ARIZONA IS WILD ABOUT WILDLIFE!

I've had a reader ask me about the bear attack scene in my book, saying; "Bears in Arizona?  Really?"  Yes, really.  But not just bears.  Along with the wildlife you'd expect to see around here, such as scores of elk and deer, antelope, raccoons, coyotes, fox, skunks, squirrels, chipmunks and rabbits, I feel privileged to have seen so much more in the way of unusual wildlife, sometimes very up close and personal.  The occasional porcupine, bobcat, lynx, and tarantulas! 

One time while waiting on extended family to meet us at Lake Pleasant around dusk, suddenly the road was covered with thousands upon thousands of migrating tarantulas . . . it took almost a half hour for the army to pass beyond our car, all the while my youngest who has a healthy case of arachnophobia wigging out that some of them might get into the car.

Our family has seen mountain lions on four different occasions, twice VERY close, flocks of wild turkeys, prompting my daughter while driving one morning to blurt out; "Look at that!  That's one BIG 'f---ing bird!"  Friends have lamented about this, exclaiming, 'Where?  I've never seen one!"  Well, a flock of nineteen marched up our driveway early one morning, but just look along the highway, people.  At the right time of year you can find them standing there with a talon out attempting to hitchhike, they can act so brazen. 

And wolves . . . our family has seen a wolf up close in the wild on eight separate occasions; either by our home or somewhere in Northern Arizona.  One loped along our driveway just as that same daughter walked out to her car.  They acknowledged each other but he just kept traveling.  The same wolf also came down to drink at our pond while my sister-in-law watched him from the dock.

And the most unusual wildlife we've seen:  a black jaguar/panther within twenty feet of my husband and myself.  Again in Northern Arizona, over by Pinetop/Lakeside.  Up close the black coat is actually dotted with subtle golden-colored spots, just as a regular jaguar is golden with black spots.  It was too dark to see the spots well, only the amazing size, stature, black coat and glowing eyes.  What a rush. 

Most recently I drove out of the subdivision, and before I made it to the highway the strangest creature kind of hopped/loped right across the road in front of me.  It looked like a raccoon but it had huge hind legs like those of a kangaroo, and it was much bigger; probably forty pounds.  The snout was more elongated, and when it looked at my car I got the definite impression it could be quite aggressive.  It had that, 'don't you dare screw with me' look in its eyes.  I called my husband and described the morphodite.  He said it had to be a coatimundi.  A what?  I had to look that up, and when I saw the pictures I went, 'That's it!  That's what I saw!"  Surprisingly, the coatimundi only inhabits Arizona and somewhere around Argentina in South America.

And as for bears?  My family and I were driving along a back road on the Mogollon Rim in our SUV when a bear cub burst up from the drop-off to the right of the road, ran along our vehicle which was going almost 30 mph at the time, sprinted way out in front of it, then crossed in front and sprinted up the mountain to our left.  All I have to say about that is:  Don't ever try to outrun one!  You will lose, unless you're going downhill fast.  Bears have trouble with speed when going downhill for some reason.  

Wildlife in Arizona is as richly diverse as the humans who inhabit the state alongside them.  Abide in the wilderness a little while and you're guaranteed to run across something camera-worthy!