WILD animals spotted on my rides

[rayhuang]

5-deer last saturday in the mtroparks crossed the raod. I was so happy to have caught them before a single car came and they took there time crossing the road and us checking each other out. NIce moment to break up the ride.


And unlelated to riding, but curious none the less, my dog found a mole in the grass this morning and they chirp like crickets when threatened!! my dog jumped 4" in the air when it started its chirping... funny.

 

[threaded]

I was riding in the countryside outside Roskilde (Denmark) and there was a monstrous white turkey agitatedly jumping about by the side of the road. Wouldn't say it was wild, but it certainly weren't happy.

 

[HowardSteele]

Of the mammals the baboons are probably the biggest and most common

 

[Darkhorse85]

i commute, and im a lifeguard. So, i leave at around 8:00 pm many nites. That's when all of the rabbits come out. When im cruising on the trails to home i see at least 8 rabbits runnin all around me.

the other day i was out for a run and i nearly physically bumped into a deer. I was runnin down the path, it bent, and then BAM a huge doe was 2 feet in front of me, she jumped and bolted. Jesus is that startling. Theyre rather large up close. I mean, i couldve just tackled that thing.
this was like a 1:00. kind of weird for deer to be out in the afternoon.

 

[hillibillybiker]

yeah, we dont have any dangerous wild animals in the UK....but i have seen Harriers, buzzard, Golden Eagles, orpreys, red deer...etc...

i got stung in the eyelid by a wasp a few months back....thats the most dangerous here...

LOL,I would have copped a bumble bee in the peeper last week had I not been wearing sunglasses.I occassionally see red deer here too and plenty of Buzzards and there are Harriers and Ospreys in some parts of Wales(hence the name of our regional Rugby team),but no magnificent Golden Eagles unfortunately.The odd bothered badger is as risky as it gets,bit boring really Mind you there are many Baboons here too Howard,usually driving fast cars

 

[Scotttri]

Hmmm where to start...Wedge tailed eagles, wild goats, ferral cats, wild donkeys, wild horses, cows, Kangaroos, rabbits, emu's, dingo's, fox's but what can I say, I live in the middle of no where, where I used to live I saw a wombat on the road, about two hundred metres later I saw a sign saying wombat crossing.....gee what an inconsiderate wombat!!

 

[2 old 2 go slow]

I'm not sure the guys in this post can really be considered wild. They weren't really all that concerned with my approach.

Years ago it was a momentous occasion to see wildlife around here, but with all the development around they've been pushed to the wooded areas. Thankfully the local gov't has restrictions on new development which preserves a lot of green space for the "natives."

 

[ScottishDan]

Here is my sad story of wildlife - this happened two days ago:

I was riding back from my friend's late at night and took the unlit path home. As you go on to the path, it becomes a steep hill and you can go very fast down it. As I was spinning out in top gear, an adult deer ran out in fron t of me.
It got very spooked and continued to run down the path away from me. The path then goes over a steep bridge over the river tweed. To the deer, it just looked like a wall over which it could escape. I saw it jump right off the edge, not knowing that a 20M drop was over the other side. I checked the next morning and it was dead on the bank.

 

[Insight Driver]

In Sacramento, California along the American River Bike trail. In the spring, you see a lot of snakes on the trail, some of them rattlesnakes. I've seen deer, lots of different birds, inclding turkey and whip-or-wills and a coyote. Squirrels are common. Mind you, this river is a parkway, but it goes right through urban areas. It's amazing to ride along it because you barely get a clue you are in a city.

 

[e0richt]

In Sacramento, California along the American River Bike trail. In the spring, you see a lot of snakes on the trail, some of them rattlesnakes. I've seen deer, lots of different birds, inclding turkey and whip-or-wills and a coyote. Squirrels are common. Mind you, this river is a parkway, but it goes right through urban areas. It's amazing to ride along it because you barely get a clue you are in a city.

