Why Heat Waves Bring More Wild Animals Into Lawton

One of the more curious things hot and dry weather brings to Southwest Oklahoma is a rare glimpse at some of our more mythical wild animals.

I'm not talking about the bison and longhorn out at the refuge. This is more about the animals that seek out easily accessible water and shaded relief during heat waves like the one we're having right now.

More Common Than You Think

The last time Lawton was this hot and dry, there was a mountain lion just chilling in Wolf Creek below the Timbers Apartment complex out toward the country club on Gore Boulevard.

Now, sure, it's pretty normal to spot cougars near the country club, but this was a completely different wild encounter.

Granted, when we reached out to a ton of different biologists to ask whether it was just a big 'ol bobcat, the overwhelming response was that it was a mountain lion.

Full transparency, the Oklahoma Department of Wildlife Conservation insisted it was a bobcat... which is enough proof anyone should need to know it was a mountain lion lol.

As Lawton sits on the edge of what little wilderness there's still left in the Sooner State, we get a glimpse of wild animals quite often, so much so that the list doesn't seem all that odd.

Coyotes are pretty common. With so much rural area inside city limits, it's only natural. I have a whole family of cottontail rabbits living under my shed. They don't bother me, but the neighbors' dogs do go nuts from time to time. Opossums and skunks are really common too.

You wouldn't think deer would be a common sight inside city limits, but it does happen. Granted, they're usually spotted in the outlying areas near normal wildlife trails. You'll see them at Elmer Thomas Park once in a while, and when they take off, they dart either north into that big grassland or back under the highway to the wooded creek area. They're really common in West and East Lawton.

You would think foxes would be on the rare side too, but we had a fox give birth in our garage here in Downtown Lawton a few years ago. We left them alone until the youngins were big enough to follow momma out of the hole in the fence before fixing it.

Someone mentioned that they've been seeing road runners recently, and to be honest, if we weren't having a bumper-crop year of those birds out in the refuge, I might not believe it. But the last time we made the big Indiahoma loop, there were at least a dozen on our drive.

Some Wildlife Sightings Feel Impossible

While not here in Lawton, my sister did have an otter in her backyard earlier this year. She doesn't even live near water. It was a super strange and magical moment.

As this heat wave digs deeper and SWOK dries out, we'll likely be seeing more wild animals well within city limits. Whether they're looking for water or irrigated lawns and green grass to eat, it's only natural that our two worlds collide.