Have you ever touched a wild animal?

[Ffeion]

I went on a trip with my biology class recently, we were doing a rockpool study.
I held a dogwhelk, a few whelks, a crap, another species of crap, this type of fish which can breathe above water for very short periods of time, and a few cushion starfish.
I also touched a few other things (and I think stood on something by mistake :< trying to climb/walk on rocks which are covered in seaweed is difficult.)

I have touched a skunk (they are very soft!) too, at a birthday party (good friends lil sis, me + another friend were allowed to come along to see the animals vuv) and a millipede too.
Oh and a snake.

[alethe]

Nah, I let wild animals be.

[Noctis_]

Umm I was once squirted in the face by an angry clam... does that count?

[ShatteredIce]

I once caught a field mouse in my backyard :3 also I have stepped on a bird before but I'm not sure that counts...

[TheInfinite]

Several birds have collided with the window since we've gotten the bird feeder at my house, and I like to hold them in my hands until they recuperate and fly off. I've been pooped on several times while doing so, but it's just so fascinating to watch them spring back into action!

I've also scared half the life out of my friend by catching a garter snake that attempted to bite me through my garden gloves and chasing him up the river bank with it. And then of course there's all of the frogs in my back yard...

[laika_wolf]

Should we be trying to touch wild animals? I'm no biologist, but I would think that we should be leaving wild animals alone, especially if you're not a trained professional.

[american hunter1]

Some pigeons at the court building in Chicago perched on my hand while I had rice in my hand. I touched a few, they are fluffy!
Pro tip: get a pigeon or a dove as a pet. They can't bite cause their beak is too skinny.

[rainstorms]

First wild animal that comes to mind is a Red-Eared Slider (kind of turtle). I've helped several across roads, even a few babies.

[Pelican]

I went to a thing where they brought raptors in on vacation last year. I got to pet an owl.

I've also picked up insects if that counts...?

[Spookykitty]

Rescued 2 young birds and a small mouse from the cat. Don't know what happened to one of the birds or the mouse. Young birds are strange to touch -- not quite as soft and pleasant as kitty or a dog.

[Sambhur]

I've touched probably way too many wild animals with my bare hands. I've fed wild birds by hand (lorikeets, australian magpies, c.ockatoos, corellas, kookaburras, the list goes on), caught lots of tiny skinks in my grandmother's backyard while growing up, caught some fully grown blue-tongue lizards (usually to relocate them for their own safety), heaps of bugs and spiders (dragonflies are the best because they just land on my hand when they're stuck under the ceiling and then don't leave my hand right away even when they're free to go), and just... yeah, the list goes on.

And the other week I caught a pigeon with my hands because it couldn't find its way out of a room at school (and everyone else was too scared to go near it).

I'm not a good role model for this. Kids, you probably shouldn't touch many wild animals - especially if you live in Australia like me, the animals here are ruthless.

[[Outsider]]

Before I say anything else, afterwards, please notify me if I'm doing something wrong...
I've handled quite a few wild animals in my lifetime such as, baby raccoons (which are absolutely adorable!), sparrows, robins, chickadees, birds of prey and a few other things. One of the best, and well known stories of mine is this one that I'm going to tell now.
Anyway, I ran into the house and began getting ready to go over to my aunt's for a while, so my uncle and I could go fishing, but all the sudden, a horrible squawking came from outside the chicken coop. I dashed out the door and saw some type of bird swoop down into some thick brush. I ran over to the bush and saw a feathery chicken struggling upside down. So, I grabbed it and pulled it out to realize that it was a Red Tailed Hawk, and NOT a chicken... I stared eye-to-eye with it for a while and finally grabbed it by it's hind legs and held it away from me. (It must have been a immature Read Tail because it wasn't struggling or thrashing it's wings.) My mother was standing next to the house looking for me and yelling "WHAT WAS IT???" And I just yelled back, "a hawk!" I could hear her sigh slightly and yell, "What kind?" I got up and held the hawk into the air saying, "This kind!" She yelped and screamed at me, "PUT THAT THING DOWN!" (I didn't of course), but walked up to her with it.

[valkea]

Please do not post any information that could be used to identify you, [Outsider]. Anyone can be viewing this forum, and unfortunately not everyone is going to have good intentions. Releasing information such as your real name, where you live, etc. on the internet is actually very, very dangerous. Please also remove the link from your profile.

[roguemoon]

A Great Gray Owl allowed me to stroke it once. Also helped out a hare caught in wire at a construction site, though it scratched me like crazy and gave me a good bite on my hand (no rabies, thankfully). The only other animals I've had the chance to touch are mostly birds and squirrels.

[Rytemk Aato]

I went to a sea life center when I was little, I put my hand on the surface of the water of one of the larger containment pools and a Stingray swam over and rubbed it's back under my hand and kept it's tail far down which was like, the best thing ever.
In case anyone is wondering, you were allowed the try and gently touch the creatures but eventually it wasn't allowed due to people not be considerate enough so I'm glad I went there while I still had the chance.