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What is the craziest thing you've seen in regards to wildlife?

This is the next installment of our Earth Centered Living Series.

This is a gar which we mentioned in the video.

We're blessed to share our home with an abundance of wildlife. We live in the Ozark bioregion of Southern Missouri within the Bryant Creek watershed and have been amazed at the diversity we've experienced so far, and we're just getting to know the area!

We have witnessed many animals in their natural habitat. While there isn't one incident that stands out, there are a few animals that are unique and interesting.

Tarantulas, Roadrunners, Armadillos: Oh MY!

Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.

The Texas brown tarantula is a stocky, hairy species and is Missouri's largest spider. The body and legs are uniformly dark chocolate brown, with reddish hairs on the carapace. There are more than 50 species of tarantulas in North America, but this is apparently the only one native to Missouri.

Yup, we share a home with all these animals and more.

We first saw tarantulas cross the road our first fall and we were awestruck. We only see them as they make their seasonal migration across the road and it is certainly a sight to see.

Roadrunners are another species that I thought it unlikely to find, but I've seen perhaps a half dozen crossing the road throughout my time here. They are usually swiftly moving along the side of the road, maybe in search of some tasty morsel of snake or something.

Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.

The greater roadrunner is in the cuckoo family, and its long tail; long, heavy, downcurved bill; and four toes positioned like an X reflect this relationship. This species runs on the ground, is relatively large, and has short, rounded wings. It has a brown and pale streaked appearance, darker above than below. The tail is long and dark with white edges, the legs are strong and long, and the head feathers are crested. The call is a descending series of “coos.”

The 9-banded armadillos may be one of the strangest creatures we share a home with.

They have only been here for 20 or 30 years having migrated north from Mexico as the climate warms. They are strong diggers (making them unpopular in gardens) who are voracious eaters of insects. They have a strange habit of jumping straight up when spooked. They are also easy to catch and are very tasty when cooked over coals.

Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.

This unusual looking animal cannot be confused with any other mammal in Missouri. It does not have furry skin; instead, it has hair only between hardened plates of skin that nearly encompass the body. There are two large plates with a series of 9 smaller moveable “girdles” or “bands” around the midsection. The head, short legs, and tail are covered with plates. The toes have well-developed claws. Overall color is mottled dark brown to yellowish white.

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While not exotic, there is a majesty in relating to common wild species in Missouri

We have seen 3 toed box turtles nibbling on tomatoes in the garden, heard coyotes nearby and gotten word of black bears in our back yard. It's a joy to get to know the deer that traverse our land (as long as they stay away from plants!) and witness the cycles the animals go through.

We have had some close encounters with copper heads (one of the 3 poisonous snakes in MO) and even saw one that got stuck in our chicken fence after eating a mouse. As an aside, they also make good eating.

Photo by MDC Staff, courtesy Missouri Department of Conservation.

Color varies from grayish-brown to pinkish-tan, with hourglass-shaped crossbands of dark gray, brown, or reddish-brown. The head may have some pink or orange color, hence the name “copperhead.” The tail may be yellow or greenish yellow, especially in young specimens, and the belly usually is a dusky mixture of gray, tan, and black. Copperheads are pit vipers, with an opening on each side of the head and (in daylight) eyes with catlike, vertical pupils (all our nonvenomous snakes have round pupils).

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The most dramatic event I witnessed was after hearing a squawk from the chicken coop and seeing a 4 foot rat snake wrapped around one of our chickens. How that snake was planning on eating the chicken beats me...

Sharing the land with so many wonderful creatures is an honor

The coyotes call, the birds sign and the squirrels bark. We hear the calls of barred owls on the daily.

Who cooks, who cooks for you?

The land we moved onto never served as a human inhabitation as far as we could tell so there are plenty of opportunities to interact with wildlife. As our connection to the land deepens, so too does our relationship with the wild ones.

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