I'm getting a kick out of this! I know of FL wildlife, etc, etc, but some of you are making it seem like you're living 100 years ago, encountering these animals every day in the suburbs of... Well... EVERYWHERE!! LOL!
I have occasionally seen deer run along Wisonconsin Ave in DC! I wouldn't expect to see that often, and I wouldn't expect most tourists to DC to expect to see deer crossing the street in a major city like DC. :-D
Feels like some are now OVERSTATING their encounters with wildlife in everyday life.
Boy, does the pendulum swing on DIS...
Several others have already replied, but I'll also corroborate: Helena, the capitol of Montana, has a large urban deer population, to the point where when I lived there I would see them on the streets multiple times per week. Just earlier this month a doe killed two pet dogs there because they were threatening her fawn. Helena's not a big city, but it is thoroughly suburban and I would constantly see deer where I lived in the city center, miles from any actual forest land. Helena is also a city that regularly culls and/or relocates its deer, and yet there is never a shortage of urban deer there. Those animals are legitimately dangerous (we're talking big mule deer, not the cute little things you see down south), but people who live there generally know how to live with them and avoid confrontations. I live in a different Montana city now and don't see so many deer, but live on the outskirts of town (again, suburban neighborhood) and have seen them up in our neighborhood and heard reports of mountain lions in the area.
If Montana is too rural to count in your view, we can talk about the booming coyote population in my parents' neighborhood in the Denver metro area. They live in a cute little suburb in the middle of the metropolitan sprawl, but my mother has encountered coyotes multiple times while out walking their dog. Coyotes are smaller than wolves, sure, but they're plenty big enough to be dangerous if they're starving or rabid, especially if we're talking about children or pets encountering them.
Your comment reminds me of how when I was a kid, I knew perfectly well that there were foxes and coyotes in our neighborhood near Denver because my parents taught me how to pay attention to the signs of their presence and watch for them -- but others in the neighborhood would act surprised if I mentioned it to them. I also remember being at college and mentioning the campus's squirrels and raccoons to someone because the place was flooded with them, and her saying she'd never noticed them at all. Odds are there are more animals near you than you realize; you just haven't been looking for them.
This is the FIRST halfway respectful post I've seen so I'll thank you for that.
[snip]
I just want to say...
Many of us answered your question with sensible responses, they were ignored or dismissed out of hand.
THIS.
They make things look like a storybook, but honestly people need to know it is not a fairytale they ae entering. All pretense aside, one should be aware that there is a reality to the vacation. I do agree that signs will nto hurt, but I am one of those who think that they will only help someone who is prone to accept a warning. I also think that as people get used tot the signs they will nto see them anymore, kind of liek you don't ead all the warnings on an attaction after a whle. The sign is there, bt not eally in your vision.
As to luxury resorts north of Hartford, I think that as you venture out you see some stinkin nice places to stay, and I would be the owners of these places have the same problems. Pretty moose, cute little bears. Swift running water. People tend to believe what they want to believe, and ignore warnings that are not int ther face loud.
Evidence in favor of your point: a man died in one of the hot springs at Yellowstone National Park this summer despite numerous signs warning visitors to stay on the boardwalks because the water is scalding hot and the ground around it is often unstable.
Literally a week after that death, another tourist was caught wandering around on the ground by the springs and fined for it. The National Park Service also issues numerous specific warnings about the dangers of wildlife, including the herbivores of the park, and yet both this summer and last there have been tourists who deliberately approached bison and got gored as a result.
I think the fences will help more than signs alone, honestly, because it takes a more deliberate action to climb over a fence than to walk past a sign. Of course there will still be people who don't pay any heed to it and put themselves in danger, but to my mind there's a big difference between someone who deliberately ignores a specific danger warning and a fence versus someone who sees a "no swimming" sign and doesn't realize it's really telling them that their child shouldn't play at the water's edge. The fences and signs will help at least some people. Cast members cracking down on anyone they see feeding gators will help the overall issue. It's always possible that people are going to put themselves in harm's way despite all best efforts to dissuade them, but it's still worth making the effort for the sake of those who will listen.
