Yep, my son is stationed in Iraq. He says he works about 12 hours every day. Not much time for anything else. He and a couple guys caught a camel spider the other day. He was surprized that I didn't know what they were so I looked it up on the internet. Here is what I found on the net.
(http://nma1.us/breaktime/2004-04/images/alan-camel_spider.jpg)
Yuck... I guess thay are going to feed it to see how big it will get.
I just came in to say:
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!! :o
That is all.
sac
That's actually 2 spiders and those are quite large specimens. But, they are pretty big...
Those are about double the size of the ones we dealt with in Thumrait. But they are nasty little things
There was a whole thing that went down at one of the Forward Operating Bases in Iraq while I was there last year where a guy fell asleep on post and was essentially attacked by one. They eat flesh on downed animals or sleeping ones. their venom is a numbing agent and he didn't know it was chewing on his chin. He was all messed up and kept calling out garbled messages on the radio because he couldn't talk without his lower lip and all. It was a mess. To top it off he got written up for sleeping on duty. poor sap.
Could've been worse, i guess. He could have found a spider camel. Those things freak me out. :(
http://www.snopes.com/photos/bugs/camelspider.asp
Those appear to only be about 4-5 inches across, which is, admittedly, 4-5 inches more than I like, but also not THAT huge.
I just realized that whole statement sounds a bit off if taken out of context. [laugh]
omg I hate spiders :-\
I would prob shoot myself accidently if I awoke to one of those on me.
<screams>
WTF!!!!!!
O
M
G
(http://www.drivenbyboredom.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/do-not-want-dog.jpg)
getitaway getitaway getitaway !!!!!! Noooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!
Something about this reminds me of the time my dad showed up at the school he was teaching at in Kenya, and there was a python in the latrine. It was sort of curled around the hole.... Eventually, IIRC, all the bravest men in the village gathered around, some of them lifted the entire latrine walls and roof up and away, and the rest hacked it to bits with machetes.
I would totally freakout if i saw that thing :o
Goliath Birdeater!!! Actual Size!!!
(http://i278.photobucket.com/albums/kk120/tndrpngn/GoliathBirdeater.jpg)
These are eaten as crabs in South America. Yummy...and oh yea...truly the size of diner plates...
Quote from: GLantern on July 09, 2008, 08:46:32 AM
I would totally freakout if i saw that thing :o
you are not alone...
i'd die.
Quote from: duqette on July 09, 2008, 08:15:05 AM
Something about this reminds me of the time my dad showed up at the school he was teaching at in Kenya, and there was a python in the latrine. It was sort of curled around the hole.... Eventually, IIRC, all the bravest men in the village gathered around, some of them lifted the entire latrine walls and roof up and away, and the rest hacked it to bits with machetes.
that make the beast with two backsin' sucks for the snake... I'm sure all he wanted was a cool damp (if smelly) place to chill out for a while
"What has no humps, no hooves and drinks no water?" sorry, just showing my geeky gaming side...
A little old bay seasoning, a little steam and youve got an appetizer!
Quote from: factorPlayer on July 09, 2008, 11:09:21 AM
that make the beast with two backsin' sucks for the snake... I'm sure all he wanted was a cool damp (if smelly) place to chill out for a while
Dude. I'm talkin' about Africa. They have zillions of snakes, and they are all poisonous ('cept for maybe one). People there are not even the tiniest bit tolerant of snakes, and for excellent reason. The snakes there eat small children. Not to mention livestock.
If there was a six foot mamba or whatever wrapped around the only shit-hole in your town, what would you do?
Nope, not feeling sorry for the snake.
Or the spider. <shudder>
The python you mentioned isn't venomous. Saying that all but one snake in Africa is venomous is just ignorant.
Why risk getting bitten while trying to hack the mamba in your example to bits when you could poke it with a stick from a distance to motivate to find a less crowded hang-out.
And before you respond, I've done that very thing with several cottonmouths and rattlesnakes I've encountered near my home, to say nothing of the far more common and less dangerous corn snakes, garter snakes and black racers.
I prefer camel-toe
Quote from: NuTTs on July 09, 2008, 11:54:37 AM
I prefer camel-toe
[popcorn]
<waits for inevitable picture response, and corresponding smack of the ban-hammer>
(http://n2.cdn.spikedhumor.com/1/509000/120262_camel_toe_1.jpg)
;D
Quote from: trenner on July 09, 2008, 01:46:47 PM
[popcorn]
<waits for inevitable picture response, and corresponding smack of the ban-hammer>
Was that what you were waiting for trenner? [cheeky]
On topic...
