Come on in, the water's fine!

By Rosemary Conroy on Friday, July 18, 2003.

listen:

Lot's of people get nervous about swimming in lakes and ponds because of the creatures that may be lurking. Rosemary Conroy puts your mind at ease with a primer about who lives there and their danger factor.

Something Wild: What’s in the Water?
Air date: July 4, 2003

Welcome to this week’s edition of Something Wild.

I’m Rosemary Conroy for the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

Summer is a great time to head to your local pond and dive in! Or is it?

Lots of people worry about what may be in there with them — so here’s a little primer.

First off —nothing that lives in our ponds or lakes is interested in attacking you. Oh, maybe a few microbes in places with lousy water quality, but let’s hope your local health department is on the job.

There certainly aren’t any man-eating fishes — no piranhas or snake-headed eels have ever been seen in New Hampshire.

Ok – there is the occasional giant water bug who may find your toes worth pinching — but giant in this case is three inches.

And yes, there are leeches. But you can avoid them by not spending swimming in swampy places. Leeches have a high ick factor, but pose no danger.

What else? Well many people have an almost primal fear of snapping turtles. Completely unwarranted. These reptiles like to lurk on the bottom of ponds, waiting to ambush unsuspecting minnows. Humans in the water are avoided whenever possible.

Sure, snapping turtles may seem cranky when on land — but most creatures are when they are out of their element.

As with most wild animals, if you go your way, they’ll go theirs — which is almost always in the opposite direction.

OK – what about snakes? Yes we have water snakes but they are NOT poisonous. Period. They try to mimic their more deadly cousins, but it’s all an act. Yes – water snakes do have a nasty disposition, but if you give them a wide berth, they probably won’t bother you.

That’s it! New Hampshire has some of the best swimming holes in the world and no wildlife terrorists alerts are needed! So relax, swim, and enjoy!

Something Wild is a joint production of the Audubon Society of New Hampshire, NHPR, and the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests.

For Something Wild, I’m Rosemary Conroy.