Animals

Marisa and I were able to rescue a little puppy out at the state park last night. I met up with some people from the club outside the park. Myself and another runner were the first to arrive so we were just standing around chatting. All of a sudden, he said look at that coming out of the woods. I turned around and saw a little puppy slowly approaching. It looked like it was a corgi/dachshund mix.

At first the girl was very scared and timid, but it wasn’t long before she was running around joyfully. It was drizzling outside (and had poured) so she was soaked and smelly. I decided that I would take her into the park with us because I couldn’t leave her in this little lot by the highway. She came in and proceeded to run around.

Marisa arrived at the park with her ride and saw the dog. Everyone told her it was her new puppy. At first she resisted but decided she would give it a shot. At least give the dog a night without rain and then a trip to the shelter. That’s better than being killed by a coyote or rattlesnake in the wild.

I put the puppy in my truck with the window down until we got back from the run. Don’t worry, the temp was in the mid to lower 70s and there was little direct sun to heat up the truck. When I got back she ran around again. She is an awesome dog, so I’m glad she was saved.

Ken pondered why he is seeing more armadillos than he has seen in previous years at the Huntsville State Park this year? According to Texas Parks and Wildlife biologists it is not just armadillos that are thriving at HSP this year but a variety of wildlife.

Last summer had more rainfall than had been experienced in years with temperate temperatures. Also, this past winter the lake at the park was artificially lowered. They had up plenty of signs explaining why the water level was lower. This was in large part to help spur the regeneration of the natural vegetation at the shorelines. However, it had the welcomed side effect of helping wildlife thrive. The weather also helped more rattlesnakes and alligators make it through gestation.

Some biologists believe that this year has many more snakes, alligators, and other animals than the HSP has seen for a couple years. Of course one species that hikers notice is armadillos as they are not as alert to human presence as snakes or alligators. But if you want to take a swim in some remote areas I’m sure you’ll find some of the more elusive creatures.

So…keep your guard up! The armadillos won’t hurt you but some of the other wildlife might if you don’t respect the wild spaces we invade.

I ran a few miles at the park before I went out on the canoe yesterday. I found a few fun animals out there.

The most exciting was an alligator.

There are approximately 60 alligators roaming around Huntsville State Park. The rangers claim that the alligators have never attacked any humans at this park. However, every year there are a couple dogs who are killed. The largest alligators at the park grow to be about 5-6 foot in length before they are removed from the park. I never saw the body of this gator but from the size of his head I would guess he is at least 5 feet.

I also was able to catch a really handsome owl hanging out in the tree.

He talked to me as I either spoke or hooted at him. Eventually he tired of me and flew to a tree nearby where he communicated with an owl that I wasn’t able to locate. I found other cranes and ducks but those two animals were the most exciting.

I got out to the Huntsville State Park to run a seven mile loop in the 90 degree heat with Phillip this evening. I went to my car to show him a Seat Shield so that he could see what would soon protect my car seat from the sweat that would saturate me. As I was showing him he excitedly pointed out a snake about three feet from us. I looked over and saw that it was a 4ish foot long rattlesnake!

It doesn’t take a genius in math to know that a 4 foot long venomous snake that’s within three feet of you is a danger. So I did what any irrational non-genius would do: I grabbed my cell phone to take some pictures!

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You can see him (I’ll use that gender for simplicity but I don’t actually know the snake’s gender) slivering along in this unwooded area about two feet from the pavement. At this point he was completely docile. I stepped out onto the grass to get a closer picture and he showed no signs of aggression. He was simply heading towards the shaded woods.

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Here is a picture that shows his rattler. At this point it wasn’t in action because he did not feel any threats. That was about to change.

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He’s coiled in this picture because my running friend tossed a stick onto him. Phillip wanted to hear what the rattle sounded like. Not something I’d recommend but interesting nevertheless. He rattled while he scurried a few feet to where he coil. Once he was coiled he no longer rattled.

