tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-85279446891847963662024-03-16T23:53:34.221-07:00Camera Trap CodgerAdventures in camera trapping and zoology, with frequent flashbacks and blarney of questionable relevance.Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.comBlogger832125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-12292115043107813652021-12-31T11:02:00.004-08:002021-12-31T11:15:31.900-08:00The Deer and Puma<p>At the moment five deer are pawing snow looking for acorns next to the house. Not far from the bird feeders. I can watch them from the kitchen window. They also enjoy browsing the herb garden, but that's under a snow drift.</p><p>Of course, there are no pumas in sight, but I know they're around too, as you'll soon see. </p><p>Occasionally female pumas make forays into our community on "the ridge" in search of Mr Right. The caterwauling of a lovesick lady puma is a wonderful sound, but it rouses the dogs to bark up a storm, and it makes the neighbors a little testy. </p><p>My advice to my neighbors is step out the back door and enjoy the dogs sounding off in sequence as Ms Lonely Heart moves away. Rest assured that an estrous pussy cat isn't interested in eating. </p><p> </p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Kmq3T7e3ygE" width="320" youtube-src-id="Kmq3T7e3ygE"></iframe></div><br /><p></p>Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-27239538000518931762021-12-22T09:05:00.000-08:002021-12-22T09:05:43.740-08:00Within a junk pile<p>What goes on in a junk pile of old fence posts, broken gates, wire, and corrugated tin roofing overgrown with willows? We got a glimpse when we set a camera inside.</p><p><br /></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/9OQnEjt5hwQ" width="320" youtube-src-id="9OQnEjt5hwQ"></iframe></div><br /> <p></p>Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-62107454192828429902021-11-24T20:01:00.004-08:002022-01-01T09:52:11.465-08:00Bears at Play<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xPtcgBT70vE/YZ8JrzusfgI/AAAAAAAAGp4/jnJSE0nBpscNsSf7vo09k5SISkt9NiTIACLcBGAsYHQ/s1634/Thumbnail.jpg" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="915" data-original-width="1634" height="274" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xPtcgBT70vE/YZ8JrzusfgI/AAAAAAAAGp4/jnJSE0nBpscNsSf7vo09k5SISkt9NiTIACLcBGAsYHQ/w490-h274/Thumbnail.jpg" width="490" /></a></div><br /><p>Herewith, the best play sequences I got of bears in 2021. </p><p>To view the 4 minute video copy the following link to your browser:</p><p><b>https://vimeo.com/649686204</b>.</p><p>Or click below for the YouTube version.</p><p>Happy T'Giving.</p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen="" class="BLOG_video_class" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/Cl9LUiQqW8A" width="320" youtube-src-id="Cl9LUiQqW8A"></iframe></div><br /><p><br /></p><p> </p><p><br /></p>Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com0Magalia, CA, USA38.381277 -122.316847710.413412895586404 -157.4730977 66.34914110441359 -87.160597699999983tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-65381299289350799332021-01-01T13:46:00.006-08:002021-01-01T13:46:56.144-08:00A very clean bear<p>I didn't want to post this. The camera was askew. </p><p>I changed my mind. Happy New Year.</p><p>Copy and paste the link to your browser to view the movie (It lasts a minute and 45 sec).</p><p>https://vimeo.com/496250466</p>Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-71768992042096802562020-11-27T10:38:00.000-08:002020-11-27T10:46:31.214-08:00Bear spray with a happy ending<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FoiEPWb-VHA/X8FD5HB5qII/AAAAAAAAGkg/Jrs8FavU7JgJTRqbUfg-OiU8u-kg_DvTwCLcBGAsYHQ/s916/Bear%2Bwith%2Bbear%2Bspray_623.20_207.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="916" data-original-width="693" height="400" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FoiEPWb-VHA/X8FD5HB5qII/AAAAAAAAGkg/Jrs8FavU7JgJTRqbUfg-OiU8u-kg_DvTwCLcBGAsYHQ/w303-h400/Bear%2Bwith%2Bbear%2Bspray_623.20_207.png" width="303" /></a></div><div style="text-align: center;">Screen shot of Napoleon </div><div><div style="text-align: center;">with my bear spray</div><div><br /></div><div>What creepy thought comes to mind when you find a tooth-punctured canister of bear spray deep in the woods? Yes, some poor sod made his last stand against Bruin and lost. In this case the poor sod was me, but my can of bear spray made the ultimate sacrifice. </div><div><br /></div><div>Last June I absent-mindedly left my bear spray behind when I set a trail camera beside a seasonal creek. A bear visited 2 hours after we left, and during the next 3 months the camera video-captured bears on 50 occasions. </div><div><br /></div><div>Unfortunately, I don’t have video proving that Bruin got the big surprise while munching the canister. My lost bear spray was not in the camera’s field of view, at least not initially. But after it presumably exploded in the jaws of a bear -- it became a bear toy. I have video sound tracks to prove it. You can hear bears rolling it on the rocks and crackling the metal in their jowls. </div><div><br /></div><div>The canister mysteriously appeared at the edge of a video clip on day 53, and remained in view of subsequent clips until a yearling cub retrieved it from the water 11 days later. This bear -- I call him Napoleon -- seemed to make a statement. He walked up to the camera and dropped the can there. </div><div><br /></div><div>It didn't stay there. I found it several yards downstream in the dry creek bed, and how it got there I'll never know. It didn’t smell like pepper spray, but its remaining chemical taint gave me a coughing fit.
