Author Topic: Up close and personal with wildlife (Read 7981 times)

Mountain Beaver · « **on:** July 16, 2006, 11:54:03 AM »

Hey folks, I'd love to hear any stories you have about really close encounters with wildlife. I've been running the woods since I was 18 monthes old, pickin' morels with mom and pop in Central Illinois. I'm gonna throw out my list.
I've had a great horned owl taking my stocking hat from me.
Been run over and held down by a BIG 8 point buck in rut. He stomped 3 times very hard on my chest. Had a hoof print bruise for a week !
Treed for 2 hours by a pack of coy dogs. I killed one with my spear, he went off to die. Thats what saved me. The other dogs went and ATE him. These happened before I was 14 years old.
Then I moved to Oregon and the fun really started. Been Stalked by a cougar. THEN I let my pit bull lose. Cat went up a tree.
Damn fool thought he'd be safe. NOT. Thor went UP the tree too !! Had a yearling button buck hang out with me, following us through the woods for about 20 minutes. he LOVED being scratched behind the ears!! Fishing the Sandy River once, I saw momma otter and 3 pups swimming towards me. I kinda squatted down and pretended to be an old tree trunk. They swam and fished within 4 feet of me for 15 minutes. Momma swimming INCHES from my legs and no more than 15 inches below my face !!
At that same spot monthes later I scooped up the most BEAUTIFUL steelhead I've ever seen. it was taking a break in some slack water swimming out and back again. I put my hands in the water, It swam between my hands and the bank, SCOOP !! He was mine, for a few seconds before I let it go.
Had a beaver swim up to my leg( I was doing my dead tree impersonation aagain)give it a coouple sniffs then he soaked my with his tail. I'd have to say the otters are my FAV encounter.Looking forward to see what you all have to say.

Micahn · « **Reply #1 on:** July 18, 2006, 09:43:09 AM »

I walked outside today and a Squirrel was eating a pine cone does that count ? :-)

Hawkman · « **Reply #2 on:** August 15, 2006, 07:47:34 AM »

When I lived in Arizona I was hunting deer south of Tucson. I had been sitting for a couple of hours looking over a broad wash the deer used when a covey of quail walked out of the brush and started feeding around me. I never moved and eventually they wandered off. It's fun to be so still that critters don't even see you.

Graybeard · « **Reply #3 on:** August 15, 2006, 09:07:06 AM »

Had one just the other day, Sunday night I think it was.

Faye and I went out on the front porch about 7:00 PM to sit and watch darkness come in. We like to sit out early and late to watch the changing from dark to day and day to dark.

We noticed a white egret down at the pond feeding on minnows. After awhile he picked up and flew from the pond at my neighbords over toward ours that is now under construction. I thought maybe it was gonna light there but it didn't. Instead it made a left turn and headed directly toward us. At the point of the turn it was perhaps 150-200 yards away. On it came straight at us. I thought maybe it's gonna light in the blueberry orchard but when it cleared the corral fence I knew that wasn't the plan and thought maybe in our yard.

Soon I realized it wasn't gonna land at all but was headed directly for our house and wasn't nearly high enough to clear it. I began to think it was gonna come onto the porch with us. But instead it landed right at the corner of the porch not ten feet from us. It had slippery footing on the metal roof but managed to hop onto the flatter area of the porch roof.

It sat there for a good while and then flew into the big sweetgum tree in our front yard and roosted there for the night. That was quite an experience for us and one not likely ever to be repeated.

The next morning we watched it leave the sweetgum and it flew to the peak of my neighbor's barn and sat there awhile before heading back down to the pond for minnows.

doc_kreipke · « **Reply #4 on:** August 17, 2006, 04:25:04 PM »

Last Fall, my wife almost got body-slammed by a red-tail hawk.

On a bright and crisp Sunday, Shirley & I were riding side by side on our bicycles, clipping down a deserted country road at a brisk pace, she "curb"(grass)side, and I street side. We rounded a corner and encountered the hawk sitting on a post about two feet from the edge of the road. Surprise was mutual. The hawk jumped off the post and started chest-high terrain level flight, pacing right beside us.

