Wildlife Interactions
#1
Newbie
Thread Starter
Join Date: Jul 2023
Location: Merritt Island & DeBary FL
Posts: 24
Bikes: Schwinn Huron 3 speed cruiser
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 6 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 11 Times
in
6 Posts
Wildlife Interactions
This morning I was riding a remote central Florida trail. I saw a wild pig with at least one piglet on the side of the trail. The piglet(s) ran into the woods, but the mom aggressively chased me for 10 seconds, at times inches from my calves, protecting her young no doubt. I'm an old dude who's seen a lot, but it scared me. Made me wonder about your stories, especially you guys and girls out west. Tell us your stories!
Likes For Paul Barnard:
#3
bOsscO
Join Date: May 2006
Location: Vancouver
Posts: 746
Bikes: 2024 Spec Crux, 2015 Norco Search S1, 93 Mongoose IBOC COMP
Mentioned: 0 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 296 Post(s)
Liked 356 Times
in
212 Posts
Yeah lots of black bears, coyotes, rabbits, even saw a bull snake once.
The only animal that chased me and scared me was someone's yard dog.
The only animal that chased me and scared me was someone's yard dog.
#4
Senior Member
Join Date: Jun 2013
Location: SW Fl.
Posts: 5,622
Bikes: Day6 Semi Recumbent "FIREBALL", 1981 Custom Touring Paramount, 1983 Road Paramount, 2013 Giant Propel Advanced SL3, 2018 Specialized Red Roubaix Expert mech., 2002 Magna 7sp hybrid, 1976 Bassett Racing 45sp Cruiser
Mentioned: 18 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 1069 Post(s)
Liked 800 Times
in
507 Posts
location Charlotte County, SW - FL
4/27/2020 first encounter with Wild Hog @ 1:25AM - side swipes me, I go down, 2 cracked ribs, punctured lung, cracked scapula + additional impact issues = trip to Trauma Center, age almost 70yo (had 6+ piglets protecting)
7/26/2022 second encounter with Wild Hog @ 3:04AM - T-boned left leg = fractured Tibia = trip to ER, just 16 days past 72nd birthday (came across road) -- still not healed 100%
4/27/2020 first encounter with Wild Hog @ 1:25AM - side swipes me, I go down, 2 cracked ribs, punctured lung, cracked scapula + additional impact issues = trip to Trauma Center, age almost 70yo (had 6+ piglets protecting)
7/26/2022 second encounter with Wild Hog @ 3:04AM - T-boned left leg = fractured Tibia = trip to ER, just 16 days past 72nd birthday (came across road) -- still not healed 100%
Likes For OldTryGuy:
#5
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2022
Location: Albuquerque NM USA
Posts: 519
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 233 Post(s)
Liked 323 Times
in
206 Posts
I see lot's of rabbits, road runners, a deer where I live. Deer are super passive. Even when groups of them are crossing they see you, and literally just wait until you pass, then cross.
I've also seen a few bobcats, one time with a fresh rabbit kill in it's mouth. Saw a mountain lion once in someone's backyard as I passed.
A few snakes. Lot's of hawks. Often they are flying low up and down the side of the road looking for breakfast.
Lot's of dead stuff, like skunks, raccoons, and porcupines on the road.
Not wild life, but I've out sprinted a dog or two. Worse are the F-ing res dogs. They run in packs. Which is a bit scary. But I've found if you just stop, tell the dog(s) to go home, they sort of wander off, but then when you start moving, they come running again. Weird lizard brain thing going on there.
I've also seen a few bobcats, one time with a fresh rabbit kill in it's mouth. Saw a mountain lion once in someone's backyard as I passed.
A few snakes. Lot's of hawks. Often they are flying low up and down the side of the road looking for breakfast.
Lot's of dead stuff, like skunks, raccoons, and porcupines on the road.
Not wild life, but I've out sprinted a dog or two. Worse are the F-ing res dogs. They run in packs. Which is a bit scary. But I've found if you just stop, tell the dog(s) to go home, they sort of wander off, but then when you start moving, they come running again. Weird lizard brain thing going on there.
