Animal encounters on P.E.I.
We were driving my elder daughter to vet camp yesterday morning and were still on the dirt road that leads from the cottage. All of a sudden, a large cow jumps a fence (or went through an opening, I'm not sure which) and comes onto the road about 200 feet in front of us, followed by three large calves. My wife was driving and was not pleased at what she saw. We creeped up on them. At about 100 feet, she tapped on the horn to get them to move.
Bad move (although I suggested it). The mama cow turned and started running at us, followed by the calves. Lisa backed the car up as fast as she could--this was very like the scene in "Jurassic Park" where the Land Rover full of humans is fleeing the dinosaur. I, of course, whipped out my camera and began shooting (this did not go over well in the car). We finally stopped, and the mini-herd moved past us.
We later learned that bad cow-human encounters are not at all uncommon. They aren't the peaceful, placid, cud-chewing creatures you've been led to expect, especially if mama cow is protecting her calves. For whatever reason, the beep of the horn was interpreted as an aggressive act and she reacted accordingly.
No sign of the cows this morning. But as I was driving down Highway 6, I saw a moving mound of black and white fir on the highway ahead of me. As I got closer, I saw it was a mama skunk and four little skunks trying to cross the road. I hit the brakes, fortunately in plenty of time. The skunks scurried back to to the field alongside the road to await better crossing conditions. They didn't spray, thankfully.