Nature & Fate: * * NOT for the 'SQEE-MISH' * *

Several days ago .. nature, once more .. graciously provided another opportunity for me to bare witness to the process of the configured 'checks & balances' that abound in our critter world. Reckon, natures 'pecking order' is more befittin' ...

While sittin' out on the porch, with cam'ra in hand .. I was watchin' the Goldfinches dartin' about crazily, more akin to natures feathered version of wildebeasts, along with tryin' to figure out why a chipmunk was actin' so doggone peculiarly ditzoid - I heard the gosh awfullest squeal, that made the hair on the back of my head stand straight up. The frantic squeal continued as I stepped off the porch and mosey'd out into the yard .. while I sorta preparin' to see that an ol sneeky hawk had managed to catch 'imself one of the lil chippers.

But, lo' and behold .. the now well amplified squealin' was comin' from a big ol spotted toad .. of which, only a few toes on one of his feetzers had somehow snagged upon this extended length of a shiny blue-black varmint of a rat snake. My first instinct, was to attempt to rescue the toad. But, this lengthy fat rope of a varmint sure wasn't gonna delay his exit but only long enuff to try to fetch himseff a bit more tangible hold. The snakes mouth opened a fragment or so .. and the toad attempted a miniscule but in vain leap .. However, the snake was far 'quicker on the jaw'. Then, off the snake slithered with his quarry .. and rather rapidly, I mite add. I tried to stay on his 'tail' .. but needless to say, my imagination got the best of me, fer a wee split milli-second .. to wonder if this contemptible feller jes mite've had another buddy or two, lurkin' nearby. Quickly regaining my focus .. all attention went back to the fleeing snake and his potential meal.

He crossed thru the larger of the flower beds, then slithered over a rock wall, then paused to grasp the toad with a portion of his body, to aid in tryin' to reposition the toad, (rather, the toads peice of foot), in his mouth. He then, ascended the hill another few inches, then paused again. Apparently, the snake must've decided that, either he was too hungry to postpone the consumption of the fine meal .. or, he was takin' too great a risk in losing his rather lite grip on his dinner .. or, jes possibly - his toad-load jes mite've simply been a bit too heavy to lug on up the hill any further!

At any rate .. this, is when the snake stayed in one place long enuff .. enablin' me to finally pull my cam'ra up to my face ..

Anyway .. here's the pitters >

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... Pic #9 of 9 ... The end of this 'tail' !

- Magpye

What a fabulous photo op! Thanks for sharing these!
Julie

wow oddly enough the toad seemed very calm and resigned to his fate!

Wow, those are great pictures Magpye. As much as I feel sorry for the toad it is nature's way. I used to work in a plant store that was in an outdoor emporium in Nebrask. We were close to a river and in the spring we would be inundated with frogs. Very quickly we would then become inundated with snakes. (really creepy for me working there! shudder) One day while I was working in the greenhouse, I heard the same kind of screaming you described in your post above. When I went to investigate I found a snake in the process of swallowing a frog just as you did. The screaming is very "other worldly" not like any sound I would have connected to a frog. Anyway, back then, I was very upset by it. I didn't have the nature's way view of life that I do now... I had more of the Disney version lol!

In the same vein, here are some pictures I took this summer of a mantis eating a monarch. I woud have been upset by this back then too - now I see the necessity and can actually feel sympathy for the predator's role in life too.

What a shot!!! :-)))
Not the killing but the picture itself captures nature wow!

This mantis was very clumsy at catching prey in the beginning of the summer and had to learn.

Magpye, while being sorry for the toad, that is a fabulous series of pictures and so close and crystal clear.
Great that you have your camera with you when a chance like that occurs.

Lilyfantn, great pictures of the mantis dining on a Monarch

Magpye, I am impressed with the scenes of your photos, nature can be shocking but it also teaches.
Maria

Great shots and story Magpye. Nature is amazing.

.. Thanks so much .. everyone! ..

lilyfantn .. Your shots of the mantis (manti-? hee) .. and his catch .. are some mitey fine shots!
Your description of those types of squeals, as " other worldly " - peg'd them precisely!
Hearing such, makes a body stall in their tracks fer a wee spell ya know .... (lol)

- Magpye

This message was edited Dec 5, 2005 11:23 AM

This message was edited Dec 5, 2005 12:45 PM

Thanks for the beautifully executed pictures. :) Personally I think snakes are amazing and beautiful and they don't really scare - just startle me, on the other hand DH is TERRIFIED can't even look at pictures or see on TV.

