Wildlife in Delaware (Ocean View, South Bethany, Cheswold: living, beach, to eat)

[rdlr]

Originally Posted by James420

At Fresh Pond state park near the inlet, I've seen lots of turkeys, deer, owl and geese. I've said it before when Bombay Hook has thousands of snow geese its an awesome sight.

Snow geese are really beautiful, but not to farmers. Near Smyrna, we watched the geese destroy 90 acres of our winter wheat crop, as our income went down the drain. We had 2 German Shepherd Dogs we trained to run the geese off. They were slim and trim from all that exercise and even jumped into the air trying to catch geese as they flew away. They never got any, and sure enough....the geese were back within an hour. They ate better than our family did.

[James420]

Originally Posted by rdlr

Snow geese are really beautiful, but not to farmers. Near Smyrna, we watched the geese destroy 90 acres of our winter wheat crop, as our income went down the drain. We had 2 German Shepherd Dogs we trained to run the geese off. They were slim and trim from all that exercise and even jumped into the air trying to catch geese as they flew away. They never got any, and sure enough....the geese were back within an hour. They ate better than our family did.

Thats awful!! Boy do I wish I knew you then, except on Sundays those geese would of looked good in a crock pot.

[retiree2011]

Originally Posted by rdlr

The article is in the Delaware State News today, page 10 and there's a photo of the footprint. Area is west of Dover. I've read about this mystery before and the coyote footprint is smaller than this one. Cougar or mountain lion are possibilities mentioned. It will probably be coming to our town soon, to join the rest of the zoo.

In CT this past summer, people in Greenwich kept insisting they saw a cougar or mountain lion. The state wildlife officials insisted there were none in CT, but when shown photos, they then stated it must have been a captive one that escaped or was let loose by someone keeping it illegally. Then one got hit and killed on the highway in Milford, quite a distance from Greenwich and they could no longer claim we did not have such animals in CT. Turned out, after DNA testing, it had walked from South Dakota to CT over a period of a couple of years. So, if one can walk to CT, why not Delaware? Enjoy the wildlife from a distance. I love seeing wild animals and birds.

[DelawareLiz]

I saw this "slim" down the road from my house a few weeks ago. Of course, he posed for a pic. We have many snakes here in our yard, some very brightly colored and unlike anything I've ever seen. I like them but my husband does not care for them.

[DelawareLiz]

I had a coyote howling in the lot behind me the other night...for over four hours at that. I suppose it cornered a cat or was feeling amorous. Whatever the reason, it did a good job of keeping me up.

[doctorjef]

I seem to recall that a couple of years back a black bear was sighted on the MD side of the state line, but within very close proximity to DE. Given the number of black bears in PA and NJ, you would think that they will eventually filter into DE. I'm not sure how much favourable habitat DE offers them.

[pete lynch]

There was a series of reports about a black bear sighted as far south as Easton MD. This was a few years back, I think. There was no confirmation of this by any officials but that bear would need to have done a lot of swimming to get that far without being photographed or shot at.

[North Beach Person]

Originally Posted by pete lynch

There was a series of reports about a black bear sighted as far south as Easton MD. This was a few years back, I think. There was no confirmation of this by any officials but that bear would need to have done a lot of swimming to get that far without being photographed or shot at.

Wasn't a rumor. DNR trapped it and re-located it back to western MD, where they thought it came from. There was also a bear killed on the Baltimore Beltway about 10 years ago.

Most wildlife biologists believe that there are coyote populations in all the lower 48 states now. A coming problem are feral pigs. They are starting to be seen, and killed, in Southern MD, enough so that I carry a few slugs with me when goose hunting even though that's technically illegal. It won't be too long before DE sees them.

[DelawareLiz]

We definitely have a coyote population in my area; I have seen two already and I hear them at night. I live near woods, fields, and farms so it's ideal for them. Lots of fox here as well.

Those feral pigs are BAD news. They are destructive and dangerous to both humans and pets. I sure hope they don't wind up here in DE but chances are they will....

[pete lynch]

Originally Posted by North Beach Person

Wasn't a rumor. DNR trapped it and re-located it back to western MD, where they thought it came from. There was also a bear killed on the Baltimore Beltway about 10 years ago.

Most wildlife biologists believe that there are coyote populations in all the lower 48 states now. A coming problem are feral pigs. They are starting to be seen, and killed, in Southern MD, enough so that I carry a few slugs with me when goose hunting even though that's technically illegal. It won't be too long before DE sees them.

Yep. Here's the story:
Eastern Shore Black Bear Captured and Relocated - Southern Maryland Headline News

The coyotes are in the marshes around Broadkill Beach and the Primehook NWR also.
A friend of mine was surf fishing at Broadkill at night at was startled to see a coyote watching him at the edge of his lantern light.