squirrels, rabbits and small animals

[buffs]

Hi, this is my first thread on this excellent forum. I've been riding since the start of summer here in Colorado, USA. My first wheel that I learned on was the Inmotion V5F, and I got a Kingsong 16 about a month ago. I like to ride on smooth paved surfaces so I'm on sidewalks and bike paths most of the time. Just recently I was cruising down the street when a rabbit darted in front of me. I immediately tried to steer away from it but it went the same direction. Fortunately, it stopped and reversed direction before I made contact. Later that same day I had another rabbit cross the sidewalk about 10 feet in front of me when cruising at about 25 kph. I had no time to do anything and was lucky I didn't make contact. After those 2 scares in one day, I started to think about what would happen if I hit a rabbit or squirrel. There are a lot of them in my area and it seems like only a matter of time before I have to choose between a hard maneuver where I may crash, or hitting the animal straight on. Have any of you ever hit a small animal? Did you crash or did the wheel stay under control? I know a crash wouldn't be good for the small animal and I'm wondering how I would likely fare. Would the wheel go over an animal like a curb or would I face plant? Any experiences and or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

.....Chris

[Keith]

@buffs, welcome to the forum. Good question but it isn't specific to KingSong so I have moved your post to "General Discussion".

Rabbits can behave quite oddly, I remember being stuck on a dual carriageway at about 10MPH at night with a rabbit stuck in my headlights running in front of me, when a car tried to overtake me in the next lane the rabbit run in front of him, then back in front of me as I tried to use the opportunity to get past it. This must have gone on for more than a mile with a sizeable traffic jam building up behind us before it finally turned off the road.

I have also had a cat zig zig continuously in front of my EUC for at least 100 yards (metres) before finally diving under a parked car.

So, if nobody has actually hit an animal yet, like you, I'm sure it is only a matter of time. As to the likely outcome? Although it will undoubtedly ruin that animal's whole day, I suspect the odds of staying on your EUC are pretty slim too. If your speed is too high to run off I would have thought a faceplant was all but inevitable unless the animal was very small compared with the wheel, I.e. A squirrel may be a lot less likely to knock the rider off of an 18" wheel than a 14" wheel, I suspect a rabbit or cat would be too much even for an 18" wheel.

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

 Doooon't hit the rabbits!    Usually rabbits are pretty fast at zipping around and changing direction in order to elude prey and fast approaching electric unicycles.  I doubt that you would be able to make contact with one even if you tried.  We have a wild hare explosion here as well ( @KalSeth, am I right or am I right? ), and I've only seen the odd one here or there squished on the road that has been hit by a car.  I guess it's possible but probably unlikely.

Welcome to the rabbit friendly forums BTW.  

[Gimlet]

I know from my motorcycling days that cats are bad news. I was ridingwith a friend when a cat ran across my path and literallly caught my friends front wheel. It grabbed the wheel with its claws and got jammed under the front mudguard. Obviously my friend ended up sprawled across the road and the cat never survived the encounter.

Not an encounter you would wish to have by any means. So my recommendation is to avoid wild life if at all possible!

[steve454]

46 minutes ago, buffs said:

what would happen if I hit a rabbit or squirrel. There are a lot of them in my area and it seems like only a matter of time before I have to choose between a hard maneuver where I may crash, or hitting the animal straight on. Have any of you ever hit a small animal? Did you crash or did the wheel stay under control? I know a crash wouldn't be good for the small animal and I'm wondering how I would likely fare. Would the wheel go over an animal like a curb or would I face plant? Any experiences and or suggestions are appreciated. Thanks!

Only seen a few rabbits where I ride, but dozens of squirrels every day, they're all over the place here.  Every day I see at least one squirrel in the street hit by a car.  They have a tendency to start across, then when you get close, they turn around and go back, which is when they get run over.  I just slow down if I see one up ahead, to be able to avoid hitting one.  They are too unpredictable.  Never hit one yet, but do the same on my ninebot, slow down around them and give them time to process the moving object coming near them.  Like you, I am afraid that hitting one on my wheel would hurt me just as bad as the animal.

[litewave]

I've seen two coyotes from 25m or so, and many squirrels and rabbits, but they all seem incredibly adept at human avoidance. I have, however, experienced close calls with numerous deer, a fox, and last week – a raccoon. Even if it were an oblique impact at moderate speed and I stayed upright (most likely), I would feel awful about the animal, and more worried that the injured raccoon or fox would bite.

