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That's
me on the 40-Acre Lake Trail at Brazos Bend State Park (12/31/2007). I
was waiting for an otter to show up. It didn't.
As
I get pictures of other mammals at the park (and elsewhere), I'll be putting
them here--except for Otters. They have their own page..
On the morning of July 16, 2023, I
was moving North on the East loop of the 40-Acre Lake trail (the North
loop was closed off because of alligator nest activity.)
Near the middle of that section, this rabbit moved onto the
trail
from the right and began eating. I didn't want to interrupt its
breakfast, so I paused for a while to
watch. The rabbit
was also in front of one of our "alligator warning" signs, so I
carefully moved enough to get an angle that would allow me to capture
that rabbit and the
sign in the same image. These pictures were the
best I could do.
I'm
sharing the series because it appeared that the rabbit "noticed" the
sign, and decided to read it by the last image. Did the
rabbit
read the sign and think "Since I'm
not a dog, I can go where
I want."? Or was the rabbit wondering how if it would be able to keep
its dog on the trail after that experience last time when the
dog
slipped the
leash and made all that trouble. I have no idea
what kind of dog a rabbit would keep, but that's their problem. I can
say that I haven't seen any rabbits walking dogs on the
trails since those signs have appeared (and even before
the signs have appeared).
I
believe this is a Swamp Rabbit (Sylvilagus aquaticus) and not an
Eastern Cottontail (Sylvilagus floridanus). Ever since I first
encountered the
name "Swamp Rabbit" I've
wondered a bit about why it's not a
"Cottontail". So I looked it up. Swamp Rabbits and
Eastern
Cottontails are in the same genus: Sylvilagus-Cottontail
Rabbits.
Besides
living in swamps (ha, ha), Swamp Rabbits are larger than Eastern
Cottontails (which also live in Texas). From the descriptions I've
found, Swamp Rabbits' fur has
more black and brown colors than
Eastern Cottontails, and a "cinnamon colored ring" around the
eye.
Eastern Cottontails have longer ears than Swamp Rabbits and
possibly
a different head profile. I believe the rabbit on the trail was a Swamp
Rabbit. Many sources described their ability to swim, but I haven't
been able to see that. I
included the first image to also show how
much the appearance of the 40-Acre Lake Trail has changed
during
these months of low water(since last year!). I was half way
up that loop, looking Northwest at the lake in the first
image.
On 11/26/2021;
I was at Russ Pitman park. Squirrels were active all around me.
I see squirrels almost everywhere, and their antics and calls
don't usually capture
my
attention for very long. But today, I watched them running up and down
tree trunks; up, down, and along branches. And then I noticed that they
seemed to be running on the bottom of
horizontal branches! Along with that, they were also running in "corkscrew" paths along horizontal and vertical branches. They were running on the outside of these surfaces. Running, or bounding--
feet
leaving the surface, with little or no contact with the surfaces they
were moving along; in all directions. I decided to try to capture some
of this movement with high-framerate video. I was
able to catch
some of this activity at 240 fps (usually I try for 480 fps...but I
hadn't reset the camera). The images below show just one example
from the video--but in this example the
squirrel had run under a
branch, and temporarily lost contact with all four paws. It quickly
recovered, as shown in the sequence. The entire edited video is here 2min, mp4. Squirrel Parkour!!
I'll
try to capture more of this squirrel acrobatics. By the way, both
Gray Squirrels (Sciurus carolinensis) and Fox Squirrels (Sciurus niger)
were running around that day. The videos show
Gray Squirrels in
action. The white fur on the undersides (and white spots by the ears)
help with this I.D. Fox squirrels have orange fur on belly, and
mixed in a bit with the upper gray.
Arrow shows direction of DOWN.
Squirrel on the left was holding to the bark. Piece of the bark peeled off at hind feet! Missed first grab with front paws.
Both front paws still free .
Left front claws snagged the bark! Front left claws grab, and quick pull. Grab with the claws on the right paw.
Rear legs were in free
fall!
Pulled back with front paws, brought rear feet up! Rear feet up to the bark. Pushed off with back feet to move forward.
On 10/17/2021;
I was at BBSP near the tree where I'd seen the baby alligators a week
before (10/11/2021). I've mentioned the busy squirrel that I saw then.
