Hi Neighbor!
Walking with the Animals Starting a walk before daybreak is, I hear, the only way to beat the summer heat. One friend was telling this to his neighbor, and she asked if that was dangerous with all the wild animals here. “Aren’t you afraid the coyotes, javelinas, or bobcats will attack you?” He explained that they’ll avoid him if he doesn’t corner them or get between them and their young. A bobcat is likely to just ignore you without moving. “If people are really anxious,” he said, “they should carry a big stick and a flashlight.” “And what about mountain lions?” she asked. “I’ve seen pictures of them in here.” He said he’d believe that when he saw it himself. Someone in Sun City West posted cougar paw prints on Facebook, but never a photo of the cougar. A cougar could pass through, but I doubt one stays long, any more than the Sun City West one is a resident. A healthy mountain lion avoids people; we aren’t on their menu. An injured cougar that can’t catch fast game might try a person, but it’s unlikely one would make it all the way to CB from the White Tank Mountains.
Javelinas often raid garbage cans just before dawn, and during winter cool spells they’re sometimes active by day too. To keep them from prying open your can, don’t let the bag fill past a foot from the top, or set it out the morning of pickup. Several residents have modified their cans to keep javelinas out. They aren’t hunters, just opportunists after garbage, agaves, and tender young plants. Walk early enough and you might spot a great horned owl hunting, or one of our Cooper’s hawks swooping low. If a hawk targets your bird feeder, remove it for a week to break the routine, then rehang it near dense shrubs, switch to a caged feeder, or add obstructions overhead. These hunters keep down rabbits, doves, quail, snakes, rats, and lizards. Coyotes and bobcats favor rabbits but eat mice and lizards too; bobcats love a fat dove. A leftover foot, scattered feathers, or small innards means one of them has been on the job. Nobody’s starving here in CB, and none of them are hunting us. But keep an ear out for any news of mountain lions. Submitted by G. G. Wosi, Corte Bella resident
8 Estrella Publishing - CB Living magazine
August 2026
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