Because he didn't have enough speed to maneuver yet, the hawk had to fly in a straight line, and I could tell it was going to intercept us about 30 yards up the road. As the hawk flew beside us, getting close enough that Shirley could see his pupils, he turned his head and made direct eye contact with her. "OK, whatcha guys gonna do?" Shirley claimed the hawk seemed to be saying. She was getting wafted with the air from each of the wings' strong downbeats.

Just as the wingtips were nearly brushing Shirley's shoulder, the hawk got enough lift and did a hard climbing turn to the right into a nearby treeline.

It all happened so quickly that we had not had time to take evasive action. Don't know what would have transpired had spouse and hawk actually collided.

Shirley says she'll never forget the intense stare-down contest she had with the hawk that afternoon.

prairiedog555 · « **Reply #5 on:** September 23, 2006, 03:05:30 AM »

This last turkey season in Ks. I was sitting in the woods at the edge of a cut bean field with my 3 decoys out. I was wearing camo + dark glasses. 4 hen turkeys meandered over and then started walking towards me. I thought this was really neat but then they kept getting closer untill they were right at my feet! they seemed to know that something was wrong but couldn't figure out what. I think it was the dark glasses, couldn't see my eyes. So I just kept still thinking they might draw a gobbler in, but the suspense was killing me. keeping that still, I'm talking about 25 min or so. finnally they walked off and sure enough a whole troop of jakes walker over, really loud gobbling about 8-9. I couldn't shoot because I would get 4 or 5 they were so close together, finnally mr. unlucky got a ways off, about 25 yd and that was that, but the others didn't get that excited, just stayed there, even when I stood up they just walked away, and this was a public hunting area with other hunters around, about 5 miles from town. another guy that I didn't know was there got up after I shot and came over, about 200yd away and said he was watching, kind of looked at me funny asking why I shot a jake, I told him because I prefer them, let the old guys go (like me) and I eat what I shoot. Too many turkeys in Ks. have to do my part.

Ahab · « **Reply #6 on:** October 15, 2006, 08:09:10 AM »

Had a coyote howl on my patio this morning. When I went to the slider door he looked at me and leisurely ambled off. A few moments later I heard more yowling so I put my jacket on and went outside. About twenty yards from me, the yote was perched on a large boulder singing away. Pretty soon another yote joined him on the rock. As I stood there motionless, two more appeared about 150 yards away on a neighbors rock out-cropping, then two more! My wife came up behind me to see what all the commotion was about. As I softly told her what to look for, the two closest slipped off and went towards the others on the rock out-cropping. There, all six sat and looked at us for a few moments then slinked off. We went back into the house where my camera sat on the counter.

Mountain Beaver · « **Reply #7 on:** October 22, 2006, 05:40:52 PM »

Last year, 2nd day of deer season in Oregon I had my hunting buddies drop me off where we had seen 2 MONSTER mulies the nite before. They left me with a radio to get hold of them if I needed. I climbed to the top of the ridge, hunted for a few hours then decided to drop back down to the road. I thought I heard voices so I hid my gear and started belly crawling to the edge so I could see who was down there. Now, I'm in full camo, no hat, just my brown hair showin. As I'm crawling along I reach for my radio. It fell off my pants so I turned to see how far back it is. Just as I turn my head a praire falcon SKIMMED my nose with it's breast feathers. Talk about timing. I think he thought my head was lunch

I'm just glad I turned when I did. I wasn't really wanting a head full of falcon talons . Could you imagine what that would feel like

As soon as the falcon realized I wasn't lunch he hit the edge of the ridge I was on, caught a thermal and skyrocketed upwards. Yes I ended up getting my deer. Small fork horn. I also found a great shed to one of the bucks we had seen the eveing before.

