Mammals Posts

FLASH! Marked Turtle Seen In Wetlands by , Ranger

March 18th, 2013

On Friday (3/15), a Yellow-bellied Slider bearing a notch in her shell was seen basking on a log next to the Main Wetlands Overlook. This turtle was marked last year by myself as part of a turtle survey. It could not be determined which of some dozen turtles it was since only one notch was [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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I’m excited, are you? by , Ranger

March 14th, 2013

Mourning Cloaks, Groundhogs, more turtles, a bullfrog, and finally, Pickerel Frogs! Are you ready for some pictures? The cloak… The hog… The turtles… A bullfrog… And the Pickerel Frogs, lots of them… Sorry for getting carried away with the Pickerel Frogs, I’ve been waiting so long for them and at last, they’re here! I heard [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Still need convincing that spring’s here? by , Ranger

March 7th, 2013

Today! Truth is, both Lightning and Rocky are frantically licking the same treat placed on the tree by the Animals Keepers, but they had me going for a minute or two. Please read on. Ranger Rock spotted two Red-shouldered Hawks either passing an object between one another, or placing sticks on a potential nest. I’d [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Who’s out and about? by , Ranger

March 4th, 2013

Some turtles… Read about Chip here. A Mallard… A squirrel… A land bird… And speaking of fox… And that’s it! Stay tuned, more to come. Read the rest of this entry »

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Smartweed by , Ranger

March 1st, 2013

Last week I tweeted about a Canada Goose apparently eating smartweed in the Wetlands. I also mentioned that not many creatures will eat the pungent weed. Other then a few caterpillars, the Smartweed Caterpillar (Acronicta oblinita) and the Tobacco budworm (Heliothis virescens), I personally haven’t witnessed much in the way of smartweed consumption among our fauna (there [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Of Red Wolves by , Ranger

February 15th, 2013

The photo above was taken on Friday, February 17, 2012 at 11:00 AM. The photo below was taken on Friday, February 15, 2013 at 10:54 AM. If you don’t know what’s going on in the photos, the wolves are mating, or rather, have already mated and waiting for the swelling to go down before they [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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What comes out on warm nights? by , Ranger

February 4th, 2013

Bats! Tuesday and Wednesday of last week were exceptionally warm days with mild nights. It was apparently warm enough to awaken some of the local bats. I wasn’t at the Museum to witness bats actually flying over the campus on either of those nights but Ranger Rock spotted one floating in the Sail Boat Pond [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Killer Kitties? by , Ranger

January 31st, 2013

That’s not my title. It’s the title, or at least part of the title, of an NPR interview on All Things Considered. I happened to be listening to NPR on the radio on the drive home the other day. An animal ecologist, Pete Marra, from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute was being interviewed about a [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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Squirrel wounds by , Ranger

January 28th, 2013

The squirrel above was at the bird feeders. The wound, which appears to be rather fresh, didn’t seem to bother the squirrel as it went about feeding. But I suppose that there’s not much the squirrel could do even if it did bother the varmint except lick the wound. I guess the question is, how [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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What’s that sound?! by , Ranger

January 25th, 2013

Why, it’s 1414 howling! If you’re lucky enough to be in Explore the Wild when the wolves start to howling you’ll get quite a thrill. It’s both thrilling and chilling to experience these wolves doing what they used to do in the wild many years ago throughout the Southeast. The only place in these parts that [...] Read the rest of this entry »

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