Coyote steals the cat

My last blog entry included tons of pics of recent visitors to my camera trap site which was baited with the carcass of a Wild Turkey and a road-kill stray cat. They both were in frame, right next to each other, and many critters visited, primarily Virginia opossum(s). But all the attention was on the Turkey! There really wasn't much meat left on it either, since it had been harvested during NY's spring Turkey season, and my friend Tyler took the breast and legs. The cat appeared untouched, and I didn't really understand. KB (Romping and Rolling in the Rockies) left me a comment stating that she's seen bobcat carcasses where she lives (CO) untouched. Did other scavengers dislike cat meat?

Well, of course, no sooner did I post that, I returned to the site and immediately noticed both carcasses were gone. I knew the Turkey had been removed by a Coyote previously, but now the cat carcass was gone too. Whodunit? Well, duh my entry title tells you....I'm not good at the element of surprise...

Here's the series of photos that shows the thievery...

 

Below is the actual taking....too quick for the camera to get a crisp image.

 

The black spot on the ground appeared to be soil that had been disturbed by insects (Dermestids) underneath the cat's body.

Pawing the spot where the Turkey was. I don't think much was left though...

 

After a quick sniff to the air, when I was pulling the SD card, I was able to locate the remains of the cat about 15 feet into the brush just to the right of the frame. I think it just dissolved...it was REALLY gushy and we've had torrential rains lately that probably further softened it. I'm not sure if this 'yote ate any of it, but there wasn't much left but vertebrae and fur.

Well, so I had a Turkey leg in the freezer, from the Turkey that Tyler shot. He said it "didn't look right" when he cleaned the bird, so he gave it to me to use for my camera instead of for eating. I tied it up on a branch in the frame at this same spot with a thick electrical underground-type cable and Gorilla Tape. HOPEFULLY nothing steals it too easily!

I love camera-trapping!

Camera trap visitors and a new job!

I haven’t posted any camera trap pics in awhile! The end of the semester kept me busy, and then the past couple of weeks seem to have been just as busy! I also started a new job this week, which I will share later in the post. Going back a month ago, my friend Tyler went out the first week of May to go Turkey hunting. The spring Turkey season opened on May 1st, and he was successful in getting a Jake (young male!). He was excited to bag a bird, but I was excited because I was going to get the carcass once he got the meat he wanted from it. I know, it’s a morbid thing to be excited about. But, if you’ve been following along with my blog, you know there’s no shortage of “gross” in my life :)

A few weeks before Tyler gave me his Turkey carcass, I had found a road-killed stray cat at the end of my driveway. I had seen this cat around, flea bitten with ticks. Sad, but it happens. So when I found the dead cat, I removed it from my driveway, and brought it into the woods. I didn’t have anything to bury it with, so I figured I’d just let nature take it’s course. And I set up my Bushnell Trophy Cam HD on the site. So when Turkey was ready, he joined Stray Cat. It’s been an active site, here are a few of the pictures!

A couple of scavengers: American Crows

A usual visitor, the Virginia opossum checking out the dead cat before Turkey came on the scene.

That’s Tyler! Setting out Mr. Turkey

A pair of raccoons stopped by the buffet…

Possum is back…he was definitely the most common visitor. I like this picture because I think he’s eating some of the Turkey carcass. Sitting up like a squirrel!

Stray cat #1.

 

Stray cat #2

And the first real predator! A coyote is checking the scene out.

Stray cat #3

Another predator: Red fox

A cottontail hops by in the background…

And FINALLY I get my porcupine! I know they’re around, I just have not yet seen one in my yard! I love them.

The Turkey Thief! I walked up the check the camera recently, and the Turkey was gone. Well, I have photographic evidence of the thief. COYOTE.

So I guess that was more photos than a few, but I’ve been getting some good stuff lately! I am wondering where the fisher and bobcat and bears are though. I’m hoping they show themselves sometime this summer!
I might mention also that the cat is pretty much untouched. Nothing seems to really be feeding on it, it’s just decomposing. I wonder why…?

 I’m spending the majority of my summer in the Capitol Region of NY, in Albany. I live in Cobleskill for school (I attend SUNY Cobleskill), but I got a great internship this summer at the NY State Department of Environmental Conservation main office on Broadway! It’s really a great opportunity for a budding biologist like myself, and I’m working under Jeremy Hurst, big game biologist. Big game in NY consists of white-tailed deer, black bears, and moose. Moose really aren’t on the radar much yet though, because they are so few. This position is an office position, no running around outside this summer. But I am going to be getting the chance to learn a lot about how black bears are managed for in NY. I’m hoping that my future career will include work with black bears. I don’t know why, but I’ve always been very interested in them. At first when I was a kid, they were “cute”. Now, they just mystify me with their incredibly adaptive habits and behaviors. They literally stop eating, drinking, and moving for 4-5 months, give birth, and then come out on the other side of winter a little lighter but generally ok! I wish I could do that!

