Home Forums Miscellaneous Topics Rural Living Things you see....

City folks just don't know what they're missing.

This morning it was in the upper 60's, and I was drinking my coffee while sitting on the porch, looking out across the back yard. Saw something move by a stump and out ran a otter. Crossed my back yard within 35' of me and ran on into the bushes. The nearest creek that keeps water year round is about a mile away, but he was headed in the other direction. There is a wet weather branch a 100 yds or so in the direction it was going.

Over the years, I've trapped several otters and this one was about 2/3's grown.

Never seen an otter in the wild.

I did have an ermine come around the house for awhile though.

Saw an ocelot once while coon hunting.

I like seeing things your don't encounter often!

Barry, I've never seen an ermine or an ocelot, so you're 2 up on me. I hope, one of these days, I get to see a bear in the wild. We have a few in La. and once every few years, one is seen around this part of the country.

Barry,I have never seen ermine, in Texas, have seen them in the Rocky's, . 3 years ago a little kid in Rio Grande City tried to sell me a ocelot kitten, looked to be 2-3 months old, he wanted $200.00 for it. I have seen ocelot here on the ranch, mostly early morning in the dark taking hunters out, catch then in my head lights,

Randy, Never seen an otter here. most otter I have ever seen were in Calif. on the coast. Rio7

A few weeks ago I stepped out of the cabin and heard a "woof". There not 20 yards away was a sow and a cub. She allowed me to head back in to grab my iPhone while the cub rocketed into the woods.

I have seen a couple of otters here, and there is a season on them, but I didn't kill them. Have seen a few mink in the wild, and caught a large one in a trap after it had killed several chickens. I have seen bears in the Smokies, and in the Shenandoah Forrest. One was spotted in the county I live in a few years ago, and there are lots of them in Eastern Kentucky, on the other side of the state.

Blue, I should have been more clear.

The one I saw was in NM.

What was surprising was that it wasn't in the mountains, but in the desert flats. It was winter colored, too... White.

We are in the southeast Arizona desert and elevation ranges from about 3,000 to 5,000 feet. Saw a bear one time along side a wash and what appeared to be a very dark brown or black mountain lion crossed a wash in front of me.

I've mentioned this before, but it is still great. A number of years ago, the DNR imported some otters to be released at the Chelsea Marsh. It was a big event, covered by local news. A cameraman knelt down in perfect position to film an otter as it was released form its cage. It came rocketing out, bit the cameraman, and headed into the marsh.

Worked stream surveys on the N coast of Cali in the 90's. One of the wildlife guys on that crew worked with fishers. I got to help him release a trapped one after working it up for his grad study.

Fast forward a few years, on my way to work in NW PA. Gravel road about 6 miles to get to work from the hiway. Something crosses the road in front of me, headed toward the river. Too small for river otter which aren't all that to fishers, too big for a mink. I say to self, that's a friggen fisher, but I don't think they have them here.

Fast fwd a few months, I'm at a conference with PA G&F, talk to the local guy. Told him I think I saw a fisher, and described my experience in Cali with them. He immediately gets very excited and asks just where did I see it. I gave him location. He said that's cool, we released some about 20 miles away a few years back to help control porcupine populations, we didn't know they'd spread so far.

Lotta porkies there, and a lot of woods for them to use. Food and habitat will do it every time.

Oh, stopped at a rest area on the 2 lane road from coastal Cali to Grants Pass OR. Look over, see something moving. Say to self, is that a cat? it comes around the building for the restroom and it's a dang Pine Marten. First one of them I'd ever seen not on a TV screen.

While out riding my mule in a secluded area. I came around a clump of trees and there was couple going at it buck naked. She was making enough noise they never heard me.Looked and sounded like they were getting close to finish,so I backed out of there without them seeing me or saying any thing.

I'd rather have my balls pounded with a wooden hammer..........

than live in a bigger town than I do now......

Out my back door.......

Saw a wolverine once.


Humpity humpity humping along.....

That would make my day, week, month, maybe even year.

For years , I have had people ask me if we have bears, here on the ranch? my answer was there ain't no bears in Texas, then a few years ago I was in Big Bend, parked beside the road, my dog needed to go out so we walk up a path about 200 yards just looking around, came around a tree and there was a bear sitting on a rock about 30 yards away, we sat down on a rock beside the trail and looked at each other for awhile, then the bear wandered off. Talked to a park ranger he said they had about 30 bears in the park. I had been telling people wrong for years. Rio7

I have seen a few otter in the Red Water river in western South Dakota. We have a few mink around too, some are on our place and probably live in the marsh on the upper end of our irrigation reservoir. They are chocolate brown with a small white chest patch.

how about this cute little guy ?

Just don't pizz him off

What is that?

