One of the fun things about living in a National Park site is the wildlife.  The Cumberland Gap wildlife has been abundant and fun this summer.  And no, I don’t mean the locals partying at the Pinnacle at midnight.  These are the animals I have seen at Cumberland Gap National Historical Park this summer.

Although I never saw a bear at the bear crossing sign on my morning walks, I did see a bear close to our RV.  One night Tom and I were walking back to the RV after an evening stroll, and there was a bear walking by the RV.  I guess he was out for an evening stroll as well.  We saw him one other evening under the same circumstances.  We think he lives in the woods between us and the Visitors Center because we had several bear sightings close to the Visitors Center.

Other Cumberland Gap wildlife have made appearances more regularly.  We had a family of wild turkeys that hung around the Visitors Center all summer.  Every morning we looked to see where the parents and eight babies were that day.  Sometimes they were in the field next to the Visitors Center.  One morning we saw them heading up the fitness trail.  All in a line with one parent leading and one parent bringing up the rear.  Tom often had them distracting visitors from his talk when he was outside.  The babies are as big as the parents at this point.

Deer have been another regular part of the Cumberland Gap wildlife.  A mother and fawn live in on the hill behind the RV.  They often graze close to the RV in the evenings.  We have to be very careful driving around because the deer are often close to the road.  Many mornings, as I walked to work, I spotted deer along the trail.

Some other wildlife were more surprising.  We had an influx of tiny frogs in the creek in Bartlett park.  I had to be careful where I stepped in the morning.  For several months, we saw a snapping turtle and a Cumberland slider turtle every day in the creek.  When we went for our evening walk, we would stop and say hi to the turtles.

An old skunk lives close by.  I say it is old because it is mostly white and doesn’t move very fast.  It hasn’t bothered us, but Ranger Brittony had a skunk get into her house a month ago.  Her husband and dog were going out and the dog chased the skunk into the house.  At which point her husband and dog refused to enter.  Brittony quickly closed off the other rooms of the house, then tried to gently herd the skunk out of the living room.

The skunk hid behind the sofa for a long time, stamping its paws and smacking its lips.  Just when Brittony thought she might be able to get it out of the living room without spraying, the dog raced back in the house and the skunk sprayed the dog.  And the living room.  Brittony spent the rest of the night trying to get the smell out of the living room.  She came to work the next day exhausted and afraid that she still smelled like skunk.

That is some of the Cumberland Gap wildlife that I saw this summer.  In addition we had bald eagles, owls, bats, mice, and lots of crows.  It has been a lot of fun to spot these things and feel like we are living the wild life with them.