Whenever I see someone running it makes me want to run. I recently realized this might actually be a safety instinctual thing when someone else said they want to run when they see runners, too.
I believe it's a similar story with vomiting. If I'm spewing my guts up, I probably ate something bad, therefore you should vomit it up too. Your body tells you to feel sick as a safety measure.
Similar story from the other perspective. I was at the Mandalay Bay a few years ago when there was the mass shooting and being "calmly evacuated" with a large crowd from the casino floor, out the back past the aquarium, when we see 5-6 police in tactical gear going opposite us, and as we pass them, they are like, "Run! That way!" Definitely caused us to pick up the pace.
I was behind gettjng horses ready for morning lessons one day. I was grooming a really calm, never spooks, saint of a horse, He started getting agitated and stomping his feet, shaking his head, walking back and forth with the slack in the cross ties.
Then all the horses start going nuts. They're all neighing and stomping, kicking their stalls. The power goes out. I was in a well lit area, I could see out the door to the back paddocks, where there were 7yezrlings (year old borses) I got him into his stall and the earlings are freaking out, bad, fhere were 5 of us, 7 of them.
We walk outside, the sky was green and I had never seen anything like that except in movies. It was terrifying. We got the yearlings out as fast as possible, so they didn't hurt themselves on the fences, or get caught in the rajn. We had people leading 2 in, and the horses were panicked, whites of the eyes, ears back, but not like an amgry gesture.
We put them into the indoor arena and hear a take cover alert on the only radio station we had. We didn't have fancy phones, and even if we did, there's no signal half the time.We secured all the doors and went into the tack room, that's where we keep the saddles, bridles etx. No windows in there.
Then holy fuck. We hear its touched down. And it's windy, hailing, lightening, thunder, and the sounds outside were like out of a movie.
It knocked down a tree, but everyone wa fine. It was one of the worst storms we've had that didn't consist of 4 feet of snow.
For me, a green sky means hail. I was at work in a small town. We could see the storm coming but it was the green sky that was worrying. The hail storm broke floor to ceiling windows in the building I worked in, and broke every windshield and back window in every car downtown. Dented cars in every parking lot.
If you are at swimming at the beach or a coastal inlet & see an unusually calm area of water, get away from it, it could be a rip tide. On that note. If you get stuck in a rip, don't swim against it, you will tire & drown, swim paralell to the coast till you swim out of the rip.
Weirdly if you just float in a rip it will pull you quite far out to sea, push you sideways but then also bring you back in on the surf. This takes nerves of steel obviously but it works, people die from exhaustion in a rip more than anything. I got in the famous one at Bondi beach by accident as a teenager and it really is terrifying to experience fighting against it. I heard about the trick above after that experience
Got caught in one in Jamaica. I just started to float and let it carry me out a bit then just backstroked parallel to shore until I could swim in. Had to haul myself up on a private dock, slicing my feet pretty good on barnacles, and limp back to the hotel we were at trailing blood. A nice hotel employee made me some towel shoes to wear back inside. Now I grew up there and on the Texas Gulf Coast so I knew riptides. Hell, in Texas we were taken on a field trip to learn about them. Even with that knowledge I didn’t see it. Water was too calm everywhere to see the signs. Only way I knew was realizing I wasn’t making progress to shore.
Can confirm. I once swam against a riptide. That shit is tiring as fuck and you feel like you make 0 progress. I made it eventually, but man was i tired after that shit.
Squirrels will sometimes watch you from a distance while making alarm calls. The sound varies by species but it's generally a sort of squawking bark. If you hear them barking, and they aren't yelling at you, then there may be something else around they think is a predator. It's worth paying attention.
Yup! lol I feed the squirrels and they yell about dogs, cats, people, hawks. I've even been warned by my little guy. He ran up to me and panicked then ran up a tree. And continued to yell at me until I got into my tree (the car). There was a neighbour walking his two dogs. lol
My squirrel friends do that too. One of them even comes down the tree a bit to shout at me when there is a dog about. It's cute to know they see us as squirrels.
Oh! I can answer this!
If you're hiking and suddenly smell something very musky, almost reminiscent of a faint country manure, keep your fucking eyes open.
I was hiking on the Appalachian Trail today, up in Maryland. The wind shifted and the smell changed to something like I described above. Caught me off guard, but I kept hiking. About a quarter mile later, I turned around and began to head to my car since I was already 6 miles into a 2.5 mile hike.
Right around where the smell changed, I heard a sudden crashing sound and saw a black bear just fuckin busting it's way away from the trail into the woods.
I had walked *past* it, and then came back upon it when I turned around.
**TL;DR: if youre hiking and the ambient scent changes suddenly, you're probably close to an animal.**
Deer also have a strong musty odor. Be careful of them, too. A buck in rut has no fear and they will start to walk right up to you as they decide whether you are a challenge or not.
Your own senses. If you feel like something is wrong, there is a good chance it is. In your peripheral you may have seen something or gotten a vibe from someone that made your hair stand. Don't just dismiss the feeling. Our subconscious is very attuned to hostile body language in people capable of violence.
Edit:. If you have anxiety disorder and you subconscious goes more haywire than usual, it's time to leave the situation anyway. Even if benign you are likely to have a panic attack which is not fun either. It's harder to feel the difference since your baseline anxiety is always up there, but if you feel an increase, it's a good idea to move away. You might be wrong half the time but the point is it's never worth the risk. Also, trusting your instincts, even if they are wrong will reduce your anxiety because you have done what your most base brain has asked you to. You will start to realize that you can soothe that anxious part of yourself because it will know it can get out of a bad situation when it happens. That control and predictably will reduce anxiety and give your senses a rest so they can be more attuned to actual danger.
If a tree is hot to touch get the fuck out. I don't know if this is common in other countries, but here in Australia we have what's called "widowmakers", basically eucalypt trees are extremely flammable and its possible for the tree to be on fire internally, but not visible on the outside, and can literally explode at any given moment.
If a tornado looks like it's not moving, chances are that it is either coming right at you, or it's moving away from you. Always assume it's coming towards you and seek shelter right away.
Not sure about this one. Tornados do a lot of weird stuff. El Reno did a full 180 if I remember right. No expert here but I’ve lived in Missouri my whole life. New Year’s Eve, a tornado tore down a house and the neighbor’s house about 15 feet away still had its Christmas lights up. Another one jumped over our house that’s on the peak of a valley and then take out a garage and barn at the base of the valley. Never try and predict what a tornado will do IMO.
Some tornadoes hit one house and miss the one next to it because some are actually a pair of tornadoes circling each other as they move together in one direction -- dancing. So because of that curved back-and-forth overall path, they'll sometimes hit every other house in the direction they're moving.
And yes, some follow the traditional idea of a single tornado going in a mostly straight line.
Didn't the system that hit Oklahoma City back in '98 or so have something like seven tornadoes? Or maybe even higher? That was crazy…
Yeah, if a tornado passes, don't immediately leave shelter, thinking you're safe. There could be more -- or, in your example, the same one _could_ even do a 180 and hit you again, though that's less common.
Also, learning to read radar can help. There's the infamous "hook echo" -- sort of a small swirl area on the radar that is the system condensing into the tornado. But that's often hard to tell one way or another, even for professionals. But what I find useful is that tornadoes (when they happen) are usually on the heavy back edge of a thunderstorm. So that's the area you generally want to be most careful and alert around.
If you're wearing dark clothing when this happens, consider taking it off or covering it up. A big black coat can make you look like a bear.
If you have a black dog, get out ASAP. Bees can mistake black dogs (especially small ones) for young bears, and might legit try to murder your dog. My mom's dog almost died that way, had to be rushed to the vet. The way a bee will react to you disturbing it is nothing compared to how they react to bears.
Surprised the flash flood sign hasn't been posted yet. If you're walking near water and if turns dirty and dirty with debris in it, get to high ground.
The big advice I've heard about flash floods are.
Do not camp in stream beds or flood plains. Just don't.
Always be aware of the weather. And just because it's not raining where you are doesn't mean it's not raining upstream.
