Accidental DORs

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muskiemagnet
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Accidental DORs

Post by muskiemagnet »

this has probably been done before, but i'm curious as to the DORs created while road cruising. it sucks when you make em yourself, but it happens. i want to hear about yours.

i've only got one to my name, and it was a nice big corn in sarasota county fla. i still have yet to see a live one.

-ben
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Don Becker
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by Don Becker »

I've hit, a red-tailed hawk, a painted turtle, a bullsnake, a few garter snakes, a few brown snakes, a tiger salamander, lots of leopard frogs (those damn things hop into my tires), I assume a few chorus frogs considering how thick they are on the roads in the rains.
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Dave S
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by Dave S »

I'm by no way proud of this but my wife says that anything I drive becomes a bird magnet. :? Not to list them all but I've hit about 15+ they just seem to come out of no where. It broke my heart when I hit a owl while driving on the FL turnpike late at night.
As for reptiles I've been lucky and only hit 1 Red Ratsnake (a very nice one) and a water snake. I don't count frogs, sometimes you just can't avoid them. I'd like to think that the 100's of reptiles I've saved over that past 20+ years I've been driving make up for those that I have hit.
The worse thing I hit was a raccoon way out in the everglades, I was driving down a road that had tall grass on both sides and some guy was riding my A** so I was picking up speed when it darted out at the wrong moment. My wife still has not let me live that down.
Dave S.
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BillMcGighan
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by BillMcGighan »

Like Don said, its almost impossible to miss amphibs some times.


I’ve hit baby and small snakes on the interstate at high speed, often spanning them on the front tires, only to have the wind roll them under the back tires.


You can’t herp the SW US without eventually nailing a Jack Rabbit or a deer. :oops:

You can’t drive south of Richland, WI, in the AM without hitting a turkey! :lol:
VICtort
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by VICtort »

It was dusk, fading light, I slowed and concluded, "it's just a cow pie on the road...", well I proceeded and heard the rattle, I had just hit a tightly coiled C. oreganus. I felt guilty, so I euthanized it and ate it...highly overrated and not much to it BTW. A couple of deer, a lot of rabbits (some years there are so many rabbits, they are hard to avoid), several passerine birds, kangaroo rats, Beechy ground squirrels, a desert iguana, a neonate sidewinder, etc. I do a lot of driving in prime wildlife habitat, so the opportunity for vehicle vs. wildlife may be greater than others might experience.
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herpseeker1978
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by herpseeker1978 »

would've been my lifer suboc! Was so bummer about that! Also a leopard lizard, actually those were both my wife, but we were herping. I hit a mountain bluebird in Idaho, tons of bugs. We have hit k-rats and I also hit a dog once. Had another driver hit a cow while we were herping one time. I also hit a plateau striped whiptail and my wife nailed a baby glossy the other night.

Josh
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chris_mcmartin
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by chris_mcmartin »

My at-the-time fiancee hit a prairie chicken in my year-old car, and I still married her.

Personally, lots of rodents, a couple of jackrabbits, a lot of leopard frogs, a whiptail of some sort, a swallow, a goanna, and a wallaby. Probably some other animals here and there that I can't remember, as well as many more I never knew I hit in the first place.

And a plethora of snout butterflies (in season).
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noah k.
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by noah k. »

In the last three weeks my driver hit the first two snakes I've ever been present for. My second scarlet snake, arguably the rarest snake in that area, and a hatchling night before last.
ADCIII
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by ADCIII »

AAAAARRRRRGGGGGHHHHHH!!! My only self inflicked DOR, a primo Crotalus tigris.
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Soopaman
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by Soopaman »

As far as snakes, I've hit a yellowbelly water snake, a texas brown snake, and a copperhead.

Frogs and toads, I've got more kills than I can count. They're just so numerous every time I go out.

As far as other stuff, I had an evening where I hit a deer, vulture, and a cardinal all within a few hour span. The deer did some damage to the hood of my car, unfortunately.
I've hit a few other things. Oddly enough, birds seem to be the animals I hit the most.
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Lizardman1988
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by Lizardman1988 »

Weirdest thing I have hit was a bat. Flew right into my wheel well. Lots of birds (including a turkey and a common nighthawk), those unavoidable frogs and toads, ground squirrels, kangaroo rats, mice, and a skunk. Only 3 snakes that I know of; a great basin gopher, a garter, and a brown snake.

One night, while road cruising with Chad Whitney, I had my arm out the open window, when a deer lept up from the ditch and hit the side of our car, right on my arm. The impact didn't hurt, but I could feel something on my arm from the deer, and when I pulled it in, it was covered in feces. The impact had caused the deer to loose its bowels upon my arm, and all over the side of the car, and the inside of the rear windshield. Had the side-view mirror not deflected the blast, my face would have gotten it too. I have no idea what happened to the deer, we never found it.
chad ks
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by chad ks »

Lizardman1988 wrote:Weirdest thing I have hit was a bat. Flew right into my wheel well. Lots of birds (including a turkey and a common nighthawk), those unavoidable frogs and toads, ground squirrels, kangaroo rats, mice, and a skunk. Only 3 snakes that I know of; a great basin gopher, a garter, and a brown snake.