On the 17th, I went by the Oak Tree again, because I'd hoped to see the squirrel at work. I did see a squirrel come out of the tree! So I shot video and hoped
for
the best. The images below are frame grabs from the video clips is got, which I've edited into this very short film.
It came down the tree, and watched me. It moved by me taking a few steps, then pausing to watch. It was only about 3 yards away.
When
the squirrel stood, it made tiny squirrel fists with its front
legs. It appeared to be challenging me to a fistfight--but of
course it wasn't. The squirrel finally took off, and
ran past me.
It didn't stop at the tree that was being used a week ago (that
tree shows in the third picture above). The squirrel kept moving
(pausing occasionally).
The
squirrel kept moving (pausing occasionally) until it ran around a bend
in the trail. I think that bend is about 140 yards from where I
was standing. I'd hoped to catch a return
trip by the squirrel. I
saw one appear at the bend down there, but a young park visitor scared
it, so I didn't see the squirrel again.
05/02/2021 Even with more "spare time" it's taking me days to work on new material so I can post it. Part of the reason is that I get more new material before I've completed
editing of the previous new material--because I have more of that "spare time" to go get the new material. Oh, darn. LOL
So, here's how my morning went at Brazos Bend State Park on 05/02/21. I have more photos (and some video) but I need to post this now before much more time passes (it's
already
been a week today). I'd just gotten to the edge of 40-Acre Lake
(had just walked down the hill) when I noticed this set of animal
tracks on the trail. I'm a bit confused
on what made them. I
think they're from a cat because of the short heel pad and outline; but
it look like there are claw impressions and a single "lobe" in front
and two "lobes" in
back--which would make them dog tracks.
Whatever they are, it looks lke they walked on top of the human
tracks. I'll alter this description pending any expert input. If
they are
feline
tracks, then they'd probably be from a Bobcat, which would be pretty
cool. (UPDATE)--Alas. According to a number of experts, my
second guess was correct. They were
dog tracks. Thanks to science
twitter folks: Dr. Lisa Buckley (@Lisavipes) ; Dr. Anthony Martin
(@Ichnologist); Zachary Wardle (@ZacharyMWardle).
Animal tracks!
04/14/2021 While walking Piper this morning, another Armadillo (Dasypus novemcinctus) ran across the road in front of us. It crossed 2 lanes, a median, and 2 more lanes before crossing the sidewalk
on our side of the street. Then
it took cover behind a hedge and moved toward us. It either heard
Piper's tags, or me telling her to behave (though I tried to be quiet)
or smelled us--but it tried to get through
the wall near us. It had to pass us, and then moved away. I thought that was the end of it.
A car passing on the other side of the street made a U-turn and came to
talk to me. We'd started talking about the armadillo when I noticed
that it was crossing the road again!
I uttered an expletive (sorry
to the driver for that) and looked further down the street. The
streetlight down there had just turned green, and it looked like at
least 5 cars were
heading our way--and they drive fast on this
street. I decided to run after the armadillo and chase it across
the other lane before the cars got there. So I did. I had my phone out
and
have shot video of the armadillo near the hedge, but I didn't film my chase.
I had to keep track of oncoming traffic, my location, Piper on
her leash, and the armadillo--so adding
"manipulating phone to shoot
video" to my list of tasks was not a good idea. We all crossed
safely, and I crossed back and continued home. I hope the armadillo remained safe.
The
images below are frames from the video clip, which can be seen here.
03/07/2021 I
started as a Volunteer ranger/interpretive guide at Brazos Bend State
Park in 2001. Starting then, I went to BBSP at least once a week--EVERY
week; although
there were some periods where I had to go "on hiatus"
due to occasional medical procedures. In a single day, I could
interpret for over 100 people...or 10. I feel fair average of
contacts
would be 50 per week. 50 folks per week x 51 (weeks
in a year) would be 2550 folks per year. 2550 x 19years
is.... a LOT of people (48,450 --but maybe take off about 6 months'
worth
because of the medical stuff (that's about 1200 less)).
That still adds up to a lot of folks that I've experienced the
park with. It was great fun, and the park is a great place. And
then
our viral visitor appeared. And I stopped going to BBSP in
March of 2020. There were many factors involved with this--all of
us know the adjustments that were made. I missed the park.
I can't
remember exactly, but I did go out to BBSP a few times during 2020.