Pop! Goes the weasel!

i live on a creek off of the ICW came home one afternoon in the boat and seal was laying up on the bank sunning it's self. i was like what the fugg had to be at least 5/ 6 hundred miles south of were it should be

After growing up in West Texas, living in NM for years, and generally being away from the coast, I remember seeing a dolphin was a pretty big deal.

Still pretty neat.

Alligator about 12 miles off coast of Fourchon, LA.

Looking off the rig, thought it was a driftwood log... got close enough i could make out a gator.

He prolly didn’t make it back.

Today, sandhill crane, blue heron, osprey, three bald eagles. Cussed at three out of four.... .

Seen, and trapped quite a few otters over the years. Occupational hazard. Had a mink last year, the dogs got that one. It’s good to be reminded how “abnormal” our lives really are.

Your partridge dogs get that stinky minky?

Some are pretty good sized, I think all three of our whippets could take one, but in a 1 on 1 situation I'd bet on the mustelid.

One lab, one partridge dog..... the lab being young and dumb and full of...... got it first and there was a yip or two. The second dog shortened the game considerably. I was surprised how big it was, but we have a couple of mink farms around, so we get all manner of colors and sizes come by.

I always thought otters were cute...............until I started buying fish to stock our pond. They will clean out a pond in no time. There is a 160 acre lake about 2 miles from me and a couple of weeks ago one of the care takers told me they killed 4 in one day. Havent seen any since. Smart little fuggers..........if your lucky you can get one shot at them.

Didnt know an otter was a mustelid.

+

Yep, they run all humpty up when on land like that wolverine you saw.

Otters used to be the bane of may existence, back when I ran a trout farm. Dogs actually cornered a yearling (on dry ground), and it was fascinating to see how they would feign, alternatively, and wear that big weasel out in a matter of minutes. Without intervention, it would not have ended well for the otter.

Otters typically travel in family groups on a 2 to 3 week circuit. So if you chase them off, they'll be back, like clockwork around two weeks or so later. If they get any kind of pressure, they go nocturnal, and then you never get another crack at them.

When I was at the farm, I had a native trapper (because of restrictions on take for round eyes), and the biggest one she pulled out of the farm was a 6'3" female. She was a trout fed mama that lived to her full potential!

But to just be able to watch them fooling around in the river was a joy. They are amazing animals.

Yeah Dutch, they can be a pain.

Boss at one place I worked was worried they were working their way upriver. Some trapper he knew had caught a few downstream. Figured it was only a matter of time before they got to our place. He was seriously worried about the 7-10 year old lake trout broodstock, in the prime of their egg production. A 6' otter could easily manage one of them, and likely more for the family.

Not as exotic as otters and bears, but this little character has been hanging around the farm the last several days. We have an island on our pond, and he walks across the bridge to the island. Once on the island he will lay down, and snooze for a good part of the day.

Fiesty little ___________

That prairie dog will make a few tasty meals for it!

Its been a while since I have seen a mink here, but in the spring they are everywhere. See at least one or two every day. Only seen one otter lately, had to chase it out of our raceway. He has a few more months until I'll take care of him, unless we get our nuisance permit renewed. Lots of bears around.

A doe, and her fawn just north of the road yesterday.

Saw the first bunny on the place on Saturday! Apparently rooming with the skunk under the tool shed..... first one I’ve seen since I started the farm in ‘99.

Needed some diesel for the tractor, so I took the wifey along, so she could get an ice cream sandwich. On the way back, we took the back roads and saw 3 deer in 3 different places. All this about 12:30 in the afternoon. Deer were out in the middle of the day.

Did not see it, but from the sounds of it we had a bobcat in the yard the other night.
Sure did have the house cat looking for a better place to hide!

Today we had the trifecta. Elk, deer and turkeys in the meadow/orchard, all accompanied by this year's youngsters. We laugh when they get in the irrigation ditch (elk and deer) and splash around. They seem to have accepted our presence most of the time, then at others they quietly blend into the brush and are gone.

It's a wonderful life.

PA is slap covered UP in fishers. The entire state.

The PGC re-introduced them in the early or mid '90's to the northern tier.................... McKean, Elk, Potter, Tioga counties. Maybe a few others. But at the same time, fishers were migrating on their own into SW PA from West Virginia and Maryland.

They're friggin' everywhere, now.

Otters are expanding pretty rapidly throughout the state, too. Mink and weasels are our only other mustelids.............except an occasional rumor of a pine marten.

Looking out the window on any given day, it's usually just the garden variety of whitetails, turkeys, cottontails, gray or fox squirrels and groundhogs. Lotta black bears around............some DAMNED big ones..........see a couple a year in the daylight. And for the last 15 or so years we've had an awful lot of bald eagles residing and nesting nearby. It's pretty common to look up and see old White Head.