wildlife encounters

[desert spirit]

This afternoon I was wandering out in Tucson Mountain Park and stumbled upon a small bunch of javalina in a little wash. Made me think about the wildlife I've been lucky to see over the past few years ... bear, elk, bison, eagles, bighorn sheep, a bobcat, a gila monster, etc, etc, not to mention various unfriendly crawling critters. Never seen a mountain lion, but I heard one bringing down a deer one time, off in the woods. I was also stalked by a griz a couple years ago, up in the Tetons. I was never so petrified in my life.

So I'm curious ... what wildlife have you guys seen?

Hayley

[JoelHazelton]

Oh yeah, head into the desert northwest of Phoenix and you're sure to see a couple wild burros almost every time.

[desert spirit]

These are all such great lists! I also saw wild horses in Utah ... what a thrill that was, since I'm a "horse person". They are so wild ... you can't get within three-quarters of a mile of them. It was just a small group ... a stallion, two or three mares, and a couple of foals. They got wind of me, and the stallion pranced around like a royal monarch, shaking his head, snorting, and generally letting me know that he didn't appreciate my intrusion.

I've heard wolves howling, in Idaho, but never seen them.

And while slightly off the subject, this thread reminds me of a time at the San Diego zoo, at one of the big cat exhibits. I was standing about 10 ft from a leopard, who was staring down into the depths of my being with those baleful yellow eyes. I was mesmerized. It's like he was saying ... "you pitiful thing .. you're so lucky these bars are here". And then he gave a sort of growl/roar, and my heart leaped 10 ft into the air. I was utterly petrified. Your conscious mind knows that you're safe, but your internal self knows only that there's a creature right over there who can tear you to pieces. What an experience.

[JimmyLyding]

I went to a bear den once near Alpine with Al Lecount. Very cool. Black mama with one black cub and a brown cub. We had to hold the cubs inside of our jackets because Lecount didn't want them making too much noise because he was worried about a mountain lion taking the cubs. Cutest little things I've ever seen, but their cute little claws did quite a number on my shirt & jacket.

[Slider]

Once while canoeing in Arkansas, I watched a mink carrying a frog in its mouth, while she kept pace with the speed of our canoe, until she found her den under an old stump. Then there was the time I heard the howling of the loup-garou off in the distance down on the bayou.

[Strand]

Most of my cool encounters were back in my college days. Almost ran over a black bear while mountain biking (Michigan's UP), almost got run over by a white tail deer on the same trail later that year, saw a prairie rattler up close after my buddy almost stepped on it in the Badlands - later that night we had an enormous bison bull walk within 10 yards of our tent - we sat motionless and watched it walk by completely unconcerned about the three tiny bipeds staring at it. A very memorable bull elk perched on a rock ledge about 200 yards away (and 100 feet above us) during a beautiful sunset in Crested Butte. A very large and content bull moose outside of Jackson Hole wading in a stream. Sand Hill Cranes, turkeys, and white tail deer in my yard back in Michigan. Apart from how cool it is that cranes have made such a comeback, you'd never believe just how annoying they are after being awakened by them at sunrise every morning for a week! ;) Okay, so I'll take the crane's song (or the elk's bugle) over street noise any day!

After moving to AZ: I see elk, mule deer, and antelope on the way to/from work (sometimes all three in the same drive). Lots of skunks, coyotes, jackrabbits, a couple bald eagles, osprey and owls, and once a pair of javelina (again, all on the way to work). I see mule deer on the trails up here a lot, occasionally see bear scat, a horned lizard or two (along with tons of little lizards I don't know the name of), and lots of small birds and squirrels. I've seen a couple smaller tarantulas (small compared to the pet store variety) around the yard, a giant centipede in the house, and three dead scorpions in a closet (they were the right size to be bark scorpions, but I'm no expert on arachnids).

Best encounters. Both while kiteboarding. I had two dolphins following me around in Florida, and got very close to quite a few sea turtles in Maui.

[azbackpackr]

I've told these stories on here before:

Once when I was about 20 years old, (back in the dinosaur days!), I was solo backpacking in the Cuyamaca Mtns. in San Diego County. I had no tent. I was awakened at about 3 a.m. by the most horrific screaming--sounded like a woman screaming in terror. Of course I was sure it was a mtn. lion. I had to pee really bad, too, but was afraid to get out of my bag, so I lay there with its hood pulled over my head, until dawn.

