What are YOU afraid of??

[Suthinsoul]

Bugs terrify me!!!  Especially if they fly, jump or crawl.

[Grandma Helen]

Reno sounds better than any place with alligators

[Leftygrl]

Hmmmm . . . I guess I don't really  have any phobia's!  Can't say that I'm truly afraid of anything listed here.  But I'lll keep watching.  Maybe someone else will come up with a foible that I can relate to ;-)

[Trish]

Thunderstorms! Once when I was a child lightning hit the metal chimney on our house. The BOOM !!! was unbelievable and I jumped about a foot.

[Shadowman]

I had a tinge of fear this afternoon when I got my mail and saw an envelope from the IRS.  However, it was just a couple of belated forms I had ordered and nothing to do with the taxes I filed a couple of weeks back. I do not mind most of the animals people fear. Bears only kill one or two people a year, same for mountian lions, sharks, etc. in the U.S.. It is one of the peculiar things about human nature that they will fear strange things but think nothing of getting on the highway where 40,000 are killed and hundreds of thousands maimed every year.  I would dispute some of the figures below because caged animals in zoos appear to be figured in. Sometimes a slow-witted person will climb into a cage or allow their child to climb in.  We in the U.S. have no Elephants in the wild and no recorded, verified instance of a human killed by a wolf in the wild. Oh, and don't forget the Florida Sink Holes like the one that swallowed a man yesterday. News says it is very rare but occasionally it happens that they result in death.

 

Average Number of Deaths per Year in the U.S

Bee/Wasp	53
Dogs	31
Spider	6.5
Rattlesnake	5.5
Mountain lion	1
Shark	1
Alligator	0.3
Bear	0.5
Scorpion	0.5
Centipede	0.5
Elephant	0.25
Wolf	0.1
Horse	20
Bull	3

[oldmike]

There has been at least one confirmed wolf related death in the U.S. http://naturalunseenhazards.wordpress.com/2011/12/08/alaska-report-...

I've read a lot about this particular incident, including the reports written by the Alaska Dept of Fish & Game -- very interesting reading, I'm sure you'd enjoy it. The victim was jogging alone on a highway and apparently came upon a pack of wolves heading in the opposite direction. She surprised them as much as they surprised her since the encounter happened as she rounded a blind curve in the road. She turned and ran, the wolves pursured her, attacked and killed her (almost instantly), and dragged her body a couple of times farther from the road. It's possible that she would've lived had she just kept running, but we'll never know.

[Shadowman]

Thanks.  The statistics I put in were from 2008. I backpack in wolf, bear and  country and alledged Mt. Lion country but only carry a bear spray at times.  

[oldmike]

I'm not keen on heights! Would rather keep my feet on the ground, and not at the edge of a cliff. I don't have any fear of flying in airplanes, though (big or small).

I don't "like" gators and snakes, but that just makes me more cautious and "smart" when I'm in their territory. I'm less afraid of snakes since I've been in FL for 25 years - they're all over the place, even in my yard. Gators won't attack you unless you surprise them (as with most wild animals), so I'm very careful.

Other wild animals that I might encounter on my normal hikes and backpacking trips are black bears, wolves, cougars (mountain lions), wild boar, and of course deer. The occasional moose might be in the area, and I steer clear of them because they've been known to attack -- there's a video somewhere (YouTube) that shows a man getting killed by a moose on a college campus in Alaska -- very scary!

I'm more afraid of humans than wild animals -- at least wild animals won't shoot me and steal my stuff!

[Suthinsoul]

When I lived in Alaska it was not uncommon to be shopping and see a family of moose meandering down the street.  Everyone just steered clear of them and they went about their way.  I always thought it was pretty neat.  I was lucky enough not to run into a bear or a wolf but I wouldn't have minded seeing one from afar.

[Eaglewoman]

A few years ago I went to Alaska  to see my son and family over labor day week-end. He lives right in downtown Anchorage, a mom moose and her twins spent the whole day in his back yard. He said they come there all the time as his house is on the migration trail. He said as long as we stayed on the deck we would be OK, but if we stepped off it she would be right after us.

Another time was up there and we were coming from Valdez, and saw a woman jogging with one of those baby carriage things and a bear was following  her down the high way, a truck was following her, I would guess to make sure the bear didn't do anything.

[Dee Holland Eidson]

I am afraid of flying insects.Bee's,Wasps,Palmetto bugs,etc. Since I have lived in Florida most of my life I see lots of wild life. I love living here and would not want to live anywhere else.It is a very beautiful place.I guess we all have some things that are less than perfect no matter where we live.

[Karin M Fichtner]

Bugs, snakes, and lizards......

Pretty much tells  you why I don't live in Florida.  Those Palmetto bugs look like they could carry off my furniture if they chose to.

And I agree with Eaglewoman and Phil.....I fear for my great grandchildren, in the country we are becoming. 

And I fear fire.  I can't think of a worse way to go. 

[carol machulski]

To be honest I haven't given much thought to this. While I'm not much fond of vermin or bugs, I try not to kill them but to relocate them somewhere outside of my house. We don't have much wildlife in my neighborhood...the ocassional raccoon or opossum or feral cats only.  Although I've been to areas where there is wildlife, I generally respect their territory. Living in an urban area, there are lots things that can kill you especially the fear that it might happen...so I don't dwell on that.