Everyone's different.

Great thread and awesome photos :) Very similar to my recent post of the same type of experience.

http://davesgarden.com/forums/t/618592/

That is a beautiful snake and great pictures you got! Thanks for sharing!

Loved the pictures. Snakes are much maligned and undeservedly so. They are very beneficial to our world and everything God created has it's job to fulfil. I am fascinated by snakes. We went camping a few days ago and took in a program on "Snakes of Ky" that was given by the park's naturalist. Here are a few pics.

Here is the first snake. Her name is Lily and she is a corn snake. Most corn snakes are dark but she lacks dark pigmentation. I forget the word he used for that.

Here is the second snake he brought out. Her name is Cali and she is a California King Snake. We have a King Snake here in Ky but I think he said it was a Banded King snake or a Ring Necked King snake. I was so excited about the snakes I didn't take notes and my memory is not good. I would like to call him and ask him about them.

And here was the third snake. Her name was Luci short for Lucifer which summed up her personality. Notice he has a glove on to hold her. She has bitten him many times. We were not allowed to touch her or even to reach for her. He said snakes are like people in that they have individual personalities and she is a snake that doesn't not like to be handled or bothered at all. He said she NEVER has a good day. I am sorry to say I do not remember what kind of snake he said she was. I do remember that she is native to the Sonoran Dessert and that she likes to live in the rocks. Her scales are rough to help her grip the rocks. She would blow to try to intimidate us as she did not want us to mess with her. "No Worries, Mate" They are not indigenous to Ky. but they are in the same family as two snakes that are and that is why he uses her in his demostration. I had to wonder is all those bites are worth it. LOL

Loved your photos Magpye. The cycle of life sure is interesting. Joan

((thanks, so much .. guys))

- Magpye

I read your story, but couldn't enlarge the pictures. I saw it once on a nature show and the images stayed with me. I like toads far more than snakes and just can't watch them get swallowed!

(I'm giggling at my own response, so I'm not horrified, or offended at nature's way. I just couldn't bring myself to get a closer look! That's a first for me because I'm usually curious.)

This message was edited Jul 16, 2006 5:22 PM

I was the same way (even during that 'ticular time) - - - 'till the utter 'fascination' of the natural/instincts of the crawly predator overwhelmed my very being. I was mesmerized ..

One of my older late sisters was deathly afraid of snakes. She was always so fond of animals (the furry, 4 leg'd, and 'pet-like' types), but had to refrain from watching any wildlife programs .. for fear of risking spotting a commercial and/or preview that featured a 'crawly'. A phobia SO VERY strong, that it could bring on a heart attack. Even toy snakes and well intended 'gag' gifts could send her to the ER in a flash! Guess that's why I do *try* to give folks an ample forewarning in the 'titles' of my vermin, etc., threads.

I've been apprehensive about posting any of my photos of the 'Timber Rattler & the bunny'. It haint happened in the 2 years I've been here, so far ... but, should I ever opt to consider doing so .. you can be assured that it will be labeled with ample proper warnings, Sal.

((huggs BP))

- Magpye

Amazing photos, Magpye. I killed a moccasin once and a freshly eaten frog slid out of it's near severed head. Yuk.

What does the frog's scream sound like? How loud is it? Can't imagine the mystery sound I've been trying to identify for 3 years now is a frog scream but, because it is so unusual, I guess it could be just about anything.

Debra

Just a couple of side notes on the fine photos of the snake at the beginning: It is a frog, not a toad. Frogs have slippery, shiny skin and longer legs than toads, and they don't have lumps or warts on their bodies. Also, they do not have the two big lumps or warts on the sides of the head that exude a white, milky poison that causes predators to leave them alone. It is possible even some snakes that eat frogs will not eat toads because of that poison toads have.

Also, the frog looked calm because they just don't have a wide range of emotions to show.

Great photos!

Fleursdefouquet, I hear frogs "scream' any time I take a walk around the perimeter of a pond near me. As each startled frog jumps off the bank and into the water, it makes a kind of chirping sound. Most of the time only once, but sometimes 2 or 3 in a row. It is definitely a sound made in alarm or fright. I am nearly certain that is the same sound a frog makes when being attacked and eaten by a snake.

