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Located just off mile post 324.8 of
The Blue Ridge Parkway.
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 Area Wildlife |
There is an abundance of wildlife on our property, we see deer, turkey, rabbit, fox, raven and squirrel on an almost daily basis. We've also encountered bear, cougar and skunk on occasion.
Below is information on just a few of visitors.
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BLACK BEAR
GENERAL INFORMATION
The black bear was once found throughout North Carolina and the eastern United States. In North Carolina, black bears are now found only in the eastern coastal plain and in the western mountains.
DESCRIPTION
Black bears are large mammals, averaging between 100 to 150 pounds for females and up to 300 pounds or more for males. Some black bears weighing more than 600 pounds have been reported. The general coloration of the black bear is bluish black but occasionally they may be brownish or even cinnamon colored. The muzzle is brown and there may be a white patch on the upper region of the chest. The tail is short, the eyes small, and the ears are small and rounded. Black bears walk flat-footed and are known as plantigrades. Each foot is tipped by long, powerful, nonretractable claws. BLACK BEAR
Ursus americanus
HABITS AND HABITATS
Black bears are generally shy and reclusive animals. They avoid human contact and are not normally agressive towards people. The only exceptions to this are so called "park bears" which are fed and lose their natural fear of humans. Although they are classified as carnivores, black bears are actually omnivorous, eating many types of plant and animal material. Grasses, green leaves, and other plants are eaten by black bears in the spring after they emerge from their winter dens. Summertime provides them with various berries, fruits, and insects. In fall and early winter, acorns and other nuts are especially sought after in order to build up fat reserves for the winter. In our area, black bears don't hibernate but they may be dormant during the coldest part of the winter. Unlike true hibernators, a dormant black bear can become fully alert in minutes if it is disturbed. Winter dens include hollow trees, cavities formed in the ground, or sometimes simply a bed on the surface of the ground in a thicket. Females give birth to their cubs during the winter in late January or early February. Average litter sizes are from two to three young. The young bears stay with the mother through the next winter and disperse the following spring. Female bears usually begin breeding at about 3 to 5 years of age and normally produce cubs only every other year. Black bears require extensive amounts of land with little disturbance by man, a major limiting factor in their numbers. Male bears tend to roam much more than the females. Studies have shown that the home range of female black bears in the coastal plain average about 2,000 acres with males averaging about 11,000 acres. Female black bears in the mountains roamed over 2,800 acres while males in the mountains utilized over 15,000 acres. Oak, hickory and mixed hardwood forests with laurel and rhododendron thickets are preferred bear habitats in the mountains. In the coastal plain they are found primarily in swamps, pocosins, and lowland hardwood forests. Black bears live to be about 10 years old.
Information provided by WNC Nature Center
 http://wildwnc.org/
COUGAR
GENERAL INFORMATION
The cougar is known by many names including the panther, puma, catamount, and mountain lion. Although once found throughout much of North America, cougars are now absent from many regions where they once were common, including western North Carolina.
DESCRIPTION
Cougars are large, muscular cats. They average 7 to 9 feet in total length of which up to a third is tail and weigh between 150 and 200 pounds when full grown. An adult cougar is tan colored with black coloration on the sides of it's muzzle, the backs of the ears, and the tip of the tail. Cougar kittens are mottled with black spots and have ringed tails until they are about 6 months old.
HABITS AND HABITATS
Cougars are secretive, solitary hunters that feed primarily on white-tailed deer but will also eat smaller game such as opossums, rabbits, mice, and even insects if food supplies are limited. Cougars are skilled night hunters with excellent eyesight and superb hearing. They run swiftly, are agile climbers, and can even swim. Rather than simply chasing after their food, cougars prefer stalking their prey at close range, utilizing the element of surprise. At the last moment, a cougar may leap as far as 20 feet or more onto the animal's back. Strong jaws and long canine teeth then make it possible for cougars to kill their prey with one bite to the nape of the neck. After an initial feeding, a cougar may cover the carcass with leaves or other debris to be saved for a later meal. Cougars begin breeding at about 3 years of age and may mate during any season. Typical litters of 1 to 6 kittens are born after a gestation period of 82 to 98 days. Their eyes open in 8 or 9 days and the young are weaned in 2 to 3 months, though the kittens may remain with the mother into their second year. Cougars can occupy a variety of habitats from coastal swamps to mountain slopes. These large predators require extensive, undisturbed forested areas that also support adequate white-tailed deer populations.
Information provided by WNC Nature Center
http://wildwnc.org/
WHITE-TAILED DEER
GENERAL INFORMATION
The white-tailed deer is one of our best known and easily recognized large mammals. They are abundant in most areas of our state, especially in the eastern Coastal Plain. Other members of the deer family found in North America include the elk, moose, caribou, and mule deer.