#6
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2020
Location: North Florida
Posts: 519
Bikes: 2019 Specialized Diverge, 2021 Cervelo Caledonia
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 259 Post(s)
Likes: 0
Liked 379 Times
in
198 Posts
Riding in my suburban neighborhood, I see an occasional fox or raccoon. I sometimes see armadillo and possum roadkill, and about half the days I'm out, dead squirrels in the road. But the big surprise for me is that this spring and summer I've picked up eight large gopher tortoises in the road and walked them away to safety. The roads I'm riding have curbs, so once the tortoises get into the roadway, it's tough for them to get out. I've seen a few in the road over the years, but eight in the past few months... I have no idea why so many more have found their way into the road recently.
#8
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,430
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18494 Post(s)
Liked 15,790 Times
in
7,415 Posts
Yaak, MT. 2019.
Likes For indyfabz:
#9
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,430
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18494 Post(s)
Liked 15,790 Times
in
7,415 Posts
Allegheny River Trail south of Franklin, PA. 2022.
Likes For indyfabz:
#10
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2008
Location: 25 miles northwest of Boston
Posts: 29,591
Bikes: Bottecchia Sprint, GT Timberline 29r, Marin Muirwoods 29er, Trek FX Alpha 7.0
Mentioned: 112 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 5234 Post(s)
Liked 3,606 Times
in
2,357 Posts
Likes For rumrunn6:
#11
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2023
Location: Eastern Shore MD
Posts: 925
Bikes: Lemond Zurich/Trek ALR/Giant TCX/Sette CX1
Mentioned: 1 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 597 Post(s)
Liked 833 Times
in
427 Posts
I just about got taken out by what I immediately thought was a chupacabra on my local MUP.
I had no clue what had just run out in front of me...
I was eyeballing it, it was eyeballing me...
Turns out, it was a big fat otter. I didn't know we had otters in Maryland.
I had no clue what had just run out in front of me...
I was eyeballing it, it was eyeballing me...
Turns out, it was a big fat otter. I didn't know we had otters in Maryland.
Likes For Jughed:
#12
Senior Member
Join Date: May 2017
Location: Hacienda Hgts
Posts: 2,121
Bikes: 1999 Schwinn Peloton Ultegra 10, Kestrel RT-1000 Ultegra, Trek Marlin 6 Deore 29'er
Mentioned: 3 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 830 Post(s)
Liked 1,968 Times
in
948 Posts
Three flat coyotes within a mile stretch in the Whittier Hills.
Bad day for coyotes.
Bad day for coyotes.
#13
Grupetto Bob
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Seattle-ish
Posts: 6,311
Bikes: Bikey McBike Face
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2634 Post(s)
Liked 5,776 Times
in
2,976 Posts
Black bear, coyotes, bobcats, elk, deer, rabbits and the most hazardous: squirrels.
__________________
Road 🚴🏾♂️ & Mountain 🚵🏾♂️
Road 🚴🏾♂️ & Mountain 🚵🏾♂️
#14
Retro on steroids
Join Date: Feb 2006
Location: Marin County, California
Posts: 543
Bikes: Breezer Repack 650-B, 2011 Gary Fisher Rumblefish II, Gary Fisher HiFi 29er, 1983 Ritchey Annapurna, 1994 Ritchey P-21, 1978 Breezer #2, 1975 Colnago, Ritchey P-29er
Mentioned: 13 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 155 Post(s)
Liked 656 Times
in
137 Posts
Touring on the Canol Road in Canada's Northwest Territories, we stopped by a creek. I heard something splashing, and got my camera out in time to catch the caribou running up the creek. Only later when I enlarged the slide, I saw it had a gaping wound on its neck, and a big strip of skin hanging down.
Story of my tour is here.
Story of my tour is here.
Likes For Repack Rider:
#15
Senior Member
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Ellensburg,WA
Posts: 3,190
Bikes: Schwinn Broadway, Specialized Secteur Sport(crashed) Spec. Roubaix Sport, Spec. Crux
Mentioned: 7 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 185 Post(s)
Liked 171 Times
in
86 Posts
Lots of bald eagles, hawks, osprey, and falcons. Deer, lots of deer, does and bucks, mostly mule deer but have seen whitetails farther east. Coyotes on occasion. Snakes, rabbits and once a badger. Otters and beavers. Elk and moose. Almost rolled over a 3+foot rattler, 25 feet later the jitters started. Ducks and Canada geese. Blue herons. Turkeys.