Ray Ford · « **Reply #8 on:** October 23, 2006, 03:39:26 PM »

Ahab,

I have a house--not were I live--in which my sister lived and where I kept a couple of dog pens. A railroad right-of-way abuts the property on the back. The rail line extends out into the country. One morning, my sister looked out the kitchen window and saw a Coyote sitting on his haunches on the embankment looking at my dog pens. He sat there for a considerable period of time before moving off. We never were sure whether he was just curious, was thinking having a dog for breakfast, or had designs on the feed in the self-feeders.

steve · « **Reply #9 on:** October 31, 2006, 05:23:47 PM »

I was in my ground blind Sunday night bow hunting. I just got done using a bleat call. When all of a sudden I could hear something coming up behind me running. Crazy fawn decided it was going to run throuh my blind. It kinda just bounced off the blind shook itself and went back to where it came from. I in turn had to restake my blind. Now I am hoping next time it goes around instead of trying to go through it.

Oldtimer · « **Reply #10 on:** November 06, 2006, 04:35:41 AM »

A friend of mine was a fellow EMT and a Methodist minister. He got moved to another church and wanted some souvenir patches to remember us by. I went by the parsonage with the patches, but he and his wife were off moving some things. I was talking to his wife's aunt when she noticed a fawn run across the road toward the church. I was curious as to where it was going, so I slipped around to the back of the church, to see if it went into the woods on the other side of the building. As I did not spot it, I came up the side of the church and found the fawn standing on the porch, partly screened from the road by the bushes planted around the porch. It did not run off until I stepped up on the porch. I really did not think about it again until a couple of days ago. I ran into a man from the area of the church and he told me a deer had been hit in front of the church and had crawled up on the porch and died.

Special Ed · « **Reply #11 on:** November 06, 2006, 04:57:47 AM »

Does 2' from a full grown Badger count?
Phesant hunting in South Dakota several years ago I went to investigate movement in some thick grass, thinking it might be a bird trying to slip away. As I got close to the fence, I looked down to see the "movement" was a Badger coming thru the fence.
I don't know which one of us was more suprised. Thankfully he went the opposite direction as fast as I was going away from him.

Ed

con10der309 · « **Reply #12 on:** November 14, 2006, 05:56:09 PM »

1st day of archery season 3 years ago before daybreak i heard something coming through the mt laurel.the noise stopped at the bottom of my 15 foot ladder stand once i got my eyes focused i saw a black bear standing on its hind legs holding onto the ladder.i waited until daybreak to leave my stand and go to the truck for a change of undies `(lol) jim

SDS-GEN · « **Reply #13 on:** December 22, 2006, 02:09:26 PM »

When I was a kid (7 or 8 ) my little brother and I were walking down a game trail (not that either of us knew it was a game trail) along a wooded/weedy creek in town by my grandmother's house. We rounded a bend and stood a few feet from a very p!$$ed off beaver. I swear I will never forget those pinky-orange teeth and the hiss that thing let out. We slowly backed out then hauled butt back to grannie's.
Another time me and some friends were raising heck at the railroad tracks by my house. The tracks there were overgrown with brush, the perfect place for a bunch of adventure seeking kids and their imaginations. I kicked into a large pile of loose dirt only to have a couple of snakes slither out across my foot. They were just garter snakes but I nearly greased my shorts before I realized what they were.
A couple of years ago I was goose hunting with some friends. I was in the head of a waterway in a picked corn field. There were a few bushes and the rest of the waterway was full of short grass. I noticed several holes around about the size of a pop can, or maybe a little bigger. I was sitting 6-8 feet from one of the holes waiting for the geese to start flying when out pops a little black and white skunk. I pointed the twelve gauge at him and waited for him to make the next move. He casually walked off, and I decided the goose hunting was probably better in the next waterway over.
I had several black bears inside of ten yards on a recent trip to Alaska, one was only 12 feet away, none of them threatened though and for whatever reason they really didn't scare me. You can bet I had my rifle in my hands though.

Type99 · « **Reply #14 on:** December 23, 2006, 01:37:41 AM »

Hello...

