Creature you'd most like to avoid on a trail

[Tricia]

Yep, sticking with mosquitos!
They are a main reason that the caribou migrate in the far north.
Worked AK Dept Fish and Game in the summers in collage on the lower Yukon River. If the wind stopped would occasionally take a boat and tie it up mid river to get away from the bugs just to sleep. And dropping trow in the outhouse was always a fun adventure.
Have scared off bears, moose, wolves, people, but never bugs.

Having grown up in northern Michigan, I can understand that.
Even black flies were horrible on lake shores.

 

[James]

Gator?

Catching one in garbage can

 

[4ster]

Gator?

Catching one in garbage can

Looked like he had done it before. Well done!

 

[Doug Briggs]

I've used a trash can, on trash pickup day, to separate an attacking dog from injuring my dog. I picked up the nearest empty can and pushed it between the two animals. I didn't trap him and dispose of him, though. In keeping with the thread, the huge attacking black dog's name was Bear.

 

[James]

There’s always the frying pan method.

 

[oldschoolskier]

There’s always the frying pan method.

Croc got lucky, the lodge owners wife would have used the cast iron pan, resulting in croc being served for dinner.


Tenderized, cooked and served using just one pan.

 

[martyg]

This is right outside our front porch. I always give a looksee before I let the dog out.

Few things wig me out in the backcountry. Probably the animal that causes me the most concern is an out-of-stater who is carrying a sidearm. And rodents. Nothing can spoil a multi-day backcountry trip like rodents getting into your food and pooping all over it.

 

[James]

Mountain Lion in the condo hallway?
Lionshead at Vail.
No word on if Ricky Bobby has a place there.

 

[4ster]

Mountain Lion in the condo hallway?
Lionshead at Vail.
No word on if Ricky Bobby has a place there.

Is that why it’s called Lionshead?
That could have ended so much worse!

 

[LiquidFeet]

That mountain lion looks thin. Hungry kitty.

 

[James]

Yeah that dog would’ve been a nice meal.

 

[tromano]

Usually you don`t see a puma, even if they are there.

 

[Philpug]

Mountain Lion in the condo hallway?
Lionshead at Vail.
No word on if Ricky Bobby has a place there.

Look at the size of those .... paws.

 

[James]

I just noticed that the time the cat was in there runs over six hours!

 

[Tricia]

I just noticed that the time the cat was in there runs over six hours!

I was actually following the time stamp on the video as well. Kind of nuts.

This was reported two days ago by someone in Northgate not so very far from us.
Not sure if you can see nextdoor links here, but I'll try.

I captured this video on my ring camera night before last.

In my backyard. I’m on Stone Valley Dr. I back up to the walking path. Please be careful. I’m going to report this to Dept. Of Wildlife t...

nextdoor.com

 

[Daniel]

View attachment 212449
That mountain lion looks thin. Hungry kitty.

Here's a video of a lion that's well fed, muscular, agile, and very unhappy with its predicament: https://www.ksl.com/article/3874354...se-of-large-cougar-from-trap-in-southern-utah

 

[4ster]

Usually you don`t see a puma, even if they are there.

I remember when I first moved to Utah attending a wildlife fair at Nordic Valley. During the question and answer portion I asked if I needed to be worried about mountain lions while exploring the surrounding hills on my mountain bike. He answered that I didn’t need to worry much and he doubted that I would ever see one but they were watching me all the time!

 

[Daniel]

I remember when I first moved to Utah attending a wildlife fair at Nordic Valley. During the question and answer portion I asked if I needed to be worried about mountain lions while exploring the surrounding hills on my mountain bike. He answered that I didn’t need to worry much and he doubted that I would ever see one but they were watching me all the time!

The best place I'm aware of locally to see a lion in the wild is the Oquirrh Mountain range, much of which is comprised of land owned by the huge Australian mining conglomerate Rio Tinto. It's purported to have an impressive population whose food source is the large population of mule deer and elk residing there and is where most of my limited sightings have taken place. An acquaintance of mine has the contract to transport the bi-weekly shift change of broadcast engineers by one of his snowcats from the base of the range up to the huge KSL facility on the mountain range's ridgeline during the mid-autumn to mid-spring timeframe. It's from there that most of the local TV and radio station's signals originate and has nice living facilities for the onsite staff. He and his wife, who is the snowcat operator most of the time, see lions often and the area around the road connecting the bench with the ridgeline is littered with bones of critters killed and eaten by the lions.

On a related note, several years ago a lion took up residence on the summit of Solitude's Evergreen Peak during ski season. It caused the closure of the hike-to terrain for ~15 consecutive days, during which two patrollers cautiously ascended the peak each day to verify the lion's whereabouts (usually up in a tree). I've seen two deceased lions roadside during ski/snowboard season in BCC during the past 6 -8 years: one on Torpedo Hill that had been struck by a ski bus and one just below Solitude's Entry 1 that had been hit by a Solitude employee (a woman who was a long time member of the ticket office staff).

Here's another video from southern Utah showing how to release a lion from a leg hold trap (that's not anchored to something solid, making it more dangerous) but without the assistance of a DWR officer:

 

[Tricia]

Here's a video of a lion that's well fed, muscular, agile, and very unhappy with its predicament: https://www.ksl.com/article/3874354...se-of-large-cougar-from-trap-in-southern-utah

I'm not super savvy about how these situations are usually handled, but I wonder if it would make sense to give the puma a mild tranquilizer to make this a little easier and cause less trauma for everyone involved including the cat.

 

[AmyPJ]

I remember when I first moved to Utah attending a wildlife fair at Nordic Valley. During the question and answer portion I asked if I needed to be worried about mountain lions while exploring the surrounding hills on my mountain bike. He answered that I didn’t need to worry much and he doubted that I would ever see one but they were watching me all the time!

From time to time on my bike, I will get this weird feeling that I'm being watched. Probably because I am!