While I drove my wife to Aberdeen in the wee hours this morning -- through the patchy fog -- we saw a rabbit hopping by the side of the road. Somehow this sighting led to a brief discussion of what non-domesticated animals we have seen in the wild. Here's a list of the animals I've seen.
Loads of deer, elk and caribou - We have a resident elk herd near town that can frequently be seen in several different locations. We see deer not infrequently in the front and behind our house. I saw loads of caribou years ago as a firefighter for the forest service in Eastern Oregon.
A flock of wild turkeys - I was hiking on Hot Springs Mountain one wintry afternoon. There had been a freak snowstorm the night before and, with roads rather treacherous, I had the mountain all to myself. I did not see nor hear one other hiker the entire afternoon.
As I was approaching the crest of the mountain, a flock of turkeys burst onto the path in front of me. I would guess there were as many as 20 of them. They completely ignored me and I simply stood there in fascination.
One wolf and bunches of coyotes - Once, when my dad and I were hiking in the mountains above Baker City, Oregon, we spied a wolf about 100 yards ahead of us on an old logging road. We froze. "That's a wolf, isn't it?" I whispered to my dad. "Damn sure is!" he whispered back. Like the turkeys, the wolf ignored us and disappeared into the woods.
Coyotes can be seen around South Bend from time to time. While we don't always see them, we hear them frequently. I've also spotted coyotes in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oregon.
Raccoons, opossum and porcupines - Have seen all three behind my house. Can see the first two on almost any given night.
Bobcat - I've seen one. It was skulking around near where my wife worked on one of the hills above Hoquiam, Washington.
Bears and Mountain Lions - I've never seen either in the wild, but I've been close enough to HEAR them nearby. Our firefighting unit was dispatched to a fire in the Eagle Cap Wilderness Area. After the fifth day -- with the fire contained -- some of our crew started rolling boulders off the top of the mountain. Me and two other crew members were coming up from the creek below with water. All of a sudden, we heard a roar coming from somewhere a few hundred feet below us. It scared the pee out us! We scrambled up the rest of our trek as fast as our wearied legs would take us!
Once back on top, our mates were in hysterics. They had watched the bear through binoculars about 300 yards below our position and they were trying to provoke it. They thought it was so comical watching us race back up the mountain in panic. Needless to say, neither my fellow crew members (Martha & George) nor I found it amusing at all!
As to the cougar, I was living alone with several dogs and cats on a mountainside deep in the Arkansas Ozarks (6 miles southeast of Osage, AR - population 6). It was a hot and sticky evening and I was sitting on my front deck in my underwear. All of a sudden, I heard what sounded like a woman screaming. It freaked me out and my dogs went crazy.
I phoned my nearest neighbor -- he was nearly one mile below me -- to ask if he had any idea what this noise might be. "Mountain lion," he said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Being young AND stupid, I grabbed a flashlight and, with dogs in tow, scampered up the path that ascended behind my house. I wanted to see it! Fortunately, IT didn't want to see (or eat) me. I never heard that particular noise again.
However, a few weeks later, I did see a mountain lion. I came within 10 feet of it. It was in a cage in some guy's back yard. He said it was his pet. That's a story for a different day, though.
I'm sure there are a few animals I'm leaving out. This is all I can think of for now. If you'd care to share, what animals have YOU seen in the wild?
Loads of deer, elk and caribou - We have a resident elk herd near town that can frequently be seen in several different locations. We see deer not infrequently in the front and behind our house. I saw loads of caribou years ago as a firefighter for the forest service in Eastern Oregon.
A flock of wild turkeys - I was hiking on Hot Springs Mountain one wintry afternoon. There had been a freak snowstorm the night before and, with roads rather treacherous, I had the mountain all to myself. I did not see nor hear one other hiker the entire afternoon.
As I was approaching the crest of the mountain, a flock of turkeys burst onto the path in front of me. I would guess there were as many as 20 of them. They completely ignored me and I simply stood there in fascination.
One wolf and bunches of coyotes - Once, when my dad and I were hiking in the mountains above Baker City, Oregon, we spied a wolf about 100 yards ahead of us on an old logging road. We froze. "That's a wolf, isn't it?" I whispered to my dad. "Damn sure is!" he whispered back. Like the turkeys, the wolf ignored us and disappeared into the woods.
Coyotes can be seen around South Bend from time to time. While we don't always see them, we hear them frequently. I've also spotted coyotes in Arkansas, Kansas, Missouri and Oregon.
Raccoons, opossum and porcupines - Have seen all three behind my house. Can see the first two on almost any given night.
Bobcat - I've seen one. It was skulking around near where my wife worked on one of the hills above Hoquiam, Washington.
Bears and Mountain Lions - I've never seen either in the wild, but I've been close enough to HEAR them nearby. Our firefighting unit was dispatched to a fire in the Eagle Cap Wilderness Area. After the fifth day -- with the fire contained -- some of our crew started rolling boulders off the top of the mountain. Me and two other crew members were coming up from the creek below with water. All of a sudden, we heard a roar coming from somewhere a few hundred feet below us. It scared the pee out us! We scrambled up the rest of our trek as fast as our wearied legs would take us!
Once back on top, our mates were in hysterics. They had watched the bear through binoculars about 300 yards below our position and they were trying to provoke it. They thought it was so comical watching us race back up the mountain in panic. Needless to say, neither my fellow crew members (Martha & George) nor I found it amusing at all!
As to the cougar, I was living alone with several dogs and cats on a mountainside deep in the Arkansas Ozarks (6 miles southeast of Osage, AR - population 6). It was a hot and sticky evening and I was sitting on my front deck in my underwear. All of a sudden, I heard what sounded like a woman screaming. It freaked me out and my dogs went crazy.
I phoned my nearest neighbor -- he was nearly one mile below me -- to ask if he had any idea what this noise might be. "Mountain lion," he said in a matter-of-fact tone.
Being young AND stupid, I grabbed a flashlight and, with dogs in tow, scampered up the path that ascended behind my house. I wanted to see it! Fortunately, IT didn't want to see (or eat) me. I never heard that particular noise again.
However, a few weeks later, I did see a mountain lion. I came within 10 feet of it. It was in a cage in some guy's back yard. He said it was his pet. That's a story for a different day, though.
I'm sure there are a few animals I'm leaving out. This is all I can think of for now. If you'd care to share, what animals have YOU seen in the wild?
turkeys and pheasant are common around here. yesterday there was a pheasant in the neighboring cornfield, and turkeys are so common that when they wander through our pasture i just look up briefly and get back to work.
ReplyDeletei've also seen quite a bit of foxes, and some wildlife native to south dakota like antelope and prairie dogs and bison. (the latter in a state preserve though.) once i stumbled upon a snapping turtle.
not to mention countless "little critters" like snakes and spiders.
In China, in Wudang, I thought a strange breeze was blowing through some trees in the valley below, but then I with my binoculars I saw it was a group of wild monkeys--the size of toddlers--playing in the branches,
ReplyDelete