A small American Robin perched on a log over water in a lush green forested area, suggesting spring or summer with soft late afternoon light. 8:16
Bob's Pennsylvania Wildlife Camera channel icon Bob's Pennsylvania Wildlife CameraOriginal creator 284K views Save

Half the forest takes turns on one log bridge

Somewhere in the Pennsylvania woods a log lies across a stream, and nearly every animal around has worked out what it is for. more

The stream runs fast enough to keep most animals on their own side of it. Then a tree comes down across the water, and the woods get a bridge. Bob's Pennsylvania Wildlife Camera keeps watch on that log day and night, and the guest list is long.

A bobcat gives it a shot. He staggers a little, then finds his grip and leaps the last stretch, where the log is partly underwater. He also carries himself like the only animal in these woods who suspects he is being watched.

The ducks have a different idea. They're swimming the stream when the log gets in the way, so they walk right over it, the way a car takes a speed bump, and carry on swimming as if nothing happened.

The porcupine is the one people remember most. He grunts as he steps off the far end, a small, sweet grumble that many people call their favorite part. If the bridge took reviews, his would be the one complaining about the wet patch.

A small American Robin perched on a log over water in a lush green forested area, suggesting spring or summer with soft late afternoon light. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third.Save
Somewhere in the Pennsylvania woods a log lies across a stream, and nearly every animal around has worked out what it is for.

There are others. A heron drops by, and a bear cub makes a surprise walk-on.

None of it is planned. It's one tree that fell the right way, in a spot where a lot of animals needed to get across. But a cast of characters with little else in common now share the same stretch of bark, one at a time, as if they had agreed on a schedule.