What's the strangest animal you've ever touched?

I got to pat a baby kangaroo. I was at the learning center in a zoo. They were trying to train the kangaroo to be used to people, so they could use him in an educational program with some local schools. He was kinda afraid of us, and stayed very close to his trainer. He was cute!

Well I had a beautiful rat snake wrapped around my neck this evening...

If it is strange, I don't touch it.

I got to pet a king snake when I was a kid and lamas and they spit, and I used to catch frogs and toads all of the time.

My ex-husband

Forget the exact species, but it was a particularly weird looking sea cucumber, and it splooged on me when I picked it up. Impossible to get off your gloves!

Originally Posted by Carolina

My ex-husband

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Oh I love it!

It's a tie between a skunk and a baby bison.

Oh I dunno depends what you class as strange, I've stroked snakes,alpacas and even eagles they were amazing and heavy

Probably a Bighorn sheep in Banff Park

Hmmm.... bats raised in captivity - part of an education program at the local science center... They are really cool. Their fur is very soft and their wings are leathery - as you would expect.

And an albino python... a BIIIG one!

Dead or alive?

Alive: A sting-ray.

Not a fair question, I used to work at a zoo.

Sea otters, penguins, harbor seals, baby giraffe, elephants, hippos, zebra, bald eagle, red panda, are just a few I've interacted with and touched.

A baby crocodile

There was a zoo where I lived when I was little (http://www.biopark.co.jp/en/overview.html) that had capybaras and wallabies running loose, and visitors were allowed to interact freely with them. So I touched capybaras and wallabies all the time! They also had llamas, alpacas, vicunas, etc., but they had handlers with them because they weren't very nice. So you had to ask the handler if the animal was in the right mood to be petted or not. And there were squirrel monkeys and marmosets, too. I don't think such a concept would work in the U.S., but in Japan, if you get bitten by a zoo animal, it's your own fault!

I've touched several "exotic" animals, but the biggest thrill was scratching a rhino behind the ears. He kept batting his eyes and pushing against my hand for more.

Oh, yes, I forgot. . .there's an elk farm near here and sometimes we go scratch the buck through the fence. During rut he's in a bad mood and will charge the fence, but the rest of the year he seems gentle and welcomes the scritches. The does won't come near us. There are bison, too, but they won't come close enough to the fence to be scratched.

I also one knew someone who had a baby alligator---that's a bad idea, I don't think there are many people who should have baby alligators and there should be stricter rules about who's allowed to sell them and who they sell them to---but she did have one (it didn't live long, of course ) and I did handle it fairly regularly.

Originally Posted by Willowy

I also one knew someone who had a baby alligator---that's a bad idea, I don't think there are many people who should have baby alligators and there should be stricter rules about who's allowed to sell them and who they sell them to---but she did have one (it didn't live long, of course

) and I did handle it fairly regularly.

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You just reminded me of a story I read in the newspaper tonight - it's worth a read

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2011/...20035457.shtml

I don't know. I've touched Koalas, Snakes, Kangaroos, Lizards.. not really unusual!