WILD animals spotted on my rides

On the country roads about 50~60 km from Rome we get LOTs of hedgehogs, squirrels, cats, dogs, rabbits, etc.

Also saw a huge porcupine once...

And lots of idiots in cars...

 

On my commute to work I see great blue herons, owls, and feral cats hunting mice in the fields.

 

In northern WI, I have spotted many animals, although not as exotic as some you. I rode 30 miles tonight and as far mammals.... Whitetail deer, Gray, Black and Red Squirrels, Chipmunks and a Fischer... and some birds including two Eagles, seven Turkey, Hungarian Partridge and some other small birds. Two weeks ago, while on a mountain bike ride at the Rock Lake trail in Cable, WI....a Black Bear standing in the single track I was riding.

 

I was coming up a shared ramp (bike lane/freeway exit) when two baby deer were startled by me early on a Saturday morning. They bolted across the freeway and were immediately hammered by oncoming cars. I can't seem to forget it...

 

Most I've ever seen are a bunch of . . . rabbits. Pretty anti-climactic. I suppose if one tried running through my wheels things could get interesting, but until then I'm left only with the decision that Seattle is much more boring than the rest of the world.

 

Christ, I live a boring life. I'm in New York City, the most unusual animals I see on rides are all roadkill. Of the still-breathing type, I guess wild turkeys are the strangest.

 

Being the first of September, the first day of spring and a beautiful sunny day at that, I was out on my mountain ride and had to slow down for two tortoises crossing the road. These little guys love strolling across roads, one of the reasons they are on the endangered list (Common name Padloper/Roadwalker). This being a mountain path a much safer bet but if we see them on roads used by cars we carry them to the other side.

Of course the ever-present baboons were down in he tea garden trying to steal a snack.

 

After reading this thread I am reminded of this book; "Wild Animals I Have Known"

Book Description

This collection of 8 engrossing stories by a noted Canadian naturalist, illustrator, and painter initially appeared to critical and popular acclaim 1898. More than a century later, Seton’s masterful blend of scientific observation and romanticism continues to delight readers. Memorable characters include Old Lobo, the leader of a wolfpack; Silverspot, a wise old crow; Raggylug, a young cottontail; Bingo, an errant hound; and 4 other remarkable creatures. 200 engaging black-and-white illus. by the author.

Ernest Thompson Seton

 

I guess it's that time of year here when the animals get more active. On each of my last two rides I've seen wild turkeys darting across the road in front of me.

I'm happy to say they were far in front of me and moving fast. If I were to hit one I think I'd come out the worse for it. They're huge. Come to think of it though, I've never seen one that's been hit by a car. They must be both huge and smart.

 

When we toured last year we past quite a few different animals.
Ostridge farming has become a majour industry again and below is a pic of some curious juviniles checking us out.

 

Eaten by wild animals, I Heard a story the other day: of a woman MTBikers attacked by a mountain lion in the Yellowstone national park, She survived but on further inspection at the scene of the attack they discovered a mtb and then the poor MTBiker that had not been so lucky and became part of the food chain.

Is there any truth in this story or is this the birth of another urban legend

 

I live in Illinois too, but my list is so long I will mention the unique sightings.

Peacocks, turtles (not mutant), Turkey vultures,cranes, huge yellow and black snake (never been able to identify), python (escaped from circus), and a white tailed deer that wanted to play chicken on the bike path.

The ducks and geese think they own the bike path too.

 

I had a bunch of deer jump out of the woods one night. They came so close too close for comfort.

 

One night(at about 10PM) in October while riding home, on a smallish two lane road, my headlamp showed a pair of glowing eyes ahead, so I slowed down to a walking pace. As I approached what turned out to be a coyote, about 10-15 other coyotes came out of the scrub on the right side of the road, and they all just walked by me: in front of me, behind me. I was surrounded on all sides by coyotes for a few moments, but they just kept on walking and disappeared into the scrub on the left side of the road.

'twas very surreal, very cool, and oddly enough, a very peaceful thing.

 

We have this little lizard that shares our mountain trails,very fast and agile we nickname them 4x4's,they unfortunatlly also like to laze (unseen untill your front wheel is nearlly on top of them )on the path soaking up the rays,so on a couple of occassions they become road kill .Always spoils my ride when this happens.

 

Does it count I was drivng back from the bike shop?!?!?! lol But I saw a bald eagle and a kestrel. I am still all geeked out about it. Ive only ever seen them in cages. The eagle was flying and it beautiful and the kestrel was on a tree.

 

A mongoose ran out in front of me this morning, stopped and looked at me and ran back....thasall.

 

that would describe most of our tuesday night trail riders!

 

From Hawk Hill in the Marin Headlands, this is on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge. I'd say that it's in San Francisco, but that's not technically true.

Go to maps.google.com, select 'Hybrid' mode, and enter this in the address bar,
37° 49.55'N, 122° 29.97 W

The cat was sunning itself on a foot trail that leads out to a small knoll that overlooks the Golden Gate.

It was late afternoon, very nearly 17:00 PST

I met a mountain biker a few months back who had seen a young lion on a trail about 1/2 a mile north of there.

I've seen bobcats, coyotes, deer, a good assortment of hawks, some very clever ravens, great blue heron, vultures, white kites, quail, jackrabbits, cotton tails, fox, several different kinds of snakes including the coastal rubber boa, an amusing variety of lizards and salamanders. I'm told that there's a family of river otters that lives within a few yards of where we ride, but we've never seen them.

Riding across the bridge we've stopped to watch sea lions, harbor seals, even a gray whale swimming directly below the bridge, and pods of whales within 1/2 a mile of the bridge.

 

I frequently see Kangaroo families, duck families (the parent tend to charge at me), cows, an ocassional horse, and the swooping birds during mating season.

Generally I tend to try and steer clear of the roos, you never know where they might hop when they get startled.