This message was edited Jul 17, 2006 10:25 PM

I'm very afraid of snakes, but am learning to not run or react hastily. :-)
I used to not be able to look at such photos, but I did - fascinating! Good work, Magpye.
Don't know if I could stick around to take those photos, of course, if the snake's already busy, he wouldn't be interested in me (kinda like a highway patrolperson that already is writing a ticket... :-)

I always imagine the toad/frog thinking ''this isn't happening. I'll just wait and it will go away.''

Forewarned on the bun bun!

(I'll probably still look at the small photos. I do have a curiosity of nature, with the option of being squemish!)

4Paws, snakes, even poisonous ones in this country, are far more alarmed by you than you are by them. But I can understand your irrational fear because I am far more scared of bees and wasps than most people are.

CJ

I got stung for the first time by a wasp last week. I was more insulted that she swooped down and nailed me than the I was by the burning sensation! I had been by the porch numerous times that day. I've hung clothes while the wasps sat on the clothespins. I never thought I'd ever be stung. Well, I still have never been stung by a bumblebee!

CarolJeanie, I know...but that's the point of irrational fear...lol

Billyporter, I've been stung - twice on the bottom (now, isn't that dainty?) and twice on the face. Let me tell you, I love mud!

4Paws,

I am more scared of being stung than I am when I actually get stung! I was very brave and calm a couple years ago. I was in a restaurant parking lot wearing a light T-Shirt, and I felt something crawling along my shoulder under the shirt. I broke out in a whole-body sweat and started praying that I wouldn't get stung. Then I slowly started rolling my T-Shirt up from the bottom, till suddenly I pulled it up and off and---the yellowjacket that had been crawling on me miraculously just flew off into the air without stinging me!

Yellowjackets go looking for trouble. They ought to take some manners lessons from bumblebees.

CJ

Good for you, being calm. The times I've been stung is because I squished them accidentally.

In a parking lot, eh? Were there any onlookers?

Fear is often worse than the actual event, I've discovered. Knowing that doesn't make the fear any less.

A big ol 'hearty' welcome to DG, to ya .. CarolJeanie/CJ !!

Along with the appreciation of your correcting the amphibious victim. But, I'm a bit flummoxed by my not being able to see any webbing betwinx the toes on the hind leggers. Frogs would surely have these, right -?- Beings there's only one leg even somewhat visible (and not the best view, at that) - would make it a bit difficult to decipher, for sure.

I'm still somewhat puzzled with it being a frog since there (wasn't) even the smallest bodies of water anywhere around/on the place at that time - not even a puddle.

Late August and September is some our dryest and most dangerous times of the year .. with increased risk of forest fires and the poisonous crawlies seem to risk greater 'exposure' in seeking needed water. The Timber Rattlers will come visit and a drink from ol Peanuts' water bowl ...

Ahhh, perhaps the frog was searching for life-sustaining water also!?!

All in all .. I reckon, that it was jes my use of some generalization of the kin ... (hee)

I've heard frogs (and toads) make quite a bit of racket and some panic noises - but, these are hauntingly ear-piercing-squealing screams that make the hair stand on end and certainly make my heart sink. Rarely hear such gosh-awful noises.

- Magpye

Hello, Magpye.

It is not so easy to see the webs on the hind feet(there are no webs on the front feet)except when the frog is actively swimming or unless you take hold of the leg and spread the toes of the hind foot.

Not only is it a frog, but I am fairly sure it is either a leopard frog or a pickerel frog:

http://images.google.com/images?svnum=10&hl=en&lr=&q=leopard+frog&btnG=Search

Frogs can and do venture away from water, and occasionally dry up and die because they get too far away from it. The one thing all amphibians absolutely need is a source of water in which to lay their eggs. (Actually there is one African frog that lays its eggs on the skin of the male frog. But that is about the only known case in which a body of water, even just a very tiny body of water, is not used.) Maybe the frog knew something you didn't about where some water was...

By the way, webbed hind toes is not a way to tell toads from frogs. Toads also have webbed hind feet, and can swim well when necessary:

http://images.google.com/images?q=toad&hl=en&btnG=Search+Images

Thanks for the welcome!

Hi 4Paws. Yes, there were onlookers, but they were unimpressed. When you have an apiphobia like I do, you so often find yourself wondering why other people aren't also terribly scared of being stung. LOL!