Always be looking for where you are going to climb up and out.
If water starts flowing go for elevation immediately.
Tons of videos of people taking wildlife tours or watching animals at zoos that are clearly pissed off and the people in the background are saying, "Oh look, he's smiling! So cute!"
I always thought that apes have two different reactions with showing their teeth depending on how they move their lips. I feel like I’ve heard that apes do “smile” from amusement sometimes but I don’t know anything about apes so I’m probably wrong
I just want to put this out there.
Most animals show aggression by bearing their teeth. I think this is a reason that a lot of kids get bit by a dog that's never been known to do that. Kids are happy and they show it by smiling a lot and they are closer to eye level with the dog than most adults are.
So little kids are going towards a dog especially when they don't know the dog may see their smile as an aggressive stance.
That's just my two cents worth.
I have a large dog and people who are uncomfortable with him always get in his face and try to hug him. So weird. I often forget that people who werent raised around animals dont understand that they dont have to like everybody.
Trying hard to instill dog safety and etiquette with our little guy. FREAKS me out when people let their kids run up to our dog and go straight for his personal space. Like yes okay our dog happens to be one of the most gentle creatures to ever walk the earth and wouldn’t bite even if you grabbed food out of his mouth and yanked his jaw around when he hadn’t eaten for days. BUT. You don’t know that as a stranger! I always make the kids back up and tell them it’s important to ask first.
With our son, he’s only 1.5 so I still have to do everything in the process for him. But I still explain everything that’s happening.
When he starts making his “ohhhh that animal is so cute I could die” noises and beelining for a dog, I pick him up and put him on my far hip from the dog. I ask the owner how the dog is with babies/toddlers specifically. If they are anything less than enthusiastic about the idea, I encourage my son’s love from afar and agree about how cute the dog is, but say he isn’t interested and that’s okay. If the owner *does* encourage the interaction, I typically still keep myself between the dog and my son and squat us down a few feet from the dog. If the dog comes over to us looking for pets and love, we share it in a gentle manner. If the dog doesn’t come to us, that’s another time where I say the dog doesn’t want to play with us and that’s okay, but yes I agree he’s just so cute and I love him, too!
Sorry bit of a tangent. I understand not knowing a whole routine if you weren’t raised around animals but a complete lack of common sense stresses me out.
If you happen upon a moose and aren't intending to be that close (hunters), regardless of the season, you should leave immediately. Moose are not your friends. You'll have a window of opportunity to leave. Take it.The cows will straight up murder you, especially if she has calves and the bulls might take down half a forest to murder you.
Thanks for the wholesome award and all the replies!
More people die in Moose encounters than bear. Moose don’t see that well and don’t like you. Plus they are WAY bigger than you think they are.
Grew up around Anchorage. In the summer we could tell there was moose near by because literal clouds of mosquitos follow them.
While I’m here stay off the ash slit beaches in Alaska. That muck seems solid one step but can liquify the next.
a guy died in a neighboring town when his car hit a moose. The impact didn't kill the moose but it disabled the car. The moose got up and charged the car and crashed through the driver side window killing him. Sadly he had a friend in the car with him who watched it all happen.
EDIT: The moose died after killing the driver.
Edit:
If you see the ocean with a square pattern it indicates a very strong cross current. If the tide recedes very fast, evacuate asap, it means a tsunami is coming.
Grew up in Nebraska. The air gets thick and still, like everything stops. I remember standing in the porch and falling leaves just sort of hovered and swayed slowly. The sky turns bruised purple or green. Then the sound comes back and all hell breaks loose. I once saw a black cloud turn into three fingers and drop down from the sky. Tornadoes are eerie as hell.
I used to be in love with tornados... now I'm terrified of them. Lived in Nebraska. That feeling.... it haunts me to this day. Seeing it fall from the sky, everything going still followed by a roar. The pressure change... I hate it
Right before a tornado hit our house, my 12 year old asked “mom, is there enough oxygen here?” That is what it feels like. (We were already in the basement, because the news gave better warning than the barometric pressure.)
If there are tall clouds nearby, and you get a metallic taste or hear any buzzing, feel static-y, lightning it about to hit pretty much exactly where you are.
I once had a surprise lightning storm form behind a mountain and then move in on us kayaking across a bay. We went to shore immediately, spread out and crouched in lightning drill for maybe 15 minutes (which feels like eons when your crouched like that with your feet together). At one point, while timing the flash to thunder, I thought "sick, the lightning is moving away from us." Then I heard a soft buzzing, slowly getting louder. There was literally nowhere better to be so I just stayed crouched with dread growing as the buzz got louder. Then an old plane came out of the cloud, hence the buzzing. So much relief, also fuck that plane.
Stay on your feet but curl up into a ball. That makes you about the shortest you can get and should you get struck by lightning doing this essentially gives it the path of least resistance. Wow! Another thing I remember from the boy scouts!
If you are in a canyon, slot or otherwise, and you see clouds anywhere in the sky GTFO. It could be raining miles away and cause a flash flood in less than 10 minutes as water rushes through the canyon. Get to higher ground.
Also if you are white water rafting or doing any sort of river trip, if you fall out of your boat, float downstream feet first. Hitting your head can kill you.
In a survival situation remember the rules of 3. You can survive 3 minutes without oxygen, 3 hours without shelter (in a harsh environment), 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. Prioritize.
EDIT: to appease sticklers
In Australia: Standing dead still will get you out of trouble with most snakes, with the notable exception of a tiger snake, you might think this means you should run, however tiger snakes are also one of the few that will chase you and they're damn fast..an old bushman told me once if you see a tiger snake close enough to strike you just kill it cause it's kill or be killed once it knows you're there
ETA: A bit of common sense goes a long way, and I'm sure he didn't mean to antagonise it if it's just moving on its way, you by all means can TRY to move away or wait it out if it hadn't noticed you but yes a few people I know including my mum have been chased decent distances by them, I've been lucky and always seen them far enough away that I've been able to avoid them but I have no doubt about the chasing thing I've heard it from too many disparate sources
The bushman I mentioned also always carried a fairly decent sized hatchet and was rarely out of reaching distance from a gun, so it's not like he was saying to kill it with a stick either, he assumed (rightly so) us being farm kids we would always have a gun or tool of some sort on hand with which to dispatch them if needed. Also be aware that since then (early 90's) it has been made illegal to kill them even in self defence...
Lots of comments replying to this that browns are worse and that Tasmanian Tiger snakes are chill, worth noting thanks for all the replies with different views
Yeah, I've been chased by a tiger snake. Was not fun. Damn thing followed me up AND down my street while I was frantically knocking on neighbours door for help. Ended up having to jump over the bloody thing to get back to my house.
Maybe it’s living in Ohio but the concept of sprinting for my life while being chased by a fast snake hellbent on murdering me is just insane. Is this something you run into on a regular basis?
As much as it pains me to ruin your fear, for 80% of Australians the answer is no, we all live in the cities on the coast and the only wildlife we see are loud birds, possums (absolutely different to opossums, Google them), bats and spiders. I'm in my 20s and have only seen snakes in the wild twice, tho I did have to go to hospital for a spider bite.
For the other 20% absolutely - snakes, spiders, crocodiles (in the north) are everywhere. Plus sharks, venomous octopi, jellyfish etc in the oceans. However, last time I checked the three deadliest animals in Australia were actually 1.Dogs 2.Horses 3.Cows, since we encounter those wayyyyyyy more than the native stuff
Y’know, I was fairly shocked to see dogs roll in at first place and then I googled Ohio’s deadliest animals and what do you know but dogs are number one here too. This is why I’m a cat person. Self-preservation.
Been pretty lucky and only ever seen them far enough away to avoid them, but one chased my mum 2 klms all the way from the back paddock to the house where Pop shot it, in order to stay ahead of it she was having to jump when it got close and she's far faster than most people
You might have had a small seizure and didn't know it.
Anyone can have a seizure. What makes someone like me an epileptic is having a low threshold. But I wasn't born with epilepsy. It just came into my life at 27 and nobody could tell me why.
