Animal encounter ?

[Nimby]

A fox ran right through the Finish at a BKO event a few years ago.
(Can't remember the venue ...)

[NFKleanne]

I encountered a deer at Knettishall Heath at a RAFO event shortly after starting orienteering. I think we stood and stared at each other, till another orienteer approached and scared it off

[madmike]

And of course there was Kangaroo-induced parrallel error down under in 2008 when I found myself face to face with a big red kangaroo and then watched as he, unconcernedly, hopped off down the valley as I watched in amazement....and promptly forgot completely where I was

[Tatty]

When I arrived at the Gimle Hut for a Halden Training Camp, I went for a stroll and came across a huge bull moose within metres of the hut! We eyeballed each other for a good 5 minutes and then it wandered off. Didn't have my camrea with me, and never saw another one that close all tour

[Mrs H]

Mr H famously encountered a black panther at an event at Fownhope in Herefordshire some years ago. On a return visit a couple of years later he fell into a leaf filled ditch and emerged with a snake round his arm. Fortunately there's not many water features there so he hasn't seen a crocodile

[AndyC]

If he carries a whistle he wouldn't encounter a crocodile would he?

[LostAgain]

When I arrived at the Gimle Hut for a Halden Training Camp,

When I used train from the same hut we came across Wolf and Bear.

[roadrunner]

Its being reported that a hungry and unfriendly 7 foot boa-constrictor ...

This thread could hardly have been started by a better named person

[Knee Deep Mud!]

The first event I planned, when the controller was checking controls on the morning of the event, he found six adders sunbathing around one of the controls.

The closest animal encounter I've had was when I got charged by a bull and had to dive over a gate to escape... in the field with the map exchange halfway through my course at the British Champs!

[King Penguin]

I feel really sorry for the two (?) people attacked by wasps after standing on their nest whilst running at the Harvester today. One at least was pretty badly stung multiple times.

[SYO Member]

A similar thing happened at an event at Harlow Hill, Harrogate in 2003, but this time
there were 2 separate wasp nests. One that affected youngsters doing the shorter
courses and another (in the Birk Crag section) that was presumably near a control used by the longer courses.

When I reached it there was a large swarm and I was targeted by them which resulted in 13 stings ..... all on my head! I wonder if it was because I was wearing a yellow o-top and black leggings?

[Adventure Racer]

I feel really sorry for the two (?) people attacked by wasps

More - I spoke to Sarah Rollins at the urban, after I overheard her mentioning she'd been stung (just once), and it was almost certainly from the same nest. Most of those who went into Limb Valley must have run very close, so it's fortunate more weren't badly stung (if rather unfortunate for those who were).

[King Penguin]

Our young lady's wasp sting count now reoported as 31.

[Red Adder]

Last summer the club put on a course at a school open day - and had to re-route part of it when a full swarm of bees alight on a tree just by one of the markers. The local apiarist was summoned and it was fascinating to watch how he delt with it - basically it got dumped in to a box very much like the one on Ghost Busters. Fortunately I don't think anyone got stung.

We also had a wasp's nest on one of our Summer Series events - didn't cause any problems til a member of the public's Alsatian got overly interested.

[Ravinous]

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildli ... tacks.html