There have been a few wild animal encounters around here over the years. Just to review a few experiences I'll start with.... The raccoon mom and 3 babies looking thru my glass door begging for food. I wish I thought to get my camera. Cute babies but the cats inside the house were upset watching the raccoon lil ones put their little hands up and down on the door . One evening while slug hunting I came around the corner of the garden at dusk and surprised a huge raccoon . He stood up on his haunches like he was Godzilla. He was bigger than my collie. I ran... A bob cat attacked or vice versa, not sure who startled who...my Arab horse. Left huge scratches on his belly. Nothing serious. Called the Vet. Then called the Game department who came out and set traps. They found scat and huge paw prints to set the traps near by. Evidently we discovered the bob cat was sleeping in my artichoke beds. Never caught him. From security cams watched a young coyote happily march up my long driveway and into my garage during the day. Every night we hear coyotes during the fall season howling at night. Enough to keep my furry kids inside. They won't go out . The screams are so close it gives me chills. Was fixing the roof on the barn nailing down a metal section that would not sink down level as I hammered on a nail. So I lifted up the roof section to see what's blocking the nail from sinking and a huge bat flew out nearly causing me to fall off the ladder. Not gonna stop now. I'm on a roll... Had a barn owl nesting in the barn , wouldn't let me in the barn to get to the food bins to feed the horses. Had the game department out again to remove the owl . Was riding one of my horses thru an everyday trail behind my home and spooked a bobcat and from the looks of the rabbit just caught and it was left in the middle of the horse trail. It ran off and left its lunch. UGH... On the way back the rabbit was gone. I ran into a herd of deer on horseback down in the canyon with the most beautiful huge buck I'd ever seen. On horseback you can get closer to wild animals in the woods if you’re really quiet, including the odor of a horse . Only the horse is making noise. Of course I was happy to see such a magnificent buck. I wanted to hide it from my crazy hunting neighbors. But… Soon I came to my senses. Had second thoughts since the deer ate all my lilies, hydrangeas and roses ! There is a herd of elk that like to drop by and feast in the horses pastures and my garden. We wake in the wee hours of the morning to hooves pounding on the pastures shaking the house as the horses run off the elk herd to protect their territory. Next morning horses are gone, the elk busted out the hot wire fencing keeping the horses inside the pastures. Then very early that morning the phone rings from a very irritated neighbor … saying ….”Hey your horses are over here eating thru our garden"! OH-hhh…. And the rabbits, ground squirrels, gophers and moles, need I say more. Well I guess this is a good place to stop. What are some of your experiences with wild animals around your garden? Happy Trails.
Nothing compared to yours Pac!!!! We have ,rabbits, deer, foxes, hedgehogs, squirrels,and bats in the loft. Obviously being surrounded by both farmland, woods with the big lake opposite our property we get a variety of birds that fly over daily to spend their day on the water. We also hear Owls at night outside in the trees. Our area has a lot of Moles, although thankfully not found any signs in our garden for the last 2 years now. We are very prone to getting Wasp or Hornet nests in our garage/ hubs workshop. It also seems to been a favourite dwelling place for Ladybirds too every year. We get a good variety if butterflies and moths. We are very fortunate that we have birds that regularly choose our garden to build their nests and raise there brood ,which I find so facinating to monitor. Oh... we do get a lot of black and red ants in our soil too!! Probably a few more that have slipped my mind right now.
We live in "Suburbia," on the edge of the Mersey Valley, which cuts a swathe through the South Manchester area. There's a water park, nature areas, six golf courses and several sports grounds either side of the river. So although there are plenty of open spaces within half a mile of us, where we live is densely populated. So our only experience of "wild animals" was this. But they were very loveable. I'm digressing here, but the memory came to mind. Stretford, equally as densely populated, the home of Manchester United, is only a few miles away on the Northern edge of the Mersey Valley. Many years ago, our youngest son used to be an estate agent covering part of South Manchester. One day he got a call from a London based property developer. The conversation went like this. "I've been looking at the map of Manchester and I'm interested in any farm properties for sale." "I'm sorry, but we don't have any," "What about in St. Retford?"
Pac— How amazing, all those animals. The list of animals I have are so limited and uninteresting. —small potatoes. Reading about your sightings and encounters is very interesting to me. Oreti— you have an interesting variety over there too. Riley— those kits are adorable to watch.
Quite some adventures, @Pacnorwest! I try to be live-and-let-live as much as I can, while still having a garden. The deer determine a lot of what I do, plus fencing is a big part of dealing with them. They are very effective at overcoming most other protective measures. Deer are the most destructive to gardens. My neighbor's dog was eaten by a cougar. That is a source of a lot of stress around here. I have not seen them. We've lost a lot of fowl to predators. I think, weasels, raccoons and possibly, rats. Hens perch on their roosts, so usually do OK. Ducks are more vulnerable. They have protective housing but once in a while, a predator finds its way in. It's pretty sad when that happens. Mostly, I feel apprehensive about humans. They can be pretty obnoxious and some are downright terrible. Some good ones too, of course. I've learnt to mitigate mole and vole damage, and live with some of that.
