Had a very productive and unnerving herping trip!

WOW, that was really gay.

HAHAHA your a funny guy lol

That was intense..... I at least thought bigfoot would pop out

I am going with Dave on this one. hahahahahahahahahaha

Advice would be, add lots and lots of content and less and less of that kid trying to be cool. And what was the whisle all about, hahahahahahahahahaha

i am wondering why he did not throw that vid away. Wait until you have something, then show it. oh well. Kids, what can you say.

"I'm really excited to find this"......"and I have no idea what it is"....lol

Your leopard frog is actually a pickerel frog. I wouldn't be too concerned about the coyotes.

Phil

Blair Witch Project? or... Scared B*tch Project??? You just need to shake that camera around more for effect.

I don't worry about those coyotes. I see them all the time and they keep their distance (well, at least 20 yards off ):







I would worry more about Deliverence Men

Thanks for wasting 7 minutes of my life.

BTW - what kind of pu$$y is scared of a coyote???
Oh wait, this kind... http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/04/2 ... 54397.html

To be fair, he claimed that he was protecting his dog, rather than being scared of the coyote. But apparently he did specifically admit to being afraid of snakes (so you can easily understand why he would need to carry a laser-sighted pistol around).

John

Maybe I haven't seen other posts by you to understand all the hostility by others towards you. But don't worry about "elitists" who offer no constructive criticism...just keep doing what makes you happy.

There is a certain "Brady Barr-ishness" to this video.

Out West, coyotes are common as dirt so your angst seems silly, but since you've had limited experience with them I think it's fair to cut you some slack and render encouragement to your efforts. One last thing... To put yourself out front on video takes really thick skin.

Thanks I definatly intend on doing just that and to be honest with you I have no idea where all the hostility is coming from either lol

I appreciate your enthusiasm, but if you do intend to do 'educational' style videos, perhaps you may want to start by not exaggerating the danger of animals. It does the animals a disservice. You're trying to teach people to appreciate nature, not develop irrational fears about it. Nor do you want to vindicate the irrational fears they already harbour.

I didn't watch the whole video, just fast-forwarded through to the relevant bits, as I'm not a fan of talking-head style videos (I'm sure most people on here would have guessed that by now ). However, if you want a bit of advice for maximising viewership on your youtube page, use the 'insight' button to find out which parts of each video attract people's attention and at which point do they switch off and go elsewhere. As Frank said, wait until you've got more content before posting a video. It will mean fewer videos, but a better balance between talking head vs animal shots.

By the way, Owen, beautiful shots!

The vid wasn't bad....I echo what others have said about the content...Honestly, not alot there to keep the viewer's attention....

As far as the "danger" aspect of coyotes....unless you're a rabbit, rodent or small household pet, there isn't much...Coyotes are actually incredibly shy creatures....most I have seen are gone in a heartbeat...

Now, post a vid of you getting stalked by a mountain lion or a bear, and THEN you'll have reason to be a bit "unnerved"....

-Kris

EDIT: Comments retracted. Sorry.

Yep, the video is way too much about the narrator. But, you do deliver well for an amateur and could probably get really good at it. Talking to a camera doesn't come easry to most. Now all you need to do is learn about your subjects, go find some, get some experience. ...and when you do find something worth videoing, try to minimize the face time. Herp vids aren't for teenage girls anyway. ...well, maybe some teenage girls thankfully.

You should be ashamed of trying to look "hard" in a profile pic with an Hollister shirt on.

EDIT: Comments retracted. Sorry.

If I could go back to 7th grade, I would definitely make the football team.

I would be a little scared too if I saw a couple of coyotes in the middle of the woods by myself. Nice job on the video, even though I may have been the only one to actually enjoy it.

All I am going to say is your ignorance about coyotes is on par with those who are ignorant of snakes. We get so angry about people jumping 6 feet in the air when they see a harmless snake, or call every serpent a "poisionous" one. You are only instilling false information and unjustified fear about these animals, not teaching the next generation about the wonders of the world. Perhaps you didn't know anything about coyotes, and that's fine, but now you do and the best you can do is take down that video that so falsely portrays these canids. You should be in awe that you come in contact with coyotes east of the Mississippi, they were at one point almost exterminated and lost forever there, much like mountain lions and wolves have been. A little knowledge goes a long way. You are young, and it is our job to teach you, not belittle you.

