I took a break this weekend from the 4-H rat race, and took #2 and a couple of friends to the Mattamuskeet National Wildlife Refuge. It is only open to the public one day a year. The weather was very dreary, but we had a great time anyway. The other people on our tour cancelled, so we had the van and the ranger to ourselves. We stopped and got out, even in the rain, and saw lots of water birds. This is a migratory stop for waterfowl from all over the world.
We found this small deer on a hike in the woods. It was obviously very sick and ready to pass on. The boys went back to find the ranger, but the office was already closed. We decided to finish our hike, and then on the way back we would leave a message for the ranger if it was still alive.
There were lots of weird sites in the wetlands. I thought these trees were especially interesting.
Coming back through the trail, the boys found the deer gone. The other mother and I heard a large crashing through the woods and water, large enough to be a bear. We had seen some bear scat on our hike, so it isn't unreasonable to think it was a bear crashing nearby. We told the boys that the ranger most likely came by to get the deer, but there was a long trail where it had been dragged by something. My money is on the bear.
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