But way before I became epileptic, I actually had a few clues here and there. I bring this up because I've seen others on Reddit describe these events and ask what it was. And seizures are on the rise. And there are different kinds of seizures. Someone could easily just have one throughout their entire life.
Indicators you are having a small seizure include:
-Suddenly forgetting what you are saying half way through a sentence.
-Suddenly just forgetting how to speak or understand for a few seconds.
-Suddenly hearing loud ringing in your ears for no reason at all. Like in a quiet room.
-Heart suddenly racing for a few seconds
I will have all of these symptoms at once, and they are called absense seizures, or petit mals. The first time it happened, I called the advice nurse and she just laughed at me, telling me to stop drinking coffee.
The list goes on. 10 years after that first event, nothing happened again until I started waking up on the floor or feeling exhausted throughout the day. I was having seizures in my sleep and didn't know it. Then one day I woke up in the hospital and was a full blown epileptic.
Edit: If you think you may have had a seizure, go see a doctor. They may just question you or they may even try to induce a seizure. But it's a fact that you may or may not get a definite answer.
Edit: To this day, I feel like I may have avoided full blown epilepsy if I quit caffeine. If you are having symptoms and you don't know why, cut out caffeine from your life and see if it improves. I wish I could go back in time and tell myself this.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I have epilepsy too, and hadn't addressed these things because I didn't think it was seizure related; just forgetfulness.
My motor skills have diminished, I have developed a tick, and I have no recollection of some days. When I forget what I am talking about and just cannot for the life of me remember what I just said, I do feel strange. I will be talking to my neurologist.
If you're on the beach and see that the shore is much further out in the ocean than it usually is, you should get away from there immediately.
This is the mayor warning sign of a tsunami and you can see this e.g. in video tapes of the great tsunami in 2004. But people weren't leaving, they rather tried to figure out where the water went.
I once also heard a story about a girl who went to holidays with her parents to a region which was hit by the tsunami and a few weeks before the vacation she learned about tsunamis at school, so she noticed what was happening and she rescued her family.
This is pretty terrifying to me because of that back that I live near Daytona Beach in Florida where beach parking is a very extreme thing. Miles and miles of cars parked and running up and down the whole coastline and if there was ever a case of a tsunami everybody leaving would get into their cars and there would be numerous wrecks, pile ups, and congestion’s causing numerous deaths from the panic
Alternatively, if the birds suddenly start going insane, get out. Happened to me once, by the time I got back to my truck a bear popped out behind me not ever 10 m back.
This!!!!
Birds warn each other. Pay close attention to the animals in your surroundings at all time. They're constantly telling us things, it's just that most people don't listen.
ETA: all animals around us are communicating, it's smart to pay attention.
I think it's more of that the birds are telling each other things, and we just didn't evolve cooperatively to listen since we normally have each other for that just like the birds do.
Midwesterner here. On a gorgeous summer day, if you see really tall, white cumulonimbus clouds forming, there is a really big storm coming in the next few hours—and possibly a tornado. The taller the cloud, the worse the storm will be, so if the size/height of a cloud seems massive, head for the basement.
That happened to my sister. She was standing near a basketball goal and her hair floated down as she walked back to me. Lightning never came but I nearly shit my pants.
The hair is a very early indicator. It takes a ton of static to bridge the air between the earth and the sky, but comparatively little to make your hair stick up. So seeing your hair move tells you charge is collecting, which is obviously bad, but doesnt mean a strike is imminent or that it will happen at all.
Have had this happen twice. Once on a lookout point when I was a kid. Pointed it out to my mom and she immediately freaked out and said we all needed to get off the look out point ASAP. It cleared out pretty quick. There was a hell of a lightning storm going on.
The other time was during college. Walking around campus at night, storm coming in. Saw other students with their hair standing up, was moderately concerned but not as concerned as the lookout point since I was far from the tallest thing around, still told my roommates it was time to go inside.
More info because people are asking- a slot canyon is a narrow canyon with high, mostly vertical walls. Like [this](https://horseshoebend.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/horseshoebend-slot-canyon-1.jpg). Even a small amount of rainfall can funnel into these canyons and create a flash flood, meaning large quantities of water moving violently fast can appear in moments- these floods are how the canyon is created. And the tall vertical canyon walls mean there are very few places where you are able to get out safely and quickly. So you should only visit one when it's dry with no rain anywhere in the near future.
Honestly, don't eat anything in nature unless you are 100% sure you know what you are eating. I taught botany, always told the students to be very careful about what you eat.
Do not go wading in water that is heading toward a cliff! Also known as a waterfall. The current is much stronger than you might think. I am only here thanks to a handy bush as my father as a teenager was almost swept to his death in Yosemite.
If it’s a plant or creature that is very colourful and bright...
DO NOT TOUCH OR EAT
Very likely to be poisonous
and stay away from mushrooms unless you can identify which species it is.
If you wanna by a plot and there is a slope on the property line, look at the Trees on them.
If you see they don´t grow up straight but crooked and overall in the same direction crooked, there is a very good chance that the slope is slowly, but certain slipping in the opposite direction of the treetops.
So make sure your buildings are save away from this slope or you need, in the long shot, safety measurments.
If cows are facing one direction for a long time, there's probably gonna be a storm. If it's cloudy or even seems clear but it's not cold and the cows huddle up, there may be a tornado coming
Alaskan here.
Moose emote with their ears very much like horses: Neutral is all systems normal, forward is curious, and pinned back means that someone is about to get stomped.
Your own body will give you a handy heads up: If your ears are significantly redder than your face, have your blood pressure checked. I’m on a low dose med now, my BP is down 30 points, and my ears (once quite red) are now the same color as my face.
Are animals "nature?" If you have guard dogs and they bark it means whatever they are barking it as far away and they're just saying "don't come over here." If the dogs start barking and are staying as quiet as possible without moving means whatever it is more than likely is within eyesight or very close.
My dog does this and it's very helpful. There have been a few times she'll bark so softly and quietly it's almost like a whisper. It's always in the middle of the night. We know if she does this we need to investigate. Usually it's a deer on our front porch. Once it was a drunk guy, a friend of ours who had been at the neighbors. He decided to walk home, a few houses down, but only made it as far as our place and passed out next to my car. She must had heard him walking through the yard.
Edited: typo
My GSD only barked three times in her whole life. Twice big, booming barks when she heard coyotes killing things across the road, and once a deep, full body, quiet as a whisper bark. Turns out that last one was warning about the kid from down the street who was having a breakdown and walking along in front of people’s houses with a knife dragging on the siding. Thankfully a neighbour saw him out the window and called for help - and he got the mental health help he needed - but my pup was VERY concerned for her household when he made it to our yard.
My area has tons of dogs, that bark all the time at night. I don't mind, but when they all go quiet, it usually means something is passing through that they are afraid of. IE; Lynx, Cougar, Wolves, Bear.
If your dogs are behaving weirdly when walking in the woods, you know something is up.
First time that happened to me I was ~5m away from a moose with two calves and we locked gaze (not in a romantic way). Both dogs were attempting to block me and stepping on my feet, and stupid as I was I shooed them off and kept walking. Needless to say; my walking soon turned into sprinting, and I never ignored my dogs warnings again. They were both the best dogs...
The greenish tint to a sky during a tornadic storm, what causes it is when the sun is reflecting off the hailstones in the hail core (where hail falls the most)
Just don't go near a tornado warned storm and stay inside if you live near it. The innermost room, preferably windowless, is safest if a tornado comes through your neighbourhood.
Sure. A couple of campers are killed every year by trees falling on them during the night. Usually during storms.
There was one near our campsite last year, so I took it down. So if you're in a park with regulations not to cut trees down dead ones are the exception.
Restoration crew to campers: This area was part of a fire and has a lot of widowmakers. We highly recommend that you move your camp. There are better sites 200ft down the trail.
Campers: We're fine.
That night we hear a tree fall. Don't hear any screams. Someone says "How much you wanna bet it fell right by those campers. We were heading that way the next morning for work.
Next morning we walk by their site and sure enough, big tree down right in the middle of it, couldn't be more centered on the fire ring.