Once I was camping with a boyfriend in Jasper National Park up in Alberta. We were in a regular car campground. The ranger had said that if the resident bear came by we were to bang pans. Sure enough, during dinner we heard some pan banging going on from the other campsites, and along comes the bear. So we banged pans and yelled and it went away. Well....we had no tent, and we were traveling in a VW bug. We put our sleeping bags on the ground. Joe went right to sleep but I was not sleeping yet when I heard our neighbors banging pans again. I was a little scared but I lay there in my sleeping bag and waited. Pretty soon I heard this snuffling sound, and the sound of the bear's paws coming toward us. The bear came over to me. He snuffled my feet, he snuffled my torso and THEN he snuffled my FACE! I was of course, a bit petrified. I lay still as death. Then the bear went over and snuffled Joe. Joe was asleep so didn't notice. Then the bear went away, and I woke Joe up (never a smart move--he was a bit bearish himself) and he grumbled at me that since the bear didn't hurt us, what was there to worry about? "Go back to sleep," he said. Well...since the cooler full of food was in the backseat of the VW, I slept the rest of the night in the front seat!

Living in Arizona's White Mtns., which is where I live most of the time, I can echo most of Strand's wildlife viewings. In addition, in that area I have seen a mtn. lion, 2 mother bears, each with one cub, several other bears, numerous bobcats and foxes, lots of bald eagles, one golden eagle, and raccoons. The raccoons were high on my list of animals I wanted to see, because I had never seen one in Arizona. There are Rocky Mtn. bighorns along the Black River, and I have yet to see one! I have seen numerous desert bighorns near Tucson and in the Grand Canyon and Havasu Canyon. Have seen coatimundis, ringtails, javelinas, and all the other desert creatures. Gila monsters, too. On my wish list here in Yuma is the sidewinder--I have yet to see one in the wild.

The mtn. lion I saw on Christmas day, several years ago, in the White Mtns. was stalking a big herd of mule deer that reside at Wenima Wildlife area along the Little Colorado, about 3 miles out of Springerville. I have also seen a mtn. lion in the Chiricahuas.

[desert spirit]

and THEN he snuffled my FACE! I was of course, a bit petrified.

I love your understatement ... a BIT petrified??? ...

I was asleep with my boyfriend in the back of his pickup in Glacier. We left the tailgate open because we're both quite tall. In the middle of the very dark night, I was awakened by something fooling around with my feet through the bag. I screamed and kicked at it, and whatever it was went away. The thing is, though, I wasn't 100% sure I hadn't been dreaming .. lol. I never did sleep real well in griz country.

[JimmyLyding]

<<something fooling around with my feet through the bag>>
Definitely a saquatch.

I read these bear stories, and it reminds me how angry I get when I see people feeding animals. Or leave apple cores, banana peels, pieces of granola bars, etc. for "nature to recycle." You know it's bad when you have to deal with aggressive beggar chipmunks on the saddle between Humphreys and Agassiz. I've caught people feeding bears in Yosemite, including 2 cubs. I wanted to shoot those fools. I've seen people feeding raccoons, skunks (skunks!!!), squirrels, and birds. Rose Canyon is a great place to see such idiotic behavior.
I love animals, but I sure-as-sugar do not want to see them patrolling for handouts.

[SuperstitionGuy]

I think I have met every form of wildlife in Arizona except otters. But the scariest was one warm night when I was half out of my sleeping bag and something started to crawl across the back of my hand. I mentally decided to turn on my flashlight which was in my other hand to see what it was and if it was a rattler or scorpion turn off the light and just go back to sleep. It was nothing but a medium size lizard and I quickly sent him flying through the air. He probably went home to his kin and told about the bright light, nasty looking creature and how he found himself airborne as soon as the bright and blinding light came on .

[desert spirit]

Definitely a saquatch.

We hadn't been feeding the sasquatch ... honest!

But speaking of which ... what's wrong with apple cores? It's not like cheetos or something.


He probably went home to his kin and told about the bright light, nasty looking creature

Lol ... can't you just hear young animals talking to their friends about humans? "You wouldn't believe it ... they can take off their fur when it's hot. And they can climb into their mother's pouch and go away really fast on those funny-looking round rubbery feet."

[Strand]

Most annoying animal encounter, red squirrels in Pictured Rocks National Lakeshore. Lots of black bear in the UP, so like any bear habitat you get serious about getting your food out of camp and way up in the air. I went to retrieve the food "sack" and saw crumbs and empty packets all over the ground directly beneath the sack. I was puzzled as to what had happened, as soon as I started to loosen the ropes used to suspend the bag, two red squirrels darted out of the bag climbed the rope attached to the bag, and ran in opposite direction on the suspension rope. I sat there stunned and more than a little annoyed. Those little buggers ate everything except a few crumbs and chewed a massive hole in the plastic container the food was in.