This particular type of rattlesnake is commonly called the Timber Rattlesnake. The actual name is crotalus horridus. Wikipedia states that this type of snake is considered one of the most dangerous due to it’s size, the fang size, and it’s ability to quickly put a large amount of venom into it’s target. Thankfully they are very docile so they do not strike humans as often as other snakes.

It was neat watching him do his thing. I wouldn’t advise trying to aggravate one, aside from it being dangerous, it is unnecessary. I was in his habitat and he was not attacking me. Why attack an animal simply to experiment with one. Enjoy but do not disturb the awesome animals you find in nature!

Last night, my neighbor dropped by to see if I wanted to go out to the park and run. I can’t turn down an offer for a run, so I put on my running clothes and we headed out.

We didn’t make it to the park until a little after five, yet we planned on running the five mile. I told my neighbor that I’d carry a light because there was no way we’d beat the sunset. Sure enough, by mile three it was dark enough that the light was helpful. By the last mile, it was absolutely necessary.

I hadn’t ever run in the dark while trying to guide someone else. I was the only one with a light so he ran closely behind me. I listened closely to his feet as they made contact with the ground to see what his speed was like. If he was hitting a lot of roots, I knew that I couldn’t speed up. We did a good job of focusing on the trail and adjusting speed accordingly.

We finished the run in 38 minutes which is close to the fastest I can run it. Then on our way out of the park we saw a huge owl in the middle of the road.

The weather has started to change enough in Texas that I’m not finding snakes. Last week, I think I ran into my last one of the season. Unfortunately, I actually stepped on it. It was a long green snake; I just wasn’t paying enough attention. I ran into it and saw that it wasn’t hurt or being aggressive. As I ran on, I saw a turtle at the side of the trail.

I was able to run the past couple of days. Yesterday, I went on a 5 mile run through the park and didn’t see anything. The only big setback was the humidity which was terrible. Today I ran with a friend and we saw a little family of boars (Scary) and a deer (not Scary). So I have been able to get a couple runs in this week.

I went on a run this evening with my friend and his dog. Typically this jack russell has no problem running our distance. I think that he’s gone as far as 14 miles with us before.

This evening, due to the 90-something degree heat, we decided to only run 3.5 miles. It was barely 2 miles into the run when his dog suddenly laid down on the trail. He just plopped down and wouldn’t get up!

I guess that the heat was the breaking point. We let him catch his breathe and then finished the run at a slower pace. At the end of the run he was able to drink plenty of water.

I went on a nine mile run this evening and saw a variety of bugs (including one tick; reminder, check yourself carefully before bed), some birds, and three land animals. That land animal happened to be a stupid armadillo.

One was crossing the street when I was finishing my run. One scurried away in a panic. The other one just stood there and then started to run along side me.

Odd.

This isn’t on the topic of running, but I was inspired by an article in National Geographic entitled “Defending a Forgotten Herd” about elephant in central Africa. It’s good to see that there are people defending them from extinction but that defense takes money. Give if you’d like; admire while you can.

Today I hit the trails again and found some that were actually dry! I only went about three miles, because I didn’t bring along a flashlight. I didn’t think it would be wise to get stuck out on unknown trails without light.

About one mile into the run, I came upon a creek where they still had deer hunting stands set up. This is a state park that allows deer hunting at certain times of the year to control the populations. About two hundred feet in front of me where two beautiful deers! I was so happy to see some actual wildlife on a run. That’s not something you see much of in Dallas.

Then on the drive home, I saw about five does out by the side of the highway. They weren’t scared by the cars but weren’t coming into the roads.

I wish I had brought my camera.

Uh oh, this doesn’t bode to well for runners. I think we all know to look out for the random stray dog that might be aggressive, but I don’t typically worry about herds of wild dogs attacking me.

A pack of 15 wild dogs attacked a jogger in Nashville, Tennessee. They chased him and bit him until he found shelter in a nearby building. After that the dogs went after another jogger.

I guess the only thing to learn from this is that it’s important to always be alert for anything. Wild animals, especially rabid animals, are a threat to runners and bikers. I typically will carry keys and a cell phone to use to find safety. I’m sure that if you yell and make yourself look larger it could scare animals away too.

Be careful out there. That’s Fit has more.