Animals across the Carolinas

[KJHburg]

a fellow UPer asked me to start this off and I think @QCxpat had a good idea.  The world and sometimes this forum is full of negativity lets start a topic we can all can like and enjoy.  So next time you walk Fido or Rover on the Rail Trail or through Freedom park or wherever in the Carolinas take a photo and put it here.  If you have a have a cat that is fine too.   Reptiles and snakes bring them on.  Wildlife or birds why not? Backyard cardinals and blue birds post them here.  

 Lets showcase our animals across the Carolinas but please make sure they are alive.  the KJ currently has no pets so I will start off with coastal SC wildlife shots. I know you have great pets out there for I have heard many of you mention them.  How about a Rover shot with the skyline or a building in the background bring it on.  To get it rolling from a little shoe shaped island in the southernmost part of South Carolina.  (and no these are not my pets)  And if you pet wishes he or she lived in the Carolinas post a photo as well.  Even if it is Georgia bulldog relocating to Charlotte.  

Edited February 26, 2019 by KJHburg

[grodney]

This is Kevin.  (The tall one in the middle.)  She lives by the little pond at Elon Park near Ardrey Kell and 521.  We often see her when playing frisbee golf.  Edit:  When we're playing, not when she's playing, that is.  She seems largely disinterested in frisbees of any kind.

The second pic is a friend that was out on a cool-ish 58-degree day recently at the frisbee golf course at Creekside Park in Indian Trail.  Curled up like that, he was, appropriately, about the size of a frisbee golf disc.  My bro-in-law almost tripped over him when retrieving an errant throw.  We told him to get somewhere warm.

 

Edited February 26, 2019 by grodney

[tozmervo]

Years ago I walked out of my apartment one Saturday morning to find this happy dude doing his thing. He hung out for several minutes, munching away, before flying off with his prize.

[CTiger]

This is a cool topic.  This is the only contribution I'd have for now.  I saw this owl while walking down the rail trail over by Junction 1504 apartments, close to Remount.  He sat and stared at us for a few minutes before getting bored and flying off.  The rail trail was moderately crowded so I was blown away that he came down to see us at all.

[KJHburg]

This is Sawyer the rooster from Mt Pleasant SC and his friend Dante the French bulldog who was born and raised in Lake Norman and now "retired" to the Charleston area.  These are backyard pets! 

 

[KJHburg]

This Catawba County born French bulldog Saylor  now resides in Charleston.    His friend is the rescued from Rivers Ave in North Charleston  mix pit bull Sandy also retired to Charleston after living 15 years in the Lake Norman area.  

[norm21499]

Looking at all of these animals makes me happy and gives me the warm fuzzies :-)

[KJHburg]

from the KJ vault from last October my all time favorite NC park the Great Smoky Mountains National Park near the Oconaluftee Visitors center on the NC side right outside of Cherokee.  NC's elk herd.  The elk tend to be all on the NC side of the park.  And sometimes the elk wander into Cherokee proper.  

[tarhoosier]

I spent some time at a friends house just over the ridge from Cataloochee valley which is in the NE part of the Park. One evening we sat outside and heard the most ungodly bellowing as if the hound of the Baskervilles had escaped. It was a bit uncomfortable to go to sleep that night. It resounded across the valley in echoes then again. The next day we discovered it was elk bugling.

[KJHburg]

Since this service dog got on the flight with me today in CLT I will post him or her here as a Carolinas animal.    Funny thing is this dog did go in the micro airplane bathroom with its owner.   the service dog, the owner and the KJ all share the first row of the plane LOL. 

[Trickbot]

Couple of wild animals spotted in Archdale NC

[grodney]

Here's a hawk on my frisbee basket at 7am today.  They like our yard for squirrels and bunnies, unfortunately.  Circle of life, and all that.

Not the best zoom with my cheap phone through my kitchen window.

 

 

[KJHburg]

800 lb bison at the NC Zoo does the happy dance today first day of spring.   (this reminds me of me when I got back from Kazakstan back on US soil)

https://www.thestate.com/news/state/north-carolina/article228181759.html

Edited March 21, 2019 by KJHburg

[InSouthPark]

I have only ever seen the Piper Glen bald eagles twice but they are still out there.  Saw both a few months ago but sadly I couldn't get a pic.   They have their beautiful white heads now (first time I saw one a few years ago,  they weren't mature enough).   It's a really neat thing to see in city limits.  

