Material losses

[Kaysie]

I'm aware that this thread is only vaguely herp related, but I'll post it anyway.

Tuesday, while in Gaylord, MI, our field truck exploded (long story short: the spare tire ruptured and took out the fuel line, causing the truck to burst in flames). My coworker and I escaped the truck with less than 30 seconds to spare before the explosion.

Everything in the truck was an entire loss. If it wasn't metal, it was incinerated instantaneously. Even some of the metal melted (like the aluminum rims). Interestingly, the only thing that remotely survived were two charred halves of a nalgene bottle. It exploded from the heat, but was only slightly melted. Incredible.

But all our field equipment was lost. I personally lost my wading boots, my hiking pack, my rain gear, my bug shirt, compasses, GPS units, measuring tapes, and all sorts of field gear. This gear was used at work as well as on personal herping trips. And it will be some time before some of it can be replaced. But the biggest loss to me... My Eco-Wear Ambystoma opacum hat. I REALLY liked that hat.

When I decided to go into a physical field job, I was aware of the risks of West Nile, Lyme disease, broken ankles. Explosions was NOT on the list!

But on a good note: I did NOT take my field camera or my laptop with me this week, so both are safe and not a melted puddle. I'm quite thankful for that.

 

[Ester]

Wow, I knew these trips could be exciting but I guess you have seen enough excitement for a long time now. Glad you're still with us!

 

[tupinambis]

Kaysie, you have my sympathies.
I had a somewhat similar experience (in loss, not event) last fall when I went to go herping in Costa Rica. I had purchased nearly all new equipment for the expedition, was anticipating some great sloshing in some mangroves around where I went for a sea turtle rehabilitation course. I wasn't in the country for 4 hours before I was robbed, then mugged by first one guy with a big kitchen knife and then a second with a length of pipe. While getting beaten on, I screamed out for the police, who amazingly showed up within minutes....... and arrested me. Had to buy my way out of jail, and lost nearly everything I had taken with me. Word of advice for anyone going to Costa Rica - the police don't care about anything that happens to foreigners short of murder, don't take ANYTHING of significant value. Thank heaven I didn't bring down with me my new telemetry set-up as I had been originally thinking. Similarly, I lost my Projeto Tamar field hat I acquired while researching in Brasil.

Who knew field herping was so glamorous and exciting?
Colin

 

[Kaysie]

Glamorous indeed.

 

[Jennewt]

Yikes, I know that field work is no picnic, but these 2 stories are really disturbing. Kaysie, I'm glad you got out alive, and good luck getting your gear collection back together.

 

[Ed]

When out in the field, any kind of accident is possible.. never discount the most unlikely event as a possible problem... For example, I have had turtles and snakes fall out of overhanging trees into the canoe with me..... Even a small turtle hurts when it falls about 8-10 feet onto your head.

Ed

(speaking of turtles, this is coming from a person who stopped to get a turtle off the road and was almost severely injured or killed by it.. I was in my work uniform and stopped to pull a box turtle off of a 8 lane highway (4 in each direction). The turtle was several feet out into the right lane so I was waiting for a break in traffic before I could retrive the turtle. A tractor trailer clipped the turtle and shot it like a tiddly winks just to the left of my forehead with sufficient force to go completely out of the pull over lane and out into the grass.. As I walked over to check the turtle, I was thinking boy was that a close call..when I saw the turtle. There were several small scratches on the turtle but it would have walked away.. So I then pictured me lying on the side of the road bleeding/dead in a Zoo uniform at 6:30 am and the instrument of the damage would have walked away leaving no evidence of what hit me... )

 

[invertkurt]

As an entomologist the worst field experiences I have all involve things biting me to suck my blood. Knock on wood.

 

[Bellabelloo]

Wow, and I just signed up to help sort out a local pond...kinda scared now!

 

[Kaysie]

Field work is extremely rewarding. At the end of the day, you've sweated a gallon, you've gotten dirty, scratched, muddy, bitten, twisted ankles, and are exhausted. But you made a difference.

 

[Ed]

Hi Kaysie,

Field work can be very rewarding as well as very depressing.. The last time I did any official field work, I was documenting a population extinction of hellbenders...

Ed

 

[i_love_necturus]

I haven't seen this thread before and I just wanted to express my sympathies. I'm glad that you didn't get hurt! Good luck in the future of field herping, be careful too!

 

[Kaysie]

Wow Ed, way to bring me down.

I suppose when I'm studying dead trees, I don't really have this problem. That is, unless my site has been logged (which has happened).

 

[Ed]

Sorry..
It has had be down for a couple of years now. The little bit of the transect that still needs to be finished is the section that has no habitat so its pretty much a sure thing..

Ed

 

[lims]

I envy all you people that get to do field work for a job, but i'm sure u all worked really hard to get to that position, I was thinking of doing a basic biology night class to get me on a possible future path involving anphibians and field work

 

[Kaysie]

The latest update is that insurance is NOT going to reimburse us for our lost gear, as it was personal gear. However, gear was not provided to us by the DNR, so we had to use our own gear. But as a blanket, the state's auto insurance will not cover personal property lost. We're going to fight this in hopes of getting compensated for some of our equipment.

 

[apples]

Kaysie, that's terrible news and particularly ironic that the state did not have enough money for gear, so now the auto insurance will not cover personal property. Would you be able to argue that the personal property was for work?

At least you are alive and not injured.

 

[Kaysie]

Well, we're trying to argue that route. We'll see if they bite.