Owen- beautiful shots. Thanks for those.

Dan

If I'm not mistaken, Snakeman123's video was shot in the Daniel Boone NF in Kentucky. I'm far from a mammal expert but from what I can gather coyote's are of recent vintage here. Speculation is they may have crossed over an iced up Mississippi River back in the 1970's. Since then their numbers have exploded and they have possibly out competed our native fox and led to a possible reduction in their numbers and also filled the void of the now extirpated red wolf. There certainly is no scarcity of coyote here and they are thriving statewide in all 120 counties. Our fish & wildlife department places no bag limit on them and there is no closed season. In rural Kentucky they are notorious for taking calves. I do agree with you that they pose no threat to humans and personally I have accepted them as part of the landscape and see no reason to promote fear towards them. I do wish that the red wolves were still here however.

Phil

Of course, I can't speak for everyone, but it seems more like a little light hearted ribbing and not mean spirited bullying (at least my intent). It's like the guy who screams when walking into a spider web.

I will say that it was kind of like watching an episode of Beast Hunter, where it leaves you a bit unsatisfied after commiting yourself too it.

Thank god you survived the coyote encounter; this video and the subsequent comments have resulted in a lot of entertainment.

Thanks for the information Phil. If it didn't come across before I was trying to say that they are bouncing back in the eastern US after being practically gone for a over/under a hundred years. While they may be pushing the fox numbers down, there is every reason to imagine that the fox numbers went up as a result from the years that the coyote was not in Kentucky. There, gone, there, gone. Up, down, up, down. It is also completely sane to imagine that coyotes may be gaining a bigger foothold than they deserve because wolves are gone. I agree with you that the loss of the red wolf is a sad plight. Hopefully the coyotes can concentrate on eating the feral cats instead of the calves in the future, haha.

Out west here I have been fortunate to have been camping one night in Southwest NM and hearing Mexican wolves serenade me. One of the greatest nights of my life and its unfortunate. I am extremely happy/utterly disappointed to have experienced something two generations from now will have no chance to. It still sends chills up and down my body when I remember listening to such a primordial song. A million stars, a cold beer, and singing wolves, it hardly gets better than that.

On a side note, I am sure many of us have such stories, but I recall one particular night going to sleep under the stars in Death Valley with my shoes next to my head. When I awoke one of my shoes was twenty feet away! Those wily coyotes! It was surround sound listening to them as we sat around the fire the night before.

Dan

Sounds like too much tequila to me. I remember sleeping under the stars in ENP, next morning I woke up naked in Albuquerque. Pretty sure it wasn't the coyotes.

I have to agree there is no reason to be afraid of coyotes but on this forum I've seen posts that lead me to believe we have people who are afraid of garter and ringneck snakes and quite a few have tales of the time they "almost died" from one of those nasty, human-seeking timber rattlers so heckling this guy is a bit out of line perhaps. I'm going to save my heckling for the next person who posts one of those stories. I too think Snakeman could make some good vids. If I might offer one suggestion, get out of those streams and look somewhere else lol

Thanks Rob, I sincerely hope you were joking, as many people are in this post, since we do not know each other. Nor have we ever spoken. It's hard to tell on the internet. I was trying to tell what I though was a wonderful story connecting with the natural world. You can keep your tequila to yourself thank you very much.

Dan

I've never had the pleasure of hearing wolves at night, but yes, that must be incredible! Its things such as that which make the outdoor experience so unique and puts the "wild" in wilderness. Interestingly enough, there was once a proposal to re-introdoce the red wolf back to western Kentucky. The plan was eventually scrapped, primarily due to lack of support from the public. I have since heard that coyotes and red wolves are known to hybridize so the result project probably would not have succeeded anyhow.

