Close Encounters, no the other kind

[Norwestr55]

Late afternoon one deer season on a nice sunny day I decided to watch a little box canyon that I'd seen some does in a number of times. I made my way 15-20yds down the slope and found a nice stump to lean against where I had a good view of the bottom. I could hear somebody target practicing miles away and very faintly a chainsaw running off in the distance. I had just gotten settled and was thinking that the shadows were getting pretty long when it started. Up at the top there was a stand of alders that I'd walked past and I start hearing what sounded like a low moaning noise coming from it. Oh ****! I listened for a second to make sure I wasn't imagining it, and then said something intelligent like, "uh hello, is somebody there?" It stopped and I thought OK, I was hearing things! Then I realized that the chainsaw revving noise was still in the distance but getting louder. And then the moaning started up again, louder also. Now the hair on my neck is standing up and I'm thinking oh crap, I think I saw this movie at dollar night at the drive in the early '70's.

I was starting to get up to see if there was somebody hurt up there when I noticed the brush is moving, a little ways down hill from me. What the? The chainsaw revving noise is getting closer too but its still kind of faint sounding. All of a sudden a big Porcupine comes waddling out of the brush right in front of my feet, and doesn't even bother to sniff them or me,just goes around me close enough to touch, heading for that stand of alders. And that chainsaw revving noise was coming from him. Evidently that was his girlfriend or wannabe in the alders singing a porcupine love song.

Probably the worst (or could have been) wild life encounter I've had was right in my kitchen 6-7 months ago. There's an over grown brushy area on the other side of my backyard fence. Every once in awhile a possum or two take up residence in there and if you leave the cat door or the patio door open one of the little SOBs will be in here eating cat food. Chase 'em out once and its no problem until the next one moves in. I woke up right before the alarm went off one morning and heard some catfood crunching going on in the kitchen. I knew it wasn't the cat because it was a lot louder and the lazy cat is never awake at that time anyway. Its a possum again! Throw my pants on and come busting into the kitchen yelling "get outta here you little sonuva....SKONK!!!! (in my best Rancid Crabtree voice) At that point I headed for the living room at a sprint yelling NOOOOO!! at the top of my lungs. Thankfully the skunk was doing the same heading for the cat door. I'm not sure which of us was more scared but I'd bet the rent money that it was probably me. I didn't need any coffee that morning, already wide awake and shakylike. Needless to say the cat door doesn't get left open anymore.

 

[mjbskwim]

I swear I hear my dog door flapping about 4 times a night and I don't hear the dogs nails clicking on the floor

 

[Norwestr55]

I swear I hear my dog door flapping about 4 times a night and I don't hear the dogs nails clicking on the floor

 

[Sgt Nambu]

^^^^ Trick r treat!

 

[jbett98]

40 years ago I moved from the Portland suburbs to a remote cabin located next to the North Fork of Eagle Creek, up off of SE Wildcat Mountain Rd.
I had to park my car a 1/4 mile away from the cabin and walk in along side the creek.
One summer evening I was walking back uphill to my cabin after having dinner with a neighbor, when I saw a very large cat like animal standing right in front of my car and starring down at my closest neighbors house, whose black lab was barking up a storm.
I was wearing moccasins and hadn't made any sounds, so I just stopped and stared at the animal trying to figure out what it was.
It had large pointy ears, a stump of a tail and the really tall hind legs.
Being a city boy, it took me a minute to figure out it was a big male bobcat and right about that time it's nose did a fast twitchy movement just like Samantha on the TV show Bewitch.
He slowly turned it's head towards me and his eye's got real big after seeing me standing there 10' from him.
He literally jumped straight up in the air and twisted himself 180* by the time he hit the ground running.
I've never seen anything move that fast.

 

[teflon6string]

40 years ago I moved from the Portland suburbs to a remote cabin located next to the North Fork of Eagle Creek, up off of SE Wildcat Mountain Rd.
I had to park my car a 1/4 mile away from the cabin and walk in along side the creek.
One summer evening I was walking back uphill to my cabin after having dinner with a neighbor, when I saw a very large cat like animal standing right in front of my car and starring down at my closest neighbors house, whose black lab was barking up a storm.
I was wearing moccasins and hadn't made any sounds, so I just stopped and stared at the animal trying to figure out what it was.
It had large pointy ears, a stump of a tail and the really tall hind legs.
Being a city boy, it took me a minute to figure out it was a big male bobcat and right about that time it's nose did a fast twitchy movement just like Samantha on the TV show Bewitch.
He slowly turned it's head towards me and his eye's got real big after seeing me standing there 10' from him.
He literally jumped straight up in the air and twisted himself 180* by the time he hit the ground running.
I've never seen anything move that fast.

That reminds me JBett, in the early 90's I got pretty close to a bobcat on my mountain bike. This was in San Diego where I was mostly cautious about rattlers, seeing one or two fatties just about every time I rode. Even at a safe distance they always made my butt pucker.

Anyway, I saw this harmless looking little gray cat 70-80 yards away in a meadow and rode closer for a better look. At half that distance, I realized he was pretty damn big, actually, and not budging or blinking. Just stood his ground, giving me the Manson lamps. I decided not to turn my back and sort of angled away instead.

