LOCAL: The Animals (Wild and Tame) You’ll Meet on the Kitsap Peninsula
from whale watching and fishing to encounters on the hiking trail, animals and wildlife are abundant on the Kitsap peninsula.
The Kitsap Peninsula is known for its natural beauty and iconic PNW atmospheres and ecospheres and with that comes critters of all shapes and sizes. Sea lions, eagles and ospreys, deer, coyotes, bear and all manner of critters both wild and domestic make the KP their home. Kitsap is a perfect place for a family farm, a wildlife encounter or a place to raise your pets…we LOVE our animals here and we know you will too. So bring your dogs, cats, goats, sheep, chickens, pigs and keep your eyes peeled for our abundant resident wildlife!
Here are the animals, wild and not so wild, that you’ll meet in kitsap…
Sea Life
The KP is surrounded by the Salish Sea, an expansive and intricate network of bodies of water that extends up into British Columbia…as such, Kitsap has an incredible amount of marine life, in all shapes and sizes. Some are physically impressive, like our migratory orca populations. Some are iconic, like our salmon and Dungeness crab. And many, like our trout, shrimp, and jellyfish, are a seamless part of the landscape. Kitsap is a perfect place for fishing, crabbing, whale watching, and tide pooling.
Farm Life
Surrounded by all that water are acres and acres of verdant farmcountry. Kitsap’s Central Valley is perhaps best known for its farms but small farms and backyard farms can certainly be found in all corners of the Peninsula. Whether it’s a small backyard chicken coop or a family farm raising a few head of cattle, there are farm-life critters everywhere. This also means that farm-fresh products and meats are never far…
Beach Life
Tidepooling, oyster, mussel and clam harvesting, and beach combing are a way of life on the KP. Kids love to turn over the low-tide rocks and watch the tiny crabs skitter away and adventurous adults love to walk the tide flats among the sand dollars, anemones, moon snails, whelks, and the scavenging seagulls who make a meal of the beach buffet.
Bird Life
Kitsap’s various ecosystems; wetlands, forests, estuaries and coast lines make a perfect home for many species of bird. Egrets, heron, king fishers, osprey, eagles, seagulls, humming bird, jays, wrens, warblers, finches, crane, crow and all manner of duck (and many many others) make the KP home. Kitsap is a birders paradise!
Forest Life
Walking through the gentle woodland murmur of a KP forest is one of the many special privileges of living in such a beautiful place where nature is kept close and easily accessed. A forest walk may reveal deer, beaver, squirrel, and potentially a sneaky salamander or a scurrying vole…but there are a whole host of other wild animals that are not as easily spotted like our resident raccoon, coyote, bear, opossum, fox and cougar populations.
Bonus: Camel Life!
A round-up of KP animals would not be complete without a proper homage to our resident Bactrian Camel named Gobi. This giant 2 humped shaggy beast can be found ambling around his pasture on Beach Drive in Manchester, just outside the entrance to Manchester State Park. If you do pull up to say hello to Gobi, please don’t feed him. :)
Whether you are planning on playing fetch, raising chickens or you just love to experience epic wildlife…kitsap peninsula is a great place for anmal lovers!
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Kitsap Annual Events Calendar 2025 - Mark your Calendar with this Kitsap County community events overview for 2025! Featuring events on Bainbridge Island, Kingston, Poulsbo, Bremerton, Silverdale, and Port Orchard this guide will help you plan your Kitsap Peninsula travels, road trip, weekend or staycation. Farmers Markets, Summer festivities, Holiday fun and so much more!