Wildlife

It's about this time of year, every year, that tarantulas start making themselves known in Bandelier National Monument and other parts of New Mexico. Every autumn, mature male tarantulas start out on their quest to find a mate. This exposes them to many dangers, from hawks and skunks, which want to eat them, to fast-moving cars, to people who just find them creepy and may think they should be squashed.

A Canadian study into how different forms of recreation affect wildlife indicates that animals avoid mountain bikers more than hikers, equestrians, and even motorized travel. That said, the researchers also noted that they're not sure how far wildlife will go out of its way to avoid these recreational users, as their monitoring was restricted to established trails in South Chilcotin Mountains Provincial Park in southwestern British Columbia.

A man hunting moose in Wrangell-St. Elias National Park and Preserve in Alaska was fatally mauled by a grizzly bear, according to park officials.

It could be weeks or longer before medical examiners are expected to report whether a backpacker at Great Smoky Mountains National Park was killed by a bear found scavenging his remains or whether he died of another cause.