Happy Tuesday! It’s time for another edition of Tuesday Topics. This week’s Tuesday Topic: It’s World Animal Day! What animals have you seen out on your run?. Remember to link-up with Kim and Zenaida and the bottom of this post.
I didn’t know World Animal Day existed until earlier this year. I really believe there is a national “day” for everything 🙂 What better way to celebrate than to think about all the animals we have encountered while out on our runs. I’m a huge lover of animals, especially dogs, so I always enjoy when I see animals while out on the run. I’m sure I may be forgetting a few, but here’s a list of animals I have seen while out on runs:
Cat
Chipmunk
Crows
Deer
Dogs
Geese
Pigeons
Rabbit
Racoons
Seagulls
Squirrels
I will always stop my run to pet a dog, but I always ask the owner if they are friendly before I approach. Most dogs love a good head or belly rub, and I’m more than happy to stop my run for a few minutes to provide that, lol.
I would say the scariest animal I have encountered was a raccoon. I was running near a dumpster so I opened it to throw out an empty gel packet and the raccoon popped up as soon as I opened the dumpster. Needless to say I closed it quickly and sprinted across the street!
This also seemed like a good post to mention some fun facts about these animals.
Did you know that Greyhounds can run up to 45 mph and German Shepherd can run up to 30 mph?
Did you know that geese travel 2,000-3,000 miles during the winter?
The average rabbit can run 25-45 mph. That’s crazy for such a small animal!
Tell me: What animals have you seen while out for a run?
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I’ve seen all the same animals as you–but also some sandhill cranes, blue herons, and white egrets. Oh, and coyotes and skunks! You’d think that I’d see more on the trails but it’s not too exotic here, lol! And I’m just fine with that–at least when I hear rustling in the woods, I don’t get scared that it’s something that will hurt me!
Yeah the last thing you want to hear is rustling in the woods! Luckily all the deer you see on your runs seem friendly lol
Oh I pet having that racoon pop out was startling! That’s one animal I haven’t seen on the run, although there are some around.
I can add:
Eagle
Great Blue Heron
Egrets
Groundhogs
Cows (in a pasture, although we used to occasionally have cows in our neighborhood in TX)
Chickens — that one actually was on the trail!
Snakes
Whales (running on board during my Alaska Cruise)
Fun topic Kim, thanks!
Wow, i can’t believe you saw chickens on the trail, lol. One of my friends once saw a wild turkey on a trail run and i thought that was odd, lol.
What a fun post! On my normal runs around town, I’ll usually see – dogs, cats, cows, goats; sometimes horses, donkeys and sheep. If I run on the outskirts of town, I’ll see baboons and rock dassies, and in Mokolodi Nature Reserve which is about 15km away, I will see antelope (impala or kudu) and giraffe if I’m lucky!
You definitely have a great variety in the animals you see while out on the run! I would love to see a giraffe too!
Wow, I didn’t know rabbits can run that fast!!! The most unusual animal I’ve seen while running is a wild boar- this was on the trails, not on the road, obviously! But I think Judy wins with “whale.”
Right?! Whenever I have come across a rabbit they usually just stop and freeze, so I have never seen one run away and had no clue that they were that fast!
I have seen all of those and also snakes (thanks but no) and sometimes I see an owl out there. We also have lots of red fox in our area but they are harmless.
Seeing an owl is pretty cool – that’s definitely unique!
That raccoon would have freaked me out too! I have seen Deer, Ducks, Geese (have to outrun them sometimes), Possums (so gross) and Nutria. If you don’t know what Nutria is, they’re basically giant rats. I run along a bayou and apparently they love to hang out there. If you didn’t know any better they probably look like beaver or a fat cat until you realize that neither would be hanging out in the bayou! They stay away but it’s weird glancing over and just seeing them sitting there as you run by!
Oh the possums would freak me out! I have never heard of Nutria but I’m good with never seeing one, especially if they look like giant rats! I see enough subway rats in NYC lol
That was a fun topic, Kim. It’s interesting to learn that some animals apparently are encountered everywhere, while others are more “regional”…. e.g. Virjinia mentioned Nutria, and while we don’t have them here in NorCal, when I am back home in Germany and run in my hometown, we have Nutria by the river there.
I know there’s also racoons and possums around where I live, but I hardly ever see any (and if I do, it’s late at night in our backyard).
I am mostly happy that I don’t encounter any huge animals that could be dangerous to me (although I’ve heard that turkeys have been known to attack people and coyotes can also be aggressive).
My friend once saw a wild turkey while out trail running. That would freak me out because they are known to be pretty mean to humans!
I’ve seen what you have including a fox, horse, eagle, rooster, mouse.
Eek. That’s a scary raccoon.