The crumpled bear spray canister now resides in the clutter of my garage and workshop – a souvenir of another adventure with a happy ending.
</div></div>Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-57775411522190628462020-10-05T16:21:00.004-07:002020-10-05T16:45:48.585-07:00Tree-climbing camera inspector<p>For three years I've photo-captured bears climbing this rubbing tree. It 's about 14 inches in diameter and leans a bit. Cubs zip up and down the trunk, even on the underside, and adults occasionally tackle it too. It was a tree made for an arboreal camera trap, and promised a head-on view of a bear shimmying closer to the camera. </p><p>After hauling my aluminum extension ladder to the site in two pieces, I bolted two cameras on a 1" pipe lag-screwed to the tree with a threaded flange. With neighbor Ted passing the tools to and fro the installation wasn't life threatening. Here's a bear's eye view as seen from near the base. The cameras (a Browning and a GoPro) are 11.5' from the base and a vertical drop of 12'.</p><p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rc2DDYQEAw4/X3uciSHENQI/AAAAAAAAGkI/9YKt6pddIVo_-AWlDxUFFfBFQZYG3AxOQCLcBGAsYHQ/s618/Set-823-arboreal_823.01E_305.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="618" data-original-width="464" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Rc2DDYQEAw4/X3uciSHENQI/AAAAAAAAGkI/9YKt6pddIVo_-AWlDxUFFfBFQZYG3AxOQCLcBGAsYHQ/s320/Set-823-arboreal_823.01E_305.jpg" /></a></div>I used to fit arboreal cameras with bungee cords. If an overly curious bear ripped a camera loose, the bungee would prevent a crash landing. Mischievous bears might play with a dangling camera, and could bite through the bungee cord, but a bungee could save the camera. Nowadays I believe most bears are loath to lose their grip while batting at a camera. <p></p><p>Bears visited the site 18 times, but only three looked up at the camera, and only the camera inspector climbed the tree. </p><p>To see the video copy this link https://vimeo.com/463652759 and paste it in your finder. </p><div><br /></div><p><br /></p><a href="vimeo.com/user34715862" target="_blank"></a>
Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-76362650122342465752019-02-10T08:45:00.000-08:002019-02-10T08:45:28.967-08:00Travels with Gray Fox, Part 2.<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/316348934" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br />
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Here's Part 2 of the gray fox footage. I hope it gives you some chuckles. Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-47424100899502016452019-02-04T08:11:00.002-08:002020-10-05T10:18:53.582-07:00Travels with Gray Fox, Part 1<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/315169172" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br /><a href="https://vimeo.com/315169172">Travels with Gray Fox, Pt 1: On the trail</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user34715862">Chris Wemmer</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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I've accumulated a pile of clips of gray foxes on trails, and decided it was time to make a fox movie. My apologies -- it's subtitled "On the trail". It's a bit of a workout making trail footage from trail cameras interesting. You have to use your imagination for nuanced perspectives. But occasionally the foxes supplied me with some surprises, and that helped.Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-10195806171087888482019-01-12T09:13:00.002-08:002019-01-12T09:13:45.714-08:00Three Bears Part 2<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/310917524" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br /><a href="https://vimeo.com/310917524">Three Bears, Part 2</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user34715862">Chris Wemmer</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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I checked the camera only 9 hours after the bears had decamped, and the place looked different. The vegetation was trampled, the boulder was missing most of its moss, and there was bear dung.<br />
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I never expected bears to camp in front of a trail camera, but every now and then your camera is in the right place at the right time and the animals tell you things you didn't know.<br />
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<br />Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-78199889165194399222019-01-04T08:45:00.000-08:002019-01-04T13:46:10.452-08:00Three Bears<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/309379160" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br />
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<br />
<br />
This video is about a family of bears that turned up on my trail cameras early last summer.<br />
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I live about 8 miles above Paradise, literally and figuratively.<br />
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The communities of Paradise, Magalia, and Stirling City emerged in the
slash and stump lands left by the Diamand Match Company in the mid-1900s, but the
forests came back.<br />
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It's a
great part of the state if you want to be close to nature. But Paradise can turn into hell when there's wildfire, as happened this year.<br />
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Camera trapping this family of bears gave me great pleasure, and I dedicate this video to the memory of a fellow codger and batch mate, teacher and school principal. Dave Schumaker (1940-2018) was a big man with a big voice, a big heart, and a big sense of humor. He also told great stories. He will be remembered for nurturing an interest in the natural world in thousands of students and practically everyone else he met. <br />
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Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-23134697790850846842018-11-07T20:12:00.004-08:002018-11-07T20:12:41.501-08:00Spring Fever Bears<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/299468939" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br />
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When spring comes, the she-bears in my neighborhood are shameless flirts. No video narration is needed to make that point. Have a look and see if you agree.<br />
<br />Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-37907904323101159752018-05-27T10:13:00.000-07:002018-05-27T10:13:12.080-07:00Tricked again by a bear<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/272094789" width="640"></iframe><br />Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-47492154244997308882018-05-19T14:50:00.000-07:002018-05-19T14:50:05.490-07:00Lonesome Night Stalker<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/270901031" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br /><a href="https://vimeo.com/270901031">Lonesome Night Stalker</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user34715862">Chris Wemmer</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<br />Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-64645119757180127102018-05-09T08:45:00.000-07:002018-05-09T08:48:19.142-07:00The bear's rubbing tree<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/268709730" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br />
