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Smoky Mountain Wildlife: Cute or Killers?
By Bob Foster of American Patriot Getaways
Don’t let veritable outdoor menagerie of the Smoky Mountains deter you from enjoying the wonder and beauty of the park. Since many animals call the Appalachians home, prepare yourself; you never know when you’ll meet one of these cute, yet potentially dangerous residents. To give you a head start, keep an eye out for these ten wild animals, each with distinct characteristics, but one habitat. 1. Bobcats
• Nocturnal
• Carnivores
• Up to three feet long, 20 pounds
2. Eastern Cougars
• Native to the Smoky Mountains
• Brown or gray fur
• Up to seven feet long, 140 pounds
• Killed 21 people in the past 118 years 3. Red Foxes
• Same size as a domestic dog, 24 pounds
• Rusty color
• Fluffy tails
• Solitary hunter
• Will eat your food!
4. Coyotes
• Look like medium-sized Collies
• Round and bushy tail
• Thick dark fur with a white belly
• Howl at night
• Up to 60 inches long, 45 pounds
• Run at high speeds and jump up to eight feet high
• Hunt in packs
5. Red Wolves
• Nocturnal howlers
• Weigh between 45 and 80 pounds
• Red, gray, yellow, or black fur
• Roam in couples or families 6. Skunks
• Extremely unpleasant spray that can travel up to ten feet
• Stripe, spotted, or swirled fur in black and white
• About the size of a small house cat 7. European Wild Boars
• Hairy pigs with huge heads and short legs
• Dark gray, black, or brown hair
• Weigh between 110 and 200 pounds
• Both males and females have tusks
• Males and females will charge, females bite 8. Black Bears
• Weigh up to 300 pounds
• Hibernate during the winter, look for food in the other seasons
• Will eat human food, which shortens their life span and removes their fear of people
• Feeding bears within the park is illegal 9. Northern Copperhead Snakes
• Poisonous, but not lethal
• Up to 3 feet long
• Copper, orange, or pink scales with chestnut colored bands
• Will strike if threatened
• Found most commonly below 3,000 feet altitude
10. Timber Rattler
• Venomous, but not lethal
• Found mostly above 3,000 feet altitude
• Up to 4 ½ feet long
• Yellow, brown, or gray scales with black or brown cross bands
• Triangular head with small scales Don’t fear these animals. They don’t want to hurt you, but they can get nasty if provoked. Just take care to recognize their characteristics and tread lightly—you’re a guest in their home, after all! Learn more about the great Smoky Mountains outdoors at our website: www.PatriotGetaways.com, just follow the link to the blog and enjoy.
Born and raised in the Smoky Mountain region, Bob Foster became a passionate expert on this part of the country even as a child. Years later Bob turned that childhood passion and expertise into a profession when Bob became a general manager for the family business that specializes in rentals of Gatlinburg cabins and Pigeon Forge cabins, both towns being in the heart of the Smokies. The company motto is "Creating guests for life by offering an experience of a lifetime" and it is with that thought in mind that Bob started a blog fully dedicated to information about the Smokies, which can be found at blog.patriotgetaways.com.
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Bobcat
boar
black bear
coyote
fox
cougar
copperhead
Red Wolf
skunk
timber rattlesnake
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Great! Thanks! Great pictures!
The copyright for this content entitled "Smoky Mountain Wildlife: Cute or Killers?" has been specified by the contributor as:
Creative Commons Attribution-No Derivative Works 3.0
Details 
This content may be copied and distributed (but not modified), as long as the original author is acknowledged with a link back to the content page.
If you use this content according to the license specified, you must link to the following URL:
http://bobfoster.qondio.com/
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