On Thu, 22 Apr 2004 06:42:31 -0400, Stephen Harding
wrote:

There is the promotion of the idea that animals are our friends
and only humans are the real aggressive creatures. I think the
"gentle Bambi" side of wildlife is emphasized at the expense of
reality.

Forget bears; I know someone whose cousin was killed by a mule deer.
Not in a collision between deer and car, but in a face-to-face
encounter. I suspect that more people are killed or injured in such
collisions with deer than are killed or injured by bears (black,
grizzly, and polar) every year.

The closest I've ever come to being attacked by a wild animal is being
nipped by a rock hyrax on Table Mountain, though. Hyraxes are the
closest living relatives of elephants, not that you'd guess that by
looking at either of them. Although now that I think about elephants,
there was that one bull elephant who seriously considered charging our
vehicle in Samburu (or was it Masai Mara?) a few years ago.

Mary

--
Mary Shafer Retired aerospace research engineer