<a href="https://vimeo.com/268709730">The Rubbing Tree</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user34715862">Chris Wemmer</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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I set this trail camera on a meandering game trail with a long view.<br />
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I expected clips of the usual cast of characters, but soon learned that the trail passed a bears' rubbing tree, a mountain lion scrape, and a pit stop for a bobcat.<br />
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I pointed the camera at the rubbing tree.<br />
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Though it must surely reek of bear, it smells like tree bark to me.<br />
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A lot of critters besides bears check it out, and gray foxes occasionally pee on the stump. <br />
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This film shows last month's action at the bears' rubbing tree. Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-56945959468973099482017-12-13T20:36:00.001-08:002017-12-13T20:36:59.972-08:00Bears on the puma killAfter filling its stomach with one haunch the puma left and never returned. But 4 bears came to feed nightly and eventually a few other scavengers made their appearance.<br />
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Murphy's Law struck on the second night when the camera failed, but this whipped me into overkill mode. On each following night I staked two or three cameras. Each one operated independently and triggered one or two 27 watt LED lights.<br />
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I was learning on the run. When all cameras were in operation too much light marred some pretty cool clips. All I could do was adjust
the position of cameras and lights every afternoon based on the previous night's results. I just didn't have the moxie to test the lights in darkness. <br />
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Then Murphy's Law got me again: the camera that gave by far the best clips in terms of lighting and perspective failed to record sound! <br />
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I kept plugging away, and the game was up at the end of the week when the bears lost interest in the scraps.<br />
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I had an overwhelming 7 hours of very interesting video of variable quality.<br />
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This 3+ minute movie gives you an idea of what happened at the carcass on just one night and the next day. <br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/247225366" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br />Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-85975210570663285432017-09-04T12:47:00.000-07:002017-09-04T12:47:01.731-07:00A Cougar on a Kill<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EIMpLnuvCMw/Wa1zUdjfBsI/AAAAAAAAGdc/Kq7SgiKrtnEz87Sj8yRHjdNI6kyeP4OcQCLcBGAs/s1600/Puma-kill-311.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="621" data-original-width="930" height="425" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-EIMpLnuvCMw/Wa1zUdjfBsI/AAAAAAAAGdc/Kq7SgiKrtnEz87Sj8yRHjdNI6kyeP4OcQCLcBGAs/s640/Puma-kill-311.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Last year, a week before Christmas I stumbled into a black-tailed buck's carcass on a deer trail below the house. It caught me completely off guard. My plan that afternoon was to set a camera at a wood rat's nest. That idea was now null and void. This was a rare opportunity to camera trap a cougar on its kill. <br />
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The carcass was fresh. The kill had probably taken place at dawn, giving the cat enough time to pluck the rib cage, and snack on the haunch and foreleg. The light of day and sounds of the awakening community nearby probably curtailed the meal. <br />
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I prepared a sapling of bay laurel to stake the camera while Fred sniffed around the carcass. I was plagued with all kinds of "what if's". Like what if it drags the carcass away? (You're out of luck) What if it feeds with its back to the camera? (You're out of luck again) What if it doesn't come back? (Then you're really out of luck). <br />
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With the camera staked next to the deer trail, I lashed the LED to a stout manzanita near by. The camera's walk test showed that the flood light was working. The sun was setting. I didn't want to give kitty a surprise. So we packed and headed up the hill to home.<br />
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Here's what the camera recorded.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/232349969" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br /><a href="https://vimeo.com/232349969">A Cougar on its Kill</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user34715862">Chris Wemmer</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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See a higher definition version <a href="https://vimeo.com/232349969">here</a><br />
<br />Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-21442700117817569622017-08-31T15:41:00.002-07:002017-08-31T15:41:42.346-07:00Rough & Tumble Bears<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/231857986" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br /><a href="https://vimeo.com/231857986">Rough & Tumble Bears</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user34715862">Chris Wemmer</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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<br />Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-30303200729030803342017-08-22T19:13:00.000-07:002017-08-22T19:14:01.632-07:00Little Rabbit Climbs Big Sage<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/230621288" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br />
<a href="https://vimeo.com/230621288">Pygmy Rabbit</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user34715862">Chris Wemmer</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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I had the good fortune this month to spend a few days in the sage steppe of the eastern Sierra Nevada, where I managed to snag these clips of a pygmy rabbit.<br />
