A Water Hole in Summertime

Shyla and I tend to stay in the bright open areas of the forest and meadows during our outings.

At the same time, there's a wilder part of the forest where the animals are carrying out their daily routines. I've learned that water holes are active places in the forest, especially in the summer.

If I were to place a trail camera on any random tree in the forest, I could go a whole year without getting a photo of a single animal. In contrast, if I find the places that attract animals like water holes and bear marking trees, my trail cameras see far more activity.

I mentioned earlier this summer that I'd found a new water hole. It seems to attract all sorts of wildlife. In the video that I'm about to show you, it attracted Tiny, our huge black bear, and it also attracted a mountain lion. I believe the mountain lion is a female who might have kittens in the area. She's been appearing on my cameras far more frequently than most mountain lions, suggesting that young kittens are stashed somewhere nearby.

You can watch the video here or at Youtube.

I think it's interesting that bears love to soak in the water while the mountain lion seemed only interested in drinking (and possibly waiting to see if any prey came to the water hole). I wonder what a coyote would do? I am quite certain that dogs would splash around and get soaked in it!