Bogley

The Dude · Joined: 03 Oct 2006 Posts: 23 Location: Salt Lake City

What animals should I be aware of in the desert besides the obvious snake, or insects like spiders? Are mountain lions in the desert? I believe bobcats are, right? Coyotes?

What are the most to be feared?

We just did Horseshoe Canyon and on our way out, we heard a VERY loud roar that sounded more like something you would hear from a bear, not a scream from a cat-like animal. Just made me wonder what could be out there.

denaliguide · Joined: 12 Feb 2007 Posts: 601 Location: new zealand/alaska

doubt that you need to fear any of them. its the old story that they are more afraid of you. i've spent hundreds of nights camped in the desert, lots of them solo, and never had any bad experiences. i do always shake out my boots before putting them on though, just looking for scorpions. be smart about where you put your feet and hands when scrambling and you won't have any problems with snakes or bugs.

mountain lions are probably the shyest animal out there and coyotes are the biggest chickens. saw 3 coyotes when i was coming out of grand gulch last year and the minute they spotted me they were off over the hill. and i was a long ways from them.

The Dude · Joined: 03 Oct 2006 Posts: 23 Location: Salt Lake City

denaliguide wrote: doubt that you need to fear any of them. its the old story that they are more afraid of you. i've spent hundreds of nights camped in the desert, lots of them solo, and never had any bad experiences. i do always shake out my boots before putting them on though, just looking for scorpions. be smart about where you put your feet and hands when scrambling and you won't have any problems with snakes or bugs.

mountain lions are probably the shyest animal out there and coyotes are the biggest chickens. saw 3 coyotes when i was coming out of grand gulch last year and the minute they spotted me they were off over the hill. and i was a long ways from them.

Thanks for the info. So, there are indeed mountain lions, bobcats, and coyotes out there, correct? I wonder what it could have been that we heard. I'm not delerious. both my wife and clearly heard a "roar" of some kind. Enough to freak us out and high-tail it out of the canyon.

rockgremlin · Joined: 09 Dec 2004 Posts: 3893 Location: Hotel California

During the summer months I would be a little wary of rattlers...but just watch where you step, and where you put your hands if climbing or scrambling. Also like denaliguide said...always check your boots before putting them on in the summertime because scorpions like to hide there.

During the winter months the rattlers are hibernating, and the scorpions are all dead so step out with confidence. All other desert predators are terrified of humans and will flee at first glimpse...especially if you're ugly. :haha:

The Dude wrote: I wonder what it could have been that we heard. I'm not delerious. both my wife and clearly heard a "roar" of some kind. Enough to freak us out and high-tail it out of the canyon.

Are you sure your wife hadn't been eating chili just prior to your hike?

CarpeyBiggs · Joined: 18 Mar 2007 Posts: 1736 Location: Fairbanks, AK

The Dude wrote: Thanks for the info. So, there are indeed mountain lions, bobcats, and coyotes out there, correct? I wonder what it could have been that we heard. I'm not delerious. both my wife and clearly heard a "roar" of some kind. Enough to freak us out and high-tail it out of the canyon.

Depends on what part of the desert, but mountain lions would be rare. Typically I think they'd need to be found around concentrations of other big game, like deer or maybe pronghorn or bighorn. So in the high desert, their population would be slim. They are so scared of humans, that it is very rare to see them. In fact, the only way most people will ever see them is if they get treed by trained dogs.

Only way I can see a lion roaring at you is if they have just had newborns, and you inadvertently walked by their den. You would definitely get a nice hello at that point. Lions can attack humans in rare situations, but generally they are so stealthy and skittish, you'll never come close. I've never seen a big cat in the desert. Only once in the Wasatch.

Probably not worth losing sleep over.

The Dude · Joined: 03 Oct 2006 Posts: 23 Location: Salt Lake City

[quote=Are you sure your wife hadn't been eating chili just prior to your hike?[/quote]

LOL! Believe me, I wish it had just been from previous chili eating. It was clearly an animal and it was a roar of some kind. We were the only ones in the canyon that day, so we know it wasn't someone pulling a prank. It was odd.

trackrunner · Joined: 27 Nov 2007 Posts: 806

The only major reason you have to fear animals is because you gave them a reason to confront you. Most hate humans and want to stay away. Don't carelessly leave your food out attracting animals, walk up to a mother with her young, or walk up to one eating after a kill.

