Unusual Animals you have seen during hunting

[kabic]

I saw some kind of weasel yesterday when we were leaving the In-law's farm yesterday late morning after hunting. I pulled my Jeep to the end of the driveway by the road and got out to shut and lock the gate. I turned around to walk back when I see the weasel crossing the road. It stopped and looked at me then continued across the road.

When I got in my car my daughter said "Did you see that?" We were trying to figure out what kind of weasel it was. There are some fishers running around the area, but I'm almost certain this wasn't a fisher. I got a good look at one of the local fishers last year during the normal gun season, when it ran past the ladder stand I was in. That was the first time I saw a fisher. This weasel seemed longer and skinnier and kind of hunched and un-hunched it's back when it ran across the road.

My guess is maybe a long tail weasel, but I'm not 100% sure or maybe it was a mink. Mink are supposed to like the water and this was on top of a western Wisconsin ridge, so not a lot of water near that exact spot. That is the only reason I'm leaning towards long tail weasel.

What type of unusual animals have you seen while out hunting or doing habitat work?

 

[dipper]

Otter? They are hunched when the are on land. Tail?

 

[MoBuckChaser]

Dead Otter while Turkey hunting out in the woods...........Well he was alive when he charged at us!

 

[chummer]

We have a lot of fishers around, they are neat to watch. They never stop moving.

 

[West Branch]

I saw a fisher for the first time a few years ago, first thought was wtf was that thing, and then I decided on a fisher. Looked them up online and it seemed correct.

Saw two timber wolves while on stand for the first time in 2012. I had seen them before multiple times over the years in fields or crossing a road but that was the first time while actually hunting. Tough to make a quick shot with a bow :(.

Last year I had a brown phase black bear come by my stand during rifle season. First time I saw a bear while deer hunting even though I had seen them other times before.

I usually see at least one pileated woodpecker every year and enjoy watching them. One of the guys that bow hunts with us saw one for the first time on Saturday evening and was pretty excited.

And last year I saw a 3.5+ year old 8 point while bow hunting at about 70 yards. First time I saw a mature buck while hunting, so that was unusual!

 

[EOB]

I saw a blue jay become dinner for a hawk. Pretty neat to see. Took me awhile to figure out what happened. I was sitting up in a tree, saw at streak come by me, heard big crash in the leaves. Looked down and saw a hawk sitting on a pile of blue feathers. Wish I didn't see so many black bears.

 

[kabic]

Otter? They are hunched when the are on land. Tail?

Possible, but the lack of near by water makes me want to say no. Maybe they require less water than I think they do. I guess there is a good size lake two 40 acre parcels over, but this guy was headed the opposite direction.

 

[Jameson]

Farm duck-goose thing. We were pheasant hunting and weren't sure what it was at the time, thought maybe it was a swan so it got a free pass.

 

[Jordan Selsor]

I saw an otter one time that was WAY far from any water source. Weird.
I swear I saw an albino coon once too

 

[j-bird]

I watched a mink one day from the stand. I have one stand that we get a group of wood ducks nearby every once in a while - talk about a noisy critter. Also put a stand in a tree that a certain screach owl was not happy about. Good thing he was small - he was not happy - I think he shit on my stand on purpose!

 

[Native Hunter]

Otters several times at a place I turkey hunt in the spring. Once a mature one came out of the creek and sat on the bank 12 feet away (I was motionless in full camo and face mask). He ate a small panfish just like a kid would eat a popsicle. In a few minutes, his mate swam by and away they went up the creek.

The next year two young ones came to the same place.

 

[Tree Spud]

Fisher, mink, badger, wolf, seem to have a lot of hawks & owls that will land on a branch near me. Have had birds perch on my bow and several small squirrels sit on my boots eating acorns ...

 

[dipper]

Half mile is nothing.

I always seem to see find UFOs when I've been over served cocktails.

 

[JackTerp]

Watched two bald eagles catching fish in the Clarion River in central PA. They spent the day catching fish and, I guess, they'd take them to a nest and then come back for more. Between the two of them, they must have actually caught about a dozen fish. Missed more often than that.

 

[PRK]

Fisher, pine Martin, and silver fox this year. I get a lot of wolves on camera and see them once in a while when driving but never saw one from the deer stand. As for otters I've seen them pretty far in the woods away from water. They'll go a good distance on land getting from lake to lake. Saw a group of 4 one time moving through the snow heading for a distant lake.

 

[Bowsnbucks]

Had a barred owl land on a limb arm's length away while in a tree stand. I was looking the other way for deer and when I turned around, 2 big black eyes were staring at me! At face level !!! It head-bobbed twice and flew off. Scared the sh** out of me when I first turned around ! Wasn't expecting company in the stand.

 

[Bucks&Ducks]

Fisher are vicious little creatures. Had a relative lose a medium size dog and some turkeys to one. Mink are generally pretty small from the ones I have seen

I have seen a lot of wildlife, not sure any I would consider unusual. We have a mix bag on my hunting land: bear, wolves, bobcats, yotes, gray fox, red fox, grouse, pheasants, blue jays, woodpeckers, owls (thought one was going to take my dad out) eagles, fisher, coons.

Most unusual experience I have had was sneaking to a stand. Right when I got to my stand there was a doe and a fawn in my shootway. I froze and the doe didn't know what to make of me so she started circling down wind while the fawn stayed put. During this process a coyote came from out of the swamp right for the fawn that was staring at me. Fawn reacted at the last second (when coyote was about 5-10 feet away) and got out of there. I was relieved as I would have felt pretty crappy if the fawn got taken out because of me.

 

[Jim Timber]

Not hunting, but last night while burning slash from the orchard project I had an adult muskrat come up behind me.

I know we have them in the area, but I didn't expect to find it this far from the swamp. It's at least 900' from water.

 

[UP Powers]

saw a red tail smoke a turkey. One of the coolest things I have ever seen.

I shot a partridge once, a hawk swooped down and snagged the bird and flew off with it.

I shot AT a partridge once on the ground, missed the partridge, cranked another two in flight, missed them all. I went over the EXACT spot the partridge was and there was a dead woodcock. I will take that story to my grave on how exactly it happened and still one of my greatest mysteries.

Saw a doe give birth when I was 19, I was way back in the bush in Boney Falls.

I pee'd on the back of a skunk as it ran between my legs fishing once.

 

[Reagan]

Two years ago I saw two young bobcats. One of them killed a rabbit right in front of me and they shared the meal. The one that didn't make the kill waited while the first one at most of it. I had never see a bobcat until a few years ago. They have gone from rare to pretty common in some parts or Ohio.

I find it interesting that some people don't see many pileated woodpeckers. We have a lot of them. They say the emerald ash borer has a been good for them. I had two that spent a lot of time eating EAB out of the dying ash trees in my yard.