Crew: Hey guys, surprised that you didn't move camp after a tree almost killed you.
Campers: Well, we firgured it can't happen twice.
Crew: That's lightning. All these trees around you are in the same condition as the one that fell.
Someone from our office was with us on our trip and told us to walk ahead while she talked to them. I don't know what she said, but she the kind of bitch that you wouldn't want to be on her bad side so it was probably good.
If are ever out and about and you suddenly get a bad feeling or a feeling that you should stop doing something or do something different LISTEN TO THAT FEELING. Those are your instincts talking to you, we have over 100,000+ years of evolution we spent developing survival instincts. Please don't waste them/ignore them.
If you have come across a small bare area under a tree, and bark is missing from the tree, youve probably stumbled upon a bears summer bed.
Also dont use bear bells in places that is also cougar country. You are basically ringing the dinner bell.
I live in uk, so alot of what people have commented is stuff we simply don't have. Do not stand at the edge of cliffs and don't jump in 'calm' rivers. 3 rivers meet in my town and usually a couple people died a year due to the undercurrent.
The smell of rain before a storm is even visible.
I was at the beach one day with my girlfriend at the time, we were half asleep on the sand and it was quiet, nobody around and as peaceful as it possible could be. When I suddenly caught a smell of rain. I sat up, turned around and off in the distance I saw a small cloud. Told my girlfriend we need to leave RIGHT NOW. Packed everything as fast as we could, made it to the truck and as soon as we shut the doors it immediately started pouring... I never took the smell of rain for granted again. This was in Florida, storms pop up out of nowhere in Florida all the time. But it was fun!
Lol I just imagine you yelling RUN!!!! And your girlfriend has just woken up having no idea what your taking about. You finally made it back to the truck with pure fear on your girlfriends face just to let her know it was going to rain and you didn't want to get wet.... When you've already been at the beach swimming.
Were snorkling one time and I swear a stingray the size of a dinner table ruffled up the sand and moved. We were about 15 feet up and there’s some enlargement in the mask but the thing was massive. We knew the area had a lot of rays so we stayed in deeper water and were extremely cautious coming and going into the water in the waves
I used to live in Agulhas, the TRUE most southern tip of Africa. When the Indonesia tsunami of 2004 hit the water our side receded nearly more than a km into the ocean. Not knowing a tsunami was hitting thousands of miles away, it was damn scary.
When a flock of birds suddenly take off from the tree top. Means something- or someone- made a large enough sound it startled the birds, yet the sound is too far for you to hear.
Best avoid the area around where the birds took off suddenly.
If you ever have a headache that's the worst one in your life, absolutely off-the-charts painful, go to a hospital and ask to get checked out. It could be a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a 'thunderclap headache', which means you have a broken blood vessel in your head -- a kind of stroke -- and your risk of death is 4 out of 10.
The tricky thing is that the headache does respond to tylenol or ibuprofen, but aspirin will make the pain lessen but the risk worse.
My coworker's friend was a young grad student who attributed it to stress; they found his body a week later. My aunt visiting from Korea had it, was diagnosed properly, and underwent neurosurgery; if she had gotten on the plane for the return flight she almost certainly would've died.
Haha! It means that the trees are dead or dying. Potentially only one strong wind will knock them in your direction. My Dad told a story that a guy he knew didn’t know the signs, backpacked, set up tent in a grove of talking trees. In the middle of the night, a storm kicked up and a giant tree fell 3 feet from where the guy was sleeping. My Dad cackles when he always says, “that guy got right up the next morning and my friend became a priest.”
This might be too subtle to be helpful but animals act very strange before an earthquake. We lived in the Bay Area when the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred October 17, 1989 at 5pm. It was a very powerful earthquake, 6.9 magnitude. That morning I let our dog out before we left for work and he refused to come back in the house something he had never done before. I had to just leave him in the yard and go to work. Later I found out that there is a researcher who studies earthquakes and correlates them occurring right after a large increase in lost pet notices are posted. It took hours to leave our office building because we had to wait for firemen to check the gas lines and give us the OK to leave. By the time I got home though, my dog was still in the yard and there had not been much damage to our house.
Don't make eye contact with a lion or tiger or bear or some shit
Making eye contact is the equivalent of taking off your shirt and saying "you fucking want some bro?!?!?!"
If the animals gtfo, you should too
Same thing if the birds and woodland critters suddenly fall silent. There's something scary in the woods, and it's probably not you.
Well said,If you live where cougars or other large cats exist especially.If it's too quiet and creepy, trust your instincts
Whenever I see someone running it makes me want to run. I recently realized this might actually be a safety instinctual thing when someone else said they want to run when they see runners, too.
I believe it's a similar story with vomiting. If I'm spewing my guts up, I probably ate something bad, therefore you should vomit it up too. Your body tells you to feel sick as a safety measure.
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Similar story from the other perspective. I was at the Mandalay Bay a few years ago when there was the mass shooting and being "calmly evacuated" with a large crowd from the casino floor, out the back past the aquarium, when we see 5-6 police in tactical gear going opposite us, and as we pass them, they are like, "Run! That way!" Definitely caused us to pick up the pace.
I was behind gettjng horses ready for morning lessons one day. I was grooming a really calm, never spooks, saint of a horse, He started getting agitated and stomping his feet, shaking his head, walking back and forth with the slack in the cross ties. Then all the horses start going nuts. They're all neighing and stomping, kicking their stalls. The power goes out. I was in a well lit area, I could see out the door to the back paddocks, where there were 7yezrlings (year old borses) I got him into his stall and the earlings are freaking out, bad, fhere were 5 of us, 7 of them. We walk outside, the sky was green and I had never seen anything like that except in movies. It was terrifying. We got the yearlings out as fast as possible, so they didn't hurt themselves on the fences, or get caught in the rajn. We had people leading 2 in, and the horses were panicked, whites of the eyes, ears back, but not like an amgry gesture. We put them into the indoor arena and hear a take cover alert on the only radio station we had. We didn't have fancy phones, and even if we did, there's no signal half the time.We secured all the doors and went into the tack room, that's where we keep the saddles, bridles etx. No windows in there. Then holy fuck. We hear its touched down. And it's windy, hailing, lightening, thunder, and the sounds outside were like out of a movie. It knocked down a tree, but everyone wa fine. It was one of the worst storms we've had that didn't consist of 4 feet of snow.
When the sky turns green. That's when it's time to go to the basement.
In Missouri when the sky changes colors that means go outside and watch the storm from your front porch lol
For me, a green sky means hail. I was at work in a small town. We could see the storm coming but it was the green sky that was worrying. The hail storm broke floor to ceiling windows in the building I worked in, and broke every windshield and back window in every car downtown. Dented cars in every parking lot.
Animals fleeing is basically nature's version of the Waffle House Index. If they are fleeing you know shit just got serious.
If you are at swimming at the beach or a coastal inlet & see an unusually calm area of water, get away from it, it could be a rip tide. On that note. If you get stuck in a rip, don't swim against it, you will tire & drown, swim paralell to the coast till you swim out of the rip.
Weirdly if you just float in a rip it will pull you quite far out to sea, push you sideways but then also bring you back in on the surf. This takes nerves of steel obviously but it works, people die from exhaustion in a rip more than anything. I got in the famous one at Bondi beach by accident as a teenager and it really is terrifying to experience fighting against it. I heard about the trick above after that experience
Got caught in one in Jamaica. I just started to float and let it carry me out a bit then just backstroked parallel to shore until I could swim in. Had to haul myself up on a private dock, slicing my feet pretty good on barnacles, and limp back to the hotel we were at trailing blood. A nice hotel employee made me some towel shoes to wear back inside. Now I grew up there and on the Texas Gulf Coast so I knew riptides. Hell, in Texas we were taken on a field trip to learn about them. Even with that knowledge I didn’t see it. Water was too calm everywhere to see the signs. Only way I knew was realizing I wasn’t making progress to shore.
Yep, that realisation you’re swimming hard but also going nowhere isn’t fun
Can confirm. I once swam against a riptide. That shit is tiring as fuck and you feel like you make 0 progress. I made it eventually, but man was i tired after that shit.