[11 HouseBZ]

Today I was in a bit of a melancholy mood. Today was my last full day with my dog Sarah. No she's not being put down, she's very healthy. But today is the last day she will be mine.

  In the last 2 years, my wife and I's lives have changed dramatically with the addition of our beautiful babies. Sarah started going on fewer walks, fewer rides in my truck, our attention was elsewhere. It wasn't fair. Not to her, she deserves better.

So came the very difficult decision of what to do with her. I couldn't bare the thought of taking her to the pound. Hell no. Not after the years we've spent together. But thankfully some friends of ours were considering getting a dog. It had to be house trained, small, one that doesn't shed, and playful for their 8yo. Sarah fit the bill. I'm really glad to of found a good home for her, she deserves it. But unfortunately it's not mine. So I'm sad. 

I've seen a lot of bad things through the career I've chosen, a lot of it oddly, doesn't affect me. But today, I, a 6'4'' 265lb grown man, am crying over a little 8lb yorkie chihuahua. At least I can go visit her. I love my dog, correction, my friends dog. 

The photos are of today after I took her to get groomed. Sorry for the irrelevant sob story. I know most people don't care, but I wanted to vent somewhere. 

(If you've ever seen a mismatched pair like us, a big man in a big black Cummins riding with a tiny dog in his lap, it could've been us.)

Edited March 22, 2019 by 11 HouseBZ

[KJHburg]

4 snakes sunbathing near Wells Fargo CIC sent from a banker to me. 

[KJHburg]

No law breaking alligators in SC these alligators use the crosswalk at the state park south of Myrtle Beach.

https://www.islandpacket.com/news/state/south-carolina/article229013429.html

[KJHburg]

Animals across the Carolinas Lowcountry edition.  All from Hilton Head Island.  Sea gulls and common terns on the beach.  

 

 

[KJHburg]

Gators all at Jarvis Creek Park on Hilton Head.  As I say guaranteed sightings of alligators year round no fee required. Just don't feed them as they say here a Fed Gator is a Dead Gator as it will become aggressive towards humans and it will be caught and killed (in SC)  In NC they do try to relocate them sometimes.  Point is don't feed them. Ever.  

[KJHburg]

Elk today in the middle of US 441 at the intersection with Blue Ridge Parkway in the early evening.    Usually they graze in the large field near the GSMNP visitors center.  Just 3 away from the main herd which was probably still in the woods.    These wild elk don't know where to stay in park boundaries but they all live on the NC side of the National Park. 

[lit]

On 5/16/2019 at 9:22 PM, KJHburg said:

Elk today in the middle of US 441 at the intersection with Blue Ridge Parkway in the early evening.    Usually they graze in the large field near the GSMNP visitors center.  Just 3 away from the main herd which was probably still in the woods.    These wild elk don't know where to stay in park boundaries but they all live on the NC side of the National Park. 

I go to Pennsylvania at least twice a year to visit family. The elk herd there has created a crazy amount of tourism in the area around Benezette. Traffic backs up for miles during Rut season from people trying to get pictures. At least one person gets injured every year. Some of the elk in NC are transplants from the PA herd, supposedly.

[southslider]

^a lot of transplanted Buffalo heard around Charlotte

Edited May 18, 2019 by southslider

[KJHburg]

Dante the French Bulldog born in NC currently residing in Charleston SC. 

[JorgiPorgi]

Awesome idea for a thread! I’ve seen lots of rare wildlife in Charlotte and snapped a few pics. Unfortunately I’ve erased most of them. I really want to get pictures of the bald eagles in Piper Glen/Ballantine area- as there are several that live near the Piper Glen Greenway off Rea road. I’ve seen them flying very high there, as well as seen them flying over Ballantine.  They are also up at lake Norman. 

My contribution is a raven(NOT A CROW). Ravens are very rare in NC. They are also huge- much larger than a crow. They are awesome birds that are almost as smart as dogs. I found this one in the parking lot at Costco off Tyvola. My friend is a park ranger and he said that there are a few that live close by at one of the quarries, and that this one probably came from there. Again, look at how large it is.

[EllAyyDub]

I'd been hearing the signature "who cooks for you" x2 for the past few weeks, but finally caught a glimpse of my newest neighbor last night.  (S)he is a barred owl (not to be confused with the barn owl), and hopefully hasn't met the family of rabbits that lives in my side yard.