Our home is a place where we can relax and feel safe. Our homes provide us protection from the elements, and unwanted intruders, but you can’t control what happens outside in nature. A Florida man’s dogs wouldn’t stop barking and he couldn’t figure out why, until he took a peek at his deck outside. Nature has a way of throwing curve balls at us, and what this man finds, is a perfect example of that.
A lot of people live in cities, or suburbs, and are pretty far from wild animals, but that doesn’t mean they’re completely in the clear. This Earth is full of incredible predators that we must share space with, and a lot of these creatures can be quite life-threatening. The Southern half of the United States has an extremely diverse wildlife, and can definitely bring danger to the humans that live there. It’s a good reminder not to mess with Mother Nature.
One Florida family got a surprise when they heard their doorbell ring. When they opened the door, they were greeted by their neighborhood gator! If you live in a tropical area, even though you know it happens, there’s no preparing you for occurrences that leave you face-to-face with a deadly animal. One man realized this the hard way, and he almost didn’t handle it very well. The surprise of this encounter will definitely be something he never forgets!
Phil Hendra is a resident of East Fort Myers, Florida, and lives in what would be considered a typical, suburban neighborhood. Even though he’s not in the city itself, you wouldn’t expect wild animals to be roaming the streets. Most creatures would be scared of the populated area, but one morning Phil realized that most animals doesn’t mean all animals. Luckily, Phil has some furry companions that alerted him to the danger.
It was a morning just like any other morning. While going about his regular routine, Phil realized his pups were behaving a bit differently. If you’re a pet owner, then you know that when your animal acts strangely, something is a bit off. Most of the time, the animal will calm down and go back to doing their own thing. In Phil’s case, this didn’t happen. His companions acted weird for quite some time.
Phil’s dogs were quite persistent with their barking. There didn’t seem to be any reason for it, but their barking continued for literally hours. Phil just didn’t really think anything of it, and assumed the dogs were just worked up because of the usual neighborhood happenings. There are so many reasons why animal companions would act crazy, but Phil figured it was one of two things that made his dogs act so unusual.
The weather in Florida is unpredictable, considering that thunderstorms pop up at just a moment’s notice. Traffic tends to get congested quite easily in populated areas, causing animals to get stressed out. Phil figured that his dogs were acting the way they were because of these reasons, but he soon realized that he was wrong. Phil decided he needed to take action and find out what was going on. What happened to Phil is completely unbelievable!
Phil noticed the barking began to get out of control, so he decided to check things out. He went to the door to take a peek outside, and it appeared that his dogs knew what they were talking about. When Phil looked out onto his porch, there was a very unexpected visitor! Once Phil learned the truth, it seemed quite appropriate that his dogs were barking. What Phil saw is definitely not something you see every day!
As soon as Phil peered out he noticed there was a huge Florida panther just hanging out on his porch. By the way it looked, it didn’t seem like the panther was on the prowl, but more so just taking a break and enjoying the nice day. Phil did the first thing that came to his mind, the first thing that most people would do in the same situation. How could anyone want to miss an opportunity like this? Phil ran to get his camera, but was put on edge with what would happen next!
The panther paid no attention to Phil being there until it heard the clicking sounds of the camera. The panther was there to relax, and there was no way it was going to let Phil interrupt that much needed time. Phil couldn’t believe how the Florida panther reacted to him being there. They locked eyes, and what happened next was alarming! Take a look at what the large feline did that took Phil by surprise!
Instead of doing what was expected and taking off, the panther did the complete opposite. It decided to sit back and relax! Phil even had time to get his parents to show them how incredible the panther was. The panther decided to hang out for another 20 minutes before continuing on with it’s day. The panther hasn’t made another visit to Phil’s house, but they haven’t given up on the hopes that they’ll see their new friend again.
Florida panthers are not a creature that you would want to mess with. They can grow to be an incredible seven feet long and weigh up to 220 pounds. Phil is considered lucky to be able to have a one-on-one encounter with this animal! Considering how close they were, it’s amazing that the panther was able to keep its cool! It just wanted to take some time to relax in the shade for a little bit in this extremely sunny state!
The state of Florida is known for more than being the home of Disney World and the city life of Miami. This state is the home to some crazy weather and some of the world’s most devastating natural disasters. The fact that the weather is sunny, and humid, it provides Florida with some pretty neat animals. Even though they’re interesting to look at, there are quite a few you don’t want to encounter up close, but they just might be hanging out on your back porch when you’re not looking.
Florida, also known as the Sunshine State, is the home to plenty of neat animals, including alligators and manatees. Residents of Florida have become accustomed to the “beware of alligators” signs, or the enormous banana spiders that can be found hanging out between trees. Learning to coexist with large, and at times, dangerous animals is something that Florida residents must learn to do, but it’s worth it to live in paradise! But they have to learn to not be surprised when they have unexpected visitors knocking on their door.
Phil’s experience with the panther isn’t something that happens every day, and it will be remembered by him for this the rest of his life. The Florida panther is actually one of the rarest mammals on Earth. Sadly, there are only around 200 left in the wild! That means every sighting is incredibly special! Only a handful of Floridians have had the pleasure of having a panther in their backyard. It’s quite obvious why these massive animals aren’t afraid to cross paths with humans.
This endangered animal continues to show up in yards across the state, no matter how much traffic or human activity there is. “Typically, people clear enough land for their houses, but their yards are in native habitat. Panthers are in those same areas where human growth has been increasing,” stated Darrell Land, a panther team leader at the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Hopefully, we continue to see panthers for quite a long time!