As we’re off to Denver shortly for a tour of the … what do you call the area … the Southwestern States? The Mountain States? Well, anyway, we’re probably going to be taking in bits of Colorado, Utah, New Mexico and Arizona.
A couple of years ago two black bears ran right past us as we sat picnicking in the Shenandoah National Park, Virginia.
And a few years earlier, I think we very nearly came across a mountain lion (cougar) when we climbed up to a fire watch tower in the Sierra Nevada, California:
On the first part of the walk, before we started climbing up the rocks to the fire tower, we walked along a sandy path between the fir trees; on the way back down, there were large cat-paw prints in the sand that hadn’t been there before.
So, bears and a cougar on previous visits to the States. I’m wondering what we might encounter this time. Colorado’s a pretty wild State so I’m breaking the list up by category. First off, the Serpentes.
- Venomous Snakes
- Osage Copperhead
- Western Rattlesnake
- Eastern Massasauga Rattlesnake
- Western Pygmy Rattlesnake
- Non-venomous snakes
- New Mexican Blind Snake
- Glossy Snake
- E. Yellow Bellied Racer
- Prairie Ringneck Snake
- Great Plains Ratsnake
- Plains Hognose Snake
- Texas Nightsnake
- Common Kingsnake
- Milk Snake
- Green Snake
- W. Coachwhip
- Northern Watersnake
- Bullsnake/Gophersnake
- Texas Longnose Snake
- W. Ground Snake
- S.W. Black-headed Snake
- W. Blackneck Garter Snake
- Texas Brown Snake
- Lined Snake
- Rubber Boa