So what's the deal with bobcats? I still don't know a thing about them. What if I didn't notice he was there and kept closing on him? Any danger there?

 

[Norwestr55]

SNIP
So what's the deal with bobcats? I still don't know a thing about them. What if I didn't know he was there and kept closing on him? Any danger there?

I'd guess that as long as it wasn't cornered or sick (rabies) it'd probably turn and go the other way.

Back when I was still dumb enough to smoke, I went out on the patio to have one around 2:30 AM after work. I heard something up in the neighbors big ponderosa pine tree and thought that sounds like a BIG coon. Grabbed a flash light and shone it up in the tree about 15 ft up and there was a bobcat looking back at me making kind of a low growling sound. I decided I was done with my smoke. I live just 2 blocks off from main street. Must have been slim pickings and it came into town to snag a cat or little dog.

 

[eldbillbo]

One year while my we were deer hunting my dad was sitting perfectly still and a young spike bull elk came out of the woods and started grazing about 7 feet from my dad . My dad watched him then the bull caught scent or something and started looking at my dad who was still perfectly still a moment later my dad jumped up and let out a loud bark the bulls legs about collapsed in fear as my dad scared the pee pee out of it he said the look on its face was priceless as it was trying to regain its balance to run away.

The closest thing I have done to that was when i was a teenager on my second hunt I was watching a meadow and a small heard of 11 does came and started grazing about 25 yards in front of me the head doe noticed me and started staring at me as I stared at it . We stared for a while then i figured no buck was going to join this crowed but Instead of trying to scare the pee out of them I just said Hey and they all scattered.

 

[teflon6string]

You guys are conjuring up my critter memories, especially with your dog/cat door anecdotes.

My GF's 2 "free-range" cats come and go through cat doors at both ends of her garage. One's a relentless bird & mouse hunter leaving piles of feathers at least weekly, sometimes daily. You'd think the birds would acknowledge some sort of no-fly zone around here.

Sometimes neighbor cats let themselves in, and she's come home to "cat meetings" ... 3 of them sitting in the living room glaring at each other.

The worst episode was when a mortally wounded homeless cat came in and leaked infection juice into her old couch, which we "donated" to the dump. F__ing disgusting in such a nice home, but she loves her critters.

 

[PaulB47]

I was sitting on a stump on my neighbor's tree farm (near Sheridan, Or) and a doe and her young one came up to eat some acorns. The wind was blowing perfectly from them to me, and I didn't move, so they had no clue I was there even though they came within about 15 feet of where I was sitting. They would go down and get an acorn, and then come up and look around as they crunched it in their mouths, then go to get another. Anyway after a while I wondered if I could get my rifle on her (it was on my lap). So I started very slowly bringing it up, stopping when one of them looked in my direction. I eventually got it shouldered and pointed at her. She never knew it. Then I did the same thing in reverse, until I finally got it back on my lap again. Then the wind shifted around, and they were out of there like a shot!

I've seen a bobcat just outside my garage where I live now. Several scrapes too where he polishes his claws. Someone in the neighborhood said there was a mountain lion too, but I think one of my neighbors must have shot it, because it is no longer here.

Oh, one time on the dude ranch when I was splitting some firewood, I looked up in the tree I was working near, and there was one of those martens or fishers, not sure which, sitting there watching me. I never saw one of those in the wild before or since.

I also almost hit a grizzly sow and her cubs on the road up to Pahaska Teepee once.

 

[bbbass]

Many years ago, I was hunting elk at Big Sheep Creek (NE of Joseph, OR) when I spotted a herd of elk running in a clearing parallel to the trail I was on. As I angled to get a better view to get a shot at a bull, a cow elk came running out of the brush right in front of me. She barely stopped in time to avoid crushing me, but still one hoof landed on my toe. Still can't get the nail to grow on that one. Dang!

 

[mjbskwim]

Many years ago, I was hunting elk at Big Sheep Creek (NE of Joseph, OR) when I spotted a herd of elk running in a clearing parallel to the trail I was on. As I angled to get a better view to get a shot at a bull, a cow elk came running out of the brush right in front of me. She barely stopped in time to avoid crushing me, but still one hoof landed on my toe. Still can't get the nail to grow on that one. Dang!

How far did she jump when you screamed?

 

[Vendor Hidden]

Out back walking with the dogs in the woods. Lots of pines. The trail is the same trail we hike just about every day. My head is on a swivel, looking for deer, elk or moose.

I'm walking under one of the pines, and the morning silence is ripped by a diabolical scream. High pitch. Like a demon from hell. Loud as heck. Makes the hair on my back leap up, and the scalp on my former hairy noggin go all goose pimply. I jump and duck at the same time – I hurt my back.

Once I stopped running, I looked back at the tree and about 5 feet above my head was a juvenile screech owl. I think it just left the nest, with loose white feathers sticking out all over. it looked like teenager forced out of bed in the morning. I think he/she was angry with Momma and took it out on me.

So I adapted my ritual and now include "up and down" to my normal "side to side" awareness.

 

[bbbass]

How far did she jump when you screamed?

We both screamed like a little girl!!!

 

[Andy54Hawken]

We had a cute furry guest at one of our local rendezvous a few years ago...
Not really a "close encounter of the wild kind" ... But more of the mild kind.
Andy