Sharks, Scorpions, and Frogs

[Rob Stevens]

   Allison and I were paddling from Turkey to Hog one morning and from a distance we could see splashing in Bird Key Bight. When we finally got there it was dolphins chasing fish in water too shallow for them to float in. Also sharks and Brown Pelicans. We went beyond them and ran the canoe up on an oyster bar on the tip of Bird Key. Al stayed in her seat and I walked up and sat on the bow. Then about 60 feet away a dolphin chased a school of fish almost up onto the beach. It was half out of the water with an incredible amount of splashing. It was incredible sight. I hope everyone gets to see it sometime. I can't imagine what the oysters do to the dolphin's belly. I'm curious about the calorie gain versus the energy expended.

   There were sharks cruising around and one passed 4 feet off our stern. At which point I brought my feet up onto the gunwale. Remember I was at the bow. Then in an all to familiar refrain Allison says "Oh you big baby." The shark was  3 1/2 to 4 feet from forward fin to tip of tail. What kind could it have been?

   Something else I'd never realized is that when a Brown Pelican hits the water and the big splash clears the pelican is facing the way it comes from. Its mouth must act as a sea anchor and the body swings around. Weird

   When we unloaded at Hog I found a scorpion in the canoe. A first ever for me.

   And lastly as I said in a previous post count yourself lucky if you have frogs in the outhouse. No bugs.

[SteveS]

On Rabbit Key one time I was preparing for bed. Got all snuggy inside my tent and in the light of the moon I saw this "bug" crawling on my sleeping bag towards my face. Popped on my headlamp and saw a scorpion about 12 inches from my nose. I grabbed a book and started hammering. I don't like killing critters but I will make an exception for a scorpion making a b-line for my face.

[Kim Gass]

I always forget about the frogs, worry about black widows, I think they are nurse sharks ( I whacked one last year with my paddle and it just kind of ignored the whack) and thanks for the reminder about scorpions on Rabbit. I just thought it was the home of giant yellow spiders.

[vivian]

A few years ago was on Canepatch and saw those frogs in the potty, I think they live there year round. The Buckley's told us the story of the python found at the Watson river chickee potty. That trumps the frog.

Scorpions love to live in dead wood, when you heat up that wood in your campfire, many run out towards you. Be careful out there.

[toofaraway]

There are a lot of bull sharks in the waters, especially at certain times of the year and they can be aggressive.  I saw a large Mako caught inside the mouth of Little Shark and have seen a very large Thresher shark surface well up Little Shark R near WWBay.   Bull sharks are the most common and dangerous ones in the glades.  You want to be careful when releasing fish by hand.  Best is just don't revive them by hand at all.  I saw a 6 footer inhale a decent snook at Snake Bight just as we released it from the net.  You only need to see that once to realize NEVER put your hand in the water with a fish on the end of it.

I once jumped into the fresh water up above Willy Willy to cool off before setting up the tent on the boat.  I plunged feet first down, about 7 feet and then pushed off hard to get out quickly.  My shoes ended up getting caught, briefly, in the pinnacle rock and caused me to be held under for a panicky moment.  Now I cool off when it's really hot by wearing the heaviest cotton long sleeve shirt I can find and keeping it wet with fresh water.

[Swamp Hunter]

I picked up Scorpians when I put my little camper in storage. They were all over. You cannot kill them with bug bombs. The only way is to crush them.

I noticed they are attracted to water. I found several in my cooler and a large one in my toilet. The last one I killed walking across my table. I would imagine I could have set out pans of water to attract them. I agree you will find them in dead wood often but you can also find them in airplants.

I dont know why some places have them. There is an island in the BCNP south of the Loop Road called Scorpian Head, Its full of them.. An old timer used to live on Scorpian Head and the story is he slept with them crawling all over him.

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