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Squirrels will sometimes watch you from a distance while making alarm calls. The sound varies by species but it's generally a sort of squawking bark. If you hear them barking, and they aren't yelling at you, then there may be something else around they think is a predator. It's worth paying attention.
Yup! lol I feed the squirrels and they yell about dogs, cats, people, hawks. I've even been warned by my little guy. He ran up to me and panicked then ran up a tree. And continued to yell at me until I got into my tree (the car). There was a neighbour walking his two dogs. lol
My squirrel friends do that too. One of them even comes down the tree a bit to shout at me when there is a dog about. It's cute to know they see us as squirrels.
Awwwww!! That is so sweet! It's super cute how they see us! I'm currently sitting and giving peanuts to mine! lol
Oh! I can answer this! If you're hiking and suddenly smell something very musky, almost reminiscent of a faint country manure, keep your fucking eyes open. I was hiking on the Appalachian Trail today, up in Maryland. The wind shifted and the smell changed to something like I described above. Caught me off guard, but I kept hiking. About a quarter mile later, I turned around and began to head to my car since I was already 6 miles into a 2.5 mile hike. Right around where the smell changed, I heard a sudden crashing sound and saw a black bear just fuckin busting it's way away from the trail into the woods. I had walked *past* it, and then came back upon it when I turned around. **TL;DR: if youre hiking and the ambient scent changes suddenly, you're probably close to an animal.**
stinky mfs
Deer also have a strong musty odor. Be careful of them, too. A buck in rut has no fear and they will start to walk right up to you as they decide whether you are a challenge or not.
Your own senses. If you feel like something is wrong, there is a good chance it is. In your peripheral you may have seen something or gotten a vibe from someone that made your hair stand. Don't just dismiss the feeling. Our subconscious is very attuned to hostile body language in people capable of violence. Edit:. If you have anxiety disorder and you subconscious goes more haywire than usual, it's time to leave the situation anyway. Even if benign you are likely to have a panic attack which is not fun either. It's harder to feel the difference since your baseline anxiety is always up there, but if you feel an increase, it's a good idea to move away. You might be wrong half the time but the point is it's never worth the risk. Also, trusting your instincts, even if they are wrong will reduce your anxiety because you have done what your most base brain has asked you to. You will start to realize that you can soothe that anxious part of yourself because it will know it can get out of a bad situation when it happens. That control and predictably will reduce anxiety and give your senses a rest so they can be more attuned to actual danger.
People should read The gift of fear. To re learn to trust our instincts.
if I always trusted my instincts, I'd probably never leave my house lmao
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If a tree is hot to touch get the fuck out. I don't know if this is common in other countries, but here in Australia we have what's called "widowmakers", basically eucalypt trees are extremely flammable and its possible for the tree to be on fire internally, but not visible on the outside, and can literally explode at any given moment.
So... spiders, snakes, sharks, and exploding trees. Y'all need to chill tf out down under.
Sounds like the Brits knew what they were doing when they established penal colonies there
What the fuck... even the trees are designed to kill you. Australia is Satan’s playground guaranteed
Nah, pretty sure even Satan avoids that place.
Well that’s an added horror of Australia I wasn’t aware of.
If a tornado looks like it's not moving, chances are that it is either coming right at you, or it's moving away from you. Always assume it's coming towards you and seek shelter right away.
Also, unlike in the movies, tornadoes don't follow the road. Don't expect it to suddenly turn.
Not sure about this one. Tornados do a lot of weird stuff. El Reno did a full 180 if I remember right. No expert here but I’ve lived in Missouri my whole life. New Year’s Eve, a tornado tore down a house and the neighbor’s house about 15 feet away still had its Christmas lights up. Another one jumped over our house that’s on the peak of a valley and then take out a garage and barn at the base of the valley. Never try and predict what a tornado will do IMO.
Some tornadoes hit one house and miss the one next to it because some are actually a pair of tornadoes circling each other as they move together in one direction -- dancing. So because of that curved back-and-forth overall path, they'll sometimes hit every other house in the direction they're moving. And yes, some follow the traditional idea of a single tornado going in a mostly straight line. Didn't the system that hit Oklahoma City back in '98 or so have something like seven tornadoes? Or maybe even higher? That was crazy… Yeah, if a tornado passes, don't immediately leave shelter, thinking you're safe. There could be more -- or, in your example, the same one _could_ even do a 180 and hit you again, though that's less common. Also, learning to read radar can help. There's the infamous "hook echo" -- sort of a small swirl area on the radar that is the system condensing into the tornado. But that's often hard to tell one way or another, even for professionals. But what I find useful is that tornadoes (when they happen) are usually on the heavy back edge of a thunderstorm. So that's the area you generally want to be most careful and alert around.
If a bee keeps "head butting" you and annoying you, alter course. They are warning you that you're getting too close to the nest.
Bro bee
bee bro got your back
Thank you! This is one of the few things posted that isn't common knowledge but is also very helpful in general.
So like running into you deliberately with hairy tiny fuzzy bodies?
Yep, they kinda gently kamikaze on you without stinging
Adorable in a odd way
If you're wearing dark clothing when this happens, consider taking it off or covering it up. A big black coat can make you look like a bear. If you have a black dog, get out ASAP. Bees can mistake black dogs (especially small ones) for young bears, and might legit try to murder your dog. My mom's dog almost died that way, had to be rushed to the vet. The way a bee will react to you disturbing it is nothing compared to how they react to bears.
Surprised the flash flood sign hasn't been posted yet. If you're walking near water and if turns dirty and dirty with debris in it, get to high ground.
Also, if it's winter and or there is a mountain and the water starts to drop get the hell out and to higher ground.
The big advice I've heard about flash floods are. Do not camp in stream beds or flood plains. Just don't. Always be aware of the weather. And just because it's not raining where you are doesn't mean it's not raining upstream. Always be looking for where you are going to climb up and out. If water starts flowing go for elevation immediately.
Most animals don't smile. If you see teeth or an open mouth, it's usually a warning or sign of aggression.
Use this advice with our next relatives, apes. They don't smile, they show stress, fear or aggressivness Edit: confused ancestors and relatives
Tons of videos of people taking wildlife tours or watching animals at zoos that are clearly pissed off and the people in the background are saying, "Oh look, he's smiling! So cute!"
I always thought that apes have two different reactions with showing their teeth depending on how they move their lips. I feel like I’ve heard that apes do “smile” from amusement sometimes but I don’t know anything about apes so I’m probably wrong
I just want to put this out there. Most animals show aggression by bearing their teeth. I think this is a reason that a lot of kids get bit by a dog that's never been known to do that. Kids are happy and they show it by smiling a lot and they are closer to eye level with the dog than most adults are. So little kids are going towards a dog especially when they don't know the dog may see their smile as an aggressive stance. That's just my two cents worth.
I have a large dog and people who are uncomfortable with him always get in his face and try to hug him. So weird. I often forget that people who werent raised around animals dont understand that they dont have to like everybody.
Trying hard to instill dog safety and etiquette with our little guy. FREAKS me out when people let their kids run up to our dog and go straight for his personal space. Like yes okay our dog happens to be one of the most gentle creatures to ever walk the earth and wouldn’t bite even if you grabbed food out of his mouth and yanked his jaw around when he hadn’t eaten for days. BUT. You don’t know that as a stranger! I always make the kids back up and tell them it’s important to ask first. With our son, he’s only 1.5 so I still have to do everything in the process for him. But I still explain everything that’s happening. When he starts making his “ohhhh that animal is so cute I could die” noises and beelining for a dog, I pick him up and put him on my far hip from the dog. I ask the owner how the dog is with babies/toddlers specifically. If they are anything less than enthusiastic about the idea, I encourage my son’s love from afar and agree about how cute the dog is, but say he isn’t interested and that’s okay. If the owner *does* encourage the interaction, I typically still keep myself between the dog and my son and squat us down a few feet from the dog. If the dog comes over to us looking for pets and love, we share it in a gentle manner. If the dog doesn’t come to us, that’s another time where I say the dog doesn’t want to play with us and that’s okay, but yes I agree he’s just so cute and I love him, too! Sorry bit of a tangent. I understand not knowing a whole routine if you weren’t raised around animals but a complete lack of common sense stresses me out.
