This may be one of the most bizarre events I’ve experienced. Serendipitous perhaps would be the proper term. I had been telling neighbors about my encounter a couple of years ago with a Fisher (a Bear Cat) in the woods. (I think that IT is one of the fiercest creatures of the northern woods. Let’s face it, any natural predator of a porcupine has got to be fierce.) I had treed the Fisher and it sat in the fork of the tree snarling at me and making some of the strangest growling noises I’ve ever heard. So, I concluded my story and the 5 of us went our own ways. I went one way, a group of three went another direction and my wife (my scout) went yet another direction.
I walked about 50 feet when I heard her loudly say “there’s one right there.” I ran in her direction and started snapping photos in the rain, on a dull day, in a heavily forested spot. I set the aperture wide open and the shutter speed was quite slow. AND I was without a tri-pod. As a result, there is a bit of blur in the photos because this animal never stopped moving. It re-positioned itself, growling, pretending to lunge at me (to scare me off I think) and growling, climbing higher, another fake lunge… And this went on the entire time I was taking shots until it decided to come down the tree, head first growling and looking at me. I decided to leave and it came down the tree and disappeared into the woods.
Love the story and the picture John I would have disappeared into the wood too!