Something dark appeared by the side of the road. I jokingly thought in my head, “it’s a bear!” That’s sort of a standard joke between my husband and I when we are out in the woods — you see a dark shape and suddenly “it’s a bear!” Of course, it’s not a bear — a stump, a log, but no, not a bear. Except this night, under the full moon, that dark shape actually started moving — it was a bear!
Being like any other wildlife gaper, and given that the County Road we were on had little to no traffic, we slowed the car down, gazing at him. He ambled along the side of the road, padding softly, pausing every now and then. It was our very own private Wild Kingdom moment. It was also my first bear of the season — how exciting! The only thing that diminished this moment was it was dark and all I had for taking pictures was my iPhone, not a real camera.
Finally, he paused looking back at us, and slowly padded across the road directly in front of the car. The last glimpse I had was of his bear butt (no pun intended) as he slipped over the side of the embankment as he made his way down to the creek below.
That wasn’t the first or last of our wildlife sightings during this full moon drive on a back road in southern Colorado. We’d already gotten up close and personal with a herd of Rocky Mountain elk. One standing in the middle of the road for what seemed a terminally long period of time — looking back, looking ahead, like she couldn’t decide what she wanted to do. I kept hearing the words of the famous song by The Clash — “Should I stay or should I go?”
Later, we spotted a red fox dashing across the road — it’s pointy nose and bushy tail with its inky tip — flashing in the beams of our headlights. But I can’t say I’m surprised by all this nighttime prowling around. Many wildlife spend their days napping and their nights hunting — like the coyote, the mountain lion, and the bear.
The darkness aids them in the hunt and gives them the element of surprise. Mountain lions in particular have incredible night vision. Couple that with their excellent hearing and their infinite patience to wait for their prey, and then the quick reflexes that allow them to pounce quickly, and it makes for the ideal circumstances to catch dinner.
Working in the national parks, I was often asked by visitors where or when the best places to see wildlife were. My own experiences in the parks taught me that there was no better to time to spy for wildlife than under the cover of darkness. Working at Sequoia National Park, I often drove back from town late at night during my day off. It seemed that my headlights were always reflecting off the eyes of some creature or another. And it was during those midnight drives that I spied the most interesting creatures, out doing their own business — bears, foxes, coyotes, bobcats, and yes even tarantulas. The night prowlers are alive and well.