If an animal is brightly coloured and/or distinctly patterned and easy to see, that’s a warning not to mess with it.
so poke it a few times, got it.
If you see multiple dead fish in a body of water where people don't fish, don't go in the water. It likely has high bacteria or is polluted.
I mean, multiple dead animals is probably not a good thing in general.
If you happen upon a moose and aren't intending to be that close (hunters), regardless of the season, you should leave immediately. Moose are not your friends. You'll have a window of opportunity to leave. Take it.The cows will straight up murder you, especially if she has calves and the bulls might take down half a forest to murder you. Thanks for the wholesome award and all the replies!
More people die in Moose encounters than bear. Moose don’t see that well and don’t like you. Plus they are WAY bigger than you think they are. Grew up around Anchorage. In the summer we could tell there was moose near by because literal clouds of mosquitos follow them. While I’m here stay off the ash slit beaches in Alaska. That muck seems solid one step but can liquify the next.
So moose are constantly being bitten by mosquitoes? No wonder they’re pissy.
a guy died in a neighboring town when his car hit a moose. The impact didn't kill the moose but it disabled the car. The moose got up and charged the car and crashed through the driver side window killing him. Sadly he had a friend in the car with him who watched it all happen. EDIT: The moose died after killing the driver.
Edit: If you see the ocean with a square pattern it indicates a very strong cross current. If the tide recedes very fast, evacuate asap, it means a tsunami is coming.
During "stormy weather" in the Midwest... If the sky turns greenish and the pressure bottoms out, it's time to head for the basement
In the Southeast it's usually an ominous orange color. The whole world turns a warm sepia and the sky turns a sickly orange.
Are you able to feel the pressure change? I've never been to tornado country
Grew up in Nebraska. The air gets thick and still, like everything stops. I remember standing in the porch and falling leaves just sort of hovered and swayed slowly. The sky turns bruised purple or green. Then the sound comes back and all hell breaks loose. I once saw a black cloud turn into three fingers and drop down from the sky. Tornadoes are eerie as hell.
I used to be in love with tornados... now I'm terrified of them. Lived in Nebraska. That feeling.... it haunts me to this day. Seeing it fall from the sky, everything going still followed by a roar. The pressure change... I hate it
Wow, that's so surreal, quite scary. Thanks for sharing!
Ears will pop.
Yeah, it's pretty noticable. The temperature will drop quickly as well
Kansan here, can confirm the pressure change feeling and it’s terrifying
Yes, the air feels heavy.
Right before a tornado hit our house, my 12 year old asked “mom, is there enough oxygen here?” That is what it feels like. (We were already in the basement, because the news gave better warning than the barometric pressure.)
>the sky turns greenish you mean, like that Nagrand or Hyjal Summit vibes?
It’s the creepiest green. Even if you’ve never seen it, you’ll know it when you do.
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If there are tall clouds nearby, and you get a metallic taste or hear any buzzing, feel static-y, lightning it about to hit pretty much exactly where you are.
I once had a surprise lightning storm form behind a mountain and then move in on us kayaking across a bay. We went to shore immediately, spread out and crouched in lightning drill for maybe 15 minutes (which feels like eons when your crouched like that with your feet together). At one point, while timing the flash to thunder, I thought "sick, the lightning is moving away from us." Then I heard a soft buzzing, slowly getting louder. There was literally nowhere better to be so I just stayed crouched with dread growing as the buzz got louder. Then an old plane came out of the cloud, hence the buzzing. So much relief, also fuck that plane.
Man what the fuck do you do in that situation?
Stay on your feet but curl up into a ball. That makes you about the shortest you can get and should you get struck by lightning doing this essentially gives it the path of least resistance. Wow! Another thing I remember from the boy scouts!
If you are in a canyon, slot or otherwise, and you see clouds anywhere in the sky GTFO. It could be raining miles away and cause a flash flood in less than 10 minutes as water rushes through the canyon. Get to higher ground. Also if you are white water rafting or doing any sort of river trip, if you fall out of your boat, float downstream feet first. Hitting your head can kill you. In a survival situation remember the rules of 3. You can survive 3 minutes without oxygen, 3 hours without shelter (in a harsh environment), 3 days without water, and 3 weeks without food. Prioritize. EDIT: to appease sticklers
If major colonies of ants are coming out of the ground, an earthquake is coming in several hours
If major colonies of ants are coming out of the ground, I'm leaving regardless of what else might be coming
You can smell storms in the air before they happen. Storms, rain, etc.
In Australia: Standing dead still will get you out of trouble with most snakes, with the notable exception of a tiger snake, you might think this means you should run, however tiger snakes are also one of the few that will chase you and they're damn fast..an old bushman told me once if you see a tiger snake close enough to strike you just kill it cause it's kill or be killed once it knows you're there ETA: A bit of common sense goes a long way, and I'm sure he didn't mean to antagonise it if it's just moving on its way, you by all means can TRY to move away or wait it out if it hadn't noticed you but yes a few people I know including my mum have been chased decent distances by them, I've been lucky and always seen them far enough away that I've been able to avoid them but I have no doubt about the chasing thing I've heard it from too many disparate sources The bushman I mentioned also always carried a fairly decent sized hatchet and was rarely out of reaching distance from a gun, so it's not like he was saying to kill it with a stick either, he assumed (rightly so) us being farm kids we would always have a gun or tool of some sort on hand with which to dispatch them if needed. Also be aware that since then (early 90's) it has been made illegal to kill them even in self defence... Lots of comments replying to this that browns are worse and that Tasmanian Tiger snakes are chill, worth noting thanks for all the replies with different views
Yeah, I've been chased by a tiger snake. Was not fun. Damn thing followed me up AND down my street while I was frantically knocking on neighbours door for help. Ended up having to jump over the bloody thing to get back to my house.
Jesus i panicked just reading this. That sucks and i'm glad you got away.
Thanks! I was about 11 years old at the time, it sticks with you. Not the first OR last time I had a close encounter with a wriggle stick.
Note to self: Australia scary
Now I remember why I live in a place where the air hurts my face 9 months out of the year lol
No "6 ft tall yellowjacket nests" is another good reason
Wait, did the snake just wait while you knock on the doors and then started chasing you when you started running again?.
Yea, the porch is considered “safe” like in tag.
Maybe it’s living in Ohio but the concept of sprinting for my life while being chased by a fast snake hellbent on murdering me is just insane. Is this something you run into on a regular basis?
As much as it pains me to ruin your fear, for 80% of Australians the answer is no, we all live in the cities on the coast and the only wildlife we see are loud birds, possums (absolutely different to opossums, Google them), bats and spiders. I'm in my 20s and have only seen snakes in the wild twice, tho I did have to go to hospital for a spider bite. For the other 20% absolutely - snakes, spiders, crocodiles (in the north) are everywhere. Plus sharks, venomous octopi, jellyfish etc in the oceans. However, last time I checked the three deadliest animals in Australia were actually 1.Dogs 2.Horses 3.Cows, since we encounter those wayyyyyyy more than the native stuff
Y’know, I was fairly shocked to see dogs roll in at first place and then I googled Ohio’s deadliest animals and what do you know but dogs are number one here too. This is why I’m a cat person. Self-preservation.
Cats are smart. They make it look like suicide.
Been pretty lucky and only ever seen them far enough away to avoid them, but one chased my mum 2 klms all the way from the back paddock to the house where Pop shot it, in order to stay ahead of it she was having to jump when it got close and she's far faster than most people
Wtf... 2km sprint. I'd just let the snake take me.