I also went out a few times in 2021. I decided I should go once
more while there was still some controls in place
so I volunteered
on March 7. During the 6 hours I was there I spoke with 100
people while wearing a mask and maintaining distance. It was
great as usual! There is always a lot
to see at BBSP, but I
think it will be a while before I go out there again. If you live
in Texas, you can probably figure out why after March 10. What
did I see today? Well, here we go.
There
was a mother Coypu(aka Nutria-Myocastor coypus) with at least 2 babies
on a little mat that they made from Giant Cutgrass. They were at least
50 yards away, so I couldn't
see too much. I passed them again on
my way back to my car, and pointed them out to a number of visitors
then. One of the babies went off to forage by itself, and I noticed
the Ibis
behind it, so I tried to get some pictures with them both
included. They were quite far apart, so it was hard to get them both in
focus. That is not a White Ibis, but either a Glossy
Ibis(Plegadis
falcinellus), or a White-faced Ibis(Plegadis chihi). I've seen
people who can identify birds a lot better than I can arguining over
identification of one of these. I know
it's one or the
other. I can't really pick out the eye color, but the legs are more
gray than pink or red. From what I can find, grey legs would make
it be Glossy Ibis. The last 3 images
are frames from a video clip.
Ibis is at least 20 feet away from coypu. Three
moments as the Ibis paused.
Each view is a
bit different. Just the Ibis Grey legs, not red or pink.
Just pay attention to the sign, okay?
08/08/2020 Like almost everyone these days, I've been staying inside. I have stopped driving too far... for purely recreational purposes.
I've also been avoiding parks that take much time drive to; since we are generally asked to limit travel.
So,
today I finally went out to Archbiship Fiorenza Park (phase 2) and I was happy
to see it wasn't crowded. I walked, but not far, since I wanted to keep
an eye on my car. As in
many parks inside Houston, car burglaries
are possible (it's happened to me, and to people I know). I shot some photos and some video, and then left--but I
decided I'd revisit soon.
I've always seen something interesting there.
On this trip, I tried shooting video of a Roseate Spoonbill (Platalea
ajaja). The trick is, I was 140 yard away (according to Google).
If you'd like to see where I was--
I was at 29.720611, -95.626925 and I was shooting one of the islands at 29.721946, -95.627022 While filming the Spoonbill, I noticed something swimming across and filmed that.
I'm
pretty sure it was a Coypu (Nutria). As I may have mentioned on
one of my other pages, "nutria" in Spanish means "otter". To
avoid some confusion, I try to use both terms
during
conversation--especially pointing out that Coypu are not related to
Otters at all. Coypu (Myocastor coypus) are in the order Rodentia,
along with beavers, squirrels, rats, etc.
while Otters are in the
order Carnivora (both animals are further separated in those
orders into groups containing their closer relatives). "Myocaster" (myo - caster) is
Greek for "beaver-rat".
The image below is from what I edited into this video clip (mp4). The video is not that good, but I'm posting it because of recent reports of Coypus being seen-and being a nuisance-at
a
park in another part of Texas (Fort Worth). There, people have
been the Coypus and they are getting everywhere. The park
described in the articles (linked below the picture)
seem relatively
small and without much cover. These factors can bring the Coypus
into contact with humans. Feeding these wild animals isn't
helping...but the pictures show them eating
food that was
probably intended for the ducks (feeding the ducks isn't a great idea
either). Also, it's unlikely that there are any predators around
(mostly thinking of alligators) to
help eat some of the
Coypus. Brazos Bend State Park has 5000 acres, 7 lakes, lots of
cover, and a number or predators (at least alligators, bobcats,
coyotes) that can eat Coypu.
I've seen alligators eat them many times. Here's one page that has images showing this. Fiorenza park has a lot of water, islands, cover, and at least one alligator (I've seen it)
and
I've talked to people who've seen coyotes there. I know Bald Eagles
hunt there, too. (I've seen them there--but not hunting.) Today, I see
that there are Coypu there, but due
to these factors, Coypus are probably not seen very often. To give some idea of the size of the park, I have some panorama shots on this page.