Phil

On a positive note... I did like your cuts. Such as the distanced shot of you climbing the rock face, and then the camera approach when you topped out. You have some talent for video... Content is decidedly the most difficult part though, imo. Keep working on it and keep yourself in good physical condition (I dislike seeing myself on video because I'm not).

Looks like Norman Schlincter or whatever that guy's name was made a new account. I still learned more from this video then I did from the Texas Snake hunter youtube videos.

Lets not forget that there has been a couple fatal coyote attacks in recent years!

A three year old child back in the 80's and a 19 year old hiker in Canada a couple years ago.

Extremely rare but it has happened!

Aren't those Northeastern ones Coyote/Wolf hybrids? They're almost twice the size of the normal coyote.

I believe the hiker was actually trying to befriend the coyote(s). I reckon it/they didn't appreciate the gesture.
What your video lacks in intellect, was made up for in composition.
Coyotes aren't native to the east. Ohio has basically the same bag limits/regulations as Kentucky when it comes to yotes. We also don't have to buy a trappers license and can trap/shoot 365 24/7. I cant quite bring myself to kill them even though they do need some thinning. I rather enjoy hearing/seeing them. If you've never seen one hunting, its pretty amazing. As far as the foxes go, most reds aren't native. A Red will take over (run out/kill) a grey fox territory.
Ive heard the Red Wolf is actually a Coyote/Wolf hybrid? But, this doesnt make much sense if the coyote was not native to Red Wolf territory.

+1

This is definitely the most entertaining thread on FHF so far this year. Some of the replies almost had me in tears.

hey snakeman123.

this is the first i've seen you here. so if you are new, tolerate the masses. newbies get hell from all. hang in there, meet some people. it's all good.

-ben

Actually, if I'm not mistaken, "snakeman123" is just some kind of spammer just trying to get views on his videos. A couple weeks ago he posted a video here that was just several minutes of him talking about someone who got pregnant (a person, not a herp). He's also posted tons of other videos about him talking about stuff that has nothing to do with herps - you can see that his post count is 24, but when you search through his posts, there are only 13 matches left. That's because half the posts he made were non-herping related spam videos that have been deleted. The ribbing in this case is not only expected because he's a n00b, but perhaps somewhat deserved.

I was not aware of that. I retract my comments. Thanks for bringing that to light.

Yeah... amazing what some people will do to get their name out there... like chiming in on a post where they really have nothing to say... That's all I got... jim
cept this, to the OP... even the most 'serious' presentations benefit from some humor peppered in, here and there... but that said...'humor' is probably the hardest element to pull off, in any presentation jim

Really, Really gay.

For the record I did post some non herping vids in the fact that they did not have herps in them but they were herping related and I was told that if any vids were to be posted it needed to be when I found some herps and that is now what I am doing, I don't care about the views i care about sharing the herps with other herpers who will apreciate them.

I suggest you follow the advise of others here. Please get a snake hook if your going herping. Steve Irwin and others set a bad example . Try using the right equipment for the job.

Maybe consider getting tongs, coyotes will jump right off a hook.

i don't have a hook. just my camera and a good sense of what not to grab.

before you suggest using equipment that may injure animals, how bout suggesting learning all he can about what is in the area he plans to go. venomous may not be present and a hook would not be needed.

-ben

So you don't have a hook good for you. Only way a hook would hurt a snake is if you have no clue how to use it. Then you should not be field herping where there are venomous. The area in this video looks a lot like other areas in Eastern KY and said he was looking for copperheads. Helped treat several bites to want to be TV stars handling snakes without the right equipment this year. Hey it was just a suggest what do I know.


Take care
Jim Harrison

You're spot on. I'd also suggest bags bigger than pillow cases, a small club (to help with posing the coyote) and of course, gloves are optional.

Hahahahahaha

Makes no sense. I don't have a snake hook, so that means I shouldn't herp where there are venomous snakes??
No, it doesn't - it just means I shouldn't grab them. When I see a rattlesnake or copperhead I take pics, and occasionally usher it off the road if need be. Hooks are not a necessity if you have no desire to handle venomous snakes.