Thank you Oreti, DHR for sharing your experiences with wild animals. And Sjoerd come on… I know you have a few bird and mole adventures. It’s so interesting how gardeners know so much more about their gardens, and wild animals more than most other property owners. I appreciate all your stories of your animal encounters . Also appreciate the fact that Britain has taken action to protect and rebuild their forests,which will bring back many forest animals to also forage in your gardens. Now that the winter snow has iced the landscape and surrounding woods it’s pretty incredibly quiet out in the garden and pastures . Kind of twilight zone-ish outside , you can hear a pin drop. Daniel you seem to have a lot of respect for your animals . Protecting them is a high priority . So many animals around us and next to landscape areas or not, that can easily hide sneaky predator's. It is sad when our animals pets are attacked or lost. I had several fish and bottom feeder Hypostomus plecostomus, or catfish in the pond. In one night a band of raccoons ate them all . I was heart broken as they were in the pond for many years. So now I keep a tight fitting screen over the pond. The clapper set up to make noise consistantly kept them away for many years. It was not working at the time of the marauder group attack - raccoons.
I'm happy that I don't have raccoons, ground squirrels or rats. Or venomous snakes. I have wood rats (pack rats) that can destructively make their way to the barn or house from time to time, but they are easily trapped. They usually stay on the mountain. They steal small tools and shiny things, and make a stinky mess. I've been having deer issues in the gardens for the last three years. I think because old Angus is not outside as much, and since an interaction with wolves he is no longer is allowed to sleep outside on the covered porch - although during his prime he preferred his bed out there. I have been able to thwart the deer with inexpensive nylon pea netting. My new go-to best friend. I'm optimistic about mitigating their damage next year. They don't like the feel of the very light netting and it is large enough to cover my exposed gardens. And I can still see through it easily and enjoy the gardens. I'll take the win on that one. I have white tail deer ( only the last 8 years or so - since a forest fire on the other side of the mountain) , they've pushed out the mule deer. I still have some mule deer. The occasional, but rare, elk. Lots of moose ( my apple trees are at their mercy if they find them). Wild rabbits, porcupines, skunks, pine martin, Fischer, and Ermine. Many owls, my faves being Pygmy owls and Great Greys. Eagles, hawks, falcons, and vultures (they also came with the fires). Right now we have an ermine living under the porch that is taking care of the mice and squirrels. Herman the Ermine is my friend ( from a distance - although cute he is still a weasel). Black bear, Bobcat, Lynx, Cougar, Wolves, Coyotes and fox are common. The wolves and cougars are rarely seen. The wolf packs are heard, and their tracks show in the fresh snow quite often. They should be moving down from the mountains soon, following the moose that come out of the high mountain snow. They thrive on hunting in the logging clearings when there is crust on the spring snow). The wolves are beautiful, but my least favourite. Over the decades we've sadly lost a beloved dog to a cougar (protecting our oldest daughter when she was little), a beloved dog to wolves, and some barn animals to a black bear. About five years ago we had a cougar try to attack our large dogs in their run when the snow level was so high that it could jump the fence, but they were unscathed thankfully. It's tough for the cougars to hunt deer in the very deep snow. We pulled up in the truck at just the right time thank goodness. And changed the design of their enclosure. Here are a few photos captured over the years. The apex predators are photographed mostly by chance....not something you think of doing at the time. And they of course are elusive by nature. The deer, bears, and moose are the most problem for the gardens. Ironically, the cow moose are the most dangerous to stumble upon. They are super protective and huge. When we had a cow and calf hanging around close to the house and barn one winter, we sometimes cancelled trips to town until they moved on and bedded down. Also it was a heavy snow and wolf year, so she felt safe having her calf close to the buildings. We enjoyed having them here for the week or two that they were, but we were very careful with ourselves and Angus. This cougar is still hanging around the creek and mountain behind the house, and putting a dent into my deer population that has been eating the gardens. It stays away from people. Buck bonanza. coyote. With the increased wolf population we haven't had many coyotes, but there are a few around again. lynx ( seen through Angus' pen) wake up stretch night time marauder pine marten ( mid size weasel) little bear I wish I had hedgehogs.
We are very rural here, but surrounded by fields rather than forests so the animals mostly stay away from my yard. I do have hoards of bunnies, a groundhog, squirrels, an ermine, and most recently a flock of wild turkeys. Further out there are deer, coyotes, bears, martins, fishers, and the occasional moose. I think there are also wolves, but locals would disagree. Several years ago my daughter and I saw a Cougar not too far from home. I often think of these larger animals when I am out on my dog walks, especially when its dark. New to our area is Bald Eagles. We have lots of different hawks and owls too. I love all the wildlife, just not near my gardens lol
Thank you Melody and Netty for adding your wild animals pics and sightings. Your experiences are quite unique to your surrounding areas. Thank goodness the roaming bears usually stay within the upper mountains here. Occasionally see huge scat lying in the trails from the bears . A lot an interesting types of wildlife to defend your gardens. It takes constant vigilance and a lot of time to deal with so many different wild animals. I am always amazed at how quickly the word spreads thruout the area where the salad bars are located. These animals can smell a dahlia tuber from miles aways, and of course many areas happen to be within the wild animals foraging trails. Caught in the act. A couple years ago the mule deer came up on my backyard fenced in and on to the covered porch and ate all the dahlias and lilies from the pots which I thought were safely grown close to the house. Where were the dogs when you need ‘em?
