What wildlife have you seen??

[avm8588]

Greetings neighbors!

We are new to the area and are curious what are some of the larger game locals have seen in the area? We were told by a UBC professor that Grizzlies are moving in closer to Kelowna and surrounding, this fascinates us! Would love to hear some wild life stories!!

Thanks!

[Lady tehMa]

I haven't seen it, but something keeps emptying out my birdbath.

I've seen lots of deer around. Racoons, marmots, various squirrels; tons of the little stuff. For bears and lynx you need to be in fringe areas.

[vegas1500]

Have seen deer, fox, coyotes, a couple wolves, Black bear and grizzly. Also seen what I think was a brown bear that chased a wolf off a fresh deer kill. Most was up in the hills behind Peachland while quadding. The bears were all on a power line in the same area.

[kgcayenne]

Foxes, coyotes, racoons, bears, assorted raptors, a few resident owls, and although I've not seen her/him, we have a resident cougar who leaves scat behind on the regular. I run at 6:00am; I bought a treadmill.

[Fancy]

Greetings neighbors!

We are new to the area and are curious what are some of the larger game locals have seen in the area? We were told by a UBC professor that Grizzlies are moving in closer to Kelowna and surrounding, this fascinates us! Would love to hear some wild life stories!!

Thanks!

The Okanagan is a big place but you can find deer downtown Kelowna and bighorn sheep have been on the highway in West Kelowna. The bighorn are permanent residents on Westside Road.

[oneh2obabe]

Coyote den on the hill/mountain just under Mission Hill Winery - have seen a total of 2 coyotes. Eagle nest at the end of the open field across from my house - see them occasionally. Saw 2 foxes trying to cross a frozen lake halfway between Kelowna and Vernon years ago. Had a bear cub run across the road in front of my vehicle a few years ago - never did see mama. Have seen a total of 7 deer, 3 raccoons and tons of quails since I moved here. No squirrels, no moose, no cougar (warning of one in the neighbourhood is issued every year), no bighorn sheep, no rats and no snakes (that's a good thing).

[Glacier]

Between my house and work I have seen (and smelled) no less than 15 dead skunks on the road within the past 15 months. I even saw my first live skunk.

Lots of elk moving in to the area, on the east side of the valley. Turkeys too. I haven't seen either of these in the Okanagan, but I've seen a lot of white tail deer, coyotes, and black bears.

[Tootsie]

We've lived here a long time and have had the pleasure of seeing a LOT of wildlife. Some of it a bit too up close and personal.

So - In no particular order:

- lots of deer, coyotes, racoons, eagles, great horned owls, and really ugly turkey vultures on Commonage Rd from Lake Country to Vernon
- the odd fox and bobcat
- cougars - had one on our deck a couple years ago. That was a bit unnerving. They are spotted a lot in Lake Country
- bears - had a black/brown (?) come wandering up our driveway in broad daylight a couple years ago. They like the vineyards around here.
- grizzly bear - rare in valley floor but one was caught just down the road from us in 2011 after causing a lot of concern & damage in a couple of the vineyards in Okanagan Centre (couldn't remember when it was so I googled it to get the year).
- moose - rare around here but nevertheless a few years ago one was wandering around Okanagan Centre - up at Arrow Leaf Cellars and down in OK Centre (came home from work & the neighbour said "did you see the moose?" I said no, where? He said "it was in your backyard this afternoon".

One thing I HAVE noticed over the past few years is we never see pheasants anymore.

[gardengirl]

I haven't seen it, but something keeps emptying out my birdbath.

I've seen lots of deer around. Racoons, marmots, various squirrels; tons of the little stuff. For bears and lynx you need to be in fringe areas.

I have seen a bobcat on Lakeshore Rd and Dehart. Lots of deer on the North end by Sun Rype. Eagles, hawks, falcons by the lake. Lots of raccoons and coyotes along the highway both sides of Kelowna. Bears in Glenrosa, along with deer, raccoons.

[Fancy]

One thing I HAVE noticed over the past few years is we never see pheasants anymore.

Used to see them regularly - haven't in years which is too bad (all the new subdivisions have pushed them away).

[Steve-O]

Mountain bike extensively in Rose Valley and Smith Creek. Quite a few bear while biking Rose, cougar twice - including a cub that was way too close, rattlesnakes, bald eagle. Got up to the top of red rock one evening last week, and two bucks stared me down for 30 seconds before wandering down the hill. Turtles in the reservoir.
Over at Smith, not as many bear, coyotes and a moose that was 50 yds below us keeping pace for a short distance as we traversed a slope. Deer on night rides always freak me out when I see the eyes glowing back at me in the dark.