Here are some links to the articles (which will probably go away over time):
05/15/2020 While
walking with Piper this morning, I noticed an armadillo walking towards
me about 50 yards away. I got out my cellphone and started shooting
video. I was surprised to
find that there were actually TWO
armadillos. Piper and I watched as they moved towards us. Then, one of
them turned and moved towards Piper! I'm sure this was coincidental,
since I
believe that the armadillos didn't know we were there. I
tried to keep the leash tight as the armadillo moved a bit closer. I
don't know if Piper or the armadillo moved first, but in any case
it turned an ran. After a brief pause, the other one followed. The video is here (mp4). Armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) are described as generally "crepuscular and nocturnal" while feeding
(
The Armadillo:Its Relation to Agriculture and Game, 1944, E.R.
Kalmbach; page 15), though they can be oberved through the day. In
fact, I've got examples of that on my pages here.
Today's observation was at 6:40 AM, with high humidity and heavy cloud cover.
02/23/2020
On this cool morning(60 F) I found 2 sets of baby nutria. The first
ones were sleeping with their mother at about 8:30am. Here they are,
cuddled together
on a mat that they made from plant material.
01
02
I
found another set of babies about 500 yards East of the first set. This
time, just two babies were sleeping on a plant mat, at about 9:15am.
They were gone when
I came back at about 11:30am, but I got some
good pictures of their bed. Compare picture 3 and picture 6 for before
and after leaving their mat.
03
04
05
06
The
other babies were still with their mom when I got back to them at about
12pm. I shot some video as they shifted around. In the second clip, the
babies are nuzzling the fur along their mother's
side, and one of the nipples can be seen for a second or two. I've edited the short clips into this video file. Images 8, 9, and 10 are frame grabs from the video, with 10 showing the teat.
I
don't have any printed literature that gives information about Nutria,
but I've found data online. One source that covered many aspects of
the natural history of Nutria was:
"Nutria (Myocastor coypus) in Louisiana" for Genesis Laboratories, Inc 2002 Link to the PDF. or cut and paste :
https://www.aphis.usda.gov/wildlife_damage/nwdp/pdf/Nutria%20in%20Louisiana.pdf
This
is where I've found most of the data in one place. Here is some
information I got from that source that relates to the pictures above.
Nutria
breed often, and are ready to breed a few days after birthing a
litter. Gestation takes about 4 and a half months and usually produces
3 to 6 babies. In Louisiana, high birth rates have
occurred in Dec,
Jan, Jun, and July. Babies are born fully furred, active, and with
eyes open. Nutria use vegetation make large mats which they use for
feeding, groom, and resting. Females
gave 4 pairs of mammary glands, but
unlike most mammals, these are placed on the sides of their body. This
could allow the young to nurse with their noses above the water's
surface while the
mom is swimming.
05/02/2019 and 06/10/2019 On 5/2/19 I was walking with Piper along one of our streets when I noticed that there were "excavations" in some of the
cultivated
areas in some of the yards along the street. I wonded a bit about them,
since it was pretty intensive in some spots--was it Feral Hogs? --was
it
Armadillos? On our way back, I had an answer. A group of
armadillos (Dasypus novemcinctus) were foraging in the leaves.
Armadillos don't see very
well, and with the roadnoise covering
any sounds Piper or I were making, we didn't disturb them. I
stopped Piper andwe watched the Armadillos...and they
continued
getting closer to us. I had to hold on to Pipers leash and pull her
back a bit. Piper was very interested, and it appeared that she
didn't know what
these creatures were. I bet that she's smelled
traces of armadillos all along-but she'd never met one. I don't
normally handle my phone while I'm walking
Piper (walking your dog
requires all your attention) but I had to catch some of this. So, I
shot some video. The images below are from this video clip. I
stopped filming to put the phone away so I could maintain full control of Piper. And...we left the armadillos alone.
On 6/10/19
I was just finishing up my usual workout at one of our local parks. A
group of 4 young Armadillos casually moved out of the trees and
began
foraging close to where I had been exercising. I went to my car and
grabbed my camera. Photos didn't come out well, since the armadillos
stayed
within cover, but the video didn't turn out badly. The images below are from this video clip.
According to various sources, including this web page: http://www.nsrl.ttu.edu/tmot1/dasynove.htm armadillos are a fairly recent addition
to
the wildlife in Texas. They began spreading into the state about 120
years ago. Follow the link for more information (ond/or look at
the
video clip). I will mention one thing here. Armadillos
usually have a litter of four "pups". This is because once the
fertilized
egg is implanted (and this can be delayed for
months--apparently by choice) it develops into 4 identical embryos.
