Animal life around Fahnestock State Park

[DCT]

Check out the pictures in this article. I was skiing at Fahnestock today and the workers were talking about the video camera they
setup. Watch out for the bobcats!

Trail Camera Reveals Hidden Wildlife in Fahnestock Park | Philipstown.info – Cold Spring – Beacon

[Brandon White]

Seeing a bobcat in real life is kind of scary. I was climbing up a mountain pass with Matt in Georgia when this enormous cat like creature starts crossing the road about 60 ft. in front of us. I say "What the F is that?" and Matt all like "Uh, that's a bobcat". We kept going and hoped it wouldn't pounce on us once it dove into the rock wall shrubbery.

[DCT]

well a bunch of us ride near Fahnestock in the spring, summer, and fall so i guess this is motivation to
not be the last guy up on the dirt road climb.

i've never seen a bobcat, but i would be terrified if i was by myself and encountered one!

[joosttx]

I saw this bobcat this summer, I think I posted it in a ride report. It wasn't so scary as interesting. I saw a mountain lion when we first moved out here. That was scary.

Back in grad school we did the same thing except only gave insects and smaller critters access to the dead animals. The time lapsed video was awesome. Thanks for sharing. I love this stuff.

[Mabouya]

I hate to say this, but the symbol of our country doesn't look terribly impressive there, feeding off carrion.

[joosttx]

I hate to say this, but the symbol of our country doesn't look terribly impressive there, feeding off carrion.

I think Updike wrote in Run Rabbit Run, that my generation will be lucky to get the crumbs from the table of the American dream.

[newellbt]

Having pitched a tent in that area, alone-- Yikes!

[jonathanb]

I hate to say this, but the symbol of our country doesn't look terribly impressive there, feeding off carrion.

That'a why Ben Franklin opposed its use and wanted the owl to be our national symbol instead.

[spopepro]

That'a why Ben Franklin opposed its use and wanted the owl to be our national symbol instead.

I hate to be that guy on the internet, but it wasn't an owl, but a turkey. And he wasn't really putting it forward as a serious suggestion:

“For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. You may have seen him perched on some dead Tree near the River, where, too lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him.

With all this injustice, he is never in good case but like those among men who live by sharping & robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the district. He is therefore by no means a proper emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our country…

“I am on this account not displeased that the Figure is not known as a Bald Eagle, but looks more like a Turkey. For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America… He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.”

[jonathanb]

At least someone's paying attention!

[rydesteel]

In Illinois the DNR is just starting to admit to the amount of predators we have. I've seen tracks from Bobcat's, had a Coyote den in the woods behind the house, heard a wolf howl one night (my Lab woke up came over and hid behind me, when she went out later for a nature call I was prepared), there have been several sightings/killings of Mountain lions, and a few Black bears have been spotted a couple counties north of me. Most of it is about prey/food there are more wild deer today then when the America's were settled. We killed most of the predators, and planted food plots for the prey. the Trickster/Coyote is one of the most opportunistic scavengers in the world, we tried to kill them all didn't happen. BTW our Eagle count last year was over 2,500 in the QC area when we moved here in 69 an Eagle made front page news. As soon as the Mississippi freezes the Eagles start heading south. Cool to see but Scavengers all the way. Nature is a cool mistress, I don't have to faster than the bear after all ;>).

[vertical_doug]

well a bunch of us ride near Fahnestock in the spring, summer, and fall so i guess this is motivation to
not be the last guy up on the dirt road climb.

i've never seen a bobcat, but i would be terrified if i was by myself and encountered one!

I guess this means I am bait.

[monadnocky]

Right now in NH there's a debate that has descended into downright nastiness regarding whether or not there are mountain lions here. I went to a presentation regarding this a few years back - I thought the fellow presenting it was a wildlife biologist, but instead it was presented by some guy who was convinced that the local authorities were conspiring to keep the fact away from the public that mountain lions are here in NH and VT. It just got worse and worse in terms of nuttiness and paranoia (his explanations on why NH Fish & Wildlife would want to hide this from the public were downright crazy), but people were totally falling for it.

He presented a slideshow of mountain lions - very nice pics pulled from the Web, most with dramatic CA or Rocky Mountain landscapes in the background.

He also claimed that he saw mountain lions in and around NH "about once a week," but could not provide a picture of one, or of a footprint, remains, scat, anything. No evidence whatsoever and a roomful of people walked out convinced that there are several hundred mountain lions in NH.

I did, however, see a bobcat crossing Route 10 in Gilsum NH a few years back. Confused me at first because my brain just kept saying "cats don't get that big" before I realized it wasn't a domestic cat. Bigger than I thought they were. S/he just looked at me, kind of shrugged, and kept on walking across the road.

Really, one of the greatest pleasures I have while riding- seeing stuff like this that I otherwise would never see.

[defspace]

Really, one of the greatest pleasures I have while riding- seeing stuff like this that I otherwise would never see.

I do a lot of my riding at night, after work. It doesn't happen often, but it's a real treat to see coyotes. I immediately go on "dog alert" when I see one, but once they move it's obvious that they're not dogs. I haven't seen one this year, I hope I get to before the time changes. Beautiful creatures.

