Rick

I was camping and had just turned the burner off on my camp stove and noticed a bear approaching. I left everything where it was and walked away watching the bear. The bear eat some and dumped some and left when he was done. I cleaned up then packed up everything and pedaled to the main road into a town and eat at the first diner I saw. That was the closest I had ever been to a bear and have no interest in getting closer.

raceboy

My local rides are in the same area. I’ve seen foxes, coyotes, hawks, and peacocks in PV. Harbor seals and dolphins surfing the waves when I ride by the beach. So I’d say we get our fair share of wildlife.

VegasJen

I'm kind of jealous of some of you guys. Bears and deer and bobcats? That's pretty cool! Of course, living out in the desert, the wildlife does tend to be smaller and more spread out.

PeteHski

When mountain biking in the woods I often see deer, foxes, rabbits and squirrels. I have also seen the odd snake on the trail.

staehpj1

You guys reminded me. I have also seen sea lions, seals, dolphins, and whales when riding along the coast particularly when touring the pacific coast, but also in the east for the seals and whales.

Also it would take too long to list all of the smaller species of reptiles, mamals, and interesting birds and I'd never remember them all. Even just around the neighborhood we have a lot of hawks and owls and I see them regularly. BTW, ya gotta keep an eye out for the gators, rattlesnakes, and cotton mouths here especially when walking the dog near any water.

A couple that I have not seen are mountain lions and grizzly bears (only black bears). We had near misses on the grizzlies a few times having hit camp sites just after there had been grizzlies sighted the previous day or two. In one case a mama with three cubs.

Edit to add:
I forgot to mention pronghorn antelope. There were lots of them on my Santa Fe Trail Cimmaron Cutoff tour. They were very graceful on the open prarie, but awkward as heck around man made stuff like railroad tracks or fences.

indyfabz

Let me think.

David_Harris

Closer than I want to get, too!

I ran over a rattlesnake once - he might have already been injured. Almost ran over a live, unhappy one yesterday, but I was able to swerve around it.

Deer, of course, and boy can they be dumb! Panicking right into my path is exciting when I’m doing a descent. I saw a video of a cyclist descending Mt. Lemmon in Tucson who hit a buck that ran into his path. Destroyed the bike.

On the PCH, I saw a bunch of different water birds when crossing bridges that dumped into the ocean. Large ones in flocks that we don’t usually see at home! Egrets are not uncommon on our home canals, though.

Coyotes, javelina, pronghorns (rarely), turkeys, lots of tarantulas, ravens, doves that try to hit me, various quail and rabbit species, roadrunners, etc. All of the desert critters. I suppose if I ride more mountain climbs, I’ll see more mountain critters.

terrymorse 

You reminded me: When riding through Big Sur on Highway 1, I came upon a group of California condors. They were just standing there on the other side of the guard rail, looking down over the cliff. Now those are big birds! My ranger buddy said they were there to feed on the dead seal pups on the beach below. Nature!

rsbob 

When mountain biking saw a coyote about 100’ away and it just stood there and didn’t budge. Also had a black bear about 50’ away on a single track, so I quickly changed directions.

In my neighborhood have seen numerous bobcats, deer, black bear and cubs and my wife saw a mountain lion.

On the domestic front, in my immediate area, I ride by wallabies, goats, lamas, water buffalo, yaks and of course horses and cows. A very diverse neighborhood.

Rick_D

Which reminds me that riding the path adjacent to our zoo, the giraffes are sometimes out and about, which never fails to charm me to pieces.

indyfabz

I faced a huge black bear at about 25’ while leaving camp in NW PA. It had raided the dumpsters earlier. Thought he had left the area. I was wrong. Not the way I wanted to start the morning. I estimate he was over 600 lbs. It was mid-September, so he was fattening up for the winter. He had obviously walked close to my tent on his way to the dumpsters because there was a fresh pile of scat about 15’ from the tent.

Here is the dumpster after the bear went about his business. Speaking of business, you can see a large pile of scat on the ground on the left near the plastic plate. The campground literally abuts the Allegheny National Forest, a place that is known to have a bear or many. (Interestingly, it also about FCI McKean which is where actor Wesley Snipes served his sentence for tax evasion.) As you can see from the dumpster on the left, they know they have bear "issues," but they apparently won't invest in proper receptacles. I have done a lot of touring out west, where this kind of situation could get people injured or killed. I will never stay at that place again.