This means that
4 identical quadruplets are born--that are identical
to each other. 93% of an armadillos diet is "animal
matter"-mostly insects and invertebrates.
7% is various plant
matter. A large portion of the invertebrates are beetles and
beetle larva. Generally the armadillos dig for their
food, or push through loose litter to find it.
March 31, 2019 This morning, there was a group of nutria on another plant mat. This appears to be a set of 5 young ones.
The
report "Nutria (Myocastor coypus) in Louisiana A report prepared for
the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries By Genesis
Laboratories, Inc (2002) says that a litter of nutria is usually 3
to 6 babies; but can range "from 1 to 12 individuals." I didn't
see any larger ones
at this time.
July 01, 2012-- Today
was overcast with sporadic bouts of wind and rain. With weather like
that, I didn't expect to have any takers for my Creekfield hike, but
one never knows.
It turned out that I had a few takers, so we toured the Creekfield trail.
As
we were coming around the last length--the portion nearest the Nature
Center--I noticed a fawn walking on the trail about 50 yards ahead of
us. We stopped, and I shot a few
pictures. Then, we slowly moved
forward. I wanted to see if we could get closer to the fawn. We really
could not, but it didn't run away from us either. We'd move a few
steps,
and the fawn would move a few steps. As we crossed the wooden bridge, I
lost sight of the fawn, and it was out of my mind when we got to the
"sapsucker tree".
We got back to the trail intersection, I turned right to go back towards the Nature Center...and there was the fawn.
It
was near the road, to the left of the trail. We tried again to move
slowly towards the road, but I took us off the trail and into the grass
on the right to give the fawn room.
A few seconds later, I noticed a
rabbit next to the fawn. For many of us, the image of a fawn conjures
up the name Bambi--and the character. Well, I was not only looking
at
Bambi, but apparently Thumper was visiting as well. As we slowly moved
towards the road, some other visitors on the opposite side of the road
also had noticed
the fawn and rabbit, and were moving towards them.
This spooked the fawn a bit, and it moved deeper into the trees. We
crossed the road.
------
About
2 hours later, I was leaving the park because of the overcast weather.
I decided to drive around the park a bit first. I turned the car
towards the campsites,
and there-in the field by the Creekfield
Trail-was the fawn. It was resting comfortably. And off some
yards to the left was a doe--most likely the fawn's mother. I drove by
a few times
and shot some video and some photos. The doe wasn't close to the fawn, but I tried to get them both in at least one shot.
And then another patch of rain came, so it was time to go.
I enjoyed our visit with the fawn. I wondered at the lack of panic on such a young deer. But, its mom was nearby.
-----
April 24, 2011:
It was another busy Easter
at Brazos Bend State park. However, before the big rush started, I got
to hear a chorus of alligator bellows at about 8:30 am. I spent most of
the day
riding around the lakes, and educating park visitors. I got
word that a fawn was visible from one of the trails. A doe will
sometimes leave a new fawn in a protected spot for a while. This fawn
was
in a good spot, across the water from the trail. Today's
RICKUBISCAM is cropped from one of the pictures I shot. While I was
watching the fawn, the clouds moved away and the sun came out.
When it
did, it shined through the trees onto the fawn, making this wonderful
image. The fawn slept peacefully through the day, at least it seemed to
be fine whenever I passed it (and I passed it
many times today).
Below is a larger version of the image.
--------------------------------
Some
of you may have heard about the bobcat that we got to see by the Spillway
Bridge at Brazos Bend State Park on March 12.
This
is my story:
I met
a couple walking on the North part of the 40-Acre Lake trail at about 9:00
AM. We talked for a while, and they mentioned
that
they'd seen two bobcats fighting over by the Spillway Bridge, and that
one was still over there. I hastened to the bridge, and
spent
about 10 minutes walking back and forth on the bridge--scanning both sides
of the bridge--and looking through the
undergrowth
for a cat skulking in hiding. When I didn't see one, I was a bit disappointed.
As I was resigning myself to this, two regular park
visitors
came up on bicycles. As we were talking about various animals, etc.; I
looked back towards the bridge, and UP.
I noticed
a dark mass at the top of one of the trees. Scanning through my binoculars
I identified the bobcat. My jaw dropped, and I
spoke
aloud the term for the male offspring of a canid female; and then said,
"THERE'S
the BOBCAT!"