I am a "roadie" and usually bike in Batsto in NJ. There have been numerous times where I will surprise a jack rabbit and a deer, actually kind of surprised it... guess it didn't know what a bike sounds like and actually almost ran into me
trying to get away.

 

[DiabloScott]

I am a "roadie" and usually bike in Batsto in NJ. There have been numerous times where I will surprise a jack rabbit and a deer, actually kind of surprised it... guess it didn't know what a bike sounds like and actually almost ran into me
trying to get away.

On Mt. Diablo, in order of frequency starting with the most common:

Squirrels, vultures, snakes, coyotes, deer, jack rabbits, bunnies, turkeys, hawks, raccoons, bobcats

Never seen a mountain lion but there are a few around,

 

[Durangodave]

.... and I once saw a female moose, wading in a lake, on a ride outside of Logan UT.

And back home I've seen lots of snakes, including rattlesnakes, right in the middle of the trail. You come up on them fast, so it's always a quick descision to stop short or bunny-hop them.

 

[alienator]

Here in the Tucson area, I've seen rabbits, jackrabbits, coyotes, rattlesnakes, scorpions, tarantulas, geckos, other assorted lizards, sonoran toads, and javelinas. Javelinas are the worst. In my apartment complex, at night, I've seen bobcats. Others in Tucscon have had the odd sighting of mountain lions, but mountain lions prefer to keep to themselves. I think it was last year that there was bear roaming a neighborhood downtown.....local news caught it on film.

In the "just like wild animals" category, we have lots of drunk college students roaming freely.

 

[backtobiking]

I live in the wild kingdom. Lots of squirrels, deer, rabbits,racoons. An occassional bear on my ride, being on the border on a national park.
The only baboons I encounter are in cars and sometimes I see a slick looking fox in a convertible.
Sometimes a jackass in an SUV or pick-up.

Resently I came across a skunk. I haven't scene one of them visually alive and not road kill in more than 20 years. Cute little bugger never scene me coming.

 

[MountainPro]

Here is my sad story of wildlife - this happened two days ago:

I was riding back from my friend's late at night and took the unlit path home. As you go on to the path, it becomes a steep hill and you can go very fast down it. As I was spinning out in top gear, an adult deer ran out in fron t of me.
It got very spooked and continued to run down the path away from me. The path then goes over a steep bridge over the river tweed. To the deer, it just looked like a wall over which it could escape. I saw it jump right off the edge, not knowing that a 20M drop was over the other side. I checked the next morning and it was dead on the bank.

yep, sad story, but deer are stupid, like sheep. I have been cycling along a track and a deer jumps out in front of me, but instead of jumping back onto the woods they start to run....in the same direction i am cycling! So there i am stuck behind the **** of a freaked out deer...so i have to stop to let it get back onto the trees..

 

[HowardSteele]

WARNING
New notice for cyclists,cycling in this past ot the world

 

[atomship47]

hehehe. a fun thread!

i've seen mink, turkey, fox, deer, rabbit, squirrel, gopher, ground hog, and prairie chicken (i didn't know they existed in IL until that ride).

very dangerous. turkey spurs can be quite sharp you know!

oh, i forgot, i was pinched by an earwig on a ride a few weeks ago.

 

[imagesinthewind]

On our wooded trails we get coyotes, skunk, racoons, squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, dear, stupid walkers with ipods in their ears, stupid dog owners who let their dogs go unleashed, the occassional drunk homeless person under the bridges.


Ginny in Denver
05 Specialized Comp

 

[drubie]

Kangaroos and rabbits. Kangaroos frighten the daylights out of me as they always look like they want to jump out right in front of you, and they are pretty big.

We're also starting to get swooped by magpies...

dave.

 

[cheapie]

other than the usual, a wild turkey that flew along in front of me while looking for a opening in the trees and a skunk last week. i thought it was a cat at first until i saw the stripe as it whirled about and raised its tail. yikes! thankfully i didn't get sprayed.