[CaptainKBLS]

Lucky you!

I'm always on a lookout for animals but never see any.  But if I had to pick between me and the animal, I'm sorry I have to pick me.

[steve454]

29 minutes ago, litewave said:

I've seen two coyotes from 25m or so, and many squirrels and rabbits, but they all seem incredibly adept at human avoidance.

Squirrels seem to be incredibly adept at not seeing.  I wonder if they are almost blind.

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

I've run across deer meandering around sometimes and even domesticated bunnies that have been released outside.    Still on the look out for the black one to make a pair.  And make a bunch of little bunnies.  Here's a deer in my EUC headlights:

 

 

[KalSeth]

@litewave I agree with the deer.  Not sure how such a dimwitted animal made it so far.  They like to pull a Trump and do the opposite of anything you might rationally expect them to do.  And if you see one bolt out in front of you odds are very good a second deer will be incoming in 5, 4, 3 ...

@Hunka Hunka Burning LoveThe rabbits are all over here, my only problem with them is they are drawing predators further into the city.   

[dpong]

I was wheeling in my driveway on the way to the road, looked down and there was a baby snake (just a little one) running away from me.  I was chasing the snake and didn't know it.  I was certainly hoping not to catch it.  Luckily it went one way when I went the other and made it to the street.   Funny to look down and go "what's that?" and then to realize what it was!

Most animals stay away from me, but children are a different matter!

[MaxLinux]

2 hours ago, buffs said:

Have any of you ever hit a small animal?

I am thankful to be able to answer "no" to this question! Many times it has almost happened! I frequently encounter squirrels. Often the squirrel runs almost in front of my wheel, then darts away at the very last moment! Occasionally a dog runs in front of my wheel, almost making me fall.

[LanghamP]

Why is this so funny?

 

[Rocky Romero]

1 hour ago, MaxLinux said:

I am thankful to be able to answer "no" to this question! Many times it has almost happened! I frequently encounter squirrels. Often the squirrel runs almost in front of my wheel, then darts away at the very last moment! Occasionally a dog runs in front of my wheel, almost making me fall.

I'm in the city, mostly, and dogs and kids are the wildlife.

I haven't ridden at night much when I suspect that little creatures appear.

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[JimB]

I've had a number of small dogs suddenly turn and go nuts barking at the approaching wheel.

As for rabbits and squirrels, if you have that many, I doubt a few would be missed.  Sounds like good population control.

Given that it's possible that they will faceplant you when their corpse gets stuck in the wheel, I think the safest thing would be to carry a shotgun and preemptively terminate any small mammals that approach within a 20' radius.  Safety first!

I may live in "tree hugger" Seattle, but I moved here from Texas!

[LanghamP]

I'm more worried about large and aggressive dogs as a few go wild when they see me on an EUC. I now usually carry a quick deploy locking knife just in case the dog slips its leash. I've had a few close calls with large dogs doing that recently. Like really big dogs.

I don't think you have much of a chance trying to fend off a large pissed-off dog but with a quick deploy knife you might be able to do something before it causes you too much damage. Dogs injure people all the time in the USA.

I use this cheapo knife.

Kershaw 1776TGRYBW Link Knife with Tanto Blade and SpeedSafe, Gray Aluminum/BlackWash Finish https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TAD2FVK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_FApNzbXC8N5AJ

Evade, first and always, but jeez these dogs do chase you down. I've turned on them twice now but fortunately both times their masters got them to calm down (dogs got free) so yeah I do carry a small knife. Whack the dog first then worry about the ramifications, as you really don't want to be torn up by a dog.

[CaptainKBLS]

Yes, you're right.  Dogs go nuts when they see the wheel.  Thank you for reminding me to carry a knife too.

[Hunka Hunka Burning Love]

Also watch out for giant rabbits that cross your path.  

 

[ir_fuel]

5 hours ago, JimB said:

Given that it's possible that they will faceplant you when their corpse gets stuck in the wheel, I think the safest thing would be to carry a shotgun and preemptively terminate any small mammals that approach within a 20' radius.  Safety first!

I think the recoil will be worse for you on your euc than actually hitting the animal.

Since we are carrying a big battery pack, wouldn't it be better to connect it to some lethal laser? Might be easier to carry and if it is powerful enough it will leave less of a mess  

[Keith]

3 hours ago, Hunka Hunka Burning Love said:

Also watch out for giant rabbits that cross your path.  

Damn, I just KNEW we shouldn't have allowed the farmers to grow those genetically modified carrots ? 

