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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
New York, NY
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Topic Author's Original Post - Jun 20, 2006 - 04:14pm PT
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Sunday seemed to be more than a Dog Eat Dog world at the Gunks. Everyone was eating everyone else! Or trying to anyway.....
We were doing trailwork and overturned a big rock, only to see a colony of ants running for cover. Then, a little Blue Skink jumps into the scene like Superman ready to save Lois. Alas, he wasn't out to help a damsel in distress - he was hungry! And he grabbed first one, and then another, ant into his craw and shook them like a wild beats, stunning them into submission before gulping down his meal.
Later in the day, I tracked a tick trying to breach Teddy's pure white as snow fleece! Luckily, he was tangled in the web of silky fur, and I had time to snag him before he got under Ted's skin. Disgustedly, I snatched that tic with the least contact possible and flung him as far away as I could. No sooner had he landed on tera firma than an ant, not unlike the previous ones(well, okay, it was unlike the others; they were little and red, and this one was a little bigger, and black) hoisted that tick on his back and stumbled off into the groundcover, the tic's legs flailing helplessly as if he were Lois in the monster's clutches, screaming "heeeellllppppp!" Little good it did that tic; the ant was like Atlas, with the world weighing nothing on his shoulder.
Then, as we were reacking up for a climb on Moonlight, the folks down the way screamed "Ew!!! A SNAKE! And he's EATING a TOAD!"
It was(a snake) and he wasn't(eating a toad). But there was definitely a standoff going on of some sort. Here is a photo essay. Pardon the extremely bad shots. Even though it was a Garter snake, and I knew it wasn't poisonous, I was still afraid of him. And also that the toad might hop onto me - or something. Ick!
The snake slithers out to see what he can see. "Fe, Fi, Fo, Fum, I smell the smell of a toad that is dumb!"
The snake "pretends" he doesn't see the toad, and the toad thinks he's got the up and up.....
They SPOT each other. Eye contact. Who will blink first(insert Clint Eastwood desert shoot out soundtrack)
Toad thinks better about the match, and tries to back out of the thing......
"Hey. You? You wawlkin' there?" I don't THINK so....."
SNAP. He BIT him in the butt!
Held on for a good 15 seconds, and PICKED that big toad up in the air! And then DROPPED him. After the toad recovered, he hopped for his life! And the snake slithered off, probably because I had screamed when the toad fell near my feet......
Post your own pics of wildlife living the wild life.
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G_Gnome
Social climber
Tendonitis City
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Jun 20, 2006 - 05:13pm PT
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Bit off a bit more than he could chew. And a poisonous toad at that.
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'Pass the Pitons' Pete
Big Wall climber
like Oakville, Ontario, Canada, eh?
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Jun 20, 2006 - 05:18pm PT
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Toads taste bad, even to snakes. Dislocating jaw or not, a toad that big ain't never going into a snake that small!
Don't suppose you took any pix of the skink eating ants, did you? I had a skink from the Gunks that I kept for over a year.
Ever run into one of those big-ass black racers at the Gunks? Now THAT's a snake!
Only seen one snattlerake here at El Cap, and no kingsnakes yet.
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Rhodo-Router
Gym climber
Otto, NC
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Jun 20, 2006 - 05:21pm PT
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I recall seeing a slew of those big blacksnakes draped all over a hemlock tree at Ragged Mountain once. Eerie. They just hung out in the branches, not moving.
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G_Gnome
Social climber
Tendonitis City
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Jun 20, 2006 - 07:34pm PT
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Saw a California Mountain King next to Pywiak on the hike back to Electric Africa a couple years ago.
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Jaybro
Social climber
The West
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Jun 20, 2006 - 07:48pm PT
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Maybe the snake thought that was one of those toads you lick?
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caughtinside
Social climber
Davis, CA
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Jun 20, 2006 - 07:50pm PT
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Poor Toad!
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happiegrrrl
Trad climber
New York, NY
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Topic Author's Reply - Jun 20, 2006 - 08:41pm PT
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PTPP - Dick took some pictures of the skink; he was very excited about that skink.....I remember last year he said he wanted a shot to add to the Nears guidebook, so maybe that is why. I'll ask him if he got any with the ants in the mouth and if so, maybe he can email to me.
Other Snakes @ the Gunks - Yeah, I have seen 2 black snakes. One REALLY big one last year at Peterskill, just hanging out under a rock, clifftop. And a small one, sunning himself on a shallow horizontal, about a third of the way up a climb.
This Saturday, I saw a Copperhead who was NOT happy. We were walking in the Nears, and I MUST have walked right over the top of it. The guy behind me, visiting from another area, asked "Terrie, is that a Copperhead?" This guy was just a few steps behind me, and when I turned around and saw the snake between him and me..... Gulp! It was a good 3 foot long and though I have seen one that was bigger, it was not moving. Anyway - that snake seemed riled up! He was doing a very aggressive movement, and none too slowly, either - sort of sidewinding, but vertical! And his head was sort of rocking back and forth during this, as he moved from the trail towards a rocky cover. I told the guy to step away, because that snake looked pissed, and I thought he was threatening to strike.....I've never seen a pissed off snake before, but I am pretty sure they look like that one did! I was nearly shitting my pants, because I was pretty sure it was my negligence that got this snake upset, and we were very close to it. I am so lucky he didn't bite me - I didn't even notice him.....
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TradIsGood
Trad climber
Gunks end of country
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Jun 20, 2006 - 08:57pm PT
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Nice pics, happie. I saw the garter snake - toad thing - similar mismatch - last fall in the Nears. Sure is strange seeing a snake grabbing something that is so far beyond the realm of possible eating.
I wonder if they compete for the same food, and biting the toad gets it to hop out of the snake's territory.
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