fend off the pine martens though after the mink. I should also add I am not going out attacking the local wildlife I was gathering up lambs at the time and the foxes are just around all the time, including a beautiful black one. DH was also tasked with getting a frightened and angry badger out of an illegal snare set by some arseholes on our shared lane once when I was pregnant with Dd1, he was not enthused he usually leaves these things to me.

Maybe a mouse?

I reckon I could definitely climb up a fence to be out of reach of one if things went badly.

I’ve got sausage dogs and sometimes one of them licks my ears and climbs on my head, waking my face with his tail with such ferocity that i am beaten.

Badgers are small bears.
I’d go for rabbit.

Yep, I would not want to take a swan on- most birds avoid them like the plague for a reason!

Honestly, I could take on anything small that I could either boot or pick up and throw.

I think honey badgers are hilarious. Vicious and evil but look like a member of The Beatles.

Badger???? They will fight to the death and kill as many dogs as they can when put through the ordeal of badger digging

I once kicked a fox up it's bum, it has one of my hens in its mouth the cheeky fucker. I would not take on a badger thou, they are fucking insane.

Small monkey if I had a stick

I was on a safari holiday and a fellow holidaymaker (man) believed he could take a Cheetah. I pointed out that they bring down large gazelle, antelope etc that are fighting for their lives and have horns/hooves. Going one on one with a big cat is almost certainly going to go in the animals favour