[HermanTheGerman]

13 hours ago, buffs said:

 After those 2 scares in one day, I started to think about what would happen if I hit a rabbit or squirrel. There are a lot of them in my area and it seems like only a matter of time before I have to choose between a hard maneuver where I may crash, ...

Well, for occasions like that and comparable, I have my russian bodyguard with me, riding a fat KS18, who takes care of that:

[Rocky Romero]

8 hours ago, LanghamP said:

I'm more worried about large and aggressive dogs as a few go wild when they see me on an EUC. I now usually carry a quick deploy locking knife just in case the dog slips its leash. I've had a few close calls with large dogs doing that recently. Like really big dogs.

I don't think you have much of a chance trying to fend off a large pissed-off dog but with a quick deploy knife you might be able to do something before it causes you too much damage. Dogs injure people all the time in the USA.

I use this cheapo knife.

Kershaw 1776TGRYBW Link Knife with Tanto Blade and SpeedSafe, Gray Aluminum/BlackWash Finish https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00TAD2FVK/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_FApNzbXC8N5AJ

Evade, first and always, but jeez these dogs do chase you down. I've turned on them twice now but fortunately both times their masters got them to calm down (dogs got free) so yeah I do carry a small knife. Whack the dog first then worry about the ramifications, as you really don't want to be torn up by a dog.

I've had a bird pounce on my head, once just walking and once riding.

Maybe a large umbrella is a better protection from critters and the elements.

Very British also.

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[meepmeepmayer]

I can confirm that running over slugs is no problem, they just make a nice cracking sound you don't expect (instead of a slimy splat) Anything bigger than a mouse, you'll probably fall too, in addition to killing the animal.

I almost ran over a hedgehog once, as it hid in a curb and started running across my path right when I came close. This kind of animal behavior is the most dangerous. Other hedgehogs simply lift their heads and listen intently, until I pass them, then they go on like they don't properly understand what just happened.. Might be because they can't see me (at night and with the front light on) while the one "dangerous" hedgehog was on a lit roadside and could see me approaching, not just the light which makes it hard to judge the distance and movement of the wheel.

Deer do the same things as the hedgehogs - if you approach fast and with light, they just stare dumbly in your general direction until you've passed. If you approach slower and louder (gravel path), the just run-jump away like usual.

Foxes and bunnies run away from afar, never had a problem with them (only seeing them before they were gone).

Cats sometimes tend to run away right in in the driving direction until they realize the Prometheus-method won't work, and then they hop to the side. Mostly they just cower down, ready to jump, and look at me, not knowing what this strange thing is.

Also evaded a lot of frogs/toads at night. Usually they sit still, unless you come really close, then they jump away. Very predictable and easy. One jumped away in the driving direction (instead of to the side) and I had to quick brake/step off to not run it over. This lucky one:

I could probably get away (no fall) with running over a not-too-fat toad with my ACM, but certainly have no plans to find out.

 

[Rocky Romero]

4 minutes ago, meepmeepmayer said:

I can confirm that running over slugs is no problem, they just make a nice cracking sound you don't expect (instead of a slimy splat) Anything bigger than a mouse, you'll probably fall too, in addition to killing the animal.

I almost ran over a hedgehog once, as it hid in a curb and started running right when I came close. This kind of animal behavior is the most dangerous. Other hedgehogs simply lift their heads and listen intently, until I pass them, then they go on like they don't properly understand what just happened.. Might be because they can't see me (at night and with the front light on) while the one "dangerous" hedgehog was on a lit roadside and could see me approaching, not just the light which makes it hard to judge the distance and movement of the wheel.

Deer do the same things as the hedgehogs - if you approach fast and with light, they just stare dumbly in your general direction until you've passed. If you approach slower and louder (gravel path), the just run-jump away like usual.

Foxes and bunnies run away from afar, never had a problem with them (only seeing them before they were gone).

Cats tend to run away right in in the driving direction until they realize the Prometheus-method won't work, and then they hop to the side. Or they just cower down, ready to jump, and look at me, not knowing what this strange thing is.

Also evaded a lot of frogs/toads at night. Usually they sit still, unless you come really close, then they jump away. Very predictable and easy. One jumped away in the driving direction (instead of to the side) and I had to quick brake/step off to not run it over. This lucky one:

I could probably get away (no fall) with running over a not-too-fat toad with my ACM, but certainly have no plans to find out.

 

Being one with nature.

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[Hansolo]

boars