I live in the desert southwest.  We have coyotes, bobcats, scorpions, rattle snakes, and, of course, mountain lions.  People still play outdoors.  Many people out here have encountered our animal neighbors.  I’ve met so many people who have seen a mountain lion while hiking!  I’ve never seen one in the wild, other than pictures captured on trail cameras.  I hope someday to see one!

I have walked with a coyote.  A couple of us were training for a marathon, and a young coyote decided to walk along with us.  Very dog-like, which makes sense.  He stayed with us for a mile or two, then went on his way.

At work (my engineering job) we fairly often get warnings that there is a rattle snake in the parking lot.  Someone comes out to scoop them up and remove them back to the wild.  Plus, there are a couple of roadrunners that hang out in the parking lot, and even jump on people’s cars.

Right now, REI is doing a program – aimed at women, but helpful for anyone needing help getting out there – encouraging people to get outside.  (I don’t receive any compensation from REI, just think this is a cool program).  For example, when I used to backpack, decades ago, backpacks still had aluminum external frames.  The new ones are much more compact – but I had no idea where to put the sleeping bag!  The cooking stuff has gotten much more compact, too.  Technology advances, even when I’m not looking!

Anyway, if you want to get outside, take a class or join a meetup group and go for it!