Once Bitten, Twice Shy: Backyard Wildlife Antics Can Hurt!

When it comes to bites, it's hard to put into perspective exactly how many different things and how many times any one person has been bit by something.  Seriously.  Try to think back about different bites you might have experienced.  Bugs are probably right at the top.  But how many different types of those bugs?  Ant, mosquito, horse fly, spider, mites, ticks, bees...the list is complicated!

But Wait, There's More!

O.K., we have bugs out of the way.  Digging further down the path though, I realized there was so many more things that had "taken a bite out" of me at some point in my life.  Making a list, it became exhausting!  Growing up on the ranch, there were several that came to me.  Horse, cow, calf, skunk, raccoon, even fish.  I couldn't even come close to how many dogs have nipped my heels, tried taking a bite out of my rear or left a pretty good bruise on my hands.  Don't even start about how many different breeds I could name.

Live And Learn, Even At My Age

This past weekend, I had another encounter with wildlife.  This time around, I deserved every bit(e) of it!  Over the course of several months, our yard has a couple of squirrels that have become somewhat tame.  It's that somewhat that will get you in trouble, every single time.  After being outside, I had several stop by for a quick peanut.  As I handed them out, everything was fine.  As per the last couple months.  When my wife and I decided to leave, I wanted to give them one last nut.  Oh, but I gave them so much more!

The Disclaimer And The Results

As with all wild animals, yes even the squirrels, you roll the dice, you take your chances.  Or, if you are a tourist, you mess with the bison, you get the horns.  Please don't try to tame or adopt any type of wildlife.  We didn't try to make them tame, they just kind of started getting more brave.  But again, I shouldn't be trying to hand feed them.  As I lifted the peanut to one of them, well, a peanut apparently looks a lot like my pointer finger.  Which now has a 3/4" gash from really sharp teeth.  I won't share the picture, but suffice to say..."YEOWCH!!!"

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Making wildlife into a pet never works out well.  Take the safety and proper route, get them a feeder of some sort from your local hardware/pet supply store and save yourself from wondering whether or not you will need a rabies shot, like me!  (Seriously, I have been checked out and am fine.)  In the meantime, check out the gallery below to find out the things that make Montana's backyard go bite and let us know:  "What crazy thing have you been bitten by in Montana?"