Humans take pride in their unique, perhaps exalted, place among creatures. We’re the only animal that can point to triumphs like space travel, nerve gas, for-profit prisons, and plastic-filled oceans. Until recent times, we also thought we stood alone in our taste for addling our brains with drugs. Alas, we can no longer claim that distinction: Dolphins, dogs, wallabies, waxwings, and loads of other species like to get loaded. [Read more…] about Wildlife Gone Wild: Animal Intoxication
small mammals
What’s That Sound? Coyotes At Night
It can be heard at almost anytime, but especially after sunset. On calm evenings from the late summer throughout autumn, the high-pitched yelping cries of eastern coyotes occasionally echo across the landscape under the cover of darkness.
While the coyote is known to make its tormented-sounding bark during any season, at this time of year they tend to be more vocal. [Read more…] about What’s That Sound? Coyotes At Night
Cliffs Host Varied Flora and Fauna
On a recent hike up Eagle Mountain in Milton, Vermont, we climbed to a ledge overlooking Lake Champlain. Turkey vultures soared overhead, tilting back and forth on the breeze. A sheer cliff dropped to the forest below us, a lush variety of plants clinging to its face. Cliffs are defined as areas of exposed bedrock with a slope greater than 60 degrees. We tend to think of cliffs as solely geological features. But they also host distinct natural communities of plants and animals. [Read more…] about Cliffs Host Varied Flora and Fauna
Recent Wildlife Rescues & Encounters: Rattler, Owl, Eagle, Turtle & Rabid Fox
In 1880, the first eight Game Protectors began serving to protect the natural resources of New York State. In 2022, Environmental Conservation Police Officers (ECOs) and Investigators across the state responded to more than 25,600 calls. What follows are recently reported incidents involving wildlife rescues: [Read more…] about Recent Wildlife Rescues & Encounters: Rattler, Owl, Eagle, Turtle & Rabid Fox
When North Meets South: Flying Squirrel Hybrids
It’s evening, and you’re in the forest. You close your eyes and inhale the sharp, sweet, turpentine scent of pine. The air is still, yet the branches overhead seem to nod at your presence. You shine a flashlight and catch a glimpse: a fleeting, tiny ball of fur, arms and legs outstretched, tail like a rudder, gliding through the night. It lands on a tree trunk, pauses, then launches itself again. A flying squirrel, in its glory. [Read more…] about When North Meets South: Flying Squirrel Hybrids
Woodland Jumping Mouse
Sitting around a campfire after dusk, it is sometimes possible to catch sight of a small rodent bounding across a section of the forest floor that is illuminated by the glow of the flames or a bright moon. Similarly, a small creature may occasionally be seen in the headlights of a car leaping across a road like a frog, but at a distinctly faster pace. [Read more…] about Woodland Jumping Mouse
Mink: New York’s Cutest Wild Animal?
Mink (Mustela vison), perhaps one of wetland’s cutest furbearers, are primarily nocturnal carnivores that feel just at home on land as they do in water. Both their dense underfur, which is protected by oily guard hairs that make their coat waterproof, and a diet heavy in fish during winter explain why they spend time in the water. [Read more…] about Mink: New York’s Cutest Wild Animal?
Flying Squirrels: Nocturnal Tree Dwellers
In the days prior to and immediately following a full moon, there is often enough light in the hours after sunset for a person to meander along a well established woodland trail without the aid of a flashlight. By walking slowly and quietly, one can occasionally detect a small gray squirrel rustling about the dead leaves on the forest floor, climbing up a large trunk, or moving along the limb of a tree. While most squirrels strongly prefer to be active during the light of day, the flying squirrel favors the darkness of night and is one of the most common nocturnal tree dwelling mammals in New York State. [Read more…] about Flying Squirrels: Nocturnal Tree Dwellers
The American Marten in the Adirondacks
Rolling into the summer months, the Adirondack High Peaks Wilderness experiences a sharp expansion of its wildlife community.
Insects adapted for survival in an often cool, high-elevation environment emerge from their long winter dormancy and are engaged in eating and breeding. Various species of birds have traveled to upper elevation slopes to mate and nest, and numerous mammals that reside in this harsh climatic zone are now busy rearing infants which can temporarily double their populations. [Read more…] about The American Marten in the Adirondacks
Lessons Learned from Raising Alice, A Baby Opossum
Years ago, when I worked at a nature center in Connecticut licensed to care for injured and orphaned wildlife, a baby opossum was brought to us. It was found lying on a golf course, and was too young to be on its own. We named the opossum Alice and estimated it was 9 weeks old. Although we later determined the opossum was a male, the name stuck. [Read more…] about Lessons Learned from Raising Alice, A Baby Opossum