Want to see something really scary?

The Telegraph calls this, "The scariest ever YouTube video?".

The camera pans up the length of a 20ft snake, starting at the tail and edging slowly towards the head.



You know from the first shot how it's going to end, but that doesn't stop your heart from skipping a beat.

Prizes for those who manage to resist the urge to duck. Anyone seen anything scarier on YouTube?

I personally have had a much scarier moment than that with wild creatures, up close and personal. About 20 years ago, my wife and I visited the North Carolina Zoological Gardens near Asheboro. There was a lot of habitat construction going on since the zoo was still pretty new.

The day was pleasant so I bought us each an ice cream cone. We walked along the temporary asphalt path, viewing animals and exhibits along the way. After awhile we came to the Bengal tiger's cage. It was maybe 25 feet wide and 15 deep, obviously temporary while the permanent, bigger habitat was being built.

This Bengal was a magnificent beast with a glossy orange coat and vivid black stripes. Cathy and I stood at one end of the cage (open to view on three sides) and admired the animal. It was pacing at the far end. Cathy and stood a foot or so outsidethe wire caging, 25 feet away from the tiger.

Then the tiger charged us. Faster than an eyeblink, it whirled and plunged directly toward us with a full-throated roar. My only enduring memory of the charge is an image of the tiger in full leap, paws raised above our heads, claws in full extension, its fearsome face mere inches away:



The tiger crashed into the steel meshing and dropped to the ground. With a contemptuous flick of its tail it turned and padded away.

Neither Cathy nor I had had the slightest opportunity to move before it was all over. I looked at her and she at me. My eyes were surely as wide as hers. I felt something cold trickling down my hand. Glancing down, I saw that I had squeezed the ice cream cone into a pulpy, gelatinous mush.