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The species has been on my camera trapping bucket list for several years now.<br />
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For a lot more about this charming lagomorph, see <a href="http://natureofaman.blogspot.com/2014/07/pygmies-of-great-basin.html">Nature of a Man Blog</a>, and be sure to search Ken's other posts for a lot more about Pygmy Rabbits.<br />
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I am grateful for Ken's help in getting these video clips, and sincerely appreciate the Catani family's efforts to protect habitat for California's wildlife. Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-58033852091305690022016-08-25T20:48:00.002-07:002016-08-29T17:31:20.338-07:00Fred trees mountain lion<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="360" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/180260143" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="640"></iframe><br />
<a href="https://vimeo.com/180260143">Fred trees a mountain lion</a> from <a href="https://vimeo.com/user34715862">Chris Wemmer</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com/">Vimeo</a>.<br />
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"Fred's barking at something" came the voice from the bedroom.<br />
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"Yeah, he's barking at a squirrel -- it's his morning routine", replied the voice in the office.<br />
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(5 minutes later)<br />
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"Fred's still barking, and it sounds like he's getting farther away."<br />
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"Okay, okay, I'll check." <br />
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From the kitchen window I saw Fred "arfing" gamely up into a live oak about 60 feet from the house.<br />
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And dang me if there wasn't a tawny cat up that tree. <br />
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I rushed to the bedroom announcing "Fred's treed a mountain lion", punched my feet into my jeans (somewhat like Charleton Heston in "The Big Country"), grabbed my camera, and headed out the back door.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xRGSd0QBeqM/V7-qveVn0CI/AAAAAAAAGXw/iJYO9hfL6Ag6GZnjqQPS3dQDV-x96VBVgCLcB/s1600/Puma-treed-872.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xRGSd0QBeqM/V7-qveVn0CI/AAAAAAAAGXw/iJYO9hfL6Ag6GZnjqQPS3dQDV-x96VBVgCLcB/s640/Puma-treed-872.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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The svelte cat was eyeing Fred from a safe height of 35 feet, and as I snapped a few pictures it turned its humiliated gaze on me.<br />
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<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R2d6JNfIaaw/V7-p-vWsV5I/AAAAAAAAGXs/Iq00JuOSV8cyxvSW8dU9j3NFRWleAuepgCLcB/s1600/Puma-treed-876-Carls%2Bwork.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="499" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R2d6JNfIaaw/V7-p-vWsV5I/AAAAAAAAGXs/Iq00JuOSV8cyxvSW8dU9j3NFRWleAuepgCLcB/s640/Puma-treed-876-Carls%2Bwork.jpg" width="640" /></a>Better shoot some video, I thought.<br />
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My soothing "Niiiice kitty" failed to improve the cat's disposition, but energized the dog even more.<br />
<br />
Then Kitty moved to a new position and plotted her escape down some low-hanging limbs.<br />
<br />
I shuffled down slope, grabbed Fred's collar, and filmed with my right hand as she crept out on the bendy limb.<br />
<br />
In spirit and style, Kitty's getaway could only be that of Butch Cassidy and the Sun Dance Kid, and in a few moments her getaway was complete, as you saw in the video.<br />
<br />
How did this come about?<br />
<br />
Well, you might have heard my wife's voice in the video.<br />
<br />
She was on the phone with my thoroughly jazzed neighbor "Iron Man", who called as soon as he heard the commotion.<br />
<br />
His German Shepherd had also barked at something down in the brush, but wisely didn't give chase.<br />
<br />
Then Iron Man saw something big moving down there, and heard Fred's full-throated bark shortly after. <br />
<br />
Kitty was probably slinking away on our property when Fred surprised her, and vice versa. <br />
<br />
In retrospect, maybe the hazing taught this cat to stay away from human habitation. <br />
<br />
As for what was going on in Fred's skull, I'm not sure.<br />
<br />
He may think the cat was a large variety of squirrel. (Okay, probably not.) <br />
<br />
But I do know this wouldn't have happened without him. <br />
<br />
<br />
<i><b>Acknowledgement</b></i><br />
<br />
(Thanks for the photoshopping, Carl)Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-42790486893380011612016-08-10T10:15:00.001-07:002016-08-10T10:21:57.029-07:00How I "bear sprayed" my wife on our wedding anniversary<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HoTwCosU4EA/V6teRt50cQI/AAAAAAAAGXc/Rdyluo54iEcnKevZByBkRMyoSgrphXnqACLcB/s1600/Chris%252BShirlee%2Bwedding-WEB.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-HoTwCosU4EA/V6teRt50cQI/AAAAAAAAGXc/Rdyluo54iEcnKevZByBkRMyoSgrphXnqACLcB/s400/Chris%252BShirlee%2Bwedding-WEB.jpg" width="308" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
My wife dropped a hint last Sunday at breakfast. “Maybe you
should check the camera traps this morning so we can get to the restaurant on
time.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I got the message. It was our 50<sup>th</sup> wedding
anniversary. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was a little after 8:00 when I finished packing my rucksack,
and that’s when I remembered that the only time I ever walked up on a bear was about
this time in the morning.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was a harmless amusement – I could hear mother bear high-tailing
it down the slope and splashing across the creek, while her 2 cubs set a record
descending a big old Douglas fir. I can still see them backlit in a haze of
falling bark and dust. No way were they going to be left behind.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But fate can be ironic, and a fleeting thought -- “<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bear mauls senior citizen on 50<sup>th</sup>
wedding anniversary</i>” -- cautioned me to take the bear spray (a birthday
gift from my younger daughter).<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And how many times has someone pulled their bear spray
trigger, found the canister empty, and </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
witnessed their deliverance in painfully
surreal slow motion? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p>I had better test it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I pulled the trigger guard and squeezed ever so briefly . .