We hustled
over there.
...And
I remained there for about 2 and one-half hours. Word of the bobcat spread
like wildfire amongst the visitors and park staff.
I'd
set up my video camera, and it has a pretty nice screen that people passing
by can look into. The camera has a 25x optical zoom, so
that
was ok. Other Park Volunteers brought out a spotting scope, and at that
range (I doubt the cat was more than 50 feet away) you could
have
counted its whiskers through the spotting scope. During those hours, the
bobcat would lie still, apparently trying to doze; but occasionally favoring
us with
baleful looks as if wishing we would all leave.
Bit
by bit, it moved from one branch fork to another, lower one. It would try
that spot for a while, then move to the next lower one. Finally, it made
the
last
leap, and was gone in the rice.
The series
of images below were shot with my still camera. It's an Olympus C-770 which
had a 1.7 tele-adapter on it. The light was constantly changing,
which is more obvious in the video
clips further below, and this made taking
pictures and video a bit difficult. In a situation like this (one not likely
to be repeated), I just shoot as many pictures and video clips as I can.
Hopefully
some of them will come out. Even at the the relatively short
distance involved (somewhere around 50 feet), my camera just doesn't have
the reach to give large, clear images. However, I
could have done far worse
than the pictures I did get. I can really clear them up if
I present them at the small resolutions I use on these pages. I could
look at these pictures--and watch the
video--over and over again (and I
have!). What a beautiful animal! Click on the images to see the 320
x 240 version of them.
-----
The
series of images below are single frames from the video clips linked below
them. Clicking the images will show a slightly larger one (320 x 240)
and
clicking the links should show you the video clips. The clips show
how windy it was that morning. In fact, during one of the Bobcat's moves,
a huge gust of wind blew my camera and tripod over,
and blew the sunshade
covering it inside-out.
The
Bobcat dozing up there, propped in that unlikely position, seemed strange
to many observers. I was impressed by the balance showed by the
Bobcat
both while sleeping (amazing!) and while it moved. I've left the audio
track intact in most of these clips. The sound of the wind is evident,
but it's also fun hearing some of the wonder in the
voices of the other
people watching the cat. This Bobcat was estimated to weigh about 25-30
pounds.
---
FIRST
VIEW wmv 3760kb
FIRST
VIEW, CLOSER 3766kbFROM
ANOTHER ANGLE 1154kb BIT
OF A STRETCH 3404kb
------
BIT
OF A STRETCH 3404kb
THIS
IS COMFY? 560kb
TIME
TO MOVE 2504kb
--
A
BIT LOWER 2604kb
A
BIT LOWER, CLOSER 2673kb
TIME
TO GO 3448kb
Although
many people (including me) find the sight of a carnivore hunting interesting,
these moments of watching a predator in repose are also very special to
me. The Bobcat ( Felis (Lynx) rufus)
is one
of three (according to the book North American Wildlife, by David Jones)
native wild cats remaining in North America. The other two are the Mountain
Lion (Felis (Puma) concolor), and the
Canadian Lynx
(Felis (Lynx) canadensis). The Bobcat's size allows
it to maintain its range more successfully than the larger Mountain Lion
because this allows for a greater variety of possible prey
and habitat
to hide in. I believe that the large number of Nutria in the area where
we saw the Bobcat (with lots of young Nutria around) may allow the cats
to feed well right there. As I watched, I
realized how lucky I was
to spend a few hours near this wild cat; a species which has been
able to continue to thrive in our changing environment.
As an
environment changes, this can put pressure on animals and plants living
there. Fortunately, when organisms reproduce, the offspring are not exact
replicas of the parents. Sometimes a
"newer" model offspring may
have characteristics that allow it to survive more efficiently in the changed
environment than the "older" model (which would include some of its siblings
and others in its
generation, as well as the parent generation). Surviving
more efficiently means that less energy is expended on the basic survival
needs--like finding enough to eat and not being eaten. This can
leave more
energy available for other tasks, like reproduction. More efficient organisms
(the "newer models") would tend to reproduce more than the "older models"
and eventually the "older models"
could be phased out entirely. Or, small
populations of the older models could exist in areas that were still favorable
to them (if any such areas can be found in time), while the "newer models"
could
exist at the same time, elsewhere, in the changed environment.
