After blogging on my favorite fish caught, I thought I would do one on overall wildlife encounters. This was a tough list to narrow down but it reminded me how blessed I truly am to have witnessed so many of God’s amazing creatures. And most importantly, I know following God even better things are yet to come.
Without a doubt my ultimate wild creature encounter was seeing four great white sharks in one day off the Farallon Islands just out of San Francisco in 2002. Most kids saw “Jaws” and wanted to stay out of the water and I wanted to get in. I was blown away by these apex predators. Intense. Powerful. Profound. (Courtesy Photo)
I’m a sucker for beauty and getting to see a wild toucan up, close and personal in Venezuela in 1999 was super cool. They are far more beautiful in person than I can describe. (Courtesy Photo)
A few years back my friend Bill Killian and I watched an eight foot plus leatherback turtle around an oil rig out of Sabine Pass only three miles fro shore. It was the only leatherback I have ever seen and it was incredible. (Courtesy Photo)
The cougar I saw when I was 14-years-old still stuns me. I remember locking eyes with the amazing animal at less than 30 yards. A pivotal point in my life as a wildlife fanatic. (Photo by Chester Moore, Jr.)
I’ve had a number of run-ins with wolves over the years and each one has fueled my love for these majestic creatures. I will never forget walking up on one, scaring it halfway to death and then having it follow me up a hill. You can’t get that kind of experience from a video game. (Courtesy Photo)