. WOW!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p>The 10-foot plume of red pepper gas told me it wasn’t a dud.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p>And a moment later I found myself in the dilute invisible backwash. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p>And so did my blinking dog.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p>Sneezing and with one runny eye, we beat a hasty retreat
into house.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The pepper cloud followed us into the kitchen with the cool
air that funnels through the screen door in the morning. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Suddenly the redhead appeared, “What’s that smell? We’re
being gassed!”<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“I just tested the bear spray, Sweetie, and it works!” I
coughed, “It’s not really THAT bad (cough). </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
She hurried off to get a dust mask, and I decided it was
time to make our exit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The rest of the day was a charm. We encountered no bears, arrived at the restaurant on time, and recounted our bear spray episode for family
entertainment.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“He hasn’t changed a bit in 50 years,” said the redhead.<o:p></o:p><br />
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
"I’m lucky she still likes me," said the codger.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-27785725239437016212016-06-11T11:44:00.001-07:002016-06-11T11:44:18.629-07:00Winter weasel without snow<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s8hJeBaYOa8/V1xX3iwvJxI/AAAAAAAAGXA/tTG4SeRBmi4o0L_rV2_3Y3pwdha2BZy7gCLcB/s1600/Mustela-erminea--in-winter-4686B.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s8hJeBaYOa8/V1xX3iwvJxI/AAAAAAAAGXA/tTG4SeRBmi4o0L_rV2_3Y3pwdha2BZy7gCLcB/s640/Mustela-erminea--in-winter-4686B.jpg" width="481" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I finally got it:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
cam-trapped a weasel in its dashing white winter camo.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But as you’ve noticed, it’s sticking out like a sore thumb
because there’s no snow 2 feet underground where the picture was taken. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’ve wanted that photo since I learned that weasels are
frequent but uninvited guests in mountain beaver tunnels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Wouldn’t it be cool to show a winter weasel without the
benefit of its winter backdrop of snow?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
How do you get that picture?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You can nature-fake it – just live trap a weasel (no small
feat) and photograph it on soil and leaf litter set in a cage. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Or you can set a camera in a mountain beaver burrow.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But there’s risk and a technical challenge to leaving a
camera underground in a rodent burrow for half a year. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
You have to supplement the camera’s normal battery power so
it can take flash photos for 6 months. (I wired 4 external batteries -- 2 D and
2 C cells -- to the camera for back up power, and used 2 9-volt batteries to
power the controller.) <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
And you have to retrieve your camera before spring snowmelt
floods the burrow and drowns the camera or buries it in silt. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was ready to deploy in the fall of 2013, but procrastinated,
and the snow shut me out that winter. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I procrastinated again in 2014, but it was a drought year,
and I got away with setting the camera in early November. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Disappointment came the following May when I discovered the
batteries died 45 days into the bargain and before any weasel made an
appearance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Murphy’s Law. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Last winter I had the camera in the ground on October 7<sup>th</sup>.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The camera had been out 8 months when I drove to the site a
couple weeks ago with Bill and Diane Wilson. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Our timing seemed okay. The snow was gone at 6000 feet, and
the Forest Service road was dry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
only thing that was worrisome was the Yuba River, which was already roaring
from snowmelt.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At 7000 feet snowdrifts blocked the road. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
“Wait here Bill, I think it’s within walking distance.” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I skirted the drifts on the road, but it was solid snow at
the creek, which was a choppy gusher. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This was not a good sign because the camera was in an alder
thicket on a silt bench a few yards from the creek and only a few feet above
water in summer. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
A few minutes later I found the alder thicket; normally 8-15
feet high, it was flattened by snowpack. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I’m standing there thinking it would take a team with
shovels and spuds to expose the camera, when I see a bare spot and a piece of weathered
plywood.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was the cover over the tunnel and camera. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I tugged it free like a crazed treasure hunter . . . and “Damn
(expletives deleted)!” <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">The tunnel was flooded</i>.
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I yanked the stake free with the camera attached . . . and “DAMN!
(more expletives deleted)!” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;"><br /></i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Rust-colored water
drained from the camera case</i>. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I pulled the precious SD card, dried it, and headed back to
the car with the dripping camera trap. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At San Francisco State University’s field campus we downloaded
the file. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The camera took 106 photos before unseasonal rain flooded
the burrow at the end of January.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I was resigned to another failure as we scrolled through
blank exposures and occasional pictures of vole, shrew, or chickaree. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Then the snow-white weasel appeared. On January 7<sup>th</sup>.
One image.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
It was the last animal picture on the card.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Three weeks before the flood that ruined the camera. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R2iroOVHxzE/V1xZBiyQ2XI/AAAAAAAAGXM/f-1xrOKI7p4T-e7RtRHSMv6w8dH2CpwsACLcB/s1600/Flooded-Aplo-burrow-4698.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-R2iroOVHxzE/V1xZBiyQ2XI/AAAAAAAAGXM/f-1xrOKI7p4T-e7RtRHSMv6w8dH2CpwsACLcB/s400/Flooded-Aplo-burrow-4698.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
<div>
<br /></div>
Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-67287831583969744142016-05-31T11:21:00.000-07:002016-05-31T11:21:49.783-07:00A gob of minced meat<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nfLvFNWQTfo/V03TEFcsjTI/AAAAAAAAGWs/JwttAnTZplctFVpPLmyvpZFLa2F4BmIvwCLcB/s1600/Vulture-vomit-612.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nfLvFNWQTfo/V03TEFcsjTI/AAAAAAAAGWs/JwttAnTZplctFVpPLmyvpZFLa2F4BmIvwCLcB/s640/Vulture-vomit-612.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
There it is, a gob of minced meat of unknown origin, just as I found it next to a pool in the Butte Creek watershed.<br />
<br />
Fred sniffed it tentatively and left it alone.<br />
<br />
I photographed it with an 8" crescent wrench for perspective.<br />
<br />
Here are some other clues to help you solve the riddle.<br />
<br />
It was 2:00 on Memorial Day, temperature in the 90s, and Fred barked several times as we climbed down the slope to the pool on the creek.<br />
<br />
Now then, what left the gob of minced meat?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-11517198473545060902016-02-15T21:07:00.000-08:002016-02-15T21:19:46.567-08:00Cookie Monster with Velvet Paws<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uHQnzLj2AiY/VsJBNOjwUdI/AAAAAAAAGWY/XakGTC7D5_8/s1600/Sutter-Buttes-154.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-uHQnzLj2AiY/VsJBNOjwUdI/AAAAAAAAGWY/XakGTC7D5_8/s640/Sutter-Buttes-154.jpg" width="640" /></a>
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<div class="MsoNormal">
In the wetlands east of Sutter Buttes there’s a rice farm,
and on this farm there’s a machine shed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
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It’s one of those open machine sheds where swallows
swoop in and out and a pair of phoebes may nest under the eaves.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Since farmers get the munchies, there’s a plastic jar
with animal crackers on the workbench.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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When the staff showed up for work last Wednesday the cookie jar was on the floor.</div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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The jar was half empty. Something had pigged out on animal
crackers. </div>
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<br /></div>
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There were no bite marks or
signs of brute force, but a cookie monster had managed to twist off the plastic
screw lid.</div>
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<br /></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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So the farmer set a live trap on Monday, and the next
morning the cookie monster’s identity was no longer a mystery.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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In the trap was the raccoon's svelte cousin, the ringtail (<i>Bassaricus astutus</i>).<br />
<br />
The farmer drove it to a
remote area where there was plenty of ringtail habitat and let it go.<br />
<br />
Energized by cookies and enabled by velvet paws with retractile claws, it dashed up a tree like magic.<br />
<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<!--EndFragment--><a href="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hDSeWj2hCZo/VsJBLMYz7fI/AAAAAAAAGWU/fDIVr58fIv8/s1600/Ringtail_2048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hDSeWj2hCZo/VsJBLMYz7fI/AAAAAAAAGWU/fDIVr58fIv8/s640/Ringtail_2048.JPG" width="480" /></a></div>
<br />
That's a happy ending, I told my friend, but if the rascal comes back, I have a camera trap to see how it opens the cookie jar.<br />
<br />
[<i>Many thanks to Tony Rosa for telling me about this event, and to Bill and Susan Shaul and Carol and Frank Rosa for assembling the facts</i>.]Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-74141049371665974022015-09-02T11:14:00.002-07:002015-09-03T10:00:38.494-07:00A saga of the meat bees<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pIgi2KSNMFc/VdtM5_p7kcI/AAAAAAAAGTM/lIeHXaEhdMc/s1600/Yellow-jacket-nest-83.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-pIgi2KSNMFc/VdtM5_p7kcI/AAAAAAAAGTM/lIeHXaEhdMc/s640/Yellow-jacket-nest-83.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The remains of the hornets nest after the skunk's first visit.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
"What's wrong, Silly Boy?"</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
A bewildered Fred had just slinked into the garage and crawled between the table saw and work bench. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Yellow jackets were crawling in his coat like raging ninjas, probing for dog hide with their stings.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
I dragged him out from his hiding place, slapped the spiteful insects, and stomped them on the floor.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
We had coexisted all summer with a nest of "meat bees" next to the house, and I had a hunch that Fred had roused them by scratching a dirt bed near their nest.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Sure enough, they were swarming, and I was their next victim.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Only by peeking around the corner of the house could I survey the ninjas safely.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
There was no sign that Fred had been scraping a dirt bed.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Then the ground heaved ominously near the nest entrance.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Was a squadron of killer wasps about to erupt?</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
The ground lifted several more times, tracing a path away from the nest, and suddenly it dawned on me: </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<i><br /></i></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<i>I had just witnessed a rare event -- subterranean predation!</i></div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
A mole had torn into the meat bee's underground fortress.<br />
<br />
Maybe it had the sweet taste of meat bee larvae on its lips, but this mole was beating a hasty retreat from the yellow warriors.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
To prove my supposition, I really should have grabbed a shovel, flipped that mole to the surface, caught it, and taken a picture while fending off the meat bees.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
I might have tried it in my youth, but the codger was satisfied to marvel at the image of the mole breast-stroking through dirt with mean-assed meat bees stinging his velvet keister. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Yes, moles are known to feed on the larvae of underground hornets. The <i>paper mache</i> nest is no defense to a hungry mole that scents a comb of tender wasp larvae.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Anyway, the meat bees had to go, because I wanted to see what the mole had done to the nest.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Neighbor Larry delivered some wasp spray, and the next day I donned my running shoes and zapped the nest entrance.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
A few dead wasps littered the ground the morning after, but the ninjas were still coming and going. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
I gamely sprayed again, expecting to excavate the next day.</div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br />
I was ready to start digging until I heard the menacing hum of meat bees underground. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