Gods Speed to your son - if he needs the info - I hope you pass along the snopes info Someguy provided a link for - that would let me sleep a little easier if I'd been recounted the story of the "poor sap" that fell asleep on duty...
on the African-jack
Quote from: factorPlayer on July 09, 2008, 11:09:21 AM
that make the beast with two backsin' sucks for the snake... I'm sure all he wanted was a cool damp (if smelly) place to chill out for a while
Quote from: duqette on July 09, 2008, 11:26:02 AM
... People there are not even the tiniest bit tolerant of snakes...
Quote from: jswledhed on July 09, 2008, 11:32:29 AM
Why risk getting bitten while trying to hack the mamba in your example to bits when you could poke it with a stick from a distance to motivate to find a less crowded hang-out.
Some FHE - when we got together with relatives at Qolora, Transkei, RSA (google earth it ;) )- and the shriek "snake" was yelled from the SA cousins. They were all darting out fo the bushes and the NA boys were running to go check it out.
While duqette may be exaggurating some of the facts - the general tolerance level is very different than here. This could be for many reasons, but the obvious one is that in the US typical encounter with snakes are going to be with non-venomous variety and it sure seems the complete opposite when you see the offerings that other continents have to offer.
By the way, I haven't run into a rancher yet here in the US that wouldn't take a shovel to a rattler without a thought. Fear of snakes?? I don't think so. Lot's of risk?? I don't think so. Not to the one swinging the blade anyway - but a poisonous (or dangerous) snake on a ranch with livestock is not going to be poked and prodded on it's way by too many people.
The only other experience that's worth sharing was in the US - we had caught a garter snake and had brought it inside - put it in a shoe box for 'safe' keeping. No surprise the snake got out and was loose in the house for two weeks while a geriatric relative was visiting from SA. We probably avoided a funeral by not having our guest come upon the snake, but the scream that my mother let out when she found it coiled under the bed when changing sheets would've made Kramer's stone passing event envious.
end-jack
Quote from: Monsterlover on July 09, 2008, 02:01:44 PM
(http://n2.cdn.spikedhumor.com/1/509000/120262_camel_toe_1.jpg)
;D
I prefer my camel toes with a little less hair on them... 8)
I spent many months deployed to equatorial and sub-saharan Africa when I was stationed in Germany and had many a run-in with camel spiders down in Niger. As said before, they are technically not spiders, but more closely related to scorpions. Also, stories of them eating away at people's flesh are greatly exaggerated. They are however quite fearless and I have seen them make chase to a person when trying to slip out of the tent late at night to use the "toilet".
Now as far as the idea of poking a stick at any sort of mamba (black or green) goes: hope you have your running shoes on. Black mambas are the ones you would be most likely to have an encounter with (green mambas are more arboreal) and can be quite aggressive. It is not uncommon for one to actually chase a person, and these things can move faster than most people can across broken terrain. They also have the ability to raise over one third of their body length above ground level, so expect a bite at about waist height.
Holy Crap!!! I sure am glad to live in america.
To get any anaimal to chase you for any distance, you have to corner it. Give that nasty mamba few options on how to leave the area and 999 times out of a 1000, its going to do so. Limit its options with a crowd of bloodthirsty fools and something bad is going to happen.
People make the same claims about being chased by cottonmouths, another snake known for its foul temper. [roll]
And the ranchers out west can kiss my ass. The western diamondback is practicaly endangered because people can't keep a ounce of self-control or common sense about them when stomping around in the scrub.
You won't convice me that its better to kill something just because its in your path and could, under certain circumstances, be a problem.
Quote from: lauramonster on July 09, 2008, 07:30:16 PM
Holy Crap!!! I sure am glad to live in america.
Statements like these make me envision rich little daddies girls.
Quote from: PizzaMonster on July 09, 2008, 02:11:20 PM
Was that what you were waiting for trenner? [cheeky]
Hehe. Not exactly!
Quote from: jswledhed on July 09, 2008, 08:03:58 PM
To get any anaimal to chase you for any distance, you have to corner it. Give that nasty mamba few options on how to leave the area and 999 times out of a 1000, its going to do so. Limit its options with a crowd of bloodthirsty fools and something bad is going to happen.
People make the same claims about being chased by cottonmouths, another snake known for its foul temper. [roll]
And the ranchers out west can kiss my ass. The western diamondback is practicaly endangered because people can't keep a ounce of self-control or common sense about them when stomping around in the scrub.
You won't convice me that its better to kill something just because its in your path and could, under certain circumstances, be a problem.
Have you ever been anywhere close to one of these snakes? Black mambas are very territorial and have been known to chase people away from what they consider their territory. Like I said before, I have spent a lot of time in the parts of the world where these things live and have first hand (i.e. learned from seeing one in person) knowledge how they behave.
And I am in no way advocating/approving the killing of any of these animals. The way I look at it, we are the ones that are trespassing when we go into their world. You wouldn't say that a homeowner should get in trouble for defending their home, and I don't think any sort of animal should be singled out for protecting what is theirs. You have to respect the fact that they were most likely there LONG before we were.
