After-storm weirdness

[The Annoyed Man]

In possibly the most bizarre event since we moved to Texas, we found a live crawdaddy in our driveway this morning. That's right.... a mudbug. Folks, we live on the side of a low hill. The nearest body of crawdaddy water to us is Big Bear Creek, perhaps a half mile away. I'm guessing that last night's big storm must have sucked water up through a funnel cloud somewhere and dropped his butt in the middle of suburban Grapevine.

My wife was out in the driveway loading some odds and ends into a yard wagon to take to the curb for bulk trash pickup, and this guy was in amongst that stuff and dropped out and bounced off her calf onto the concrete as she was putting something into the wagon. He's maybe 3-4" long, so a good size.

This little guy was very much alive when I took the picture. He put up his dukes and offered to whup my behind if I got any closer with the camera. He was starting to die from lack of oxygen, so we scooped him up into a bucket of water and drove him down to the creek and released him there. After a couple of minutes he started to revive.







Only in Texas.

[twomillenium]

Actually, the nearest body of crawfish water would be almost any drainage ditch that has a small level of water for any extended time.
I remember crawfish dams or houses in the small drainage ditches in front of the house when I was growing up. My brother and I use to tie a piece of bacon on a string and pull them up until we learned that we were happier keeping the bacon for ourselves.

[RoyGBiv]

He escaped from Kroger.

[The Annoyed Man]

Actually, the nearest body of crawfish water would be almost any drainage ditch that has a small level of water for any extended time.
I remember crawfish dams or houses in the small drainage ditches in front of the house when I was growing up. My brother and I use to tie a piece of bacon on a string and pull them up until we learned that we were happier keeping the bacon for ourselves.

The nearest such drainage ditch is in Parr Park, about a half mile from my house, which drains into Big Bear Creek, and which is where I actually released him. I live on a suburban street with no such ditches nearby. It's weird.

[suthdj]

Yep my wife found a snapping turtle in our front yard before the storm yesterday nearest pond it 3/4 mile down the road.

[bcooper]

You'd be surprised where you find these suckers. Wife's parents had one in their driveway a couple days ago and there isn't a body of water, stream or drainage ditch around them. Sucker was large and irritated when they found him

[jason812]

It's 200 yards to the bottom of my pasture that stays wet in the spring time. I have found crawdads in my front yard before too. Those little boogers can obviously cover some ground.

[Jusme]

Crawfish are unique in that when heavy rains come and during mating season, they will travel miles to get their freak on with lady crawfish. Last June during Boy Scout summer camp, just outside of Tishimingo OK. we had a deluge for five of the seven days. The tropical depression stalled over Wichita Falls and dumped 22 inches of rain in 5 days. You may recall the Red River was flooded, and we were afraid we would be stranded in a foreign country.

During the rain, crawfish were so plentiful along the roads and walking trails, I sent some the boys out with a five gallon bucket to collect as many as possible. (bored wet Boy Scouts are always looking for something to do) They brought back about 75 of the critters and we had an old fashioned crawfish boil. Most of the boys had never eaten them so I had to demonstrate the proper procedure.(I was very thorough, I demonstrated on about 10 or 12 to make sure everyone knew what to do ) I also showed them how to make crawfish traps which we used to catch more the next day to put into a camp stew.

I have seen crawfish in places a long way from water, they do not require water to get oxygen, they have both gills and lungs, in fact they can actually drown if submerged in water with a low oxygen content when they can't get to the surface.

If you've never eaten them, I'll be glad to come over and demonstrate the procedure.

[puma guy]

Crawfish can live in burrows built in areas far from a creek or lake. The mounds are very evident (they look like little cones made of mud balls) and even though you may not have any in your yard the recent rains may have driven some out of their holes from another area. When I was a kid we'd "fish" for them with a piece bacon on a string inserted into the hole and slowly pull them out when they grabbed on.

[bmwrdr]

Thanks for sharing and helping to preserve our nature.

[The Annoyed Man]

Yep my wife found a snapping turtle in our front yard before the storm yesterday nearest pond it 3/4 mile down the road.

We found a red slider in our backyard a year or two ago, and released him into the same ditch we released the crawfish at this morning.

[Scott in Houston]

I'm trying to figure out the weather pattern that relocated the Tiger in north Houston.
The people who found him said he just came up and started licking their faces!

http://abc13.com/news/tiger-found-wande ... r/1308465/

[Jusme]

I'm trying to figure out the weather pattern that relocated the Tiger in north Houston.
The people who found him said he just came up and started licking their faces!

http://abc13.com/news/tiger-found-wande ... r/1308465/

He wasn't licking their faces, he was just doing a taste testing.

I heard they make great pets especially if you have too many children, or if you don't mind sleeping with one eye open.

[flintknapper]

No telling how he got there, many possibilities.

As long as his gills remain wet and the ambient temperature doesn't get too high, he should be able to breath/live just fine for days (or more). They have specialized gills that allow them to take in undissolved oxygen from the air provided the gills remain wet.

If you find a crawfish that you suspect has been out of the water for a significant period of time, it is recommended that you NOT submerge it in water (particularly water with a low dissolved oxygen content), unless it has a way to crawl out onto something. The oxygen intake process is something that should occur gradually.

But, back to your find. As mentioned, they can travel quite a way from a body of fresh water.

I don't know if you've yet seen 'Crawfish Castles' or Crawfish Burrows, but crawfish can live quite happily in ground water for long periods of time (Months). Very common where I live. The Crawfish come out at night to forage.