I sprayed several more days.</div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
Finally the hive was silent, and I began to scratch away the overlying dirt. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
I found the mole's tunnel, and carefully uncovered the domed gray paper roof of the meat bees' inner sanctum. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
The caress of the rake brought them back to life again! </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
It took a full week to annihilate the colony, but the coups d'grace was apparently delivered by a skunk. </div>
<div style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px;">
<br /></div>
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The scene looked like someone had taken a small rototiller to the nest.</div>
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I buried the remains of the nest and smoothed the surface, but the skunk dug it up again that night and the next. </div>
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Ah, what a saga . . . Hungry mole attacks nest of meat bees, meat bees mount courageous defense, homeowner and dog become co-lateral damage.</div>
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Homeowner vainly wages chemical warfare, and a skunk finishes the job, proving that Old Stinky eradicates meat bees better than moles or the petrochemical industry. </div>
Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8527944689184796366.post-5510711135198706052015-07-08T10:45:00.002-07:002015-07-09T07:45:34.975-07:00Bagging a little impersonator and other surprises<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X7jz0fUIc8o/VZK8k-lrWII/AAAAAAAAGQs/aQLpZxICx2g/s1600/Neurotrichus-gibbsii-4266.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X7jz0fUIc8o/VZK8k-lrWII/AAAAAAAAGQs/aQLpZxICx2g/s640/Neurotrichus-gibbsii-4266.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>The shrew-mole, <i>Neurotrichus gibbsii</i>, with its flexible nose-probe in action.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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"I'm goin' for shrews", I told my friend Terry who lives in California's Humbolt County.<br />
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The fog-bathed redwoods of California's north coast is the land of banana slugs, giant salamanders, red-tree voles, and shrew-moles, among other zoological wonders.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zKVGZxvnqfE/VZLObhGix3I/AAAAAAAAGRo/awitZE3MWWY/s1600/Sorex%2Bbendirii-9.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-zKVGZxvnqfE/VZLObhGix3I/AAAAAAAAGRo/awitZE3MWWY/s320/Sorex%2Bbendirii-9.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>A Sonoma Shrew matches the color </b><br />
<b>of redwood duff.</b> </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
My assertion that I was going to camera-trap shrews was a bluff.<br />
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I was hedging my bets.<br />
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I knew Terry's cat, "Muir" periodically catches shrews in the garden, and the cinnamon-colored shrew on the left is proof.<br />
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I also knew that kneading sunflower seeds into leaf litter and humus attracts shrews as well as mice and rats, and I submit the photos below as proof.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gc2MN88hCHE/VZMbgjpYlUI/AAAAAAAAGR4/JsENBQYn884/s1600/Sorex-cinereus-ContactSheet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="640" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gc2MN88hCHE/VZMbgjpYlUI/AAAAAAAAGR4/JsENBQYn884/s640/Sorex-cinereus-ContactSheet.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>Sunflower seeds lured these Canadian and Alaskan shrews to my camera traps last summer. </b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
That afternoon we set camera traps (Sony s600s and Pentax Optio E60) in the redwoods, and the next morning found that the plan had paid off.<br />
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The pictures were short on resolution but good enough to identify two of the three "Soricomorphs", or "insectivores" as they were once called.<br />
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The Sonoma shrews were easy to identify by color and size.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I71Y_nd-QzI/VZLMKtk6GbI/AAAAAAAAGRM/aVr2Wc7N6hA/s1600/Sorex-sonomae-4261.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-I71Y_nd-QzI/VZLMKtk6GbI/AAAAAAAAGRM/aVr2Wc7N6hA/s640/Sorex-sonomae-4261.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>A Sonoma shrew (<i>Sorex sonomae</i>) face-to-face with a baby millipede</b><br />
<b>(the pale elongate object in front of it).</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The other shrews were either Wandering shrews (<i>S. vagrans</i>) or Trowbridge shrews (<i>S. trowbridgii</i>), which look identical unless you give them dental examinations.<br />
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My big thrill however was "bagging" a shrew-mole.<br />
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This is the world's smallest species of mole, but it's an excellent impersonator of shrews.<br />
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There's no question it's a mole; the quintessential mole-features are there in the teeth, skull, and the absence of external ears.<br />
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Its scaly tail with black bristles and constricted base is also decidedly un-shrewlike.<br />
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At some point in its evolutionary passage the ancestral shrew-mole struck out on an independent path.<br />
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It either lost or never acquired the other features of its family -- the over-sized "man-hands", the velvety pelt, and the predilection for subterranean foraging.<br />
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The transformation gave us a mole that can't "swim" the soil with the talpid breaststroke, doesn't makes mole-hills, and lacks the napless and velvety mole pelt that once adorned Yankee waistcoats.<br />
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Shrew-moles walk on the soles of their forefeet, which is impossible for moles to do, and sometimes they <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knuckle-walking">walk on their knuckles</a>, like anteaters, armadillos, and gorillas.<br />
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What's more, they can stand bi-pedally like a squirrel and climb into low vegetation, which moles can't do.<br />
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And then there's the mole-snout.<br />
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Shrew-moles perfected it as a somewhat flattened and flexible walking stick with lateralized nostrils.<br />
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The foraging shrew-mole taps its nose center, right, and left with each step.<br />
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<a href="http://cameratrapcodger.blogspot.com/2013/02/epitaph-for-discarded-book.html">Dalquest</a> and Orcutt, who studied the species nearly 80 years ago reported that the snout "may be thrown high in the air, twisted to one side or the other, rapped on the ground, or hooked under the body."<br />
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When it sniffs out a sowbug or earthworm, the shrew-mole thrusts its nose, and hooks and pulls out the prize like little Jack Horner.<br />