Quote from: jswledhed on July 09, 2008, 08:03:58 PM
To get any anaimal to chase you for any distance, you have to corner it. Give that nasty mamba few options on how to leave the area and 999 times out of a 1000, its going to do so. Limit its options with a crowd of bloodthirsty fools and something bad is going to happen.
People make the same claims about being chased by cottonmouths, another snake known for its foul temper. [roll]
And the ranchers out west can kiss my ass. The western diamondback is practicaly endangered because people can't keep a ounce of self-control or common sense about them when stomping around in the scrub.
You won't convice me that its better to kill something just because its in your path and could, under certain circumstances, be a problem.
I was once chased by a mockingbird while minding my own business walking down the sidewalk.....F-er came out of nowhere and attacked me! Wish I had a badmitton racket!
Quote from: rgramjet on July 10, 2008, 05:32:01 AM
I was once chased by a mockingbird while minding my own business walking down the sidewalk.....F-er came out of nowhere and attacked me! Wish I had a badmitton racket!
Nest was close by. Bastards can be damn brave when they've got eggs in a nest. ;)
No, I've never had to deal with a mamba of any sort. I do know that the stories about them sound very, very similar to innumerable stories about people being chased by everything from ants to alligators. All of them bullshit. The bottom line is simple. Remove
flight as an option and there is only
fight. How we percieve
flight options isn't how an animal perceives them. Give them their options and no one gets hurt, snake or puny human.
I like how many parts of India have started operating. They have their own snake catching/relocation teams. Cobra in the tea plantation? Call the dudes in and they come deal with it. No one gets hurt, snake doesn't have to die. I understand that this would be tough to do among the subsistence farmers of Africa, but its far superior to location becoming a death sentance.
All I know is if you search Google Images for "camel spider bite" you come up with some nasty chit! :-X
Quote from: rgramjet on July 09, 2008, 06:54:45 PM
I prefer my camel toes with a little less hair on them... 8)
I'd much rather have shaven camel toe also
Quote from: jswledhed on July 10, 2008, 05:58:36 AM
No, I've never had to deal with a mamba of any sort. I do know that the stories about them sound very, very similar to innumerable stories about people being chased by everything from ants to alligators. All of them bullshit. The bottom line is simple. Remove flight as an option and there is only fight. How we percieve flight options isn't how an animal perceives them. Give them their options and no one gets hurt, snake or puny human.
I am well aware of the fight or flight concept. Hell, I have a psychology degree and that is one of the first things that is discussed back in university. But I still disagree with your theory. Let's just take this rudimentary example as a way to clear it all up. Take one of these snakes and place it in an open field in the savannah. For the sake of argument, you can repeat this in multiple random locations to be assured that you are not close to any potential nest. Then take one person that happens to come near it and "disturb" it. They don't have to molest the snake at all, just be in close enough proximity to it so the snake feels threatened. Four times out of five the snake will give chase to the person. Now consider this, the person provided about one (maybe two if it is a large person) degree of fight as compared to 359 degrees of available flight. The theory that any animal will retreat if the chance is there is simply not valid in all cases.
Open ground is the most threatening situation possible. The animal must have a path to something that will provide some security. If there's nowhere to run, and in your example there isn't, the animal must stand its ground. That applies to any animal.
Now, give that snake some thick brush, a tree, anything that will provide some cover and it'll head for cover every time.
Quote from: ROBsS4R on July 09, 2008, 02:58:46 AM
omg I hate spiders :-\
I would prob shoot myself accidently if I awoke to one of those on me.
im with ya on that!!!
they give me the hebegebies!!!
Quote from: DRKWNG on July 09, 2008, 07:11:58 PM
I spent many months deployed to equatorial and sub-saharan Africa when I was stationed in Germany and had many a run-in with camel spiders down in Niger. As said before, they are technically not spiders, but more closely related to scorpions. Also, stories of them eating away at people's flesh are greatly exaggerated. They are however quite fearless and I have seen them make chase to a person when trying to slip out of the tent late at night to use the "toilet".
Oh, great. They're more like scorpions than spiders. That just makes me feel soooooooo much better. [laugh]
I take a live and let live attitude towards any poisonous animal that's smaller than I am. If it lets me live, I'll let it live. ;)
If the animal in question is bigger than I am, all bets and agreements are off.
If it might want me for lunch ... I'm stayin' in the damn car with the windows up..... You don't
really know how long you can hold your pee until you're tooling around Tsavo looking at lions... [bang] [laugh] [laugh]
I think the first thing we have to recognize is that there is NO GRAY!!!.... Right? [beer] [does this make me Mr. Passive Aggressive?]
