Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!
(with all apologies to Judy Garland)

We don't have any more lions (there used to be mountain lions in Pennsylvania - the "famous" Nittany Lion is  just a local reference to a mountain lion) and, as far as I know, no tigers ever roamed the wilds of PA.  Pennsylvania recently reintroduced the lynx, but they're fairly rare.  I've seen a few bears in the woods (they mostly just run from you), but every once in awhile, we'll get a bear in downtown State College who will wreak some kind of havoc (break into a store looking for food and tear the place up, etc.).  Anyway, below are a few "critters" I've encountered while riding through the woods.

The Black Snake - One of the most common snakes in Pennsylvania is the black snake, which is not poisonous.  You definitely would rather bump into a black snake than a timber rattler or a copperhead.  This one posed great until I tried to get too close, then off into the woods he "dashed."

The Butterflies - These butterflies (I don't know what the name of of the species is), are quite rare in the United States.  Jeff, one of the guys I was biking with on this day, said he didn't even know the species was in Pennsylvania until he saw them on our ride.

Canadian Geese - Some of these guys came in for a landing while we were at The Lake.  I know they were guys because they later got into a big fight.

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