Anyway, this position will be interesting and a great learning experience. I will be posting periodically about what I’m up to on the job. Stay tuned!

A quick post about Crows...

I wanted to share these amusing pictures before I leave for Massachusetts for the weekend (to do black bear stuff!!!).

I have the "fish tree" set up, as I mentioned in Backyard Camera Trapping last week.

Nothing TOO exciting has showed up yet, except maybe a coyote???

 

 

Notice the plastic container in the picture below. When I was checking the camera at one point, I deployed a weasel attractent scent (I'm dying to get that fisher back...), and hung it on a branch while I was checking the SD card, and apparently forgot it.

Gray squirrel

American Crow

American crows

 

On my way back up to check it a few days later, I found the container at the edge of the woods, and thought, Well, THAT'S weird..., but when I checked the camera, I had my answer. Damn crows!

Cleaning Skulls and Setting Cameras

This past weekend I went back to my hometown because we had a 4 day weekend for "fall break". As a disgruntled professor of mine said last week, "Isn't Columbus Day a made up holiday? Wasn't he like the 8th guy to "discover" America?"...well, whatever. I'll take 2 days off from class!

So while I was back, I picked up a few things from my alma mater, FLCC. Among the things, was a container with skulls in it. Animal skulls. Like, meaty, gory, brainy, yucky skulls. I know, I know...but let me explain.

Mady (my roommate) and I collect skulls. We like them because we can learn from the skulls. It's a sign that's left behind, after the animal has died. I know it may seem morbid to collect, but they're already dead. We don't kill animals for their skulls. We started last year tramping through the woods after the snow melted looking for antler sheds and skulls....we've morphed a bit, and now we do collect roadkill with the intention of keeping the skull.

See: Porcupine Paws for more information about collected roadkill :)

We've had a long-tailed weasel skull and porcupine skull sitting out in the woods, underneath rocks, rotting. Carrion beetles come and naturally clean the bones, making it very easy for us to clean up and make sanitary.

The container I had of skulls, was given to me by a taxidermist. I had expressed a want of skulls, and he hooked me up with a flying squirrel skull, coyote skull, and red fox skull.

Today Mady decided to clean skulls, which is awesome because I'm too squeamish to do it myself. I like them, and I'll collect them, but I don't like the cleaning part, unless it's passive like setting them out in the woods for 3 months.


These pictures are gross, just a warning (Well, not of Mady...the pics after that!).

Mady cleaning skulls.

After they've been outside for a long time, and most of the "meat" is rotted off, Mady boils the skull in water and hydrogen peroxide.

 

Suggestions: Do this OUTSIDE in a pot that you will never use for the preparation of food items ever again. This is our "skull pot". I got it at Wal-Mart for a few dollars, and serves it's purpose well.

A "pre-rotted" red fox skull.

Mady boiled this for a few minutes to loosen stuff up, then we put it out in the woods, where it will sit for a month or two.

This is a completely cleaned weasel skull.

 It came out really nice! I love that elongated brain case. They have a large brain in relation to their body size. They are cunning little creatures.

Porcupine skull and incisors.

Those gray blocks are just packaging material stuck to the cardboard. My computer was broken, got fixed, and was sent back with this cardboard and Mady just used this piece as a surface to work on.

 

Upper jaw of the porcupine.

Upper jaw again: Mady and I thought these teeth looked old.

The teeth are very worn, flat looking- and the dentine is evident (dark brown). Porcupines average between 5-7 years of life in the wild (according to Nat Geo). 5 years is a long time to be chewing on wood, bark, and other woody plant material, so no wonder these teeth look the way they do.

Porcupine incisors.

The darker end was the end implanted in the jaw of the animal, and the orange is the extra hardened enamel which aids in protection of the tooth. These incisors are the same teeth that beavers have, mice, tree squirrels, muskrats and woodchucks (although woodcucks don't have orange enamel for some reason). But they all share the characteristic of constantly-growing, self-sharpening, large front teeth. This makes them rodents in the Rodentia family!

Weasel skull in hand, for some scale.

Flying squirrel skull, pre-cleaning, in hand.

Gross, I know. Flying squirrels are adorable, ADORABLE, and this is not. But, look at the eye socket of this thing. HUGE eyes!!! Compared to the weasel above! Why is that? Because they're nocturnal! Weasels I suppose do move around at night as well, but not as exclusively as the flyers. Which, right now I have 3 on the bird feeder in the backyard. It's cool to peep out there at night with a flashlight and see them munching on bird seed.

 

Flying squirrels are, by the way, the most common squirrels in NY. They're nocturnal, that's why we hardly ever see them. If you have a bird feeder, I urge to check it out at night! Eventually I'm going to rig up a camera trap on the feeder to get pics of them!

