Quote Originally Posted by Kraxis
Yes, I believe the shark is the most feared animal. There are even some who hate it with a vengeance, like you hate rats.

When I say shark, I say the big bad sharks, not those small cuddly mouse sharks for instance.
Not divers, we love sharks, the bigger the better. Problem is, sharks don't like us. Seems that having something swim towards *them* sends the wrong message...so they flee. I still remember my first glimpse of a big hammerhead.

Scariest animal? Fear wise I would say snakes. They catch you by surprise. It isn't that they are a great threat, but more that they tend to be silent and surprise you. There is nothing quite like reaching into a chicken nest to collect the eggs and realizing there is a blacksnake in there, that you can't see, but clearly feel. Or running down a dirt path and realizing a fallen "limb" is actually a snake. Or having one make his way into your house with the laundry.

The one that concerns me when backpacking/hiking/camping is the bear. They are simply too big to contend with, they are attracted to your food, and they can climb if they want to. (Polar bears would be the ultimate...since they have no fear of humans and will stalk a person down.)

Wolves, coyotes, dogs don't concern me (only for my kids who are too small to kill animals like that by hand.) I would be much more concerned about a tiger or lion. I've heard mountain lions in our woods at night back in Missouri--they really spooked the cattle. Much scarier than anything else I've heard in the wild.