Iceaxe · Joined: 07 Mar 2005 Posts: 7732 Location: Local Bordello

The Dude wrote: What are the most to be feared?

The most dangerous animal on the planet is Man.

:cool2:

Mtnman1830 · Joined: 28 Feb 2006 Posts: 1197

Maybe it was a sasquatch

http://www.oregonbigfoot.com/sounds/ORBF_Klamath.mp3

Scott Card · Joined: 07 Dec 2005 Posts: 1332 Location: Provo, Utah

Iceaxe wrote: The Dude wrote: What are the most to be feared?

The most dangerous animal on the planet is Man.

:cool2:

Nah. I'm afraid of no man and only two women, my mother and my wife. :haha:

deathcricket · Joined: 14 Jan 2006 Posts: 708 Location: St George

You know this might be a stupid response. But when I first moved out here I heard a deer doing it's mating call and it scared the crap outta me.
It's the wrong season but maybe it was a deer? I found something close to what I heard, ignore the gay music in the background didnt have a lot of time to search.

stefan · Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Posts: 4078 Location: somewhere

The Dude wrote: What animals should I be aware of in the desert besides the obvious snake, or insects like spiders? Are mountain lions in the desert? I believe bobcats are, right? Coyotes?

What are the most to be feared?

i dunno, so cows in relatively narrow canyons kinda spook me. they're a force of nature and they react to human presence. so in a kinda narrow canyon (like the tributaries of the escalante) you can find yourself face to face with a cow. now competing with their mass and momentum, should they charge, is kinda frightening to think about, but i usually feel it's really unlikely to happen (sort of the imp of the perverse thing really).

but what really gets me, is when these cows get spooked by your presence, they start stamping around, running up slopes of dirt, tearing up the vegetation in the process. they're such strong creatures they can do some serious damage. i am remembering on particular time in lower scorpion gulch in the escalante, where the cow kept running all over the place, covering a huge area, pushing through trees, tearing through the slopes along the canyon walls. all this in such an intimate, narrow canyon really caught my attention

Quote:
We just did Horseshoe Canyon and on our way out, we heard a VERY loud roar that sounded more like something you would hear from a bear, not a scream from a cat-like animal. Just made me wonder what could be out there.

oh, that was us, sorry to scare you. we'll try to keep it down next time. :haha:

stefan · Joined: 09 Jan 2006 Posts: 4078 Location: somewhere

Iceaxe wrote: The Dude wrote: What are the most to be feared?

The most dangerous animal on the planet is Man.

:cool2:

word

Summit42 · Joined: 03 Aug 2006 Posts: 1937 Location: 127.0.0.1

I am going to agree with Stefan cows are big and scary :haha: I have ran into quite a few down south.
The Wife and I were hiking out of upper Eardley Canyon in the dark and walked right into a group wild donkeys ... one of them got pretty upset and charged us. We hid behind a tree and just circled... it just keep HEEEYAAAH'ing and digging its hoofs into the ground.

what evil things :roflol:

RedRoxx · Joined: 07 Jan 2007 Posts: 104 Location: Tucson Az

I've seen lots of animals, some up close. Last saw a mountain lion from about 12 feet away peeking at me from behind a boulder in the Santa Teresa Mtns here in az. Laughed when later research yielded " this small wilderness is known to have the most dense mountain lion population in Az"
Several bear sightings, lots of deer, some wild horse, burro ( mainly Death Valley area) coatimundi, ringtail, lots of rattlesnakes ( usually in cave entrances) etc.
Never bothered me. Most animals are more afraid of you than anything. Use common sense and keep a clean camp and you should be ok. Keep eyes and ears open. Trouble comes when you startle a wild animal and it has no way out.

Cows--raised on a farm. One of my best memories is hiking with a friend into the Galiuro wilderness. A large red bull of mixed heritage used to frequent this one trail, he was locked out at the wilderness boundary but he never seemed to learn, and this was a narrow sidehill trail. He was blocking it as we came down and looked at us with some attitude. I whacked his rump with my trekking pole and he moved on out. My friend thought we were going to be gored and be dead. If the rump tap wouldn't work a nose tap will.