08 Jul Deerly Bear-loved: Wildlife in Kings Canyon

Walking to work I often hear the *snap* of a branch and turn to find a deer, both of us briefly startled by each other as we go about our day. Deer are very common here in Kings Canyon, I see them almost everyday! A whole family of them live behind my cabin, sleeping and eating while I watch them creepily through my window. They are like a forbidden dog, cute but I can’t touch or feed them haha. As cute as they are, my supervisor Val told me the only death caused by an animal in the park was a man getting kicked in the head by a deer… sooo I keep my distance. I feel super privileged that on my walk to and from work, I get to see not only deer but a ton of wildlife! I see a variety of birds (including woodpeckers the size of a crow!), butterflies, and lots of chipmunks! 

Just the other day, I was complaining about not having seen a bear to really anyone who would listen. Well I must have spoken it into existence! I was walking home from the visitor center, lost in thought, when I saw an animal on the side of the road ahead of me. At first, I thought it was a really big deer, and then I thought “huh, that’s a really funny looking deer.” When I realized it was actually a bear, I froze and I couldn’t believe my eyes!! I also realized I had gotten a bit too close so I backed up the road and watched it from a far. It was a black bear with blonde hair and it was pretty small (for a bear at least). Something about this bear sighting must have unleashed some ~bear magic~ because a couple days later, I saw a momma bear and her two cubs while I was hiking! 

So happy I get to live in a beautiful place and that I get to share this space with the incredible animals that live here!