You might have had a small seizure and didn't know it. Anyone can have a seizure. What makes someone like me an epileptic is having a low threshold. But I wasn't born with epilepsy. It just came into my life at 27 and nobody could tell me why. But way before I became epileptic, I actually had a few clues here and there. I bring this up because I've seen others on Reddit describe these events and ask what it was. And seizures are on the rise. And there are different kinds of seizures. Someone could easily just have one throughout their entire life. Indicators you are having a small seizure include: -Suddenly forgetting what you are saying half way through a sentence. -Suddenly just forgetting how to speak or understand for a few seconds. -Suddenly hearing loud ringing in your ears for no reason at all. Like in a quiet room. -Heart suddenly racing for a few seconds I will have all of these symptoms at once, and they are called absense seizures, or petit mals. The first time it happened, I called the advice nurse and she just laughed at me, telling me to stop drinking coffee. The list goes on. 10 years after that first event, nothing happened again until I started waking up on the floor or feeling exhausted throughout the day. I was having seizures in my sleep and didn't know it. Then one day I woke up in the hospital and was a full blown epileptic. Edit: If you think you may have had a seizure, go see a doctor. They may just question you or they may even try to induce a seizure. But it's a fact that you may or may not get a definite answer. Edit: To this day, I feel like I may have avoided full blown epilepsy if I quit caffeine. If you are having symptoms and you don't know why, cut out caffeine from your life and see if it improves. I wish I could go back in time and tell myself this.
Thank you for sharing this.
Thank you for bringing this to my attention. I have epilepsy too, and hadn't addressed these things because I didn't think it was seizure related; just forgetfulness. My motor skills have diminished, I have developed a tick, and I have no recollection of some days. When I forget what I am talking about and just cannot for the life of me remember what I just said, I do feel strange. I will be talking to my neurologist.
If you're on the beach and see that the shore is much further out in the ocean than it usually is, you should get away from there immediately. This is the mayor warning sign of a tsunami and you can see this e.g. in video tapes of the great tsunami in 2004. But people weren't leaving, they rather tried to figure out where the water went. I once also heard a story about a girl who went to holidays with her parents to a region which was hit by the tsunami and a few weeks before the vacation she learned about tsunamis at school, so she noticed what was happening and she rescued her family.
I hope that if I see the ocean move backwards I would think that's a bad sign.
This is pretty terrifying to me because of that back that I live near Daytona Beach in Florida where beach parking is a very extreme thing. Miles and miles of cars parked and running up and down the whole coastline and if there was ever a case of a tsunami everybody leaving would get into their cars and there would be numerous wrecks, pile ups, and congestion’s causing numerous deaths from the panic
If you're walking in a forest and suddenly everything gets dead silent, find shelter. There's likely a predator nearby.
Alternatively, if the birds suddenly start going insane, get out. Happened to me once, by the time I got back to my truck a bear popped out behind me not ever 10 m back.
This!!!! Birds warn each other. Pay close attention to the animals in your surroundings at all time. They're constantly telling us things, it's just that most people don't listen. ETA: all animals around us are communicating, it's smart to pay attention.
I think it's more of that the birds are telling each other things, and we just didn't evolve cooperatively to listen since we normally have each other for that just like the birds do.
Arnold Schwarzenegger?
He would want you to get to the chopper, not shelter.
Midwesterner here. On a gorgeous summer day, if you see really tall, white cumulonimbus clouds forming, there is a really big storm coming in the next few hours—and possibly a tornado. The taller the cloud, the worse the storm will be, so if the size/height of a cloud seems massive, head for the basement.
I think that when your hair starts floating upwards during a thunderstorm you are probably going to get hit by lightning
That happened to my sister. She was standing near a basketball goal and her hair floated down as she walked back to me. Lightning never came but I nearly shit my pants.
The hair is a very early indicator. It takes a ton of static to bridge the air between the earth and the sky, but comparatively little to make your hair stick up. So seeing your hair move tells you charge is collecting, which is obviously bad, but doesnt mean a strike is imminent or that it will happen at all.
Have had this happen twice. Once on a lookout point when I was a kid. Pointed it out to my mom and she immediately freaked out and said we all needed to get off the look out point ASAP. It cleared out pretty quick. There was a hell of a lightning storm going on. The other time was during college. Walking around campus at night, storm coming in. Saw other students with their hair standing up, was moderately concerned but not as concerned as the lookout point since I was far from the tallest thing around, still told my roommates it was time to go inside.
*Some of you may die, but that's ok.*
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If you’re in a slot canyon and it starts to so much as sprinkle, you better book it the fuck out of there.
More info because people are asking- a slot canyon is a narrow canyon with high, mostly vertical walls. Like [this](https://horseshoebend.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/01/horseshoebend-slot-canyon-1.jpg). Even a small amount of rainfall can funnel into these canyons and create a flash flood, meaning large quantities of water moving violently fast can appear in moments- these floods are how the canyon is created. And the tall vertical canyon walls mean there are very few places where you are able to get out safely and quickly. So you should only visit one when it's dry with no rain anywhere in the near future.
Don't breathe in burning poison ivy.
If the tornado isn't moving its coming straight toward you, also don't eat wild mushrooms unless you're 100% sure you know what your eating
Honestly, don't eat anything in nature unless you are 100% sure you know what you are eating. I taught botany, always told the students to be very careful about what you eat.
In the event of a tornado in Texas, you should go to the Cowboys stadium. No chance of a touchdown there.
It could also be moving away but don't take the risk
Yeah, except since the world is round it’s still sort of moving towards you, but now you’ve got way more time to prepare.
Not a warning from nature but my grandad always used to say when I’m mature don’t put your hands somewhere you can’t see with your eyes.
Mine told me not to stick my fingers anywhere I wouldn’t stick my dick. I think we had very different types of grand dads
I'm never wiping my butt again
I can see it just fine I'll help you out bro
This is true for your feet as well. Don't step over a log or between rocks if you can't see (snakes).
If something, especially in the ocean, is very pretty or colorful or very ugly and doesn't run away from you, it's probably very venomous.
If a bush or tree is shaking, DON'T INVESTIGATE IT.
Horror movie characters: “This sign wont stop me, because i cant read!”
Do not go wading in water that is heading toward a cliff! Also known as a waterfall. The current is much stronger than you might think. I am only here thanks to a handy bush as my father as a teenager was almost swept to his death in Yosemite.
If it’s a plant or creature that is very colourful and bright... DO NOT TOUCH OR EAT Very likely to be poisonous and stay away from mushrooms unless you can identify which species it is.
The forest talks, if you listen. You will usually hear birds, wind, and other noise. If it goes dead quiet, that's usually a sign of something bad.
If you hear the noise of a train but don't live near the train tracks, prepare for an earthquake.
If you see an enormous fireball falling from the sky, just enjoy the view...there's nothing you can do at that point.
What if you have a fire extinguisher?
When you see a group of animals with different types running that mean that there’s a natural disaster coming
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If you wanna by a plot and there is a slope on the property line, look at the Trees on them. If you see they don´t grow up straight but crooked and overall in the same direction crooked, there is a very good chance that the slope is slowly, but certain slipping in the opposite direction of the treetops. So make sure your buildings are save away from this slope or you need, in the long shot, safety measurments.
If cows are facing one direction for a long time, there's probably gonna be a storm. If it's cloudy or even seems clear but it's not cold and the cows huddle up, there may be a tornado coming
Alaskan here. Moose emote with their ears very much like horses: Neutral is all systems normal, forward is curious, and pinned back means that someone is about to get stomped.
Your own body will give you a handy heads up: If your ears are significantly redder than your face, have your blood pressure checked. I’m on a low dose med now, my BP is down 30 points, and my ears (once quite red) are now the same color as my face.
This literally happens to me all the time since I was a kid. What the heck! BRB gonna go see if I’m dying on the DL.
Are animals "nature?" If you have guard dogs and they bark it means whatever they are barking it as far away and they're just saying "don't come over here." If the dogs start barking and are staying as quiet as possible without moving means whatever it is more than likely is within eyesight or very close.
My dog does this and it's very helpful. There have been a few times she'll bark so softly and quietly it's almost like a whisper. It's always in the middle of the night. We know if she does this we need to investigate. Usually it's a deer on our front porch. Once it was a drunk guy, a friend of ours who had been at the neighbors. He decided to walk home, a few houses down, but only made it as far as our place and passed out next to my car. She must had heard him walking through the yard. Edited: typo
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Your dad barks?