As pointed out by several bird remarks - different animals have different tolerances for territory. Even among different venomous predators. "Distance" may be the shred of truth in your statement, but distance is not necessarily the problem - e.g. the argument I could've outrun him if I had another 50 yards won't be much of a consolation if he beat you to the first 5 feet. The guest-racer doesn't always realize the race already started. "On your mark... Ahhhhh!!!!!"
My own bird-attacks have been with the "Red Winged Blackbird", adding the third dimension to the 359 degree argument - that make the beast with two backser had all sorts of options - I should've reached for my driver… but (s)he lived to rear his young. Also - notice the play on words here? I bet the namesake of this bird saw him take a head-start too. Cheating Bastid.
http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/558/_/American_Redstart.aspx (http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/558/_/American_Redstart.aspx)
Quote from: jswledhed on July 09, 2008, 08:03:58 PM
And the ranchers out west can kiss my ass. The western diamondback is practicaly endangered because people can't keep a ounce of self-control or common sense about them when stomping around in the scrub.
You won't convice me that its better to kill something just because its in your path and could, under certain circumstances, be a problem.
"... he's doing something to his ass, but he's not
kissing it" slight adaptation of E. Cartman's line circa 1997
http://www.southparkstudios.com/clips/149722/?searchterm=Big+Gay+Al%27s+Big+Gay+Boat+Ride
...wait for it - it's about the 40 second mark... ;D
Were you thinking of a different snake when speaking about the "Western Diamondback" - "Practically Endangered"?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_atrox (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crotalus_atrox)
[quote author - wikipedia reference above] when remarking on
"This species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species (v3.1, 2001).[7] Species are listed as such due to their wide distribution, presumed large population, or because it is unlikely to be declining fast enough to qualify for listing in a more threatened category. The population trend is stable. Year assessed: 2007.[8]
They are also heavily collected from the wild, frequently being drawn out of their hiding places with gasoline, and used in rattlesnake roundups where they are killed for entertainment. Despite this, their population is not considered to be threatened."[/quote]
I would suggest we first go after these guys with gasoline for 'entertainment' purposes before we start thinking people in third world countries protecting their livelihood are small humans.
I also like the snake relocating idea - I believe they use it in other parts of SE Asia too. I'm curious though, in addition to their small fee - how much of their business driver is for collecting venom to make anti-venom as opposed to the PETA principles of no harm to any creatures. There also in higher-density urban areas that help to sustain the cash-flow. With your experience with Cottonmouths, you may have already bought some
swamp land beach front property, so if you're interested I could probably start a reptile relocation business for you for a small fee in rural Montana.
My guess is that the rancher would select his roper boot before a kiss if given the opportunity, but if that didn't work - he'd move on his way before trying to convince you further. My FHE was with an Arabian ranch and they had lost $30K+ horses to rattler snake bites before.
Look, I poke and I prod - mostly because I'm disturbed at your lack of listening/absorbing what others have to offer. The world is a big and small place. People around are all very much like you and I - but their problems are not necessarily in the same stratosphere as our problems. For many in third-world areas, the way they live is a FAR cry from the way you and I live. Within this thread, we've seen misinformation thwarted, and we've seen some solid First Hand Experience, including yours, but I don't see you listening to these other equally, if not more credible resources that are trying to show you that your environment/experience isn't giving you a clear/full picture/understanding of the situation.
Fact is... they aren't all bullshit and I hope you begin to accept that.
Diamondbacks aren't endargered. I knew that and should have phrased that statement differently.
You're absolutely correct, the population is healthy. Many other western rattlesnake species are rare, due mostly to people seeing one and issuing a death sentance.
No one is going to convice me that killing a snake is the best/only option. I don't care what the locale is, I don't care what the species of snake is. They are far too valuable an animal for the overall health of the environment to be butchered for no reason other than our proximity to them.
Beyond that, I respect, but disagree. [beer]
I guess they plan on feeding it (I don't know what) to see how big it will get. The one they caught is about 8" or 10" long if you want to get close enough to measure it. When they catch one it raises a little bit of interest around the camp. I don't know maybe they use it for a barracks mascot or to guard their bathroom or locker. I'll probably hear more in a week or two.
I wonder... most creatures seem to have a purpose, but this one just seems to be right out of the movie Alien.
They should find a way to give it steroids. Then...train it.
Use it as a device to make people talk.
Just tie the terrorist person down, put the spider on said terrorists' balls, then large glass bowl on top of spider. Inform the potential victim that it hadn't been fed in a while.
They'll talk.
Wow.
I really wouldn't want one of those on my balls.
Nope.
Definitely not.
Quote from: Monsterlover on July 12, 2008, 05:44:52 AM
Wow.
I really wouldn't want one of those on my balls.
Nope.
Definitely not.
<German accent>
We have ways of making you talk!</German accent>