LIVE from the Camino Be aware of your surroundings

[missmaggie]

Just a quick note to remind people to be aware of your surroundings. A young pilgrim was attacked by a frightened young deer outside Béduer France today. She is doing well & nothing broken. This is of course very rare but a good reminder a lot of France is walking through forest & wild animals are about.

 

[bystander]

I feel the same need "to be aware", in the evening, when walking in the centre of our local country town!

But then I already have a fairly well-developed sense of that "awareness" having lived, many years ago, for a few years in Soho, London!

 

[tploomis]

I hope the frightened young deer is okay.

 

[danielc]

Just a quick note to remind people to be aware of your surroundings. A young pilgrim was attacked by a frightened young deer outside Béduer France today. She is doing well & nothing broken. This is of course very rare but a good reminder a lot of France is walking through forest & wild animals are about.

I sympathise with this young pilgrim – a frightened wild animal can be a dangerous thing

 

[newfydog]

After the drive to the airport, the flight, the other transportation, the big city the airports are in... the occational weirdo flasher out on the trail...the deer are an infinitesimally small part of the risks.

Man is by far the most dangerous animal. The mosquito is pretty scary. Deer will not be a problem....the once in a hundred year incident already happened.

 

[Anniesantiago]

I agree with Daniel. I don't want to minimize the danger of a frightened dear. Those hooves are like razors and have seen some horrid injuries from deer.

 

[newfydog]

Oh please! I did find a report of two deer deaths in two years in the USA but one of those was caused by a pet deer.

Lightning, averages 51 death a year. We have enough paranoia out there without this sort of thread.

 

[Oct2012Pilgrim]

I like the fact that this post is about deer, and not anything criminal. Whenever I mention to people in the US that I'm traveling to Europe (this is my 13th trip), especially the Camino, they ask, "Is it safe?". LoL. They're dodging bullets from drive-by shootings, having their homes burglarized, and fearful of getting robbed in the streets...being worried about a walk across Spain is hardly anything to worry about (albeit an occasional deer).

 

[Kanga]

Wow! We did glimpse some deer but they took off before we could get anywhere near. I managed a typical "wildlife" photo - "see, see, that brownish smudge in the distance, it was a ...."

I think the hunters are much more likely to be a problem. Walking in the woods during hunting season is a bit unnerving at times.

 

[Anniesantiago]

Oh please?!! I didn't feel this was a paranoid thread at all. A simple warning not to walk mindlessly. Miss Maggie is pretty clear that this was a rare occurrence.

And my post was in response to the person worrying about the deer.

A friend of mine on the refuge used to insist the deer waited for her car to come around in order to commit suicide and do damage. They're skittish critters and I saw at least 3 on the Camino Madrid.

These notes via computer are very difficult to analyze at times. Body language and facial expression often says more than words.

 

[dougfitz]

@newfydog I am with you on the mosquito. Probably not as dangerous in Spain as elsewhere where it spreads malaria, dengue, etc. Almost everything else on this list of the 25 most dangerous animals isn't a risk in Spain, so I guess that the Spanish specific lists here might be more helpful. Life threatening animal attacks are not a prominent feature - but one does mention red deer!

 

[Saint Mike II]

Hey Doug - obviously the compilers of the 25 have never been to Oz - at least 4 of our snakes are missing from the list and the box jellyfish should be in the top 5. But that is just MHO!!

 

[newfydog]

I have deer in my yard every day. They never bother anyone, though I did get a picture of a raccoon chasing one off!

 

[Anniesantiago]