One time, I was in a cellar hole here in Maine, metal detecting for stuff. Usually I just find a bunch of old junk, but sometimes some neat things. I was down in the hole and I heard a rustling in the woods, coming closer and closer. I thought it was a bunch of turkeys, so I ducked down as they got closer. Suddenly a whole family of weasels came slinking into the cellar hole with me, oblivious to my presence. The little kits were crawling into the cracks between the granite blocks, sparring with one another, and making a peculiar little squeaking. They were chestnut brown in color. Finally, I moved slightly, they became aware of my presence, and tumbled down a few holes. That was one of the neatest things I ever saw.

Another time I was up in my tree stand before light one cold November morning. I heard an animal walking through the trees to my right. It was too small for a deer, but was coming pretty close. When it was directly under my tree stand, I suddenly shone a flashlight down to the base of the ladder, and up stares a large fisher cat, with his eyes ablaze and his teeth glaring. I thought for a second that he might try to climb the tree to see what I was, but to my relief, he stalked off further into the woods. That was strange...

Cheers,
Gary

jpsmith1 · « **Reply #15 on:** December 23, 2006, 02:46:22 AM »

Let's see. While turkey hunting, I found a pair of deer fawns that had just been dropped. The younger of the two was still wet from being born. My buddies and I got to watch them take their first steps while fighting over who was supposed to bring the camera.

I fall turkey season, I had a grey squirrel in my lap. It was crawling around on my and my rifle.

In deer season one year, I had a weasel climb up onto my boot and look at me.

JHT · « **Reply #16 on:** December 25, 2006, 12:54:29 AM »

If just several of these stories are true, and I am certain that they are, it makes me envious that I have not as of late spent enough time surrounded by wilderness or at least having encounters with wildlife.

JHT

NONYA · « **Reply #17 on:** December 25, 2006, 02:34:25 AM »

this last fall in was sneaking around a ridge full of mule deer that just migrated down from a wilderness area after a deep snow,i walked into a stand of burned timber to get a buck out of his bed to get a better look at him and watched as he and about 20 does walked off,as i approached the spot one young looking doe turned and came back to me,she walked within 10 feet of me and wouldnt leave me alone,she followed me for several hundred yards staying right behind me even aftre i tried to shoo her off,i dont know if she had ever seen a human before or maybe she was just retarded but she seemed very curios about me.When i was a kid we had a canadian goose that landed in our yard every fall for 4 years in a row,we have pics of me with him from each year.I have encountered various wildlife in the field that had no fear of me for whatever reason and I have some great pics to show for it,i firmly believe that wildlife can sense your intentions,when im out working on my photography I have way better luck in approaching game than i do with a rifle in my hand.

Ray Ford · « **Reply #18 on:** December 25, 2006, 12:20:53 PM »

This is probably not all that strange or unusual, but, to me, it was kinda neat.

On Thanksgiving day, I was in a deer blind--a rectangular structure with an opening in the back and made from posts, 2x4's, and pickets salvaged from an old privacy fence--when I head a Squirrel chattering. I looked up to my left and saw a small gray in one of the nearby Hackberry trees eating the berries that the trees produce. I sat still and watched for several moments. Suddenly, he got totally still--not moving a muscle or making a sound. I thought that he had seen me, but he hadn't. A large red Squirrel had arrived just in back of the blind. As the gray remained very still, two more reds put in an appearance. All were eating berries from the Hackberry trees. After a while, the little gray resumed eating. I watched them for a while.... And enjoyed every minute of it.

That evening, I told my son about the Squirrels. His reply was, "I bet it was about 4 o'clock." Seems he has noticed that the Squirrels come out to feed every afternoon at about that time. It was about 4 p.m.

toysoldier · « **Reply #19 on:** December 30, 2006, 12:08:48 PM »

A couple of months ago I was at our club's range helping out at a high-power shoot. Ten guys fired off about 100 rounds each. After the shooting had finished, the guns put away, and the guys talking, a six-point buck poked his head out of some brush, then ambled along the shooting line till he reached the brush on the other side. He took one more look at us, then moved on.