[JimmyLyding]

<<But speaking of which ... what's wrong with apple cores? It's not like cheetos or something.>>
Apple cores aren't as bad for animals as cheetos, but it's still not a good idea to throw them out into the wild for one reason: it can lead animals to associate humans with food.
Furthermore, don't let me catch you feeding any sasquatches!

[azbackpackr]

I think I have met every form of wildlife in Arizona except otters.

My son, who works as a PAID backpacker with troubled teens, has seen otters this year several times in the Verde River, somewhere east of Black Canyon city and west of Payson.

(Yup, I'm envious of my son, no lie!)

[Jeffshadows]

I think I have met every form of wildlife in Arizona except otters.

My son, who works as a PAID backpacker with troubled teens, has seen otters this year several times in the Verde River, somewhere east of Black Canyon city and west of Payson.

(Yup, I'm envious of my son, no lie!)

Cool! I saw their doings at the base of many a tree in the Gila once long ago, but not here in AZ...

[mapit]

My list includes Jaguar to that is but also Jagurundi even many game and fish vets have it as their #1 .Bears fairly frequently.Mnt lions from time to time.I get out into back country solo frequently which I think is the key.I am not going to tell strangers where I see most critters just because I have been near areas with high poacher activity. mainly for Elk and bear.

[te_wa]

River otter: Alamo lake
Coatimundi: Fish Creek
Bighorn: "
Bald Eagle
Golden Eagle
Vole: Thomson trail
Shrew: Shakespeare tr.. no wait the WCC area
kit fox
gray fox
Mexican wolf
ringtails of course
all members of elk and deer
cant think of anything else exotic,
about 5 of the 12 bat species -
dozens of reptile and amphibian

no cool stuff yet like Cougar, Bear, coral snake, gila monster, or el chupacabra

[nonot]

I saw a jaguarundi in central America. I didn't know what it was at the time and asked the guides later. After they gave me stunned looks for awhile they congratulated me. Apparently they are very hard to find.

A week later I saw something cool when hiking in the dark...still not sure exactly what it was.

Some things I'd like to see are desert tortoise, bighorn, and javelina. I'm just so sick of those yetis hanging out in Rough Canyon, they're really pests.

[azbackpackr]

Cool! I saw their doings at the base of many a tree in the Gila once long ago, but not here in AZ...

Ok, I think you mean beavers. Beavers are very common in many parts of Arizona, especially along the Colorado River and also along the Little Colorado River in the White Mountains--especially around Greer and Springerville. Beavers chew up and cut down trees and bushes, otters don't.

Good places to see certain animals:

Coatimundi: Ramsey Canyon (Nature Conservancy park) near Sierra Vista.
Elk: Near Big Lake in the White Mtns., in the big meadows, dawn or dusk.
Beavers: Wenima Wildlife Area (Game and Fish Dept. park) just west of Springerville.
Turkeys: Back roads near Hannagan Meadow.
Bears: Hike the trails near Hannagan Meadow. I have seen bears on at least 1/3 of my hikes around there. Trails I have seen bears on include: P-bar lake trail to Foote Creek Trail. Lower Fish Creek Trail. Blue Lookout Trail. South Fork Trail (between Eagar and Greer.)

[desert spirit]

I saw a desert tortoise yesterday in the Sonoran Desert Nat'l Monument, out by the Tabletop Mt. trail. And a couple of weeks ago I saw something up in Pima Canyon ... I just caught the quickest glimpse of it, and I'm not sure what it was. It looked to be about the size of a large house cat, and all black. A young fox, maybe?

[imike]

Over the years: Finger Rock Trail: Coati (huge swarm!), big horn sheep, mountain lion (close encounter), rattlesnakes, owls, javalina, gila monster, dogs, ranger Dave
Ventana trail: coral snake, rattlesnake, big horn sheep
Rilltio river: mountain lion, bobcat, javalina
Wilderness of Rocks: black bear (close encounter)
Blackett's: ring tail cat, dessert tortoise
Moab: big horn sheep (close encounter)
Sierra Blanca: trail of deer (close encounter)
Cloudcroft: more turkey and elk than desired... and a few bears every now and then
Chiricauhas: raccoon (close encounter) skunks really pretty ones!
Guadalupe River: alligators, alligator gars, ants, water moccasins... usual Texas Water Safari fare
Everywhere: deer... too many to mention...
rattlesnakes... again, too many to mention
cutest encounter: Cloudcroft... raccoon up in the tree emptying out the bird feeders for the three skunks on the ground to gather up...