Wildlife encounters in Big Bend National Park

If you are looking for solitude, an uncompromising landscape, plenty of wildlife then Big Bend National Park is an absolute gem. You will without question have uninterrupted time in several diverse landscapes (the Chisos mountains, the Chihuahuan desert, the Rio Grande). However, making this visit, you need to really want to make the visit and be well prepared for how remote and rugged that this place is. We had lived in Texas for several years before and did not make the journey. Finally in 2025, we made the two flight and then four-hour drive to the southwest corner of Texas to enjoy this peaceful wilderness.

We did prepare ourselves for encounters during the trip. Big Bend is home to over 25 mountain lions, a growing population (thank goodness) of black bear, javelinas, bobcats, coyotes, foxes, rattlesnakes and so forth. I would have loved to show you all pictures of all of these, but in our journeys, I did not come across some of the larger creatures. In fact, on some of the early morning hikes I intentionally avoided a few trees that I saw rustling on the trails, sometimes you just have to pick your spots on when to go for the pictures. With little options on narrow switchbacks are not the circumstances to be bear searching.

Not all the wildlife is so intimidating, because of the diversity of park landscapes, Big Bend is home to over 450 different species of birds throughout the year. And in other posts, you will see the incredible landscapes, sunrises, and dark skies of this wonderful park. Plenty of opportunities for wildlife encounters in Big Bend National Park.

We will start with photos of several interactions with deer that we had in the Chisos Basin area of the park. All of these happened very near where we stayed the first few days in Chisos Mountain Lodge.

Two bucks spar in the shade of a pinion tree in the Chisos Mountains of Big Bend National Park in Texas.

Below are some other shots from deer sitings. Note the young buck on the right with one growing antler, and one recently broken.

First picture from afar with a new camera lens.

Close up of an approaching buck

Another young buck

As we have been travelling and increasing our photography practice, I really have started to enjoy photographing birds. Once you hear them, it takes patience to identify where they are hiding out. When you find them, it becomes another patience game to see if you can capture the birds in action instead of simply perching. In Big Bend, a prevalent and gorgeous species is the Mexican Jay. On nearly each outing and certainly during each hike, this beautiful blue bird announced its presence. They are not shy, and the blend in with little else but the Texas blue sky.

A Mexican jay staring me down from their perch on a broken tree branch.

Mexican jay surveying the scene

Mexican jay ready for takeoff

Mexican jay traversing a canyon floor

One jay accompanying me on my hike of the Window trail.

I got some other good shots on the trails:

• the Northern cardinal, okay maybe these are common in US but to spot the bright red among the desert sandstone and pinion trees still draws the eyes

• Ravens, one of the many unsung heroes of our National Parks, and they always seem so much larger in National Parks

• I believe a Crissal thrasher in Terlingua

• And also got some great glimpses of vultures soaring in Davis Mountains State Park a little later in the trip

Northern Cardinal

Ravens at Castolon

Visitors at Terlingua

Ravens on the move at Davis Mountains

Turkey vulture in flight

The vulture circles

The Roadrunner also made its presence known in both Chisos Basin as well as in Terlingua. This beautiful and intricately decorated species certainly honors its name with the speed of its moves across both roads and desert terrain. The roadrunners we encountered were not timid at all, in fact one was near jumping onto Beth's lap as we sat outside Chisos Mountain Lodge.

I'm not surprised that this creature always outsmarted Wile E. Coyote, super genius (hello old school Looney Tunes cartoons). But very interesting to know that roadrunners are a primary predator of rattlesnakes. We saw roadrunners several years ago on a road trip through the Texas panhandle and New Mexico, but we didn't remember how ornate their feathers are. Such beautiful creatures.

Roadrunner greeting us in Chisos Basin

Two roadrunners near the house in Terlingua

A very ornate bird

And what would an evening be without being greeted by a fox? The evening twilight was a little too dark for stills but had a few good interactions with a fox visiting the grounds during one of our first evenings in Big Bend.

And a long evening interaction with a fox near Chisos lodge. Sometimes you don't have to hike far (or at all) for the best sitings.

The fox headed out

Sorry, no mountain lions, bobcats or bears this time but next time out hopefully the opportunities arise. Still quite a bit of great wildlife interaction on the trip. Hope you enjoy!