One night, while road cruising with Chad Whitney, I had my arm out the open window, when a deer lept up from the ditch and hit the side of our car, right on my arm. The impact didn't hurt, but I could feel something on my arm from the deer, and when I pulled it in, it was covered in feces. The impact had caused the deer to loose its bowels upon my arm, and all over the side of the car, and the inside of the rear windshield. Had the side-view mirror not deflected the blast, my face would have gotten it too. I have no idea what happened to the deer, we never found it.
I sincerely doubt if I'll ever experience that exact measure of worry for you, disgust for your poor arm, shock and then of course just pure comedy relief. It was a funny mixture of laughing my ass off on the inside, but appearing concerned, stern and worried on the outside. :beer:
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Lizardman1988
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by Lizardman1988 »

You laughed on the outside too, after a bit. Definitely an evening I'll remember for a long time. Definitely one of the funniest things that's happened to me.
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Chris Smith
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by Chris Smith »

I have hit:

Deer
Raccoon
Skunk
Ground Squirrels
Bullsnake (survived!) <- On a two-track road with 4-5' grass... It was in the passenger side tire track. :?
Gartersnakes (a few)
Several Tiger Salamanders (there were 100s (1000s?) on the road at the time)
Several Frogs (again, rainy nights with tons on the road)
Insects (Moths, Butterflies, Dragonflies, Bees, etc.)
A few birds (Sparrows, doves, etc.)

It happens... Most probably do not even realize it!

-Chris
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Mattlesnake King
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by Mattlesnake King »

I have been hit by a deer. I was at nearly a complete stop and it head butted a huge dent into my front quarter panel. Lots of mourning doves (those things love my bumper), a few raccoons, and a screech owl. The owl was a huge bummer, I love those little guys.

Snake wise I clipped a baby chain king one time. A few racers have appeared under my tire leaving me no chance to stop or swerve. Another time I swerved to avoid hitting a seasoned tire-chasing dog in front of someones house on a dirt road in central Georgia. The swerve brought me right over a neonate canebrake's head. I still hate that dog.

Matt K
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DaveR
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by DaveR »

A little off topic. I'm a runner. Several years ago during a 7.5 mile race on the roads in an area park, a deer bolted out of the woods along the paved park road and ran full-speed into a guy I know. Ran him right over...trampled him. Deer kept going, never even slowed down. The runner got up, a little stunned but not hurt, and finished the race. There were around 300 runners in that race. He finished in the middle of the pack in around an hour (8 minute pace). The collision occured in the first mile. I didn't see the "crash" but my friend did. He couldn't stop laughing when he told me. I guess it looked pretty funny...and no one got seriously hurt.
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nightdriver
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by nightdriver »

This really brings up some bad memories. Thanks :cry:

I like to think of myself as assisting in the suicides of the obviously depressed individuals that fly, crawl, slither, scurry , or otherwise propel themselves in front of my car. ;)
Thankfully not to many snakes or lizards and none reallly painfull, but I think I've given up trying to dodge mammals that are to small to make a dent in the cruisemobile.

The most painful I've found.... 6 gila monsters(still on 0 live), boa constrictor, anaconda, moose, and.......indigo...OUCH :cry: :cry: :cry:

This year 1 glossy, but it wasn't my fault :roll:

-nightdriver
Tamara D. McConnell
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by Tamara D. McConnell »

First barking treefrog I found was one I had just run over. Really bums out the lifer experience when you've just killed the animal.
Most upsetting was hitting an armadillo while driving to a herping spot in a rainstorm. Dillos are my all-time favorite mammal. I wanted to commit hari-kiri on the spot.
Paul White
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by Paul White »

A handful of toads and a prairie rattler. The toads I don't feel too bad about most of them, since they have a tendency to hop into the path of my moving car.
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muskiemagnet
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by muskiemagnet »

BillMcGighan wrote:Like Don said, its almost impossible to miss amphibs some times.


I’ve hit baby and small snakes on the interstate at high speed, often spanning them on the front tires, only to have the wind roll them under the back tires.


You can’t herp the SW US without eventually nailing a Jack Rabbit or a deer. :oops:

You can’t drive south of Richland, WI, in the AM without hitting a turkey! :lol:
funny you mention richland. i agree with the turkey pops being too high. i wish they would just make them small game already. oh, wait. then the state couldn't make as much money. :roll: :roll: :roll:

-ben
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muskiemagnet
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by muskiemagnet »

i guess when i was posting this, i was just thinking snakes, but you all bring everything. i have been blessed as far as hitting animals. very few that ring a bell. surprisingly no deer. other than a pheasant, raccoon, and a screech owl, i'm pretty clean. i'm 37, so to avoid animals to this extent for so long is pretty crazy. the owl was a bummer. pretty little red phase. i also don't count amphibs.

nightdriver, indigo??? that's gotta suck. did you hit it, or find it?

-ben
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nightdriver
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by nightdriver »

The indigo was, thankfully, not of my doing.

-nightdriver
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jonathan
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by jonathan »

I was driving in the desert and saw what appeared to be a large messed up DOR sidewinder just in front of me. I couldn't stop in time so I tried to straddle it with my tires and stopped just past it to voucher the DOR. When I got out I saw that it was actually TWO sidewinders, and they were both extremely freshly hit (one still moving). Did I confuse two separate sidewinders for one large messed-up sidewinder, and then accidentally hit them when I tried to straddle them? I never was sure, but I felt bad thinking it was a possibility.

Twice I've been driving behind other herpers when they hit a snake. Once it was a helleri, once it was a copperhead. Both times, the herper that hit the snake didn't even see it and kept driving.

I've hit a bobcat and a dog. The bobcat was the worst feeling I've ever had hitting something. I've also been a passenger in a car that hit a deer.
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cachoron
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by cachoron »

When you go at some speed and sudenly from a bush on a road side a vulture tries to fly, is very difficult to avoid... Same with a green iguana when you drive 80 mph in Sinaloa highways

Doves, quails, juancitos, mice, squairls, frogs, toads.........
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Russ_Jones
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by Russ_Jones »

I'm sure if you swerve and hit just one cat you would more than make up for the native species you have run over... just sayin'.

Russ
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Soopaman
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Re: Accidental DORs

Post by Soopaman »

I've got to add another to my list. I hit a speckled kingsnake yesterday just before midnight. :(
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