Let's sit around the ole yule log and tell a wild life story.
What beasts have you encountered?
Pictures much appreciated!
Let's sit around the ole yule log and tell a wild life story.
What beasts have you encountered?
Pictures much appreciated!
Armadillo under my hammock that sounded as big as a MOOSE in the dark! Also got yipped at one night sitting around the fire by what was either a fox or coyote I think.
This was on private property locally but I ALMOST stepped on a copperhead on the Approach trail a couple years ago and the time I did the same trail the year before we encountered a timber rattler that would have been a problem had it not been about 8 feet or so off the trail.
Seeing snakes while on or near The Trail is not unusual
https://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=63578
but seeing one that is finishing off a meal is pretty rare.
https://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=63577
Of course, my most notable meal is a bear finishing off some road kill
https://whiteblaze.net/forum/vbg/showimage.php?i=35958
when I saw a family that included a young child walking towards this bear jam, I chose to warn the parents: "This is Yogi Bear munching on Bambi."
Through my hiking adventures I have for some reason found it comical to get selfies with the wildlife I see. Thus far...
Black Bear
Rattlesnake
Alligator
Peeing Deer
Several owls
Beaver
Porcupine
Trail Miles: 5,154.2
AT Map 1: ✔ | 13-21'
Sheltowee Trace: ✔ | 20-23'
Pinhoti Trail: ✔ | 23-24'
Foothills Trail: ✔ | 24'
GSMNP900: 134.7(17%)
AT Map 2: 279.4
CDT: 210.9
BMT: 52.7
years ago, along lakeshore trail, between CS 88 and hazel creek----I spotted this big black mass that was just lying on the ground....'
it was in a little dip down on the trail and curled up......
looked like a bear but couldn't tell so i made a bunch of noise.....
i musta been yelling/making noise for about 5 or so minutes and it just never moved.....
finally, it looked up, and yup, a bear-----and then went promptly back to sleep......
i could have walked up on it, smacked it on its ass before it woke up....
I think I've posted this on the forum before, but since you asked... This was at Rip Rap Gap. Another hiker pointed out a bear was on a parallel path with me and pacing me. I took some pictures as we crossed a road stopping traffic. Then it occurred to me that I should be filming this and so the video. We came upon several other hikers on the other side of the road when the bear decided to cross the AT path and eventually took off with another hiker chasing him.
saw a bear getting chased by a momma hog and her hoglets deep in an off trail area
in the smokies.....
That's why I wonder why don't we ever hear about hog attacks?
a hog is rare to spot in the backcountry......
mainly moves at night but can be out during the day....
and they seem (at least in my experience) to be more skittish than a bear.......
When I have seen hogs in the backcountry it has typically been just a fleeting glimpse.
On a loop hike from Twenty Mile to Gregory Bald in the Smokies I saw hogs at two different times during daylight hours.
One was a hog that just walked into campsite 92 in early afternoon as we sat around a campfire. It still had water dripping from crossing the creek and stood and stared in our direction. My companions thought it looked "mangey" but I think it may have been a hybrid with spots. When I clapped my hands it ran away.
The other encounter was on Long Hungry Ridge. As I rounded a corner my hiking partner said "there are little pigs on the hill". The piglets still had their stripes.
I responded that mama was in the trail.
She was jet black and rooting up the trail. I froze in my tracks. We were close enough that I could see that the hair on here back was standing up and could hear her grunting. The sow was not huge but her tusks were as long as my fingers.
We stared at each other for what seemed like 20 minutes but it was probably 20 seconds. Neither of us moved until the piglets ran off and she followed.
I want to add to mine :
Rattlesnake
Copperhead
Ring neck snake
Cotton mouth snake
Owls
Bald eagle
And two dung beetle working together to roll this dung i don't know where. Nor do I know what type of dung it was or where they got it from and how the hell did they shape into a perfect ball for transport.. I must have watched them dung beetle working together through all that thick grass to roll that dung, for about an hour and they got 10' . ( im easily amused)
During a 6 night Sweat Crew we were camped just off the AT in the vicinity of Thunderhead. One night I got up to pee and heard an animal huff and trot away. Second night , same thing. I could not see what I thought was a deer.
Third night when it happened again I decided to get a better look. So I turned off my light, waited and crept forward. Animal huffed again and trotted a short distance away. I waited a few minutes and crept forward in the dark as quietly as possible.
Then I heard something to my right turning over rocks. To my left something was turning over rocks It suddenly dawned on me that deer don't turn over rocks.
Pretty sure that I walked into a herd of pigs. I quietly retreated to my tent.
speaking of beetles, on at least 2 separate occasions I came across a group of a few beetles that were devouring the carcass of a mouse, bones and all. I literally saw half of the mouse eaten off and the beetles going at it. My only other thought was if a snake bit a chunk out of the mouse but they usually eat it all and I saw this more then once. I have pics somewhere I'll try to find them.
NoDoz
nobo 2018 March 10th - October 19th
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I'm just one too many mornings and 1,000 miles behind
The most horrific thing I ever saw in the "nature red in tooth and claw" (though neither were involved) was a group of ants eating a freshly hatched (probably immature) bird, writhing around helplessly one morning heading into work. When I headed past again in the evening, only the bones were left.
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EJS
(Ed. S)
While sitting against a tree relaxing, I saw a very large tom turkey being stalked by a very large coyote. Both walked out of sight, don't know the outcome.