JohnDThompson 

I once was chased by a pair of Sand Hill Cranes. They came charging up the road behind me, flapping their wings and clacking their beaks aggressively. I suspect that their chicks might have been nearby, but I didn't see them; I was too busy trying to stay ahead of the parents.

biker128pedal

I saw a box turtle today. Does that count

PDKL45

In Korea I see water deer, racoon dogs, lots of rats, weasels/skinks, snakes, turtles, river fish and once, a few huge vultures feeding on a dead animal. I have also seen a couple of small mountain pigs/wild boar run across the trail in my headlight at night. I told the rest of the group, who were somewhat doubtful, until the guy riding behind me said he'd seen them too, but was worried no one would believe him. The water deer have fangs--you can Google "Chinese Water Deer" to see them--and one of them freaked me right out one evening, this huge furry face with giant fangs looking at me in my headlight. I didn't know what it was at the time, it looked like a crazy prehistoric sabretooth tiger, but later, I saw a middle-aged Korean woman chasing a fat-assed deer with a stick on the same section of rural bike path. The deer had been helping himself to her cabbage garden, she was pissed and it all came together in my mind.

indyfabz

They can be nasty. I’ve seen a few in MT. One of them off in a field took objection to my presence and started making a racket.

rsbob 

Just plain bizarre

obrentharris 

Brent

noimagination

Do I leave out squirrels, chipmunks? Ordinary birds, such as sparrows, chickadees, juncos, Canada geese, etc.?

Seen on rides (I live in suburbia, about 45 min w/o traffic from mid-town Manhattan)
Deer (so, so many deer - on about 95% of rides I see at least one)
Skunk
Turkey
Fox
Raccoon
Possum
Bear
Red-tailed hawk
Bald Eagle
Osprey
Oriole
Kingfisher
Common loon
Egret
Great blue heron
Merganser (common and hooded)
Cormorant
Snapping turtle
Box turtle
Frog
Garter snake
Copperhead

noimagination

What, no quail?
Also, if you have any California poppies, please post.

I backpacked through Point Reyes many years ago, of course we saw plenty of banana slugs, the aforementioned quail and California poppies, and we were lucky enough to see a bobcat (I believe she(?) was guarding a den, as she just stared at us and didn't leave the zip code, the trail didn't go any closer than about 80 yards).

bampilot06

The deer population where I live is out of control. Crap ton of deer, Rabbits, Possums, dead beavers, raccoons, Fox, ground hogs, Skunk, Suicidal Squirrels, Bald Eagles, Turkeys, little turkeys, ummmm I think that’s it.


toads, frogs, turtles, snakes.

indyfabz

A fury friend I saw the day after the close encounter described above. Pine Creek Trail headed south from Ansonia, PA. He must have been just off the trail. I coughed are spooked him. Heard a big splash and looked over to see him swimming across the creek. (Notice the ripples in the water.) Nearly wiped out when I slammed on the brakes to stop and fire up the camera. He turned back for a look before disappearing into the brush. Judging from his size and the fact that it was mid-September, it was probably his first year on his own.

indyfabz

Muskrat crawled out the Beaverhead River while I was reading in Twin Bridges, MT. I used to think it was a beaver. How cool would that have been?

indyfabz

I was reading in front of the campfire when I heard some squabbling. Turned on the headlamp to discover these two.


Wind Cave National Park, SD. Notice the bird feeding between his shoulders.


Custer State Park, SD.




Day ride in Hunterdon County, NJ. He was right at the edge of the road when another rider and I were descending. I thought "That's an awfully large dog." Then the guy in front of me yelled "That's a bear!" NJ actually has a good number of bears for its size and human population density. I have seen two while riding and two (twin cubs) while driving. Just missed seeing a 5th during an organized bike event, but we did see his muddy paw prints in the road. Years ago, wildlife officials were looking for a bear that had ripped someone's garage door off its hinges to get at the trash cans inside. Based on its prints. they estimated the weight at over 800 lbs. Later that year, a kid in PA shot and killed a bear (in a legal hunt) over 800 lbs., just across the Delaware River from the area of the garage door incident. It was believed to be the bear wanted in NJ.




Western Yellow-bellied Racer, Edgemont, SD.

pdlamb

I try to keep an eye out for wildlife, and over the years I've seen a bit.

Last month in the Smokies, a couple bears, only a couple deer, and a bunch of turkeys. All far enough away that neither viewer nor viewee was startled. (Unlike a few years ago on the Blue Ridge Parkway, when I was laboring uphill from Cherokee and a turkey exploded from a rock beside the road into a flying featherburst!)

Never saw a life tarantula, but I did pass the greasy spot where they migrated across the road between Buellton and Lompoc, CA.

Closer to home, chipmunks, squirrels (aka tree rats), deer, coyote, ducks, geese (aka grass rats), egrets, kestrel, buzzards (black and turkey), blue jays, cardinals, mourning doves, crows, mockingbirds, goldfinches (they're fun to watch, and in late summer, the yellow really stands out against the drying dust), and Bird. A great blue heron is striking enough to get a capitalized Bird moniker.

I've been luck enough I've only seen one copperhead I can remember that wasn't road kill. Lots of road kill rattlesnakes, armadillos, deer, raccoons, and skunks.

Snapping turtles and box turtles. Oh, and a 'possum I ran over on a group ride one evening a while back. It ran between my wheels, then ran off the road afterward.

indyfabz

Coolest bird I’ve seen on tour is the American White Pelican. Saw two groups of 3 soar overhead a few days apart in Montana.

Second largest average wingspan of any bird in North America. Wish I had been able to get my own photos, but both times my camera was not handy.