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!

[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.

[Too Tall]

You are safe DCT. No meat on your bones.

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

[stlhenrys]

I sat in the Berlin Zoo and watched this thing eviscerate a rat for about an hour. Just couldn't look away.

Jens Eagle.jpg

The sign is not figurative--Jens is actually this bird's father.

[dgaddis]

No need to worry about being attacked by a bobcat. They're like foxes, very quiet and secretive and want nothing to do with people.

We have bobcats in this area, I know a few folks who've seen them, but I have yet to see one in the wild myself. I've seen a few fox, those guys are awesome.

[Britishbane]

I sat in the Berlin Zoo and watched this thing eviscerate a rat for about an hour. Just couldn't look away.

A deer got into the cheetah enclosure at the National Zoo (D.C., USA) last year. It did not end well for the deer. Would have been...interesting to see.

[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.

[vertical_doug]

If the guy wanted to rant about something, he should rant about the decline in moose populations and how it can be stopped.