Mike White · « **Reply #20 on:** December 31, 2006, 08:08:49 PM »

This past spring I was shooting at the rifle range located on Hurlburt Field. After clearing the range, making it hot, and firing about 10 rounds I saw movement in my scope. An adult bobcat was walking across the range as I was firing, when I noticed him he was to the right of the target I was shooting at. He proceeded to walk directly to the left of my target and sit down staring in my direction. He then rolled around in the dirt for about five minutes before finishing his trip across the range and into the woods.

Beers · « **Reply #21 on:** March 12, 2007, 07:47:35 AM »

Taking advantage of the beautiful weather yesterday, I went up Dunkard creek beside my house fishing. About an hour shy of dusk, I hear snapping brush on the opposite side of the creek. A young deer came bounding out onto the bank about 50 yards to my left, it runs along the bank till it's directly in front of me and jumps into the creek and sloshes across to my side, gets out of the water so close I could've poked it in the ribs w/ my fishing pole.

I'm dumbfounded. It just stands there, looks at me and seems jittery - but not going anywhere. About half a minute later 3 stray dogs bust out of the brush across the creek at the same point the deer came out. They come running and yapping up the side of the creek following the same route the deer took... They saw me and stopped still, about 20 yards shy of where the deer jumped in the water. The deer just stood where it was, but looked ready to bolt... The dogs stared at me for another 30 seconds or so... then ran off, up over the bank and gone.. The deer stood where it was for a few more moments, then turned and casually walked away, up the hill behind me.

I didn't catch a damn thing while I was out. But I'll remember that experience alot longer than I would have remembered another catfish.

NONYA · « **Reply #22 on:** March 13, 2007, 08:28:24 AM »

you need to shoot those damn dogs!

Land_Owner · « **Reply #23 on:** March 13, 2007, 11:22:19 PM »

Had a button buck walk in front of then tail in behind me to within 3 feet while sitting on the ground where I thought better than to let it get too close. It didn't understand why a "stump" could talk as I shooed it away. This past season a Carolina Wren thought I was just another stump as it investigated every fold in my jacket over 15 minutes. We spooked a male otter four feet away and upside down out of a dead slumber sunning itself on a cold morning in the middle of a forest road accidentally with two pit bull dogs. A fight began and the otter went into the adjacent canal. In five minutes both dogs were confused and the otter came right back to us with its bloody nose into the middle of the road four feet away and chattered at us something awful before departing into the canal. "I think he's pissed and we've been told off." I said. A Great Horned Owl alighted on the tree branch right next to my head at o'dark-30 while I was on stand awaiting dawn. It's wings brushed me as it departed when it realized we should not be that close to one another. The hair on my neck took a long time to lie down that morning. A family of six flying squirrels came down the tree at dusk, stopped at head level, chattered a bit, then scurried OVER my shoulder, down my shirt, across my leg and over the side of the tree stand. Hair raising not knowing if they intended to bite. A single gray squirrel female became accustomed to my presence in one of her oak trees to the point of week after week of routinely eating acorns from the "Y" of the tree trunk just above my head and without giving me away to the deer and turkeys. In my teens I found an old alligator snapping turtle digging into a creek bank. The neighbor girl, one whom I despirately wanted to date, asked to go along. I got out of the 10-foot boat and with shovel began to dig the hole larger so I could catch the snapper. It reversed direction and with no where to go but between my legs I figured if it bit I would be ruined for life. So, I took it by the tail, slung it over my head and into the boat. The neighbor girl couldn't handle that and exited the boat straight over the stern. I never got that date.

Beers · « **Reply #24 on:** March 14, 2007, 05:04:00 AM »

Quote from: NONYA on March 13, 2007, 08:28:24 AM

you need to shoot those damn dogs!

I thought about it, and could have. I had my "snake charmer" w/ me, but all I could have done w/ that is sting 'em pretty good.. Had they decided to come across the creek things may have been different. Next time I go I'll have a few buckshot loads w/ me, and if I see 'em on my property (I don't own the land across the creek, just what's on my side) they won't live long. Having children and livestock, a pack of stray dogs runnin' on my land is not something I'll tolerate.

