No Kid Can Resist a Mud Puddle.

[WapitiTalk1]

Fun time for this youngster. I had a calf come into a dry wallow right before dark last year doing the same thing.. It was a good evening. Enjoy.

[Huntrgathr]

I really like that video. Hunting isn't always about killing something. Sometimes it's just as rewarding to see a rare sight in nature. One evening, under a gorgeous sunset I watched a couple of fawns chase quail around in the brush. They went on for maybe 20 minutes chasing the quail back and forth, back and forth. They were having so much fun just being kids. It gives me even more respect for our quarry to see that they have the capacity for play and enjoyment. They're not just "dumb animals". Thanks for sharing Rory !

[Harmy]

I agree with you Huntrgathr. I have had several experiences which have really impacted me. First was similar to yours and involved a heard of about 10 mule deer. There were three fairly small fawns playing around. They would jump over each other, essentially playing leap frog. They got a bit aggressive and bumped a few of the older does who seemed to get angry and reprimand the children. So, the kids moved down the hill and continued to play leap frog. Jumping around much like this young elk in the mud hole but actually jumping over the top of each other. It was like they were double dog daring each other to jump higher and farther. I laughed so hard they finally heard me and ran off. I was bummed that I interrupted them but also was so happy to have witnessed this interaction. They were obviously having a lot of fun. My second interaction involved hunting mule deer with my muzzelloader a few years ago. While moving through the timber to get to my ground blind I witnessed a bobcat a few hundered yards away. I had never seen one before and was very psyched to have seen this animal in the wild. About an hour or so later I was sitting on my perch watching this hollow below me for deer and expecting them to come into the opening as dusk fell. As I sat on this small ridge I saw the bobcat intersecting the ridge and begin to approach my position. I was in full camo with face mask and gloves. The bobcat slowly came to within about 10 feet of me and stopped as he could see my eyes but had no clue what I was. He froze for many seconds. I finally lurched my body and the cat freaked out and jumped straight up and grabbed an aspen about 10 feet above me. He was totally scared. I took off my face mask and started to say "hello kitty cat. I won't hurt you and you can come down". Damn, if that cat didn't climb right down. He then proceeded to do a complete 360 walk around me. This took about 20 minutes. He would step, sniff, look me up and down, hang his tongue out, and mewl. He was only 5 feet away from the the whole time. Of course, I was standing and faced him the whole time (with gun on him-not that I would have been quick enough). Once he finished his super slow circle around me he simply walked off. I was so completely amazed I completely forgot what I was doing there and took three steps back to my seat and the meadow below me erupted with several nice bucks bounding away. I could care less. I just packed up and went home with several hours of daylight remaining and gladly ate tag soup that season.

[Lefty]

Ive had numberous uniqe wildlife interactions.
I called a fox into my wife while swan hunting She wiggled her toes in her boots and the fox pounced.
Called another fox to the edge of the goose pit,. my face 2 feet away
Walked up on a huge bull moose with his ladies,... Certianly the dominate bull I wanted nothing to do with, and the glare was more than intimidating
Watched a rabbit and crow play tag
Fox and lamb play tag
fawns and young cranes
different birds of prey messing with bald eagles
bald eagles flying over ducks just to mess with them
and a few young tough guy coyotes that was to mess with what-ever I am
Last week had apair of coyotes hassling my dogs, the bitch is hanging on a stretcher

[WapitiTalk1]

Great outdoor stories gentlemen. Here's a couple of mine:

1. Saw a wet doe up the Yaak River drainage in MT have a sneeze attack. Not sure if she had been stung on the nose or what, but she sneezeed at least 50 times and kept rubbing her nose with her front hoove.. Cracked me up.

2. While fishing with a buddy on the Kootenai River in MT, we saw a goose set it's wings and "land" in an Osprey's nest, 40+ feet up on top of an old fir snag. We looked at each other and both swore we didn't see that occur .

3. While fishing in Puget Sound a few years ago, my buddy, his boy, and myself were trolling for salmon right before mid day. Well, the bite had slowed down and the late morning sun was warming things up... The rhythmic hum of the merc 4 stroke kicker was very soothing as we kicked back, enjoying the day and half heartedly watched our poles hooked to the downriggers... Then a huge "SMACK" on the water, 30 yards away made us all darn near jump out of our skin. We saw a half dead salmon, probably 14-16 inches long, trying to get his swim on.. Matt's son spotted the bald eagle, way, way up in the sky who had obviously lost his grip on the immature king salmon and dropped it right by the boat.

[Huntrgathr]

It's crazy how differently animals will behave towards you if they don't see you as a threat. Ever noticed how if you're not hunting you can sometimes walk right by deer and elk and they don't seem to mind ? They can obviously read your body language or sense your intentions in other ways...

A few years back, while camped out in Montana there was a fox hanging around our camp at dinner time. It kept coming right up to us and we kept waving it off. Then it finally disappeared until we sacked out for the night. Then it snuck in and took the beanie right off my buddy's head and ran off with it. Probably a punishment for us being so inhospitable towards him.

It's also funny to see animals get pissed at each other (besides the usual sparring and rutting). I've seen some pretty epic squirrel fights in the elk woods. Muley does can be pretty mean when a subordinate gets too close to where they're feeding or stands in their path. They rear up and smack them one with their front hooves. Kinda harsh for such a minor infraction...

[Harmy]

Another one I just remembered from when I was a kid. I was bass fishing with my dad on Flaming Gorge Reservoir. We hear this big splash on this cliffy section of bank we were floating by thinking a huge lake trout jumped. We then watch two fresh water otters doing laps and cliff jumping off a rock about 20 feet high. The pair probably did 10 jumps each before they simply dissapeared under the water. I had never seen otters before and had no clue what they were. I thought they were only ocean creatures at the time. On that same trip we watched this osprey dive for fish. I could not belive how fast that thing hit the water and how long it stayed under. I was way impressed.