Kirkland might be a little wilder than you think. Most locals are probably familiar with the downtown’s nightly commitment to revelry — a situation that helps make Kirkland one of the DUI capitals of the state — but did you know the city is also home to a veritable “who’s who” of North America’s signature animals?

Neither did I. But then last week a number of readers called in to share stories of recent run-ins with the city’s wildlife. That got me on the phone with the Washington State Department of Fish & Wildlife. My question for Chris Anderson, an assistant district biologist for King County: How wild is Kirkland? The answer: Fairly.

It turns out healthy numbers of black tail deer, coyotes, beavers, possums, squirrels, raccoons, a number of amphibians, a long list of birds (including bald eagles, wood ducks, pilated woodpeckers, chickadees and purple martins) and a multitude of others fill the nooks of the city. It also turns out, however, that squeezing all this wildlife into a well developed suburban/urban area comes with its share of man-vs.-nature friction.

Take, for instance, a local man’s run-in with a deer last week. Driving down Interstate-405 near the N.E. 85th Street exit, Kirkland’s Chuck Pilcher hit a deer as it tried to cross eight lanes of freeway. Pilcher said the accident caused over $2,000 to his car. He doubts the deer survived.

Or consider the situation of renters at the Plum Court Apartments (451 4th Ave. S.). It seems that when a developer cleared a wooded area from a nearby piece of property — the Green’s Funeral Home/Nettleton Mansion site — to make space for some new houses, he knocked down more than just trees. The property was home to a family of three or four raccoons, who promptly moved into the complex’s green spaces. Now, residents say the raccoons are harassing their small dogs (the complex is home to a number of chihuahuas), threatening their cats and eating their pet food.

According to Anderson, this is actually a typical scenario for Kirkland. While city-specific numbers aren’t available, the Department of Fish & Wildlife recorded over 700 animal nuisance calls in the North Puget Sound region, which encompasses King, Snohomish, Skagit and Whatcom counties, during the month of June. Anderson said almost all of those calls were raccoon complaints from King County and, of those, most were from the Bellevue/Kirkland area.

But Anderson warned that residents should think twice before calling in a complaint. The solution to a problem raccoon: sending out a trapper to capture and put down the animal.

There’s one animal, however, Anderson said he wouldn’t mind sending more trappers after. Rats – of the Norway and Black varieties – thrive in the city, he said, with many making burrows amongst the English Ivy that has invaded the city’s open spaces.

Do you have a story, either good or bad, to share about an encounter with the city’s wildlife? We’d like to hear about it. Send us a note.