[bcm119]

Right now in NH there's a debate that has descended into downright nastiness regarding whether or not there are mountain lions here. I went to a presentation regarding this a few years back - I thought the fellow presenting it was a wildlife biologist, but instead it was presented by some guy who was convinced that the local authorities were conspiring to keep the fact away from the public that mountain lions are here in NH and VT. It just got worse and worse in terms of nuttiness and paranoia (his explanations on why NH Fish & Wildlife would want to hide this from the public were downright crazy), but people were totally falling for it.

He presented a slideshow of mountain lions - very nice pics pulled from the Web, most with dramatic CA or Rocky Mountain landscapes in the background.

He also claimed that he saw mountain lions in and around NH "about once a week," but could not provide a picture of one, or of a footprint, remains, scat, anything. No evidence whatsoever and a roomful of people walked out convinced that there are several hundred mountain lions in NH.

I did, however, see a bobcat crossing Route 10 in Gilsum NH a few years back. Confused me at first because my brain just kept saying "cats don't get that big" before I realized it wasn't a domestic cat. Bigger than I thought they were. S/he just looked at me, kind of shrugged, and kept on walking across the road.

Really, one of the greatest pleasures I have while riding- seeing stuff like this that I otherwise would never see.

I'll bite (no pun intended)-- what would the consequences be if there were mtn lions in NH? They are very shy animals, and there are very few cases of conflict with humans, esp. in low population density areas. Black bears seem like a far greater nuisance. I'm sure you know all this, just wondering what this guy's issue was.

[monadnocky]

I'll bite (no pun intended)-- what would the consequences be if there were mtn lions in NH? They are very shy animals, and there are very few cases of conflict with humans, esp. in low population density areas. Black bears seem like a far greater nuisance. I'm sure you know all this, just wondering what this guy's issue was.

I have no idea, really. He came across as a wildlife enthusiast with a large streak of conspiracy theorist. There's actually a good number of people who believe that, for some bizarre reason, state Fish and Wildlife agencies across New England are conspiring to hide the fact that there are mountain lions (hundreds and hundreds of them) around here. The rationale is so convoluted and bizarre I can't even elucidate it. Lots of these people state that they see mountain lions all the time, despite not being able to offer any evidence of seeing one - not a picture (you know, nobody has a cell phone these days), not a tuft of hair, not some shit, not a print, nothing. And nobody outside of these "believers" has ever seen one, including a die-hard wildlife guy I know, who has spent more time in the NH woods than anyone on the planet.

A friend of mine swears that she saw one at a friend's house, on top of her shed's roof, stalking the llamas her friend owns. She stated she watched it for several minutes. I asked why she didn't get a pic, and her answer was that she "forgot." Mind you, one picture would have been like getting a photograph of the second shooter near the grassy knoll around here.

As for NH, state personnel admit that there may have been one or two mountain lions in the state somewhere, and there was definitely was one that was a confirmed escaped "pet" that lasted years in the wild.

I don't get the "conspiracy" mindset. It's very odd to me.

[s_curran]

Right now in NH there's a debate that has descended into downright nastiness regarding whether or not there are mountain lions here. I went to a presentation regarding this a few years back - I thought the fellow presenting it was a wildlife biologist, but instead it was presented by some guy who was convinced that the local authorities were conspiring to keep the fact away from the public that mountain lions are here in NH and VT. It just got worse and worse in terms of nuttiness and paranoia (his explanations on why NH Fish & Wildlife would want to hide this from the public were downright crazy), but people were totally falling for it.

He presented a slideshow of mountain lions - very nice pics pulled from the Web, most with dramatic CA or Rocky Mountain landscapes in the background.

He also claimed that he saw mountain lions in and around NH "about once a week," but could not provide a picture of one, or of a footprint, remains, scat, anything. No evidence whatsoever and a roomful of people walked out convinced that there are several hundred mountain lions in NH.

I did, however, see a bobcat crossing Route 10 in Gilsum NH a few years back. Confused me at first because my brain just kept saying "cats don't get that big" before I realized it wasn't a domestic cat. Bigger than I thought they were. S/he just looked at me, kind of shrugged, and kept on walking across the road.

Really, one of the greatest pleasures I have while riding- seeing stuff like this that I otherwise would never see.

I grew up about 30 min north of Boston. One day we were building trails and saw a massive "cat", thinking it was a mountain lion or bobcat, turns out we were right, there had been some reports of it crossing through town, and supposedly made our local DH trails its home.

One of the coolest things I've ever experienced was following a fox down one of the downhill trails, it saw me near the top, took off and I followed him down some single track going pretty fast for 30 seconds or so, felt like an eternity.

[bcm119]

Cool. The author of that article was my middle school science teacher. He's a pretty well known naturalist in that area.

[Tom]

A guy at work hunts deer and set one up in a state forest where he had a permit and got some great pictures and video of bears. He emailed Encon to ask if they knew there were bear there and they were really interested. They said they had no idea so he sent them some of the pictures and video. I forget the place, it's sort of down by Cherry Valley or somewhere like that.

One video was really great, the bear is walking by and notices the camera. It stops short and comes over to investigate and at one point the picture is nothing but bear nose and the lens fogs up.

[kentinmania]

Awesome stuff. Can't believe you have that kind of wild life so close to big cities.