I was night biking Marshall Mesa and Flatirons late last night. It was windy but the ride was good.
I had climbed up Coal Seam and was cycling east along Community Ditch to pick up Greenbelt Plateau when I spooked an animal. It ran down the trail in front of me then dived off to the left down the hill. I only saw it for a couple of seconds but it was brightly lit in my headlamps. I knew instantly it wasn't a coyote. It was about three times the size of a tabby cat. Very feline in shape and similarly fluffy like a tabby. It seamed a little small for a fully grown adult mountain lion so I am guessing that I came across a juvenile.
I'm not sure what other animals that inhabit this area it might be. So unless anyone else has a better suggestion I am 80% certain I saw my first mountain lion.
Then while riding the single track next to the Greenbelt Plateau I rode over something that looked suspiciously like a large tarantula in the exact middle of the trail. It appeared to have eight fat legs, about a 5-6 inch leg span and was very dark in color. It freaked me out! It was so big I didn't want to stop to look closer at it.
About a mile down the trail I did finally stop. I check my tire but there was no "squish" so perhaps it was a weed in the shape of a nasty looking spider
Perhaps I missed it. Perhaps the dusty trail cleaned my tire. Perhaps I was hallucinating
So do we get wild tarantulas in Colorado. I'm guessing yes. More importantly might I expect to find one in the middle of a trail on a windy night at 10:30pm?
What wild animals have you come across and dear, cows, horses and coyotes don't count as they're too common
I had climbed up Coal Seam and was cycling east along Community Ditch to pick up Greenbelt Plateau when I spooked an animal. It ran down the trail in front of me then dived off to the left down the hill. I only saw it for a couple of seconds but it was brightly lit in my headlamps. I knew instantly it wasn't a coyote. It was about three times the size of a tabby cat. Very feline in shape and similarly fluffy like a tabby. It seamed a little small for a fully grown adult mountain lion so I am guessing that I came across a juvenile.
I'm not sure what other animals that inhabit this area it might be. So unless anyone else has a better suggestion I am 80% certain I saw my first mountain lion.
Then while riding the single track next to the Greenbelt Plateau I rode over something that looked suspiciously like a large tarantula in the exact middle of the trail. It appeared to have eight fat legs, about a 5-6 inch leg span and was very dark in color. It freaked me out! It was so big I didn't want to stop to look closer at it.
About a mile down the trail I did finally stop. I check my tire but there was no "squish" so perhaps it was a weed in the shape of a nasty looking spider
Perhaps I missed it. Perhaps the dusty trail cleaned my tire. Perhaps I was hallucinating
So do we get wild tarantulas in Colorado. I'm guessing yes. More importantly might I expect to find one in the middle of a trail on a windy night at 10:30pm?
What wild animals have you come across and dear, cows, horses and coyotes don't count as they're too common
