Animals of Seeley Lake – Lions, foxes, bears ... Oh my!

One of the wonderful things about living in Seeley Lake and the Double Arrow Ranch is the abundance of wildlife in our area. We get to see many critters on a regular basis that most residents of the U.S. are lucky to see in their lifetime. Some of that is due to our rural setting, but it is also due to the fact that we live in a wonderful section of the beautiful state of Montana. I think sometimes we take all of the wildlife around us for granted and need to take a step back and observe what we are blessed with.

When Liz (my significant other) and I first started looking for a home here many years ago, we ended up taking a hike by a local stream of which the banks were very thick with vegetation. As we approached the stream, I could see a big ruckus in the vegetation along the stream bank.

I pointed the "ruckus" out to Liz and told her to stand there until we knew what it was. Out poked the head of a jet black, beautiful, large black bear. I have seen many black bears but where we came from (Arizona) they are usually nowhere near as big and always seem a bit "dull" coated.

Liz had never seen one, so she was thrilled. We stood there and watched it (and it watched us) from a distance for a bit until it got tired of us and turned and ran away.

Our next bear encounter was at our house on the Double Arrow Ranch. Being that it was a grizzly sow with three cubs, it provided the perfect contrast in behavior typically seen between the two species.

I was standing on the second story deck of our house when a brown, hairy blob came rolling around the corner. I didn't realize what it was at first because the cubs were walking so close to the mother that it looked like one giant animal.

I hollered for Liz and realized it was a sow/cubs simultaneously. Liz came on the deck as they just strolled through. When they got about 50 yards past the house (remember – we are on second story deck), I told Liz to holler at them and watch what the mama does. She immediately froze her cubs, stood up on her hind legs and preceded to pivot around on them, scanning her field of view. She seemed not to see us, went back down on all fours, unfroze her cubs and continued on her merry way. There was no running away happening.

I have not managed to see a mountain lion in the flesh since I moved here but have certainly seen signs of them all around. Strangely, I have seen more signs/evidence of them in the winter than at any other time. Probably because I am an amateur and the snow "shows" things easily.

I have lost track of how many times Liz, myself and our friends have seen lion tracks when we were snowmobiling or on a late fall ATV ride. Usually there are multiple tracks together. My son and I have been on sled rides and run across fresh lion kills a couple of times. These signs, as well as all of the local sightings, certainly have caused me to try and keep my dog in from sundown until sun up. No guarantee – just lessens the odds a bit of our canine family member becoming kitty chow.

One of the more interesting (and a bit elusive) critters we have seen is the red fox. We had one that used to traverse our property a few times a year. They can be bright red at certain times and almost fawn colored at others.

I watched this one go "vole diving" in the snow one winter, playing cat and mouse with it, although it wasn't playing. I've have always gotten a kick out of the habits/movements of foxes because they remind me of a cross between a dog and a cat. When I finally saw a vole cross my driveway, I understood why the foxes like to hunt them. They are fat and slow!

I haven't seen that fox in over a year now. I know there are still plenty of bears in the area but they seem to be seen more on the outer areas of the Double Arrow. I haven't seen a black bear come through my property in almost two years now. Sadly, I think it is due to the tremendous increase in construction going on in the area and the overall increase in activity. I have spoken to both long time residents of Seeley and the Double Arrow and they have all told me stories of the animals (especially mammals) they used to see but seldom do anymore. I have been told that lynx were once a common sight in the Seeley-Swan Valley but are now pretty much just in the Bob Marshall Wilderness.

Obviously, these are just a few of the wonderful creatures with which we share Seeley Lake. I hope we figure out how not to push them all out so that this truly stays "A Place For All."