There are some routes where I can almost guarantee that I will see deer. Some times of the year, bald eagles are plentiful. I see so much wildlife that I tend to take it for granted. I can leave my driveway and ride for miles with only a few stop signs interrupting my ride. Living in a fertile valley full of farms, ranches and sadly urbanite encroachments. The return on investment in farming is such that aging farmers have found that subdivision gives better returns.
There are some routes where I can almost guarantee that I will see deer. Some times of the year, bald eagles are plentiful. I see so much wildlife that I tend to take it for granted. I can leave my driveway and ride for miles with only a few stop signs interrupting my ride. Living in a fertile valley full of farms, ranches and sadly urbanite encroachments. The return on investment in farming is such that aging farmers have found that subdivision gives better returns.
__________________
Sir Mark, Knight of Sufferlandria
Sir Mark, Knight of Sufferlandria
#16
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,430
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18494 Post(s)
Liked 15,790 Times
in
7,415 Posts
Countless future frogs at Brighton State Park in VT. 2022. The entire shoreline at that beach looked that way.
Likes For indyfabz:
#17
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,430
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18494 Post(s)
Liked 15,790 Times
in
7,415 Posts
Young rattler on the Lehigh Gorge State Park trail in PA.
Likes For indyfabz:
#18
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,430
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18494 Post(s)
Liked 15,790 Times
in
7,415 Posts
Bald headed wasp catches and attacks a cicada on my picnic table during a long weekend tour to Woodbine, NJ.
Likes For indyfabz:
#19
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,430
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18494 Post(s)
Liked 15,790 Times
in
7,415 Posts
Ferocious cat attack in Rockwood, PA, during a cross-state tour.
#20
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,430
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18494 Post(s)
Liked 15,790 Times
in
7,415 Posts
“Get off my shoulder.” Near Millbrook, NY. 2018.
Likes For indyfabz:
#21
Senior Member
Join Date: Jul 2009
Posts: 6,010
Bikes: Colnago, Van Dessel, Factor, Cervelo, Ritchey
Mentioned: 8 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 3984 Post(s)
Liked 7,437 Times
in
2,991 Posts
Local race, two years ago ...
#22
Grupetto Bob
Join Date: Sep 2020
Location: Seattle-ish
Posts: 6,311
Bikes: Bikey McBike Face
Mentioned: 2 Post(s)
Tagged: 0 Thread(s)
Quoted: 2634 Post(s)
Liked 5,776 Times
in
2,976 Posts
__________________
Road 🚴🏾♂️ & Mountain 🚵🏾♂️
Road 🚴🏾♂️ & Mountain 🚵🏾♂️
#23
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,430
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18494 Post(s)
Liked 15,790 Times
in
7,415 Posts
I’ve seen 4 white cycling and 5 while backpacking in the backcountry of Glacier National Park.
#24
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,430
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18494 Post(s)
Liked 15,790 Times
in
7,415 Posts
This was one of my favorites. Wise River, MT. 2016. I pulled over to the other side of the road. The rancher asked me about my trip. I gave him a brief summary. He doffed his hat and said "Sounds like a plan!"
Likes For indyfabz:
#25
Senior Member
Join Date: Jan 2010
Posts: 39,430
Mentioned: 211 Post(s)
Tagged: 1 Thread(s)
Quoted: 18494 Post(s)
Liked 15,790 Times
in
7,415 Posts
After a hard day of riding during my 2017 Erie to Philly tour I was reading by a campfire in Gaines, PA. I heard some chattering, so I flipped on my headlamp. When I left camp that morning, I came face to face at about 25" with a giant black bear that had raided the campground dumpsters.
The next morning, this young bugger heard me sneeze and swam across the creek while I was riding the Pine Creek Trail south of Ansonia, PA. I nearly wiped out after slamming on the brakes so I could fire up the camera.
The next morning, this young bugger heard me sneeze and swam across the creek while I was riding the Pine Creek Trail south of Ansonia, PA. I nearly wiped out after slamming on the brakes so I could fire up the camera.
Last edited by indyfabz; 08-09-23 at 08:03 PM.
Likes For indyfabz: