I have touched with my bare hands the following live, wild animals:
a cow moose
a doe
a spruce grouse
a ruffed grouse
I have had the following close encounters with the following critters while on stand or doing observations:
a weasel walk up on my leg;
a squirell do same;
a ruffed grouse do same;
a chickadee on my gun barrel;
a magpie do same;
a great horn owl injured and taken to DNR biology for rescue;
2 50+ inch bull moose to within 3 paces of me while moose calling in late September
a young coyote walk on my left leg while sitting in a clearcut after doing a rabbit in distress call while moose hunting (nothing was happening!) and have same critter catch my wind, turn around and walk over my leg again!
a coyote out West come to within a foot of my back while sitting post at a fence corner on a windy day....don't know who was more startled...
Odd and / or rare critters I've seen:
a Royal Eagle, twice, truly majestic and grand;
an Eastern Cougar basking on a rock ledge, casually stood up, and walked out in the woods away from me, a mere 20 paces away;
marsh turtles;
albino beaver;
albino skunk;
albino deer;
piebald deer;
melanistic lynx (stuffed road kill, I could get pics of it...);
a color phase pine marten;
2 minks, caught side by side in a beaver sluice set in a 330 Conibear;
a partridge caught in a 280 otter sluice set;
numerous flying squirels caught in marten's pole sets; accidental catches.
the list could go on, I don't recall everything, I'm getting old and a little crazy... You don't have to believe me, I've just spent 30 some years roaming the woods hunting, fishing, trapping and guiding....I'm not a credible source of information....
PS: this week alone, I've already seen 2 bears, 6 moose, 2 deer, 7 flocks of partridges, hundreds of snowshoe hair, a bald eagle, an otter, and 2 beaver colonies.... but who's counting?
We have an incredible ressource, readily accessible at our fingertips. Get out there and enjoy the NB outdoors....so what if people don't believe ya?....
a cow moose
a doe
a spruce grouse
a ruffed grouse
I have had the following close encounters with the following critters while on stand or doing observations:
a weasel walk up on my leg;
a squirell do same;
a ruffed grouse do same;
a chickadee on my gun barrel;
a magpie do same;
a great horn owl injured and taken to DNR biology for rescue;
2 50+ inch bull moose to within 3 paces of me while moose calling in late September
a young coyote walk on my left leg while sitting in a clearcut after doing a rabbit in distress call while moose hunting (nothing was happening!) and have same critter catch my wind, turn around and walk over my leg again!
a coyote out West come to within a foot of my back while sitting post at a fence corner on a windy day....don't know who was more startled...
Odd and / or rare critters I've seen:
a Royal Eagle, twice, truly majestic and grand;
an Eastern Cougar basking on a rock ledge, casually stood up, and walked out in the woods away from me, a mere 20 paces away;
marsh turtles;
albino beaver;
albino skunk;
albino deer;
piebald deer;
melanistic lynx (stuffed road kill, I could get pics of it...);
a color phase pine marten;
2 minks, caught side by side in a beaver sluice set in a 330 Conibear;
a partridge caught in a 280 otter sluice set;
numerous flying squirels caught in marten's pole sets; accidental catches.
the list could go on, I don't recall everything, I'm getting old and a little crazy... You don't have to believe me, I've just spent 30 some years roaming the woods hunting, fishing, trapping and guiding....I'm not a credible source of information....
PS: this week alone, I've already seen 2 bears, 6 moose, 2 deer, 7 flocks of partridges, hundreds of snowshoe hair, a bald eagle, an otter, and 2 beaver colonies.... but who's counting?
We have an incredible ressource, readily accessible at our fingertips. Get out there and enjoy the NB outdoors....so what if people don't believe ya?....