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The photo below seems to show it nose-plucking sunflower seeds the same way.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tgkxoqd39uY/VZK8t885TwI/AAAAAAAAGQ8/jrEcixhd1pY/s1600/Neurotrichus-gibbsii-4269.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="480" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tgkxoqd39uY/VZK8t885TwI/AAAAAAAAGQ8/jrEcixhd1pY/s640/Neurotrichus-gibbsii-4269.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>A shrew-mole roots for sun-flower seeds in redwood duff.</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Most of the photos were false-triggers probably caused by something scurrying through the frame before the shutter fired.<br />
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I was hurriedly clicking through these "blank" images when the time-lapse effect revealed a Brownian swarm of pale larval millipedes.<br />
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These I assumed were instars of the yellow-spotted millipedes (<i>Harpaphe haydeniana</i>) so common in the area.<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u9jJLI_3pLc/VZa3RNGMalI/AAAAAAAAGSU/L0jEjUbqELA/s1600/Instar-Harpaphe-sp.-1494.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-u9jJLI_3pLc/VZa3RNGMalI/AAAAAAAAGSU/L0jEjUbqELA/s320/Instar-Harpaphe-sp.-1494.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>An immature miilipede or instar, presumably</b><br />
<b>the yellow-spotted millipede. </b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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In one frame a shrew rooted sunflower seeds in a flock of 12 baby millipedes.<br />
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In another frame two dozen baby millipedes grazed together peacefully.<br />
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It was like a miniature Serengeti with hunters and hunted drifting on and off the stage of life.</div>
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Wow, I had made a discovery!<br />
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"No wonder there are shrews here, there's an endless supply of tender nourishing millipedes." <br />
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Or so I thought.<br />
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Yes, they looked like "easy pickins", but were they shrew fodder?<br />
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It was time to search the literature.<br />
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I found that Robert Stebbins, <a href="http://dipperanch.blogspot.com/2013/09/an-honorable-herpetologist.html">the late and great herpetologist</a> once dropped a couple of millipedes (<i>Tylobolus stebbinsi</i>) into a jar containing a western skink, and despite the lizard's predatory restraint it was dead in 3 hours. <br />
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Millipedes look meek, but their "repugnatorial glands" are highly effective weapons of chemical warfare.<br />
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Their many-segmented-bodies are equipped with stink glands, which can be selectively activated to release any number of noxious gases depending on the species.<br />
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The gas has a distracting effect on predators such as mice and birds, which immediately lose interest in their meal, blink their eyes, plow their faces in the soil, and go into fits of self grooming.<br />
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Yellow-spotted millipedes produce hydrogen cyanide which in low concentrations has a pleasant almondy-smell (and gives me an appetite for Danish pastry).<br />
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According to <a href="http://ri.search.yahoo.com/_ylt=A0SO80IDq5RVge8Axd1XNyoA;_ylu=X3oDMTEzdWIzZTdjBGNvbG8DZ3ExBHBvcwMyBHZ0aWQDU01FNzAzXzEEc2VjA3Ny/RV=2/RE=1435835267/RO=10/RU=http%3a%2f%2fhome.sandiego.edu%2f~yellow%2fyellowmillipede.html/RK=0/RS=QWxy7jLihqEpnUeMNGi4A1xhhIo-">Bug World</a> the species is toxic to shrews.<br />
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Are immature stages also toxic, or as toxic as adults?<br />
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Millipede specialist Bill Shear informed me that baby millipedes can produce toxins as early as the 3rd instar.<br />
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At this stage of development they are probably too small to interest shrews or shrew-moles as food.<br />
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This probably explains why the myriad baby millipedes safely grazed while the shrews ate sunflower seeds nearby. <br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fOz9HqVPWhQ/VZK8pTAN-RI/AAAAAAAAGQ4/NO65GDEgVGI/s1600/Neurotrichus-gibbsii-4270.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="458" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-fOz9HqVPWhQ/VZK8pTAN-RI/AAAAAAAAGQ4/NO65GDEgVGI/s640/Neurotrichus-gibbsii-4270.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b>"When frightened, <i>Neurotrichus</i> makes an unbelievably swift, scuttling dash for cover." </b><br />
<b>(Dalquest and Orcutt, 1944, p. 391)</b></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<br />
<b>References</b>:<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;">Dalquest, W. AND
D.R. Orcutt. 1942. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; font-style: italic; vertical-align: baseline;">The biology of the least shrew mole, Neurotrichus gibbsii minor. </span><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">American Midland Naturalist,</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"> 27:387-401.</span></span><span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12.0pt; font-weight: bold; language: en-US; mso-ascii-font-family: Calibri; mso-bidi-font-family: +mn-cs; mso-color-index: 1; mso-fareast-font-family: +mn-ea; mso-font-kerning: 12.0pt;">
</span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><span style="color: black; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Eisner, T. and J. Meinwald. 1966. <i>Defensive Secretions of Arthropods</i>. Science, 153, No. Shear, W. 3742:1341-1350</span><br />
<span style="color: black; font-family: Calibri; font-size: 12pt; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span>
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<span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Shear, </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">W. A.</span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"> 2015. </span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>The chemical defenses of millipedes (diplopoda): Biochemistry, physiology and ecology</i>. Biochemical Systematics and Ecology, 61:78-117.</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span></span></div>
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</span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline;">Stebbins, R.C. 1944. <i>Lizards kil</i></span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><i>led by</i></span><span style="color: black; vertical-align: baseline;"><i> a millipede</i>. American Midland Naturalist. </span>32 (3):777-778.</span><br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>Acknowledgements:</b></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><br /></span>
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: x-small;">Many thanks for Dave Rentz, Petra Sierwald, and Bob Mesibov for leading me to Bill Shear, who kindly shared with me his excellent and fascinating review of millipede chemical defenses. </span></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Camera Trap Codgerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11052159376463794204noreply@blogger.com7