Organisms that can evolve new behaviors or physiological changes at a pace
with their environment as it may change will survive.
Those that can't
change quickly enough--perhaps because of slow or reduced reproductive
rates--will die off. The Bobcats seem to be doing well so far.
This
was one of those really rare events at
the park, and I was happy to see
it. It was LOTS of fun seeing and hearing the excited visitors ,
park
volunteers and staff.
I'd
like to take this opportunity to thank Dr. Steven Orzack, of the Fresh
Pond Research Institute (www.freshpond.org), for his editorial comments
regarding this article and for our correspondence
in general. He
happened to be visiting BBSP for the first time on the 12th and also got
to see the Bobcat "in person". Talk about LUCK! Thank you for the
support, Dr. Orzack!
One
more thing. Any mistakes in spelling or grammar are mine. ALL mine.
August
24, 2003This
morning, I was at the park, and heading up towards the VC/NC (Visitor Center/Nature
Center) from Elm Lake when I saw a small group of raccoons off to the side
of the
road. I stopped to take a few pictures, and when I did, they advanced
towards the car. There were about six of them, and one stayed back off
the road; but the others came right up to the car.
One larger one
(I assumed an adult, while the others were juveniles, but I'm not sure)
not only approached my car on the open window side, but it stood up, and
seemed to be reaching for the
door handle! Danged masked thugs! (see
the picture, NOT A HAPPY TREE FRIEND, below.)
Folks,
this is TERRIBLE behavior for animals that are supposed to be wild. It's
dangerous for all life forms involved, and is caused by park visitors (or
other irresponsible people) giving food to the
raccoons. The raccoons could
have easily been run over if a car came from the other direction. I had
to beep my horn repeatedly to get them to move from under my car
so I could drive on. These
raccoons aren't tame, either. Hand feeding
them is only inviting a situation where a human can be bitten or attacked.
If the raccoons become a nuisance they will be removed from the park (and
NOT RELOCATED ANYWHERE! GET IT? ). Here is how the term "nuisance"
applies to raccoons: Raccoons are dexterous and smart enough to get
into ice chests, drop down on food hung up
in trees, open tent flaps, or
even work open screens or chew through wood frames of shelters. They run
quickly, and also have a set of nice, sharp teeth. When cornered, a raccoon
is a fierce
adversary. One could "corner" a raccoon by waking up
and finding a live raccoon in one's tent or shelter (which, if they've
lost their fear of humans, they could get into by a number of methods--
regardless
of whether or not people are in there). One could also "corner" a
raccoon by opening an ice chest that might have closed upon a raccoon that
got into it. It is a bad sign for raccoons to
brazenly approach a large,
mobile object like a car looking for food--in broad daylight. They
could likewise approach people at picnic tables (with food already out
in the open); and then suddenly
realize that the humans at the tables have
the raccoon's food; and suddenly feel threatened--with bad results. These
are examples of how much of a problem raccoons can be. They forage everywhere,
most notably all the areas that people like to use; unlike almost every
other animal in the park. Feeding raccoons; and any other animal, for that
matter; doesn't do any of the animals any good at all.
DO
NOT FEED ANY ANIMALS AT BRAZOS BEND STATE PARK OR AT ANY OTHER PARK!
On a
different note, I have to relate an incident that happened at the VC/NC
today. We've been gifted with the nocturnal appearance of a type of click
beetle that has two spots that glow in the dark like
eyes. Evidently, the
appearance of this beetle was exciting news for some local entomologists.
They (the beetles, not the entomologists) are quite striking, and the glow
from the spots is easily visible
in a lighted room with just a small amount
of shading. One of the park people had taken a beetle out to show
everyone, and we were all being impressed. I turned my back for a second,
and when I
looked again, everyone was looking up.
"Where'd
it go?"
"It
went up towards the light!"
"There
it is; it---OOP! Spider got it!"
There
were a few moments of silence....
Most
beetles can fly. This species of click beetle can fly. It flew from the
palm of the hand holding it to land on the upper edge of one of the fluorescent
lights---where, we (and the click beetle) discovered,
a spider lived. When
it landed, a spider immediately ran out, grabbed it, and disappeared back
above the light. End of beetle. Fortunately, there are many,
many more.
------------------------------------------
NOT A HAPPY TREE FRIEND
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