Micahn · « **Reply #25 on:** March 14, 2007, 05:53:57 AM »

About 10 years ago I took my wife and youngest child camping in OSCEOLA Fl. It had rained all night long and both of them was not very happy campers lol. So the next morning we went for a drive around the forest to try and see some sort of animals. We came upon some bear tracks walking down the side of the road that was very fresh. Well after a bit they turned off into the woods and by looking at them I sort of figured us coming is what scared it off the road. So dumb old me said lets get out and see if we can see anything lol. Just my wife got out with me and we started walking into the woods a little to see if we could see it. We got maybe 20 feet from the road and was by a large bunch of palmattos (could be spelled wrong) and all of a sudden the smell hit me, You know that smell of a wet animal. About 2 sec later the bear started chomping like they do if they are not very happy. I said to the wife to start backing up slowly and turn around and she is running as fast as she can back to the car lol.
I figured we was within 10 feet of the bear that made the largest bear tracks I have even seen in florida. That was a little to close for me as I was not armed at the time (Had a hand gun in the car) but little good that would have done me there lol.

jpm · « **Reply #26 on:** March 14, 2007, 02:56:52 PM »

:-\This was a little too up close and personal, I was hunting squirrels, about 25 yrs. ago, when a turkey buzzard flew right over me at tree top height. I never knew these things pass about 5 oz. of the most foul smelling stuff on the planet. He got me right on my baseball hat. I'd not like to repeat that, EVER.

roguewolf · « **Reply #27 on:** March 25, 2007, 04:16:45 PM »

as a hunter i have had several close and personal experiences with a multitude of non dangerous game.
my favorite involved a fox that was trotting along a stream that i was bowhunting near. i was on the ground relaxing and taking in the fresh air, when i noticed the fox checking the stream bank for food. he was about 30 yards away, and i decided just for the heck of it to whistle and see what he would do. when he heard the whistle he started coming towards me. well i was in full camo- from head to toe, and figured he would wind me and run off. but to my astonishment this fox ran up to the base of my boots and sat there looking me over. trying to ascertain exactly what i was. we enjoyed each others company for what had to be 10 minutes, when he apparently decided to continue his forage for food- and slowly walked away from me. i could not believe i had just shared this moment with a full grown red fox. nature is amazing, and the sky is the limit once we accept our rightful places within it.

mardrobe · « **Reply #28 on:** March 29, 2007, 12:21:31 PM »

Years ago while in Scouts, I was camping at New Mexico's Philmont Scout Ranch when I was awakened by a slap on my head, thinking it was one of the other scouts I rolled over and looked up to find myself looking at the underside of a Black Bear. The bear walked out of the tent then climbed a tree to get our food supply at which point I got up and took pictures of it. I had a slight scratch from its claws, but I think it was just walking through. On another occasion with Scouts, this time as a leader in Idaho, I was in camp when a scout went down a trail and then came running back screaming with a Cow Moose right behind. I yelled at her as they came by and she turned and we stared each other down at about two feet while he got out of her way. She eventually went on down the trail the way she was heading. I think the most memorable though was calling in a Bull Moose who was with a cow and calf while archery hunting. My son and I ended up with the Bull 30 feet in front of us and the cow and calf 20 feet behind us in the middle of a wheat field. I missed what should have been an easy shot then discovered I had laid my other arrows down during in an earlier confrontation with anti hunters. Though I shot another moose later with a rifle that archery hunt will be remembered more than any hunt I have had to this point.

weasel · « **Reply #29 on:** April 02, 2007, 09:08:06 AM »

One of the guides who used to work for the outfitter I work for was leading several clients thru a thick patch of scub quaking aspen when deer started running all around them. A fawn charging thru the brush ran into one of the hunter's horse. Sterling turned around and said "Well, boys, I can't get you any closer!"