Tag Archives: deer

Hurricane Ridge Deer

B11I8069.jpgPlanning our time in the Olympics meant checking the weather forecast.  We wanted to go up to Hurricane Ridge but doing so on a day that was forecast for rain was not going to be very good idea.  However, one of our days was showing clear skies so we headed up the mountains.  The forecast was not wrong.  The weather was great and there were plenty of nice overlooks to check out on the way up.  Once we got to the top, I was turning in to park when I saw some people stopped ahead of me.  Turns out that there are a bunch of deer that hang around up on the ridge and they don’t seem in the least bit bothered by the presence of people.  One was looking to come through the parking space I was planning on using.  I waited until it decided it was ready to move and then we parked the car.  It headed off to join its family.

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Tuolumne Meadow Widlife

wpid11264-C59F7557.jpgAs we were driving back past Tuolumne Meadows on the return journey through the Tioga Pass, Nancy saw something moving out in the grass. Fortunately we were very close to a pull off so we hopped out. She grabbed the binoculars and I grabbed the camera. It was a coyote strolling around on the hunt for a snack. He was heading roughly towards us which looked promising. Sadly, a family next to us decided to try their best wolf howls since they seemed to think that this would in some way help the situation.
wpid11266-C59F7567.jpgThe coyote clearly decided that a better idea was to head off in the other direction and I shared his assessment. However, before we moved on, I took a quick scan across the meadow and saw a small herd of deer. At this time of year, it doesn’t take much to work out who the males are!

Deer Have No Fear!

When you are in a place like Yosemite, your are very aware that you are in an environment where nature has the upper hand.  However, you do think the wildlife will still be wary of man.  That is not true at all though.  A few times while I was walking, I came across herds of deer.  I always think of deer as skittish creatures – hardly surprising since around here they are considered a target by many – but these guys seemed not only used to humans but bored with us.  As long as we didn’t do anything too quickly, they continued on unfazed.

This even extended to Yosemite Valley itself.  I was taking some shots of the valley when a small group crossed the street and walked right past me to get to their next snack.  I watched them for a while and then headed back to the car.  There I saw a buck in the tall shrubs with a buddy not far behind.  When he wanted to come in my direction, he did exactly that.