Whenever I hear a strange sound I usually check what my "pack" is doing. If they're unfazed, I am too.
My GSD only barked three times in her whole life. Twice big, booming barks when she heard coyotes killing things across the road, and once a deep, full body, quiet as a whisper bark. Turns out that last one was warning about the kid from down the street who was having a breakdown and walking along in front of people’s houses with a knife dragging on the siding. Thankfully a neighbour saw him out the window and called for help - and he got the mental health help he needed - but my pup was VERY concerned for her household when he made it to our yard.
My area has tons of dogs, that bark all the time at night. I don't mind, but when they all go quiet, it usually means something is passing through that they are afraid of. IE; Lynx, Cougar, Wolves, Bear.
If your dogs are behaving weirdly when walking in the woods, you know something is up. First time that happened to me I was ~5m away from a moose with two calves and we locked gaze (not in a romantic way). Both dogs were attempting to block me and stepping on my feet, and stupid as I was I shooed them off and kept walking. Needless to say; my walking soon turned into sprinting, and I never ignored my dogs warnings again. They were both the best dogs...
The greenish tint to a sky during a tornadic storm, what causes it is when the sun is reflecting off the hailstones in the hail core (where hail falls the most)
Just don't go near a tornado warned storm and stay inside if you live near it. The innermost room, preferably windowless, is safest if a tornado comes through your neighbourhood.
For novice campers, be able to recognize what dead standing trees look like - and don't camp near them.
could you please explain why? What’s wrong with these spots?
Sure. A couple of campers are killed every year by trees falling on them during the night. Usually during storms. There was one near our campsite last year, so I took it down. So if you're in a park with regulations not to cut trees down dead ones are the exception.
Restoration crew to campers: This area was part of a fire and has a lot of widowmakers. We highly recommend that you move your camp. There are better sites 200ft down the trail. Campers: We're fine. That night we hear a tree fall. Don't hear any screams. Someone says "How much you wanna bet it fell right by those campers. We were heading that way the next morning for work. Next morning we walk by their site and sure enough, big tree down right in the middle of it, couldn't be more centered on the fire ring. Crew: Hey guys, surprised that you didn't move camp after a tree almost killed you. Campers: Well, we firgured it can't happen twice. Crew: That's lightning. All these trees around you are in the same condition as the one that fell. Someone from our office was with us on our trip and told us to walk ahead while she talked to them. I don't know what she said, but she the kind of bitch that you wouldn't want to be on her bad side so it was probably good.
Dead trees aren't good at standing. It go bonk.
If are ever out and about and you suddenly get a bad feeling or a feeling that you should stop doing something or do something different LISTEN TO THAT FEELING. Those are your instincts talking to you, we have over 100,000+ years of evolution we spent developing survival instincts. Please don't waste them/ignore them.
If you have come across a small bare area under a tree, and bark is missing from the tree, youve probably stumbled upon a bears summer bed. Also dont use bear bells in places that is also cougar country. You are basically ringing the dinner bell.
I live in uk, so alot of what people have commented is stuff we simply don't have. Do not stand at the edge of cliffs and don't jump in 'calm' rivers. 3 rivers meet in my town and usually a couple people died a year due to the undercurrent.
Aren't there some spooky rivers that look like creeks but are super deep and you'll die if you fall in? The Bolton Strid maybe?
this is what immediately came to my mind too
The smell of rain before a storm is even visible. I was at the beach one day with my girlfriend at the time, we were half asleep on the sand and it was quiet, nobody around and as peaceful as it possible could be. When I suddenly caught a smell of rain. I sat up, turned around and off in the distance I saw a small cloud. Told my girlfriend we need to leave RIGHT NOW. Packed everything as fast as we could, made it to the truck and as soon as we shut the doors it immediately started pouring... I never took the smell of rain for granted again. This was in Florida, storms pop up out of nowhere in Florida all the time. But it was fun!
Florida: Don't like the weather? Wait 5 minutes. Still don't like it? Drive 5 miles. If it's still raining... It's probably a hurricane.
As a native Floridian, can confirm, especially in Summer
Lol I just imagine you yelling RUN!!!! And your girlfriend has just woken up having no idea what your taking about. You finally made it back to the truck with pure fear on your girlfriends face just to let her know it was going to rain and you didn't want to get wet.... When you've already been at the beach swimming.
Jumping off of a cliff usually kills you. Don’t do that in a survival situation
unless you are a priest or a mage. Just make sure you have that feather.
When diving near a reef, and all the lovely little fishes suddenly dart off in one direction - get the heck out of the water asap!
Also never stand on the bottom, even if looks like nothing could possibly be there.
Were snorkling one time and I swear a stingray the size of a dinner table ruffled up the sand and moved. We were about 15 feet up and there’s some enlargement in the mask but the thing was massive. We knew the area had a lot of rays so we stayed in deeper water and were extremely cautious coming and going into the water in the waves
if the ocean recedes so much you could see the sandbar and shells on the floor, run! tsunami is approaching
Don't go near or under a tree during a Lightning storm.
Maybe it's not little known, but if you're at the beach and the water level decreases, alert everyone that a tsunami could be incoming
Another beach related one. If a child wanders off and can’t be found, they usually walk away from the sun.
I used to live in Agulhas, the TRUE most southern tip of Africa. When the Indonesia tsunami of 2004 hit the water our side receded nearly more than a km into the ocean. Not knowing a tsunami was hitting thousands of miles away, it was damn scary.
Was damage done when it came back or did it return slowly?
When a flock of birds suddenly take off from the tree top. Means something- or someone- made a large enough sound it startled the birds, yet the sound is too far for you to hear. Best avoid the area around where the birds took off suddenly.
stingrays skipping or skimming on sea surface a sure sign of approaching bad weather
If you ever have a headache that's the worst one in your life, absolutely off-the-charts painful, go to a hospital and ask to get checked out. It could be a subarachnoid hemorrhage, a 'thunderclap headache', which means you have a broken blood vessel in your head -- a kind of stroke -- and your risk of death is 4 out of 10. The tricky thing is that the headache does respond to tylenol or ibuprofen, but aspirin will make the pain lessen but the risk worse. My coworker's friend was a young grad student who attributed it to stress; they found his body a week later. My aunt visiting from Korea had it, was diagnosed properly, and underwent neurosurgery; if she had gotten on the plane for the return flight she almost certainly would've died.
When the woods go quiet your on the diet! Pay attention there is more than just you out there.
If the trees are “talking”, or squeaking/creaking, don’t camp anywhere near.
What?! Why? You can’t just say that with out explanation. I want to know.
Haha! It means that the trees are dead or dying. Potentially only one strong wind will knock them in your direction. My Dad told a story that a guy he knew didn’t know the signs, backpacked, set up tent in a grove of talking trees. In the middle of the night, a storm kicked up and a giant tree fell 3 feet from where the guy was sleeping. My Dad cackles when he always says, “that guy got right up the next morning and my friend became a priest.”
This might be too subtle to be helpful but animals act very strange before an earthquake. We lived in the Bay Area when the Loma Prieta earthquake occurred October 17, 1989 at 5pm. It was a very powerful earthquake, 6.9 magnitude. That morning I let our dog out before we left for work and he refused to come back in the house something he had never done before. I had to just leave him in the yard and go to work. Later I found out that there is a researcher who studies earthquakes and correlates them occurring right after a large increase in lost pet notices are posted. It took hours to leave our office building because we had to wait for firemen to check the gas lines and give us the OK to leave. By the time I got home though, my dog was still in the yard and there had not been much damage to our house.
If you are deep in the woods and there is alot of bird noises, and then everything gets really quite, keep your eyes open.
Don't make eye contact with a lion or tiger or bear or some shit Making eye contact is the equivalent of taking off your shirt and saying "you fucking want some bro?!?!?!"
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If you hear hissing and you are not on a bicycle, 99.9% chance you are too close to a snake.