SummitPost.org

Snow Leopard in Nepal was my best claim to fame, amazing.....

A few days ago, walking along the Mirror Lake trail in Yosemite Valley I saw the resident bobcat sneak up on a squirrel, catch it and carry it away in its teeth...right in front of us. Unbelievable...straight out of the Nature Channel!

I finally saw some bighorn sheep in the Sierra. Previously I'd only seen two between the tunnels near Islip Saddle in the San Gabriels. However, on Sunday I saw a dozen or more. I counted 12. Might have been a few more. They were on the east ridge of Mt Langley. FIrst I saw just a head poke out from behind a rock. I moved around the rock and saw 4 or 5 sheep. I tried to get a pic but scared them. They headed down the north side of the ridge. I tried to come around another rock formation, thinking they couldn't have gone far. To my amazement, they were more than 100 feet down the slope. It took them less than a minute. Really cool. I did get one lousy shot as the line of sheep fled down the mountain but it's so hard to see them in the photo. I blew the cool close-up.

I have a fair number of mule deer in my neck of the woods. They are very shy, but I managed to get a good photograph of this one:

http://www.summitpost.org/view_object.p ... rm_post=12

A wild horse in the Hot Creek Range of Central Nevada:
http://hwstock.org/horse1.jpg
http://hwstock.org/horse2.jpg

Though they are beautiful animals (and this specimen looked quite healthy), I have mixed feelings about "wild" horses. They are really feral, and most escaped from the Spanish and Anglo pioneers in the 18th and 19th centuries. The wild horses put pressure on native species like elk andpronghorns.

Where's that APE I always seem to talk about ! ... The last time I saw one deep in the woods I took off without taking the time for some pictures !... (mind you, I travel alone irrespective of the reality of solitude being my soul mate since I was cast into this harsh world !...The point is that being alone in the woods makes the animals a little bolder.)

peninsula wrote:I have a fair number of mule deer in my neck of the woods. They are very shy, but I managed to get a good photograph of this one:

http://www.summitpost.org/view_object.p ... rm_post=12

Mule deer around here have almost no fear of humans (or fenced dogs). They regularly sleep under my front steps and feed on the grass along my fenced yard within 6" of my dogs. They know the dogs can't get to them. When walking around here, I regularly walk with 25' of them. In my car, I've had to get within a couple of feet before they get out of the way.

Saw bobcat, fawn and deer in the San Gabriel Mountains
http://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.org/f ... t1606.html

I've seen black bears each of the past three weekends.

Black Bear, Coyote, Grey Fox and Mountain Goat on Fathers day weekend.Elk, Dear, Pronghorn, Wolf, Beaver, Marmot.

MoapaPk wrote:A wild horse in the Hot Creek Range of Central Nevada:
http://hwstock.org/horse1.jpg
http://hwstock.org/horse2.jpg

Though they are beautiful animals (and this specimen looked quite healthy), I have mixed feelings about "wild" horses. They are really feral, and most escaped from the Spanish and Anglo pioneers in the 18th and 19th centuries. The wild horses put pressure on native species like elk andpronghorns.

I worked as a vegetation surveyor for the BLM in the Great Basin mountains in eastern Nevada, and saw a lot of wild horses. The problem with wild horses in that country is they are not well adapted to the terrain, and end up suffering. The terrain is loose with a lot of scree and boulders. In one summer, I saw three horses starving and miserable because they had broken legs. Of course, the BLM seems to have two solutions- try and get people to adopt them, or round them up and sell them for dog food.

It’s not much of a hike, but Mom and the kids sure like to munch on the olive trees along our driveway:




I’m not usually up and out at 3:00 AM when Mr. Bear comes through, but he has a favorite place to cross the wall…


I actually see more wildlife right here at home than on most hikes… and not too long ago a mountain lion grabbed our neighbor’s 80 lb. dog…

I have seen rattle snakes in the San Gabriel and San Jacinto mountains this summer.
http://sangabrielmnts.myfreeforum.org/W ... t1729.html

In Scotland i've seen red deer/ stags, mountain hares, stoats , grouse , ptarmigain, golden eagle, seals, porpoises (while climbing on sea cliffs) red squirrels . In the alps i've sen black salamanders, vipers , ibex and chamois.

I nearly always see red deer,mountain hares and grouse each time i'm in the mountains/hills.

Once I saw a young black bear about the size of a german shepherd in the Bodie Hills, a desert range east of the Sierra. He was romping through the sage brush a short distance from my van. I was starting a hike to a nearby peak. I actually kept my eye on him because I thought he might be strong enough to rip into the vehicle and reek havoc! My absurd paranoia was equalled only by my amazement as to what he was doing in such a barren place!