 

Then our friend and FLCC/Cobleskill classmate Adam came over to store his scent lures at my house. He lives on campus, and didn't want to leave them in his room or in his car because they're so noxious. He hung his Bushnell Trophy Cam on the tree my Cuddeback used to hang on, when I got the bobcat picture. And then he went to work setting stinky scent lures out for predators.

 

 

And on our way back down the hill, Mady set out the coyote skull and red fox skull to be cleaned up a bit by Mother Nature.

And the last pic of the day, the coyote and red fox skull side by side for some size comparison, along with the toe of my boot.

 

 

I have nothing exciting to show from my weekend away, when I checked my cameras upon my return. Crows and a raccoon. Boring! But hopefully I can do a follow up entry soon with some pictures that either Adam or I have gotten!

 

Camera Trap Collection

While I was in Alaska, I just got back to the East Coast about 12 hours ago, I had my Cuddeback Attack Flash set up for most of the time. If you've been following along, you've probably read my complaints that I think this camera is a lemon. It just doesn't work like I believe it should, and how I've come to expect Cuddeback products to perform.

Nonetheless, I was able to get some great shots...and the following are my favorites. Some might be repeats from earlier posts, but I wanted to share them all in one place!

Snowshoe hares

Grizzly bear

Red-backed vole species (unknown)

Porcupine

Snowshoe hare

Moose

Red squirrel

Coyote...talk about timing!!!

And can you believe she was out at that time of day?

The Big 5: Part 2: Gray Wolf

Read here for The Big 5: Part 1!

Denali National Park & Preserve
7/21/2012

The first day into DNPP, our hopes were high for wildlife sightings. Half the people you hear from are boasting of amazing views, close encounters (on the bus) with wildlife, and perfect photo opportunities of both. Then the other half of the stories tell you to not get your hopes up, because the wildlife is truly wild, and the weather can change quickly, effecting it all. But, ever the optimists we are, we entered that first day (7/21/12) on the shuttle bus with eyes peeled.

Photo credit: Katie Boye

Within MINUTES, and I'm not exaggerating, we were treated with our first of The Big 5, a gray wolf (Canis lupus). The following are the only two pictures I was able to get...

Visitors to DNPP are only allowed to drive their personal on-road vehicles into the park for the first 15 miles of the park road. There is only one road in and out, so it's nice to not have the congestion of hundreds of visitors clogging the road after that 15 mile mark. Many people assume that most of the sightings will be seen further out in the park, especially once you hit 2,000 feet above sea level or so. This is where the treeline ends, and the tundra begins, making for wide open landscapes. For the majority of our wildlife sightings, that's where they were.

THIS sighting however, was seen within the first 10 miles of the park, under treeline, and at about 7:45am. First thing in the morning, on our first day in the park- DNPP delivered.

The wolf was on the left side of the road as we came around a corner, and a passenger yelled out "STOP!" as per our driver's direction. We slowed to a stop, and the wolf disappeared to the left up into the brush. We could still see him/her moving through the alders, pacing the bus, and then he/she decided to cross the road, RIGHT in front of us!

Luckily, Katie and I were in the second row of seats back, so we had a great view. My pictures were taken in haste, not allowing the camera to focus very well, so they aren't the best...but they're better than nothing!

After walking, yes walking, across the road, it disappeared down the bank on the other side. Allowing us probably a good minute and a half viewing.

There are 70 wolves within the limits of DNPP, broken up into about 9 packs. DNPP contains over 6 million acres, so you do the math. We were VERY lucky to have seen this gray wolf. Were there more out of sight?

Photo credit: Katie Boye

I've been reassured by people who know what they're talking about that this IS a wolf. I was being skeptical and thinking maybe a coyote at first. But, this Canid fits the wolf bill. Below I've pulled a comparison graphic to illustrate some of the physical characteristics between the two species. I'm reassured by the above wolves large feet, long legs, and rounded ears. Also, take my word for it, it had a thick muzzle, rather than that dainty snout of the coyote.

Photo credit: Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife

My last thoughts about this wolf concern it's weight. Although we saw this guy or gal mid-July, Alaska's autumn is just around the corner. The fall flowers are starting to bloom, and the days are getting shorter. The dark now comes at 10:30 at night! This still seems late by "lower 48" standards, but I was really enjoying the long days actually...it's weird to see darkness come.

I'm thinking that this wolf doesn't have long before winter hits. Last summer, a professor of mine visited DNPP in August and was SNOWED OUT. He and his wife couldn't enter the park due to all of the snow on the ground. The road is dirt/gravel, and are NOT plowed during the off-season. And those shuttle buses made me a little nervous on dry and clear roads, I can only imagine what it would be like on slick, snowy roads.

I hope despite it's thin frame, this wolf can compete with others throughout the long winter season and make it out on the other side alive. Perhaps this is a young male? Off on his own, thin, lanky...perhaps looking for a pack and territory to call his own? I will never know.