Life in the Hoh Rainforest bursts forth both as new growth and as decomposition. They go hand in hand in breaking down and building a forest. This fungus is one of many kinds that we saw. It decomposes and absorbs organic material.
Slugs are another type of decomposer. They eat and break down plant materials. They are voracious and can daily eat several times their body weight.
What’s this? It’s a rotting log and it’s been helped along by one of the top predators in the food chain, a bear. Bears paw through soft dead wood like this, searching for grubs and other little critters that feed on decaying wood. We just missed seeing a bear on the trail where we saw this log. Other hikers excitedly described their sighting further down the trail. It was gone by the time we got there. Phew!
Life is a never ending cycle. When you take a close look there really is a lot of activity going on in the forest.
Very cool photos! I haven’t seen a slug in years! Must not have them down here.
Fascinating to see this side of things. I’ve had near encounters with bears on trails- mostly hearing their noise and then seeing a flash of black fur as they scarper away into the woods.
Great photos – I am amazed that the slug can slide around on all those thorns.
I am glad that you “just missed seeing a bear!” They are not always gracious greeters on a trail.