Chicago Wilderness

I saw a possum when I was commuting back from the Loop on Saturday around 5:15 pm. just south of McCormick Place where it levels off. It was just about to cross the bike path from the east. Sorry no pix. What else has anyone seen out there?

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Permalink Reply by spacemodular on February 1, 2009 at 7:31pm

2 Raccoons in Humboldt Park. Along with rats, squirrels, rabbits, oppossums, geese and ducks...

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Permalink Reply by LeslieB on February 2, 2009 at 4:11am

I saw a little red fox carry a plate running through Loyola campus this past summer. He/She was so cute.

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Permalink Reply by o0_dan_0o on February 2, 2009 at 4:23am

ouch, my edit time has passed. i just remembered an encounter i had with a deer on the erie lakawana path in NW indiana a few years ago.

i was riding southbound a little north of us 30,(if the guy a couple posts above can cite wisco border lands i can cite this) and there was an adolescent deer standing on the path, a couple of riders had stopped ahead of me, but i was rolling at a pretty good clip and then i noticed the deer standing there.

i was like wtf and i kept going, and the deer noticed me when i was about 5 yards away and he started running in my same direction of travel, so i caught up with him and we were neck and neck at breakneck speed for about 100 yards and he started looking hitchy so i slowed and he cut in front of me and onto the old golf course.

yeah, that was pretty cool.

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Permalink Reply by Wasabi_Junkie on February 2, 2009 at 6:31am

If you happen to see a red fox, do not approach it. They will turn on you if cornered and threatened. And when they bite, they will really do some damage. I have seen 2 fox attacks and neither was a pretty sight. Mostly it was idiotic humans wanting to aggravate the poor animal.

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Permalink Reply by GabeW (not the other Gabe) on February 2, 2009 at 8:12am

rabbits, possums, and deer [and dears :)] are all over the place here in evanston and north; but the coolest thing I've seen was a hawk(?) swoop out of the sky to snatch a chipmunk or some little critter off the north branch trail right in front of me. (I'm not for hurting animals, but when they do it to each other in nature it's cool to see; food chain and all that junk...)

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Permalink Reply by jonathan on February 2, 2009 at 9:42am

Ridding home from the X-Mass Eve/ China Town ride I saw a red fox bound across Clark St/ Addison. I sped up , but it had cleared the cemetery wall in the blink of an eye -amazing. I look for it now when I ride that way.

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Permalink Reply by Jim "Niterider" on February 3, 2009 at 12:01am

At night riding in Lake county coming back from Chicago, I have seen red and grey foxes, minks, opossums, raccoons, rabbits, deer, cats, rats, bats, great horned owls, coyotes, skunks, turtles, frogs, toads, snakes, a cougar by Old School Forest Preserve in May crossing the road, a grey wolf by Reyerson Forest Preserve. The wolf was eating a rabbit by the gate, I lit the critter up with my helmet light it grabbed the rabbit and took off. The cougar was the one the police killed in Willmette unless there are more, who knows. At least we do not have a bears or gators to worry about ever seeing outside of the zoo in Chicago!

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Permalink Reply by Anne Alt on February 3, 2009 at 1:40am

Last winter I saw a red shouldered hawk swoop on a small bird right under my kitchen window. There was a brief struggle, then the hawk flew off with breakfast in its grasp.

I see raccoons and possums on occasion, but they tend to eat my neighbors less-protected veggie gardens rather than mine. I wish that some coyotes or foxes would cross 95th St. and come eat some of my wabbits. Or maybe a larger hawk or other bird could do the job. Too many wabbits. Wish I knew how to make a raptor signal that sent them the message "free wabbit buffet here." ;)