Wild Animals

Having grown up in South Africa I often tease people about all the wild animals I had in my backyard growing up – aka “Out of Africa”.  The truth is a little different.  In the suburbs of Johannesburg as a child, the scariest animal was probably a chameleon!  I remember being told that the locals feared and respected it because it had the power to change color.

Later in Natal we did have vervet monkeys in the trees behind our house.  The biggest challenge was stopping the dogs chasing them, as if cornered, were told they could disembowel a dog.  Fortunately, never had any issues and I love seeing them jumping from tree to tree.   

There were a number of poisonous snakes, and I can tell a story of walking in a private game park and jumping away from a 10 foot black mamba – that WAS truly scary and could have been lethal. 

 

Then a move to the suburbs of Boston, MA – a little rural I admit, but regularly I have to chase white tailed deer away from my flowers, and have seen coyotes, foxes and of course the one moose!  In Maine my friends have had bears eating from their bird feeders!

So, USA is more wild than Africa!