Peacocks, Lizards and Coyotes, oh my!

It’s been a while since I last posted something travel related. (Although I’ve been posting, most of the posts fall into a different category.) So, I’m hoping today’s post will be a bit of a treat!

Not long ago, I had the opportunity to visit the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden in Arcadia, CA.

It was at this arboretum that I encountered my two firsts. My first first: seeing a peacock in real life as well as hearing it speak for the first time. Second first: encountering a coyote alone. Yes, I really did encounter a coyote… More on it in a bit.

So, it’s safe to say this arboretum is known for its peacocks. These birds are beautiful but they’re loud.

I recall driving into the parking lot (free parking, by the way) of the arboretum only to be greeted by the sound of a peacock or two. At the time, I didn’t know this sound belonged to a peacock. I was just a bit ecstatic to hear such an unusual but charming noise. (After a while, hearing these exotic creatures speak isn’t all that charming, though. It simply gets old especially when they’re being extra loud. It still doesn’t change the fact that they’re beautiful animals, though.)

Early on in my visit to the arboretum, I got greeted by a peacock (male) which “flew” (more like flopped) over my head as I was tying my shoelaces on a bench. The experience was somewhat epic since I was slightly taken aback and surprised that these birds can fly.

To give you an idea of how close they can come to you on a voluntary basis, here’s a photo:

This female peacock was pecking about here and there near me. As she began to get closer and closer, I decided to take a photo with my foot in it. You can tell she wasn’t startled with my movement at all.

Oh, and here’s a photo of me invading the male peacock’s personal space. LOL Although I may have been able to get this close to the peacock for a selfie, I want to remind you that it may not be the wisest thing to do. As tame as they may appear to be, they are still animals and as animals they can attack at any time especially if we as humans are not cautious/respectful enough.

​Talking about caution, now is probably a good time for me to talk about my second first of encountering a coyote. So , I don’t exactly know where I was inside the arboretum as the arboretum is HUGE. But I do recall being on the lookout for the arboretum’s waterfall. It turns out that I was quite a ways from this waterfall since no one was around. (I did come across two plant enthusiasts but even they went off their merry little way elsewhere.)

I was alone in the middle of “nowhere”, appreciating flowers and wondering when I’d come across this waterfall when I all of a sudden notice a dog. A rather big dog jogging nonchalantly across from me. I thought it was cool that someone had brought their dog into the arboretum. I thought it was cool until I realized that there was no human near the dog. As if taking notice of my newfound realization, the dog stops and turns to look at me. It’s at this moment that I come to yet another realization. The dog wasn’t a dog. The “dog” was a coyote. (If it wasn’t a coyote, then it was a wolf. But it was a coyote. A lone coyote. Update: It seems to have been both a coyote and a wolf. In other words, a coywolf!)

The coyote and I were gazing at each other. A part of me was thinking how cool it was to encounter a coyote yet another part of me was frantically wondering what I was supposed to do in this situation. I asked myself if I should act taller than I am or stare at it, but in the quickness of it all, I remembered having read from somewhere that some wild animals aren’t okay with being looked at in the eye and that was what I was doing! Gazing at each other = staring at each other! I so desperately wanted to google but knew it was the wrong time to google…

Fortunately for me, I did the right thing as the coyote decided to leave me be by turning away and continued his nonchalant stroll through the “woods”. And the correct thing I did was on accident by the way. In the process of thinking, I had momentarily looked away and when I looked back, the coyote had turned away from me. Yay me, right? I learned what I was supposed to do without the help of google. (Ridiculous, I know. I bet anyone familiar with wildlife is cracking up with laughter right now… But many people from the city aren’t so aware of such things, unless they’re avid hikers or something.)

I want to say that I stumbled upon the waterfall shortly after my encounter with the coyote but that would be a lie. When I finally found the path to the waterfall, all I could do was ask myself how in the world was I not able to get there sooner?