Overland Park, KS USA Yes. You do a little hiking and you tend to come across moose and deer now and then. Alias Irrelevante When I lived in London, a red fox took up residence in my garden. Also, last winter, a young deer decided to stop in the middle of the road in front of my car. Luckily, that was not a close encounter. Jane, 62
West Linn, OR USA I've seen them :P But i havent had my arm ripped off by a bear or any such :P Talia, 25
Stamford, CT USA No. Reba, 50+
Silver Spring, MD USA Over a period of three years, my three dogs have had three separate encounters with skunks. I am an expert in eliminating skunk odor in dogs and furniture. It could have been four encounters over four years last night. Just as I was going to pull into the garage, I saw a skunk sauntering across the driveway. I parked on the street and kept the dogs in for the rest of the night. Laura, 37
Lowell, MA USA Not unless you could count zoo animals as wild. *sigh* I live a shelterd life. Someday, I hope to go to Borneo and Sumatra to visit the orangutans... So, ask me this question again when I get back! Nicci, 27
Las Vegas, NV USA I grew up near the Adirondacks. I've seen deer, woodchucks, chipmunks, fish, foxes, skunks, birds, snapping turtles, etc. I spent some time in Kenya and saw lions, hyenas, zebras, waterbuffalo, rhinos, elephants, giraffes, vultures, etc. The only real "encounter" that I've had though is when an opossum walked through the opening in a screen door in Salem, MA and proceed to walk downstairs to my bedroom and play dead in the closet. I think I have wrote of this elsewhere on the site, but that really was an encounter. Felicia, 36
Lowell, MA USA That would depend on how you define encounter. Once while my dad was driving me home at night we went around an exit ramp and a deer jumped out in front of the car. If that counts, then yes. etoile, 21
Washington, DC USA Yes, I have had several encounters with wild animals. I was shit on by a seagul. I have had some snake problems while hiking. I was stung in the crotch by a bee. We had a roof rat in our apartment one night that I chased into the toilet. Caught it in a bucket under a plunger and released it into the marsh land behind my complex. I have had encounters with raccoons and I had one hell of a mean cat. She would attack me for no reason. She was funny. I hope to have more. Christopher, 28
San Mateo, CA USA Just my first husband. Fortunately, I was armed with something more venomous...a functional brain. Phew... it was a close call for a while though! Fisch, 47
Preston, CT USA My cat can be pretty wild, but only when he's hyper. Stephanie, 25
TX USA Only at wild animal parks, and then I was in a car. We did have a skunk caught in our fence when I was about 10. A neighbor came with heavy gloves and wire cutters and freed it. It seemed to know he was trying to help it and didn't try to bite. I now know that skunks can only spray a few times before recharging. I suspect it had run out of ammo. Our collie smelled for weeks. Judy, 62
Easton, KS USA Not really. We've never been hiking where there are a lot of the bigger animals, like bears or cougars... Jeremy, 14
Highlands Ranch, CO USA Not really. At least, not that I can remember. Firelady, 24
Frisco, TX USA I think encounters with any animal, wild or domesticated are magical. I've had quite a few. I've encountered moose and bear while hiking the Appalachian trail, seen harbour seals, minke whales and blue shark sailing off the coast of Maine, swam with nurse sharks in Mexico and had a face to face encounter with a barracuda while snorkeling in Bermuda. None of these encounters were life threatening or dangerous...although I'll have to admitt the one with the barracuda was frightening. It just sort of "hung" there in the water, checking me out. I was so close I could see it's sharp little teeth, and it's mouth was opening and closing as if it were panting. It seemed to be contemplating whether or not to take a bite! It followed me around for a while, as if curious...then just sort of darted off into the deep. Definitely an exhilarating experience!
Tam
Yes When I was little my friend and I were playing outside and a little Raccoon came up to us. But he dad came and got rid of him. I've also seen moose and deer up close.
Sarah Jane, 15
Preston, CT
USA
I live in the woods and have met little mice and large bears and an assortment of animals in between.
Jill, 61
Saylorsburg, PA USA
TN USA Sure. Lots. Karen, 22
Ames, IA USA Sadly, no.. i dont get to travel much.. Brad, 21
Sydney AUSTRALIA Besides the deer who live on my lab's grounds, nope. I do see little fawns creeping around all day. It's nice. Well, on second though, there ARE the crazy squirrels at school. You better move out of their way or else they'll attack you. I hate squirrels. Cancer, 20
NYC, NY USA Does a starving raccoon count? Angela, 18
Bella Vista, AR USA