DESCRIPTION
The white-tailed deer is a large animal which varies quite a bit in size, depending on the particular subspecies (there are 30 recognized) and the region where it is found. In our area, adult weight averages from about 100 to 150 pounds. Some whitetail deer from the northern United States and Canada may weigh as much as 350 pounds. Mature males are generally larger than the females. The whitetail is an ungulate, or hoofed animal, with each foot ending in a cloven or two piece hoof. The underparts of the deer's body are white with a white patch on the throat and another smaller band of white around the nose. The underside of the tall is also white. The upper body parts are colored reddish brown during the warmer months but in the fall, white-tailed deer molt into their winter coats of dark, grayish brown. For several months of the year, male white-tailed deer, known as bucks, are easily recognized by the presence of antlers on the head, which the females, known as does, lack. WHITE-TAILED DEER
Odocoileus virginianus
HABITS AND HABITATS
White-tailed deer are extremely cautious and wary animals with highly developed senses of sight, smell, and hearing. When threatened with danger, they will often attempt to quietly sneak away. If seriously frightened however, a whitetail deer will often utter a loud, snorting call, and then quickly run away while raising the tail upwards like a flag, exposing the white underneath as a visual alarm to other deer nearby. Buck deer are primarily solitary animals except during the breeding season, also called the rut, when they actively seek out does for breeding. In our area, the breeding season takes place during late November and early December. Buck deer rub their antlers against small saplings to mark their territory and also use them to fight with other males during the rut. After the breeding season, the antlers are shed and a new set begins to grow later in the spring. Does often travel together, especially during the winter months, or a doe will often be accompanied by her young from the previous season. By late spring, the young deer begin to drift away from their mothers. Does give birth to their young in early summer. The young deer, known as fawns, are almost scentless for the first few days of their life. White spots on a reddish brown coat help to camouflage the fawn on the sun dappled forest floor where it spends much of it's time hiding from predators. The mother returns periodically to nurse the fawn until it is large enough to follow her about. White-tailed deer occupy a variety of habitats from forests to fields and swamps. They are most common where a variety of habitats are found, providing them with all their seasonal needs. Whitetails are herbivores, feeding on a large variety of plant materials such as tender young leaves, stems, and shoots. Deer also seek out mushrooms and wild fruits and will feed on man's agricultural crops, such as corn and soybeans, often causing considerable damage. A major fall and winter food is acorns.
Information provided by WNC Nature Center
http://wildwnc.org/
GRAY FOX
GENERAL INFORMATION
Gray foxes range throughout the US except the northwestern quarter as well as northern Mexico and Baja California. We have gray foxes in our Carolina mountains, but they are rarer on our coast. The gray fox is different from tile other species of fox found in Western NC. A quick way to tell the difference in the gray and red fox is, tile gray fox has a black tip on its tail, and the red fox has a white tip on its tail.
DESCRIPTION
The gray fox weighs between 7 and 13 pounds. It has a salt-and-pepper coat with buffy underfur, usually a median black stripe down its back and long bushy tail, and a black tip on its tail. There can be other color phases - red, cross (red coat with a darkish strip down the back and across tile shoulders), and black.
HABITS AND HABITATS
The gray fox is omnivorous, it feeds on cottontail rabbits, mice, and other small mammals, birds, eggs, insects, plant material, and fruits. The gray fox is primarily nocturnal, but may occasionally be seen foraging during the daylight hours. They mate around February and March, and have 2-7 young, which are born in March or April. The male helps tend to the young, although he does not den with them. They den in hollow logs, beneath boulders, in ground burrows, or in hillsides. The young begin to hunt on their own around 4 months of age. Gray foxes prefer woody, brushy habitats, unlike the red fox which prefers more open Habitats. Gray foxes have been known to climb trees to find refuge from a threat, or to forage for eggs or fruit.
Information provided by WNC Nature Center
http://wildwnc.org/
RACCOON
GENERAL INFORMATION
The raccoon is one of the best known and most easily recognized mammals in our region. They are very adaptable and intelligent animals, capable of living in close proximity to humans. In North Carolina, raccoons are most common in the eastern coastal plain section because of the abundant wetland habitat.
DESCRIPTION
Raccoons are medium sized mammals, with adults ranging in weight from about 8 to 20 pounds and a length of 28 to 33 inches. Male raccoons are generally larger than the females. The fur is relatively long with an overall coloration of grizzled gray to brownish black. The most distinctive features of the raccoon are the black-ringed tail and the blackish coloration on the front of the face which resembles a bandit's mask.
HABITS AND HABITATS
Raccoons are most common in and around wetland areas, where they search for small aquatic animals like crayfish and freshwater mussels in the shallow water. They find much of their food by feeling with their sensitive front paws, often while gazing off in another direction. They also have the habit of dunking their food items in water when available, leading some people to believe that raccoons "wash" their food before eating it. It is more likely though that this "washing" of food items by a raccoon is simply its way of feeling and inspecting the food with its tactile senses before swallowing. Besides aquatic life and other animal matter, raccoons also eat a variety of fruits, berries, and seeds. In suburban areas, raccoons often raid our garbage cans for food as well as backyard bird feeders and gardens. Raccoons are generally active throughout the year, becoming dormant in winter only in very cold regions of the country. They usually begin breeding in their first or second year during late winter. After a gestation period of about 63 to 65 days, raccoons give birth to a litter of 2 to 5 young. The den is usually located in a hollow tree cavity, burrow, or other secluded site. Baby raccoons are weaned at 16 weeks of age but usually remain with the mother until they are about 9 months old. The average lifespan in the wild of a raccoon is from 2 to 3 years but they have lived as long as 17 years in captivity.
Information provided by WNC Nature Center
http://wildwnc.org/
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Blue Ridge Parkway Cabin Rentals in Spruce Pine, NC by Lake Forest Cabins, Mile post 324.8 off the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Lake Forest Cabins, Cabin Rentals in Spruce Pine, NC. Adjacent to and has direct access to the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Log Cabin nestled under Humpback Mountain on Rose Creek. One bedroom, one bathroom cabin with full kitchen, gas logs and front porch overlooking private lake on seven acres. Close to Orchard at Altapass, Museum of North Carolina Minerals, Mount Mitchell State Park, Grandfather Mountain, Linville Caverns, Spruce Pine Gem & Gold Mine, Emerald Village.
1959 Jacksontown Rd Spruce Pine, NC 28777 (828) 765 9674
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