I went out for a hike today, was walking along a pretty large creek in a wildlife refuge I usually like to go target shoot at--also a good elk hunting spot apparently. I saw a cougar on the other side coming down to drink some water. Not sure how far away he was, but with the water rushing by and the distance he didn't know I was watching him the whole time. I didn't think to get a picture, though at that distance my camera wouldn't have got a good pic anyway. I was psyched, that's the first time I've ever seen one inside of a few hundred yards. Was a little scared to be honest, but I reasoned that I probably wasn't in any real immediate danger. Just watched him and then decided to walk back out into the clearing asap and go on home--best not to temp fate, and I had my fun.
Anyway, wondering what kind of critters these belong to... Looks like some elk scat, but then up on the top and left to it not so much. Maybe from a coyote or dog of some kind? Looks odd to me...
Then also found this carcass, or at least what is left of it. If I had to guess I'd say it was a young elk cafe. The inner diameter in the vertebrae is smaller than I've seen in other elk remains that were nearby. Some hunters left a few carcasses from the spring in the field, and scavengers have spread those all about now. This one was inside of some thick woods though, and just doesn't seem like it belonged to anything as large as an elk, but I don't know what else would be around there be be preyed on. Maybe a deer, but I've never actually seen deer here.
Also I'm wondering... Does anyone think it's weird that this scat was just on top of this plastic bag like this? I certainly didn't pile it up on top of that or anything... I'm wondering, maybe someone that came along before me did? It just seems really unlikely that two different types of scat would make it on top of the same plastic bag. So maybe it's from the same animal? *shrugs*
It's interesting to me to wonder if the cougar I saw is what killed and ate the carcass I saw... I love walking through this place and seeing the bones on the ground, and now I've seen the predator with my own eyes. Really makes me feel like I'm in the wild, versus other places in the woods I've been where there's basically no signs of life. Out here I can't walk more than 10 feet without walking through some scat pile, can't go a few hundred yards without seeing a carcass, and finally today I got confirmation that this place is REALLY wild. Best part is, it's only 100 yards away from the road, and maybe 10 miles out of town.
Anyway, wondering what kind of critters these belong to... Looks like some elk scat, but then up on the top and left to it not so much. Maybe from a coyote or dog of some kind? Looks odd to me...
Then also found this carcass, or at least what is left of it. If I had to guess I'd say it was a young elk cafe. The inner diameter in the vertebrae is smaller than I've seen in other elk remains that were nearby. Some hunters left a few carcasses from the spring in the field, and scavengers have spread those all about now. This one was inside of some thick woods though, and just doesn't seem like it belonged to anything as large as an elk, but I don't know what else would be around there be be preyed on. Maybe a deer, but I've never actually seen deer here.
Also I'm wondering... Does anyone think it's weird that this scat was just on top of this plastic bag like this? I certainly didn't pile it up on top of that or anything... I'm wondering, maybe someone that came along before me did? It just seems really unlikely that two different types of scat would make it on top of the same plastic bag. So maybe it's from the same animal? *shrugs*
It's interesting to me to wonder if the cougar I saw is what killed and ate the carcass I saw... I love walking through this place and seeing the bones on the ground, and now I've seen the predator with my own eyes. Really makes me feel like I'm in the wild, versus other places in the woods I've been where there's basically no signs of life. Out here I can't walk more than 10 feet without walking through some scat pile, can't go a few hundred yards without seeing a carcass, and finally today I got confirmation that this place is REALLY wild. Best part is, it's only 100 yards away from the road, and maybe 10 miles out of town.
