Wildlife On The Trails....

Nomi says...

The way i see it, trails meant for biking and running in the jungle are sort of like roads running into the homes of various lifeforms...so, you are going to see these lifeforms at some point of time. Some are benign, some are not...
I have been running for recreation for years and also have biked a fair bit though trails, roads, fields locally and elsewhere. Luckily, i have not encountered anything four legged, six or even 8 legged that was particularly nasty. Sad to say, that the most frightening wildlife that i have encountered to date is of the 2 legged variety.
When i was younger, i would just bash through trails, without much thought for what i would see or encounter. Which is really stupid, i know. But, when you are young....you generally think that you are immortal....that you can brave through anything..

Well, i have seen some HUGE ants and millipedes on the trail...they will be in the middle of the trail, going their own business...until someone steps on them.Then, there are snakes. So far I've only encountered the green variety, which kind of looked benign to me. I just stood still, the snake decided that i wasn't worth a second glance and it slid away. Then there was a big scorpion on an uphill road that i saw once. It wasn't really bothered much either and it went about it's business. Tortoises are not an uncommon sight on trails paths. As are monitor lizards, geckos and chameleons. Wild boars....i saw one which ran across the trail in front of me at a distance....so i didn't have to worry ...it was probably on it's way to do it's groceries and was not interested in an insignificant human. Another one, i actually heard before i saw...i hears this shuffling, grunting sound and i RAN...ran..., and hid behind a tree and saw it go past me without consequence. Dogs.....they can get nasty, so i keep a wide berth or squirt water on them if they come too close. Chickens, goats, cows, ducks are not a problem...but watch out for geese...they can give a nasty peck and chase you ....for fun..to fulfill it's quota of 'nastiness for the day' . Monkeys....

depends on the type, i suppose. Dusky leaf langurs are more afraid of humans than you are of them. Long tail macaques can be real pest and the worst are the pig-tailed macaques. I was chased by one years ago. What to do? Stand and scream back at them..then you'd appear like their mother-in-law and they'd pretty much run away:) So, what to do if you see tiger prints? Well, take lots of pictures, post them on FB....of course:)
2 legged wildlife...hmmm...i guess they sort of fall into 2 categories...the Nasties and the Nice-ies.
I guess when one runs on the road or trails, there's a sort of unspoken etiquette? One runs on the left ( as you drive on the left of the road where i live), over take on the right. If you are the faster one, you give way. You try to be as unobstructive as possible.And don't try to kill anything on your way.....Nice-ies generally follow this rule...they stick to their lane, go about their own business, minimize noise pollution, run single file if they are in a group...
Now Nasties.....they loooooove to block up the whole trail, a row of human bodies obstructing  it from left to right, gossiping at the top of their voices...and when you approach panting and out of breath,,,,they do not give way...oh no!!! They glare at you, giving you pretty much the look an interrupted cow might give whilst chewing cud...and you have to weave between them. Then there are those that relish singing at the TOP of their voices regardless of the rights of anyone in the vicinity. And then there are those who do not hesitate to blow a huge puff of fetid breath into your face as you pass them....the germs....oh, the nasty bits floating in the vapor of their breath.......And how about those that do not think twice of relieving themselves at the side of a trail.....oh spare my peepers...
But then it takes all kinds of wildlife to make a run interesting.......as my friend Joy would say...onwards!!!!